7 Tips for Transitioning to a Healthier Diet

Everywhere you turn these days you’ll find information about the benefits of eating healthy. We all know that eating less sugar and more fruits and vegetables will make us feel energized, healthier, and happier. But, beginning to make changes to your eating habits acan be daunting—especially if you’re not sure where to begin. Here are a few tips on how to incorporate healthier foods into your diet and be patient with yourself along the way.

1. Know that it’s a process

Making any change in your life, especially related to food, is a process. It’s not going to happen overnight and having realistic expectations for yourself will help to make the transition easier and more enjoyable. Ask yourself why you are trying to change your diet. Then come up with a few small, specific goals attached to due dates. For example, eat one serving of vegetables at every meal starting this Monday. Or, learn to make three new healthy dinners by one month from today. Put these goals somewhere where you will see them often. Reminding yourself of your goals and why these changes are important to you will help you to stick with it.

2. Think about adding, not subtracting

One of the reasons that many people give up on new goals is because they try to make too big of a change too quickly. When thinking about making your diet healthier, start small and think about adding new foods to your repertoire rather than taking familiar foods away. Love pasta? Maybe switch it up this week with whole wheat or brown rice pasta with some arugula and sun dried tomatoes. Crave something sweet in the mornings? Try a smoothie with vanilla almond milk, frozen banana, fresh spinach, and some hemp protein power. Tend to overeat at dinnertime? Start off your meal with a colorful salad or a bowl of homemade vegetable soup and you’ll be able to increase your vegetable intake while cutting back on the main course. Small changes add up over time, so keep it simple and manageable.

3. Get in the kitchen

One of the best things that you can do for your health is to learn to make meals from scratch in your own kitchen. If you’re new to cooking, start small and aim to prepare a few simple dinners at home over the next month. Soups, curries, and stir fries are great for beginners because they’re almost impossible to mess up!

If you’re already kitchen-savvy, bump it up a notch. Challenge yourself to prepare more ingredients from scratch. For example, learn how to cook your own beans rather than using canned. Or, learn to prepare a style of food that you aren’t as familiar with. The more meals that you prepare yourself the more control you have over what you eat and the healthier you can make it!

4. Find some inspiration (and check out the farmer’s market)

If you find yourself relying on the same dinners every week or starting to lose momentum for making healthier changes, it’s time to get inspired! Check out some new cookbooks, food magazines, or recipes online. Or try venturing to a different part of town and eating at a new restaurant.

I also recommend shopping at your local farmer’s market if you are not doing it already. Not only is eating local and seasonal better for the planet, it’s more affordable, healthier, and tastier. Anyone that’s bitten into a mushy apple in July can tell you about how much better things taste when they’re actually in season. Farmer’s markets also give you the chance to explore new fruits and vegetables and find out recipe suggestions from farmers themselves. Plus, if you go home with a fresh bunch of kale and some ripe tomatoes, you have no excuses not to have some delicious veggies at your next meal.

5. Get support!

It’s always easier (and more enjoyable!) when we try something new with a buddy. Enlist the support of a friend or family member and help each other to make healthier changes. Swap recipes, try out new restaurants together, or send each other home with leftovers from healthy dinners. Having a “health buddy” can help you to feel supported in your decision to eat healthier and stay on track.

6. Don’t stress

Food should be enjoyable, not stressful. If you find yourself worried or stressed about your progress (or maybe lack of progress), take a step back and figure out why. Are you trying to make too many changes at once? Are you stuck and don’t know how to proceed? Are you losing momentum and questioning your reason for making the change in the first place? Once you discover the reason behind the stress, it’s much easier for you to figure out how to manage it and make your transition to healthier eating a more enjoyable one.

7. Be kind to yourself

We all have cravings for less-than-healthy foods from time to time and there are certainly situations that call for a little chocolate. If you are occasionally allowing yourself an extra treat (but are otherwise eating healthy), then embrace it and don’t feel guilty. However, if you find yourself indulging in dessert every night, think about that impact on your decision to eat healthier, then come up with a plan for healthier eating moving forward.

