New Year, New Foods! Welcome, 2021!
First off – Happy New Year! I am welcoming 2021 with my arms open wide and ready to hug the crap out of it! I had a wonderful holiday season from an eating and baking standpoint (lol), how about you? However, I dealt with a crazy rollercoaster of sugar crashes. I’ve also been mentally and physically drained likely as a result of my eating and physical habits. I love love love the holiday season just like the person next door, but you know when your body needs to take a break. So – new year, new foods! Welcome, 2021!
That said, I am starting off the year with the goal to nourish my body with whole nutritious foods. I have done some elimination diets before and it’s not fun…However, this one called Whole30 (I’m sure you have heard of it!) was introduced to me by my doctor several years ago and it’s not as bad as you might think. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s 30 days of eliminating several foods that are generally known to be inflammatory to our bodies. Then you reintroduce those food groups back into your diet, you’ll begin to notice the impacts it has on your body after it’s left your system for 30 days.
The types of food we eat are typically the culprit of how we feel. This is with most people! Take gluten for example, most of us bloat and feel lethargic as a result. As a patient of a gut autoimmune disease, I know what I should and shouldn’t be eating, in order to avoid exacerbating flare-ups. Except, I LOVE FOOD. And most days, I like to think that life is too short to be worried about what you eat. But, we go a little bit overboard sometimes and need to scale back on the amount of cookies you eat…and maybe watch the portion sizes a bit. And that’s OK! You feel me?
So, this month I will be doing a Whole30, with a s light modification. One of the eliminating food group “rules” of Whole30, is eliminating all legumes (that includes PEANUT BUTTER – yes I know, so sad). Not only does it include peanut butter, but also soy. I get that Soy can be genetically modified and therefore, not great for our bodies and causes some inflammation. As an Asian American, I have lived all of my life eating soy products, and never once experienced a downside to this even when I did eliminate it during Whole30, and during my reintroduction phase (as mentioned, it’s when you reintroduce back the foods into your diet). So my only change with Whole30 is to accommodate all foods except for soy.
So, new year, new foods! I will be sharing some of my recipes, which will all likely be savory. While it may sound crazy to cut back cold turkey on all these foods I’ve been feeding my body the last 3-4 months, it’s also only for 30 days, and it’s definitely doable if your mind is in the right place. You have to want to do it versus forcing yourself to go through it. I’m ready, and there’s nothing like starting off a new year with a focused mind and body!
I will be returning to making great baked goods, in February (perfect time for Valentines Day, right?) but until then I will be dropping along some delicious savory delicious dishes in January! I hope you stick around – stay tuned!
If you’re interesting to learn more about Whole30, here are a few awesome sources outside of the Whole30.com site!
Much love, and have a great start to the new year!
Rina
