Reset

A few years ago I had a severe case of the stomach flu. For nearly a week, I had nothing but small sips of liquid. My husband took over the cooking and would make dinner for he and the kids and would heat up a can of soup for me, but I couldn't even stand the smell of food.

When the flu finally passed and my appetite began to return, I had a very specific list of foods that appealed to me. Among them were blueberries, cherries, pretzels, salad with cherry tomatoes and turkey sandwiches on multi-grain bread with sliced tomato. I also wanted ice cold apple juice. Mr. Willoughby went to the grocery store and got all of them for me.

At first, I could only eat a few bites at a time, but eventually I could tolerate regular portions. That's when a funny thing happened. I started to feel really good. Not just in comparison to how I felt when I had the flu, but even better than I had felt before I had gotten sick. I felt energetic and healthy. Looking at the list, it's not hard to see why. It's a pretty balanced diet, except for the lack of dairy products. It almost seems that my body craved exactly what it needed or reset itself.

I wonder if that's the secret to looking good and feeling healthy. Could it be that if you listen hard enough, your body will tell you what it needs? If that's the case, I hope there are some yet undiscovered health benefits to chocolate chip cookies!