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
402 Comments
Josh, this is fantastic – I too have experienced people asking ‘well surely it would be okay if you had a little bit of ….’, as I have chosen not to eat some foods as they don’t feel good in my body. How crazy that it is so ingrained that we ‘have’ to eat all the ‘normal’ foods otherwise it is considered odd – even though there are many people who I have spoken to that have agreed that when eating foods such as gluten/dairy/alcohol, it does inhibit how you normally feel – in fact I’m sure that many people have felt the sluggishness after having some of these foods – it comes down to the question of what do we value more – the quality of how we are living in our bodies day-to-day, or the 5 minutes of great taste?
A great refreshing sharing Josh on how yummy your meals and food naturally are. We are amazing beings, so only feeding ourselves meals that support this makes so much sense.
Well said Monica, I agree and have had similar experiences.
Gosh Josh! 😀 I loved reading this and really enjoy the way you write.
‘“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.’ … I too have known this and the truth is, I used to initially want to still eat these foods although knowing they did not support me as I had felt the effects of them on my body. Over a few years of dropping these foods from my diet and choosing foods that support me more I feel much clearer and really enjoy super simple meals.
Such a cool blog…I agree there are so many yummy foods to eat… gluten & dairy free. Not eating gluten and dairy has made such a difference to my body and my life. No more bloating and heaviness in my body after a meal or feeling tired. I definitely do not miss the foods that contain them both.. I would never want to go back to the way I used to feel. I not only feel lighter now, but I have also noticed how much the texture in my skin has changed.
Super yummy blog Josh, I love that you break down the gluten and diary free box people get put into or put them selves into.
I chose not to eat gluten and diary in my diet, and one of the aisles I skip out at the supermarket is the gluten and dairy free aisle, as it basically contains a whole load of gluten and dairy free foods that still make me feel heavy, bloated, racy and sick, i.e. cakes, breads, biscuits, pasta, sugary snacks, and they seem to contain worse ingredients that usual products.
Another lovely and inspiring blog josh thank you. I love how you claim the choices you have made. ‘ 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”, I love this Josh how the placement of these words completely changes its meaning and feeling and tells a whole other story. It clearly speaks of a choice that you have actively engaged with rather than something that has been imposed upon you. I’m inspired Josh I’m no longer going to describe my diet as gluten and dairy free but my diet is free of dairy and gluten. Feels so light . Thank you.
Josh, I love what you said about your range of food you cook with is actually expanding. I have felt the same thing, and preparing meals for the whole work week (both dinners and lunches) just feels so supportive for our whole family and quite fun when we do it all together. I have found that it brings us closer and I feel very connected with my body cooking great gluten and dairy free foods that I know will help me feel more of me and energized throughout the day.
I really enjoyed reading your ‘super yummy and delicious’ article. This line has given me a lot to think about with regards to how I describe my diet, “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…” I’ve realised that by simply changing a few words regarding how I describe my food choices (for example, being free ‘of’ or free ‘from’) honours what I have chosen for myself and leaves out any misinterpretation that I am missing out on anything.
That’s it Cheryl. Its a choice that comes from a place of love . No missing out here. Quite the opposite, gaining vitality and feeling the body in the energised and vital state it naturally is.
So true…. once you have felt that joy and vitality in the body it is no contest for the few moments of stimulation, (that for me was sugar, salt, gluten, dairy, caffeine or alcohol), can give and it is certainly no match for the heaviness, dullness, tiredness, or raciness that goes with these foods. I have also made big changes to my diet by simply listening to what my body was telling me, rather than following any particular diet or instruction from outside. That way it feels supportive, practical and easy rather than using willpower or discipline, which is often how diets are done.
If “the proof is in the pudding” as the saying goes, then your spot on Andrew “it feels supportive, practical and easy rather than using willpower or discipline, which is often how diets are done.”
This blog feels full of joy. I really felt this and can identify with that feeling of really enjoying listening to what my body is saying concerning how food makes it feel. I have chosen to not consume gluten, grains, dairy, yeast, sugar, salt and alcohol. This has not happened overnight but over a number of years and I am feeling the benefits on all levels of life. I have felt a true joy in supporting my body, by making choices concerning what I eat and drink. People also ask me “don’t you feel like giving yourself a treat or a sneaky cake?” but no, I don’t, I am not on a diet, I and not denying myself anything, this feels amazing and something that I relish. Thank you for this joyful blog!
