Are you allergic to anything? Something well known, popular maybe… something you see every day? Is that something food?
If you answered “yes”, how do you go about your daily life without accidentally injesting a milk-laden dessert, or chomping down on soba-laced buns? For those of you with severe food allergies, you’re probably really careful and read all labels before you even put the items in question into your shopping cart. Allergies that only cause temporary discomfort or that can be stomached in small doses don’t require such meticulous inspection of the ingredients list.
For those of you without food allergies, imagine that you are allergic to something that you love to eat. Maybe it’s ice cream, or pizza, or okonomiyaki. How long could you abstain from eating it? A couple of days? A week? A month at most? Could you live without it?
Consider this a challenge. A test of strength and willpower. Identify your favorite food and temporarily delete it from your shopping list. Take notes. How is your life better/worse without it? What kind of withdrawal symptoms – if any – do you experience?
I’ll be going through my own challenge for the next few weeks, eliminating any and all traces of cheese and milk from my diet. As impossible as it may sound, I’m going to see if there is life after dairy. I don’t know if I’ll be able to resist temptation when it comes to cakes and chocolates but I’m determined to give it a try.
~ Samantha