7 Lessons I Learned From My No Grain, No Sugar Diet

My first Ayurveda consultation was like the sound of the starter pistol. When I returned home, I took the slightly dusted jar of organic extra-virgin coconut oil (precious as gold in Istanbul, present of my friend) and turmeric, and made myself a most satisfying red lentil soup. Next morning I put on the sneakers and went for a walk along the sea. I had got all the ingredients I needed to kick off a healthier lifestyle. In fact, I was at the start line for a long time: I pitched a tent, made myself comfortable and forgot that I needed to get running. Until I heard the starter pistol.

I don’t want to go into every detail of my health issues, but there are a few that I have been ignoring for a while. So my Ayurveda therapist suggested I avoid grains and sugar until I get better. No grains means no grains, including millet, buckwheat or quinoa and other “better” grains; no grain derivatives such as baked goods of grain flours. No sugar means no white sugar, no fruit (besides pomegranate and green apple), no fruit molasses and no sweet vegetables; no hidden sugar with which I am less concerned as I practically eat no processed food.

For the record, I am not a “grain hater”: you can hear people talking about the indigestion problems related to the grain consumption which can be resolved by the simple act of sprouting. As the therapy finishes, I suspect I would happily go back to the grains even though my appreciation for anything baked of white flour will diminish significantly. As for the sugar, it has been my most eye-opening food experiment to date: I have discovered that I can happily live with WAY LESS sugar.

Like with all the fresh beginnings, the start of my no grain, no sugar diet was glorious. After the lentil soup a few more worthwhile creations followed. I started thinking to myself, “Who needs grains after all?” But my euphoria vanished as I exhausted the repertoire of my favorite recipes that complied with the “no grain, no sugar” rule. I started feeling deprived and having cravings. I did not want grains or sugar. But I started hanging on dairy. I went a bit overboard with snacking on nuts. My body was finding new ways to trick my brain.

It was time to do more research and to use more conscious approach instead of driving through the “no grain, no sugar” way on the autopilot. Here is what I have learned for the past two months (and counting) of my no grain, no sugar diet. You might be interested if you consider doing an elimination diet for various reasons, have a newly found food allergy or suspect that you might need to stop eating / drinking something that is not very good for you and wonder how to go about this change.

1. Focus on the foods you can have (instead of the ones you can’t)

When you eliminate certain foods from your diet, you can’t simply continue eating as you did minus the “forbidden” food. Skipping a food category forces you to become very conscious about what you eat. In fact, you are likely to revise your overall approach to eating.

The other day I met cheerful Deniz of Fruitopia blog, in person after the virtual backs and forths. Deniz has got fructose intolerance and indigestion of certain foods, and we discussed our experiences of changing a diet. She said she was happy to have learned about her food intolerances 4 years ago because the diagnosis helped her make vital changes in the diet. “I feel much healthier than I did before,” she said. Deniz stressed that focusing on what you can have instead of longing for the things you can’t has been instrumental in changing the diet to support her health.

I love my bulgur (and millet, and buckwheat), and many of you know that last year I was on the fast-track baking self-training. Many kilos of white flour have entered the doors of my kitchen. My first thought about the no grain diet was a self-pity. Then I took a moment to think. And realized that I also love beans, and I can eat them in different ways: I enjoy a soup of fava beans or red lentils for breakfast, a small bowl of hummus as a snack, bean stews for lunch and beans in a salad at any time.

I recalled a big part of my culinary life that I have been ignoring all this time: I lived in India for a year, and I cooked Indian food almost every day, and Indian cuisine has got an immense tradition of cooking pulses. I started reading Indian food blogs and cook those bean-based recipes to celebrate the food category I used to undervalue. Instead of longing for the grains I am including more plant-based protein in my diet, rediscovering a favorite cuisine and feeling inspired every time I cook.

2. Get ready, you’ll be cooking

Maybe you live in the world where everybody eats your way and happily caters to the no grain, no sugar customers. I don’t. It means careful eating out, missing most of the family meals and no snack grabbing outside. It means, you are cooking all your meals.