And when you are living that love, you don’t need a cake or a treat. The joy is better than any of that.
Thanks for this, Josh. It reminds me how easy and convenient it is to hide behind the ‘gluten and dairy free’ label dished out by society to explain away my eating preferences rather than presenting the truth – that it is a decision taken from true choice, one based on a deep respect for the body and its wellbeing, one taken from an understanding about what food types support or impair its vitality.
Thank you Cathy, makes me wonder, why is it that society does not like something that is so evidently beautiful and healthy for someone to do? Should we not be celebrating the loving choices one is choosing to make? We want to sell the ‘healthy’ food label on many of our foods these days, but do not make the true choice to eat with love. This does not make sense to me.
Great to read Joshua, thank you. I love that you write ‘I eat 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.’ Beautiful!
That is beautiful Rebecca, it is so important to appreciate and claim every loving choice we choose to make
I always love what you write Josh, you have such a real way it’s awesome. I can also relate to how the momentum grows with food right, you start by making a few loving choices and these just keep on growing, it’s so awesome. I love the fact that I can spend longer in the fresh food sections carefully selecting produce and aisles I have my yummy ingredients in, rather than racing around stocking up on caffeine and sugar. I love the fact my body talks and I listen.
Thank you Phil, I can really feel the appreciation
This blog is refreshing to read as it has been written in such a light and playful way. Food can be a tricky subject to talk about but you have made it simple by expressing how your body feels, as most people can relate to this. I find that as foods drop out of my diet, I have become more creative with my recipes so now make some really awesome dishes which taste great and support my body.
And there is so much freedom in not needing a food because of its taste etc. Then every meal becomes yummy 🙂
Josh I love your enthusiasm and joy for cooking your own food and choosing the right foods for you. Very inspiring. I remember nearly 30 years ago feeling bloated after eating bread and finding dairy, especially cheese hard to digest. I had heard about gluten intolerance through a naturopath and I remember thinking to myself, “why me? Why can’t other people feel this too, and thinking there was something wrong with me. Now like you I feel what to eat from my body and not from my taste buds and it has made a big difference to my vitality. I don’t get the highs and lows that used to accompany food, and my energy level stays the same throughout the day. I love how you have claimed what foods work for you and those that don’t. If more people had the awareness around food that you have, supermarkets would have to re-think what they stock on the shelves. Thanks Josh I love the fun and simple way you approach and write about food.
For food is not a serious subject. Why does it need to be? We miss out on enjoying it if we make it so serious and then we become owned so to speak by needing to eat a particular type of food like cheese without knowing why we seem so addicted to it. Especially if we know it is harming us in the way we are having it.
Yes Joan, me too! And when people ask me “what DO you eat!” there seems to be a strong and fearful illusion that without dairy or gluten (and others) in the diet there’s not much left! I’ve been saying “oh I eat tons of delicious things”…but they don’t seem to believe me… I’m so happy to read your article Josh. It has opened me up to share more honestly when people react to my diet as a “going without”. I could say “I choose not to eat what my body feels does not serve it and nothing can tempt me to go back!!” I can see the absolute clarity in your face shining out of your photo. How could your beauty radiate like that if you ate things your body said no to? You are incredibly inspiring!
I am often astounded by how limited we do not realise we generally hold ourselves with our food and our diets today as humanity. I used to find that something yummy (like a lollie) was also something unhealthy for us to eat. Why did yummy food have to be unhealthy too? Could food instead be healthy and yummy? Most definitely, and healthy is not boring when it truly means you are eating from what the body is asking for to nourish it. This takes yumminess to a whole new level 🙂
This is very inspiring Josh. I love the first paragraph because I often get criticised for not eating a “wide range of foods” but it’s not true, I eat a lot of things other people have never heard of!
Its just to them they may think its not a lot because gluten, dairy and other foods may be a normal part of their diet. I am learning that inspiring others with sharing some of the food I do eat can often astound as it is so yummy, it surely can’t be dairy, gluten and sugar free and be healthy too! Goes to show how lovely inspiring others in this way can be.
