So I have learned that I need very little to stay full when I eat good, real food. This is probably my biggest takeaway from the last two weeks from a food standpoint.

A good pot of beans and rice, with fresh vegetables and occasionally some bacon, beef or pork, and I am good. I have limited my meat intake to only grass fed and organic. I am limited my beans and complex grains to organic and fresh made. I haven’t had any desserts, other than a small slice of our raw vegan carrot cake that was left over from our Valentine’s Day event at the restaurant.

My biggest problem right now is red wine. I have made a firm commitment to stop that as well for the next two weeks. I will drink water, almond milk (when I have it) and homemade carbonated water from my Sodastream. I made a glass this morning with a half of a lemon and some ginger in it and it was amazing!

Tonight I am going to do some of our pasta again probably with just a splash of olive oil and some salt and pepper with some sautéed spinach. I have my bean pot cooking again right now as well. It sits well in the crock pot and I can snack when I get hungry!

I have also had a lot of time to reflect not only on my eating habits, but on where my food comes from, how it is prepared and what we really need to be nourished. There is so much more to it than what we are putting into our bodies.

I have been struggling with many things in 2015, and food is just one of them. I have been in a profound state of sadness since the loss of my grandson Benjamin who was born still on New Year’s Eve. I hid this sadness from many, even though you will see remnants plastered all over my Facebook wall.  How I tried to deal with it was two-fold, alcohol and staying so busy I didn’t have time to think about it. I have actually spent much of my time just being really angry and pissed off at everyone and everything.

This food challenge kind of came about from how I had been feeling. I needed to create a clean start, a fresh outlook and a new plan. I have been trying diligently since the challenge started to try to figure out a way to make Ben’s life make a difference for others. I am creating a firm plan right now to work towards that goal. More details on this tomorrow!!

 

Jennifer