Inspired by two Peace Corps volunteers we met in Paraguay (Thanks Nalena and Jon !), Pauline and I have decided to make a New Year's resolution, or rather several, that will hopefully last all year long. The idea is to slightly change our diets each month of the year, usually by eliminating one element. In that way, we can see how that particular food affects us, if at all. And for less-healthy "foods" such as sugar, salt, and alcohol, this temporary diet should help us to bring our consumption down to appropriate levels. One other goal is to experience what other people go through due to their allergies (gluten), intolerance (lactose), and certain chosen diets (raw, vegan).
So for this month, Pauline and I will be eschewing cheeses. Normally this would be near impossible for us if we were in Europe or North America. In Cambodia, however, it should make for an easy beginning to our Resolution.
During the short month of February, we shall consume no caffeine. So no coffee, no green or black tea, no mate. No Swedish negerbollar. No Italian tiramisu.
March : Added sugars and sweeteners are out. Fruit is okay, but sugar, molasses, honey, maple syrup, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and any processed food with any added sweeteners are to be excluded.
April is alcohol-free.
May : After surviving January's cheeseless month, we'll go up a notch to no dairy at all. A whole month without ice cream, yoghurt, cheese, milk, and butter...
Eggs are out in June. No omelettes, quiches, most baked goods...
July : No white flour or derived products (pancakes, bread, cakes).
During the month of August, we'll be developing a temporary celiac disease and be avoiding all gluten. It should be a good time to learn some quinoa recipes.
September : salt, soy sauce, and sodium are out.
October will involve more of a judgement call. We're saying no fried foods, but the idea is generally no deep-fried or oil-fried / pan-fried foods. Uncooked oils (olive oil on salad) and butter will probably be okay.
November should prove to be the toughest month of the year. We shan't be eating anything cooked. Raw fruits and raw veggies.
And to finish out the year, we're going to spend a month vegan. We're already vegetarians, so that final step won't be too much of a jump. The changes we'll have to make include excluding honey, dairy, and eggs...a bit like months March, May, and June put together.
So you may ask how we'll manage with the holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. And what about all of those must-try local specialities in Asia ? Well, we're always going to be free to try something forbidden for that month or take a day off for a holiday... but we'll have to add on three more days at the beginning of the following month to make up.
Anyone want to join us ?
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| Too much cheese here for January. |
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| Too much caffeine here for February. |
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| No lemon tarts in March. |
March : Added sugars and sweeteners are out. Fruit is okay, but sugar, molasses, honey, maple syrup, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and any processed food with any added sweeteners are to be excluded.
April is alcohol-free.
 |
| Dairy, sugar, eggs, gluten... I won't get many pancakes this year. |
Eggs are out in June. No omelettes, quiches, most baked goods...
July : No white flour or derived products (pancakes, bread, cakes).
During the month of August, we'll be developing a temporary celiac disease and be avoiding all gluten. It should be a good time to learn some quinoa recipes.
September : salt, soy sauce, and sodium are out.
 |
| Fried plantains ? Not in October. |
November should prove to be the toughest month of the year. We shan't be eating anything cooked. Raw fruits and raw veggies.
And to finish out the year, we're going to spend a month vegan. We're already vegetarians, so that final step won't be too much of a jump. The changes we'll have to make include excluding honey, dairy, and eggs...a bit like months March, May, and June put together.
So you may ask how we'll manage with the holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. And what about all of those must-try local specialities in Asia ? Well, we're always going to be free to try something forbidden for that month or take a day off for a holiday... but we'll have to add on three more days at the beginning of the following month to make up.
Anyone want to join us ?
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