I had some of the Field Roast mini corn dogs and some chips with the last of my Wayfare Onion Dip. It was damn good and totally the comfort meal I wanted on my night in. I just made it a fun movie night where I stayed off my phone and watched a few movies on Netflix. It was exactly what I needed to recharge myself after an incredibly busy week. And trust me, it's not lost on me how hilarious this meal is when you read the rest of this post.
So I just wanted to talk about something that has been on my mind lately and that I've been considering for a while. I've mentioned many times that I'm struggling with symptoms of both physical illness and I'm struggling a lot with my mental illness. A lot of my physical issues have to do with digestion and reflux and gastritis and things like that which in all honesty I brought upon myself. I've never discussed it here but I'm currently recovering from an eating disorder that I dealt with on and off for over a decade. It has left me with quite a bit of damage and I'm trying to heal both emotionally and physically.
As a result, I do take a lot more medication than I would like. And to be honest, I really hate it and don't want to be on it. I've also spent a lot of money on medical bills and I hate that this is where my money is going. So I'm going to really start to try to heal myself through diet. I want to be off the pills and out of the Dr's office. I'm going to do that by starting off with a 30 day mostly raw detox. I'll be eating as much raw as possible (probably raw up until dinner) and I'll be eating whole foods only.
I thought about it a lot and I chose this way of eating for a lot of reasons. First, it is summer and eating mostly raw in the summer is actually pretty easy. I love eating fresh summer produce and who wants to cook in the summer anyway? I decided to go mostly raw instead of fully raw because I just know that fully raw won't work for me. I can't do all raw all day. I enjoy cooked foods and I don't think that they are bad for me. And isn't eating cooked spinach better than eating no spinach (I really hate raw spinach)?
I also decided to do mostly raw because I'm hoping it will improve my digestion. As I stand now, I feel sick by lunch typically. I'm hoping that the fact that raw food digests so quickly will help me be able to eat all of my meals and feel ok after rather than feeling sick. I'm going to make sure that I get probiotics in and that I'm eating a variety of colorful foods so I'll be flooding my body with as many nutrients as possible.
I wanted to let you guys know for two reasons. First, I wanted accountability. I will be continuing to blog here about what I'm eating, how I'm feeling, etc. I figured letting you guys know ahead of time will help keep me on track and motivated to stick with this for 30 days. Secondly, the way I eat and the meals I show will be changing quite a bit and this is why. I'm planning on doing this for the month of June so during that month my meals will look different.
So, I need your help. Flood me with your favorite raw food and whole food recipes. I'll be using minimal oil but I'm ok with some salt and minimal added sweeteners. I will obviously be eating fruit meals and salads and things like that but I would love other ideas as well. I think the way I'm going to be successful at this is to make sure to have a variety of options and make sure it isn't boring. Oh and also, I stay away from meals that have tons of ingredients and also meals that include exotic ingredients that you have to find online. I'm a simple girl that enjoys easy to make meals. I'm looking forward to seeing what you share!
Anyway, thanks for reading if you got through the whole thing. I feel like maybe it is a bit of a downer and I can assure you revealing my struggle was not easy. But, I wanted to share it because I like to be honest with you guys and what I'm dealing with is entirely my fault because I made a choice a long time ago. Anyway, thank you in advance for your suggestions and I'm excited to bring you along for the ride! Maybe I'll post a little more often in June, who knows?!
I hope you all have a great week and I'll see you on Friday!
13 comments:
If you notice on a lot of my days off I have smoothies and juice only until I eat dinner. I o that to help my digestion because of eating late, and sometimes having junkier foods.It really helps to be honest.
Your Friday night dinner looks delicious by the way!!!
I know you love watermelon and I've heard watermelon is best eaten early in the day and alone. People in the raw community talk about mono meals, and I definitely feel like my digestion is better when i eat one thing for a meal, like when I'm doing the potato diet.
I hope this helps you heal. I totally think it will!
Cooked spinach is actually better for you. Spinach is one of the vegetables that needs a little heat to bring out the nutrients!
I really like Ani Phyo's recipe books. You should check them out, they have lots of great ideas, some that aren't too special with the ingredients. The earlier books I remember using a lot more oil though.
One idea at the very least is to add some spices and herbs to your fruit. It is so easy and kindof obvious! Just some cinnamon sprinkled on apples, basil to a fruit salad, it goes a long way.
Sorry to hear your struggling. My insta friend Emily has struggled with an eating disorder in her past. You might find her YouTube channel helpful: https://www.youtube.com/user/singingemilyx5/videos
Your comfort meal looks so good, and it also sounds like you have a good plan for June! I'm looking forward to seeing what you'll enjoy since I don't eat much raw food myself. Maybe I'll get some ideas! :)
I'm so glad it has helped you and I'm really hoping that it helps me! That's so funny, watermelon is number one on my list for mono meal breakfasts. I will probably have to wait a little while longer until they are actually good but that's definitely on my radar.
Thank you so much! I hope so too. And hooray for cooked spinach!
I actually have a few of her cookbooks! I remember them being high in oil too but I'll definitely have to take a look to refresh my memory. It's been a while since I've perused them.
That's a great suggestion! Thank you so much, I'll definitely have to reach into the spice rack a bit more!
Thank you <3 I appreciate the recommendation, I will definitely check out her channel!
Thanks! I think being prepared with a plan is the number 1 key to success. I'm looking forward to all of the meals I have planned, and I think any past failures I've had with these detoxes is being unprepared and not having what I need on hand. I hope that it helps!
Her more recent Asian Inspired cookbook I think has the least amount of oil. I think she posts recipes on her blog too. Her oil usage has really gone down over the years.
Oh that's great to know! Thank you! I'll definitely check it out!
It breaks my heart to hear you talking about any eating disorder as a choice. Eating disorders are illnesses. No one chooses to get sick (okay, a few people do, and that's another illness). You didn't choose to mess up your body and experience pain and discomfort and more than one chooses to get cancer and suffer that pain.
That said, good luck with your diet changes, I hope you get singe relief!
*singe = some
I am so sorry I only just saw your comment! Thank you for taking the time to write this. I only say I chose it because there is a little bit of history that goes with it. I chose the action as a form of self harm which then turned into an eating disorder which I will agree I did not choose. I definitely agree with you though, it is an illness and I would definitely compare it to an addiction. The behavior becomes addicting, especially if you see reward.
Anyway, thanks again for your comment and I'm so sorry this response is so late!!
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