So what do you eat these days?

Happy Friday everyone! I have stopped counting the number of times my friends ask me what my eating habits are at the moment - they do not know, and to be honest it is totally my fault, I was not sure what I should eat anymore. I have read quite a few books in the last 8 months and I have been confused - I have been experimenting successfully and unsuccessfully, putting some unnecessarily strict rules in place (that of course I could not maintain), and be really unhappy as well as being happy. 

I wished I could tell you I was a raw vegan. From my experiments it did bring me more energy and a real clarity of thinking. Unfortunately I like cooked food (especially when cold weather hit us) and I also like fish (and a bit of meat) - not a good plan when you want to become a vegan. 

However trying to become a raw vegan helped me get rid of refined sugar in my life (which is really interesting as the UK government has just announced a sugar tax on soft drinks - honestly I am not impressed with this tax, but it does show there is an issue with the level of sugar in our food). People it was not easy. I was in a bad mood - really bad and the mood swings were horrendous, Mr MiH was not impressed. But then it got better, much better. And I have never looked back, in fact I haven't had a soft drink since July. I cannot touch one. And I am on the hunt against sugar in every product I buy. Not that I buy much processed food - hardly any in fact, but there is sugar everywhere if you look carefully. 

OK, so raw vegan is out, but I do care about animals. I talk a lot about it when it comes to yarn (as you can see in my yarn with attitude series). Two things: who gave us the right to treat animals this badly, and why do we need to pay more to eat products that have been treated kindly and naturally (organic fruit and veg or grass-fed beef for instance). I have really reduced my consumption of meat and poultry because it is so expensive to have free range and organic products. Even Mr MiH does not eat meat at his canteen anymore (I showed him the videos, and once you know, there is no way back). It means that when I am out (lunchtime at work for instance) and cannot control the origin of meat produce I do not eat them. 

But it is not that easy... when I was experimenting I realised that I could not digest gluten, and that dairy had a really effect on my appearance (bloating). I suppose this makes me intolerant, but it is more a sense of feeling better when I do not eat those. This is not about slimming, but about feeling better. For instance, by cutting out gluten I managed to reduce my period pains (and people it was bad, real bad, I could not move) - a definite improvement. With dairy, I talked about my appearance, my face looks leaner, but also I sleep better. If I eat dairy now, I will have night sweats, if I don't I am fine throughout the night (unless Baby MiH makes an appearance of course). Despite knowing the benefits of cutting out dairy and gluten, I am still having massive issues with cutting out cheese. Yes I know I am French, so you would expect it, you have no idea on hard it is sometimes to resist. Some days, I don't and prefer to deal with night sweats and looking more haggard than usual in the morning (yes you can see it). 

So that means I am a (sugar free, gluten free) vegan outside the house. And I am French - you should see the look on my parents' face. I am not sure they still understand what it means. I have to share an anecdote from our wedding. We had British vegetarian guests, and when we asked the chef whether he could accommodate their dietary requirements, he asked whether chicken would be acceptable - euh, probably not (true but wtf?!)

I feel I have come a long way, and can bake again, for my family but also share new recipe. I am still trying to lose weight (not really actively though), but my focus first and foremost is to avoid the food groups that make my body unhappy or increase my mood swings (or potential depression). 

Have you got issues with some food? Have you experimenting with different diets?