Hi Josh, yes I love the lightheartedness and playfulness you’ve approach this topic 🙂 It’s so well written and picks up on some great points. I’ve gradually cut foods out of my diet because they no longer sit well with me and I so love food and cooking. It amazes me know how complicated we make cooking when at it’s simplist it is soooo yummy!
And how serious we make it too. Almost like a burden to eat what is ‘right’. You could spend ages these days studying diets, nutrition etc when really all the simplicity of cooking is already within you. Are we choosing to miss out?
I love the way you write, Joshua. There is so much joy and love expressed I can really feel the yumminess in your food and also know how much better I feel from choosing the same sorts of foods as you.
Well Said Josh, I love your playfullness with your writing. It is so true how easy it is to say I am gluten and dairy free without actually claiming why I am. Friends used to get surprised when I would make a meal for them and afterwards I would say it had no gluten or dairy in it. I too love my food and cooking and prefer to eat at home with my partner or friends rather than going out to restaurants, as we can then prepare and eat the food that our bodies want rather than trying to find something on a menu which is a slight compromise.
How often do we compromise even the slightest in our food just for a taste or satisfaction like eating out at a restaurant? You raise a great point because we can still have the social support with what we eat and also claim the food we know our bodies require. So amazing to share this playfulness with everyone!
I enjoyed reading your article Josh. I too am enjoying cooking really delicious meals for myself. Having also given up eating dairy, gluten, caffeine and sugar, I now feel so much more energetic and vital. The quality of my sleep has improved and I am able to think more clearly. It’s amazing how changing what you eat can affect your life so profoundly.
It goes to show that sometimes what we accept in society as being ‘healthy’ or ‘normal’ may not be what our bodies truly require. Not having caffeine, sugar etc. is now a normal part of my life and like you I feel vital and naturally alive which is in contrast to what we have been told by society that to be vital and alive, you would at least need to be consuming sugar and caffeine.
Thanks Josh a great article, I know how much better I feel having stopped eating Gluten and Diary. I’ve never however claimed my choice like you’ve expressed – very inspiring!
And you cook amazing food David, so why not claim it?
Indeed Josh, I do! Having the most delicious meal on both Saturday and Sunday. It’s almost like we’ve been fed this lie about what food is- being told by the supermarkets what to eat instead of choosing what will support us. It blows me away just how ever expanding the food I cook is yet the fewer “types” of food that go into it! It also shows me just how small a supermarket actually needs to be..
Fantastic point David, look at cows, elephants, tigers and other animals. They don’t need to go to a supermarket with a selection of thousands and thousands of different products and 20 different brands of grass and yet they seem healthier than we are.
Fantastic point David, look at cows, elephants, tigers and other animals. They don’t need to go to a supermarket with a selection of thousands and thousands of different products and 20 different brands of grass and yet they seem to be healthier than we are.
Good point, most of what is stocked in supermarkets is actually not edible when I truly feel into what supports me and what makes me feel heavy and sleepy and bloated.
Thank you for a lovely playful and simple article. I too find that I can make an amazing variety of food from a seemingly small range of ingredients. And what you have expressed is really important, to claim that it is my choice to have a diet free of gluten and dairy, amongst other things, not that I simply can’t have it.
It is only in claiming that gluten and dairy free etc is the preferred choice of diet that will actually inspire others with the possibility that in fact it can be extremely lovely to eat in this way.
This is great Josh, thank you. I remember when I chose to stop eating dairy and gluten and the outcry of those around me was ‘what do you eat?’ Well as you mention there is an abundance of delicious food that does not contain gluten, dairy and sugar and it is yummy. After a while of not eating gluten I realised one Sunday morning that I felt more energised than I used to on Sundays, this being because I had skipped the traditional Sunday fry up with toast and tea and therefore not experienced the dulling and sleepy effects that used to occur. My body feels so much lighter (in weight also) since choosing to not eat gluten, dairy and sugar and I have more energy too. I had previously always battled with diets and weight loss, losing weight and putting it on and now I have naturally arrived at a weight that suits my body and is back to the weight I was in my late teens. Awesome.
I have found without a doubt the only thing I am listening to regarding what to eat is my body, it gives clear factual evidence to what it likes and does not like.
