Gluten-free-Pesco-Ovo-Plant-itarian: Is That Even A Thing?

When I was diagnosed with Stage 7 Adrenal Fatigue, my doctor put me on a ton of supplements. She also put me on the Blood Type Diet. I followed it faithfully---for while. Once Little Brother was diagnosed with allergies to ALL OF THE THINGS, I got kind of overwhelmed and just focused on taking care of his complicated food needs. I've been eating any old way I want to. My digestive tract is NOT happy about this. Every time I eat, my stomach rebels and I am getting all kinds of fun pain and drama from my innards.

For a few days I thought the nausea might be allergies. It's ragweed season and that junk runs all of my systems through the wringer. Then I thought I might have a tummy bug because one of my students puked at school...but I kept feeling gross even after the normal time it takes for a stomach bug to run it's course. I know for certain that this isn't morning sickness. And, of course a quick check with WebMD revealed that I probably just have stomach cancer (oh, WebMD). But...I began to notice that the tummy trouble was directly correlating to when I had just eaten...especially if I had eaten sugary carbs or dairy. At that point I surmised that my body was telling me that I needed to again be mindful of the food I was putting into my body.

The Blood Type Diet is used by my naturopathic doctor to use food to reduce inflammation in the body. I am blood type A...so in order to use this diet to quiet inflammation, I have to give up all meat (except fish and eggs) and most dairy (I can occasionally have fresh, un-aged cheeses and plain yogurt). I also am limited to gluten free grains and cannot have potatoes or nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant). That's a REALLY lot of dietary restrictions (some of it won't be too hard since Little Brother shares a good many of these restrictions).

Last time I used this diet, I went all the way all at one time.  This time I am going to ease in. It's my hope that by slowly eliminating foods and replacing them with approved alternatives, I can embrace this way of eating as a forever change instead of a short term "diet".  I found some really good lists of how to gradually become a vegetarian. While I am not a TRUE vegetarian, for recipe and meal planning purposes, I am. So...I'm...A...Kinda...Sorta...Vegetarian?

Apparently hard core vegans and vegetarians take issue with people bastardizing their diets by adding non-vegetarian/vegan elements in.  So, in order to assuage the sensibilities of my true vegan and vegetarian brothers and sisters...I am labeling myself a Gluten-free-Pesco-Ovo-Plant-itarian.

NOTE: I also make the vow NOT to preach the tenets of this way of eating. It helps my body feel better. It's not really for weight loss AND it's specific to my blood type....so, it will not be beneficial to everyone. I just want to document all of the tools that I am using to help my body and mind become healthy. If it sounds intriguing, look into it...if not...find your own path grass-hoppa.