Food Combining

So, in the quest to find out how to fix my acne, I'm nearly there. I've given up gluten and coffee, which has gotten me really close. I've also given up processed/refined sugars and rarely, rarely have dairy and I've cut our meat consumption in half.  In this quest, I stumbled across a book called The Beauty Detox Solution which talks about a completely different way of thinking about food. Before I dive into it, I want to also put a disclaimer on it: it makes you obsess about how you eat. So much so, that my eating-disordered alias came out if full force, so I had to tone it down a bit. I have taken most of the lessons to heart and implemented them ~75% of the time. You can click on the book title from my Widget list on the right hand side of this blog or you can view it at my e-store through Amazon. 

Food combining is based on how your body processes and breaks down food. By not eating in the correct order, the food basically builds up in your intestine because it is unable to be digested and becomes toxic, resulting in a multitude of health issues, including acne, gas, and constipation.

Here are some of the rules:
1. Eat raw food first to coat your digestive system with enzymes to help break down the food. If you eat fruit, wait 30 minutes before eating your meal.
2. (this one is the hardest for me) Don't eat starches and proteins at the same meal (yes, no more spaghetti bolognese or eggs with toast).
3. Eat only one type of protein at a meal...no more surf-n-turf dinners...
4. Don't mix acidity foods with carbohydrates (no OJ with that morning cereal or vinegar with your olive oil and bread).

The other thing mentioned is to not eat protein until the end of the day; because it takes so long to digest, it backs up everything else in your colon. This has been the hardest for me because I used to love starting the day with my green smoothie and one egg, but now I try (and do) get by with just my smoothie.

When I was following this closely, my skin really cleared up after just about five days. But as I mentioned above, it made me just crazy about my food and I caught myself doing mini-binges so I had to stop. I went crazy thinking when was I going to eat, what was I going to eat...and I could never be caught unprepared. So I keep the rules in the back of my head and adhere to them when possible. If we are having meat, we usually just have vegetables and no carbs. When we have pasta, I rarely mix in meat, and it's mostly a vegetarian meal. And no more eggs in the morning (so now they are a wonderfully easy meal on a Friday after a late day of work). I also always try to snack on raw veggies as I'm making dinner.

And of course, after all that, I'm having some hormonal issues which are making my skin crazy right now...plus the change in weather so I'm trying to be a bit cleaner about the eating...so fun this time of year :) On the upside, I am getting ready to begin experimenting more with gluten free pie crusts and homemade sweet pumpkin so that I can make homemade pumpkin pie...stay tuned for my successes and failures!

Have any of you tried this? Let me know your thoughts....

K

Stella and Dot...my latest adventure

If I never have a little girl, at least I'll have had this moment :)

And speaking of jewelry!!! I've always been a believer that things happen for a reason. Three weeks ago, I met a nanny who sells Stella and Dot jewelry and I instantly fell in love (with the jewelry) and became a stylist two days later. Stylist is just a fancy title for jewelry seller :) But I'm loving it! And I'm in LOVE with the jewelry! Check out the website www.stelladot.com/katielarson. If you are interested in being a stylist, let me know, I'd love to train you! If you want to host a party, let me know! (Hostesses gets lots of bonuses!) If you want to shop, you may use my Stylist ID when you check out: 130117 or you can search my name, Katharine Larson.

The fall/holiday collection has beautiful rose gold pieces that are gorgeous! They also have a 'girls' line for all the young ladies in your life (I'll be doing Christmas shopping at the Stella and Dot website this year!). All of the jewelry is made abiding by Fair Trade practices, isn't that great! They also have a unique bracelet that during the  month of October, 100% of the proceeds will go towards Breast Cancer research. Check out this link; it talks about the foundations that Stella and Dot support and that you can support too with the purchase of their one-of-a-kind bracelets. 

I know this subject doesn't have much to do with my usual blog topics, but it sure makes me happy! (And I'm told that a happy wife = a happy life!) 

Let me know if you have questions, I'd love to talk to you about it.

K