Change made simple and delicious

I bought Bridging Foods some years ago, and as a testament to it being so well used it’s got quite a few sticky pages now. Previously my diet had been very variable but not always great for my body, and my stomach would let me know when I ate something that didn’t suit me.

Despite realising this, I still at times continued to return to these foods that didn’t really support me because of the momentum of my previous habits. I was stuck in old patterns and delayed making the changes needed to support myself more deeply, so inspiration from this recipe book was a life changer for me.

I began reducing gluten and dairy from my diet and found that it’s an interesting process to observe how sometimes the head and the body can feel in conflict. The head is telling us what it wants, but if it’s not right for the body, then the body pretty quickly lets us know. Our body knows the truth of how it feels when we eat food that supports it. Bridging Foods was very useful because there were some recipes that easily became staples for me without seeming to be too different from my previous habits. I have always loved making soups, so it was easy for me to experiment with some of the book’s recipes such as Celeriac and Spinach Soup or Green Curry Chicken Chowder. Bridging Foods covers all mealtimes from breakfast, such as Quinoa with Apples and Blueberries, to a dessert of Sticky Date Pudding when something sweet was still required. This book supported me to make the changes easily, and my body loved dropping off the foods that made me feel heavy or sluggish. I found the curry recipes really delectable and even something simple like the Bean and Garlic Mash is incredibly tasty.

I soon learned how it’s possible to adapt some recipes and it started to give me the confidence to try other foods that I hadn’t tried before – such as using silken tofu as a substitute for flour in a sauce, who’d have thought!

As our food choices are constantly evolving, there may be some recipes which call for certain foods that we don’t eat anymore. But they offer a range of alternatives, like certain seeds can be used to replace nuts for example. I found the recipes to be tasty and reliable, and they helped me build a new food foundation, whilst still bringing plenty of variety to my choices. I still love to cook the Lamb and Pumpkin Curry and often have the Eggplant Dip in the fridge for when I’m feeling peckish.

And the recipes do as they say, they show us the way forward to bridge and change to a way of eating that supports the body to be healthier and lighter. For me, using Bridging Foods made the transition to caring for my body with what I eat so much easier.

Filed under

Dairy free, Food science, Gluten free, Healthy diet

Photography: Leonne Sharkey, Bachelor of Communications

For Leonne photography is about relationships, reflection and light. She is constantly amazed by the way a photo can show us all we need to know.