It’s often said that changing how you eat is the “gateway drug” to a healthier overall lifestyle. I think we tend to underestimate how important what we consume is to the functionality of our system. I don’t promote any one particular style of eating, but what I can say is that switching to a “Paleo-ish” style of eating has been super supportive for me personally over the years as I healed from Mold (mycotoxin) illness and later, from chronic Lyme.
If you want to try something new for 2023 and don’t know where to start, I would suggest eliminating gluten (wheat, barley, rye and triticale) for one month and take notice of how you feel by the end.
I know, I know — this is a CRAZY idea but just hear me out.
I consider gluten elimination to be largely preventative because of gluten’s unfortunate links to conditions such as leaky gut and leaky brain. Every-body is a little bit different, but why not try it out and see how you feel? I love living the gluten-free lifestyle. Gluten is also the crop that is most likely to be sprayed with toxic herbicides such as Glyphosate, which we want to avoid consuming. If you are going to eat gluten, at least make sure it is organic.
When it comes to food, my philosophy is also always to “swap”. We don’t ever just cut something out. If we remove something, we swap something else in its place. This is what I call “crowding out”. When you crowd out something less supportive for your overall health, you don’t miss whatever you eliminated.
Here are my top FIVE favorite healthy swaps:
BREAD: I’ve swapped out breads that contain both gluten and grains for these instead:
PASTA: I’m a pasta gal through and through. My friends know that if you seat me at an Italian restaurant with a bowl of gluten-free lamb ragu, I will be the world’s happiest person. Here are my favorite pastas to make at home:
PIZZA: In the year 2020, I cooked a looottttt of homemade pizza. I make it less these days, but I still always keep these grain-free crusts in the freezer in case the mood strikes!
CRACKERS: I don’t know about you, but a full charcuterie board with grain or gluten free crackers is always my go-to appetizer when I’m hosting and it’s one of my favorite things to encounter when I’m being host-ed. Here are my favorite cracker swaps:
• Simple Mills - I love all of their products in general! Some retailers also now carry their Organic crackers (not yet available on Thrive Market).
• Hu Kitchen Grain Free Crackers - These get bonus points in my book because they also do NOT contain any seed oils.
MILK: While I’m not a fan of conventional milk, I am a big fan of raw milk and cheeses made from raw dairy. Wow, raw milk is just FULL of amazing nutrient and immune system boosting factors. In the United States the state laws vary as far as where you can buy raw milk near you, so you will have to do some research on your own to find out how you can acquire it in your location.
Most of the above links go to the brand’s product pages on Thrive Market. You can get 40% off your first order at Thrive Market if you use my referral link here: Meg's Link for 40% off your first order on Thrive. Thrive Market consistently offers the best prices on all of my favorite healthy swaps so I highly suggest joining.
What are your favorite healthy food swaps? Tell me in the comment section.