Here is a big confession….. I still like McDonalds. I don’t eat McDonalds but I still like the taste of McDonalds and I kinda miss it.
When I started clean eating, I was surprised how much I enjoyed the food I was eating. I love lentils and kale- weird- I really didn’t see that coming! I thought I would tolerate the food- like in every other “diet” I had tried. I would eat food I tolerated so I could lose weight but then I would stop tolerating the fat free, no carb, tasteless food then rebound into my old eating habits. This did not happen with clean eating. I honestly love the food I’m eating. Its tasty and filling and it nourishes my body and my soul. It gives me pleasure.
I was hoping I would get to that level of clean eating that I would hate McDonalds, or ketchup chips, or Dairy Queen. I have gotten there with some foods- I can’t even drink a Tim Hortons coffee any longer and this fall will be Pumpkin Spiced Latte free (yeah I know! Crazy but it just tastes like chemical imitation flavour now).
Today, I had a crazy timeline of visiting someone in the hospital but still getting back to the village to pick up my son. My daughter was with me and hadn’t eaten lunch. She requested McDonalds (she rarely chooses McD’s and it was the easiest to eat in the car so I complied). The intoxicating smell wafted from the backseat. “Can I have a few fries?” I asked. “Sure Mom. I won’t eat them all anyway”. I ate 4 fries. I was hoping I would be grossed out by them. I had just watched one of those food documentaries on Netflix about McDonalds so my brain was filled with facts on why I shouldn’t eat it. But honestly! I love those fries. I have not reached the enlightened step of hating McDonalds BUT I have reached the enlightened step of eating an apple and drinking water to stave off the hunger so I could eat a healthy lunch when I got home.
On the weekend, we took the kids for Dairy Queen. I did get a Mini Turtles Blizzard. It was great. Tasted like summer! I was super ill when I got home though! The “dairy” (is DQ even dairy?) was not kind to my tummy! I love ice cream- there must be a cleaner way!
I searched “dairy free sugar free ice cream” on Pinterest. A surprising amount of pins surfaced. My daughter really wanted to try chocolate- a girl after my own heart! Here is a link to the recipe I chose (only because there were no weird ingredients like xanthan or other things I didn’t have on hand or knew existed for that matter!) and the dairy was coconut milk. I love coconut milk. I use it A LOT. In fact, I’ve become a coconut milk hoarder…. I buy it every time I see a can of full fat coconut milk! I bought these 4 beauties off the clearance rack of my local Your Independent Grocer- what a steal- $2/can!!!! http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-chocolate-dairy-free-ice-cream/

Chocolate Dairy Free Ice Cream
This is what you need:
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 (14 oz) cans light coconut milk
1 cup sucanant (I substituted 2/3 cup of agave nectar)
3 egg yolks
You can find the complete directions at The Gracious Pantry 🙂

(this is me tempering the eggs- see not that scary!)
My ice cream chilled for about an hour in the ice bath and thickened in the ice cream maker for about 25 minutes.

After the ice cream firms up in the freezer- enjoy!
I have found that my new way of eating is enjoyable- I’m not tolerating anything. I am enjoying real food. I have only been eating this way for 7 months. I ate McDonalds since I was probably 1yr old! Taste and smell is associated with memories feelings. I remember going to McDonalds as a child- being so excited (probably because we lived in a small town and we didn’t go to Ottawa often or eat out a lot either. I remember the first time I ate a Big Mac- I was with my childhood BFF Tracey. Those memories are great- I still treasure them- my taste buds still love them- but I know I will eventually build new taste emotions- but until that happens I need to keep up my willpower and choose foods that make my BODY happy not my just my EMOTIONS!

Choose happy 🙂