In my last post, I shared how I came up with the idea of a ‘wheat allowance’ where I knew I could only handle so much before I’d start to feel ill. By keeping tabs on things and making sure that I never exceeded two slices of bread every other day, I was still able to enjoy some of my faves such as avo toast, cheese toasties, and peanut butter sandwiches, without painful or embarassing consaquences.

This month I focussed on finding alternative lunches to sandwiches – such as homemade Bolognese with vegetable noodles, gluten-free ‘deli-dippers’ (crunchy, slightly salty, ‘bread-stick’ imitations that tasted incredible with natural peanut butter – the ingredient list wasn’t as bad as it couldn’ve been, however I wouldn’t recommend you seek them out … very much on the starchy side, but alas a satisfying ‘bridging’ food) and a ‘snacky-lunch’ of veggie sticks, nut butter, cheese and fruit, arranged like a platter.

Things were going well and I started to notice that my interest in and desire for cakes/biscuits etc. continued to dwindle. I remember buying a thick slice of banana bread from Boost Juice to have as a ‘special treat’ lunch at school – it was delicious but I felt less than average afterwards and didn’t care much for bought cakes again after that.

I also had two major a-ha’s this month. #1 was a particularly embarassing experience. I was on year 10 work experience at an ethical and chemical-free beauty/spa shop. On my lunchbreak I went to the green grocer’s smoothie bar and ordered a green smoothie (WITHOUT wheat germ!). Sadly, they forgot this ammendment, and I saw them put the wheat germ in. I figured I’d stay quiet and just not eat any bread for the next few days, not wanting to make a fuss …

BIG mistake!

Within half an hour, I was back at the salon and the girls were teaching me how to do manicures … barely 5 minutes into the tutorial and guess who runs to their loo with explosive diarrhoea? …

A-ha #2 came when I finally made the connection between my green tea mango mantra smoothie obsession and my sporatic insomnia. I only ever had trouble sleeping on days where I’d been to Boost Juice (and yes, I was a tad obsessed with this particluar juice and smoothie bar. I once believed it to be a ‘natural’ and ‘healthy’ option).

Who knew that the triple shot extra green tea I always requested could be so potent (#sarcasm … it’s sad that this hadn’t occured to me sooner … again I say “poor, naive Rachie'”).

I decided to stop drinking Boost Juice smoothies all together within the next few months, as I realised the caffiene was the least of my problems. The mango nectar they use is 50% added sugar and the frozen yoghurt has an epic ingredient list. The amount of actual whole fruit that makes it into the smoothie is dismal – the ice, nectar, juice, milk, (fake) yoghurt and sorbet bulk the drinks out a fair bit.

Tip #5 for transitioning to a whole foods diet … Continue to associate negative feelings/bodily reactions with certain foods and cut out/reduce/limit as necassary. As your tastebuds and expectations change, notice how you feel less reliant on ‘treats’ and more drawn towards simple alternatives. Embracing simplicity means that you have control and are no longer governed by ‘cravings’ (and if you do ‘crave’ it tends to be something simple such as cheese wrapped in iceberg lettuce cups for something salty or a handful of dried fruit and cashew nuts for something sweet)