Hh- we could eat healthier too. Wednesdays my husband cooks. I don't care what he cooks so long as the three of us eat. So last night was apple cinnamon buckwheat pancakes! My son was thrilled and I feared tonight he'd ask for a repeat, but he shocked me. He has requested mujadarah with a Brussel sprout-apple hash as his side dish! I'm gleefully obliging! The first time he has ever requested sprouts, I'm considering it a win :) I may have a weak sense of smell, but I don't think the saviseeds smell that bad. A slight odor but nothing horrid like kimchi. I had forgotten about the voluntary recall-- thanks for reminding others. I still believe in the company. Annie- A normal person would have to consume a crazy amount of chia seeds or some sensitivities for the issues to occur . I've eaten dry seeds on my salad for 10 years and none of the problems you have described. (now I'll probably be hospitalized for an obstructed bowel over the weekend, perhaps I should knock on wood?) to be fair, I do drink about 10 cups of water a day in addition to eating all the raw veggies and fruit (and their respective water content). So any leaching of water etc would probably be negligible? So very true about conflicting nutrition advice. I read that oped a while ago. I agree with much of the oped but feel he overlooks another culprit: BigFarm. They exert too much influence over research institutions. The universities have 0 incentive to actually conduct blind longitudinal studies as many are subsidized in some way by large agriculture consortiums. Anyway I think it's great you and Kiki are trying to identify foods that do you harm. It should be an interesting experiment. Kiki- how are you doing? Experiencing any cravings or moods from withdrawals of certain foods?

I think this is one of those cases of where one thing that works for somebody doesn't work for the other. The no dairy has made no difference to my complexion whatsoever. I also have adult acne (was spared as a teen though) for me it is very hormone related in what makes a difference in my monthly cycle. Of course the majority of all dairy I consume are of the organic hormone free kind so maybe the hormones in normal dairy is the cause there for others. Also read the label on the cheese you buy some of it has ingredients I would not expect to see such as Aluminum. Organic if you can find it also tastes so much better imo. Dairy such as milk and butter are large ingredients in many foods. My daughter is allergic to the proteins such as caseins and whey in dairy, but we don't take any chances with anything that contains milk or those proteins. Goat products still contains caseins and whey and are thus not in our household. Also our pediatric allergist recommends to not have any exposure to the allergen to hopefully allow her body to stop producing antibodies against it so maybe she can eat dairy later. I do drink milk and yoghurt (organic on both) at home and my daughter drinks rice milk enriched with Calcium. I try to avoid soy and adding extra estrogens with soy substitutes for her, but there are some things we buy pre-made that is dairy free and often there is soy in that instead. Don't want to add soy milk unless I have to in things. Coconut milk and Almond milk are both great for cooking when I need something, but I usually stay away from recipes calling for milk. I wish I could say eating dairy free for 2 years (I continued for about 8 months after stopping BF) did or didn't do anything for my weight, but dairy hasn't seem to have had an effect there either. Probably because I don't eat much different calorie wise. If I don't have dairy I need some other source of protein so the calories gets replaced one way or another. Of course I have to stick to around 1500-1800 calories a day to maintain weight. If I go above as in eating out where it can really blow up then I gain in no time - dairy or not. I'm personally of the belief that none of the natural foods (ie non-processed) foods we eat are necessarily bad for us (unless you have an allergy), but that moderation is the key and eating too much of anything your body doesn't need will cause you problems. However the question for me is how do I figure out what my body really need. I try to listen to food cravings when they don't relate to french fries or junk food, but not sure if that is really the key. I started with this when I noticed that I got cravings for salt (not just salty food) when my blood-pressure was on the low side of my already low-blood pressure. Since I have type 1 diabetes (very well controlled) I also try to limit my daily carb intake and eat less refined carbs since there really isn't much difference to your blood between a spoon of sugar or a slice of white bread. It both turns in to glucose and for me at the same rate as far as spiking my blood sugar vs. a whole grain bread with lots of fiber. I guess with all this blabbering my personal choice is try for moderation and avoid too much processed foods, get some exercise, and eat at home and I seem to feel and do better weight wise too.

For the average person though, one who feels fine eating everything, exactly what am I going to be feeling if I give up these foods? If you feel fine, why bother? In other words, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But I would say it's worth trying for anyone who doesn't feel as well as they would like to. Another thought, Ellen . . . I don't know how old you are, but many people seem to do just fine eating whatever, but then at some point don't tolerate certain foods as well as they used to. Their digestion gets quirky, they lack energy, and so on. My severe allergy to solanine (in all the nightshade vegetables and a few other things) didn't start until I was in my thirties, and has gotten progressively worse. Momrox, I have a tendency toward high cholesterol too, but have kept it in check by being very careful about saturated fats, plus eating oat bran. I've eaten oat bran (raw or cooked) every day for years. I just had my cholesterol checked, and it was 168. That's good for me. Now I have to do better with triglycerides, which are inching up. They're just borderline, though--nothing like the dangerously high numbers I had years ago, before I gave up sugar and lowered my carb intake. When I was stricter about carbs than I am now, my numbers were excellent. I'm sorry about your husband. I'm a widow too, and have to guard against mindless eating. It slips in.... I just came across this website with info on JJ Virgin's approach. I'm sure there are loads of other resources too.

My way to deal with cravings in the evening for food in general is to do a hunger assessment. If I'm wanting a snack, am I hungry for a meal? A piece of chicken? If not, then I figure I'm not really hungry, but maybe tired. In general, I find I can feed yoghurt--doesn't have to be sweetened--to an evening craving and it satisfies. Am I looking something sweet? Even plain Greek yoghurt is milky sweet beneath the sour. I try to eat something that's generally "healthy" in those circumstances. I've recently become sensitive to sugariness. If I'm craving something specifically candy sweet--not the kind of ordinary sweet that fruit satisfies--I'll have a frozen yoghurt pop. The chocolate coating serves as "candy", there's some sugar in the yoghurt, and the yoghurt feels like food. It's also pre-portioned and portable, making a quick getaway from the kitchen easy. I have tried substituting "food" for a sweet in that circumstance, including fruit and other naturally sweet foods, but it doesn't work. If I have a sandwich, instead, the craving just gets stronger. I think, for me, the sweet craving is really a low blood sugar thing or something--if I eat a small amount of an actually sugary sweet I feel better. This all supposes general wellbeing! Grainlady mentioned water. Definitely make sure you're well hydrated since what you might be craving is the milk that washes down the cookies, rather than the cookies. :) Also, however, check yourself for sleep deprivation. When I was younger and working way too hard, I'd end up substituting food for sleep. It works short term in terms of alertness and problem solving, but it's unhealthy. If you nod off the instant you're in a warm, relaxing position (i.e., you won't nod off at your desk, but would in an easy chair or laying on a sofa), or if you're out like a light when your head hits the pillow, you're probably sleep deprived. Getting enough sleep is vital! Another thing that can give rise to cravings is missing nutrients. If you don't have a highly varied diet of very fresh foods, especially produce, that have been consumed with almost no cooking or processing, it's likely that you're missing something. People survive without all the vitamins and minerals we grew up hearing about, but you're trying to do more than barely continuing to draw breath. There are a lot of wacky supplements out there, but a good, balanced multivitamin, consumed daily, can take a bunch of cravings right away. Sometimes I crave kale chips. I indulge that one. :) I try not to overdo it only because the way I make/like them takes a lot of work so I do try to make them last. :) And moderation in all things includes kale!