99. Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

This chocolate cake is delicious, and with the absence of wheat, won’t make you skin itch!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of sorghum flour - you can get this from here: www.twinvalleymills.com
1/2 cup of cocoa (eg: Hershey's)
1 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of baking soda
1/2 - 1 tsp of xanthum gum
1/2 cup of hot water
1/2 cup of oil
1/2 cup of milk
1 egg
2 tsp of vanilla

Directions:
Mix together the dry ingredients
Add the wet ingredients
Grease and flour an 8" x 8" cake tin
Bake at 350° for approx 30 minutes
You can decorate with frosting or cut into layers for a layer cake

98. Food Diary

Porridge

Coffee

Apple juice

Half a raw Green Pepper

Green Tea

Cottage cheese flax oil 2 x Ryvita

Beetroot

Salmon and millet pasta with broccoli

Green tea

Cornflakes

97. Coffee With All Milk?

All milk coffee is an extreme luxury and you should try to wean yourself off these, but only if you want to have blood, heart and arteries in tip top condition. Why? To reduce, heart disease and strokes just for starters. You could add a significant number of years to your life if you do this.

If you think it’s too big a change, it’s a lot harder to stop taking sugar in coffee, than it is to change from milk to water. Once you’ve got used to it, you’ll actually taste the fat in milk.

If you must have milk, just put a small amount in, and have skimmed milk, preferably goats’ skimmed milk, or soya milk. Soya milk may make it curdle if the water is boiling hot. Cream is also a luxury, although it is a lot healthier than these ‘fake’ coffee accompanying products such as Coffee mate.

If you were to analyze the fat and sugar content of some high street coffee shop coffees, it would be healthier to eat a big piece of cake! – oh no! you have that TOO?!!

Try and limit these to say, one or two a week, so it doesn’t get out of control. It's a lot easier than you think to get into the healthier habit. Try it for two weeks and see.

96. Food Diary

Porridge

Coffee

Cranberry Juice

Apple

Small potato, small portion of lasagne

Green tea

Smoothie with pear, banana, summer fruits, apple and mango juice

Small potato, small portion of lasagne (again)

plain goats yoghurt

Cornflakes

95. Turkey Helps You Sleep

I often have trouble sleeping, and am trying to improve my sleep through healthy eating.

I’ve found that eating turkey in isloation can actually help you sleep! The way it works is: Turkey contains tryptophan, which helps to make serotonin.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, that sends messages between nerve cells and causes you to feel sleepy.

However, L-tryptophan doesn't act on the brain unless you eat it on an empty stomach with no other protein present, so remember to keep some turkey in the refrigerator for those sleepless nights.

94. Food Diary

Porridge

Apple juice

Coffee

apple

Cold boiled egg

Cottage cheese, flax oil, onion and chives

Green tea

home made lasagne

summer fruits with goats plain bio yoghurt

93. Other Ways To Improve Metabolism

Become active.
There are always ways in which you can become more active. If you have to drive to work, park a little bit further away than usual, so that you walk a bit more.

cardio vascular exercise means getting your heart to pump faster for at least 30 minutes at a time, every day. This can include brisk walking. Don’t think you have to be a marathon runner to include cardio vascular exercise in your daily routine.

Get Enough Sleep
Sleep loss is believed to affect the secretion of cortisol, the hormone that regulates your appetite, and your body will automatically require more energy the more tired it feels, so you will feel more hungry than usual when behind on your sleep.

You are also unable to make rational judgements when you are over-tired and could well end up bingeing. This not only ruins your hard work so far, but can cause guilt which is a form of stress. Stress can lead to no end of health problems. This is why it is essential that you get enough sleep.

Eat good carbs and lean protein
The human body burns some of its own calories when it digests food.This is the TEF – (thermic effect of foods) and it’s what makes protein (which has the highest TEF) and good carbs great for your metabolism. Proteins that build calorie-burning muscle are lean turkey and chicken. Your body’s major fuel source should be whole grains, legumes, fruit and vegetables. These good carbs give you the energy required so that you can get moving and burn more calories.

Drink Water.
Water fills you up, and curbs your appetite. It flushes your system out, and rids the body of bloatedness. You need at least 8 to 10 glasses every day and more if you are active. in Germany researchers found that drinking water may increase metabolic rate. The participants’ metabolic rates increased by 30 percent after drinking just 17 ounces of water. Your metabolism needs water to make the energy-burning process work effectively.

Eat ice cubes!
The energy needed to melt the ice will sustain your metabilic rate when not exercising.

Fidget!
Rock in your chair, tap your foot, or your hand or bob your head. You’ll probably want to wear mp3 earphones whilst doing any of these, or you may be carted off in a white van! But fidgeting really does count as exercise, and will burn calories, maintaining your metabolism!

92. Food Diary

Apple juice

Porridge

Coffee

Apple

Green tea

Cold boiled egg

Cottage cheese, flax oil, garlic, onion and chives 2 x Ryvita

Green tea

Rice and Millet Pasta with home made Bolognaise

Decaf coffee

91. Food Diary

Porridge

Apple juice

Banana

Beetroot

Cottage cheese, flax oil onion and chives

Green tea

Cranberry juice

Half avacado

Chicken, brown rice and broccoli

Cornflakes

90. Grade C Foods

As stated earlier these foods will boost your energy temporarily in the same way a chocolate bar will. You may be surprised at some of the foods in this list.

white pasta, bread, white rice, rice noodles, egg noodles,

green peas, zucchini, cucumbers

tomatoes, prunes, all dried fruit, grapes, figs,

cheese and mil, beef, lamb, veal

89. Food Diary

Not been well today.

Porridge

Banana

Egg and ryvita

decaf coffee

that's all, but I may have cornflakes for supper

88. Food Diary

Porridge
Apple juice

black decaf coffee

Banana

cold boiled egg
cottage cheese and flax oil, garlic on 2 slices Ryvita

green tea

Apple

Beetroot
Baked potato with spinach, prawns and goats cheese

cold porridge

87. Grade B Foods:

Buckwheat, red macrobiotic rice, wild rice, oatcakes

Potatoes, corn, squashes, beetroot, peppers, wild rice, yam, watercress, salad leaves

Peaches, apricots, mangoes, papayas, bananas

Kidney beans, black beans, peas (dried / split), almonds, chicken, game, turkey, venison, nut butters, yoghurt, cottage cheese

86. Food Diary

Apple

Porridge

Banana

Egg mayonnaise

Cottage cheese, flax oil and onion

Green tea

Chicken and Vegetable soup

Goats milk yoghurt with muesli and honey

Cornflakes soya milk

85. Food Diary

Cornflakes

apple

Porridge

Smoothie

two soft boiled eggs with Ryvita

pear

Green tea

avacado

Baked potato with prawns and mayonnaise

mixed nuts

camomile tea

84. The ABC Energy Guide

Energy Foods are all natural foods and are graded A,B or C.

Grade A provides the best cource of energy, and B also a good source, but Grade Cs are the quick fixes, but won’t manitain your blood sugar.

Grade A Foods:
Complex Carbs like oats, barley, brown rice, millet, corn, rye and wholegrain bread.

Vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, sprouts, mushrooms, raw carrots, asparagus, artichokes and spinach.

Fruit such as avacados, apples, pears, pineapples, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and cherries.

Protein such as salmon, tuna, herring, amckerel, seaweeds, eggs, tofu, walnuts, brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, linseeds, sprouted seeds and grains, haricot and lima beans, chickpeas, lentils and soya beans

These are the most important but we’ll cover Grade B and C later.

83. Food Diary

Porridge

Decaf coffee

Smoothie made with 2 bananas, summer fuits and apples, in the absence of apple juice. It was so thick, I saved lots and put into dessert dishes.

Boiled egg, Ryvita and soya spread

Decaf coffee

Made Hotpot for tonight’s meal, and didn’t need anything to eat all afternoon as I kept pinching bits of hotpot. Hotpot is like stew or goulash. It’s made with potatoes and beef with onions a vegetables in a gravy sauce. I used leeks, cabbage, carrots and peas.

Instead of adding the diced potato to the meat and veg ‘soup’ I mashed the spuds, and put it on top, so now it’s more like cottage pie!

82. Fat Free Mince

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but as far as I know I’m the only person who does this, and it’s a great way to cook minced meat to ensure you get rid of all the fat.

Put it in a glass bowl and microwave it. Drain off all the fat (which even in ‘reduced fat’ mince, will still be quite a bit).

If I’m making lasagne or bolognaise, I will then put the solid cake of meat into a food processor to separate it again. The longer you leave it, the finer it becomes, but it will be pure meat, and NO FAT!

81. Food Diary Sunday and Monday

Sunday

Poached eggs on toast (and I don’t have bread in MY house!)

Coffee

apple
ham salad sandwich

Banana

Apple
Baked Potato with tuna and sweetcorn mayonnaise

Smoothie with yoghurt

Mint tea

2 litres of water at least


Monday

Cornflakes

black coffee

Apple juice

Half raw red pepper
cottage cheese and flax oil, leeks, onion and chives on 2 x Ryvita

Banana

Black Decaf coffee

Apple
Spag Bol

porridge

80. Food Diary

apple
Porridge

Coffee

Smoothie

apple
two sticks of celery, cottage cheese, flax oil, onions and chives

beetroot

pear

cranberry juice
King Prawn Salad (friend’s house)
Walnut ice cream (I was being held down with a gun to my head of course)

1.5 litre of water

79. Muscles Boost Your Metabolism

Ways To improve Your Metabolism Part 1

Become active. there are always ways in which you can become more active. If you have to drive to work, park a little bit further away than usual, so that you walk a bit more.

cardio vascular exercise means getting your heart to pump faster for at least 30 minutes at a time, every day. This can include brisk walking. Don’t think you have to be a marathon runner to include cardio vascular exercise in your daily routine.

