Yes, I know, my diet is peculiar

I've been eating grain-free for a year and a half, though food issues have been a part of my entire life. For as long as I can remember food has been by nemesis. Not just because it tempted me, and I ended up eating far more than I should. But primarily because it made me sick. Almost each and every meal of my life led to some sort of discomfort or pain which I will not go into here. It has taken a tremendous amount of time and energy to discern what foods send my gut into a downward spiral. For years I kind of tried this and that, but about 6 years ago I decided I just couldn't live in constant discomfort anymore. My naturopathic doctor and I set out some first steps and I committed to those first steps to the best of my ability. And slowly things got a bit better. By constantly paying attention to my body's reactions and working at healing my incredibly damaged digestive system we altered my diet over and over again. A year and a half ago we seemed to have hit a plateau. Things were better, but still not great. My system had healed a great deal, but I was still very reactive. So my doctor suggested I try a completely grain-free diet. We (Alicia and I) had already eliminated a lot of grains from our home, so I figured I was ready to make this next step. 

For the first 2-3 weeks I thought I was dying. I hadn't realized what it would mean for my body to completely detox from eating grains. My doctor told me that eliminating all grains is like going off of opiates, and I certainly felt like I was going through withdrawal. The nausea and dizziness was intense. And then it was over. And I felt better. A lot better. 

I can now eat most of my meals without any discomfort. If I react, I can usually look back at what I have eaten and figure out how to make wiser choices in the future. For the first time in my life eating a meal is not a fearful event for me. And I am so grateful for the patience my doctor has shown me, and her dedication to my overall health. She has never sought to simply put a bandaid over my problem, but to work with me to find the root.

People always ask me if I don't miss eating bread or donuts. Or they ask me what the hardest part of eating grain-free has been for me, assuming that it must be giving up cookies or cake. But I have to be honest, the absolute hardest part of eating a peculiar diet, is socializing with others. I hate not being able to simply eat the food that is served to me. I hate that I can't just join people at whatever random restaurant and enjoy a meal together.  I feel like I'm being difficult. I feel like I'm fussy. I feel like I'm inhospitable. And I don't like it. 

People ask me if I couldn't just cheat for the evening. But really, where would that end? And once I put the food into my system, it takes almost 2 weeks for my body to get back to normal. So no, I won't cheat. There are still inconsistencies in my diet, there are still areas that I need to work on. I should eat less chocolate, correction, I should not be eating chocolate at all! And I should have less egg in my diet. But generally I am pretty serious about eating the foods that make me a healthier person. 

So I keep working at figuring out what it means to receive hospitality and care for my body at the same time. I have found that offering hospitality isn't all that hard. I have scads of recipes that I can make for our visitors, recipes even my dad will eat! But visiting others is just more complicated. So working at being a good guest is an ongoing process. I will do my best to be gracious, but I will fail at times. I will do my best to offer suggestions when people ask, but again, I won't always be successful. I will do my best to eat what is offered to me, but that will often mean avoiding some things that have been served. And at times I will also bring along my own food to make sure there is something I can eat. My apologies if this offends you. I understand that my diet is frustrating for many people (it frustrates me too!), but the alternative, being sick 24/7, is just not an alternative.

Often people just can't imagine what I do eat if I can't have grains, so just in case any of you are curious about what I actually do eat, here's a basic list of things that are safe (meaning I cook with them a lot), and things that are not (I avoid them at all costs since I react to them). 

Safe:
Beef
Chicken (not the kind that is frozen and "seasoned")
Turkey (though I'm not a huge turkey fan)
Pork on occasion (it's harder to find pork that doesn't have additives)
Potatoes
Onions
Celery
Carrots
Peas
Beans
Lettuce
Cabbage
Broccoli
Zucchini
Cauliflower
Tomato
Peppers (red is better, and in small quantities)
Aged cheeses
Eggs
Full fat yogurt
Most fruits (though I limit my citrus intake)
Almond milk
Nuts and nutbutters
Coconut milk and oil
Chickpea flour
Coconut flour
Almond meal/flour
Raw sugars and honey
Pretty much all spices, though white pepper is better than black

Not safe:
Sausages or meats that have added colour, flavour or wheat crumbs
Baked goods made with wheat, corn, rice flours
Corn - that includes kernels, flour, and starch
Most dairy products though I can have some on occasion
Pasta
Rice
Artificial colour
Artificial flavour
MSG in all its forms
Basically stuff that is artificial and pre-packaged - if it has an ingredient list, I read it carefully

In a lot of ways, my food is just really old-fashioned. It's meat, potatoes, veggies, fruits, herbs and spices.