8 Things I learnt about Food in 2014

Can you believe we’re days away from 2015? It doesn’t seem like five minutes ago since I was worried about the millennium bug being a real thing (what an anti-climax that was) For me, 2014 has not been easy. I feel like I’ve had to almost relearnt a lot of stuff… in particular in relation to food and health.

I’ve gone from ‘kinda dairy free’ to committed to dairy free, then adding gluten free, to now completely gluten and dairy free, mainly plant based with some meat. I definitely can see myself being more plant based when I returned to England and have more choices but this arrangement of about 50% of my week being vegan and 50% including some meat and fish is working for now.

I’ve also started studying nutrition properly and I’m working towards my qualification in Nutritional Therapy which I’m really excited about (I am so passionate about helping others realise how powerful food can be!)

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve still got a lot more to learn (especially the science part which just fries my brain) but nevertheless here’s ten pretty important things I did learn about food this year that I’m quite proud of!

1. That gluten is not my friend

There is so much hype about gluten free, that I was almost stubborn in my reluctance to try it. In fact, pretty much all my meals were centered around gluten as I was convinced too much fibre was my problem. However, once I tried it, I instantly felt my crohn’s symptoms get much better. As I learn more about it, the link between autoimmune diseases in particular and gluten sensitivity is pretty strong (which hopefully makes sense in the infographic above.)

2. That turmeric really does live up to the buzz. I can’t believe I had never encountered turmeric before 2014. Now, I pretty much start each day with a cup of ginger and turmeric. I even devoted a whole blog post to it. This wonder spice is the best natural anti-inflammatory food around and my new morning ritual of turmeric and ginger tea (aka anti-inflammation tea) is a keeper!

3. That one size doesn’t fit all. I’ve been reading a lot about biodiversity from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition’s book  and I’m more convinced it’s the way to go. I’ve been doing lots of reading on Paleo and vegan diets which are completely contradictory in their nature, yet I seem to be sitting somewhere between the two. I eat quiona and millet which Paleo doesn’t allow and the amount of meat just baffles me, but I’m not ready to commit to a vegan gluten free diet yet. So 50-50 is working really well for me at the moment.

4. That juicing is not the same as smoothies. And oh yeah, Juicing is AMAZING!

OK,I feel I’ve slightly overdone it on the juicing posts this year so I won’t ramble on. Except to say, juicing is now a huge part of my life and I love it!

5.Oats are my new best friend. How good are oats? You can use them for everything from healthy cookies, pancakes, general flour mixes and overnight oats which were another great discovery this year. My favorite recipe is my oaty chocolate bites which I blogged about here.

6. Peanut butter is so 2012.  I actually went through a real peanut butter moment a few years back but I kicked it to the kerb when I discovered all the other amazing nut/seeds butters out there. Cashew, Almond, Pumpkin. All so creamy tasting AND amazingly good for you. These have been a real lifesaver when I’ve needed a sweet fix.

7. Anything with coconut in it is amazingly good for you: Coconut water (great for potassium), coconut milk (good source of fats), coconut oil (great stable cooking oil), coconut flour (gluten free). Coconut rules: FACT! Last week, during my Christmas dinner, I chucked some coconut milk into my mashed potatoes to please my dairy loving husband. The result was amazing and made me so thankful I had learnt about this wonder food. It’s a great thing to have around when you are in a dairy free pinch.

8. Keep it real!

I read people’s frustration at not getting better after trying a ‘gluten free diet’ or ‘a dairy free diet’ and it soon becomes clear that all they really did was replace these things with unhealthy ‘free from’ versions. Being in China, gluten free cakes, dairy free deserts and the ‘free from’  aisle has been largely out of my reach. This has been really frustrating but on reflection, it helped me enormously! I learnt just to eat real food! So I make my vegan cheese out of cashew nuts, my dairy free biscuits out of oats and dinners are veg, quiona and some organic meat or tofu. Sometimes it’s a little repetitive, but 99% of what I eat is real, doesn’t come wrapped in packaging with ingredients I can’t quite pronounce. Cutting one thing out of your diet is never going to make a huge difference, overhauling the way you see food however, will.

So that’s my 2014 in food! What dietary discoveries did you make this year? Has 2014 been a good year for you? As this is my last post for 2014, wishing everyone a happy and healthy with NYE !

Jenna xxx