When you hear the word simple, what comes to mind? Does the concept of living with simplicity seem impossible? Simplicity is a word that we probably haven’t used in a while and struggle to find something that could be simple in our lives. Isn’t everything complicated these days?
For me, many of my days seem full of confusion and frustration, especially in the kitchen. There seems to be nothing simple about the way that we live and eat, and if you talk to anyone who knows our family, simple definitely wouldn’t be the word they would use to describe our table.
But today I realized that the restrictions we have in our diets have actually forced my hand to live simply rather than complicate it. Between the challenges of eating foods in the Autoimmune Protocol and my husband needing to follow the Low FODMAP diet, I am learning to see the simplicity in it all, rather than the confusion.
How in the world is making all the meals and juggling multiple restrictions living life in simplicity? It starts with eating whole foods. As soon as you determine that eating whole foods is important to you, you’ll find that you eat out less, making more of your own foods. And let me tell you, when you have dietary restrictions, you quickly learn what those go-to meals or snacks are that work for your family. I have. Would I like to diversify my options more? Absolutely, but let’s be realistic! I can only do so much, and I have had to force simplicity into my kitchen a bit as I have learned to let go of having everything super gourmet and exciting.
It has taken time to find those common threads between AIP and Low FODMAP and other food allergies, but they do exist. People ask me all the time where I get my ingredients to help me keep it simple in my kitchen. Thank you Amazon and Walmart Grocery Pickup! You have helped simplify my life in the kitchen.
And the best part is that all of this desire to keep it simple in the kitchen is having an overflow affect on the rest of my life. My husband and I have decided to start the year fasting from watching anything from Netflix to Amazon, including documentaries. This has forced us to find enjoyment in the simple pleasures of friendship, as neighbors make their way to our home, reading, taking a long bath, drinking more tea, exercising, growing our business and going to bed at a good hour. We are finding a new way to be more productive and yet still simplifying our lives, and we’re loving it.
Most people don’t start something new because they are afraid it will be too confusing, difficult, and therefore not simple. What is one area in your life that you could simplify? Mine started in the kitchen. Maybe you could start there and you just might be surprised how the overflow affects the rest of your life too.