My Korean friend, who's married to a Pakistani man, invited me over for dinner recently and volunteered her husband (haha) to cook Pakistani food for me. Wow, I love Middle-eastern food and have been most successful with my strange strict diet with many of the Middle-eastern seasonings - cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, fennel, fenugreek, and a few others. Not all of them of course, especially since red pepper figures heavily and centrally in their food, but the majority perhaps are suitable for the candida diet. What's unsuitable is that Middle-eastern foods are made with a lot of oil, and it's not olive oil either. But I've improved a lot so thought, "Why not so? If we can compromise a little on the food, I should be OK, so asked if it were possible to cook gluten-free, dairy-free and to reduce the red pepper." Immediate response was the saddened groan, "Oh, no chapatis!" "Dairy-free is easy." "I don't know. Without the red pepper, there is no flavor." But the husband worked with my request plus had all organic foods and seasonings in the meal. Both chicken dishes were prepared halal, and though swimming in oil (guaranteed not to be olive oil either) were with greatly reduced red pepper. It tasted sooooo good to me because I just don't season my food much so what a delightful treat! I had tiny hints of inflammation later in my tell-tale knee joint, but no mucus in my throat, so evidently my problem is clearing up. The hints tell me I shouldn't push it, because I do NOT want to relapse like I did a couple years ago. Coming out of that relapse has been hard!
After eating, the three of us sat around and talked about so many things - the horrors of present-day food production, arising diseases because of it, so much. I even learned how to kill a camel and watched a video that my friend's husband had made to that effect when he was last home. Fascinating ... but good thing I don't have a weak stomach. I noticed great care was given in avoiding the head and commented on the camel's mighty teeth. The husband said if anyone was bitten by a camel, that person would go mad in a few weeks. There's something in the camel's saliva that messes humans (and probably animal alike) up. Everything was interesting!
Homeopathy for eye strength
Of course somewhere in the conversation we had to have a warming tea to combat the cold iciness outside. We had a lemonbark and something kind of tree that is good for elimination. And then as a parting gift when I was readying to leave, I was given a bag of fennel, almonds, with a few green cardamom mixed in. This mixture (among many others) is what Pakistanis nibble at after meals to freshen their breath, much like the after-dinner mints in the West. Unlike the after-dinner mints, however, there are beliefs of health advantages for the trio. Together they are said to work synergistically to strengthen the eyes. Just eating them alone will not do it; synergy is an important feature of even how other herbs and spices are blended in making food.
Very culturally interesting to me, the nutritional anthropologist!
After eating, the three of us sat around and talked about so many things - the horrors of present-day food production, arising diseases because of it, so much. I even learned how to kill a camel and watched a video that my friend's husband had made to that effect when he was last home. Fascinating ... but good thing I don't have a weak stomach. I noticed great care was given in avoiding the head and commented on the camel's mighty teeth. The husband said if anyone was bitten by a camel, that person would go mad in a few weeks. There's something in the camel's saliva that messes humans (and probably animal alike) up. Everything was interesting!
Homeopathy for eye strength
Of course somewhere in the conversation we had to have a warming tea to combat the cold iciness outside. We had a lemonbark and something kind of tree that is good for elimination. And then as a parting gift when I was readying to leave, I was given a bag of fennel, almonds, with a few green cardamom mixed in. This mixture (among many others) is what Pakistanis nibble at after meals to freshen their breath, much like the after-dinner mints in the West. Unlike the after-dinner mints, however, there are beliefs of health advantages for the trio. Together they are said to work synergistically to strengthen the eyes. Just eating them alone will not do it; synergy is an important feature of even how other herbs and spices are blended in making food.
Very culturally interesting to me, the nutritional anthropologist!
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