REBLOG: Why Blog?

Someone asked me, why blog?  Why do you blog if no one reads it?

There are two answers to this...

One, because I have 13 followers for the blog itself and 100+ member in the Overcoming being Overwhelmed group on Facebook. So while I guess I am not the most popular blog out there, I get read (even if its only by mostly my family and friends...Thank you btw!).

Two, I've been writing since I was in grade school. Poetry, short stories, diaries... It is something I need to do.  Sometimes it is just to clear my head.  Other times I simply have something I want to say or a funny story to share. When HistoryBoy was little, I wrote short stories for him about my childhood and my dog Ginger, most of which actually featured my little brother, Engineer.  (Maybe I should share those stories. LOL).

The long and the short of is I like to write, sometimes LOVE it, and sometimes simply have to. Without this particular media, I would be simply publishing my ideas in my journal possibly sharing with some friends. This allows me to share with a lot more people, and if anyone gets something out of it, if I help even one person, then that's AWESOME.

Not My Usual Fare...

Today's blog isn't my usual fare but... I found this stuff interesting and thought I'd share...

Sometimes what you need to eat isn't what you think...

Check this out...

Here are a couple of article with some neat info

1. Info about cravings: 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Food Cravings
2. Why eating Junk Food is not the answer: Eating junk food may make you crave even more junk food
3. Finally, How to Resist Naughty Food Cravings

Now That I Am On This Diet...

With the AF Diet firmly in place I am searching for ways to make my meals healthier.  In for a pint, in for a pound, right? This chart shows some cool ideas for substitutions.  I am not keen on a couple of them, like mashed avocado, but I have already found Smart Balance as my gluten/dairy free substitute for butter and I like Agave better than Stevia for sugar.  

for more info check out (from Picklee.com)

Healthy Baking Substitutions {healthy living}

It where I got the pic and it tells you what each are best used with/for

AND this website has some more cool ideas.  Check it out! 

How To: Make Healthy Baking Substitutions

83 Healthy Recipe Substitution

The list is not strictly Gluten Free so be aware, but it really does have some great ideas as far as healthy baking substitutions that I am going to try.  

How about you?

Label Reading Confusion...

I admit it, this label reading thing is driving me nuts! I mean who would have thought DRIED APRICOTS would not just be APRICOTS!  I guess I am sticking to fresh/frozen fruit mostly, and raisins which thankfully are just raisins, no additives.  (At least the containers I have)

Here is something just as confusing for me.  I purchased a few items that were listed as Gluten-Free.  For instance, Dr. Praeger's Sweet Potato Pancakes.  It says Gluten-Free RIGHT on the label. Yet, when you read the back of the box, it tells you it was made in a facility that uses wheat, soy, milk, eggs and fish.  Do you understand my confusion?

Am I safe eating other products that have the same warning, with no gluten or dairy in their ingredients? Or it is only safe if it says Gluten-Free?  A lot of products do have such labeling, but not all, and most just tell you it was processed in a facility/factory...

Can you see why this diet is driving me a little nutty?  When HistoryBoy was young and we found out he was allergic to peanuts and chocolate (Yes I know that sucks... No Reese's Peanut Butter Cups for him EVER!), I read every label. I didn't want him to break out in hives or worse have the allergy turn into anaphylaxis. Once we got the feel for what he could and couldn't eat and which products were safe, I stopped being an aggressive label reader. Every once in a while when I picked up a new product I would check it out but everything else just stopped.

Now I am in a label reading frenzy.  It seems ALOT of my favorite foods have ingredients I can't have.  (Look in a later blog for my own recipe for Gluten-Free Lasagna!!) I am learning/trying to adapt. There seems to not be alot of labels that read, made in a gluten-free facility.  (I will give Ronzoni Gluten-Free their props, it DOES say that.)

So where do I go from here?  Can anyone help me?  Thanks ahead of time...

Day 3, 4 & 5 ~ AF Diet

My body is still adjusting to these food changes and while I didn't think it would be THAT big a deal, my body says it's a HUGE deal.  My stomach is not the only this bugging me now but my intestines have joined the party... Does/Has anyone else have/had these problems when changing their diets to Gluten Free? If I MAKE something I am going to put the recipe on here if you want to try it too!

Day 3:  (Friday, January 3, 2014)

Breakfast:  I decided to try the Apple Cinnamon Chex, which I really liked, but I used Almond Milk with them and I was not crazy about the combination. Live and learn...

Lunch:  I decided I needed to start making some foods.  I LOVE tomato soup and there are none I could find in ShopRite that were Gluten Free.  I found one can of vegetarian vegetable that was gluten free but it seemed EVERY other type had some form of Gluten in it... SO I made Gluten Free Tomato Soup.  The recipe was easy!  It was a little bland so I ended up using double the amount of Italian Seasoning added some garlic too.  Angus loved it and he doesn't like Tomato Soup.  So score one for me!

For a lunch dessert I made Apple Fritters.  I changed the recipe to make it Gluten Free.  I used all-purpose gluten free flour and rice milk.  Since I hadn't liked the Almond Milk with my breakfast I used rice. I figured it would be light enough not to change the flavor too much. History Boy and Angus LOVED them.  History Boy kept wanting more.  Score two for me!  Yay!

