Meet Tart-tongued Badass Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan

     When my husband, Kyle came home to me and said, "I want to be paleo. I want us as a family to be paleo," I was a little apprehensive, not because I did not believe in paleo, but because I worried about getting bored with food.  Kyle had been listening to Angelo Coppola's podcast Latest In Paleo and reading Mark's Daily Apple by Mark Sisson.  I on the other hand, I am an avid reader and I wanted to explore paleo/primal diet on my own.  I firmly believe that to fully accept something one has to take the journey themselves (it is kind of like a grade school teacher telling you 2+2=4, but truly realizing what it means, not just an equation).  So I began reading, and quickly found myself wanting to make paleo not only a reality in our household, but also creative and enjoyable!   In my quest for more interesting paleo recipes, I discovered Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan when I happened upon her cookbook Well Fed: Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat.   What lured me to her book, was this  description, "The two essential tricks for happy, healthy eating are being prepared and avoiding boredom". 

     Once I had Well-Fed in hand and started reading it, I soon realized that, Melissa Joulwan was not only a talented cook but also a blogger, The Clothes Make the Girl. It was there that I learned just what an amazing woman, Joulwan is...I mean she helped start the Texas Roller girls, the original flat track roller derby which has since become a sport well-known for making girls confident and embrace style, sportiness and sexiness all at the same time (this is where "Melicious", Melissa's roller girl name comes in).  And do not even get me started on the posts she shares about her struggles and triumphs at the gym with all the heavy lifting! So I wrote Joulwan and asked if she would do me the honor of a Q &  A, get the lowdown on her inspirations in cooking and fashion and what music motivates her ambitiously bad ass workouts.

Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan standing against
the famous John Lennon Graffiti Wall in Prague

I love that the foreword to Well Fed begins with a quote from Julia Child, "You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces- just good food from fresh ingredients." How much of an inspiration has Julia Child been for you?

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I became a Julia Child fan fairly recently.  When I was growing up, my parents were my cooking heroes, but I fell hard for Julia Child in a very silly way.  First, I watched Julie and Julia and was smitten with Julia-Child-as-played-by-Meryl-Streep.  Then right around the time I was debating whether or not I could quit my day job, I read Julia's autobiography, My Life In France. She was a bold woman who ate up life with the same gusto that she tackled delicious food.  That book was tremendously inspiring, and shortly after I finished it, I took the leap from my corporate job to full-time writer.

As an avid reader, you share many of your favorite books with your readers/followers, where did your love of reading originate? Who encouraged you to hop on your skates and roller on down to the library? If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only bring one book with you, which would it be?

My dad was a big reader and my parents always encouraged my desire to be a writer- and being a writer means being a reader. I remember how excited I was when our little town got a branch of the library on the town square, and I'm pretty sure my mom took me the first day. I take full responsibility for the dorky activity of roller skating to the library. My poor parents! I was such a nerd--and they always let me be as weird as I wanted to be. They're awesome that way!

Jane Eyre is my all-time favorite book, and that would be my #1 choice for deserted island reading. Luckily, I have a copy on my phone, my Kindle, the trunk of my car, and about 18 different versions on my bookshelf. Just in case.

You grew up in rural Pennsylvania, did you ever indulge in Philly Cheesesteaks or Amish food growing up? And if so, have you been creatively thinking of a way to recreate any of those experiences? Like mmm...making a Philly Meatza Pie.

Honestly, my favorite Amish food is shoo-fly pie, and boy, oh boy! do I wish I could figure out how to make a paleo version of that! The other foods I love from Pennsylvania are the snacks I would get at the big farmer's market every weekend: crispy fried chicken livers, made-to-order french fries, juicy peaches. I guess I can still eat the peaches, at least!

In the paleo community you are someone who has been honest about growing up on savory foods like lasagna and meatballs. One of the questions I get asked when I share that I am living paleo is how do you live without pasta?  They always say I can't give up those grains. What I love in your book and on your blog is that you give readers a answer of substitution- spaghetti squash.  You are also deeply honest and do not hold back that although this is a substitute it does not have the same texture of pasta. Do you have any other suggestions on how to jump the hurdle on pastas? (Because like you said when you described Alexander's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day...some days are not salvageable, but we most keep moving forward!)