Obsessing and beating yourself up over unhealthy eating isn’t going to inspire you to want to change – it’s going to make you feel guilty! No one likes to feel guilty and it’s certainly not fun to associate food with guilt. Be patient with yourself and know that nobody has a perfect diet, but making healthier choices add up to a healthier and happier lifestyle.

Lessons From My Kitchen...

For the past two years I have been a student at Antioch University earning my Masters Degree in Organizational Psychology. Yesterday I graduated. I figured I had to acknowledge this here because this blog was inspired by my experience in this program. Today I don't have a recipe for you. Instead, I want to take a moment to share with you some of the lessons I have learned in my kitchen and in life.

Seasons change. I could write a paper for you about change, but I will spare you today. Instead, what I think is important to say here is that even though we may fear change and times of transition, our entire lives are about change. You see this in the world around you as the days slowly get longer, shorter, colder, warmer... as the different foods cross your plate with the various seasons... as beautiful people come into your life and some stay while others go.

What are you letting go of today? What are you letting in? On our last day of class we did a closing activity and each shared what we were letting go of and what we were letting in. I think this a wonderful question to ponder at any moment in your life, but on the eve of summer, I think it is especially important to say goodbye to our bittersweet, rainy spring and welcome the new season.

Trust the process. You have no way of knowing what lies ahead of you in your life. Life is all about the unexpected turns and moments that change our path forever. I believe that all we can do in the here and now is focus on the beauty there is around us and trust that we are all heading in the right direction: "Whatever you are meant to do, move toward it and it will come to you." - Gloria Dunn

I have mentioned here before that I do not consider myself to be "a baker." Baking, for me, is about measuring all the ingredients and then hoping, praying, and crossing my fingers that the cake is going to rise. Every time I bake, I have to trust the process. I have to trust that I did the best I could and believe that when I put the cake in the oven it is going to turn out fine. Most of the time, it's a success. But, I have had my share of failed cakes. That's life.

Recipes aren't always right. There have been many times when I have followed a recipe completely only to find the end result rather disappointing. I have learned that the best cooking method, at least for me, is to look at recipes as needed, but trust my own instincts to modify them. You can't rely on a book for everything. Cookbooks and recipes are amazing and helpful, but they can't teach you how to make food. That comes from experience. I believe that the greatest lessons we learn come from our own lives, not books. And if you disagree with a recipe, change it.

Be present. Where is the fun in cooking if you aren't fully present while eating the food? Any time I have ever injured myself in my kitchen, it is because I was not fully present. There are so many distractions today for all of us, but sometimes it is necessary to turn off the phone, the computer, and our internal chatter just to focus on the moment at hand. From my experience, food always tastes better when we slow down, take small bites, and just eat.

Use it or lose it. You cannot hold on to produce forever because it will eventually go bad. I don't know about you, but I know there have been many times when I have wasted food that I love because I was waiting for the "right time" to use it or eat it. Wasted food is a bummer. And wasted opportunities? Big bummer. The lesson here is that there never is a "right time" to do something - there is just that moment. So, use up that favorite food you have been saving, take that vacation you have been putting off, or make that leap in your life that scares you. The time is now.

Food is about community. The best meals I have had are ones that I have shared with others. In our fast-paced world, we often forget about building community or taking the time to focus on our relationships with others. Food is a beautiful way to build community, whether that means designating Wednesdays as "family dinner night", meeting your neighbors in a community kitchen, or volunteering at a local food bank. People need connection with others and good connections often happen over good food.

It's just food. Have fun. And finally, cooking should be fun. Food is about enjoyment and pleasure. Don't take it too seriously and remember that even the worst situations get better with a good sense of humor. :)

My Crazy Green Smoothie

For anyone that knows me, they can testify that I always carry around a jar of green goo. Some days it's bright green. Other days it's dark green. The most common question I get is, "Are you drinking... pesto?" I guess that's what I get for drinking an unfamiliar liquid out of an old jar.