Sometimes the simplest fact that gluten can make us feel heavy is seen as a ‘It does not apply to me’ discovery. I can feel for me that to be able to realise that in fact gluten did affect me was only able to be accepted when I realised that ‘comforts’ like bread, cheese etc no longer were loving for my body to eat. If I had not been open to accepting this, I would not have realised how much more energy I have in the day without it.
This is so true Josh. I did not fully realise the heavy and tiring effects of gluten until I chose to eliminate it completely from my diet. It is easy to think we are gluten-free but still have just a little here and there, but I liken it to putting one small drop of ink in a glass – it still clouds the water!
Yes Vanessa, this is so true and we can feel which foods to eat when. Sometimes my body is crying out for fish, sometimes dark green leafy vegetables and sometimes red meat, it feels so good to eat the right food at the right time.
I really enjoyed this article Josh. Learning to look at food and imagining the transitory taste in the mouth and then seeing the same food and being aware of how it would feel in your body, is amazing. When I first started to adjust what I ate according to how different foods made me feel, I had a sense of depriving myself of accustomed treats. Now it is completely different and when I see advertisements for foods laden with gluten, dairy, sugar etc. – I am no longer tempted as I am aware of how they used to make me feel in my body afterwards.
There is far more to food than just taste. This is something so many choose to ignore, and see being healthy with how they eat as a diet of discipline with no taste or fun. This is indeed far from the truth when we eat what is truly nourishing and nurturing for us. Thank you for sharing Mary
It’s great how you can express to others the true reason behind not eating gluten and dairy. I myself have found it difficult to express why I don’t eat those foods to other people and then ended up eating the food I was offered after! It is also great that you don’t feel you need those foods anymore. Thank you for sharing.
I too found it difficult at first Rhiannon to express why I was no longer eating dairy or gluten. Often this was because I found it was confronting for others to feel the openness and joy that was so evident in the way I ate so healthily and lovingly. But then I realised why hold it back? It’s so much fun to cook and nourish in the way I do. And if it is the truth for me, why not claim it?
A great light and fun article Josh. I too no longer eat gluten and dairy foods. It’s approximately 3-4 years and I cannot imagine eating those foods again. It really became a no brainer when the distressing physical symptoms stopped when I stopped eating gluten and dairy.
The body speaks very loud when we are ready to listen. Thank you Shevon.
Josh – you make a really relatable point about grocery shopping these days.
Like you my diet is very similar – so there are quiet a few standard ingredients I no longer choose to eat.
So when I go shopping now it is very simple. Fruit and veggie aisle, meat and fish aisle and then any other things i might need are usually for the home (ie cleaning products)
I do remember a time when I could spend hours in the supermarket slowly going up and down aisles looking for what to buy or what i could cook up at home that most of the time was not good for me at all.
Its interesting how I would find things to create food or treats that didn’t support me but were an exciting idea at the time.
It meant I would waste a lot of food, i’d eat for stimulation and not nourishment, and I’d be pretty confused as to why I was eating the way I was.
But now I keep it beautifully simple, and I am really enjoying experimenting with food in a loving and supportive way.
Thank you Hannah. I must agree, it feels amazing to know what the body truly needs to support it and very empowering to actually be honouring that. It is super supportive and has offered huge changes in my overall health and well being too.
Hi Josh – so well put! And I have to say I agree, there is nothing more amazing and sweeter than feeling amazing in your body, why would you ever compromise that for a mouthful of food? I also agree that gluten free, dairy free and sugar free food is honestly the yummiest food for me and I know I am eating better than I ever have in my whole life. I also know if I crave sugar or any kind of food it’s not about the food but about something within me that’s not quite right at that moment. Eating amazing food AND feeling amazing in your body… it’s a no-brainer!!
Hear hear to that! Thank you Meg.
Thanks a lot Josh. There are only a couple of aisles in the supermarket that I use these days but you have inspired me to branch out a bit and be a bit more experimental with my cooking. Also when I am in the supermarket I look at all the aisles and aisles of foods that are just not necessary to healthy living and have been noticing how people consume many foods that are doing them more harm than good. If we all learn to listen to our bodies and eat what we need instead of just what we want we would be far better off in a lot of ways.
