my eating habits: what I don't eat at all, what I generally avoid, favorite meals & ingredients
icon: "delectable (photo of a snow leopard licking its lips)"
I told Anika that I'd compile a list of my dietary restrictions, avoidances, and preferences, and figured I might as well share.
Never (things I do not eat ever):
no meat (to reduce my consumption of resources: factory farming takes a LOT)
no artificial sugars (spenda (sucralose) saccharin (sweet'n'low) aspartame (equal) etc) because they're not food and I hate the taste.
no soy sauce (because I HATE IT)
Almost never (eat less than 3x a year, if at all):
no meat juice/broth/lard/etc (except very rarely when it is served to me: I do not purchase anything with it)
no high fructose corn syrup (except very rarely, such as when I'm having alcohol and there are no mixers without it)
no hydrogenated oils (except maybe a candy bar with it once a year when I get a craving)
Avoid (things I try to avoid but will have in very small amounts, maybe once a month):
avoiding refined sugar and corn syrup (I will have it rarely, maybe once a month: it's not nourishing and it makes me feel like crap)
avoiding oily/buttery things (because it makes me feel ill and I hate slimy texture)
avoiding canola and palm oils (because they have trans fats that are worse for the body and because they tend to be GMO)
avoiding things with soy in them, esp. soy oil (I ate soy almost daily for a year and entered a terrible depression, then learned that soy is full of hormones which can affect some bodies negatively)
avoiding MSG or artificial dyes (this is because I share a lot of food w Topaz, who is very allergic to it)
avoiding bleached/processed flour (because it doesn't feel nourishing or give me reasonable energy; it feels dead)
avoiding gelatin (because it grosses me out to eat the goop from boiled bones)
avoiding high levels of sodium (because I'm very sensitive to salt flavor, I think because I rarely eat meat and therefore just don't get a lot of salt in my diet)
Preferences (things I seek out above others):
sweetener: raw sugar, honey, fruit juice <-fruit juice is my fav
oils: safflower, grapeseed, olive
milk: local whole milk or whole goats milk (I prefer raw but that is so hard to come by)
butter: unsalted, local and/or organic, and used in tiny amounts
cheese: prefer soft/creamy cheeses and don't usually like crumbly/stinky cheese
eggs: cage-free and organic
breads: sprouted whole grain, especially with multiple kinds of grain (before I tried these I thought I hated all bread)
fruits: all of them except raspberries/blackberries if raw/fresh/frozen. only blueberry or citrus ones if made into jelly/jam
raw fruits: I want my bananas, apples, and tomatoes to be on the underripe side
raw vegetables: everything but cauliflower and arugula
cooked vegetables: everything but squash, zucchini, and eggplant, and I usually hate cooked cauliflower but I like the way Topaz makes it.
cooked grains: I like quinoa, brown rice, and rye, and occasionally long-grain rice.
mushrooms: I like them all especially portabella
greens: I prefer spinach to almost anything, but I like all I've tried except arugula
beans: I like them all except lima beans, but I have learned to THOROUGHLY wash canned beans because otherwise they do bad bad things to my stomach
Favorite ingredients:
cilantro, dill, basil, mint -- fresh herbs mm.
mild flavorful peppers
citrusy tomatoes
avocados
creamy cheeses
spinach, esp. baby spinach
butter lettuce, unusual lettuces
black beans, red beans
red onions, green onions
whole grains
full-fat yogurt (except greek: that tastes too dry to me)
full-fat sour cream
small-curd full-fat cottage cheese
limes
strawberries
blueberries
ginger
granny smith apples
mango
orange
not favorite, but often eat due to lack of motivation for food prep:
whole grain cereals & local whole milk or unsweetened almond milk (for the sake of cost and longevity, even though it is bad for the environment)
hummus & whole grain crackers/bread
amy's burritos, enchiladas, and soups
various food bars that are low in sugar and don't have my 'avoid' ingredients
favorite meals (all best with NO oil or butter, or as little as possible):
tacos/burritos/salad w salsa and a shitton of raw veggies, plus beans and mushrooms
lasagne (almost never get a good one -- they all have those mushy squash or zucchini UGH)
chili (almost never get a good one -- it's like people don't know how to flavor and thicken without meat)
paninis (warm crunchy sandwiches mmm)
pizza! with fine-cut broccoli, black olives, spinach, roma tomatoes, banana peppers, red onions, portabella mushrooms, & roasted red peppers.
veggie soups, especially fresh, thin ones w lots of fine-chopped veggies
thick chunky tomato soup with brie on rye toast
thin pastas (angel hair or rice noodles) w lots of tomato sauce and added veggies/mushrooms
cheese w lots of raw veggies, herbs, and whole grain crackers or bread.
smoothies w fruits, peanut butter (w no oils, salt or sugar added) or whey protein, whole milk yogurt.
favorite desserts:
super-gingery ginger cookies and hot spicy tea
spearmint (NOT peppermint) gelato or ice cream w as little sugar and few bits of chocolate as possible
chopped fruits and Topaz' fruit goop (a mix of cream, soft cheese, and sugar)
dark dark chocolate bar w ginger bits (I savor this in small bits -- usually have 1/8th to 1/6th of a bar at a time)
lime sherbert (or it would be, if I could find some that didn't have too much sugar)
sheer bliss pomegranate ice cream w dark chocolate bits (not sure if it still exists, haven't found it in stores in years. but most pomegranate ice cream has WAYYYYYYYY too much sugar because people try to overwhelm the tartness)