Travel With Mel

It's been about a month since I wrapped up my detox diet so I thought I would take a moment to reflect on how the experience has and has not changed my eating habits.

First, I thought I might stay off caffeine after the detox period was over, and it's amazing how quickly we slip back into our hold habits.  I have to admit that the first cup of coffee I enjoyed after detox gave me such a buzz that the experience may have been worth the 3 weeks without caffeine.  I did stay away from the daily cup of coffee from our Senseo for about another week.  Then work got busy and I started ramping up my running mileage and I needed that cup of coffee to kick start my day. 

I am happy that I have reduced my consumption of alcohol.  I no longer feel like I must have a glass of wine with dinner or to relax after a stressful day.  My body really hasn't been liking too much drinking anyway so this is a big positive.  I'm probably still drinking more than half the nights in a week, but Richard and I don't always feel the need to finish the entire bottle that we open.  Again, progress.

I'm consuming less dairy but I started that before detox.  I have given into mozzarella lately because the heirloom tomatoes beg to be paired with mozzarella and basil.  And Richard home made homemade vanilla ice cream last night that was to die for!  We are eating less meat too.  I no longer feel like a complete meal must have a starch, veggie and meat or fish. 

We're pretty much back to eating pasta and regular soy sauce so I've given up on eliminating gluten from my diet.  Though, we're still enjoying gluten free waffles.  I'm not worrying about eating sugar either, but Richard's birthday cake aside, I don't tend to eat too much sugar.  Having given up both of these items, however, has made me more conscious of what is in my food.  I take time to read labels.  Gluten may not stop me from making a food choice, but when the list gets too long or the ingredients don't seem to be 'real food', I do find myself opting out.  Last week, for instance, I got very excited about bacon salt until I read the ingredients and decided not to add it to my fries! 

Overall, even if the changes in my diet are minor based on my detox diet, it was a valuable experience.  It helped me think more about what goes into my body and along with that we've been paying more attention to where are food comes from.  We recently took an outstanding cooking class at Culinary Communion called the '250 Mile Diet.  Our group made a fabulous local and mostly vegetarian meal.  I feel so much better when I know where my food comes from and what goes into cooking it.