I eat some of the most amazing food in the world, and I cook it all myself. This is something I would never have said let alone claimed, even just a few years ago. My delicious diet is forever getting yummier and yummier and so much easier, simpler and more fun to make. In fact, I made a meal this morning; it was super delicious food to eat and super yummy in the body. My food is nothing special, anyone can make it. Yet my diet is free of dairy, wheat (and other similar grains), alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, sugar, excessive salts, yeast and many other things considered ‘normal’ to eat. When I present the simplicity and yumminess of my food, people often find it hard to understand that my diet is free of almost everything (not quite, though 🙂 ) that you can buy at the supermarket. In fact, I often skip whole aisles at the supermarket because almost everything in that aisle has something in it I choose not to eat! It’s not the fact that my food is so super yummy that people find hard to grasp. Nope, it is the fact that I can make soups, curries, dips, crackers, pancakes, smoothies, roasts, salads and lots of other things from an ever expanding range of foods I cook.
FAQ’s ABOUT MY SUPER DELICIOUS DIET AND MY CHOICE TO EAT DAIRY AND GLUTEN FREE
When I have been asked what’s in my diet, what it is that I eat and why I eat the things I do choose to eat, I have often said, “Well, because I am dairy and gluten free”. I came to realise the other day that I have been using this as a way of ‘freeing’ (pun intended) myself from the responsibility of presenting the real reason I choose to eat the things I do. Most people who are ‘gluten and dairy free’ don’t actually want to be gluten and dairy free. Most of the people I talk to that are, hate it and think it is a curse. Many actually want to be eating gluten and dairy as part of their diet, when their body is clearly telling them that it is not OK for it when they do so.
As a society we tend to class people in a separate category, like in the ‘gluten and dairy free’ box, if they exhibit extreme signs of a condition as a result of being intolerant to gluten or dairy. We often don’t connect with the reality that maybe our bodies do signal to us the signs of gluten or dairy intolerance on a much less extreme scale.
For instance, in my experience gluten and dairy dulls the body. It makes me heavy, bloated and leaves me feeling very lethargic and not very vivacious. Not to mention the fact that for me now, food containing gluten and dairy just doesn’t seem to have the same yumminess as food I have come to make that doesn’t contain it at all. So by choice I do not have gluten and dairy in my diet. Simple. I could class myself as ‘gluten and dairy free’, but in truth a more correct way for me would be to say “My diet is free of dairy and gluten”, as it recognises the fact that my diet is based on a choice to eat foods I feel honour and support me and my body as I work throughout my day… resulting in a very simple yummy and delicious diet! My diet is so super yummy, not only because the food actually tastes so super good, but also because the food is what my body actually needs to support it throughout the entire day.
In my experience, dairy and gluten (not to mention the other things my diet is now free of, like alcohol), inhibits the body and its natural flow during the day. It does not support it but rather abuses and harms it.
Want proof of this? Well, have a pie, or cake or huge slab of chocolate. Enjoy the taste, sure. But feel the body afterwards. Actually stop and feel it. Be honest…
- Does your body feel racy?
- Does it feel heavy or bloated?
- Do you feel alive and ready to work?
- Do you feel that chocolate bar that was so super deliciously yummy supports your body going through the day?
Some people have asked me if I ever get tempted to have a treat day and binge out on those ‘bad foods’ I used to have, like chocolate. My answer: “Nope, never”. The reason: because my food now is so super yummy that there would be no reason to! And after all, why on earth would I ever go back to wanting to feel bloated, heavy, lethargic, slow, unproductive, abusive (to the body) and all the other symptoms I – and many others – get from eating foods that are clearly harmful to the body, let alone lacking in what the body truly needs to support it in its activity? How do I make my delicious diet of super scrumptious, delicious and divinely yummilicious food?… Not from a cook book per se, but from listening to my body. It’s that simple. Forever inspired by the work of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine. By Josh Campbell, 20, University Student, NZ
391 Comments
I agree Joshua, if people hear I am on a gluten free and dairy free diet they often feel pity or the need to commiserate, but I don’t feel I’m missing out on foods, because I’m not missing the awful symptoms both gluten and dairy gave my body.
You make an important point about being gluten and dairy free as opposed to choosing not to eat gluten or dairy as the first is very much based on having to let something go (and our free from supermarket sections highlight this), as well as suggesting we’re missing out, which of course leads us to find substitutes, rather than just approaching it as you describe here, that you do not eat gluten or dairy but you do eat x,y,z, and it’s all from a completeness in you and in your body and based on what you and your body need. Very different and very inspiring.
