Time to miscombine
Hey everyone! How’s your night going? Mine has been glorious because I got to come home an hour earlier than anticipated. The reason is kind of a bummer because one of my clients is moving and I won’t be training her anymore :/ But anywhoo…
I LOVED reading your comments about whether your sig other works out with you or not. I would love to work out with the pilot more, but I’m not dragging him to Zumba 😉 Spin is another story though.
I stopped by the juice place after finding out that the health food store was closed (and tweeted my frustration). II’ll have to go one more day without almond butter! At least I got some delicious juice:
I took Jeni a smoothie and she had some blueberries that she picked today for me!
Mmmmmm!
I had a training appointment shortly after that and then came home for lonchi.
Lunch today was unbelievable…
Raw Carrot Renew soup (a Natalia Rose recipe).. it had curry in it, and as we all know you could put curry on a shoe and I would eat it 😀
Salad with herb greens, leftover vinaigrette that sous chef pilot made, with cucumber, kalamata olives and sea salt
After the glorious feast, I made the pilot some easy slow cooker cacciatore
Slow Cooker Cacciatore
-1 diced bell pepper
-1 small diced sweet onion
-2 cloves of minced garlic
-3/4 cup diced carrots
Pan-sear chicken breasts seasoned with sea salt and pepper and put into the slow cooker
Top with a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce, chopped veggies, a container of sliced mushrooms and fresh basil, oregano and rosemary
Cook on low for 7-9 hours. Serve with rice or pasta 😀
After making the pilot’s dinner, I packed up my dinner to munch after spin, Zumba and my training appointment that ended up being canceled.
Sunshine southwest burgers on romaine with mustard and bell pepper:
And half a container of grape tomatoes:
A side of lazy puppy:
Before training, I had my favorite Larabar flavor:
Have any of you guys tried the NEW flavors yet?? Tropical something, peanut butter and jelly, and German chocolate cake?? I’m dying to get my hands on some, but I’ll have to wait until we make a roadtrip so I can try them 😀
Spin and Zumba were a blasty, but a little bit of insanity went down!
It started POURING during spin and the power went out for a second… soon after, my friend Kelly came into the spin room and told me I should go move my car because the water had flooded up to my doors!! After spin, I had to wade through knee-deep water to get to my car and move it before I could teach Zumba. Crazy, huh?!?
So here I am, finally back in the casa, in jammies and all is bueno. Megan and I were going to have a Super Charge Me cookie extravaganza, but we’re waiting until tomorrow because someone (I have no idea who!) finished off the almond butter and has to pick up some more tomorrow 😛
Have a great night and I’ll see ya in the morning!
Much love,
G$
Some thoughts on food combining: (Disclaimer: If you are currently struggling with ED or in recovery and think that reading about food combining may result in a trigger effect or is a sensitive issue, please skip this particular musing. I don’t ever want to offend or influence others, just share my experiences and what has worked for me and what hasn’t. Everyone is different and knows how certain things affect their bodies and minds—it’s up to us to use our best judgment)
Before I get started on this particular musing, I understand that some of you aren’t sure what food combining is. In a nutshell, it’s the concept that different types of food take different times to fully digest and by consuming foods across genres at once, it can result in poor digestion and waste accumulation which leads to excess weight. The idea is to combine like foods so that the body doesn’t waste excess energy digesting when it could be performing other functions—it’s making digestion an easier task for your body. There are five categories: dried fruit/nuts/seeds, fresh fruits, raw veggies, starches (and cooked starchy veggies) and flesh. Ideally, you wouldn’t consume foods from various categories within 3 hour increments, with the exception of raw veggies (which combine with everything) and bananas and avocados, which can combine in other categories. For more info, please check out my good friend Gena’s post on food combining as she as much more knowledgeable in this area (and all areas concerning the raw foods lifestyle).
Quite a few of you have asked if I have been following the food combining rules. I didn’t answer these questions intentionally.. not meaning to deceive you, but not quite sure what the answer to that would be as it’s been both yes and no for the past month or so.
When my friend Megan first told me about food combining (last summer, when she lent me the Raw Food Detox Diet book), I flat-out told her that it sounded like a bunch of garbage. It goes against everything I’ve been taught about nutrition (well-balanced meals, “stick-to-your-ribs food) and I seriously thought it was a boatload of nonsense. After dabbling with raw foods for the past year, I finally decided to give it a whirl. Why not, eh?