Not pesto. It's most likely kale. Or maybe chard. Some days spinach. Yes, that's right, I blend greens into my smoothies.

Even though I can't see your face right now, I'm guessing you look perplexed, perhaps wondering if you should be grossed out or intrigued.  I promise it's not gross.  It's super easy, super healthy, and makes a perfect breakfast.  All you need is 5 minutes and a blender.

This is where I have to do a little product promotion... have you ever heard of a Vitamix blender? It will change your life and you will never be the same again. You can mix, blend, liquefy anything. It's amazing... believe all the good things you see and hear. Also, there are no chunks, promise! If you blend it correctly, all the stems of greens or seeds from fruit become liquid. (Even I would have to draw the line at a green, chunky smoothie.)

On a non-food note, I have to recommend a book I'm reading: Taming Your Gremlin by Rick Carson. I'm taking a coaching course in a few weeks and this was on the reading list. If you are interested in changing your life and becoming more open to possibility, I would recommend this book. You can also check out their website here.

Your "gremlin" is the negative voice inside your head. From my perspective, gremlin-taming is a process of becoming more aware of yourself and through being aware of your thoughts and actions, creating the life you want to be living. I have to share this one part that really struck me today. Carson has a list of "rules" that are bound to lead to disappointment and unfulfilling relationships. One of them is: "Lead your life in accordance with rules and regulations, and without taking into account your natural desires and the current moment and situation" (Carson, 2003, p. 152).

How often do we do something just because we're "supposed to"? Over the last couple of years, I have become more and more aware that I tend to live my life by the "shoulds," rather than the "wants." And that, ladies and gentlemen, is no fun.

This book is inspiring me to re-examine what's really important in my life and make sure that is where my time and energy are focused. Maybe even (gasp!) break a few "rules" here and there... like making a really green smoothie and letting people think it's pesto. ;)

Here's how to make a green smoothie of your own:
2 cups almond milk (soy or rice work well too)
1 frozen banana (remove the peel, cut into 1-inch slices, and freeze in a plastic bag overnight)
1 cup of frozen berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and/or blackberries, etc)
1 Tbs flax seeds
1 scoop rice protein powder (soy or hemp work well)
Greens: spinach has the mildest flavor and for a beginner, I would recommend starting with 1/2 cup.  As you become used to the taste, you can increase to 1 - 2 cups or try other greens like kale, chard, or collards.

Directions:
Blend milk and greens for 15 seconds - 1 minute (depending on your blender) on high. Then add your fruits and blend for 15 - 30 seconds. Add the flax and protein powder and blend another 15 - 30 seconds.

Eat Your Way to Happiness

I just started reading Eat Your Way to Happiness by Elizabeth Somer. She promises readers "10 secrets to improve your mood, curb your cravings, and keep the pounds off." I was mainly interested in the connection between the foods you eat and how you feel. It's a good book and honestly a pretty quick read since most of it seems common sense. (I skimmed it for about an hour and felt like I covered it all.)

However, I would recommend this book simply because she makes the ideas easily accessible. It reminds me of all the knowledge of Marion Nestle coupled with Brian Wansink's Mindless Eating tips. Her suggestions may seem simple and common sense, but they are things that we often forget or chose to ignore: eat lots of fruits and veggies, watch your portion sizes, don't eat processed foods (and check the labels if you do), get 8 hours of sleep, and exercise daily.

I love her self-assessment "Do you eat like a happy, fit person?" Ashley laughed at me reading this and told me the only self-assessment I needed to do was to look in our fridge, hence, the picture above. I believe, just as Somer points out, that we are what we eat. The healthier we eat and better care we take of ourselves, the better our minds and bodies will feel.

