The Building Blocks, Part 1- Rice

In order for me to start embracing the paleo diet, I had to rethink the building blocks of my meals.  By blocks, I mean the idea that each meal should have some protein, some vegetables, some grains and of course, followed by something sweet! I’m Chinese and I grew up in a very traditional household.  This meant I ate rice....every day.  Rice was just always there.  I ate white rice, fried rice, brown rice, rice noodles, rice cakes, rice porridge, sticky rice...need I go on?


While my mom would make decisions on which meat to cook, or what kind of vegetables to buy- with rice, it was never in question.  Even on pizza night and KFC night, there was rice in the rice pot. Growing up, I did not know what a meal was without rice, or how to build a meal without it.  

Unfortunately in the paleo world, rice cannot exist so the question is - do I give up all those dishes that I love or do I just eat stir fry and other Asian dishes without any nice, fluffy rice to counterbalance all those savory flavors?  Of course, rice is just one of the things I would have to rethink.  Paleo also says no to pasta, bread and many, many beloved desserts. How can this be?!?! These foods are such a big part of many cultures- rice in Asia and the Middle East, pasta and bread in Europe...naan, tortillas, pita...where does food exist without these simple and satisfying accompaniments?


Luckily, in my exploration of the paleo world, I’ve learned that I can still have many great dishes as long as I just alter the building blocks of my meals.  I read that cauliflower could be a great replacement for rice so I began to think of other things that could also be a rice substitute.  Perhaps chopped up white button mushrooms.  Just like cauliflower, they can be chopped to resemble rice, and they also have a simple taste and texture that can usually absorb the flavors of other seasonings easily.  It could potentially act as nice balance to rich sauces...just like rice would.


The Building Blocks Part 1 is about my journey to make some of my favorite rice dishes paleo.  First, I started with the basic cauliflower rice, then I moved on to “paleo-fying” my mom’s simple and delicious fried rice, and then a seafood mixta paella.  Hope you enjoy the recipes!