Pumping iron will impove your metabolism – it’s true! Any sort of weight training or toning will count as pumping iron.

Your resting metabolic rate (RMR) is the measurement of how many calories your body burns at rest. It’s closely linked to the amount of muscle you have and It accounts for 60 to 70 percent of your daily calorie expenditure. the more muscle you have, the more calories your body will burn, even while you’re asleep. Lean muscle actually needs calories just to exist, so get active today!

You do not have to lift heavy weights to pump iron. Lifting tins of beans for two minutes every day will count as toning exercise, and is better than nothing.

Your resting metabolic rate (RMR) is higher the more exercise you do. It’s like the more money you have in the bank, the more interest you earn; the more muscles you have, the more easily you can lose weight!

I know it’s not fair, but that’s the way it is. Exercise and you will be rewarded!

I’ve recently bought two 2kg World Gym dumbells, as my tins of beans alone just weren’t getting me very far!

And I do 32 bicep lifts twice a day, followed by 64 using 1kg weights, then 64 using the tins of beans (420g). Always use the heaviest first, then go lighter because if you were to use the same weights throughout your workout, they would seem heavier and heavier with every lift, so it’s easier to go lighter as you go on.

It’s also important to note that I ALWAYS do a warm-up of at LEAST a 20 minute walk, followed by my favorite exercise video. Never lift weights without a warn-up. And don’t lift anything too heavy. Always build up gradually.

78. Food Diary

apple juice
Porridge, raisins

Decaf coffee
Banana

Smoothie

apple
cottage cheese and flax oil avacado and onions on 2 x ryvita

beetroot

Apple
Home made vegetable soup

Smoothie

Camomile tea

1.5 litre approx of water throughout the day

77. Tips For Healthy Eating At Work

Always Eat Breakfast
You need to be alert, and you will stuff your face during your first break if you decide to skip breakfast. what if the moring meeting over-runs, and you have an important role to play? – but all you can think about is devouring a horse.

Take a Banana and at least one other Fresh Fruit
The benefits of Bananas were listed here the other day. And they HAVE to be eaten, don’t they, or they will go off. If you eat fruit every day for a fortnight, it will become second nature, and you’ll put all unhealthy snacks out of your mind.

Don’t have more than one or two Coffees
Otherwise you’ll be irritable and lethargic later on.

Take fruit and Dired fruit and Nuts with you
and keep picking at these, to retain your energy levels.

Have Dried Non Perishable Snacks in your Desk
such as cereal bars, and crackers, licorice sticks, healthy biscuits

Leave The Office At Lunchtime to Clear Your Head
You will feel refreshed after a walk in the fresh air, or a change of scenery. You resnt your job and workplace less, and be more procuctive.

Don’t overeat at lunchtime
If you do, you will be more tired in the afternoon, and that’s when there’s a natural lull at the best of times. If you’ve been picking at snacks all morning, you shouldn’t need to overeat at lunchtime.

Drink Plenty of Water
to remain hydrated and keep your head clear. You’ll also be less likely to drink sugary or caffeine drinks.

76. Food Diary

apple
Porridge, raisins

Banana
decaf coffee

Camomile Tea

apple
cottage cheese and flax oil with chives and onions on 2 x ryvita

Half a red pepper

Apple
Home made lasagne with peas

fruit smoothie

fennel tea

1 litre of water throughout the day

75. Food Allergy vs Food Intolerance

The difference between a food allergy and a is Food intolerance is that the first is an immune system response and the second is a digestive system response, so not as serious. Asn allergy occurs when the body mistakes an ingredient in food (usually a protein) as harmful, and so creates a defense system of antibodies to fight it. Allergy symptoms develop when the antibodies are battling the ‘invading’ food. The most common food allergies are peanuts, tree nuts (such as walnuts, pecans and almonds), fish, and shellfish, eggs, milk, soy products and wheat.


A Food Intolerance occurs when something in a food irritates the digestive system or when a person is unable to properly digest or break the food down. The most common food intolerance is to lactose, which is found in milk and other dairy products.

74. Food Diary

apple
Porridge, raisins
apple juice

Banana
Detox Tea

Home made lasagne
decaf coffee

Half a yellow pepper

Apple
cottage cheese and flax oil with chives
half an avacado

porridge

1.5 litres of water throughout the day

73. Dairy Food Back On!

My doctor told me I shouldn’t eliminate dairy food, as I could be missing out on lots of vitamins and minerals. So I’m going to go back to eggs and goats milk cheese and just eat them in moderation.

In my food tolerance test, it said I shouldn’t have cow products, so that does not cover all dairy foods. Now I have to find a manufacturer of goats milk ice cream! Can’t buy an ice cream maker – my freezer is too small. Anyway, I’d become obsessed with making ice cream, which is NOT what we want!

72. Food Diary

apple juice
Porridge

Black decaf
2 figs

fruit smoothie
apple
Prawn salad, with avacado

Green tea
Banana

beetroot
half red pepper

apple
baked potato, chilli made with pork mince

camomile tea

1 litre of water

71. Bananas

When you compare a banana to an apple, it has 4 times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, 3 times the phosphorus, 5 times the vitamin A and iron, and twice as many other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around.

A medium banana contains:
86 calories
1 gram of protein
3 grams of dietary fiber,
467 mg Potassium
43 mg Magnesium
27 mg Phosphorus
7 mg Calcium
1.3 mg Selenium
0.4 mg Iron
Also trace amounts of zinc, manganese and copper
95 IU Vitamin A
11 mg Vitamin C
22.5 mcg Folate (needed during pregnancy)
0.7mcg Vitamin B6
0.6 mg Niacin
0.31 mg Pantothenic Acid
0.67 IU Vitamin E

I try to eat at least one banana a day, but actually I should probably be eating more. They are so good for you, they can help with such things as:
Anemia,
Depression,
High Blood Pressure,
Constipation,
Hangovers,
Warts,
Sunburn,
Mosquito Bites
Improved Concentration,
Morning sickness,
Nerves
PMS
Help to give up smoking
Stress
Strokes

70. Food Diary

Porridge

apple
Heated up quarter pizza – I’m too poor to waste food!

fruit smoothie with banana, pear, apple juice and summer fruits

decaf coffee

cottage cheese with flax oil and onions, with cold baked potato

apple juice

muesli

69. Wheat Free Flours

I went to an Italian restaurant a few months ago and when I told the chef I had a wheat intolerance, he made up fresh pasta from ‘wheat free flour’ He used his own blend of rye, corn and millet flour and it was no trouble to him at all. I was so impressed that he was this accomodating.

What I didn’t know was, just how many wheat free flours there are. I’ve listed some here, although not all are gluten free as well. I can eat gluten. A lot are not suitable for making bread.

Amaranth flour
Arrowroot flour
Barley flour
Brown rice flour
Buckwheat flour
Chick pea flour
Cornflour
Cornmeal
Maize flour
Millet flour
Potato flour
Potato starch flour
Quinoa flour
Rye flour
Sorghum flour
Soya flour
Tapioca flour
White rice flour

68. Food Diary

I’m going to start a points system soon, based on when I’ve been good and bad. For example, a green tea will be 10 points, and a coffee will be minus 10 points! A decaf minus 5 points etc.

I’ve also bought colored stickers to stick on my wall chart, to indicate when I’ve been good. I don’t intend just to have them for food – the red ones are for work, blue for exercise, yellow for diary and weekly tasks (1 per day). Green is for Healthy Eating, and if I do not acquire a certtain number of points, I can’t have a green star!

I’ve yet to work out what foods are worth what points, but it has only just occurred to me, that I have no way of measuring how disciplined I am.

Ironically I was very naughty today. Have you noticed when that happens, I just list SOME of the naughty foods I’ve eaten, not list them all, like I should?

OK, I went on a trip to a safari park, and had very good intentions because I took a banana and porridge with me. But when we all had lunch in the café, and I smelt the meals, I couldn’t resist – I had french fries, sausages and gravy. And a cappucino. Ooops.

I also had a ham sandwich later and several jaffa cakes, which boast 1 gram of fat per cake, but that’s not the point; it’s still full of sugar and god knows what else. I bought a whole packet, but shared them with everyone else, so I reckon I only had about 4 or 5.

Then tonight my friend brought pizza round. It wasn’t even thin and crispy. Now my legs are itching like mad. Serves me right.

So today would probably be minus 200 points! and I’d need a truck load of green tea, and vegetables to put it right.

67. Bloating

Many people mistake bloating stomach bloating for IBS and that’s silly. Irritable Bowel Syndrome would often mean you range from constipation one day, then the opposite a few days later. It is recognised as being caused almost entirely by stress, although it can be cured by a good diet.

But then so can ordinaryu bloating. We’re all guilty of abusing our stomachs by eating irregularly, and having large meals after allowing ourselves to get over hungry.

A lot of people feel full at lunchtime, in the evening or after a large meal. Eating small reqular meals ensure that the stomach never gets overloaded. Irregular meal patterns and an unexpected large meal with a lot of fluid can end up stretching the stomach muscels causing it to expand and 'bloat'. Not eating breakfast and then eating a large lunch can have the same effect.

