Food: A Love/Hate Relationship

I have to start off by saying thank you to all the positive feedback I’ve had with my first post! I can honestly say at one point there were tears in my eyes at all the support and prayers sent my way. This is somewhat of a terrifying experience, because like most humans, I fear failure and rejection in what I do… especially in the things that matter to me. And call me crazy, but my life and personal struggles kind of matter to me.

(At first glance, this picture has nothing to do with what I am talking about, HOWEVER, I will make the connection. You see, this is a picture of my Marine and me in Disney World- the place where we are truly at our happiest, and I have to tell you, everyone’s feedback made me incredibly excited! An excitement that I thought I could perhaps portray with this happy picture… Did I make a good enough connection? To be honest I just love this pic and wanted to share it)

Hopefully I will be able to continue to give support to others out there dealing with their own battles! So I wanted to continue this blog by sharing the first step I took:

My diet. So, I’m no doctor but I decided to do a little research (looking at pinterest counts as research, right?). I have no idea if what I am doing will help me in the long run, but I know it definitely will not hurt me! So I figured it was worth giving it a try! I had a pretty healthy diet from the beginning, I understood the importance of having a diet primarily consisting of vegetables, fruits, good protein, and so on. But I wanted to cut the crap as much as I could. So I’m doing an experimental month to begin with. I’m cutting out all gluten, added sugars, meat, and most dairy besides butter (because let’s be honest, life without butter would probably make my depression worse).

I’m on my third week of this experimental month, and I gotta tell you, I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I don’t know if it’s been the change in diet, or perhaps my determination of a natural route for my mental health, but I went from being an emotional wreck to having more productive and positive days. Not only that, but my little girl has become increasingly less fussy… I mean that could be because of several reasons: a. she is feeding off my less stressed moods b. she is also benefiting from this new diet or c. she is being a baby and going through different phases of crankiness and good natured-ness. I like to hope it’s not the third one and that next week she won’t go back to screaming, but I really shouldn’t get my hopes up, should I?

Babies: expect the worst so you can be surprised when things go well and you can take a shower. ~An Old Ancient Proverb written 30 seconds ago.

(But none of the hardships of motherhood matter because look at their incredibly cute little feet!)

 Some of these things I’m cutting out after reading what they could do to my body and the connection to mental health they can have (aka gluten and sugar). This is a great article that gives great insight into the science of what sugar can do to your health, both mental and physical. Since gluten can turn into glucose in your body, it only makes sense to see if there is a difference when you cut it out of your diet. The reason I am cutting out meat and dairy is because I wanted to make sure that my diet was focusing solely on veggies, fruits, and some great undenatured protein that I can’t live without. After the month is up I’ll probably start bringing meat and dairy slowly back into my diet. I’m also trying to incorporate fermented veggies (like sauerkraut) to help regain the balance of bacteria in my gut, which some studies have shown to be linked to mental health. This article is for those of you who are really into the science behind the gut bacteria, while this experimental study is for those who like cold hard facts shown in numbers.

I love to cook, so trying to revamp my cooking to be primarily vegetable base has been a fun challenge for me, and a sort of mental trial for my husband who has always been an anti-veggie weirdo. This is one of the veggie based meals I made for my husband that he actually loved. (I do have to admit though, it was before I began my month long sugar-free, gluten-free, vegan diet so there is some parmesan cheese in it) It is a marinated grilled portabella mushroom “steak” with roasted sweet potatoes and bruschetta salad. I’d like to know if anyone would be interested in a recipe for this? I have a veggie-hating Marine who can vouch for it tasting good. So let me know in the comments if you are interested in a recipe and I will see what I can do!

(I’m super proud of this picture… I sincerely feel like I pulled out my inner photographer/artist when I took it)

I am not a doctor or physician, but I consulted both before starting my journey. If you need help consult the professionals immediately! I have no training. The professionals do and they are there to help!