Changing diets ... again

These last two weeks have been very up and down.

I've loved the winter weather, 

both the cold, cold days, and the milder sunny days, too.

I'd be quite happy if this was our weather all year round.

And then there's food.

My life is revolving around food.

First Laura had to give up dairy and sugar (on top of gluten)

three weeks ago. We've managed that, kind of.

(The butterfly cake above is GF, DF and sugarfree,

filled with cashew cream.)

And then I was told to give up sugar and limit starches.

Considering that my diet is already very limited

(no gluten, dairy, high salicylates, or high amines)

it makes for quite a challenge.

Under a nutrition's advice, my diet at the moment

revolves around nuts, coconut, chia seeds, sunflower seeds,

chicken, fish, lamb, eggs, (limited) vegetables and (very limited) fruit.

Coconut, nuts other than cashews, chia and sunflower seeds are foods 

that I normally avoid so I'm hoping that over time I can cope with them.

So far, there have been some reactions, but nothing too unbearable.

This morning I was called to do a day's casual teaching
(for only the second time all year)

and I had to come up with some morning tea and lunch for myself

that fitted all the requirements but also had to be nut-free for school

and ready in 5 minutes.

Yikes! Luckily I had a few bits and pieces in the fridge to throw together,

and fortunately I was too busy at school to feel hungry ;-)

   

Anyway, I'm learning some (more) lessons about food.

 Not just how to cook without some (lots of) foods,

or what is good for you, although there's been a lot of that,

but about my attitudes  and approaches towards food.

This seems to be an ongoing process in my life in the last 5 years.

1. Food is for nourishment. I'm grateful for the energy food gives me,

even if it sometimes is not to my taste.

(although I'm not sure I'll ever like papaya, sorry Ms Nutritionist).

2. A body can get used to anything. I've gotten used to drinking hot water instead of tea,

and giving up chocolate and all sorts of other good-tasting foods, I can change my diet again.

3. Cooking with new foods and new methods takes time. 

Give myself lots of time, and start with a clean bench. 

(Unfortunately my bench looks nothing like this at the moment,

being covered with coconut products, seeds, nuts etc. that don't fit in the pantry)

4. Don't beat myself up about cooking failures, the cost of health foods,

or rejection of foods by certain family members. It's all a learning curve.

Girls' afternoon tea one day, one cupcake tray each. No one ate the dates. One girl wasn't sure about the cacao spread.

5. I'm so grateful I have a Thermomix, it's a real time-saver

and saves my muscles too, heating and stirring weird and wonderful ingredients.

6. Food tastes better outside, with good company.

(and no, he doesn't always smile like this!)