I like to drink chai while I write. It's a fact. It's a ritual as sacred and soulful as lighting a diya before I pray. It's a portal for me to enter a place that is navigated by all senses and inner knowing, not just by sight and mind and logical thought and words. This place is dark and unknown and vast, full of mystery and magic, but also full of fear if you're afraid of the dark, afraid of not knowing. The chai and diya (tealight) ground me in the mystery and magic, and guide me when I'm lost or afraid, when there are no words and no writing comes out. I'm still me, I'm still here, I drink chai and breathe, feel its warmth in my belly, its cardamon flavors flowing into my soul. I can pause and reflect, and ground before I try again, seeking with my inner self.
On Friday I began a cleanse. This has great potential impact on my inner and outer self. For 3 weeks I'm quitting wheat and dairy, and onions and garlic, completely. This is a big deal for me because I have not done any food restrictions in a serious way for over 8 years. For the last several years I've been 60-80% gluten-free, but never completely. That was too definite, too scary, did not feel realistic and I did not want to live in New York and limit my ability to eat a NY slice of pizza when I felt like it! But, since I've had the time to focus on my healing more intentionally, and do things that normally seemed impossible while working full-time, I have more mental and emotional energy and openness for this effort. I'm excited! And very, very curious as to what impact it will have.
The general plan is oatmeal for breakfast, lentils and vegetables and rice for lunch and dinner, and a solid snack between those 2 meals. Lots of hydration - 4 of those stainless steel bottles. I am allowed caffeine and sugar (which is amazing!) but since there's no dairy, I'm not that interested in coffee or chai without it.
Day 1 meals -
Breakfast: A cup oatmeal with almond milk, and chia seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds. And 4-5 strawberries. Yummmm!
Lunch: Green moong daal khichdi (pressure cooked with white rice) with ginger , green chillies and lemon, and some simple spices - turmeric and salt. And eggplant cooked with tomatoes. Hella tasty!
Snack: Roasted cashews, raw pecans, sunflower and pumpkin seeds
Dinner: Same as lunch
Snack: More nuts and seeds, and a couple of pieces of dark chocolate
I drank 6 bottles of water on this day!!! A huge area of growth for me, so something I was really proud of and felt great flowing within my body.
This is full of newness, stumbling, learning, and being open to trying imperfectly. By the end of day 1, I actually felt amazing. I felt empty, which was uncomfortable, but it allowed me to see how certain foods fill my belly because I can't stand the emptiness. It's not hunger, it's open space. I slept easily and soundly (have had bad insomnia), and most incredible of all, when I lay down I could feel wind and my feelings flow through me, top to bottom, all the way to my feet. Usually those feelings get stuck in a hard place in my gut, and I can never feel breath flow to my legs. I had energy flowing into my lower body without interruption, and immediately I could see the power of the cleanse. I was committed to seeing it through.
Day 2 was also good. I felt a lot of mindfulness because I was preparing everything I ate, and it was all so wholesome and tasty. I was committed to enjoying delicious foods while cleansing, and I was making new recipes, or simplifying old recipes because it's without onions and garlic.
Day 3 started to feel difficult. When I made the new tasty-healthy recipe I was excited about, it was tasty but not amazing. I have high standards as a cook, and usually will keep working a dish until it gets to finger-licking yumm. This was solid, but not excellent.
New entree (for lunch and dinner): Butternut squash, carrots, green beans, and potatoes cooked in coconut milk, with mustard seeds, curry leaf and some green chillies.
Side: Lightly sauteed kale with orange bell peppers.
Day 4: I was feening for chai. It was Sunday, the city was slowing down preparing for the storm, and on my current funemployment schedule I have a lot of free time. I like to drink chai while writing, as I mentioned, and also while reading. So, I made vegan chai with almond milk, inspired by a friend. It's decent, thought not something I can imagine craving!
Luckily, other people eating decadent things like chocolate lava cake or garlic-sauteed greens did not tempt me.I enjoyed the smells, and their pleasure with their food. For me, I simply felt - this is only for 3 weeks. An experiment, I want to see if I feel better (less/no stomach aches and headaches, and better sleep and energy). And I want to do it for real, no cheating. I'm really leading with curiosity this time, so eager to know what works well in my body! And I am enjoying the challenge of simplicity :) Which is actually a gift. I'm cooking simpler.