So I made a conscious effort to food-combine during the day, even though all bets were off at night (when I eat cooked food) and am so active with teaching aerobics/training every day. I liked it and I hated it at the same time. I felt pretty bueno (raw foods have a knack for doing that to ya anyway though) and I loved having fresh fruit in the morning or smoothies/juices because I’m not usually starving in the morning anyway. I hated the EMPTY feeling (the food doesn’t stick at all because you digest so quickly) and I’m used to being pleasantly full after meals. After meals, I didn’t feel fully satisfied even though I could technically eat to my heart’s delight as long as it was in the same category. The thing is, usually I didn’t want more food within the same category.. I wanted cheese with bread, and nut butter on everything, and also didn’t feel like I was getting the protein/carb/fat ratio I’m happy with.
Food combining works wonders for a lot of people, but not so much for me. I found that when I did miscombine, I felt like death. I don’t want to have nut butter on Ezekial bread and feel like death. I don’t want to eat perfectly healthy foods and feel badly afterwards. The more you combine, the harder it is on your body when you miscombine and I felt like I was training my body to feel icky when I wasn’t combining properly. I knew that there are some miscombinations I’ll always want to have- like almond butter on Ezekiel and goat cheese on sweet potato and nuts AND cheese on salad… I just like them 😀 SO I’ve decided that for the most part, I’m not gonna roll like that. I’m still going to do raw until dinner and will eat fruit on it’s own unless it’s in a smoothie but I will be no longer making a conscious effort to food combine.
Another big reason I’m not going to consciously combine is because of school. I know we’ll be making and tasting a lot of different things and I don’t want to be saying “sorry, I shouldn’t have that, it’s not dried fruits and nuts time for another 2 hours”. I want to live it up, yo and not be bloated and lethargic from miscombining.
I definitely will tell you that combining works. If you have stomach ailments or digestion problems, from what I hear, it can do glorious things. I know quite a few people who speak very highly of food combining and it has changed their lives. So if it’s something you’ve been wanting to try, you could give it a whirl and see if you love it, or if, like me, it’s just not for you.
Have you tried food combing before? What do you think??
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I can't find the coconut creme pie Larabar, or any of the new flavors for that matter, ANYWHERE! We should trade almond butter for larabars, lol, almond butter is everywhere around here!!
I feel like my eyes have crossed from looking at the word "miscombining" too many times! Haha. I have never tried doing this but thank you so much for the super interesting post! I loved it! I don't know if it's something that would work for me since I am such a great lover of mixing thangs up but I sure am intrigued!
I just found the new lara bar flavors and I love the PB&J! I haven't tried the other two flavors yet but I can't wait!!! I could possibly send some to you, if you want! (I'd happily trade for one of your raw macaroons!!)
I would really like to try combining, i've just been too lazy, and I like nuts a fruit together too much! That was a great run-down though-i didn't realize the more you combine the harder it is to miscombine! thanks!
Oh how I love reading your blog!
Thanks for sharing your crock pot recipes. I love making meals in my crockpot.
what a sweet picture of your cute little white dog lounging out…lol Too cute!
i have not tried the new Larabars, but I'm on the lookout for them.
Crazy flooding in V-town! Knee deep water? Glad everything turned out okay.
Food combining…been there, done that, but like you, I like nut butter on everything…not just raw carrots! Glad it works for others, but it did not work for me.
excellent post! I love your candid description about how you loved and hated it. I don't have enough will power to get into food combining (I also love nut butters on everything and cheese and nuts at the same time); but I have to be honest and say that I also don't totally buy the raw foods lifestyle. Has it been helping you? what are the benefits? To me, it seems time consuming and expensive (food dehydrators, juicers, etc). Although, I say that as i'm washing my blender, food pro, and kitchenaid. What are a couple more appliances?
Ya know, I actually would LOVE to take my hubby my Zumba class! He would have a blast! 🙂 Seriously, he can do the booty bump better than Beyonce! haha… but at the same time, i don't want him to go because i can't dance for anything and he'd totally make me look like a fool 🙂
I have been hearing a lot in the blog world with food combining lately… and for me, I know myself and I would get way too caught up in it… so I've chosen not to. I have so much respect for those who can and have great success with it… but I know it's not for me!
i agree with azlinda, that is the cutest picture of "your little white dog" little white dogs are the best, mine has brown spots on her…(permanent ones lol) my birds and piggy loved the mini banana sandwiches that i made for them, thanks for the idea, i tried to write that i got the idea from you but i dont know how to do that link back thing, i will figure it out though. i also tried the butternut fries….NOBODY got any tastes of that, lol!!! i made a batch took a bite and IMMEDIATELY put in another!!!!! i should go turn them now actually!
