Lifestyle

My Diet Sucks, But Here's How I Got Through It

By Annika Altura at University of California — Davis

There are many people in this world who choose to maintain certain diets like gluten-free, vegan, or paleo. While I admire their valiant efforts, I am definitely, and never will be, one of those people. Personally, I've always thought that diets suck.

As someone who aspires to be a chef, I see all of these diets as a way that people close themselves off to different flavors that they "can't" experience.

 But unfortunately, my stomach doesn't agree with my adventurous taste buds. After a year of ulcers, hyper acidity, and pains for no reason, I thought I'd try something a little bit different than being on antibiotics all the time. I decided to take a Food Intolerance test to see if it was maybe something I was eating. I got the results back and I almost regretted taking it in the first place.

Amongst the common allergens and irritants like wheat, dairy and eggs, I also found out that I can't eat very specific types of foods like beans, scallops, potatoes, almonds (goodbye almond butter!), curry and cauliflower to name a few. As someone who regularly uses chocolate as the primary source of caffeine, I honestly felt like the rug was being pulled out from under me. Here I was, wanting nothing more than to make cinnamon rolls and eat cheese plates to my heart's desire. But all I was left with, or so I thought, were rice, meat and (un-buttered) vegetables. It sucked.

The first few weeks were rough. My ice cream cravings wouldn't let up, and all I wanted for breakfast was scrambled eggs. After the food turned tiresome I kind of knocked some sense into myself. I just spent two months working in the kitchen of an Iron Chef, why the hell am I doing moping around like this? It was time to get creative.

Flank steak, grilled asparagus and mushrooms became my new go-to meal. And though I will keep Justin's Vanilla Almond Butter in my heart forever, I re-discovered my love for peanut butter. Other meals I eventually came up with were seafood fried rice, roast chicken and garlic sweet potato mash.

Shopping proved to be a challenge. Stores such as Trader Joe's and Whole Foods had gluten and dairy-free options, but asking for both was a tall order. Even then, gluten-free options usually had potato starch, and I couldn't have that. Coconut turned out to be my best friend. Coconut flour and coconut milk is an amazing substitute for everything. I was even able to bake this amazing coconut flour banana bread.

As for eating out, Yelp and Google were my best friends. I found out that Blaze Pizza had gluten-free crusts and vegan cheese. I am at peace knowing I don't have to stray from KBBQ. And Pluto's, a restaurant in downtown Davis, has proved to be my favorite restaurant.

This diet isn't forever for me (I get off it 3 months after I started), however I did get a little bit of a taste of how different it is for people with say, Celiac's or even severe eczema. I'm slowly starting to introduce some foods back in, and I discovered that almonds don't hurt me as much as ice cream does. These last few weeks were a test to my creativity, and I realize now that it's not the end of the world when you can't have something--it just means that you'll have to start doing things a little bit differently.