Summer is here and that means you can go crazy and enjoy your ‘vacation’ by rewarding yourself with junk food, or take a different approach. Change your shopping cart – change your life! But please, don’t do it all at once. Pick one ingredient off this blog, a month.
You know how some people give things up for lent? Well pick one thing and give it up for 1 month. Yes, just one month.
And each month rotate. Give up something new, just for the summer months. You will clearly see what eliminating that ‘food’ does for you. Some people just feel healthier. Some people actually lose weight. Some people have more energy.
You’ve got to journal just to see if this makes a difference and what you are able to do on your own using baby steps to change your life.
How to change your life?
We see in business the concept of branding and what a difference that makes. Well, change how you think and what your own mind has branded you, for just a month, and let’s see what happens.
I’m going to join you on this. At the end of this blog, I will tell you what I am giving up in July, for the entire month! I know, the key for me will be to not beat myself up if I slip up and go immediately back to eliminating a specific ingredient or food that creates inflammation.
Now for you, it may be sugar. Keep in mind, that means sugars of all kinds. Even substitute sugar.
Another choice you can pick for one month only, is ONLY EATING items with honey or maple syrup, which are less likely to spike your glycemic index. But that also means no sugars and no substitute sugars except for honey and maple syrup.
Keep a log of how often you do that and track daily your energy level and how you feel. If you normally fall asleep at your desk? Log that. If now you don’t, log that. This is for your eyes only to know the impact one ingredient has on you. Remember: even Kechup has sugar, unless you buy True Made which doesn’t have sugar and still tastes pretty good.
You may want to go wide and say: all processed food. You may want to go narrow and say anything fried. Or, you may want to give up barbecue for a month, but in the summer months that can be easier or harder.
Easier, because if it’s hot we don’t want to cook anything big and try to serve mostly cold foods. But harder, because of the barbecue. We’re grilling hot dogs, hamburgers, corn …. and guess what? According to Eating Well, “burnt foods have been classified as a carcinogen—a substance capable of causing cancer in the tissue”.
So giving up ‘charred’ Brussel sprouts, or even wood fired pizza can be a goal for you, if you eat that weekly.
More ideas on how to change your life!
Here’s some more ideas:
- Just give up bread. One month.
- Just give up desserts and substitute in non sugared fruit.
- All those deli meats? Sausage and bacon? All linked to cancer. Give them up for one month and find out that you crave it less.
- Switch from regular meat to grass fed beef.
We recently talked about seed oils. Well, here’s your chance to steer yourself away from vegetable and
seed oils. You can use olive oil for dressings, and avocado oil for cooking on high heat.
Use a spray for oil instead of just pouring it into a pan. Do it for just one month and journal what your body tells you.
Every Body is Different. So what might work for me, might not work for you. Don’t be hard on yourself. Just keep trying ingredients and see what that does work.
You can’t give up a nice cold beer in the summertime, can you? Well, maybe you are not a beer drinker. Can you give up your Sunday Bloody Mary’s or Mimosa’s at brunch? Only do this if you brunch every week or have more than a couple of beers in one week.
Moms! I would never ask you to give up your ‘mommy juice’ (wine). So pick something else. If you don’t want your kid to eat or drink it, like soda, do not order a Coke or Pepsi at a restaurant. Do that for yourself for 1 month.
Now I promised I will give up something for all of July. The hardest for me is Pasta. No wait! Pasta converts to sugar in your system. I think I’ll go big and give up sugar (think of all the sugar in a Mai Tai). I love a good Mai tai. So sugar it is!
Pick your poison and let’s wipe it out for July. Please let me know what you experience!
Want help making your pantry inflammation-free? I teach how to read labels, clean out your pantry, and cook delicious, nutrient-rich meals that heal. My Founding Membership opens next month for One week only, and gives you free classes in our Chef Marian Kitchen Confident Portal! 🥑✨ If you would like to be on a wait list for this, reach out! mm@chefmarian.com.
Looking forward to partnering with you!
With garlic, gusto and gratitude,
Chef Marian🥂
Your membership helps feed those in need through No Face Goes Unfed, bringing hope to San Diego and then nationwide.