Day 5 is today: I am drinking vegan chai and writing from a cozy bed on this snowy day. This is a treat.
What I'm excited to do more of
What's up next for cooking: Daal again (maybe red lentils this time, or brown - masoor daals) and eggplant again. That combo sounds simple, solid, and delicious. I am in love with eggplant these days. It's soft and light so very easy to cook, one eggplant makes a good sized portion, and it feels creamy and richly flavorful, which is very satisfying.
I need to expand my snack options beyond the nuts + seeds combo because I get bored easily. I did some online exploration last night, and have thought of rice cakes, plain or with peanut butter.
I also tried to make tahini but it came out bad because the sesame seeds were too old I think, it was bitter and tasted rancid. I'll get a fresh batch and try again. I may also make my own hummus without garlic.
I want to start going to yoga classes 2-3 times a week, which is an important component of any health effort. Right now it's zero/week, so fortunately, the stats can only go up from here. The snow is testing my commitment, so I will do some home yoga today + practice the dance routine I learned at my dance collective this week!
How you can help me! Please.
I am looking for more recipes - vegan and gluten free of course - that use basic ingredients, nothing too obscure or fancy. So, please share your favorites! You can fb message or email me, or call me too! A great excuse to chat - recipe exchange.
Also, if there are some basic exercise things that you do from home, whether regularly or when you're stuck indoors by weather, tell me what they are. I'd like to build a collection of options for myself. My default tends to be sun salutations but like I mentioned, I get bored easily with repeating the same things every day (something to work on in yoga practice huh? cultivating beginner's mind daily)
Stay tuned
In case anyone is curious, I am trying the Low FODMAP + no dairy diet as recommended by my awesome nutritionist. This diet also excludes a lot of fruit (anything with a pit/core) and vegetables (like cauliflower, peas etc. - some of my favorites!), so it's not just dairy and wheat elimination. It's apparently a great fit for folks with inflammation in the body (symptoms - stomach aches, headaches etc.) or what is more commonly known as IBS. It is also paired with taking a probiotic daily which helps build the good bacteria for digestion (I haven't begun this yet).
I'm not yet committed to this food plan for life, just trying it out to see if it really works for me. And if the results are compelling, who knows where I go from here. I'll keep you posted. Cooking and eating occupies a great deal of my mindspace, both because I'm a foodie who likes to cook and eat out, and because I've had such challenges with how foods impact me, even so-called healthy foods. So, doing this cleanse and writing about it are a great way for me to externalize this huge thing, and to share the lessons I'm learning. Thanks for reading!
On Friday I began a cleanse. This has great potential impact on my inner and outer self. For 3 weeks I'm quitting wheat and dairy, and onions and garlic, completely. This is a big deal for me because I have not done any food restrictions in a serious way for over 8 years. For the last several years I've been 60-80% gluten-free, but never completely. That was too definite, too scary, did not feel realistic and I did not want to live in New York and limit my ability to eat a NY slice of pizza when I felt like it! But, since I've had the time to focus on my healing more intentionally, and do things that normally seemed impossible while working full-time, I have more mental and emotional energy and openness for this effort. I'm excited! And very, very curious as to what impact it will have.
The general plan is oatmeal for breakfast, lentils and vegetables and rice for lunch and dinner, and a solid snack between those 2 meals. Lots of hydration - 4 of those stainless steel bottles. I am allowed caffeine and sugar (which is amazing!) but since there's no dairy, I'm not that interested in coffee or chai without it.
Day 1 meals -
Breakfast: A cup oatmeal with almond milk, and chia seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds. And 4-5 strawberries. Yummmm!
Lunch: Green moong daal khichdi (pressure cooked with white rice) with ginger , green chillies and lemon, and some simple spices - turmeric and salt. And eggplant cooked with tomatoes. Hella tasty!
Snack: Roasted cashews, raw pecans, sunflower and pumpkin seeds
Dinner: Same as lunch
Snack: More nuts and seeds, and a couple of pieces of dark chocolate
I drank 6 bottles of water on this day!!! A huge area of growth for me, so something I was really proud of and felt great flowing within my body.
