Since the last time I posted, my doctor told me to cut out even the few fruits I was allowed to eat. I spent three weeks eating nothing but vegetables, meat, eggs, nuts and beans. At least I could still have oils and spices and herbs.
She’s now allowed me to have one piece of fruit a day. I relish that one apple or banana and eat it very slowly with nuts. My weight loss halted at five pounds. I think it’s because my desire for sweets now has to be satisfied with nuts and nut butters which are much higher in calories than fruit. I’m frustrated by a diet that gives my sweet tooth no relief, except for that one piece of fruit a day, nuts and nut butters.
So that’s the downside of the sugar- and starch-free candida diet. The benefits are:
I no longer have daily stomach aches after EVERY meal (these interrupted sleeping, working and leisure time)
I now weigh less than my driver’s license says.
My skin feels better and eczema is diminishing.
I’m hungry less and eat less in general.
I don’t get those cruel afternoon dips in energy.
No more uncomfortably full feeling when I leave a restaurant.
Have discovered that my body loves a hot breakfast (eggs, steamed kale, mung bean pancakes). I might never go back to those morning smoothies.
The one thing that has not resulted is a lower grocery bill. This disappoints me. Considering the scope of American cuisine, I hardly eat anything anymore: just vegetables and protein. Shouldn’t my grocery bill have plummeted?
Apparently, the money I’m not spending on bread, cereal, dairy products, soda, juice, alcohol, pasta, salad dressing, cookies, canned goods, frozen crap, processed meats and that huge category called Snack Foods is completely absorbed by the cost of carrots, broccoli, kale, zucchini, scallions, avocados, lemons, ONE apple, onions, garlic, fresh ginger and dried bulk items like split peas, mung beans, pinto beans, almonds, brazil nuts, cashews and sunflower seeds.
It’s not fair. Coupons don’t exist for eggs, fresh salmon and broccoli. Coupons mainly apply to processed foods which contain ingredients that are hugely subsidized by the government: wheat, corn and soy.
A simple diet does not yet lead to a reduced grocery bill, and I’m not even talking about organic food, which is another discussion. I am eating light and eating less, but I’m still paying the same as everyone else.
Kale is a dark, crinkly, leafy green vegetable, a single leaf of which I'll often find on the plate of restaurant entrees as a garnish. This annoys me because kale is one of the most nutrient-rich greens there is, but people treat it as decoration. Scallions are also called green onions: they are long stalks that are mostly green, but white at the root. Pinto beans are most often used in Mexican refried beans, but I make them in a pot with water and seasonings. Mung beans look like little round, black balls. They are one of the smallest legumes I've seen.
Yes, we Americans put height, weight and eye color on our driver's licenses. Maybe it's as a double check to make sure we really are the person in the picture or maybe it's so that it's easier to get out a description of us when we commit a crime. I don't know.
Not much different from over here, its so true the more healthy the food is the more expensive it is.
On your food lists what are Kale, scallions, mung beans & pinto beans. I haven't a clue but maybe we call them something different (ie. what you call eggplant we call auborgine).
On another note I can't believe you Americans have your weight on your driving licence.