Elimination Diet-Week 1 Reflections (Fats, Nuts, Veggies)

The Rundown:

 I did a good job staying away from everything except for the fats. I was not allowed to have margarine, butter, shortening, processed oils. I think this category was so hard was because it took more forethought. I did absolutely fine at home, I cooked with olive and sesame oil. But when I ate out, I had a problem. Instead of just looking at visible ingredients, I had to think about how the food was prepared. I automatically said "No!" to fried foods (which I rarely eat anyway). But there are so many other dishes that are prepared with some sort of fat. There were several times that I was mid-way through a meal and then I'd remember: "Wow, I really shouldn't be eating this!" And then I would finish my food lol.

Benefits:

I must say that I have had more energy this week. It was definitely a hectic week but I didn't miss a beat. Which is surprising because the past couple of weeks I have had to cancel a lot of my activities due to exhaustion. 

Food Substitution:

The food I missed the most this week was Peanut Butter. Even though I am not a fan of nuts, I love peanut butter! By Wednesday, I was trying to find an acceptable alternative. I like the nutty taste of almond milk (Yes, I hate nuts but love products made from them SMH), so I decided to try almond butter. For some reason I got it into my head that I wanted to make it myself (even though I do not own a food processor). After some investigation work, I found a friend of mine that had a food processor which came with a book that had a recipe for almond butter. She made me about 7 oz made with canola oil. The mixture was not smooth, it more resembled crunchy peanut butter. And the taste: Yuck!! I had to add 2 tbsp of honey and 2 tsp of vanilla extract to the mixture and then it wasn't that bad. Now don't get me wrong, by itself it still tasted pretty pungent (it was probably the canola oil) but on a honey sandwich, it was just perfect! I could pick up on that nutty flavor that I had been so missing. So... Mission Accomplished!



Starting today, I also have to cut out all beverages besides water and herbal tea, all dairy products, and bananas, melons, cherries, pineapples and all citrus fruits.

1 week down, 9 to go!!!

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