Different foods..

Since going paleo, I have been learning to love eating old foods I thought I hated and have tried new foods!

Old foods I've learned to love: mushrooms, tomatoes and almonds. I can't believe I didn't like the many varieties of these items. Now I eat them every day! I love farm fresh cherry tomatoes or really flavorful and colorful heirloom tomatoes, mmmm. I add mushrooms to lots of things, my eggs in the morning or finely diced to bulk out a meatloaf. Almonds used to gross me out because they didn't taste like peanuts (which isn't even a nut but I measures all nuts against the delicious amazing-ness of peanuts, haha). Now I eat almond milk, almond yogurts, and just plain old almonds in lots of ways! All these foods have amazing nutritional and health benefits and I am glad I don't leave them out anymore :D

I guess I would say I have a new appreciation for a nice cup of coffee now, too! Especially when I gave up chocolate for the month I went super strict paleo, I would enjoy a cup of really nice black coffee and love it. It was a substitute for that pleasure chemical :D Now, I will often have a cup of coffee every few days as a treat (usually in the early afternoon... I never want to be the type of person that has a hard time waking up in the morning without their coffee!!).

New foods: kombucha, sesame-based halva, using chia flour instead of breadcrumbs, flax seeds. These are just what I am thinking of away from home! I like kombucha once in a while because I used to eat a lot of yogurt, daily pretty much, and since I don't eat dairy anymore, I've been kind of missing how I felt a lot more regular with the active cultures in yogurt. Halva is a nice treat when we feel like having something sweet!

I was thinking about this because I was feeling a little full after dinner tonight and I had a few sips of kombucha to kind of get my digestion system moving along... and I remember that 6 months ago, I wouldn't even have tried the stuff!!

Looking at food in a new way has changed my life and opened up my eyes to the fact that there are TONS of different ways of eating other than the standard American diet... I can look to other cultures or just another person and learn about new foods, new preparations and new philosophies of eating!

Knowledge is power :)