Oh How I've Missed You!

Today marks my return.

There have been many changes during my absence: I gave birth; I got married; I moved, twice! Amongst all of this I wondered if under the pressure of having a child, would I still adhere to my particular ways of eating in which I have placed much importance. I can happily conclude that I've done better!

Recently, I mentioned to my father-in-law (a homeopathic doctor) how my hair has dried out considerably and acne has broken out on my face ever since I gave birth. He said that my thyroid is probably weakened and its a normal thing that happens to women after giving birth...

"...ok cool...

...but this is NOT cool. What should I eat?" He told me seaweed; but I also decided at that moment to be more digestibly responsible and steer clear of 2 main ingredients that could be stressing my systems and worsening the symptoms of dry hair and blemished skin:

Sugar and Dairy.

Its been about a month since my personal pledge and I must say I've been VERY diligent. The 2 main pieces of sugar I consume regularly now are fruit (mostly organic) and juices. I am weening myself of juice. I want it! But I dilute my glass with as much as half water and I don't allow more than 16 oz. worth in a day.

I had started to notice success in the skin department around 5 days out. That motivated me to continue and stick to it and do better! I stopped buying bread that lists 'sugar' as an ingredient. ( My bread of choice for the moment is Healthy Delights). I stopped using ketchup and stopped picking at white breads and white flour crackers at gatherings.

Its been about 4 weeks now and my pimples have all receded, most are completely gone and the quality of my skin now has a mild 'glow' rather than a dull yellow-tinted appearance.

Dairy intake has been low but not gone. About 1/2 the week I am dairy free and when it is consumed it has been in the form of waffle batter, Caesar dressing, or some other small or mild version of it. Interestingly, I do not believe that it has much of an effect on my skin. I say this because if I eat, lets say, pasta with an alla vodka sauce (which has cream) I may get more phlegm-y, but my skin doesn't have a reaction. In my case, it looks as if sugar does much of the damage and small amounts of dairy (at least on a low sugar diet) does not effect my acne.

My face is not perfect yet, but I will keep you updated.

p.s. One Time For The Sun
I would also like to add that about 2 weeks in, I spent a few hours at the beach under the sun and within 24 hours there was a vast improvement in the appearance of my pimples, so 1 TIME FOR THE SUN AND ITS ABUNDANCE OF VITAMIN D! I SEE YOU SUN!

Changing Supermarkets

After a year, I found that I was unsatisfied with the selection I was given at my local supermarket. I passed a Fresh Market on my way home from work and decided to check it out. I FELT AS IF I WAS IN A NINTH DIMENSION OF LUXURIOUS PEOPLE WHO SIP FAIR TRADE COFFEE AND NIBBLE ON FRENCH CHEESES WHILE SHOPPING FOR GROCERIES. I was impressed!
So I decided to pick up something, anything.
I was like a kid in a candy store. There were so many things I had never seen or even heard of before, it was so cool.

So I get home to my roommates and gush about the lavish experience I had just had. Luckily, we were all somewhat interested in health (on different levels) so we decided to head out there together for choice items.

Long story short, we began to do our grocery shopping solely at Whole Foods, Wild Oats, and Fresh Market. Before long, our kitchen was absolutely over 75% Organic.

This was the next step to a healthier me: changing to a whole food grocer.

Try it,

~Turmeric

Going Organic

After about 2 years of being conscious that I had been an unhealthy person, I had controlled my fast-food addiction and soda consumption. I had read some information on foods in the supermarkets and the chemicals used to raise them. I read the effects said chemicals had over time on the health of humans, animals, plant life, and soil. I have always been environmentally conscious. In my decision to begin buying some produce and food organic, it was more for Mother Earth than for me.

I deduced that the most important products to buy organic was Dairy and Meat; and so this is how I began my Organic journey. I told myself that I would never buy non-organic meat or dairy from a supermarket every again...and I never went back on that. There are many many many reasons why I decided this is where my organic path should start. Some of those reasons I have spoken of in earlier blogs.

The second group of foods that I decided to only buy organic at all costs were berries: Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries. The reason: 1- Berries are extremely important to health, so I eat a lot of them, therefore I need them to be good for me which leads me to 2 - Their thin skin. Berries have extremely thin and pourous skin that allows the pesticides to permeate the fruit. When tested for chemical residue, berries are amongst the highest in concentration. Thicker skinned fruit like oranges and bananas score lower.

If you are following my story, this is 2 years into actively becoming a more healthy human being that I began to buy all my Meat, Dairy, and Berries organic.

~Turmeric

Getting Started

I had nasty food habits. I was a fast food junkie who's favorite drink was Cola. When I got my license, I lived at the drive thrus. I ate fast food at least 4 times a week. I was also a gluton. I was told this since the age of 6. I ate so much and adored food. I ate good things too, but I had a food obsession. My day revolved around when I was eating and what I was going to eat.