Food combining = not for me. I was intrigued when I first read about it, and gave it a little test run, but was cranky as hell! I realized that I didn't have digestive problems to begin with, so why deprive myself of my daily little joys, like breakfast of Ezekiel with nut butter — AND fruit? I also considered social/professional dining — while I have no qualms telling a client or supervisor (or date) that I'm a strict vegetarian, I'd prefer not to bring up food combining as well.
omg that is crazy about the flooding!!! im glad everything is okay!
i want to try the german choc cake … yum.
-muffy
MM Fresh Blueberries!! Your dog is so cute!! I must be the only blogger in the world that HATES the coconut cream pie larabar. I like the applepie flavor though!
That's crazy that you had to wade through water to get to your car!!
Yes sometimes it can be a pain but after MIScombining today for the first time in weeks, I am feeling it in a bad way and to me, it's worth it to do the combining properly.. I just posted about this ironically!
But, I know everyone is different. Glad you know what works for you 🙂
i loved this post!!! i like the combining rules, although when I eat just fruit before pilates, I am ALWAYS hungry within 20 or 30 min. I can still eat raw in the am, but miscombine a tiny bit and then I do much better!!
I think it is really important to let people know about how when you start combining properly, it really intensifies the effect of miscombining. I didn't wait long enough last night after my starch dinner to have a nut snack, and much like you said, I felt like death.
For personal reasons, properly combining/high raw has been a saving grace for me, but like you said, its not for everyone. I think you are smart (and beautiful and funny and kind….) to just decide what is right for you and own it.
Wow, this post couldn't have been more timely for me. An abundance of raw foods tend to do a number on my already active digestion and I was wondering if food combining would alleviate that problem. My guess is, No, and I don't think I have the will power anyways 🙂
Love your down to earth take on raw foods 🙂
I have tried food combining for the first half of the day once in a while. At first the feeling of being satisfied and not hungry but not full was odd to me. But, now I don't know that I mind it. Granted, I only follow proper food combining once in a while because I am certainly far from a completely raw diet. But, I think the acceptance of that not hungry but not physically full feeling takes time
This was so interesting! I'd heard of food combining but was never really sure exactly what it was…
I've never tried it and probably never will, especially from what you said about your experience! Haha – but so cool to know 🙂
Hey girly 😉 I have all of the new flavors and will have reviews up later this week! I gave them to my other instructor girls to try. So far the PB&J is getting AWESOME reviews. That bag of fresh blueberries looks jammin! I can't wait to see how you use them throughout the week ( so good on salads!!). Hope you have a good one 😉
bella looks awefully cute there on the couch 🙂 and i could go for some blueberries!! love how you do so many crock pot recipes, mine often gets forgotten 🙁 i think i'm with you on the food combining, but i think has been enlightening to read/think about and try out… everyone must find their own way!
Aww Bella 🙂
Yes – PBJ is good, Tropical Fruit Tart is good, German Chocolate Cake is okay.
I'm back and forth the the combining thing. Usually I will stick to proper combining like fruits, but then again I can mix nuts and avocado and feel just fine. I think that its helpful to know, but ultimately, you have to do what is best for you.
Oh, my goodness, I want to try the PB&J Larabar so bad! I am on a mission to find them! I totally agree with you on the food combining thing, who wants to follow a bunch of rules all the time, it takes the fun out of food!
Your crockpot meals always look so easy and amazing, I will have to try that chicken recipe for my husband, he would love it! (and I would love coming home and not having to cook!)
nina- there are a lot of benefits because you get more enzymes out of your food- i've just noticed that it's given me a lot more energy and my skin looks better than ever. a couple more appliances are the mandolin and spiralizer, but all of the fancy schmancy things aren't really necessary to have a healthy, mostly raw diet.
I love your thoughts on combining. It's pretty much how I feel about it. The way I see it – is at least I know the "rules" of combining…so with this knowledge I can understand why I feel like total crap even after eating healthy food. It makes total sense – provided that you can eat a million hours a day. (Hard for me to do in the office!)
So, I figure I will follow some of the rules and test out different combos so I know what to avoid in the future. I love your blog and views and am very excited I'm finally Twittering!
Thanks for your thoughts on food combining. It's nice to hear different sides.