Air in the stomach can cause it too, usually by eating too fast. Exercise is brilliant for air in bloated stomachs, because it forces air out! So burp your way out of discomfort!

66. Food Diary

apple
porridge
Banana

Decaf black coffee
beetroot

apple
cottage cheese, celery and flax oil 2 slices of Ryvita

pear

apple
baked potato, prawns and tomatoes in mayo

3 jaffa cakes (my friend came round – it’s her fault!)
Decaf coffee

Green tea

65. Aloe Vera Benefits

For thousands of years the properties of the aloe vera plant have helped to heal many ailments. When consumed or taken externally, it speeds up the healing porocess for all types of damaged skin, including burns.

When taken as a drink it is great for stomach problems, but cells all over the bosdy can greatly benefit form the drink.

It reduces inflammation of irritated skin and relieves itching.
It is helpful in softening and moisturizing skin.
It improves and speeds any general healing
It is great for killing bacteria and fungus.
It even improves the effectiveness of sun screen products.

64. Food Diary

I’ve been forgetting to eat fruit before every meal, so I’ve started to eat an apple each time. And I weighed myself today for the first time since I started my special diet – and I’m over the moon! I have lost 8 pounds!

I suspected I might have, as my jeans are a bit baggy around the waist – woohoo! My objective wasn’t to lose weight, but to eat more healthily so I feel fully well, and can sleep well.

Today I ate:


apple
porridge

Detox Tea

apple
cottage cheese, red pepper and flax oil 2 x Ryvita

apple juice

banana

half apple
baked potato, chicken in white sauce, made with cornflour and soya milk

halfo apple

decaf black coffee

63. Food Diary

Porridge

Black coffee

Apple juice

3 beetroot

cottage cheese and flax oil, chopped cooked leeks, onion and chives on 2 slices of Ryvita

Banana

natural licorice

Baked potato and fish pie with cod, prawns, spinach, onions and leeks, in a soya cheese sauce

Black Decaf coffee

Apple

cornflakes soya milk

62. Levels of Caffeine

a cup of filter coffee is approx 100mg
a cup of instant coffee is approx 66mg
a cup of tea made with loose leaf tea is approx 41mg
a cup of tea made with a teabag is approx 40mg
a can of cola is approx 23mg
a 50g bar of plain chocolate is approx 20mg
a 50g bar of milk chocolate is approx 7mg
a cup of hot chocolate drink is approx 5mg
a cup of green tea is approx 4mg
a cup of decaff is approx 3mg
a fizzy drink containing the herb guarana: This is a South American herb closely related to caffeine but not believed to be as toxic.
a cup of ‘Red Bush’ herbal tea: This is naturally caffeine free although it does contain tannin, an ‘antinutrient’ which binds to minerals such as iron and zinc in the gut thus preventing their absorption.

61. Food Diary

Apple juice

Porridge with raisins

Black coffee with one fruit sugar

Banana

½ avacado, cottage cheese and flax oil, onion and chives on 2 slices of Ryvita

Apple

Mint tea

Fish pie with cod, prawns, potato, spinach, onions and leeks, in a soya cheese sauce

Camomile tea

4 plums

cold porridge and honey for supper – yes, I’m truly disgusting

60. Juicers and Smoothie Makers

There are a lot of different types of juicers on the market, and there are advantages and disadvantages with all of them, but the best type you can buy in terms of nutition and taste, is the Twin Gear juicer.

Other types are Centrifugal juicers and Masticating juicer which work differently and ‘batter’ the juice out of the fruit, adding heat and air to it, and shortening the shelf life.

Smoothie makers are just blenders with taps on! So I’ll save my money and stick with my old fashioned blender. Smoothies are great if you want to keep all the fibrous matter and pulp included, which is discarded in the juicing process. One good advantage of eating the fibre is it’s brillaint for digestion.

Always drink the smoothie straight away, or freeze it. Leaving it - even in the fridge, will enable the nutitional value to deteriorate.

Always remember to wash the fruit and remove pips and seeds, unless they’re very tiny.

Did you know that there is a small amount of cyanide in apple seeds? I used to eat apple seeds as a child - that would explain a few things!

59. Food Diary

Porridge with raisins

Black coffee with one fruit sugar

Pear

Apple juice

cottage cheese and flax oil, with garlic and celery on 2 slices of Ryvita

Banana

Fennel tea

whole red pepper

Fish pie with cod, prawns, potato, spinach, onions and leeks, in a soya cheese sauce

Fennel tea

about 6 strawberries

58. Update

I’ve been away, then I was ill. And I’m pleased that during both, I still managed to eat healthily overall. When I was ill, I could hardly eat anything but porridge anyway.

I started to keep a note of what I atewhilst away, but that soon got forgotten. All I know is I ate an awful lot of bananas. When in doubt, eat a banana, that’s what I say. After all, you can usually get hold of them wherever you are.

Weaning myself off dairy products is proving more difficult than I’d thought. I no longer have milk in tea or coffee (which I should also cut out, but I do have decaf mostly), but I have to still have cottage cheese and flax oil every day, so I can never cut out dairy completely.

I haven’t had eggs for at least two weeks, and I miss them. I love poached and soft boiled egg yolks. I guess I have to just put them out of my mind.

I haven’t bought any milk or yoghurt, and am not missing them, but cheese – how does one give up cheese?

I can make dairy free cheese sauce, with soya milk and soya parmesan substitute, but I love to top lasagne off with a bit of grated cheese, and always make proper broccoli cheese. Out of cheese and eggs, cheese would be the best one to give up, but it’s so hard!

Anotehr thing I’ve found difficult, to go without sugar in drinks. I used to have two fruit sugars in tea and coffee, and found it quite easy to go from two to one, but not from one to none!

It would really be handy too, because I was at a friend’s the other day, and she ran out of sugar, so put artificial sweetener in my tea – with the lovely guest star; ‘Aspartame’. I was too polite (and too much of a sweet-tooth) to refuse. But if I didn’t take sugar, I wouldn’t have that problem.

I did treat myself to dark chocolate when I was ill, which I munched during Ugly Betty – pure bliss!

I don’t know what ‘Day’ I’m up to, and more importantly, I don’t know why I had to number the Days anyway – the blog posts all have the date on! So there’s no need for Day numbers anymore.

57. Low Salt Diet

A study has been carried out on rats to find out if a high salt diet increases sensitivity to salt, and they were compared with rats fed on a diet of normal salt levels.

The ones fed on a high salt diet developed more salt receptors on the taste buds. This meant that they had to maintain a high salt diet in order to get the desired ‘kick’. So salt is addictive. Well fast food companies have known that for years.

But the important thing is, it is reversable. You have to wean yourself off high salt foods, and in theory you will develop fewer salt receptors.

Too much salt can cause hypertension, high blood pressure, heart disease, exercise induced asthma, stomach cancer, cataracts, and osteoporosis.

56. Food Diary Day 38

Porridge

apple juice

2 figs

Coffee, no milk!

smoothie

Prawn salad, and avacado

ordinary hot decaf tea, no milk.

apple

half red pepper

beetroot

spaghetti bolognaise

mint tea

1.5 litres of water throughout the day

55. The Weekend!

Was away for the weekend, and refused to be a pain to my friends. I actually had the first bit of ice cream for over a YEAR! One bit can't kill me.

Can I admit everything else? Diet Coke? The Aspartame Special? No, I'll not mention that bit.

What about the chocolate?

No. we'll keep that quiet too.

I ate fruit teas, and porridge and other good stuff too, but to be honest, I don't write everything down when I'm not at home.

The reason I can keep an accurate record at home, is I literally have a word doc open all day with a list of everything I eat! I'm not that obsessive when not at home. I think I'd alienate myself pretty quick!

No alcohol though. I actually don't like booze any more, and it gives me terrible heartburn, so that's also a good reason.

54a. Healthy Oils Part 2

Here is a graph I've found that demonstrates quite nicely how beneficial these oils are for you.

54. Healthy Oils Part 1

Olive oil is probably the healthiest of all oils. It has lots of monounsaturated fat, which is good for you, and less saturated and polyunsaturated fats than vegetable oils.

Unlike oils that are processed from hard seeds using heat and chemicals, oils from the fruit of the olive are soft pressed and healthier.

It is sensitive to light and heat however, so use it in dressings, but it will lose it’s healthy properties when heated.

Peanut oil is more tolerant of heat than olive oil and other oils, and is suitable for frying. The peanut taste of the oil complements some foods very well.

Peanut oil is higher in monounsaturated fats than most vegetable oils, but opinion ios divided on whether it is healthy, because some peanut oil could be contain traces of a carcinogenic mold that some peanuts have.

Canola oil doesn’t really have a flavor and is suitable for frying. It is high in monounsaturated fat and has some omega-3 fatty acids.


The safest canola oil is organic, expeller-pressed available in the health food stores, and most grocery stores.

Always keep oils in a cool, dark place, ideally in the fridge.

53. Food Diary Days 33 and 34

Day 33
Cornflakes - too lazy and sleepy to make porridge

Coffee

apple juice

Porridge - Yeah very greedy today!