Generally speaking, women raised in our culture tend to grow up with disordered thinking about themselves and their bodies. This is clearly reflected in the growing number of eating disorders and disordered patterns of eating we see around us every day. I appreciate that Somer makes the connection between self-esteem and eating patterns. I agree that if we are happier with ourselves and our lives, we tend to take better care of our bodies and therefore eat better, exercise, and get enough sleep. When we are unhappy and our lives feel out of control, we are more likely to travel the opposite road and take it out on ourselves by eating foods high in fat and sugars that only makes us feel worse.

In planning ahead for my very busy (and final!) quarter of grad school, I've been debating where I can free up some time. I've been considering cutting back on cooking since I usually cook all my meals and only eat out about once a week. However, after reading Somer's book, I rekindled my strong feelings about preparing my own meals. I guess you'll just be seeing a lot more quick meals on here in the next few months. :)

Saturday Morning and the Farmers' Market

I'm turning into one of those people... you know... a real blogger. ;)
One of those bloggers that carry their laptop with them wherever they go just in case they have to blog about something interesting. (You're just lucky I don't have an iPhone... yet.)

This morning I made my weekly stop at the farmers' market. The one in the University District is open year-round. Lots of greens and root vegetables! It's starting to get busy again too. I think all of us Seattleites are anxiously awaiting spring.

After picking up some Brussels sprouts and kale, I stopped at Trabant for some chai (and blogging). This quarter is coming to an end and I keep questioning myself if I've "learned enough." In this moment of reflection, I tell my voice of cynicism to be quiet. I remind myself that learning is a process and there is no end.

The end of this quarter will not signal the end of this blog. This experience has changed my relationship to food - both publicly and privately. I appreciate that this blog that has opened up amazing conversations about food and life which I never would have had without it.

This morning, I came across WhyHunger.org and an amazing article on racism & farmworkers: "Seventy to seventy five percent of the entire agricultural workforce (migrant and non-migrant) in the U.S. are members of racial minority groups" and "farmworkers are the lowest paid occupational group in the United States." Just because a farm sells its organic produce at the local farmers' market does not mean they engage in fair and equitable labor practices. Just something to keep in mind.

There is so much more to food than what meets the eye. I cannot look at my food now without thinking about who grew it (if I even know) or how it was grown (again, if I even know). Food is not just about eating and nutrition. Our food system is so interconnected with issues of labor, race, culture, class, economic status, gender, policy, and the planet. I think my next area of exploration is organizations who are working on community-based solutions for food justice. Uh oh... do I hear another independent study?

Injera, Kale, and Food Justice

Tonight I went to a publication party for Our Food, Our Right: Recipes for Food Justice, a food justice resource guide and recipe book created by The Food Justice Project of the Community Alliance for Global Justice (CAGJ). It's an absolutely awesome resource and includes tons of information - everything from climate change & agriculture to urban gardening to local resources and recipes. There's even facts about workplace sexual violence against farmworkers and low-wage immigrant women. I'm still digesting (both literally and figuratively) all the information from their book, but I'll have to keep you updated on what I learn.

CAGJ also had their famous baked kale. And it was the extra curly kind. Yum, baked kale... this organization spoils my taste buds every time I see them. What a good reputation. :)


I also have to do a shout-out for Hidmo at 20th and S Jackson St. I had never been here before, but it was an adorable restaurant with great food and music. They also have delicious vegan food: Injera (a traditional flat, sour, bread) with salad, red lentils, yellow lentils, cabbage, spinach, green beans, and okra. This picture does not do it justice.

Eat Your Way to Enlightenment

I'm finding myself in a learning predicament. I feel like the more I learn about food, the less I know. I am in a very different place than when I began this course of study back in December.

I've been doing a lot of late-night cooking this week. Posting a new recipe a day is both an amazing gift and a challenge. I've been listening to a lot of Jack Johnson lately and he has become my new cooking buddy. I cannot remember which song it is, but at the end of one of his song tracks, he talks about how surfing is all about operating in the present. I will have to find the clip and share it with you because the way he phrases it is really beautiful.