Thank you Kevin. I am finding that there are different foods or ways of cooking always opening when I feel what my body is asking for. Even when we eat common gluten and dairy staples like bread, milk, cheese etc. these can still become the ‘usual’ that we always seem to eat because we are comfortable with just having that. When we consider it like this, dairy and gluten free is potentially no more limiting – we just think it is because most of the foods in the supermarkets etc. stock items containing dairy or gluten.
And supermarkets would be loads smaller 🙂 But seriously it is incredible how much food there is in our supermarkets that actively do NOT support our bodies. It is a funny state of affairs we find ourselves in in the 21st century ‘modern world’. Food wise we were probably a lot wiser and advanced in the middle ages.
It’s a good point Vanessa, supermarkets would be smaller, less overwhelming and we may even go back to the concept of a butcher, fish monger and green grocer. I notice how moods seem to deteriorate in the super market, how suddenly people are more impatient and stressed. Perhaps there is more going on when we are walking around the supermarket buying food that is harming us than we care to admit?
I agree Vanessa – even 50 years ago we were probably much wiser about our food and there was certainly much less to choose from. And shopping for food was much more social as you had to go to individaul shops to get your meat, veg, groceries, and more often than not the people running the shops would know you. Supermarkets, albeit very convenient have without a doubt changed many things about the way we shop and the way we eat, and not for the better.
I agree Kevin, I only use one or two aisles in the supermarket too. Being gluten, dairy and sugar free takes us back to basics, and this is where the experimentation comes in with simple, natural ingredients. I am staggered at the amount of pre-packed and processed food in the supermarkets, and like you say, “it does us more harm than good”. All the packaging is a waste of resources too, not to mention the toll on peoples health. Most pre-packaged food contains salt and/or sugar, and many contain ‘hidden’ dairy and gluten, it pays to read the labels because I have been caught out by this one, for example some oven chips contain gluten in the coating and some olive oil spreads contains whey powder, so it pays to check the labels, or avoid these products altogether as I now do!
Great blog Josh. I too cook all my food for work and home and yes it is also the most amazing food in the world!
We can all make the most amazing food in the world. My list of favourites keeps getting longer with every meal. 🙂
Thank Josh, a great sharing, extremely inspiring. It’s all about listening to the body, as it will tell us what foods are not good for us and also give us the vitality with the foods that are good for us. Most of our problem is that most of us avoid listening to our body and override, hence all the harming foods go in. So for me this was great to hear that, I so much need to just stop and listen to my body and trust it will support me with my food choices.
And the thing we often ignore is that our body is our friend, not our enemy. How would you treat your best friend?
Hi Josh, I can feel the freedom you now have with food, which comes through in the joy and playfulness of this blog. Also that you really have come to treat your body as your best friend – this makes so much sense!
Wow, josh, that’s a great way to look at it, how would you treat your best friend, with love and respect. So the body needs the same. Great way to connect to the body and feel what it needs. I am really coming to understand that even a slight amount of gluten and dairy how much it effects my body, how quickly I feel tired and heavy and it last for days. It’s really not worth feeling like that. So I am at a point of exploring with food, I know once I bring the playfulness in food and really start to appreciate the nutritious foods, my choices of foods will change.
I love this article Josh and the playful way you have expressed it. I absolutely concur with every line!
So can I Lucy, I enjoyed writing it. 🙂
Thank you Josh. I am often asked, after I tell people what I no longer eat, what is left! I just say lots of things and none of it has any chemicals, preservatives, things with names I can’t pronounce, artificial flavours, colours, just good food. What would our grocery store look like if you removed all the stuff we do not consume? Is that not what a farmer’s market is?
People tend to focus on the limitations and restrictions of what truly good food may bring because it brings much greater responsibility and care to live in such a way that honours the body when we eat. Others are exposed for not choosing this when this is shared but in-truth the warmth, care and nourishment of our food is what we all deeply want. Steve, as you say, if our supermarkets, grocery stores and other outlets supported this, we would have whole aisles that would be bare! Thank you for your comment.
Yes Steve, I am often asked the same question ! And I reply that I eat simple dairy and gluten free food and also food that my body likes. I would like to see our supermarkets to look very different to those we have now with far less in it – fresh meat and fish, vegetable and fruit. Food that we find on a French market for example.
