Week One Recap

Here's a mini recap of the last week.  I started going gluten free on Friday, September 28th.  I had a flub on Tuesday *the 2nd* by taking a bite of the organic pop tarts I'd gotten for the girls.  Other than that, I've been on the straight and narrow.

How am I feeling?  Amazing!  My face has cleared up and my stomach isn't telling me how awful I am.  I've lost a little bit of weight and don't feel nearly as crazy as I normally do.

A couple things to note.  1)  It's amazing how many times I just grab a little scrap of bread *that's fallen off in the bag* while I'm making lunches 2)  How many times I've 'tasted tested for quality assurance' something I make for the girls for lunch *ie: pasta*  3)  A gluten free diet food modification plan doesn't have to be difficult.  I think it's only difficult if you make it out to be that way.  4)  Just like any low-fat diet food modification plan, the food doesn't need to taste bad...season it up with any seasonings you have on hand *provided that they are also gluten free*.

Last night we had rosemary roasted chicken with potatoes served with broccoli and a salad.  Yum!  We are having meatloaf tonight.  Tomorrow night we will have leftover meatloaf made into a Shepherd's Pie.  Fish is on the menu this week, pork, and a couple other things that I can't think of off the top of my head.

On another note, I've talked my grandmother into going gluten free.  She's had a lot of problems since February and while she hasn't tested positive for celiac disease, she's going to give gluten free a whirl.  I'm really hoping that it will make her feel better.  I will update on that too as time goes by.

And before signing off, I completed day 2 of week 8 in my C25K venture.  In my 38 minutes this morning, I did get a total of 3 miles, but that included my 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down.  I may not be getting the distance they want me to get *a 10 minute mile...ha ha ha*, but I am definitely running longer than ever before.  You will notice that I'm still logging my miles.

If you're still struggling, now is the time.  Don't wait to get back on the wagon.  Sometimes, circumstances may not change from one day to the next, but you can change how you treat your body.  Get moving!

Comfort Food and Sickness

Bleh.  It's hit.  The sinus gunk that I've been desperately avoiding has invaded my head.  It makes it difficult to think or function.  As a mother of three, with two that happen to be more mischievous than the other, this can prove to be difficult.  The neti pot and I have been friends for a couple of days already because I could feel it coming on.

The hard part?  I want...comfort food!  The particular kind of comfort food happens to be carbs.  What are most carbs made of?  Some type of gluten.  It's been a hard day.

I think what will make me happy is some kind of soup.  With that in mind, I'll pull out my chicken stock that's in the freezer, pull some mixed veggies, toss in some rice, some seasonings *bay leaves, salt pepper, onion flakes*, and cook it up.  I am currently baking a loaf of gluten free corn-like bread, but the recipe didn't seem right, so I tweaked it.  We'll see how that turns out.  And, in lieu of the lack of carbalicious type food stuffs in my house, I've eaten two additional pieces of dark chocolate *more than what I normally have* and a bowl of gluten free cereal with almond milk on it *I'm back to cutting out cow's milk on my cereal again*.  I guess it could be worse, right?

The girls are due to have pancakes tonight, but I think *this* momma will be eating soup and maybe a crust of bread.

Do you ever notice that when you don't feel good, nothing seems to satisfy you?  Why is that?  Is it some subconscious thought process along the lines of, "Feed the ______ "*fill in the blank-cold, flu, sinus infection, etc*?  Maybe you also feed the: pain, sadness, stress, frustration...  You get the picture now, don't you?

So, how can you cheat without really cheating?  I say tweak what you can...count the rest.  I'd love to sit and eat pancakes until my heart's content, but that won't solve much and I know it's not as healthy as my soup *which will also help with my sinuses*.  The chocolate and cereal I had today?  Doesn't help my sinuses, but it does help to keep me from going hog wild.  And, taking the time to write down my feelings and what I've been dealing with today...also helps to stop me in my tracks.

If you're sick, use whatever brain power you might still hold on to *because believe me I'm lacking a lot right now* and make some better choices.  If you can't make soup...go buy yourself some!  Then, resume your couch warming and feel better soon!

Gluten Free--The New Adventure in Food!

So I've been having stomach troubles for a while now.  This is in addition to other 'symptoms' that have been mysterious.  When I questioned my doctor about some of these things *including difficulty with my teeth that I'm still having problems with* and my hair falling out, her reasoning was prediabetes.  She had a blood test to 'prove' that this was the reasoning.  So...I went with it.  I focused on better carb choices and losing the rest of my weight, but even though I've lost the rest and my A1C came back normal, I'm still having difficulties.  Why?

Doctor Google to the rescue!

I looked up information on gall bladder problems.  Nope.  Not it.  Then, I looked up gluten intolerance.  Jackpot!  Now, while I know that the symptoms listed for gluten intolerance can also be part of something else, I'm not completely 100% sure this is the answer.  In that there are so many symptoms that I'm experiencing, I'm willing to go gluten free for a month to see if it will make things better for me.

I started making a valid effort on Saturday.  I googled and pinterested to my hearts content, finding recipes and information about this new adventure in food.  In all honesty, it's not completely difficult to go gluten free for me since most of what I eat is meat, veggies or fruit.  It's just the grain part that I need to alter.  I'm thankful for our new store in town called Natural Grocers.  Yeah, I'm in love with that store...and, their awesome managers that will bend over backwards to help their customers.  I've pretty much found the things that I need to make this gluten free lifestyle a reality *without spending an arm and both legs.*  It's also interesting to me to see how often I pop something in my mouth while I'm fixing food for the girls.  Example?  I'm standing and making sandwiches and a piece of the crust falls off and I pop it in my mouth.  My oops last night...organic pop tarts for the girls.  I wanted to taste it since I'd given them each some and while they were organic, they were not gluten free.  DUH!  Within two hours, I was quite uncomfortable and thankful that I was going to bed soon.

If you're interested in seeing some of the recipes I've discovered *and you're on pinterest* you can check out my food board here.  And yes, there are things on there that are not gluten free and also not very healthy.  I like food...a lot.  So, it's no secret that my 'food board' is the biggest one on my page. *hanging head in shame*  I have to say that we've tried the pumpkin bread *a huge hit*, pumpkin coffee cake *SO good!*, pizza *also a huge hit*, and waffles *also delicious*.

I'll keep you all posted as to how things go.  It's a work in progress and I know that I'll slip up without even thinking about it *like I did last night*, but I guess that's what makes me human.  Onward and upward!