His comment about operating in the present really struck me. It seems like most of us would agree that our mainstream culture is all about not operating in the present: multi-tasking, skipping meals, and constantly adding things in our planners for the future, but losing touch with the current moment.

I know that I personally struggle with operating in the present, which was one of the reasons I challenged myself to go on a five-day silent meditation retreat back in November. At the retreat, we alternated between sitting meditation and walking meditation. From 5:30 am until 10:30 pm, we performed sitting and walking meditation, with meal breaks and occasional chores. Since there were no distractions of my daily world -- work, my cell phone, my computer, schoolwork, or chatter -- it was easy to remain fully present.

At the end of the retreat, our teacher told us that one of the ways to keep our practice going as we returned to our lives was to pick a daily habit and choose that as our meditation period. For example, every time you shower, use that as an opportunity to be fully present. Or, every time you drink tea, do nothing but drink tea and become present in your body. I never ended up doing this, and sadly, I have not meditated since the retreat... until now.

Tonight I realized I have been meditating while cooking. While cooking I am fully present. I am aware of all the colors, flavors, sounds, and smells of what I am cooking. For the last three weeks, I have made the time and space in my day to cook. It has become my practice.

This got me thinking about eating as a meditation practice and inspired me to find out more. Eating As Meditation and Eat Your Way to Enlightenment are both great resources about mindful eating meditation. This is also an interesting contrast to Mindless Eating, a book by Brian Wansink, that I read a few months ago about how unaware we are of our food and eating habits. I think a huge piece of this journey for me has been becoming present with my food; taking the time to recognize what actually tastes good and what I like eating (not simply what is most nutritious) and allowing the space for food to become a spiritual experience.

The Organic Question

What does organic mean?

Marion Nestle has the answer for this one: “The organic seal tells you that the producers of the foods followed a long list of rules: they did not use any synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers; they did not plant genetically modified seeds, use fertilizer derived from sewage sludge, or treat the seeds or foods with irradiation; and they kept records of everything they did and showed the paperwork and everything on their farms to inspectors from a USDA-accredited state or private certification agency any time they were asked to, announced in advance or not” (2006, P. 42).

Are organics better?

“Given the potential size of the organic market, you can understand why the idea that these foods might be better for you or for the planet so annoys critics. One is Dennis Avery of the Hudson Institute, a conservative Washington D.C., think tank that receives funding from, among other sources, agribusiness corporations like Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, ConAgra, Monsanto, and the National Agricultural Chemicals Association. No wonder these groups fund the institute’s work. Mr. Avery argues that organic methods are so unreliable that they reduce productivity, cause higher prices, and therefore, threaten the food security of the world’s most vulnerable populations. Organic farming, he says, is an environmental disaster, an imminent danger to wildlife, and a hazard to the health of its own consumers. Strong words, indeed.

Consider first what is at stake. If farmers switched to organics, the makers of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides would suffer. If you decided to buy organics, you would buy fewer conventionally grown foods. And if more of your friends bought organic foods you all might go as far as to demand government subsidies for organics rather than for conventionally grown corn and soybeans. Research on the kinds of issues Avery raises also cannot help but have political biases. … Fortunately, some questions about organics have been researched and do have clear answers. One such question is about productivity. As early as the mid-1970s, studies began to question the idea that agricultural efficiency necessarily depends on fertilizers and pesticides. In 1981, a review of such studies came to surprising conclusions: farmers who converted from conventional to organic methods reported only small declines in yields, but the loss in income was offset by lower fuel costs. The study found that the farms were equally profitable, but the organic production kept the soil in much better shape. More recent studies confirm these results. Overall they show that organic farms are nearly as productive, leave the soils healthier, and use energy more efficiently. The productivity issue seems settled” (Nestle, p. 45).

What are the benefits of organic produce?