Prawn salad with avacado and mayonnaise

Fruit smoothie

cottage cheese and flax oil

licorice

Whole raw red pepper

Decaf coffee

Apple

Baked potato with cabbage, minced pork and low fat onion gravy

Green tea

Day 34
Coffee

Porridge

Apple juice

Cottage cheese and flax oil

Coffee

Pork and Vegetable soup,

Mint tea

52. Make Your Own Dairy Free Oat Milk

Make any amount of porridge with water, either on the stove or in a microwave

Allow to cool

Pour porridge into a seive (a plastic one is best), over a bowl

Use a dessert spoon to stir the porridge and to ‘collect’ the liquid from underneath

Add more water and a tiny amount of fruit sugar until the desired consistency

Store your homemade oat-milk in the refridgerator

Use your porridge as a dessert, a cereal, or make porridge cookies!

51. Educate Your Kids – Healthy Diets

It’s difficult to stay focussed on a healthy diet for you and your family when all day long you are being bombarded with messages to the contrary, but just because the rest of the world is slowly killing themselves, you don’t have to!

In a report by Jane Bunce children are being exposed to a phenomenal number of junk food ads.

“Children saw an average 9 junk food TV ads an hour.” she says Read more here:

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21587034-662,00.html

There is only so much you can do to ensure your kids eat healthily. If you never keep candy in the house, they’ll just hate you! And if they can’t afford to buy what they want to eat when they’re out with their friends, they’ll find ways to get the money – ‘whether hook or by crook’ – so the way to get the healthy message across to kids is to educate them.

Start by asking them how long they want to live. And rather than force them to eat certain foods, just tell them it’s ‘their life’ – it’s impossible to enforce rules, they will always break them. If you give them the choice to make up their own minds, not only will they respect you for it, for treating them with respect, but they’ll eventually make the right decisions.

After all, you’re only on a special diet, because you HAVE to be – right?!

50. Food Diary Day 32

Went out to a meeting this morning and suddenly remembered I’d forgotten to eat breakfast and that I’d left my porridge still in the microwave!

As the meeting was from 10am until 12.30, my tummy was rumbling very loudly.

So I had a coffee and a hot chocolate to try and keep it quiet. There was nothing to eat.

When I got out I had sushi, carrot cake and apple juice from the nearest shop. but that was a lot healthier than my first choice of a fast food take away. I think I did really well to stick to healthy food, despite my climbing the walls with hunger!

The cool thing was I kept my cool! A few weeks ago, in the same situation, I would have had extreme low blood sugar and been gasping for air, and be unable to concentrate on ANYTHING but where my next meal was coming from.

All this porridge has paid off – even if today’s got neglected til this evening!

Other food included a banana

Baked potato, with spinach, prawns and mayonnaise

an apple

cornflakes

tea

49. GERD Diet

Gastro Reflux can be caused by stress, and or NSAIDs anti inflammatory drugs. Your stomach is producing too much acid, and is damaging your stomach wall. This can result in stomach ulcers, hiatus hernia or acid reflux, or a combination of all three.

You could take milk of magnesia for temporary relief, but for longer term you may need proton pump inhibitors, special pills to stop your stomach producing too much acid. Your doctor will decide what is best for you, but you can greatly reduce the effects of GERD by eating ther right foods, and avoiding the wrong ones. I would also strongly recommend a food tolerancy test, if you already haven’t taken one. Ask at your family doctor’s or health food shop.

Recommended Food:
Goats milk , chees and youghurt, preferably low fat.
melon, banana, pears, apples, berries, peaches
All vegetables
lean poultry and fish

Foods To Avoid:
whole milk and chocolate
All fried foods
Fizzy drinks
Tomatoes
All citrus fruit
Vinegar
All animal fat
alcohol and caffeine
beef, and all cow products
so milk, cheese, yoghurt and cream

48. Days 30 and 31

Day 30

Apple

Porridge

Coffee

Pepper salad; raw sliced mixed peppers with olive oil, garlic and thyme

Fennel Tea

boiled egg

Apple juice

celery and carrot with avacado dip; made with yoghurt, mayonnaise and soft goats cheese

same dip with prawns and spinach, and Potato

Decaf coffee

went out: 3 glasses of tomato juice and one apple juice

Day 31

Cornflakes

Coffee

Porridge

Apple

Fruit smoothie

chicken supreme with potato. I forgot to have lunch so I had no time to cook rice, so I did a chopped potato in the microwave.

White sauce; soya spread, soya milk, cornflour, chicken stock, pinch of garlic, dash of white wine.

Coffee – very sleepy today

I had chicken supreme tonight as well with rice.

porridge

47. Gluten, Egg and Dairy Free Bread

This is for those with a programmable bread making machine

Ingredients

1.4 cups of water
3 tbs of honey
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cider vinegar
3 tbs oil
1-1/2 tbs of xanthan gum
1 cup of millet flour
1 cup of cornstarch
1 cup of tapioca flour
1 packet of active yeast (not the rapid rise type)

Directions

Sift the flours and xanthan.
Add the first 5 ingredients to the bread machine, then add the flour.
Make a well in the middle of the flour then add the yeast.
Program machine for following times:
20 minutes to preheat
20 minutes to knead
75 minutes to rise
55 minutes to bake
Notes: Be sure to use only 1 kneading cycle. Check the dough as it begins to knead to see if you need to add more water or more flour. The dough should look somewhat wet, and swirl up above the beaters when it's kneading, but should not be too thin.

46. Food Diary Days 28 and 29

Day 28

Porridge

Decaf coffee

Banana

Apple juice

Yoghurt and summer fruits

Poached egg and Ryvita

Summer fruits Smoothie

Fennel tea

Apple

Beetroot

Fish pie

Porridge


Day 29

Porridge

Coffee

Apple juice

Pear

Mixed nuts and raisins

prawn and avacado with mayonnaise

Roast lamb potatoes and parsnips, cabbage and swede

Fruit salad

Camomile tea

45. Porridge Cookies

I discovered how to make these by being a dirty, lazy slob!

1. Make porridge in the microwave.
2. Overdo it so it spills all down the sides, and onto the glass plate.
3. Whenever you heat other food in your microwave, be careful to ensure you do not clean up the porridge spillage for at least three days.
4. On the fourth day, pick up the now rigid porridge from the glass plate.
5. Eat and enjoy!

OK, don’t eat them! But you can recreate this mishap of mine by pouring porridge circles on a baking sheet and cooking on a high oven. Grease the oven tray first, and add cinnamon, ginger (and sugar if you must!)

But I think they taste great without sugar. Hey, I’m addicted!

44. Food Diary Day 27

Porridge

Fruit smoothie

Coffee

Banana

biscuit

Chopped apple and cottage cheese

As I’d forgotten to have my flax oil with it (it does taste pretty grim, so the cottage cheese always tastes nicer without it!) - I had to endure the flax oil ON IT’S OWN. Yuk!

The unsweetened green tea tasted like heaven by comparison!

Fruit smoothie

Chicken and vegetable soup

licorice

43. Dairy Free Cherry Cake Recipe

Ingredients
375g or13oz of Self Raising Flour
300g or12oz of Brown Sugar
1/2 teasp. of Salt
480ml or 16fl.oz. of Water
60ml or 2fl.oz. of vegetable oil
2 tbsp of Vinegar
2 teasp. of Vanilla Extract
100g or 4oz of Glace Cherries - halved

1. Preheat the oven to 180C, 350F, or Gas Mark 4.
2. In a large mixing bowl mix all the dry ingredients together as well as the glace cherries.
3. Make a well in the centre and add the remaining ingredients. Mix well then beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.
4. Transfer the mixture to a 20cm or8 inch cake tin and bake for 30 - 35 minutes. Let cake cool on a wire rack.

42. Food Diary Day 25 and 26

Day 25

Porridge and raisins

Apple

Decaf Coffee, one fruit sugar and goats milk

Egg and ham sandwich

Pear
Chicken and vegetable soup (with LESS salty flavoring!)

Summer fruits, yoghurt and softened, crushed pistachio nuts

bit of chocolate (lack of sleep, self pity etc.!)

cornflakes with soya milk


Day 26

Apple
Porridge and raisins
Full caffiene Coffee, one fruit sugar and goats milk

2 plums

Fresh Apple juice and water mixed
– this is another blood sugar levels trick. It maintains your BSL better than pure apple juice alone, as that is still lots of sugar (healthy sugar, but still sugar)

Cottage cheese, flax oil, onion and chives with 3 slices of Ryvita

2 soft boiled eggs, nothing with them - NO salt!

One red pepper – eaten like an apple!

chicken and veg soup again

the recipe is mentioned earlier but this time as well as cabbage, celery, broccoli, and everything else, I’ve added spinach too.

Summer fruit smoothie, bananas, and apple juice

The very last of my Easter Egg chocolate

litre of water

41. Low Salt Diet

I don’t believe it! I have high blood pressure. I went to get my pill today and the doctor took my blood pressure. It has always been normal all my life, and today it’s 126 over 90.

It’s usually anywhere from 100 over 60 up to 120 over 80, which they tell me is normal. Today’s reading is normal for an 85 year old, and I’m 39!

Oh dear. She still gave me the pill, but told me to have my blood pressure done again in two weeks, so now I have to cut salt out too.

I’m certain, it’s temporary, because I have been anxious and had little sleep the last few days, and also this happened straight after I hobbled all the way to the hospital because of my hip. I live 8 minutes walk away, only today it took 15 minutes, and I was in a lot of pain. I knew I should have cycled.

So all that must have affected my blood pressure. So when I made my famous chicken and veg soup tonight I was reminded just how much salt is in there. I normally put worcestershire sauce in, and yeast free vegetable stock – both laiden with salt. You see you can get yeast free or low salt, but not both together!

Jeez, it’s hard work, this special diet mularky.

