There’s a saying that there are two kinds of people. People that eat to live and people that live to eat. Well I’m the latter. When I was young I would spend the entire day asking my mother what was for the next 2-3 meals. It drove her nuts. I think I had that whole Bethenny Frankel thing down before she was a 4th tier celebrity. She explains in one of her books that your diet is like a book of checks and balances. At 6 I wanted to know what was for the next meal so I could plan and spend my calories accordingly.(without knowing that’s what I was doing). For example: if we were having spaghetti for dinner, then I wouldn’t want a carb heavy lunch or breakfast. I’d want a can of corn or a lean cuisine. (I was a weird child. Hand me the vegetables over the cookies please). Though, I wasn’t exposed to lots of green things growing up and no one in my family jumps at vegetables so who knows where that gene came from. My parents don’t like the smell of brussel sprouts or spinach so until college my main source of vegetables was either chopped up in sauces, in Chinese takeout or a can of carrots or corn. I remember going to Chinese restaraunts and always eating the peas my brother picked out of his fried rice. Peas to this day are still my favorite.
I’ve spent years adapting my favorite comfort foods into healthier options that I don’t feel as guilty about eating. I make pasta carbonara with no cream and LOADS of garlic, peas and onions. I occasionally cook my own Chinese food and if I’m eating hamburger helper on a day where I’m in PMS hell and I just want the comfort food I throw in peas, carrots, onions and tomatoes. Volumetrics I believe is what that is called.
So while I do eat healthy for the most part this endometriosis diet caught me off guard. There were like only 30 ingredients on the “okay to eat list”. Ummmmm… where’s the Chinese food? Where’s the pasta carbonara? Where’s the steak and potatoes and where’s the bag of popcorn I can eat while watching a movie?! I majored in cinema studies and have spent the majority of my life when I wasn’t in ballet or jazz classes eating popcorn in a theater or in front of the TV watching a good (or bad) movie. Sigh.
So here I am. I’m on a mission to help myself and other endo sufferers find healthy non painful substitutes for their favorite foods. Macaroni and cheese? I got you covered girl. Chinese.. I’ll figure it out.
I begin the Whole30 with my endo restrictions on Monday. And seeing as how any time I eat all the bad food I wind up having chest pains a day later, I’ve decided this change needs to be for GOOD. My coworkers thought I was just being some health nut till I explained to them that food like Popeyes gives me pain… chest pain. That seemed to elicit some understanding and support. So I’m looking at this weekend as a kind of last meal. One big long last meal with all my favorite foods. Chinese, tacos, queso and red wine. It WILL result in chest pains. I’m already experiencing them. But for me, I live to eat and I will enjoy every last bite.
Expanding the Endometriosis Diet 