Again, I defer to Nestle and the What to Eat bible for the answer: “If crops are grown without pesticides, it seems self-evident that fewer pesticides will get into the soil and water, foods will contain less of them, and people who eat organic foods will have lower levels of pesticides in their bodies. Plenty of research confirms these obvious connections. Organically grown foods do have lower levels of pesticides, and children and adults who eat them have lower levels in their bodies. Avery and his fellow critics say: ‘So what? Pesticides are safe.’ As evidence, they say that nobody has ever died from eating the small amounts of pesticide residues on food. Oh, please. Pesticides are demonstrably harmful to the farmworkers and ‘nontarget’ wildlife, and they accumulate in soils for ages. If they kill pests, can they be good for you? If they really were all that benign, there would be no reason for the government to bother to regulate them, but it does. Scientists may not be able to quantify the degree of harm they cause, but that does not mean that pesticides are safe for you. This is also a settled issue. Pesticide-free produce may not look as pretty, but if you want fewer pesticides in your body and in the bodies of your children, buy organics. If you want fewer pesticides in soil and water, organics are also a good idea” (p. 45)

Pollan also echos this sentiment that organic is better for the environment, farmers, and public health: “If the high price of my all-organic meal is weighted against the comparatively low price it exacted from the larger world, as it should be, it begins to look, at least in karmic terms, like a real bargin” (2006, p. 182).

Great! Organic looks like “the answer”! Let’s all switch to eating organic produce!

Hmm, not so fast. Even with all of the benefits of farming organically, there are still problems: “And yet, and yet… an industrial organic meal such as mine does leave deep footprints on our world. The lot of the workers who harvested the vegetables and gathered up Rosie for slaughter is not appreciably different from that of those on nonorganic factory farms. The chickens lived only marginally better lives than their conventional counterparts. … But perhaps most discouraging of all, my industrial organic meal is nearly as drenched in fossil fuel as its conventional counterpart. … Today it takes between seven and ten calories of fossil fuel energy to deliver one calorie of food energy to an American plate. And while it is true that organic farmers don’t spread fertilizers made from natural gas or spray pesticides made from petroleum, industrial organic farmers often wind up burning more diesel fuel than their conventional counterparts … All told, growing food organically uses about a third less fossil fuel than growing it conventionally, according to David Pimental, though that savings disappears if the compost is not produced on site or nearby” (Pollan, p. 183).

The other issue that comes up with the topic of organic is cost. Produce in general is far more expensive than processed foods. For example, a salad is going to cost more than a fast-food cheeseburger, whether or not that salad is organic. This all has to do with federal policies (e.g. The farm bill) and the fact that the U.S. government subsidizes corn and soy, the main ingredients in a cheeseburger.

After all of this reading this quarter, here are my thoughts about buying organic:

• Organic produce is more expensive, but I believe that the extra cost is worth the benefits for the planet, the public, and less pesticide residue in my body. I cannot always afford to buy organic produce, but I recognize my privilege that I can buy some organic items and afford produce in general.
  

• Organic produce may not be “the answer” to fixing the issues within our food system, but it provides a lot of good benefits.

What produce contains the most pesticides?

In September 2008, Vegetarian Times had an article by Cindy Burke on "How to Buy Organic." Here are her recommendations:

Vegetables
Buy organic:

• Beets
• Bell Peppers (all colors)
• Carrots
• Celery
• Collard Greens, Salad Greens, Swiss Chard
• Cucumbers
• Green Beans
• Potatoes
• Spinach
• Winter Squash

OK to buy nonorganic:

• Asparagus
• Avocados
• Broccoli
• Brussels Sprouts
• Cauliflower
• Cabbage
• Corn, sweet
• Eggplant (all varieties)
• Garlic
• Onions (all varieties)
• Rhubarb
• Sweet Potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Zucchini
  

Nuts, Seeds, & Legumes
Buy organic:

• Almonds
• Peanuts (and peanut butter)
• Pecans
• Soy foods

OK to buy nonorganic:

• Beans, dried
• Cashews
• Macadamia nuts
• Sesame seeds

Fruits
Buy organic:

• Apples
• Apricots
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Cherries
• Grapes (imported)
• Lemons
• Limes
• Oranges
• Pears
• Raspberries
• Strawberries

OK to buy nonorganic:

• Blueberries
• Cantaloupe (domestic)
• Bananas
• Grapes (domestic)
• Grapefruit, Tangerines
• Mangoes
• Watermelons
  

The Dirty Dozen
According to the Environmental Working Group, these are the 12 most pesticide-laden conventionally grown fresh fruits & vegetables.

1. Peaches
2. Apples
3. Bell Peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Lettuce
9. Grapes
10. Pears
11. Spinach
12. Potatoes

Read Burke's whole article here

References:

Burke, C. (2008, September). How to buy organic. Vegetarian Times, 361(34), 52-55.

Nestle, M. (2006). What to Eat. North Point Press.

Pollan, M. (2007). The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. Penguin Press, New York.

For the Love of Food

I feel like I have had several personal transformational moments in the last couple of weeks. I have started reading Barry Glassner’s “The Gospel of Food” and was struck by the way that he begins the book: “The word ‘enjoy’ appears in the official dietary guidelines issued by the governments of Britain, South Korea, Thailand, and Australia. Norway comes right out and declares, ‘food and joy = health.’ The United States’ dietary guidelines, faithful to our Puritan roots, say nothing about enjoyment. It’s high time we correct that omission” (2007, p. 1).

These transformational moments are what have inspired me to begin this blog. I’m starting to look at my relationship to food in a different way. When I was a teenager I used to use food as an emotional comfort. When I was upset, food calmed me down – and specifically, sweet fatty foods. Food meant gaining weight and therefore, food began to be equated with guilt.

When I moved to college and began living on my own, I started changing the kinds of foods I ate. I started eating vegetables and fruits. I started working out. I began to feel better about my body and my life.

Then I became very ill with several digestive issues. I had suffered from stomach pains all my life, but it became unbearable and I could barely sleep through the night. Every few months I was in the emergency room. I was on and off different medications, seeing specialists, and having every test performed. I'll spare you the details, but this went on for years and I still kept suffering from debilitating stomach pains. At one point I was even told by a doctor to stop eating fruits and vegetables. To me, this recommendation seemed to be exactly the opposite of what I would want to do.

The medications didn’t help and I began to realize that I needed to know more about food because I believed it would make me better. I first cut dairy out of my diet. I had suspicions I was lactose-intolerant and instantly I noticed a difference. Then I cut out meat. Initially, my decision to become vegetarian/vegan had nothing to do with animals. It was more about simplifying my diet and trying to figure out what was causing me pain.

I had been working in food service for three years and then started working at Chaco Canyon Organic Cafe. I learned a ton about food allergies and then began an elimination diet – no soy, wheat, gluten, dairy, sugar – for two months. This taught me what foods upset my system and helped me to see what I could eat. The last time I was in an emergency room was in the spring of 2008, which is a miracle.

However, this past week has made me realize that I have forgotten about food in terms of pleasure. Now I look at food in terms of health and how it will make me feel. Not that healthy food can’t taste great, but I have simply forgotten the joy of eating food.

After working on our Change Project the other day, my group mates, Erin and Sam, took me out for Ethiopian. I had never had Ethiopian food and I was a little skeptical, but it was absolutely amazing. This experience has inspired me to begin creating a different relationship with food.

I was on a five-day silent meditation retreat back in November and I remember eating the soup that was made for us and thinking how amazing it was. The meal breaks were an hour and a half, more than enough time to sit and savor the flavors of the meal. I want to bring this practice into my daily life. I want to find the time to really enjoy the foods I eat and remember that health does not simply come from healthy eating, but joyful eating as well.

References:
Glassner, B. (2007). The gospel of food. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.