Though the title might suggest that I am free from this diet, I am actually very far from it. Perhaps we can better, or more accurately, define freedom in just a bit.
This past weekend was an adventurous one for us. One of the quests that made up our adventure called “Last Weekend” was to this little bakery on South Street in Philadelphia. You may, or may not, have heard my anguished cries about my cravings for sweet baked goods. We have tried in the past to make desserts that follow the diet and adhere to the food-combining rules. They were decent, but they still didn’t compare to that delicious Devil’s Food Cake with Vanilla Frosting that I was craving. Well, my better half, my support system and incredible light, heard my cries loud and clear. She then went on a virtual mission to find recipes to quench this ridiculous craving of mine. Well, believe it or not, there are actual bakeries out there that make allergen-free sweets! When you hear gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, corn-free, peanut-free, and refined-sugar-free, you probably think “YUCK!!!!”. I know I do. I can only imagine pasty, brown, and not-sweet-at-all.
There is this bakery in Philadelphia called Sweet Freedom, and they make the most amazing desserts that adhere to those afore-mentioned terms. They even upped the ante when I threw in the fact that I cannot have legumes (garbanzo bean flour, in this particular instance). I decided to try the chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing. I was so surprised to taste something that was that amazing AND that did not have any of the things I cannot have! We were so impressed that we ordered a whole cake! We’ve also decided to slowly start re-introducing the legumes into my diet. The chocolate chip cookies that they make with garbanzo bean flour are fantastic as well! You have to check this place out: http://www.sweetfreedombakery.com/index.html. The food is delicious and they were incredibly helpful and super-friendly. Overall, it was just a great experience, and I felt an overpowering urge to share this info with all of you.
Despite all of our efforts and the fact that we have been really good, with all of the food-combining rules there are, we have still occasionally broken the rules. Of course, it WAS innocent rule-breaking every time because you just can’t remember it all at once. It’s information over-load and at times it feels like food under-load. Here’s a summary: Fruits are good, but only by themselves. Then there are some schools of thought that divide the fruits into acid fruits and sub-acid fruits, and the sub-acid groups can be eaten with fats and veggies and dairy. Proteins should never be consumed with starches, and wouldn’t you believe that avocados are considered light proteins? How foods are labeled makes the combining even more difficult, because certain foods are commonly regarded as one food group but act as a different one as far as food-combining goes.
Everyone knows that I am only doing this because I was told it was the best thing for me to do for me. I needed to get my digestion back on track, and this was the way to do it. But there are many people out there who actually live this diet! They have even lost weight on it. Now I’m not saying that everyone needs to do this diet (or anyone for that matter), because every person reacts differently to diets (just take a look at the South Beach Diet or the Atkins Diet). Some people do swear that this is the healthy way to lose weight. I know I’ve lost a little bit (please, no more comments about the need, or the lack thereof…it is what it is, I’m not super-thrilled about it, but I have to admit I DO feel tons better).
The thing that still fascinates me most is the effect that food has on your digestion. We all know that general rule: Don’t go swimming right after you eat, you should wait an hour. Does this apply to everything? I just figured it did, although I had opinions that big meaty meals took hours, maybe even days, to digest. Digestion is actually much more complicated than just waiting around for an hour and then going swimming. Different foods are digested differently, hence the reasoning behind food-combining. If we eat foods that are digested similarly, or at least complimentarily, rather than have the Digestion Battles in our bellies, the easier and more efficient everything is for our bodies.
Digestion is key, as we all know. It helps keep us regular. I’m going to tie this slightly scientific thought into a very random and slightly crass thought I had, and then I’ll end it there. Since I’ve been here in the new job, I’ve had to grow accustomed to many things. This is an incredibly large office with a ton of people. I came from a small office with about ten people during the busy season. One thing I’ve had to get used to is the bathroom situation. Of course, I have used public bathrooms before…but I only had to use them on occasion. Now I get to use them daily.
So one of the many things I’ve discovered here is that nobody wants to be #2. This applies to a lot of things, especially when it comes to competitions of any kind (whether it be sports, relationships, career goals, etc.). It ALSO applies to the bathroom arena. There are times when maybe you are sick, or maybe you’re just having a bad morning/afternoon. Whatever the case may be, you HAVE TO GO. I’m not sure if this applies to the men out there, but I have seen it time and time again in the women’s room. No one wants to go #2. This is a perfectly natural bodily function we are talking about here, yet society has made it so that we think it’s disgusting and stinky. Why? You have to get rid of the waste somehow! It doesn’t just magically disappear in a sparkly, fragrant poof. Oh no, you must dispose of it properly. Have you ever noticed that sometimes, as you go into a stall, the furthest stall down is occupied, and yet you hear no noise? You continue to do your business, you still hear nothing, but you know you saw those feet when you walked into your stall. She’s quieter than a church mouse, and you KNOW she’s praying you’ll be fast. Here at work, either you have to suck it up and just do it because it’ll never be empty in the bathroom, or you can do as I do, and just go home! :)
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