40. Days 23 and 24

Day 23

Cornflakes
Apple juice
Coffee

Banana
Green tea

Ham and rye bread sandwich

celery and my ‘magic dip’:

goats milk yoghurt
goats cheese
mayonnaise
garlic chives

Baked potato with goats cheese and prawns, broccoli

bit of chocolate
Camomile tea with a bit of honey

porridge

Day 24

Porridge
Apple juice
Banana

Decaf coffee

apple
cottage cheese and flax oil

summer fruits and plums smoothie

Blackcurrant tea

Stir fried vegetables, beansprouts and king prawns with soy sauce

teeny piece of chocolate. I’m having tiny bits which is unheard of. It takes the savoury taste away, but doesn’t spoil me.

Decaf coffee

lots of water throughout both days

39. Dairy Free Diet

Richard E. Grant doesn’t eat dairy food, I read today. Well the info is a year old, but it might still be true. He says it stopped his migraines, so I intend to try it to stop my headaches.

He also runs round Richmond Park every morning. I even found his house on Google Earth! No I won’t be stalking him – but I did try jogging, as it reminded me I need to crank my fitness regime up a notch.

Oops - with less than a quarter mile, my hip felt like it had a knife in it. You know how when you have an injection it hurts more if you have your muscle tense? It felt exactly like that – like I was trying to run with a knife in my hip.

I was instantly reduced to a hobble, and would’ve looked very embarrassed if it wasn’t 4.30am and no-one about. I did it in a vain attampt to get to sleep, so I could go on the 5 mile walk I had planned.

Anyway, back to dairy free diet. I still have nearly a full litre of goat’s milk, a few eggs, and some goats cheese and yoghurt, but as soon as they’re finished, I’ll give it a go.

I had to let my friends down as I won’t be doing much walking at all for a week, and I’m on my maximum dose of painkillers now. No idea if it’s related to my arthtritis – it feels like the muscle not the joint - it’s not like joint pain.

At least I can cycle though, so I’ll do that every day.

38. Days 21 and 22

I was invited out both Saturday and Sunday, and had a hot cross bun on Saturday, and a roast dinner on Sunday. So I had fatty food and yorkshire pudding, but that was a rare treat I haven’t had since Christmas 2005!

I did decline a glass of wine.

Then I ate very healthy, low fat, low sugar, low chocolate – chocolate. OK it was ordinary milk chocolate, and you’ll be pleased to know I did suffer because of it.

I couldn’t sleep. Not sure if that was physiological or just guilt! I didn’t feel in any physical discomfort, but I was awake til past 5am.

Everything else I consumed was healthy – honest.

37. Day 19 and 20

I can’t remember – I wrote it down somewhere, but I’ve lost it. I’ll update this when I find it!

update:

Nope can't find where i wrote it, sorry.

Due to serious lack of sleep I’ve felt really ill the last few days, so have neglected my blog, but touch wood, I’m ok now.

Last Thursday and Friday, I can’t remember what I had but I do know it was all good stuff, and conformed to my healthy wheat free diet.

Which is more than can be said over the Easter weekend...

36. Is Egg Substitute OK for Egg allergies?

No!

Most egg substitute products, whether fresh, frozen or powdered, contain mostly egg whites, so if you have an allergy to eggs, they are not suitable as egg alternatives.

But egg substitute is a good alternative to eggs if you want to cut down on fat and cholesterol, which are concentrated in the egg’s yolk.

Although whole eggs are not especially high in fat, just 5 grams of total fat and less than 2 grams of saturated fat per egg, they are very high in cholesterol, containing more than two-thirds the daily recommended total. So multi-egg dishes such as omelets and frittatas, which often contain cheese or other high-fat, high-cholesterol ingredients, are good candidate dishes for using egg substitute.

What else in is egg substitute?
Well, egg substitute products such as Egg Beaters brand, contain 99 percent egg whites. The other one percent is “natural flavor,” coloring, spices, onion powder, salt, guar gum and xanthan gum. Many nutrients are added to make up for the ones lost from the yolk, so egg substitute will usually contain varying amounts of iron, folate, zinc, riboflavin, thiamin, vitamins A, E, B6 and B12, and have the same amount of protein as whole eggs. While some brands, like Egg Beaters, contain no fat or cholesterol, others use vegetable oil as an ingredient, which adds to the fat content again, although the fat is usually unsaturated.

35. Food Diary - Days 17 and 18

Day 17

Porridge
Decaf Coffee
Orange juice

summer fruits smoothie

Apple
cottage cheese and flax oil
hard boiled egg
Camomile Tea

2 plums
chicken and vegetable soup

goats milk yoghurt with fruit smoothie

porridge


Day 18

Cornflakes and muesli (was in a rush)
Orange juice

Coffee

Banana

Prawn salad sandwich on wholemeal bread
licorice bar

Pistachio nuts

Blackcurrant tea

Apple
Chicken and vegetable soup

porridge

34. Gluten Free Pizza Base

I was supposed to put this together with the pizza sauce (that would’ve made sense), but better late than never – here is the pizza base recipe:

Ingredients
1/2 teasp of Dried Yeast Granules
240ml or8fl.oz. of warm water
1 teasp of Sugar
100g or 4oz of Rice Flour
75g or 3oz of Cornflour
1 tbsp of Potato Flour
1 1/2 tbsp of Olive Oil
1 teasp of Salt
Some extra oil for greasing

Instructions

1. In a bowl, dissolve the yeast in half of the warm water. Add the sugar and mix well. Leave for 15 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 220C, 425F, Gas Mark 7 then lightly oil a large pizza pan or tray. Prepare toppings for the pizza.

3. Place the remaining dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, and add the yeast mixture and mix well, adding the remaining water a bit at a time until the consistency of a very thick batter.

4. Pour the dough into the centre of the prepared pizza pan or tray and spread around evenly. Bake at the top of the oven for 5 minutes until it is lightly set.

5. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 190C, 375F, or Gas Mark 5.

6. Add your toppings to the pizza. Return to the oven and continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes.

33. Food Diary Day 15 & 16

Day 15
Porridge

Coffee

Smoothie with apple juice, banana and summer berries

Went for an 8 mile walk with the ramblers, and ate:

apple

sandwiches made with the filling from the fish pie (yes, bread!)

banana

lots of water

Later at my friend’s house, 2 coffees (only had 3 hrs sleep last night, so you can imagine what an 8 mile walk did to me!)

Fish pie, same recipe as Day 1

porridge


Day 16
Apple

Porridge

Decaf Coffee

mixed nuts and dried apricots

banana

Fennel Tea

Lunch in a café with friends

Chicken tikka masala tortilla wrap, with lettuce and tomato

Cappucino (oops – it wasn’t even nice)

Fish pie

smoothie with plain goats milk yoghurt

green tea

apple juice

32. Dairy-Free Crème Anglaise (custard)

I haven’t tried this, but my step mother has, and she thinks its wonderful!

Ingredients
175g of 6oz Soft Silken Tofu
1 tbsp of Apple Juice
2 teasp of Barley Malt Powder
120ml or4fl.oz. Rice Milk
1 tbsp of Arrowroot
1 teasp of Vanilla Extract
1 teasp of Maple Syrup
Instructions
1. Place tofu, apple juice, barley malt powder, and half the rice milk in a blender until smooth.
2. In a small bowl mix the remaining rice milk and arrowroot and stir until smooth.
3. Transfer the tofu mixture to a pan and heat, stirring, over medium heat for about 1 minute.
4. Stir in the arrowroot mixture and heat until it thickens, constantly stirring.
5. Remove from the heat then add maple syrup and vanilla extract. Mix well. Serve hot or cold.

31. Food Diary – Day 13 & 14

Apple

Porridge

Apple

1 Egg with mayonnaise

Cottage cheese and flax oil

Coffee

Chicken and Vegetable soup

Goats milk yoghurt with muesli and honey

Cornflakes with UHT cow’s milk

(Run out of goats’ milk and the corner shop doesn’t sell it)


Day 14
Really misbehaved today. I’ve got very little food in the house, and due for a delivery. Started to make a fish pie, but then realised I have no potatoes, but still carried on thinking I’ll find an alternative.

In the end (and probably due to the time of the month), I went out and bought chips (french fries) from the Fish and Chip shop. The worst type of potatoes you can eat, cooked in cheap vegetable oil that’s not hot enough, so they’re drenched in fat. Now my poor guts are suffering the consequences. I’m not ill – they just protest by way of pain, whenever I abuse them!

It doesn’t end there – I bought a a small chocolate bar too, after being bombarded with images of Easter eggs on TV. Well, I was watching the Saturday night movie, About Schmidt, and both the chocolate and the movie were a lovely treat.

Throughout the day though, I did eat my usual healthy stuff too; porridge, apple, banana, green tea, and the last of my delicious chicken and vegetable soup.

I’m now drinking Camomile tea in the wee hours to try and make my tummy go to sleep. I must do my online shopping order asap.

31. Food Diary – Day 13 & 14

Day 13

Apple

Porridge

Apple

1 Egg with mayonnaise

Cottage cheese and flax oil

Coffee

Chicken and Vegetable soup

Goats milk yoghurt with muesli and honey

Cornflakes with UHT cow’s milk

(Run out of goats’ milk and the corner shop doesn’t sell it)


Day 14

Really misbehaved today. I’ve got very little food in the house, and due for a delivery. Started to make a fish pie, but then realised I have no potatoes, but still carried on thinking I’ll find an alternative.