Our relationship with food as a civilisation has certainly veered very much away from being that which nourishes and refuels our body in order to be able to move with greater vitality, to that which seems to be focused on rewards, entertainment and escaping with flavours taking over from nutritional value and the impact of what we are consuming has on our body and being. Our bodies are an incredible vehicle that offer us the opportunity to live in connection to an awareness or intelligence that is ‘out of this world’ divine, and when this had been tangibly glimpsed we realise that the only thing that we are missing out on is living in connection to more of that awareness.
The more we nourish the body with food that is loving and supportive the more the body speaks volumes of the vitality we can live. Our choices are given in each moment to feel and fuel what is asked.
There is eating for reward and then there is eating for the sustenance and nutrients that the body needs. And personally I find that eating for reward is satisfying at the beginning, but always leaves me feeling yuck at the end, which isn’t really much of a reward after all….
I agree – I never thought that I would be involved most days in the cooking of our food either but it is actually worth it.
What I find is that it is not just about what you eat but the quality that it is prepared in. Often now when I go out to restaurants rarely does it measure up to the quality of food that I eat at home. I used to be a serial fast fooder and my weight and health paid the consequences for those choices, now I love cooking and preparing food in a way that I know I love.
I agree – the hardest part of preparing really nice food in a supportive way is not to each too much of it.
I am holidaying in Vietnam with my husband at the moment and the locals are amazed by the simple way we eat. Eliminating food from ones diet does not equal restriction, it actually opens up a world of true freedom.
Thank you Joshua, what a gorgeous blog – so real, raw, honest and straightforward. We need to approach our lives and choices with more honesty and see what it is we are actually feeding? Are we truly feeding the body in its purpose or are we entertaining the need of our greedy neediness of our spirit?
Love the way you back yourself Joshua. True yummy food is not the party-in-the-mouth that we think it is, but eating just what your body needs. Then the yummyness spreads so it’s not just in the food but in yummy you.
When we start feeling the effects certain things have on our body and remove them from our diet and cut out things like salt and sugar it is quite amazing how simple foods start tasting pretty amazing. I was just munching on some lettuce a while back and couldn’t believe how sweet it tasted whereas in the past I would only eat lettuce swimming in mayo.
Perhaps there is also a deeper reason why many people don’t eat gluten, dairy and don’t drink alcohol. Because their body feels yummy ALREADY and things like alcohol take that feeling away.
When someone appears challenged by my dietary choices I quite often subsequently learn that they are ignoring the messages from their own bodies about one or more of the substances I no longer choose to eat so they do not want to be reminded of this and can react negatively because of this.
My diet is also free of many ingredients that so many seem to feel are essential to the enjoyment of consuming food but what it definitely now includes is the choice to take care of my body and all it communicates with me.
I have also left behind all things that do not support my body. If something should slip in, the body wastes no time to inform me of its presence. In the past, the signals were always there but had been overridden and ignored.
It’s not that one can skip whole aisles in the supermarket, it is that one can actually skip along those aisles 🙂
Supermarkets are good for exercise if raining and you want to go for a walk. Nowadays the farmers market is the right size and has almost everything we require.
What a great way to start the day with your explanation of yummy food and I agree a diet free of gluten, dairy, sugar, salt, alcohol and caffeine definitely does all the things you have shared and may I add that it allows me to work to be of service to others. Making the way of eating not just to serve my body but also to humbly share there is a different way and that it can be as simple as you have shared Josh.
Having lived for many years abusing my body with the food I was eating I now, like you Josh, choose to nurture and nourish it instead, and boy is this new level of love and care worth it. These days the experience of having a few seconds of taste pleasure in my mouth is definitely not worth the day or two of misery in my body that will inevitably follow if I eat something that it cannot deal with. Living in harmony with my body is the foundation for living in harmony in my life.
Thank you Josh, eating and living in a way that supports our body is a very joyful way to live. I have found listening to the body and respecting its signals for what is or is not good for it has helped my health and wellbeing, which means not wanting or needing foods that are harmful but might give me a lift, buzz or comfort temporarily. Particularly taking care of my sleep pattern and reducing causes of exhaustion, as well as healing emotional hurts and trauma with the Universal Medicine Therapies has changed my relationship with food.
It has become normal to think it is normal to feel like sleeping after a big meal or not being able to do much afterwards but what if this is actually a sign from our bodies that says this food is not for me? There are foods out there that we can eat and feel nourished by without the heaviness and sleepiness afterwards so why not choose those?
I can’t get over how good a plain lettuce leaf can taste these days, I used to have to smother lettuce in mayo to be able to eat it but the more we remove things like salt and sugar and simplify cooking the more we can appreciate the natural taste of foods.
I’m the same Joshua free from ALL those harming foods and substances. There is no way I could have done this without the esoteric modalities – they bring a state of harmony back to the body that I don’t want to disrupt and only confirm with super-delicious food that I cook daily. Boyaa ! Universal Medicine!
