It was late in the evening; we just had our dinner at a fantastic Japanese restaurant…

Have I told you before that I love Japanese food? Sashimi and nigiri are my favorites things to eat.

I love ikura sushi with quail eggs and for me, uni sushi (sea urchin) is my dessert! 

You see, I’m not what you’d consider a “sweet tooth person”; I’ve never been one, even before I started with my Autoimmune Protocol (AIP). So, when I started the AIP and had to take away sugar, it was not a big deal. 

For me, grapes are extremely sweet, and I can only take a few of them. The same goes for pineapple, bananas, mangoes and all the red type of apples…

So, pretty much my dessert is just a piece of fruit (or the uni at the Japanese…) and I seldom eat cakes or other baked sweets. But…there is one thing that I do love, cacao!

What is about chocolate that makes it so good???…I love dark chocolate, 85% or higher, and it’s my favorite treat without a doubt.

When I started with the AIP I did have to go without chocolate for a while, cacao was out of the picture until I reset myself and see if it was problematic for me or not. And, taking away the cacao, was harder for me than the sugar. I used carob powder to mimic some of the flavors, but it didn’t really cut it out for me. The smoothness of the cacao butter is hard to reproduce…I cannot even describe how ecstatic I was when I was able to introduce the cacao back into my life!!!

Anyway, going back to my initial story, we were on vacation, just had dinner at a Japanese restaurant, and our friends already had eaten cake for dessert, but they still wanted to have a second dessert at a local creamery that they found out. 

We walked to the creamery, which is basically an ice cream shop for adults because their specialty are “boozy” ice creams and sorbets.

It was a really cool place with a wonderful selection of cocktails, ice creams, boozy milk shakes and sorbets. 

I wasn’t expecting to have anything, since I don’t do dairy or cocktails, so I went in without any expectations…and then, I saw their chalkboard…they had a Vegan Dark Chocolate sorbet…(can you say yummmmm!?!?). 

It picked my curiosity, so I asked the bartender, again without any expectations because besides the dairy and gluten restrictions, I don’t eat soy, and most of the chocolate out there has soy in it. 

But, I asked anyway: “does your dark chocolate sorbet has gluten, dairy or soy?”. He immediately replied that it was gluten and dairy free, but he didn’t know if it had soy. 

He went inside and asked about it, and OH YEAH!!! He came back to tell me that it was soy free…!!!! Can you hear the bells in the background?? I was suddenly so excited to be able to join in the fun with my friends! I was going to be able to enjoy a dessert with them and feel like I’m normal!!!

I got my one scoop of dark chocolate sorbet, gluten, dairy and soy free, and it was sooooooo good!

I suddenly realized that even though I am not a dessert eater, it is nice to enjoy this occasionally with friends and family. 

For once, I wasn’t left outside, and I wasn’t the one that “doesn’t do dessert”. 

Don’t get me wrong, I am ok with being the outsider whenever it comes to food. Everyone around me already knows that I’m strict with what I eat. 

In my office they already know that I don’t do pizza Fridays and I bring my own lunch and know about my food restrictions. They know I don’t eat the cakes or ice cream whenever there is a celebration and I am ok with it and the comments that invariably come out. 

But, when I had the chance to enjoy a dessert that I could eat with my friends and husband during this last vacation…that felt amazingly good. I felt part of the tribe…

Another thing that I learned with that dessert was that there are times in our lives where we need to learn how to RELAX and ENJOY.

There are times where you need to be a little more lenient with yourself and enjoy the moment without regrets. 

Times where you need to DISCONNECT and chill. 

There are times where you need to allow yourself to be “normal” and JUST BE in the moment. 

I realized that sometimes it’s ok to get out of your own strictness and enjoy. 

During that vacation, I let myself relax, I modified my sleeping schedule, I went to bed late and enjoyed going out to listen Jazz and just be with our friends.

I realized that you need to have a lot of SELF-LOVE to not punish yourself when you get out of your routine.

You need to calm down the stern voice that keeps you at bay daily.

You need to allow that strict version of you to chill and take a vacation from time to time.

You need to learn to be present even when you are letting yourself “out of the hook” and don't punish yourself because you are not following your own rules… 

If you choose to eat your dark chocolate sorbet; enjoy it, taste it, let it melt in your mouth and savor every bit of it without thinking that you are not following your own diet… 

You can correct your course the next day, go back to your daily routines, and be on point. But if you make a decision to go out and have fun, be fully there! 

Don't be out and feeling like you shouldn't be doing whatever it is that you are doing. 

When you choose to go out and recharge yourself in whichever way you like, be present, let yourself be lost in those moments and savor them intensely.

Go out and have FUN! 

Live each MOMENT ABUNDANTLY!

Take responsibility for each moment of your life and give yourself the ability to completely ENJOY YOUR TIME OFF!!!!

Savor the dark chocolate sorbet!

Now tell me in the comments below, do you have that voice inside that tells you “you shouldn't be doing this or that…”? Have you ever been on a vacation and spent your time thinking about work or all the things you need to do when you get back home? When was the last time that you really had fun, being fully present in the moment?

xoxo,

Sofia