In the end (and probably due to the time of the month), I went out and bought chips (french fries) from the Fish and Chip shop. The worst type of potatoes you can eat, cooked in cheap vegetable oil that’s not hot enough, so they’re drenched in fat. Now my poor guts are suffering the consequences. I’m not ill – they just protest by way of pain, whenever I abuse them!

It doesn’t end there – I bought a a small chocolate bar too, after being bombarded with images of Easter eggs on TV. Well, I was watching the Saturday night movie, About Schmidt, and both the chocolate and the movie were a lovely treat.

Throughout the day though, I did eat my usual healthy stuff too; porridge, apple, banana, green tea, and the last of my delicious chicken and vegetable soup.

I’m now drinking Camomile tea in the wee hours to try and make my tummy go to sleep. I must do my online shopping order asap.

30. Dairy Free Cream of Mushroom Soup

I’ll be creating sections on different elimination diets. The first post in the Dairy Free section is this delicious recipe for Dairy-Free Cream of Mushroom Soup.

Ingredients:
2 finely chopped Onions,
2 tbsp of Olive Oil
350g or12oz Mushrooms, finely chopped
1 tbsp of Paprika
1 teasp of Cayenne Pepper
600ml or 1pt of Fresh Vegetable Stock
Salt
225g or 8oz Medium or Soft Tofu
1 tbsp of Vegetable Oil
2 tsp of Lemon Juice

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan then add the chopped onion and sauté for 4-5 mins.

2. Add the mushrooms, paprika and cayenne and stir. Reduce the heat, cover and cook gently for further 9-10 minutes.

3. Stir in the salt, pepper and stock and bring to the boil, then simmer for a further 3-4 minutes.

4. Then place the tofu, vegetable oil and lemon juice in a blender until smooth.

5. Stir this mixture into the saucepan and heat, without allowing it to boil. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Serve immediately.

29. Food Diary – Day 12

Apple

Porridge

Apple juice

Coffee

Baked potato, with goats cheese and spring onion, and a bit of soya spread

Flax oil, Cottage cheese, onion, chives

Apple

Decaf Coffee

Homemade Chicken and Vetetable soup (for recipe see below)

1.5 litres of water throughout the day

28. Chicken and Vetetable Soup

It’s my own, so there are no quantities! Come to think of it, you can use whatever vegetables you like, but this is what I made today:

Soup base; dried pulses, beans, barley etc, soaked overnight
(if gluten allergy, leave barley out)
Cabbage
Leeks
Celery
Onion
Worcestershire sauce
Horseradish sauce
Yeast free vegetable stock
Chicken stock (homemade if gluten allergy)
Cooked chicken, no fat or skin

Simmer for 20 mins then add the diced chicken and stir for further 5 mins

27. Food Diary – Day 11

Apple juice

Porridge

apple

same as dinner last night - pancakes with mince and tomatoes

pistachio nuts

I boiled egg on its own

Goat’s milk strawberry and vanilla yoghurt

Decaf coffee

flax oil, cottage cheese, onion and chives with 3 Ryvita

Hot chocolate! made with water, and no added sugar (it’s STILL hot chocolate, dear!)

Cornflakes

26. Pizza Sauce

Quick Pizza Tomato Sauce (also suitable for pasta dishes) 35mins

Makes approx 240ml/8fl.oz.

Ingredients:

200g/7oz Tinned Chopped Tomatoes

120ml/4fl.oz. Tomato Juice

Salt and Black Pepper

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1 small Onion, finely chopped

1 Garlic Clove, crushed

1 small Celery Stick, finely chopped

60ml/2fl.oz. Fresh Strong Vegetable Stock


Instructions
1. Place the tomatoes, salt and pepper in a saucepan together with the tomato juice. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small frying pan, add the onions, garlic and celery and sauté gently for 10 minutes until soft and transparent.
3. Add the vegetables to the tomatoes together with the stock. Bring to the boil then cook and a gentle boil for at least 15 minutes. At this stage, it can be cooled slightly and puréed in a blender for a smoother sauce.
4. Use as a base sauce for all types of pizzas.

25. Food Diary - Days 8, 9 and 10

Been away for a couple of days, and didn’t stray TOO far from my healthy unprocessed and wheat free diet!

And the times I did fall off the wagon, it was through no-one’s fault but my own, as my friends had lots of healthy food with them, but on the Sunday at about 4pm, we went out to hire a movie and I suddenly felt extremely hungry. I’d only had two hours sleep from 8.30 – 10.30am, so I had porridge for breakfast and went to meet them.

I forgot I’d not eaten lunch.

So I was climbing the walls in the video shop, and ended up buying a huge packet of Doritos and sour cream and chive dip (for all three of us), but I had to stuff my face in the car on the way home.

That’s what happens when I forget a meal. Very naughty.

Later we all had baked potato and cheese, with green beans, broccoli, mixed peas and sweetcorn.

And I had no willpower whatsoever when my friends got the chocolate out. I only had a few pieces, and considered it a treat for being so good up until now, and I don’t feel guilty for it!

On the Monday I had ‘Oats So Simple’ which wasn’t pure oats, but individual sachets of made up oats and maple syrup favoring. Although the instructions said to make it with milk, I made it with water as usual, and it tasted lovely, but it did have salt, sugar, and ‘flavoring’ in it.

Later we went for a walk and took cheese sandwiches with us. That was the first time I’d eaten bread in ages, and I’ve no idea what spread was on them, but they tasted good! Again – no guilt!

Drinks on both Sunday and Monday included lots of water, apple juice, coffee during the day, and fruit teas.

Today I thought of what I could put in my porridge to add more flavor, and I came up with natural ginger and cinnamon, as well as a bit of honey that I usually have.

Needed 2 bowls today, as I was very hungry, and too lazy to cook!

Did cook tonight: minced pork with tomaotes, peppers and spinach, and wrapped the whole lot up in pancakes made with rye four, goats milk and free range eggs.

24. Food Diary Day 7

Breakfast
Apple
Porridge

Smoothie (same as yesterday)

Coffee

Lunch
Apple juice
Spaghetti bolognaise with spinach

Fennel Tea

Dinner
Baked potato with bolognaise

Water throughout the day

(went jogging this morning for the 1st time in ages, and nearly collapsed!)

23. Three Ways To Ensure Proper Digestion

Most people in the western world eat their food far too quickly and fail to chew their food properly. What happens because of this, is that their food simply doesn’t break down effectively enough, and not only is this food wasted as a valid nutrition, but a lot of what cannot be absorbed properly, your body stores as fat.

Secondly, you are likely to feel hungry much sooner than you would do otherwise.

You owe it to yourself to take your time eating your food, and to chew it properly. I once tried doing this with a piece of toast with butter and jam on, and the rule was I couldn’t swallow the food until it was complete puree. This took a lot longer than I thought it would, for the normal bite size I was having, so I took tiny bites. It took about 10 minutes to eat the whole slice of toast.

But the good news is, not all food is as difficult to ‘puree’ as toast or bread. And you don’t have to puree food in order to chew it better than you have been doing.

Secondly, this may seem hard to get used to, but try the ‘one week’ rule for giving everything a chance, and you should be ok: Don’t drink with food, and for at least 15 minutes before and 45 afterwards.

This will allow your food to be broken down better. And it will force you to chew your food slower and better too.

Another trick that will not only optimise food adsorption, but will result in weight loss, is to eat fruit BEFORE your meal. Our stomachs are actually designed to break down fruit carbohydrates much quicker than protein, so it may take 20 minutes or so before your fruit is absorbed, but it can take up to 90 minutes for a large steak for example, to be broken down.

The fruit prepares the stomach for the intake of protein, and it will break it down more effectively. If you wait until later to have your fruit or a sweet, your body is working much harder to break down the protein. Anything that makes your body work harder than it should is jeopardising your overall health.

Eating an apple before every meal is talked about in the book ‘The 3 Apple a Day Plan’ by Tammi Flynn
http://www.amazon.com/3-Apple-Day-Plan-Foundation-Permanent/dp/0767920414/ref=sr_1_1/104-8754403-6622308?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174327960&sr=8-1

which goes into more scientific detail of how this works.

22. Food Diary Day 6

Decaffeinated coffee, 1 fruit sugar

Breakfast
Smoothie made with banana, plums and apple juice

Porridge, made with water, and a few raisins

Lunch
Beetroot

Prawns, cottage cheese, flax oil, onion, red pepper, chives, tiny bit of mayonniase and ketchup – in other words; very rich prawn cocktail! - with celery, and 1 slice of Ryvita.

Smoothie made with three very ripe bananas that had to be eaten quick, summer fruits, goat’s milk-pro biotic yoghurt, and a dash of vanilla essence (NOT flavoring).

This was very rich, but enormously scrumptious, so I had two glasses; a pint of the stuff!

Dinner
Half apple

Had friends round later and made Spaghetti bolognaise but with pork mince instead of beef! And I microwaved the meat first to get all the fat off it, then blended it into a powder.

Had wholewheat spaghetti too, and my friends liked it. I’m allowed wheat occasionally, although when I’ve been good and done without it for a while, the symptoms such as an itchy nose(!) and itchy arms tend to be much worse after I do fall off the wagon, than if I ate wheat all the time.

Goat’s milk - strawberry pro biotic yoghurt

Decaffeinated coffee, 1 fruit sugar

21. Aspartame

Not to be mixed up with ‘aspartamine’ which is naturally found in artichokes and is innocent and something else entirely.

