November 23, 2010

match made in edible heaven

Satori top and couture active wear pants for a casual hike,
feeling the dark colors and simple looks as winter seeps in.

Food combining, though no fun if practiced permanently and absolutely*, is great on occasion to sooth chronic, mild stomach ails. Food combining for breakfast can prolong the detoxing that begins in your sleep, keep going through lunch and you'll likely experience increased energy and, good news, the best meal to slip up on is dinner because your system has all night to clean up the mess you've made.

Suzanne Somers swears by food combining and says she learned about the principal when dining with friends in France, who warned her not to eat the cherries off the tree she found on a post-dinner promenade. Fruit with other food and especially after a big meal is a food combining no-no, as it is quick to digest and will ferment while sitting on top of fare that is slower to move through the stomach.

Don't get all crazy like "Is hummus a starch or protein? Can I have a larabar after this meal? Is avocado allowed in this salad?" If your diet includes hummus, larabars, and avocados (and cherries) you have nothing to worry about! That being said, getting a well-combined protein style In-N-Out Burger is not likely to improve your health.


*Nearly every classic dish mis-combines in some way: pizza, sandwiches, burritos, granola with yogurt and fruit, eggs on toast, ice cream sundaes, ... and many defend that it is this combination that keeps us fuller longer. Proponents of food combining eat light to heavy throughout the day and say that they don't mind feeling "empty," and feeling "full" is uncomfortable and a misuse of valuable energy. Play around, see what you think.
On Audrey Hepburn: According to her friend Audrey Wilder, "she was always eating spaghetti or a version of it." However, she did not combine pasta with protein, but with salad. According to her son Sean Ferrer, "she was a food combiner before that diet became fashionable."