natural goals 2014 edition: food

Last year I posted a Natural Goals post for food, body and home.  I wanted to update these lists to see where I've come from and where I still have the goals to be.

I hope these inspire you to make healthy changes in YOUR life.  I'd love for you to comment on what changes you've made on your health journey.  To see the other updates visit:

Natural Goals 2014 edition: HOME
Natural Goals 2014 edition: BODY 

I've come a long way since 2012.  Thankful that God's guidance turned my health and food struggles into a journey of health and inspiration from a road of fear and uncertainty.  I wanted to touch on how I've been eating since my diagnoses and what I still strive to remove, and include, into my diet. 

---

What I've Accomplished:

Gluten Free- I'm proud to say I've been gluten-free since September 2012 without one cheat day. I don't miss it anymore and am actually an advocate for everyone to eliminate wheat from their diets.  With all the GMOs, pesticides and the state of the average American's digestion I think all could benefit from a gluten-fast.
  
Dairy Free - I've also been dairy-free since September 2012 without one cheat day.  Though I will admit this ones been harder than the gluten.  I think about cheese all the time and its been almost two years.  Anyone know if that will go away? haha.  If I was going to cheat, it'd be for a big, hot steaming bowl of creamy macaroni and cheese.  On rice noodles of course. Maybe one day I'll try high quality goat cheese again.  I did OK with that in early 2012 for a little while. 

I love me some organic fruits and veggies.  I try to buy everything organic.  Fruits, veggies, herbs, and for Mr. Charming, I make sure his dairy is organic, since he still enjoys yogurt, cottage cheese and milk on occasion.  If I am trying to save money I will buy the Dirty Dozen fruits and veggies organic, and get non-organic avocados and sweet potatoes. 

Say goodbye to canned foods.  I no longer buy canned chicken.  I prepare fresh chicken for all chicken dinner, chicken salads etc.  I no longer  buy canned vegetables (except for our preparedness kit of course, and canned chili beans) Since being diagnosed with a condition that inhibits proper detoxification, I want to limit the amount of metals my body consumes. 

---

What I Still Want To Do:

Not use the microwave. This one is still hard for me, though I HAVE gotten better.  I try to use it ONLY at work where I don't have another heating option.  I now try to use the stove top and oven for all reheating at home. 

Cut out all sugar. FOR GOOD:  Yep, still havn't kicked this one completely.  It's my next big hurdle. This is hardest for me because my candida and gut issues make me crave it. I think more than the normal person. Because my cravings are like, crazy strong and Mr. Charming has had to hide my rice milk chocolates which are reserved for movie theatre night. I still have organic honey in recipes, and I eat fruit. I want to at least get down to ONLY fruit sugar, then move on from there. I respect you, 100%, if you've cut it out fully. I've read books, blogs, watched seminars.. and I feel positive until I'm watching a movie while the hubs eats icecream and I want a huge oreo to shove in my face. Alas, I havn't been that bad. I havn't cheated with gluten, refined sugar or dairy since I started this journey. But if you do, it's OK. Don't beat yourself too bad. Dust yourself off, drink a lot of water, make sure you don't skip the supplements you need and move on. 

Cut the grains, FOR GOOD. *sigh* I was doing SO good for a while that this ALMOST made it onto the "accomplishments" list.  But alas, through baking and dinner parties I still consume rice products.  No corn, but rice pasta, rice flour desserts, and rice itself are finding there way onto my plate.  I'd like to get it down to once a week, then once a month, then try to cut it, having any grain as an occasional treat.  

Realize that I am my accountability partner, no one else. I think I rely to much on my husband, or my friends, helping me to make these choices, or hold me accountable for my weaknesses.  But what I have to realize is that its MY body.  Though they may love me, they can't completely understand why everything is so restricted.  Or how I feel when I've had just a little too much sugar.  Or when I sleep for two hours in the middle of the day from grains hitting me a little to hard.  It's got to be MY choice, for MY health and MY future.  I think this is sometimes the hardest goal of all.