KEBLAM! Elimination.

Are you familiar with that song in the movie The Fox & the Hound... "Lack of education? KEBLAM! Elimination."

(It was sung by Big Mama, the owl. Further evidence that my exposure to children's movies is quite high, as they are the only movie references I make.)

Well, this song is what I think of when it comes to my recent eating habits, except it goes like this...

Gain of education? KEBLAM! Elimination.

I feel like I've been eliminating bad things out of my diet, very slowly, for quite a long time. For example, farther back than I can remember, I almost completely stopped eating potato chips. I very rarely, almost never, ever, ever bought a bag. Why? Because they're not good for you, and I knew that if they were in the house, my salty cravings would most definitely win out and I'd eat them all!

(Trust me. I've tested this theory.)

So, nix on the potato chips.

There have been other things that I slowly weeded out or greatly limited over time, like soda, fried foods, gravies, etc... About a year ago I started trying to cut way back on anything containing refined flours and sugars, because I was feeling so achy in my muscles and joints, and somewhere along the way I read that this could be the culprit. And you know what? It really, really, really helped.

I'm not going to say that I never have a muscle ache or pain, or feel stiff from time to time, but the general, persistent feeling of achiness I used to have, the feeling that sent me running to Mr. Blue Eyes to give me a rub, is pretty much gone.

So, as I've gained education over the years, I've made some changes to my diet. Maybe not quite in a KEBLAM! fashion, but it's happened.

(If you've looked at my recipes page, you'll notice that I've held onto my love of butter, cream and desserts for the duration.)

As I mentioned the other day, recently I've gone farther than I ever have before in eliminating certain things from my diet -- gluten, dairy and sugar. (And coffee! That is by far the thing I miss the most.) In the coming days I'm going to tell you why I've given up each of these things. But for now, let me just say that there are days it has been easy, and days where it has been hard. Some days I just want so badly to devour a piece of cheesy bread, or crunch on some crackers, or eat a big piece of cake. Or pie. I do love pie.

(Even on my birthday... No cake!)

(Even on Easter... No candy! No desserts! No delicious caramel rolls or breads! I'm hard core.)

But I digress...

Instead, I'm really trying to focus on how delicious (and simple!) the things I do eat really are, and the health benefits that I am slowly starting to see. This morning, for instance, I blended up this...

An apple, a carrot, part of a banana, and some mixed berries... Yum! It was so easy! And such a good way to start my day. I had been reading an issue of Whole Living magazine where they were giving some recipes for juicing, and it inspired me to give it a try. I'm definitely going to be doing more of this in the future, and incorporating things (like flax and kale) that are especially good for me. It was so good, I think it might even become a daily routine.

My point is... The more I get into this, the more I realize that I'm not missing out on anything, but instead am really getting excited about all the good things I get to chow down on!

(Even though I do long for a big ol' piece of banan cream pie from time to time.)

Easy? No. Yummy? Yes.

Comments

[Allison]

I'm looking forward to reading about why you gave the other things up! Coffee! O, my. I couldn't give that up. WIth you on fried food and non-local meat, though.

[Tauna]

I need to gain some of your determination..........as I sit here eating a pop tart for dinner. I know, disgusting.

[Cate]

You go girl.

I've managed to break a 20+ year diet coke habit, but am waaaay off eating as healthy as you are ;-)