I like food. I have always enjoyed food and I really haven't found a food I'm not willing to try at least once. I used to be a pickier eater, but I really have gotten better. Cucumbers grossed me out for the longest time but now they are one of my go-to foods... So I know, from personal experience, that picky eaters really can recover.
Anyhow, about six years ago, I started a dairy-free diet per the recommendation of my mom who has been dairy intolerant for the last 20-some years. Going dairy-free made all of the difference in the world for me and, in search of finding dairy substitutes, I realized that my body does not handle soy well at all either. And then about three years ago, I went gluten-free (GF) in an effort to reslove some particularly annoying symptoms and my body responded so well. I now consider myself a recovering carboholic. (I am also allergic to walnuts, but that's another story for another day. It's a pretty boring story, though, so that day may never come.)
After a super stressful fall semester and then the holidays and just general laziness on my part, I have become super lax in my diet... I cheat way more than I should (which, really, I shouldn't cheat because I feel so much better when I don't...) and I'm feeling the effects of it. The scale isn't moving, my clothes don't fit well because I'm bloated, my joints are achy, and my skin is a mess.
I wrote last week about wanting to get my water consumption where it needed to be and I'm very grateful to say that I am definitely moving in the right direction. I finish four bottles of water most days... It's the fifth one that seems to get me the most. Anyhow, this week I am working to get my diet back under control.
Because I feel like gluten affects me in the most adverse ways (although I'm more sensitive to dairy, if that makes sense) and I find gluten the hardest to abstain from, I am making it the first to go. My plan is to eliminate gluten this week and the eliminate dairy next week. Soy is not a huge issue for me because I really do limit my processed foods and it's usually when I cheat that I'm eating processed foods which also tend to contain soy, so when I eat wisely, the soy situation pretty much resolves itself.
I am always on the lookout for tasty gluten-free/dairy-free recipes that are as natural and whole foods oriented as possible, so please share if you know of any! I've been meaning to post some of my favorites, but I've come to realize that I really don't follow a recipe oftentimes and just throw together what I think looks and sounds good at the time.... Oops! But that being said, I really do hope to become more intentional in my cooking so when I have brain blocks for meals, I can look through my recipe box to find something instead of looking in the fridge and hoping for the best or (UGH!) having a cheat meal because I'm too lazy to do anything else!
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