Ok... so tonight I went to the Whole Life Nutrition/Elimination diet class offered by the authors of Whole Life Nutrition at our local co-op.
What I found out is that I've been eating stuff I shouldn't be.
I don't know why this was so confusing to me. I think some of the resources are not altogether clear - I also think maybe I didn't read thoroughly enough.
In any case, I was highly discouraged when I found out tonight that I am not supposed to be eating oats. I explained to the author/nutritionist that I had misunderstood and asked what I should do at this point. He was present via phone as he was away on a business trip - earlier in the class I had asked his wife the same question and she suggested that I might need to add 5 extra days to Phase 1. Noooooo!!!! I was so disappointed - especially since I am really looking forward to adding in citrus on Wednesday. Anyway, the guy - Tom - said that I shouldn't worry about it too much and that I probably didn't need to add any extra days. Phew.
So then I come home and decide I'd better read over the literature more carefully (I really thought I had) and come to find out - I have also been eating Pinto beans and kiwi which are also not on the Phase 1 food list.
So please, if you're doing this or thinking about doing it, learn from me and print out this list (which everyone in the class seemed to know about but me) and don't stray from it. Allowed foods on the left, prohibited foods on the right.
So now that I've found this information out I'm really not sure what I should do. I feel like I should perhaps add a few more days on, or maybe do another day or two of smoothies only.
The only encouragement is that the guy didn't make me feel like a complete dork - if anything, he made us all feel like we were making great choices and on the right track. He was a fantastic cheer leader. Also, at least now I know. The BEST part of the night was that I was very well fed. We got to eat a lot of amazing Phase 1 recipes - it was more than I had eaten in days. I've been getting so bored food-wise that I was eating less and less. It was good to get filled up again.
The Phase 1 recipes Ali (one of the authors) made for us tonight were:
Grated Beet and Carrot Salad with Miso Dressing (this one is amazing but is copyrighted - so if you want it I don't think I can post it here but I think I'm safe to share it with you if you contact me)
Sunflower Pate (make it without lemon juice for Phase 1. I think this one is in the cookbook) This was so good with some other veggies in blanched collard greens as a wrap. It felt more substantial than some of the stuff I've been eating lately.
Red Lentil Dal - awesome (from the cookbook)
Sweet Rice Cereal - basically sweet brown rice, ground and cooked kind of like cream of wheat. I'm not a huge cream of wheat fan but it wasn't that bad. Great with cinnamon, berries and maple syrup.
I cooked up some pumpkin earlier in the week so tomorrow I'm going to make myself some Spiced Pumpkin Soup. The woman sitting next to me in the class also raved about these Cinnamon Sunflower Truffles so I'm definitely going to have to give those a try.
Whew! This certainly is a bit of an adventure. Again, aside from the first two days, I've been feeling great. Still a bit bloated feeling in the evenings sometimes - which I'm now thinking might be due to the beans and oats. I haven't been exercising for fear I'll get too hungry but I am considering hopping on the treadmill tomorrow. I just cannot afford to be more hungry and spend more time focusing on what to eat.
I promise I'll post about something exciting soon..... like maybe the awesome Martha Stewart Bedford Gray that we're painting our living room....
I was going to post this picture titled: What to Eat
But I guess now it has to be:
Don't Eat the Beans
But I guess now it has to be:
Don't Eat the Beans
6 comments:
I've been carrying around the food list in my pocket!
I've been eating bean/quinoa/avacado/cilantro bowls too! Only I bought a supply of adzuki beans at Whole Foods. They remind me a lot of black beans, and are very yummy.
Not to make things worse, but I noticed your Ethiopian cabbage dish had potatoes in it- did you make it with something else, or just leave them out?
Oh! and I forgot to mention - I made the spiced pumpkin soup last night - and it was very yummy and flavorful! I'm having it for lunch today, too. But just a warning - that recipe is enough to feed about 8 people or something! I 1/2'ed it, and it was still a huge portion! I'm freezing 1/2 of it, and I'll be eating the other 1/2 for a couple of days.
Denise - I did leave out the potatoes. ;-) Phew. I got something right!
Oh man! I just went to the Public Market to pick up some of that adzuki miso for that dressing recipe. $13.95! I decided to hold off for now and see if I really, really want it in another week or so. That was rough.
-Helen
Hey girl! stopping by to see what you were up to and how your food gig was going. I figure you are a saint, and twice the woman I am.
Roll with it, babe. your doing great!
xoxo
Oh, boy. I feel bad on a couple of counts. First, because I had a sneaking suspicion there were a couple of things you were eating that are on the no-no list but I didn't want to say anything for fear of coming off as a know-it-all. And since I've never been compelled to actually do the cleanse, I'm definitely not that! Second, because I mentioned the class at the Co-op. (Maybe you already knew about it anyway?) I was hoping it'd be helpful, not discouraging. But maybe in the long run it was all for good, especially since you got some tasty food.
As far as what to do about the "mistakes", I guess a lot depends on why you're doing a cleanse in the first place. (Actually, I started to say more and then realized you posted this four days ago so I'm sure you've figured it all out!)
Hope you enjoy the new paint job. I'm all about color ~ with my red & green living room walls. Takes my mind off the flaws. :-D
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