The Inaugural Australian AIP Supper Club

This is a big post for me. HUGE! I’m stepping out from behind my TSL cloak after almost 3 years of being vaguely anonymous in blog-land, and here I am! Nope, not the tall, glam’ one on the left – that’s the lovely Kirstie of The Nutritionista fame. And no, not the cute happy-looking dude on the right – that’s Rory from the very cool The Paleo PI blog. Me, I’m the one with dimples in the middle. TSL in the flesh!

On Saturday evening, the three of us got together for the inaugural Australian AIP Supper Club. (If you’d like to learn more about the Autoimmune Protocol, check out this post.)

It was kind of big deal, too. While we had communicated in cyber-world for some time, we had never actually met. And, it involved a plane trip for Rory, who hails from Canberra. Bless him – he carefully packed his homemade and AIP-compliant guacamole and crudités to travel interstate. That’s dedication!

This AIP caper has been life changing for all of us. But, it’s fair to say it’s not the most well-travelled path to choose.

Although, that is changing as awareness of how diet and lifestyle affect our health grows.

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down. (Oprah Winfrey)

And, being committed to a regime like the Autoimmune Protocol can be a little socially isolating. It is almost impossible to dine out when in the strict elimination phase. And, it’s not uncommon for even the closest of friends to become (understandably) a little frustrated with the dietary restrictions.

So, that makes it all the more exciting when you become part of a tribe who understands the challenges you face.

We had a super evening sharing our knowledge and experiences. And by ‘we’, I also mean LM and Wayland, partner to Kirstie.

So much so, that if sleep wasn’t such a priority for all of us, we might have talked all night!

The idea for our supper club meet-up came directly from Sarah Ballantyne, the Paleo Mom herself. Sarah’s recently launched Paleo Approach Dinner Club e-book aims to address some of the feelings of isolation that are part and parcel of any elimination protocol.

And, if our wee group are anything to go by, it’s a fantastic concept.

There’s something quite lovely about being able to talk all things AIP with people who understand the challenges.

And, in case you’re wondering, here’s what we ate…

Rory made the flying Guacamole with crudités

TSL made slow cooked pork with apple sauce and bone broth gravy, fennel, celery and pomegranate salad, kohlrabi ‘slaw, and roasted sweet potatoes (not shown)

And, Kirstie whipped up some carob ganache served with mixed berries.

We all agreed that this is the first of many get togethers.

If you are following the Autoimmune Protocol and live in Sydney or Canberra, and would like to join our next get together, please feel free to drop me a line via my contacts page.