There is a lot that I have learned over recent weeks regarding me and my relationship with food. If you're not familiar with my latest activities, I have been participating in an exclusion diet to try and identify possible food allergies relating to my eczema. If you're not familiar with me, I am a lover of cake and all things food that is joyful and delicious. It has been a tough time
and I probably wasn't the nicest of people to be around at some points- if food brings joy and you can't have that food, it can be a very dark place to be!
But it certainly wasn't all bad. I have written about that side of things before so now it's the flip side: the things I have discovered and enjoyed on this particular journey.
I have been introduced to quinoa and buckwheat. Two whole grains that make refreshing substitutes for rice and pasta. Great as a base for salads- just add chopped quantities of cucumber, tomato, avocado. Throw in some prawns and a drizzle of oil- delicious! Quinoa is a little like couscous, in that it needs other ingredients to create flavour. Buckwheat has quite a nutty taste to it which is yummy to begin with.
I have also become quite familiar with chickpeas and find myself using them
in everything, almost. I now make my own houmus and it's easy and delicious and by making it yourself, you can decide on the garlic balance! Chickpeas are now going in soups and salads a like. Fabulous.
My other revelations have been oat milk and rye bread. The oat milk was a find after not taking to soya milk and trying rice milk to disappointing affect. Oat milk however is nice. About the same 'milky' consistency as semi-skimmed, a little oaty in colour and with a slightly nutty taste. My joy: it froths like the real thing so my home chai latte hasn't suffered!
Rye bread was my savour for much of the diet as I was a huge bread consumer: toast in the morning, sandwiches at lunch- it's easily done. I found the convenience of a sandwich so difficult to substitute and there is only so many different salads you can have over the course of a week! So I found rye bread. Perhaps not for everyone and I'm sure every now and then I'll happily munch into a baguette or doorstop sandwich but for me now, rye is the way to go. Quite heavy in consistency, but full of taste and it just oozes goodness that eating it makes me feel incredibly virtuous and with each slice eaten, I feel my body instantly thanking me for treating it so well. And I've got that quick convenience of a sandwich back on the menu when needed. Thank goodness.
A side development has been my mindfulness of what I am eating. I have always, always advocated eating in moderation: a little bit of the point of the 'Healthy Eating' pyramid isn't going to do you harm, if as nutritional experts agree, it's in small quantities now and then. And I really thought I was following those guidelines roughly. But on noticing my regular diet and then making this exclusion change, I realised my moderation had gone unchecked. No, I didn't have takeaways every night and cake every day, but neither did I have much variety beyond bread, pasta and potatoes and I certainly chose the 'yummier' options rather than the 'healthier' options more often than not.
What my exclusion diet and the exposure to more healthy foods has done, has adjusted my palate so that more of the 'healthier' options have become the 'yummy' options as well. Somewhere along the line, the sweet cravings begun during my pregnancy have diminshed so that one biscuit is enough now as opposed to two. Or three. While I have never been one to eat a whole packet of sweets or biscuits in one sitting, I felt that was good enough in terms of eating moderately and therefore, healthily. Because I didn't consider myself having any extreme eating habits or cravings, I thought that was enough to consider my diet a healthy one.
I have also become more mindful of my 'weak points'. For me, these times were early afternoon, early evening and late evening. The post-lunch, afternoon slump would find me in the cake tin rummaging for a sweet pick me up to go with my afternoon cup of tea. The 5 o'clock preparation and cooking of dinner would most times see me opening a packet of crisps to munch on as I worked away in the kitchen, often accompanied by a glass of wine. And then as dinner was quite early to accommodate eating as a family with our toddler, 8.30pm would roll around and see me reach for a chocolate treat to go with my peppermint tea relaxer.
So, if asked, I would have honestly said I had a reasonably healthy diet- those wee weak moments weren't binges on mammoth proportions, leaving me feeling ill and hating myself. But neither was I consuming in moderation. Each sitting perhaps not, but on a regular basis- yes. That's where the moderation theory fell down. So becoming mindful of these times has meant that I don't deny myself these delights however, I'm aware more of the frequency within my week and try to manage them out in the first place.
The afternoon slump I am beginning to combat with a protein drink laden with natural yoghurt and a handful of fruit. Almost like a mini meal, it sees me through the slump and more often than not, right through to dinner- which eliminates the pre-dinner reach for the snack moment too! If however, I start getting a little peckish at this time, I have discovered a yummy nuts and seed mixture that a handful of eases the hunger til dinner.
After dinner it's a little more tricky. I'm feeling relaxed and like to think that i deserve a little treat during my wind down time. Which I don't deny myself at all- but I do delay it by doing something else. Getting engrossed in a project- work or otherwise, takes my mind off my stomach and more often than not, the feeling passes. If it doesn't, I do a quick moderation check, and then really enjoy that chocolate biscuit!
All this discovery of new foods and mindfulness of balance within my
diet has meant that some extra organisation is required. A bit more
planning has had to go into my shopping, along with getting back to a weekly meal planner but as a busy working mum, some more organisation
isn't a bad thing!
Life is about being happy and if food, such a huge and essential part of our well-being, doesn't provide you with joy and deliciousness, then you are truly missing out on an opportunity to provide yourself with nourishment that is not just for the body but for the soul too. And I will try to do as much as is necessary to make sure this continues in my life in a more balanced and mindful way.
There must be joy in food, for me anyway. The idea of feeling like I did a month ago, and seeing food purely as functional, made me quite depressed. That in itself, could've very easily begun a spiral of comfort eating in an unhealthy way! For me now, with more mindfulness and moderation in check, the food is back in a very loving and healthy way. Now I have the cake, the chai latte, the chocolate biscuit, a slice of cheese and all the fruit I wish, but I have it with awareness of what I need rather than what I want- and not just because I can. I do not deny or exclude, I enjoy with awareness and balance.
Any tips or delicious whole grain, whole food recipes that you have would be much appreciated.
Disclaimer: all views expressed on nutrition are mine and are opinions and thoughts based on personal experience only. For information and help with your nutritional needs, please see a qualified nutritional therapist.
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