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener. It is also a poison. What your body cannot break down and use, aspartame will store it as FAT in your body. It is in Diet Cola and just about every diet drink you can think of. It is even in toothpaste, chewing gum and some MEDICINES! So instead of helping you lose weight, aspartame is keeping you fat!

“Aspartame sugar substitutes cause worrying symptoms from memory loss to brain tumours. But despite US FDA approval as a 'safe' food additive, aspartame is one of the most dangerous substances ever to be foisted upon an unsuspecting public.”

Go here to read more: http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/

It is interesting to learn that the diet version of the world’s biggest selling product is killing the very people that choose to buy it (it’s a soda drink by the way).

Just remember that you live in a world where money is more important than people’s lives and more important than the truth.

20. Food Diary Day 6

Breakfast
Bowl of home made muesli with oats, raisins sultanas, walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, fresh banana, sliced pear, and cornflake crumbs! + goat’s milk

They were out of my soya milk this week, so I’m using goat’s milk on my cereals. In theory, this should force me to eat fewer bowls of cornflakes, and more porridge as I don’t make that with milk.

Decaffeinated coffee, 1 fruit sugar

Apple juice

Lunch
beetroot, not pickled
1 cold boiled egg
Cottage cheese, flax oil, onions, peppers and 2 slices of Ryvita multigrain

Decaffeinated coffee, 1 fruit sugar

small amount of dried fruit and nuts

Dinner
Very small baked potato, pork with plum and apple sauce, mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, sweet corn and green beans)

Plum and apple sauce recipe:
three large plums with skins on, blended with a small cup of apple juice
1 tsp of tomato ketchup, and finely chopped onion

I never made this before. I just make meals out of what I’ve got in. And this took about 10 minutes to make.

Maybe I should put a disclaimer on this blog. After all this is a diary of what I eat, not necessarily what you should eat. As I make recipes up out of my head, I do occasionally poison myself, but since switching to non processed food (ketchup aside) I haven’t done so far!

Again, approx 1 litre of water

19. The Effects of Red Bull

Red Bull and other cheaper brands of the same thing have lots of caffeine and taurine in them. Taurine is banned in some countries because it has never been proven to be safe.

But even if it were officially safe in all countries, I know for certain it is not safe for someone like me to consume it. I am prone to anxiety, panic attacks and irritability.

However, most normal people will become irritable or have headaches and immense lethargy when ‘coming down’ from this drink.

What Red Bull does is keep you awake. Whenever I was unable to sleep during the night, and I needed to be awake in the day, I would drink it. Within 30 minutes, I would forget about my bad night’s sleep and I’d be ok for several hours. As soon as I found myself flagging, I’d have another Red Bull, and I’d ‘wake up’ again.

But when the effects wore off, I would find myself feeling unable to cope with the simplest of things.

This drink is allowed to be sold in bars, meaning that vast quantities are consumed. Just one is bad for you. So much caffeine should be seriously avoided in the evening.

I once knew a man who had not slept for two nights before his wedding day. So he drank Red Bull all day, and the wedding went well.

That night he crashed out as soon as his head hit the pillow, and had a migraine for the next two days. Suffice to say, his bride was not too pleased.

A lot of clubbers drink it to dance the night away til dawn. One friend of mine who used to take speed (amphetamines) to stay awake, says his Monday mornings were a whole lot worse coming down off Red Bull thatn Speed. No I am NOT condoning speed!

But if that’s illegal, and the effects of Red Bull are worse…? Well, you work it out.

If you absolutely meed caffeine to keep you awake in an emergency, then at least a normal coffee has measurable amounts of caffeine it.

Actually, the thought of throwing up has always put me off drinking in excess, but it doesn’t put a lot of people off. Many millions go out with the sole intention of getting steaming drunk, so those people are probably not going to be too receptive of my Red Bull advice!

Don’t get me started on alcohol. And Diet drinks? – with Aspartame in them? That’s another post!

18. Food Diary Day 5

Cornflakes in the middle of the night again – Terrible insomnia. I need more exercise to tire me out.

Breakfast
Half apple juice/ half mineral water

Porridge with raisins

Small raw carrot

Lunch
Cottage cheese, beetroot, flax oil, onion and chives, with 3 Ryvita

Decaffeinated coffee, 1 fruit sugar

Several pieces of dried fruit, and a few mixed nuts

Dinner
5 thin slices of ham and soft goat’s cheese, rolled up - honestly, that was enough!

Half apple juice

Decaffeinated coffee, 1 fruit sugar

17. Prevent and Cure Cancer with Diet

Last year I met a very famous copywriter called Ted Nicholas who managed to cure both himself and his girlfriend of cancer.

He said the two foods that will not only prevent you getting cancer, but will cure it, if eaten every day, are flax oil and cottage cheese.

Now I forgot to ask him if these two foods should be eaten together or not, but not to worry – I eat them together anyway, just in case.

The flax oil tastes pretty revolting by the way, but just add your favorite natural flavorings and you’ll be fine.

I’m sure there are skeptics reading this, thinking ‘how can that be true?’ Well, when Ted Nicholas gives you advice, you can do a lot worse than listen to him. He’s 82 and worth over $400 million. Google him and see.

I’ve done some of my own research and there are lots of cancer fighting foods available, such as broccoli and green tea, which I try to consume whenever possible.

But to cut out processed food is certainly the best way to prevent cancer and many other serious illnesses.

16. Food Diary Day 4

I’m calling it Food Diary from now on. Accountability is way too long a word.

I spoke too soon last night. I had terrible insomnia, and my stomach was like a vacuum, so I had to feed it at about 3am with a bowl of cornflakes with skimmed goat’s milk, and a pinch of fruit sugar - then again at 5am with ham and shredded carrot.

As my food delivery came early this morning, I didn’t eat breakfast as such. I just picked at my food as I unwrapped it.

Apple juice

1 apple

handful pistachio nuts

1 egg and a slice of Ryvita with soya spread

I had to eat the egg because it was cracked. I know I probably should have thrown it out for hygiene purposes, but I don’t like wasting food.

Usually if there are more eggs broken, I ring them and they refund me for the whole box of 12, even if only three are broken. As it was just one I didn’t bother. I did email to tell them they are losing money, and that a suggestion would be to clearly label shopping bags with eggs in, but they won’t implement it, as it makes too much sense.

Later whilst working I strated to flag. The thing about working from home is when you feel like you want to fall asleep, there’s nothing to stop you. But that would be lethal, as I’d just be awake all night again – hence:

Caffeine coffee with fruit sugar and goats milk

Lunch
Apple

Half a portion of fish pie

Green tea

Dinner
Last half portion of fish pie

Went out and drank:

2 Pineapple juices

2 mineral waters

1 litre of mineral water throughpout the day

15. Don’t be Scared of Carbs!

If you cut out carbs, or reduce them dramatically, you run the risk of rapidly depleting energy levels, as well as increased anxiety, irritability and even depression.

You are also denying your body a great food source. Food combining, or separating carbs from protein is one school of thought, but not mine. For a start, unless you can afford your own personal chef to go wherever you go, it is extremely difficult to implement such a diet.

The key is to eat balanced meals, and to eat the RIGHT carbohydrates.

Good carbs include:

oats
wholewheat
rice – preferably wholegrain
potato – preferably with the skin left on
sweetcorn
rye
bananas
all fruit

You can still lose weight and gain all round good health when you eat carbs with your meals. Just don’t overdo it. Try and make sure your carbs are about a third of your whole meal, and never more than half.

14. Accountability Day 3

Breakfast
Porridge and raisins

Blackcurrant Tea

Banana

Dried fig, dried apricot, and a few mixed unsalted nuts

Decaffeinated Coffee, with one fruit sugar

Lunch
Cottage cheese, Flax oil, chives, garlic, chopped ham, chopped red pepper, 3 Ryvita

Green tea, with a bit of honey

Dinner
Fish Pie, again - still glorious!

The first improvement I noticed was that my food cravings had completely disppeared after only one day! That’s pretty fantastic.

I always used to have a bowl of cornflakes in the evening or something else to eat. Now I’m eating less but I don’t feel hungry at all. Today I had the banana and dried fruit and nuts at about 12, so I didn’t need lunch until 2.30pm.

Even then, my lunch was about a third of what I used to eat at lunch.

13. Wheat Intolerances

I’m quite lucky in that I’m only intolerant to wheat, so if I were to eat it in small quantities, I probably wouldn’t notice. I am also not intolerant or allergic to gluten, so I have a lot more choice than some of you.

A wheat allergy is more serious than just an intolerance, but it is different from Celiac Disease, which is an aversion to gluten, and requires a complete gluten ban for life.

If you do have celiac disease you cannot eat wheat, rye, oats, and barley.

Most children who are allergic to wheat will grow out of the allergy.

Most people claiming that they have a food allergy may at worst have a food intolerance. Often a person has decided to eliminate a food from their diet based on one bad experience.

In other cases people eliminate foods from their diets because another family member suspects that he or she has a food allergy, or because they have read a magazine article and decided that the symptoms described relate to their own.

As a result they cut out and eliminate foods which in fact may be an essential part of a healthy balanced diet. Such self-medication can be dangerous as it can obscure the real health problem.

I had a food tolerance test by a qualified nutritionalist. Ask your health food shop where to find one. But if you cannot find one, your family doctor can perform the test.

If you find you do have a wheat intolerance or wheat allergy, you need to read food labels very carefully. I’m too lazy to do that, so I just buy fresh, non processed food.

When I go to a restaurant or a friends house, I am less pedantic about my diet. As it is an intolerance, and not an allergy, I can break the rules once in a while. I hate to be a burden to others, although all my friends are very understanding.