This is full of newness, stumbling, learning, and being open to trying imperfectly. By the end of day 1, I actually felt amazing. I felt empty, which was uncomfortable, but it allowed me to see how certain foods fill my belly because I can't stand the emptiness. It's not hunger, it's open space. I slept easily and soundly (have had bad insomnia), and most incredible of all, when I lay down I could feel wind and my feelings flow through me, top to bottom, all the way to my feet. Usually those feelings get stuck in a hard place in my gut, and I can never feel breath flow to my legs. I had energy flowing into my lower body without interruption, and immediately I could see the power of the cleanse. I was committed to seeing it through.
Day 2 was also good. I felt a lot of mindfulness because I was preparing everything I ate, and it was all so wholesome and tasty. I was committed to enjoying delicious foods while cleansing, and I was making new recipes, or simplifying old recipes because it's without onions and garlic.
Day 3 started to feel difficult. When I made the new tasty-healthy recipe I was excited about, it was tasty but not amazing. I have high standards as a cook, and usually will keep working a dish until it gets to finger-licking yumm. This was solid, but not excellent.
New entree (for lunch and dinner): Butternut squash, carrots, green beans, and potatoes cooked in coconut milk, with mustard seeds, curry leaf and some green chillies.
Side: Lightly sauteed kale with orange bell peppers.
Day 4: I was feening for chai. It was Sunday, the city was slowing down preparing for the storm, and on my current funemployment schedule I have a lot of free time. I like to drink chai while writing, as I mentioned, and also while reading. So, I made vegan chai with almond milk, inspired by a friend. It's decent, thought not something I can imagine craving!
Luckily, other people eating decadent things like chocolate lava cake or garlic-sauteed greens did not tempt me.I enjoyed the smells, and their pleasure with their food. For me, I simply felt - this is only for 3 weeks. An experiment, I want to see if I feel better (less/no stomach aches and headaches, and better sleep and energy). And I want to do it for real, no cheating. I'm really leading with curiosity this time, so eager to know what works well in my body! And I am enjoying the challenge of simplicity :) Which is actually a gift. I'm cooking simpler.
Day 5 is today: I am drinking vegan chai and writing from a cozy bed on this snowy day. This is a treat.
What I'm excited to do more of
What's up next for cooking: Daal again (maybe red lentils this time, or brown - masoor daals) and eggplant again. That combo sounds simple, solid, and delicious. I am in love with eggplant these days. It's soft and light so very easy to cook, one eggplant makes a good sized portion, and it feels creamy and richly flavorful, which is very satisfying.
I need to expand my snack options beyond the nuts + seeds combo because I get bored easily. I did some online exploration last night, and have thought of rice cakes, plain or with peanut butter.
I also tried to make tahini but it came out bad because the sesame seeds were too old I think, it was bitter and tasted rancid. I'll get a fresh batch and try again. I may also make my own hummus without garlic.
I want to start going to yoga classes 2-3 times a week, which is an important component of any health effort. Right now it's zero/week, so fortunately, the stats can only go up from here. The snow is testing my commitment, so I will do some home yoga today + practice the dance routine I learned at my dance collective this week!
How you can help me! Please.
I am looking for more recipes - vegan and gluten free of course - that use basic ingredients, nothing too obscure or fancy. So, please share your favorites! You can fb message or email me, or call me too! A great excuse to chat - recipe exchange.
Also, if there are some basic exercise things that you do from home, whether regularly or when you're stuck indoors by weather, tell me what they are. I'd like to build a collection of options for myself. My default tends to be sun salutations but like I mentioned, I get bored easily with repeating the same things every day (something to work on in yoga practice huh? cultivating beginner's mind daily)
Stay tuned
In case anyone is curious, I am trying the Low FODMAP + no dairy diet as recommended by my awesome nutritionist. This diet also excludes a lot of fruit (anything with a pit/core) and vegetables (like cauliflower, peas etc. - some of my favorites!), so it's not just dairy and wheat elimination. It's apparently a great fit for folks with inflammation in the body (symptoms - stomach aches, headaches etc.) or what is more commonly known as IBS. It is also paired with taking a probiotic daily which helps build the good bacteria for digestion (I haven't begun this yet).
I'm not yet committed to this food plan for life, just trying it out to see if it really works for me. And if the results are compelling, who knows where I go from here. I'll keep you posted. Cooking and eating occupies a great deal of my mindspace, both because I'm a foodie who likes to cook and eat out, and because I've had such challenges with how foods impact me, even so-called healthy foods. So, doing this cleanse and writing about it are a great way for me to externalize this huge thing, and to share the lessons I'm learning. Thanks for reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment