It is with a modest amount of trepidation that I am writing this Sharepost. While I'm not particularly superstitious, over the years I have found that talking (or writing) about my health and how good I'm feeling can cause a set-back or two. But, I have decided for the good of the group to take the risk, jump in with both feet, and write this post to discuss how I've been doing since our trip to Spain in October.
If you read the Sharepost I wrote while we were in Spain then you know that I was eating bread, i.e. gluten, once each day. Since we've been home I have continued the practice - one slice of bread every day or so - it's a part of my breakfast that I truly treasure. And so far, there are no negative repercussions like in the past - no bloating, no gas, no nothing.
My theory is that the three weeks we spent in Spain somehow hit my body's "reset" button. As you've read from me before, I firmly believe that much of the food we eat in America is killing us. Our foods are highly processed, the meat we eat comes from animals that have been pumped full of antibiotics and processed, literally, to death so we can then eat them. Prepared foods are chocked full of preservatives, sugars, MSG, nitrates, and goodness knows what else. And even when we do search out organic foods, not all organic foods are created equally - you have to shop as locally and close to your home as possible so that you can meet the farmers, talk to them about how they are growing their food and meats, and only then can you hopefully come home with quality ingredients worthy of being put into your body.
In general, this is what we found in Spain, good quality, whole ingredients. Spanish cooking is very regional and the Spanish culture revolves around socializing over food - a typical dinner meal is eaten at the table over a period of two or three hours. All of this means that each geographical area of Spain has its food specialties, from certain dishes, such as paella, that they are known for, to specific types of cheese, meat, and spices that make each regions food unique.
For the three weeks we were in Spain, my husband and I spent two of them renting a house in a small area known as La Alpujarra. Situated at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains, we were located a mere 15 minute drive from mountain towns where we bought freshly made cheeses, sausage, jamon (cured ham), and meats from a butcher who knew the farmers who had grown the cows, lamb, and chickens. But, we were also a 30 minute drive from the Mediterranean's Costa del Sol, where there was an abundance of fresh fish and their feature dish of paella - a wonderful mélange of rice, paprika, saffron, and fresh from the sea seafood. These are the foods I ate for three weeks, plus bread, chocolate, fresh goat's milk, and properly made and cultured yogurt sans sweeteners.
While I ate pretty closely to this at home in Colorado before we went to Spain, I have been even more diligent since returning home to make sure that everything I put into my mouth can be traced to its source. I have found a local mill 40 miles up the road where I can get freshly ground wheat flour for baking my own bread, goat's milk and cheese now comes from a farmer who stocks my local health food store twice a week, and a friend has helped me to source even better raised and cultivated meats - no grain-fed animals in my diet anymore.