Josh I so agree with your comments, it’s not about what I don’t have to eat, it’s about the wonderful choices that are available. When I am invited out to meals I am often asked about my weird diet – the foods I can’t eat. I now have a sheet that I have prepared, which is constantly changing. I entitle it my nutritional choices and list foods that my body prefers me not to eat and those which it really enjoys. I have had some very interesting comments and put several chefs in touch with the delicious recipes which students have posted on Facebook.
I find the exact same thing Kathie! And the comments people tend to make are about what cannot be eaten and how restrictive this may be, but I would say the opposite. It has made me more aware of what I eat, how I eat and what different things I can do to make my food even more lovely and nourishing to eat. It is deeply fun and never boring as the people who cook with me can attest to.
I agree Josh, a few years ago my diet was full of the same old pasta and the same old meals, now the food I eat has variety, I use FAR MORE ingredients than I ever used to and I cook fresh delicious meals from a broad selection of fresh produce.
Me too Fiona, I use a much wider variety of vegetables, herbs and spices than I ever used to and am really enjoying experimenting with different combinations, it’s fun, not a chore. I don’t feel like I am missing out on anything either, and I certainly don’t replace foods with the gluten free alternatives, as they are often full of fat and sugar. In fact, since I have become gluten, dairy and sugar free, for the first time in my life my weight has stabilised too. Bonus!
I agree Fiona, it has opened up a whole new world of imagination for me, using ingredients that I would never have thought of before. I no longer make excuses that I don’t have time to cook because I always ensure that I MAKE time to prepare myself delicious, nourishing meals because that is what self-care is all about.
Kathie… thank you this is a great idea, I need to create a nutrition foods list to help me share with others what I chose to eat. We run a hotel and our chefs are constantly wanting ideas of what I would like to eat, sometimes when days are packed it becomes difficult to think on my head what foods they can cook for me. But if I start to plan and create a list, that would really support them to prepare food that supports me. At the same time inspire them with new ideas.
What a great idea, Amita (and Kathie). I find that when I am really clear about what food I enjoy eating rather than what I do not eat, it makes it super simple and a positive challenge for the chef/cook.
I agree Janet, Kathie and Amita. Make it positive about what foods my body doesn’t react to and not a list of what my body does react to.
That’s a brilliant idea Amita, and how wonderful it is that you have chefs who are prepared to support you with your food requirements, and are willing to experiment with new ideas. Things they are a changing and what better place than your lovely hotel to try out new dishes on guests too!
Awesome Kathie. Your expression ‘my nutritional choices’ perfectly reflects a loving relationship to food and your body.
I love this idea Josh and Kathie, it can feel so negative to say “I don’t eat gluten and dairy” to all the people I meet who then ask me what I can eat, as they can’t imagine life without it, and it feels so much more open and encouraging to say “This is what I choose to eat and I enjoy it, and I know it nourishes me because I feel so much more alive!” To make a list that demonstrates how many varieties of food we have available to us would be very helpful.
Awesome Kathie – a wonderfully self-loving thing to do and perhaps inspiring others to look at their choices in the process. I love that the chefs are prepared to look at the recipes posted by students. Fresh food lovingly prepared is never boring and the body loves it especially when we provide it with food with the purpose of promoting vitality.
This article hits the nail on the head, the general perception is that it is a curse to not be able to eat gluten and dairy, rather than the great gift that your body is able to tell you so clearly what is and isn’t right for it. And the end results, a super vital body. 🙂 Great article, so well expressed.
It’s only a curse because we are so used to abusing the body with what we eat and enjoying the comfort that may bring. In-truth, living from an honour of what your body truly needs to support it actually makes food so much more enjoyable — it no longer becomes just about taste but also true nourishment. Something I can already feel you deeply know and live Stephen, thank you.
I agree that so many people would see giving up dairy and gluten as a punishment and for so many that is exactly what it would feel like. For most of my life food has been a way of changing how I feel and because I didn’t feel great then it was a welcome relief to be able to eat too much and zone out or have a mega latte and get an instant boost. It has been a gradual process of improving how I feel so that my food choices have changed as a by product.
I agree Stephen, it is generally accepted as a curse if you don’t eat gluten or dairy, as if somehow we are missing out. I feel the absolutely opposite is true, because what could be better than eating natural, fresh, unprocessed food, fresh herbs and spices all lovingly prepared to nourish our bodies. I for one, feel lighter and much better for it and my body says thank-you.
