Pasta's Shocking Return to My Diet....

It must have been in college when I swore off pasta and carbs for the first time.

I wanted to fit in those tight dresses and loose the chub I thought was around my mid section, my arms, and my thighs. (Looking back now I laugh at the lack of flab that actually existed. But at the time it was a big deal for me.) And I had heard that carbs make you fat. Pasta dinners were evil. And bread had now become the favored enemy!

Fast forward a few years and to add to this, gluten had now become the devil and it lurked in all those same foods. Just another nail in the coffin for carbs in my diet. Then when my dog got diagnosed with cancer, I had just read about the cancer-fighting agents in cruciferous vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower. So I mentioned wanting to get these in my Harley Allen and our Homeopathic Vet said the most shocking thing..."Sugar feeds cancer cells, Carbs turn into sugar in the body. And Vegetables are carbs too....." Back up the train here. Vegetables are carbs too? I've been unknowingly eating carbs all these years. What now? What is left to eat? AHH!!!!

This confusion has plagued me until I started my Holistic Nutritionist courses this winter. I'm just loving the information because it is dispeling so many of the marketing myths that I have fallen victim to all these years. The "eat this." " No, eat this" One day this such and such is a miracle food. The next it is Satan. It is enough to make anyone's head spin. The clarity these courses are bringing to my life are such a relief!

My material spells out exactly what the science is telling us, backed up by what studies are taking place, and what we know today about nutrition and our bodies. I've become a woman on a mission to help you, girlfriend, not fall into all the traps I have over the years!

So a major lesson for me this week has been....carbs are NOT our enemies. We just need to know how to PICK them. Same goes for our comfort carbs-starchy vegetables. We need these guys to make a regular appearance on our plants. This girl is mighty happy to have my favorite food-potatoes-back on my plate!!! I could live on potatoes! :)

And not only should we not be avoiding them, they should be making up the bulk of our caloric intake! Hallelujah to my ears!

They did a study of folks in areas where people regularly lived over 100 years old and they looked at their diets. Instead of meat being the biggest portion at meas (like in America) starchy vegetables were the main character!

You see, when I read "plant-based" or "eat primarily vegetables" I equated that to salads. And with all the rules I've heard over the years about not cooking your vegetables because you ruin the nutrients and you lose the enzymes, while true to a point, you are still eating VEGETABLES!! You are still doing a fantastic job! And if cooking them gets you to eat more of them, cook the dang ol' vegetables!! (I eat tons more greens cooked than I ever will raw).

This is why I failed so many times. I would eat salads and after about the third one, I want something more substantial. Something that sticks to my ribs. Something that makes me feel "full" not just "not hungry." I needed to add in the whole-grains and starchy vegetables!!!

This is a real game changer folks! While we want to avoid highly processed, refined carbs, carbohydrates in their whole grain, starchy vegetable form are these amazing little energy packets that our bodies have evolved to metabolize so efficiently. It is actually the best energy source our bodies can get! "Whole grains provide fiber, protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and numerous phytochemicals, as well as the carbohydrates." (Whole Foods Diet)

"They have been linked to lower risks of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, certain cancers, and mortality from all causes." (Whole Foods Diet) And we need fiber in this country!! Fiber keeps things moving and promotes healthy gut bacteria, which is linked to so many things including our emotional well-being.

So do yourself and your body a good deed and get those whole grains and starchy veggies back on your plate pronto!