In 2004 I found myself with no medical insurance and it suddenly clicked for me. I may not be able to control if I get hit by a car, but I can control my health. I did not even know where to start, but I started somewhere. I began to research and research and research. I read articles, books, magazines, journals, you name it. I found out a lot, which is the reason for this blog. But let me tell you how I started and maybe this may give you some ideas.

The first chore was breaking my addiction to fast food. This took me about 1 year. I was still going after a year, but more like a normal person. I began with just completely not going, but 3 weeks later, I would ferociously tear up fast food for a week. I then decided to go 6 days on (meaning not eating fast food), 1 day off. This worked best for me but everybody is different and it may not work best for you. I am just throwing out ideas and what I went through.

Along with breaking my fast food addiction, I found it pertinent to halt soda consumption. I stopped carrying it in my home which was a big help. I didn't miss it at home because I love other drinks to. At parties and such, I would feel bad for drinking it, but I rationalized to myself that I was going slowly and it was okay. I stopped drinking it at home, but I allowed myself (initially) to drink if it was available at a gathering.

Guys, this took a year of work for me. It was not easy. Do not beat yourselves up ever. Find your pace and go with that.

Next week I will go through the nitty gritty of the next step I took.

~Turmeric

Milks Of All Forms! (It's Dairy Substitution Time!!!)

This is by far my favorite topic when it comes to nutrition. Dairy Substitutes. We are lucky in this day and age that there are so many options. In the 70's, those vegetarians/vegans didn't have too many places to turn. We have it easy!

Ok!

Let's tackle the biggest product first: milk.
There are SOOO many options:
1- Soy Milk
2- Rice Milk
3- Hazelnut Milk
4 -Oat Milk
5- Hemp Milk (yes, you read right)
6 - Almond Milk (my personal favorite)
...and there is an exciting new option from a company that claims they are the only ones producing it
7- Coconut Milk drink!!!!!!

{NOW, rewind to my 2nd blog. I SAID THIS. I said that I created my own coconut milk concoction that works as a great substitute because its thick like milk. I just found out about this product A WEEK ago. (I should've acted on it!)}

Most of the milk options are wonderful AND Healthful too! Soy Milk is the only one that has its issues, but I'll tackle that in the months to come.

Let's go to spreadables. Where does one turn if butter is no longer an option:
1- Jam/Jelly (tried and true)
2- Hummus/Tahini
3- Canola Oil solid spread (hard to find. Only in natural food grocers)
4- Honey (indeed!)

Ok, making fantastic progress here. I hope you are all taking vigorous notes!
Yogurts:
1-Soy yogurt
2- Coconut milk yogurt (from the same company that makes the coconut milk drink)

Sour Cream:
1- Guacamole
2- Soy sour cream

Cheese:
1-Rice milk cheese
2-Soy milk cheese (some brands of Soy cheese actually still contain small amounts of dairy, so be mindful to read ingredients.

I would like to say that dairy from Goats and Sheep are far easier to digest than the dairy from cows. So if you are not ready to eliminate cheese from your diet, try taking baby steps by purchasing Goat Cheese and/or Pecorino, which is sheep's milk cheese. I used to sprinkle grated pecorino on my pastas like parmasian. It honestly tastes better. I dare you to call me on it!

Dairy deserts:
1- Soy ice cream
2- Coconut milk ice cream (you guessed it, from the same company as the above coconut milks)
3- Raw Cacao
- This means in a chocolate bar form
- And it means as a chocolate powder to mix with your choice of nut milks.

If you have questions on specific products that you'd like to substitute for a non-dairy version OR questions on the brand names to the food items I have listed, just write a response, I'll answer all questions within a week...and with much love.

Good Luck

~Turmeric

p.s. This concludes the Month of July series on Substitutions. Next month will be tactics and strategies to adopt a new way of eating (trust me, I did NOT get this way over night)

Answers to the Food Coloring problem

As I wrote on my blog in March, Food coloring is basically in everything....edible and non-edible. I will not write a long list as I have done these past weeks of acceptible substitutes because there are too many.

What I will do is insist we all read labels. Whatever product it is: a loaf of bread, candybar, oatmeal, pasta, jam...whatever; read the labels. Food coloring is snuck into everything.

Companies that keep good practicing standards when it comes to food use food as food coloring. Natural food products with a reddish to purplish hue use extracted colors from beets. A yellow, orange, or brownish hue is usually attributed to annatto, which is a spice.

As you continue on your personal exploration for a better, healthier you, you will find those companies that "naturally" color their food.


I wish you health,
~Turmeric

Answers No. 3

Where to go to avoid Enriched, Bromated and Bleached items.

Get out of regular supermarkets. You can't find what you are looking for there.

1) For breads go to an organic or natural foods grocer. Some great grains include Spelt, Kamut, Oat, Buckwheat and Bulgar Wheat.
2) For pastas, do the same. Plus, there are non-flour options for pasta like Rice pasta, Spinach pasta, and Quinoa pasta.

Get ready to chow down, y'all

~Turmeric