This is going to sound very Pollyanna, but I honestly prefer the taste of zucchini noodles to flour pasta now. Regular pasta just tastes so bland and feels like a blob of wet sand in my mouth. But..it's taken me almost 5 years to make this transition. It's a slow process. For others trying to make the transition, I'd recommend eating spaghetti squash and zucchini noodles and then, if you really, really crave pasta, you can occasionally eat a gluten-free variety---or try kelp noodles. They're not my thing, but lots of people like them.

Cauliflower Rice Pilaf

 

What can we expect in your upcoming cookbook?

 

Like the original Well Fed, Well Fed 2 is packed with international recipes that are free of gluten, grains, dairy, added sugar, and legumes. Basically, it's a collection of delicious things I've been eating for the two years since the first book came out. I'm really excited about 15 new meatball recipes and a bunch of stuff that can be made in about an hour, so there are lots of great weeknight options, plus a few "project" recipes for fun. Total, there are about 150 new recipes and meal ideas. We're really excited about getting it out in the world.

 

 

Moroccan Meatballs (Swashbuckle those meatballs like a pirate)

 

 

You experienced and still are experiencing a very traumatic ordeal when you discovered a nodule on your thyroid. What advice can you give to anyone suffering with thyroid issues? 

 

My #1 piece of advice is to not give up. Everyone's thyroid experience is unique, so you have to read a lot to be informed, find a doctor that will LISTEN, and then be open to experimenting on yourself. I've found the only way to experiment wisely is to eat very clean paleo so I have that foundation. Then I can play around with exercise habits, medication, etc., one variable at a time, and analyze how I feel. It can be a long, annoying road, but every little bit of info and self-knowledge helps.



You are getting ready to go back to Prague on another holiday (vacation), have you ever tried a liquor there that is served as an aperitif? I believe it is Becherovka or Slivovice, but I can't recall exactly (a friend of mine spent a semester abroad in Prague and brought this drink back and said we must try it and it must be served chilled). It had a very distinct taste, very citrus like in flavor. And if not, are there any drinks or food that you would recommend other travelers to experience if they venture to Prague?

Becherovka is delicious! It's a liqueur made from something like 25 herbs. My husband Dave and I always say it tastes like Christmas! It's slightly sweet and spicy.  We also tried Slivovice, which is a plum brandy-- and we really, really, REALLY didn't care for it. The word "turpentine" came to mind.  There are three non-paleo treats that I love to enjoy in Prague: schnitzel in a pub, beer (!), and streudel from this tiny little bakery tucked away in a Soviet-era apartment complex in a residential area of the city. It's a trek to get there, and the reward for perseverance is the best apple, poppy, or cheese streudel I've ever eaten. On the paleo side, pork knuckle is a big hunk of roasted pork that's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside...plus lots of cabbage and sauerkraut!

What is your favorite Social Distortion song to listen to while working out? Are there any new artists you are following?

Social D's "Cold Feelings" is the perfect angry song for running, and "She's a Knockout" is also the perfect pace for a run.  My favorite current artist is Frank Turner. Check out the song, "Photosynthesis." The chorus is "I won't sit down/ I won't shut up/And most of all, I will not grow up".

The Clothes Make the Girl is your blog where you share recipes, triumphs and struggles @ the gym and stylish clothing, who has had the largest impact on you, in the fashion world?

My style is a mash up of '80s Madonna, Audrey Hepburn, the Ramones, and 1940s pinup girls....I love the bangs on Bettie Page, the boobs on Tura Satana, and the tasteful class of Audrey Hepburn. My favorite thing to wear is a little black dress and stompy black boots.

Melissa braving Prague's cold weather in a stylish faux fur hat

As you can see, Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan is a very unique, ambitious and determined  individual.  She definitely thinks out of the box, which is what makes her recipes so much fun (trust me, once you try one of her recipes, you too will find yourself getting a little more adventurous in the kitchen).  When you check out her blog, you will see a motto across the top of the page "Train hard. Eat Clean. Live Loud", it is simple and so true.  As someone who enjoys life and its many adventures, I really embrace the "Live Loud" part.  I am eagerly awaiting her next cookbook, Well Fed 2, which is due out October 2013! Until then, start training, get a copy of Well Fed and start living loud!!!



Discover more about Melissa:


Take a bite of her paleo cookbook.
http://www.clothesmakethegirl.com/wellfed


Read her blog.
http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com


Connect with Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/melicious11
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheClothesMakeTheGirl
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/melissajoulwan
Instagram: @melicious11