My body's wisdom knew that this was the right choice in beginning its healing process. With the help of my husband (I needed a real kick in the a$$) I was able to get through the first troubling days; what was left for me to eat?! The answer is - food in its as-close to natural form.
I had to resign to "eat to live - not live to eat!"
This is powerful and meaningful mantra for anyone who has ever continued to "taste" their food long after the hunger had settled. When we eat for entertainment, we become susceptible to overeating and making bad food choices. When we eat for fuel, we begin to redesign our mental and emotional relationship with food. Are you hungry or are you bored? Does the food serve your body or serve as entertainment ... Just food for thought. (Pun intended)
Eating gluten free or dairy free or something else free is already a challenge. And companies have gotten so good at processing substitute foods. Scharr, Udis, Rudis and even Betty Crocker make some of my favorite substitute foods. But for this diet, the rules are to eat as close to nature as possible and remove as many processed items as you can. (Side note: my processed exceptions are sea salt, cinnamon, garlic granules and black pepper - which I actually grind myself so that might not count!!)
I started my first day of "living without" eating oatmeal. With no butter. No milk. No sugar. Just good old raisins and bananas (not even cinnamon at first!) It was surprisingly easy to eat alongside my (((black/unsweetened))) coffee. Now, I eat that as my breakfast every single day. There is something peaceful about knowing exactly what's for breakfast. Everyday.
The meal challenge on day one was a cinch since my motivating husband was helping me to kick this whole thing off! So... we went out to eat ... And he ordered! Can't get any easier than that but it also shows that you can be "living without" and still go out to eat! My dish? Broiled salmon (no oil, no butter) with salt, pepper and garlic with steamed vegetables, rice and salad on the side. Extra lemon wedges, please! Yeah - they help a lot!! It sounds so simple, and it is. But when you have to order and say "no butter,no oil", "no dressing", "no butter on the rice", "what's on that?" ... It becomes so obvious how much we over-saturate our food in order for us to consider it enjoyable.
Dinner that day was more of the same simplicity. We broiled tilapia at home and I ate it with a baked yam with raisins. See; it's easy!
How about snacks? Grapes, berries, kiwis (lots of those!!), raisins, cucumbers dipped in the eggplant that I roasted with no oil or anything at all ... It definitely takes getting used to, but after the initial few days it seems much more natural.
I had a major snack attack yesterday - I needed salty, carby something so I diced half of a potato and sprinkled it with s&p and garlic. Baked on a high temp and took it out when it was pretty brown. Basically did the trick! The fun part is scraping your food off of an unoiled pan. Well... I'm still working out the kinks!
Stayed turned for more gluten free, dairy free, soy free, nut free, condiment free, processed free living without posts!!
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