My YorkTest Elimination Diet: Yeast, You’re An Actual Pain In The Ar*e

There’s not a huge amount to report since we last caught up but here’s the gist of it:

The breakfast smoothie bowls are continuing – that’s raw beetroot, pumpkin seeds, celery, kale or spinach, sprouts (as in the Good4U or Happy Pear variety, not the baby cabbages you have at Christmas), avocado and a small handful of frozen berries, to make it colder and sweeter. I’ve grown to like it but I’m definitely not craving it first thing in the morning – I’d rather sugar and carbs, naturally.

In the last few days, I’ve used the carrot-stick approach. I tell myself that if I have the smoothie, I can reward myself with almond butter on gluten-free, wheat-free toast. At the expense of sounding like I have orthorexia, which I promise you is not the case – and yes, I do realise how ridiculous I sound – but my problem is the bread – although it’s gluten and wheat-free, it contains yeast.

This week I’ve set myself the task of making my own bread.

It’s impossible to buy a free-from everything loaf off the supermarket shelf. I’ve emailed BFree, the makers of the bread I’m eating – the Biona one has been demoted, for now at least as I really, really want a half-authentic looking, and tasting, piece of bread – let’s see what they say. I must also confess that I ate flat-bread twice this week. It was delicious but my digestive system didn’t have a similarly positive response. Bloating and cramps weren’t the worst of it – let’s leave it at that…

This week I’ve set myself the task of making my own bread – I’m researching some recipes and will have a (hopefully) yummy, easy to make manna for you next week. Apart from the yeast factor, I’m grand with the cashew, cow’s milk and tuna ban. Thankfully my energy levels are enduring (even though I had no liver this week – the butcher said it was something about deliveries and bank holidays), I went for an 8.30am swim in the FUR-EEZING sea on Sunday morning. That’s seriously unheard of for me, I’m more of a lounge in a Penneys dressing gown reading the papers kind of gal.

As we battled hypothermia on the way home from the minus one hundred degree dip, my boyfriend said, “I kind of feel like a cucumber after that, you know, really fresh”, and although it’s a ridic analogy, I totally know what he means! It also reminded me that the watery veg would be a great smoothie bowl accompaniment… I know, I know, enough with the smoothie bowls. Soz.

• food
• healthy eating
• nutrition
• YorkTest