Oh, food. You’re so magical. We love you when you’re green, organic and chia-blasted but when you’re fried, full of gluten or both then we hate you (well we love you at first and then we hate you). Is there a happy compromise? Perhaps the love / hate relationship can be a little more on the love side? Let’s find out.
I’ve been wanting to write a post like this for a while because I’m so sick of all these diet tips out there — BE VEGAN. FUCK GLUTEN. GRAINS ARE THE DEVIL (LOVE, TEAM PALEO). What’s the right choice? Should I hate myself for having some cheese? Will I get fat if I don’t eat like a caveman? Well, it’s your body so you can decide.
Diets (and I don’t necessarily mean something you do for ten days, lose a few lbs then order $75 worth of Chinese food on day 11 and gain it all back — I mean the way you eat) are like jeans and skincare — they’re not one size fits all. I’ve mentioned in posts before that there’s certain denim brands I love because they fit my body, but my body isn’t necessarily like your body. So you might prefer a different brand of denim for that very reason. Same with skincare. There are brands I love because they work with my skin, but they won’t necessarily work the same with yours. Get it? Diets are the same way. I think we know by now what we should and shouldn’t eat — if your diet consists of Wonder Bread and Twinkies (and other process goodies) then I can’t imagine your yearly check-ups resulting in your doctor saying “keep up the good work!” — but there’s just so much information out there about different eating lifestyles that can be very confusing. Do you have to choose, though? Do you have to label yourself vegan or Paleo? Do you have to get on the juice trend or is it still acceptable to chew your fruits and vegetables?
I say absolutely not. For me, I’m all over the place with what I eat. I will eat totally vegan for a few days then indulge on some fried chicken the next. Why? I like all types of food — healthy, not healthy and everything in between. There’s certain things I can’t live without (unless I absolutely had to for health reasons) so as long as I balance them with some green juice and salads (which I actually do enjoy) I don’t feel bad getting the fried chicken sandwich AND the four piece chicken dinner (and a few sides) at Honey Butter Fried Chicken…which happened this weekend.
Now if I ate that way everyday, I would feel bad about it. Not necessarily in an “OMG Jena you’re so fat why did you do that?” kind of way but more in a…my body is craving something with nutritional value, type of way. If you haven’t reached that point yet, as you get older your body just doesn’t respond well to foods that aren’t good for you. Something my mom always told me and I didn’t believe her…as during this time I was hitting up Papa John’s every night in college like it was my booty call (and that was only my late night snack…there was damage done in the day time too). Never affected me for a bit (besides gaining 30 lbs…but who’s counting?) but as I get older, I know I can’t eat that way anymore. It just makes me feel like shit. And who wants to feel like shit?
Overall, I don’t necessarily label myself in following a certain diet. I am not a vegetarian as I eat chicken, fish and foie gras (not much else though in the red meat / pork categories). I just prefer other things, that’s all. I don’t keep dairy in the house, as it tends to make me break out so I only eat it when I’m out (and usually in pizza form, specifically gluten and dairy overload at Spacca Napoli). I’m Italian…my body is meant to eat this stuff, right? (well, that’s what I tell myself anyway)
I don’t believe in cutting out gluten unless you really are allergic / sensitive to the ingredient, as many people who cut it out replace it with things that are just as bad for you. Seriously, read the ingredients on gluten-free breads and such…you take out one thing that’s “bad” for you and they’ll add five more. So if I’m going to avoid it, I’ll avoid it…and not buy replacements like gluten-free bread and pasta (because let’s be honest, they’re barely “replacements”). I’d rather just have a salad.
Again, at home I eat pretty healthy. I figure if I keep healthy stuff in the house that is what I’ll eat. I don’t have a ton of time to cook as I have events almost every night, but for lunch I usually do some sort of avocado toast and green smoothie combination. Dinner at home would be chicken and vegetables or a quiona / rice bowl with vegetables and avocado (do you see a pattern here? AVOCADO ON EVERYTHING). But when I go out? It’s BALLS TO THE WALL. I don’t want to be that person who’s like “what on your menu has no gluten, no dairy, no sugar and no fat?” so I just eat what I want and I enjoy it. It’s all about balance, my friends (just as I always say in my personal style posts with regards to outfits). Now, my girl Jessica does the most incredible job at keeping a plant-based diet (and originally for health reasons…not just to be trendy). If you are thinking about switching up your diet or just want some good plant-based recipes / inspiration, this is where it’s at. I’m not saying it’s bad to stick to one type of diet (whether it be vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, etc.) but I don’t want you to stress out about it. Just eat healthy when you can and when you can’t, you just can’t! Remember, it’s your body. Your rules.
Got it? Good. Now enough about me…let’s talk about you. Do you ever feel like you have to stick to a certain type of diet because of what you hear / read? Or you do so because you actually want to? Do you feel a difference when you eat a certain way? TELL ME YOUR DIET SECRETS SO THEY’RE NOT SO SECRET ANYMORE.
Images via ASOS, Chicago Reader & Jessica Murnane…and me!
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