You’d need to revise your pantry (more on that below) and get your cooking organized. I don’t know any other way to meet your dietary needs besides blocking out time for cooking. If you can do it daily, decide when - early morning for the day ahead or the night before. If you can only block out cooking time once a week, plan and prepare on the weekends whether it is batch-cooking the beans, baking your breads and snacks, roasting meat or steaming vegetables. Take care of the food safety and refrigerate everything in the air-tight containers or freeze. Frozen and thawed is better that spoiled and tossed in the bin.

Plan ahead if you are out for most of the day or especially visiting friends or family. Prepare yourself satisfying lunches to go and don’t be shy to make an occasional treat to share with colleagues, friends or family: I bet you can surprise them with delicious no grain, no sugar treats and gain more support during your diet change.

3. Build your no grain, no sugar pantry

Revisit your pantry to remove grains and sugar: you will not use them, at least for the time being, so you can safely throw if expired or give away if still good.

Stock the pantry with the no grain, no sugar staples. When shopping, read the labels to make sure there are no grains or sugar (anything ending with -oes) present in any form. And please, don’t jump into the processed food wagon, which contradicts the very essence of what you are trying to achieve: I smile every time I think of the marketing genius behind the “healthy lifestyle products” such as gluten-free bread crumbs and better-then-butter.

Here is my list of the no grain, no sugar staples:

• Beans and lentils: I batch cook them to have at least two varieties in my freezer ready to go in a dish at any time. It soak them overnight, cook (I have got a pressure cooker that speeds things up), chill and freeze along with their cooking liquid for delicious soups, stews and real hummus.
• Nuts and seeds: I try to pre-soak small quantities (they are easier to digest that way) and then roast them with a tad of salt, coconut oil and spices for a go-to addition to any soup, salad or eggs. Or I grind them into flours for my grain-free baking experiments.
• Condiments: Tahini paste, garlic, vinegar, lemons and such. When you eliminate certain foods, you want to work a bit harder on creating big satisfying flavors, and your favorite condiments are here to help. These guys are keepers when you make a quick dressing that brightens up even the most mundane dish, so I make sure I never run low.
• Cooking oils: I use olive oil to dress (everything, I believe there is no dish you can spoil with an extra glag olive oil) and low heat cooking; coconut oil for low heat cooking and sunflower oil when I need to fry. I also love ghee (and there is always a jar of home made one in my fridge): it can stand the high heat of frying or roasting.
• Seasonal greens and vegetables: I venture to a weekly market for preferably organic greens and vegetables. My rule of thumb is to keep variety and follow the season: I don’t eat tomatoes or eggplants in spring and instead enjoy artichokes, green beans and abundant greens of the season.
• Eggs and dairy: I get on as needed basis. Eggs are an important protein source for me, so eat at least one a day. I buy milk to make kefir and enjoy a variety of aged cheeses such as ezine, eski kasar and tulum of all sorts plus Izmir-style lor.
• Spices. I have substantially expanded my collection of spices and started using them in larger quantities and numbers to bring varied flavors and additional health benefits to my meals (and yes, I have become a type who eats turmeric by spoons). I use whole spices (such as cumin, fennel, coriander and mustard seeds) when I sweat onions to build the first layer of flavor in my dishes or make a fragrant tadka to temper my soups.

4. Create varied satisfying meals

After the initial enthusiasm about the coconut-oil and turmeric seasoned red lentil soup, I started having cravings after such meals. I did not want grains or sugar, but I wanted something else. It did not help that my social media feeds showcase food, food and more food. I could not help feeling I was missing out.

Instead of indulging the self-pity, I started making sure that my every meal is a small feast of variety. A variety of colors: sunny turmeric and vibrant greens, black olives and purple carrots. A variety of textures: soft steamed vegetables, crunchy nuts and smooth dressing. A variety of nutrients: beans as protein, nuts or seeds, olive or coconut oil as fat and vegetables or greens as carbohydrates. I started with include-it-all salads and then moved to creating 3-4 dishes for my every meal. As as result, I started feel energized rather than heavy after my meals. And the cravings are gone.

Once I invited my husband’s niece to share such a meal with me: fermented cabbage, Gujarati-style black eyed peas curry, steamed wild green called çireş and Moroccan-inspired carrot salad with almonds. I served 4 small bowls, and two of us we could not finish them all. This small meal became göz doyurucu (feast for the eyes) because of the different colors and shapes, and so it was satisfying for the stomach too.

