Day four without grains or caffeine or sugar or ohmygod...zzzzzzzz. Sorry. Dozed off there.
I'm a little sleepy. Partially because I haven't consumed any sugar, caffeine, processed food, grains, dairy or legumes since Thursday. Partially because I have a sucktastic neighbor who doesn't get home from work until 3am and then proceeds to smoke and talk on her patio at all hours making my dogs INSANE. (She keeps her noise down as far as human ears are concerned, so I can't really ask her to be quieter simply to appease my dogs.) Last night they started barking wildly at least six times between 11pm and 3:30am. I don't know what was going on outside, but the dogs were NOT happy about it. And so, neither was I.
The dietary changes, though, are rough. Especially on days when hitting the caffeine hard would be advisable. Of all the things I'm not eating now, I miss dairy the most. Cheese on a hamburger. Chevre in my scrambled eggs. Butter on that steamed broccoli. Milk in the cream-of-broccoli soup. I don't find it particularly difficult to give up grains or even sugar, really. But dairy? I can't wait to add that back in and hope (fingers crossed) that it does not cause me any problems. Especially cheese. Cheese is my friend.
However, aside from the dairy dreams and the energy drop, I already am feeling better. Truly. Certain gut-health markers already have improved. My elbow is a little less sore the past day or so. My sleep is more sound (in theory...dogs suck). I've de-bloated a bit in the midsection. And all this after just four days. I know cutting out the sugar and grains really works for me. Now I just have to find the right balance of "strict" and "comfortable" to make a life-long change. And I have to evaluate certain sugars and grains one-by-one; I'm really hoping white rice can be added back in at some point (hello, sushi).
All this "clean" eating highlights the stark contrast in my child's eating. Like a lot of children, Evelyn does not like vegetables. ANY vegetables. Or, rather, she won't even try a vegetable to find out if she likes it or not. Fruits are the same. Except for bananas, I can't get the kid to try any fruits. My big recent victory was getting her to lick a piece of watermelon before declaring it "gross." Watermelon!
Right now, her diet consists of milk, crackers, the occasional corn dog or fish stick, the occasional chicken nugget, white rice with salt, and other snacky-carby-cookie-type things that are laying around the house from time to time. It is an excellent day when we can get her to eat a scrambled egg. A bite of cheese here and there makes me hopeful. But generally, she eats horribly and has no taste to try new things.
I know my complaint is common. I know all the suggestions to get her to be more adventurous. She cooks with us, we always offer her something healthy, we offer the same things over and over, we don't force her to eat something she won't. But still, her dietary blandness worries me.
Tips and tricks are welcome.
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