A high school girl trying to lose weight is nothing new in today’s society, but for Monica Bravo, the paleo diet ended up being much more than that, turning into a successful business venture for the LSU student.
A paleo diet, which is based on ancient nutrition of early humans, includes eating locally sourced, high-quality meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds while eliminating grains, processed foods, dairy products and refined sugars.
During summer 2014, Bravo went home to Covington, Louisiana, and was snacking on her favorite chicken salad wraps when she decided she wanted to influence students’ diets at LSU that fall by starting her blog bravoforpaleo.com. Selling her blog-famous wraps on gameday just made sense, she said.
Bravo brought her food to football gameday tailgates with her friend and chef Robert Vasquez. Now, she said she looks back at the gameday experience as one that helped her grow her business, although she won’t continue this season.
“Gameday sounds fun, but I’d rather do something where I can make a difference,” Bravo said.
Bravo and Vasquez had a successful concession stand, selling food in a tent by Mike the Tiger’s cage.
Because of the amount of preparation and cooking, Bravo said the two weren’t able to re-open the gameday concession stand.
“My whole goal was to bring a healthy alternative to gameday,” Bravo said. “I’m going to do something to leave a legacy, but I’m still trying to work that out.”
Over the summer, Bravo worked in the kitchen with Vasquez and learned what really goes into food production.
“I was joking and telling people that this summer was my ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ summer because I was learning to cook more and working in the kitchen,” Bravo said. “I really hope to bring all of that to the blog.”
She said one factor that scares people away from healthy eating, like in the paleo diet, is how much money they’ll be spending. Bravo said many people believe it’s more expensive to eat healthy.
After comparing her budget to her friends’ budgets, Bravo said she found she spends far less on food than a majority of her friends. She said it’s mostly because many of them eat fast food or out at restaurants, while Bravo cooks for herself every day.
Despite eating paleo for the past four years, Bravo said she is still expanding her food horizons. Last year, she attended Paleo f(x), a paleo conference in Austin, Texas.
“I learned a lot about food flexibility in the paleo diet,” Bravo said.
After meeting others at the conference, she said they thought she was “the strictest eater” they knew. Now that she has loosened up her diet, Bravo said she is using that extra room for creativity with her recipes by adding cheese or other ingredients.
Bravo said she hopes her blog will continue to help inform and inspire all of its viewers and that anyone can start eating healthier with a little effort.
“Don’t be discouraged because it takes a long time to get where you need to be, and also think of it as a lifetime change that you’re doing to learn more about your health for the rest of your life,” Bravo said. “The more you learn about your own body, the better you’re going to be for the rest of your life. It’s really a lot about self-testing and seeing what makes you feel best.”

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Courtesy of Monica Bravo