Having a diet that suits your body exactly is a very precious thing because this is supportive not only for the digestive system but also for one’s confidence too.
Most importantly eating great and healthy food FEELS amazing, for me food is a question of how I want to feel – do I want to feel amazing or do I want to eat whatever I want?
While I have been gluten and dairy free for years I have struggled with sugar. I have used this as a ‘pick me up’ but in truth it leaves me feeling more irrational, exhausted and struggling to get through the day. Recently I have taken all sugar out of my diet and it has been intense- the withdrawals, dizziness, cravings, moods- its all coming up as I detox myself off of this, well you could say- drug.
Our body communicates to us loud and clear what it is feeling in any given moment we choose to listen to it – so why do we all too often choose to ignore what it is exactly telling us?
Eating without gluten or dairy is for me such normal way of life that I don’t call it a diet but a way of living. I eat different things, and consider feeling vital as my normal.
I love being gluten and dairy free, the way I feel in my body after eating and my ability to cope with the day and with whatever is in front of me is way more important than the taste in my mouth and the adverse effects many great tasting foods have on our body for days, if not weeks afterwards.
When people hear me say I am gluten, diary, sugar, salt, alcohol etc free diet – their response is often -‘what do you eat then?’
Even the word ‘diet’ alone makes them go into reaction of it having restrictions and fear of missing out on foods. There is this expectation that I have severe bodily reactions for me to exclude these items in my eating style but there is no comprehension that the tell tale signs are always there – its a matter of choice whether we listen or not.
And when you mentioned you ‘skip’ whole aisles – it is something I often do. Many of the packaged foods have hidden ingredients unless you are a vigilant shopper and literally read every packaging whilst you shop.
Like you I prefer the simple fresher foods and add my quality to it – I know what’s in it and what I am serving my body.
Yes, I too have observed the same reaction in people when I say I don’t eat some so common foods like gluten and dairy. In the beginning I reacted too by contracting and hiding myself for me to not being asked about my diet, but this wasn’t the solution. Now I honour my food choices and if someone asks me, I naturally express the reasons. The reactions usually remain, but I realise that there is a reason for that. Some people feel exposed with their careless choices and this makes them feel uncomfortable. Some people have never questioned their diet and this opens up a new option for them. Some people have the opportunity of discovering a different approach that may enrich their growing healthy food choices… In any case, I love living this naturally now, respecting myself as I do so to others, knowing that what I live and share makes a difference not only in my life.
What we don’t realise is food can also affect the connection to our being (our essence), but once we live separated from our essence then food can become a comfort we strongly hold onto – the thought of living without certain foods and drinks can feel awful. But the truth is once we can reconnect to our essence, to the true self within, the joy of that cannot be matched by any outer experience, and eating to love our body and remain in connection to ourselves is part of living that joy. We truly deeply miss ourselves and letting go of harmful foods is no big deal when we consider the bigger picture of the misery that comes from having let go of our true selves.
True – eating without using gluten, dairy, salt or sugar, etc. is super yummy and I am forever amazed how much choice there actually is and how many different ways I can come up with to put things together differently.
What disappears, over time and this is a learning process, is the identification with food as ‘culture’ and I get to feel more that it is nothing but a very dense consciousness, trying to tell us, mainly, that whatever sells, is also good for us. And that is, when listening to the body and checking out the supermarket aisles, very far from the truth.
I love food and cooking and I never thought I would say that. Since I have changed to a GF, DF, Sugar Free, caffeine and alcohol free diet, something amazing has changed within me. The simpler my diet the more I love and celebrate the gorgeous natural colour, flavours and appreciation cooking brings me
The belief that healthy and nutritious food doesn’t taste as good is a million miles from the truth – I would go as far as to say it actually tastes better, the rumour that to eat foods that actually support our body do not taste as good is simply a great excuse that we use to not make the right choices.
Great article Josh on loving your body in respect to your daily food choices. the body knows what supports and nourishes it, we will know if we choose to listen and choose foods that give us vitality and what foods deplete us of energy, for me gluten and dairy are definitely out.
What a beautiful and loving testimony to the dietary choices you make Joshua; very inspirational, thank you.
Initially it can seem very daunting to consider letting go of the accepted ‘normal’ foods containing gluten, dairy sugar etc. or how such food can ever be delicious. However, with perseverance and truly acknowledging how one’s body feels rather than the taste it then becomes a ‘no-brainer’, as you describe Joshua. My diet has now become so simple yet it is so full of flavour and I feel revitalised and nourished from it.
When we start to reconnect with who we truly are, we naturally develop a more intimate relationship with food that supports our bodies and reflects the lightness, simplicity, and yumminess within ourselves.