5. Continue baking

I love baking, a terribly comforting act of creation, and anything that comes out of the oven excites me beyond words. The fact that once you sent the dish in the hot oven you have no control builds up an anxious anticipation. The first moment I heard “no grains” I was in denial. Seeing my desperate state, Ulli said, “Ok, you can have one piece of bread, corn or rye rather than wheat, per day”. I did without that piece.

Because, my friends, you can bake without grains. Enter bean flours. I had a bag of chickpea flour and baked a cake with that flour, eggs, goat cheese and a lot of fresh herbs. I was dancing after every bite of the warm comforting beauty. Next, I baked Italian flat bread of just chickpea flour and water, and I loved scooping my hummus with it (yes, chickpea love squared) and even more, dip in the thick sour yogurt or dunk in a comforting soup. Then was Moroccan chickpea flan that I developed a liking for during the recent trip. And then I remembered you can turn nuts into flour.. and out came my nuts and seeds crackers and almond-crusted quiches and.. then I recalled that you can bake without flour at all: savory souffles!

On other words, you should continue baking. Without wheat (and other grain) flour it’s a brave new world.

6. Maintain healthy attitude to your diet

My whole therapy received plenty of attention from my family: I ate “weird” things and quickly started loosing weight (can’t give you numbers as I had not watched my weight since the age of 14). And we are talking a Turkish family where the food experiences are always communal; not to share what everyone is eating and moreover eating something different from that, puts you on the spotlight. And being on the spotlight is the last thing you want when you struggle with adjusting to a new diet.

When I am at the countryside no day goes without a question popping up. My mother-in-law was asking me the whole first month whether I could eat bread or pilaf and exclaimed “Olmaz!”/”Not possible!” when I asked the waiter at the fish restaurant to ensure my fish is pan-fried without being covered in flour. My father-in-law whole-hardheartedly offered me to sample things I did not eat. My normally super open-minded husband made many faces looking at my plates. Our helper pitied me every time he examined my meal (and because he’s rather curious he does every time), “Aman, aman gencicik bir kızsın!” (“My God, you are so still so young, and look at you!”). And still, given the circumstances, I think I am having it easy. I can get away with my diet as it’s “temporary”, and my family expects that one day I will be back to “normal”.

When introducing drastic changes in your diet, you should take time to educate your near and dear about your choices. I found it difficult in the beginning: it’s hard to explain yourself when you are still groping in the dark and trying to understand what you are doing and why. But as I acquire more information I am sharing more of it. When talking about my food choices I ensure to leave people with theirs and to avoid heated discussions (Want to ruin my meal? Start polemics while I am eating). Remember that you are on your own territory: what you eat is your choice, and your dear people should respect it.

7. Build your support network

When you change your diet, you want all the support you can get. You hope that a near and dear occasionally tries the food you make and says it is delicious (because it is) and maybe share a meal or two with you .. ok, we all can dream. Unfortunately, the support often comes when you feel established on your path.

For me, the only support was Ulli who said matter-of-factly,”Go and do it!” trusting my strong will to embrace the new diet and my culinary curiosity to find a way to implement it. I did not know anybody who eats no grain, no sugar, and my family was not wildly enthusiastic about the change.

That’s why you need to build your own support network, whatever it means to you. Find at least one person you know who you can share your frustrations, thoughts and victories with. The advantage of these days is that even if you don’t know such a person, you can connect with them by reading their blogs or following them on Twitter. The diet change was a good reason to updated my RSS feed and create a new list to follow on Twitter. Now, I have fantastic sources for the recipes, information and inspiration to cook and enjoy the food that nourishes me.

Looking for help often means making the first step. You need to raise your hand and say, “Hey, this is what I am doing. Are you interested in taking?” That’s why I hosted a no-grain breakfast last Sunday. I was initially worried about how the breakfast goers would receive the idea: after the reactions of my near and dear and a few attempts to eat out on a recent family road trip I felt like a culinary outlaw. But I had a full house for the breakfast: we talked gluten-free with some folks who wanted to join for a long time but were worried about the wheat and we talked delicious food with everybody else. Because that’s what: no matter the labels, food should nourish and connect.