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If you stop making this one food journaling mistake, you’ll arrive at answers far sooner.

And don’t you dare think for one second this is some sort of click-bait title. 

It’s not. 

Far from it.

Now let me show you something.

My (Actual) Food Journal

The date – April 13, 2007.

So when I say that Healing Blooms from Within is a decade+-long project in the making, I mean it.

My 2007 Food Journaling Goal

First, understand what my goal with that food journal in 2007 consisted of. 

In 2007, my goal was to play detective and figure out which food(s) were triggering my mouth issues.

So, I’d write the date, then everything I was eating, and finally any mouth/tongue symptoms that accompanied it. 

While there are many problems and mistakes with how I went about it then, the biggest food journaling mistake was not understanding the difference between ingredients and ingredient(s).

Ingredients and ingredient(s) are not the same

Ingredients are whole. They are pure, untouched foods that when combined together create a new food.

Ingredient(s), though, are many different ingredients that make up one of the recipe ingredients. 

Ingredient(s) = (___) + (___) + (___) = ingredient

If you enjoy learning visually, here you go.

Applying this to my 2007 Food Journal

Okay, now let’s take my same 2007 food journal example so I can break it down for you even more.

Can you see it now?!

The way I wrote “pear” + “broccoli” was just fine. (Well, except if I knew back then that I likely already had SIBO, it probably wasn’t written correctly. That’s a topic for another day.)

But the way I wrote “yogurt” and “french vanilla equal” are far from right.

NOTE: French Vanilla Equal is an incredibly nasty and toxic ingredient. Consuming it WILL NOT make you a bad person, nor should you FEEL BAD for consuming it. But if healing your gut is your prerogative, then you do need to re-consider using it.

Yogurt

Because I kept that journal in 2007, I have no clue what yogurt was consumed that day. 

But I can guarantee is was not my homemade 2-ingredient yogurt.

It was likely FAGE Total 0% (and I speculate this because I was afraid of fat then!)

If that was the case, then instead of writing, “Yogurt,” on the food journal, I should have written it like this:

FAGE Yogurt (Grade A Pasteurized Skimmed Milk, Live Active Yogurt Cultures (L. Bulgaricus, S. Thermophilus, L. Acidophilus, Bifidus, L. Casei).

French Vanilla Equal

You will see that I wrote 2 packs of French Vanilla Equal. 

Instead, this should have been written as such:

2 x French Vanilla Equal (dextrose with maltodextrin, natural and artificial flavor, aspartame, acesulfame potassium. phenylketonurics: contains phenylalanine).

Stop Making This One Food Journaling Mistake

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Seriously, if you want to heal (your gut, thyroid, acne, or even “odd” mouth issues!) you must stop making that one massive food journaling mistake.

My food journals were filled with entries like that. 

And when I couldn’t understand “why,” I became frustrated only to give up, get back on, give up, etc.

It was an awful cycle. 

If you’re ready to keep a food journal that works and gets you answers in far less time, then be sure to grab your copy of Healing Blooms from Within HERE.

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

1. Do You Need a Gut Healing Journal
2. How to Reintroduce Foods After an Elimination Diet
3. Journaling for Gut Healing

Xox,
SKH