The sweet life

Last night, at the end of a successful Day 1 on Whole 30, I decided that the gorgeous organic peach I picked up at the market would make a yummy little dessert.

And boy did it!


The peach was diced -- skin and all, kissed with a bit of fresh lemon juice, and lightly sauteed in a small pan with a tiny bit of coconut oil until a bit soft. Into a small baking dish it went.

I mixed together a few chopped pecans with a little shredded coconut, and sprinkled this on top of the peaches. A few minutes under the broil -- to crisp the topping -- and it was done.

No deprivation here! It was the perfect end to a wonderful day of clean eating. I could eat like this forever....

Whole 30!

My decision to eat Paleo was not spur-of-the-moment. It came about gradually, but became a natural progression after -- with the help of my doctor, Tamara Sachs --  I discovered the foods my body can't tolerate.

Today, I am taking my Paleo experience to a whole new level, starting the Whole30 -- 30 days of clean eating:

• Organic, grass-fed chicken, beef and pork
• Wild fish
• Organic fruits and veggies
• Raw nuts and seeds
• Good fats, such as avocado, ghee, coconut butter, nut butters and olives.

I will eat three meals a day, and skip snacks because I really don't need them when I eat well. And although some might argue that this way of eating is way too expensive, I actually save some money because I am not buying crap -- and crap takes it toll, financially and physically.

The Whole30 concept is the brainchild of Dallas and Melissa Hartwig,who ask followers to think of the 30 days as a short-term nutritional reset, designed to help you restore a healthy metabolism, heal your digestive tract, calm systemic inflammation and put an end to unhealthy cravings, habits,and relationships with food.

The Hartwigs outline the 30-day program on their Web site, www.whole9life.com. It's there for free, although I recommend their book, "It Starts with Food," a bargain at less than $14 on Amazon. They have no agenda, and although they think the way they eat is the best way possible, they understand that we are all human and have to eat in a way that works for us.

But one sentence from the book keeps repeating in my mind:
"You are what what you eat eats."

Say that five times. And then think about it. If we eat meat, poultry and fish raised on genetically modified corn and soy and injected with hormones, we are eating those things as well. If we eat non-organic fruits and veggies, we are eating pesticides.

I won't promise to post daily the next 30 days, but I will try. I am pumped. And I can't wait for Day 30 because I know I will feel terrific. I also plan on posting lots of recipes, because the more I cook, the better my chances of staying motivated.

I am so looking forward to Oct. 2, the morning I wake up with 30 days of clean eating under my hopefully much-smaller belt!

My body knows best

For months I've taken one day at a time, recording what I eat daily, and then listening to my body tell me whether I made good food choices the day before. On days when I eat something that does not agree with me my sleep is restless, and in the morning my tummy aches and I feel as if I am in the throws of a mild hangover. That sums up how I feel today.
The culprit: The chia pudding I made with coconut milk in a package, not the can. I was cleaning out my pantry yesterday, came upon a box, and immediately whipped up a batch of pudding, a great dessert after dinner, topped with some luscious berries. What I didn't do was read the ingredients on the box of coconut milk, which I did this morning. I was shocked by the unpronounceable items it includes, the stuff I have avoided for months.

The experts always say to listen to your body, but before I felt as good as I do now, I had no idea what good felt like or that my body could tell me when I've eaten something that does not agree with me.

For the past few months I have religiously read ingredients, and either tossed ones I shouldn't eat from my pantry or left them at the grocers. So why did the coconut milk stay? Along with the almond and rice milks in my pantry, I assumed they were nutritious. And you know what they say about making assumptions.

Never again!