That's so nice of you to grab your friend a
smoothie and she, blueberries for you:)
WOW this is exactly what happened to me gina!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe I didn't put it all together!!! I got so upset b/c I was eating raw foods in the morning and food combining and then when in the evening not food combining and I got sooooooo sick! I thought it was from all the raw foods and so I immediatly stopped and went back to my old ways of eating … thank you so much for this post!!
yummm!! love the coconut larabar. i just bought the pbj and tropical fruit tarte larabars at whole foods this past weekend but have yet to try them. i'm doing a review of them on my blog this week (once i do try them) so watch for that!
thanks for the food combining info, it's always been a little confusing for me. i try to eat a raw breakfast and snack and a mostly raw lunch (can't do without the hummus) but i've never paid attention to food combining. i know what i love and that's what i eat so i'm not so sure it would work for me.
Thanks for explaining how food combining works. I've never read anything on it before b/c I don't think it's for me, but it's definitely interesting.
I've only been able to find the German Chocolate Cake Larabar so far. It was kinda weird that WF had that one and not the other two. If I find the others as well, then I'd be happy to send them your way!
Wow, your so lucky to have fresh picked blueberries, I bet they are delicious! I cannot believe how bad the flooding was! Here in NYC we NEVER get rain that bad. Thanks for your food combining musings:)
I'm *hoping* to find the new Lara's when I go out today to WFs! Fingers crossed 😀
Ahhh crazy about the flash flood!! Hope you have a great Tuesday!
I tried doing food combining for a bit and I TOTALLY also felt like I was never fully satisfied with what I just ate. Eating just fruit for brekky was setting me up for a bad bad day – then just veggies at lunch didn't keep me going. I need more then that with my activity level!
Thanks for the interesting info on food combining. I'd seen it mentioned here and there in your comments, but didn't have any real background. My question to you/others that combine, is why one would want to make it *easier* for the body to digest food?! All I've read in nutrition science point to eating whole grains, fruit with the skin & food in it's most natural/least processed state for satiety. It takes longer to digest, so we stay fuller longer and actually burn some extra calories in the process. Combining seems counter intuitive. It seems similar to a spin instructor I once had that said while climbing in position I is the most difficult, it is the most energy efficient. Meanwhile, I'm not competing in the Tour de France here- I have 45 min to an hour to work my booty as hard as possible and burn as much energy/calories as possible in that amount of time. Efficiency is not my concern in this case.
Also, I probably unconsciously combine and mis-combine foods all the time. The idea of combining and then having an Ezekiel with AB and feeling awful sounds more psychological than biological. Can you enlighten me there as well?
This got a little longer than I intended, but thank you for reading and your insight!!
That is SO interesting about the food combining. My husband has serious digestive issues so I will have to do a little more digging. I'd never even heard of it before. I've been using your blog for inspiration for a little while now as far as healthier options and the salads you make. I am getting ready to do my first triathlon and then a 1/2 marathon a few months later. Do you have any suggestions or any websites you go to? I feel like you are probably more active than I am, but several of the food items on your blog I don't have available to me unless I'm going to be in a bigger city where the health food store is an hour an a half away. so i was going to supplement different items for those.
I got the new Larabar flavors this weekend and like all of them. The tropical one is the best! It's unlike any of the other flavors and it is so refreshing. Usually I prefer chocolate over fruity flavored bars, but not so with this new flavor! German chocolate is tasty – doesn't remind me of the cake at all – but tasty nonetheless. PB&J was a bit of a let-down – I was expecting something more amazing, yet it wasn't anything to write home about. I want to give it another chance though –tastebuds may have been off that day??
I am reading Natalia's books now. Food combining is so very foreign to me but I want to try it out, as I have suffered from digestive problems off and on for years. I don't have a firm grasp on the concepts yet, but I am going to give it a try in the coming weeks. I'll let you know how it goes!
Thanks for your thoughts on combining. I've learned a ton about it in the past few months and haven't noticed any difference between my well combined and miscombined meals, but I think it's because I haven't spent enough time at once properly combining. I intend to try it, but like you, I don't want to feel like death if I miscombine some of my favorite foods, so I will deliberately miscombine from time to time to keep me sane! For any digestive issues, this method could be a lifesaver though, so I definiteyl appreciate knowing about food combining. 🙂
I am so glad you posted this! I was feeling bad about myself because alot of people have been doing food combining on their blogs but I wasn't sure I would have the time with my schedule, but really, I already feel bad somedays I don't need to make it worse with an accidental food miscombining! Thanks for your opinion!
Hey Gina! I have been dying to try your homemade macroons…would you be interested in a food switch/! those pb&J larabars are calling your name!!!
't think food combining would work for me either…I just like sandwiches and salads topped with everything and mixing stuff together too much! There are new larabar flavors?!?! SO excited!