Yes, its strange Stephen that many regard not being able to eat dairy and gluten ins a curse. I would often have symptoms of pain and bloating after eating bread or pasta, and nausea after eating something that was rich with cream or butter, but for a long time never considered that these symptoms might be something to do with what I was eating! So when I was introduced to the possibility that my diet might be the problem it was a revelation. I now eat no dairy or gluten and have none of these symptoms. And whatsmore, my diet is so delicous and simple I can’t imagine it being any other way. Rather than feeling as though something has been taken taken away from me, I feel as though I have been given a true gift. Thankyou Josh for your sharing.
Great stuff Josh – I remember the occasional breakfasts, mainly on the weekends, of croissants for example and how overwhelmingly tired that used to make me. So tired that I felt I had lead in my limbs – and just like you, this does not happen now that I eat all this amazing food free of gluten and dairy. And not only is the food I now eat non-gluggy and does not give me sinus problems anymore, it is also incredibly yummy and fun!
And such must be the enormous arrogance that can have a croissant for its taste and ‘feel in the mouth’ to then go through the day numb and tired — but STILL want to have it again later when the body is not so numb or tired. Or worse having another one just to override the tired-ness of the first! Yep I have learnt the hard way that listening to the body is the best medicine and guide for what to eat. Thank you Gabriele.
So true Gabriele, gluten makes me feel tired and sluggish and dairy goes straight to my sinuses.
Me too Amita. Being a sinus sufferer for years my doctor couldn’t understand why I was always clogged up. I had every allergy test you could imagine and it was a simple conversation with a women I met at work who suggested I look at dairy consumption. I haven’t looked back and my nose thanks me each day!
It never occurred to me in the past Gabriele, that after having my ‘stodgy’ breakfast I would need that mid-morning cup of coffee to pep me up and keep me going, doh!
Now that I am gluten, dairy and sugar free I no longer need that mid morning ‘pick me up’ or the afternoon sugary snack to keep me going, I am delicious enough!
What a great observation Sandra – that after having a stodgy breakfast that would make you sleepy, you needed a cup of coffee to pick you up! I had never made that assoscaition either, but it was the same for me. There was a time when I couldn’t imagine eating breakfast or lunch without bread, but now the very thought of it makes me feel tired! I also find that having a meal of fish and vegetables in the evening is so much lighter in my body, and I sleep so much better than if I’ve eaten a heavier meal. There is so much in this blog Josh to consider and be inspired about food and diet – thank you.
My body had the same response when I reduced and then stopped eating or drinking any dairy product I stopped getting sinus and phylum . Thanks for sharing Joshua
What a great article – so inspiring Josh and deserving of a page one on google I say!
Thank you Jo. My article is so yumilicious that even Google would find it delicious!
Inspirational. I have almost the exact same story. I was at this farm and there were cows on the other side of a fence. They were very cute and I wanted to pat them, so I walked on over careful not to step in the dung. However, as I reached over to pat Daisy’s head (I am told that was her name, though I never managed to meet her, more on that now), the fence bit me. Well obviously it wasn’t a bite, but it electrocuted me. See what I hadn’t realised in all this time was that the yellow tape on the fence that I had ignored, similar to your symptoms I guess, was warning me that this fence and I were not to be pals. Like you, I have stayed away from these fences ever since. It is hard for a 6 year old to go through not being able to play with cows on the other side of the fence, so I understand how hard it must have been for you at 20 to stop eating food because it made you feel unwell. Thank you for sharing your story.
I can most definitely say it took courage and trust to listen to my body over what I had been told by others about what to have or what to not have, and also to cook in different ways I had never done much before. But so too must it be to learn to observe Daisy instead of reaching to pat her. Sometimes if we ignore one thing we often miss out on seeing the rolling meadow that surrounds us. Thank you for sharing MJ.
Great article Joshua and the above comment equally so. When I used to eat lots of bread, pasta and potatoes there would be no room left in my body for salad or too many vegetables. Feeling bloated and tired after meals and bragging about how much I could eat (and to that effect opening an extra button during christmas dinner) was just how we did things. Thanks to inspiring people like you I am now starting to find my way around the kitchen in a way that supports me.
What a deliciously inspiring article from a true enthusiast!!
Thank you Katie.