Still, I have fruit, nuts and herbal tea bags with me all the time, just incase what’s on offer is so unappealing.

12. Accountability Day 2

Was adding to this all day yesterday, then forgot to post it last night.

Breakfast
Porridge and raisins
Ham and Pickle

That’s right, no bread or butter – just thinly sliced ham with pickle spread on it. Pickle’s a treat too – it’s full of sugar.

Decaffeinated coffee, dash of goats’ milk and 1 flat tsp fruit sugar.


Several dried apricots. I bought these from the health food shop – sadly they contain preservative E220. So don’t assume that everything from health food shops is pure!

Half a fruit smoothie, as yesterday

Lunch
Small baked potato, with three thin slices of ham, a bit of cheese and pickle.

Snack
I cold boiled egg. I thought I’d hard boiled it yesterday, but the yolk was still soft – never had cold soft boiled egg before – it was yummy! And there’s another 2 in the fridge that I did at the same time.

I dried fig.

Dinner
Glorious Fish Pie!

Camomile Tea

11. Make Porridge the Easy way

Porridge is so good for you, where do I begin?

It can greatly reduce depression, regulate metabolism, keep blood sugar levels up, and of course fill you up better than any other breakfast cereal.

It releases ‘happy’ chemicals in your brain, and will after just a short time, raise your energy levels generally.

It’s easy to make porridge in the microwave. Just get your favorite small glass or cup, half fill it, (or quarter fill it – you’ll get to know) with pure untreated oats, put them in a bowl, and put twice as much water in the cup as you did oats, and pour that in.

Microwave on full power for 1 minute. If the bowl is more than half full, you need to watch it the whole time, or you’ll have a case of the magic porridge pot, and you’ll be scraping it all off the inside of your microwave!

Stir, then microwave for another 30 seconds if not thick enough. Definitely watch it this time!

If desired, add honey or fruit sugar (tiny amounts only, or you’re defeating the object)
or salt. Yes, some mad people like salt with it!
You can even add a dash of milk to cool it down a bit, but try not to make it with all milk.

If you don’t like it, give it a week – I always do that with any new food, or even after changing to daylight bulbs, dying my hair, whatever. You’ll get used to it, if you do it every day.

10. Accountability Day 1

So what did I have today if I’m honest?

Breakfast
Porridge, with half a teaspoonful of honey and a dessert spnfl of raisins

Mug of Green Tea

Lunch
3 dessert spn Cottage cheese, 2 dessert spn flax oil, dash of garlic granuals, dash of onion powder, chopped chives, and chopped fresh red peppr (heaped dessert spn full) with three slices of Ryvita, dark multigrain.

A smoothie with a banana, summer fruits, and organic cloudy apple juice.

Actually, this is going to be very time consuming if I state the amount all the time, so from now on, lets say, “a dollop” of everything. And a dollop of course, is whatever I think is needed!

How do people carry on when they have to weigh and measure out everything…? There’s none of that here!

Mid afternoon, another smoothie as earlier.

So tonight, I made my glorious fish pie. I’ll state the ingredients only – not all the amounts:

4 frozen cod steaks
prawns
mixed frozen vegetables
mashed potato still with skins on

sauce:
soya spread
cornflour
goat’s milk
soya powdered cheese
goat’s cheese
mayonnaise
ketchup (prawn marie rose sauce)
onion powder

And I made enough for the next four days, so this blog is gonna be quite monotonous!

Also made porridge to put in the fridge so I’m not tempted to buy cake or chocolate, and soaked some soup mix ready for tomorrow, consisting of lentils, chickpeas, barley and other good stuff. That’s my base for all my soups.

I also drank 1 litre of Evian – not enough I know.

But so far, I haven’t been tempted to snack all day, and I’ve worked solidly all evening – that’s progress!

9. Diet Intake Accountability

Ok, I’ve decided to blog about everything I eat!

Yes, it’s going to make riveting reading, but it’s so I can see for myself how good or naughty I’ve been.

Obviously there is no point in telling fibs. If I fall off the wagon, I have to report it. This blog will be my accountability.

Recently on TV there were several couples who had been eating healthily with the help of a nutritionalist. They were overweight to begin with, but the benefits were not just weight loss.

They were all asked to make charts of particular health issues, such as sleep levels, energy levels, skin condition, iritability, digestion, sexual function, and headaches.

Within only two weeks, there were dramatic improvements for all couples on EVERY health issue. One woman said the improvement in her energy levels alone would ensure she would never go back to her old eating habits.

And one guy after five weeks said he no longer has the slightest heartburn, and he was previously told he would have to have an operation for his severe acid reflux.

Well, my problem at the moment is poor sleep, headaches and low energy levels – oh and irritability!

I’ve already made a start on improving my blood sugar levels by eating porridge every morning and lots of fruit, and cutting out all sweets and chocolate (although I had a moment of weakness the other night and put drinking chocolate in my porridge – a brilliant compromise!)

Let’s see if I can become the picture of health!

How do you know you have a food allergy?

I was lucky. I paid for a Food Intolerance test at a reputable health food chain, because I had terrible gastro reflux, but they uncovered other digestive problems too.

Many people go through life not even knowing they have an allergy or food intolerance. Here's some news on the subject:

It's tricky to identify an allergenic food after an isolated reaction. The usual culprits should be considered: peanuts, nuts, seeds, fish and shellfish. If more reactions occur, there is typically a pattern that makes the offending food easier to identify, says Anna Nowak-Wegrzyn, M.D., a professor specializing in pediatric allergy and immunology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Diagnosis requires a combination of investigative work (trying to pin down the foods) and laboratory testing, such as skin prick tests and measuring antibody levels. "Frequently oral food challenges [feeding with the suspected food under physician supervision] are needed to conclusively establish the diagnosis," adds Nowak-Wegrzyn.

Read the whole article at:

http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=5160260

technorati tags:wbay, Food allergies, food, test, intolerance, allergy

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7. Special Diets: The Truth about Salt and Sugar

If you are at all interested in improving your health, then you need to know this!

Sugar and salt are both addictive and are abundant in processed food to keep you buying more. Even cornflakes that boast a ‘low fat food’ are full of sugar and salt.

All these so called healthy snacks like cereal bars, and oat flapjacks are loaded with sugar. You might as well open your mouth and pour a bag of sugar in!
Your body actually requires both sugar and salt, but there is all the sugar and salt you need in a healthy unprocessed diet of fruit, vegetables, carbs and protein.

6. This is not a weight loss blog

It is a blog offering advice on Special Diets for people with a Food Allergy or Food Intolerance.

But you may lose weight, if you are over-weight to begin with. You may also put weight on if you are under-weight to begin with, because the foods, advice and recipes are all good for you, and may adjust your metabolism to what it should be.

If you have been advised to cut out wheat or lactose or sugar from your diet, whatever food you need to avoid I will help you find an easy way to do it.

I prefer to eat unprocessed food, but if that is impossible for you, I will give you advice on what to look out for when shopping for food.

5. The Right Mindset

In order to stick to any special diet, you need to put junk food out of your mind, and the only way to do that is to distract your mind with other things.

Imagine you just died and are looking back at the DVD of your life. Did you eat healthily, or did you eat crap? If you ate crap, you probably didn’t live to be very old. You only get one life. You only get one body. Look after it.

Or how about this? You are on a desert island. Your plane crashed but like Tom Hanks in Castaway you managed to survive and live off what was available.

There is fruit growing on the trees, and fish in the sea. If that is all there is, then you are not even going to think about chocolate or french fries, are you? You know you can survive on what you have available, so you would just get on with it.
As long as you keep your blood sugar levels up, by eating the right food - NOT sugar, then all you have to do is forget about food! Just eat when you are hungry. It’s that simple.

4. Food Standards Agency - Eat well, be well - Food allergy and intolerance

Food Standards Agency - Eat well, be well - Food allergy and intolerance: "Food allergy and food intolerance are both types of food sensitivity. When someone has a food allergy, their immune system reacts to a particular food as if it isn't safe. If someone has a severe food allergy, this can cause a life-threatening reaction.

Food intolerance doesn't involve the immune system and is generally not life-threatening. But if someone eats a food they are intolerant to, this could make them feel ill or affect their long-term health."

The Food Standards Agency is a wealth of food health information that I often refer to.

3. Why you shouldn’t ignore advice

People who have a special diet, because of a food allergy will get all sorts of symptoms, some very severe, and those symptoms will prevent them from eating the foods in question, but food intolerances are less severe. A food intolerance may not be taken as seriously because the symptoms are so subtle.

But if you continue to eat foods that you are intolerant to, your body cannot digest the food properly, and will store it as fat. Not only that, but you will be making all the organs in your body work much harder than they need to.

So you will be jeopardizing your whole health, if you ignore the advice you have been given. I wasn’t even trying to lose weight, but I did lose weight when I gave up all processed foods, and only ate the foods that I was supposed to.

2. Multiple Special Diets

At first I was only looking for special diets and recipes that matched my own food intolerances. But I found some recipes that I knew I could adapt, such as using goat’s milk or soy milk instead of cow’s milk, and combining recipes for different food intolerances together, to make completely new recipes! I, of course tried these first to make sure they worked.

What if you have one person in the family with two different food intolerances? Or two people with a different food allergy or food intolerance each? Wouldn’t it be easy to just have to cook one meal for everybody?

Whatever your food gripe, there’s going to be something here for everyone.