Thanks for the slow cooker recipe. So did you like it??
REALLY REALLY interesting!! I struggle with digestion and bloating issues, so was curious to see what this was all about. But it sounds quite difficult, and not something I could really do. I need my nice well rounded meal!
And I really want to get my hands on some PB&J larabar action.
This was a very timely post, as I have been (posting) and toying about the food combining thing myself. Although each person is unique, it was nice to get your perspective on it.
I do have tummy issues, so I think I'm just looking for some relief and might try a couple different things, but I also don't think that restriction in any form is the healthiest thing for me right now.
As for Ezekiel bread and AB? That SO is on the menu a couple times a week 🙂 Thanks again for the lowdown.
i totally agree with you on the food combining front. I just don't feel full after eating fruit by itself no matter how many pounds I consume. I also don't like feeling that I can't eat something just because it isn't in the right group. I am playing with it a little to see how it feels, but overall I don't see myself doing it.
I am giving food combining the ole college try right now too… I am struggling with consistency..learning as I go… and I hear EVERYONE. I am much more aware of my miscombined eating and it's effects on my body.
and when I get it right I feel wonderful. I am still up in the air…last week I wanted to throw in the towel and eat all groups in the same sitting!! haha but I re grouped and am trying it again. It's definately a different MIND set. you have to unthink years of eating another way. I don't know where I'll end up but for now the positive benefits are far outweighing the struggles.
Thanks for your honest and candid thoughts on it all…
I like the PB&J and tropical fruit.
Waiting to eat the German Choco cake.
I don't mean this to be argumentative, because I think your post was well done, but I'm pretty sure its been proven using placebo tests that many digestive ailments have a large psycho-somatic component, especially IBS. That is something you do not often address in your blog, which is interesting considering that many of the diet trends you report on do not have biological evidence backing up their efficacy, just anecdotal and testimonial based reports from individuals. I wonder if you might consider presenting your thoughts on the psycho-somatic influence on eating patterns/behaviors. It amy also be the reason that these diets are controversial, and why many people consider them a form of disordered eating. Our bodies are designed to eat and digest food, and have been doing so very well for thousands of years. Is it disordered eating to control your diet in order to achieve a positive psychological response, which in turn effects your biological response?
Again, I really really don't mean to be argumentative or sound like I'm trolling- I'm curious about your thoughts on these issues because you seem knowledgable about the diets/eating behaviors and I'm totally not.
Gina,
I tried food combining for a week after reading The Raw Food Detox diet and felt the exact same way. I noticed immediate benefits with my digestion but hated feeling empty (not necessarily hungry). It was a very odd sensation!
I think your compromised approach is great! I agree that it shouldn't run your life, but certainly if you feel good with it, then it's a good thing, right? I can't wait to see how it goes 🙂 For now, I've taken a break, but I am more of a believer now having tried it!
GENAAAA- First off, I'm sorry I'm supah late on commenting on this post. Most importantly, though, thank you for posting your true feelings about the combining thing! I only tried it for a couple days and immediately hated never feeling satisfied. I also thought, "hell, I've never had a problem combining nut butter with grains, why am I doing this?" I love that it works wonders for people, and am thankful I tried it, but I'm in your camp and can't do the food combining thing all the time. It's not how I roll either.
And I know you're full of Indian food right now and have just finished/are watching SYTYCDance–I'm jealous! Mumsy and I religiously watch that every summer, and I don't have tv here! Hope you're having a fabulous night!
I agree with Eliza's comment about psychosomatic issues and digestive disorders. The nervous system can have a huge impact on the digestive system. For one thing, many nerve centers are located near the digestive organs.
For all we know, food combining could have a placebo effect on IBS. (The sufferer BELIEVES it will help, so it does.)
Also, I do not see the scientific evidence for food combining or eating raw food for enzymes. Our digestive system has the enzymes needed to digest foods properly. Anyway, the acidic conditions of the stomach will render the enzymes inactive before entrance into the intestintes. Our body's enzymes don't even enter the digestive tract until the small intestine for that reason.
As for food combining, like Eliza said, our body's are designed to digest a wide variety of foods. I think that a website such as Quackwatch could provide the specific scientific evidence.
So… what I like to think about is the fact that certain foods like to be combined for absorption reasons! Think… nightshades and dairy, or… tomatoes and mozzarella. Our bodies crave what our bodies need… I cant for the life of me imagine giving up some of my fave combos.. There are certain days it feels nice to unload and give my intestines a break, but like you said… Not all of the time!