Dinner:  Ok, Friday is out order out night, usually.  Apparently no delivery places have a gluten free pizza, LOL.  So the guys decided to order chinese, and since I couldn't think of anything that would be gluten free from there I made myself some more Beans and Franks and I had a small cup of Oikos Greek Vanilla Yogurt as well.

Day 4: (Saturday, January 4, 2014)

Breakfast: So I stuck with Apple Chex, but I used rice milk instead.  I only used enough to wet the cereal, not fill the bowl like I usually do with cow's milk, since I wasn't sure I would love it yet.  I really did like it.  The milk was ok, I don't care for it on its own, but it was good with the cereal and didn't overpower like the Almond Milk had the day before.  I got History Boy to eat them as well, although he ate them dry.  He still doesn't eat cereal with milk on it.  I don't know if that's a taste or texture thing for him but whatever.

Lunch: History Boy bowls on Saturday afternoons.  Since breakfast was kinda late, I ate an apple before we left figuring I'd get something else later.  There is nothing Gluten Free there and Angus went and picked up KFC for himself and History Boy.  Um, it smelled sooo good.  But I didn't eat any.  I started to get a headache so I bought a Coke and went to vending machine and bought some cashews.  I figured it would be enough protein to hold me until I got him and could get something.

Dinner: I made grilled chicken breast for dinner, with mixed brown rice and spinach.

Day 5: (Sunday, January 5, 2014)

Breakfast: I had the Apple Cinnamon Chex again.  If it works, why not? I picked up some gluten-free pancake mix to try so one day this coming week, I am going to try them.

Lunch: I ate some plain chicken breast and I had a small cup of the greek yogurt again.

Dinner: Angus is out of town, beans and franks for me again. LOL  That seems to be my stand by.  It's about 500-800 calories depending on exactly how much I eat of it.  Toss in a small salad and I am good to go.

Snacks: I had two apple today. There were huge ones too, so they satisfied my cravings.

I am getting the hang of it.  Label reading. Double checking.  I do not notice a huge difference in myself yet.  Maybe I will notice more as time goes on.

Not a Snow Day... But it Should've Been!

I hate the cold.  I don't function well in the cold.  I ache and my hands throb.  I have been wearing gloves indoors the past two days.  It's awful.  It isn't even that the heat isn't working, it is.  It's just that my body is not working properly, as per usual. 

Today (Friday, Jan 10) is especially rough as there is freezing rain today.  I got a call at 730 that the buses were running late because of the icy conditions.  History Boy is out of school sick until Monday but I still got the call.  The school called again around 8:40 saying that all buses had gotten to school safely (finally! School starts at 8.)  

I didn't realize just how bad it was until I had to run out to my car and almost fell out the front door.  I slipped, in winter boots, on the front step and almost went flying down them.  I then moved to the grass since it seems the better option than the sidewalk but I still had to cross the driveway to my car.  I slipped my wait carefully across to get what I needed to out of the car and carefully made my way back in.  I put salt out.  Well I actually stood at the front door and threw it out the door, I wasn't brave enough to attempt to walk out there again. 

Then I get a call from the Emergency Response System asking me to stay indoors and off the road because of the dangerous conditions.  Um, didn't the buses just take all those kids to school in these conditions! If I am not supposed to drive, I certainly don't think a school bus should be!  Also, in addition to the Emergency Response Call, the sirens from the local fire house have been going off every 1/2 hour or so. There must be alot of accidents or whatnot going on for it to be happening that frequently. 

Sigh, ok I am done my rant.  

Sometimes you forget...

He has been doing well, Asperger-wise for a while. He can be quirky but he has been mostly happy (once his meds were adjusted).  Yet out of the blue comes a day (this past Monday) where he is almost completely non-verbal. He was not feeling well so that contributed to it, but he had a Dr. appointment and he is usually good with Doctors, answering their questions but he wouldn't even look at the doc.

Now normally I can try an coax or cajole he into a better mood, or he will want to cuddle, or curl up next to me with the blanket over his head until he feels better. Today when I try to touch him, I get hissed or growled at.  Fun times.  And of course Angus is out of town for work so I am coping on my own. I have done it before but I have gotten used to sharing the load.

By Tuesday afternoon he is some better, his mood is not happy but he isn't hissing and growling.  I can get one word answers, which are mostly "no", and an occasional "Leave me alone." Along with this he is not eating, so while I know he isn't feeling well, he needs to eat to feel better.  I get tired of arguing for food and finally break down and hand him a bag of cookies. (At least its something) So other than gatorade, some soda and minimal food, that's it for 2 days.  His doc put him on an antibiotic on Monday so because he hasn't eaten he awakes with diarrhea Tuesday night, throughout the night, into the next day (today).  The family doc has no openings until tomorrow. So we wait until tomorrow, hoping this stops because using Imodium isn't allowed because just in case you have a virus on top of infection, it wont "go through" you completely. YAY!

At least now, he is a semi-happy kid.  He is watching YouTube videos and laughing. So it's a start AND I got him to eat half a bowl of soup and some shredded cheese.  I just keep telling myself tomorrow will be better...

I apologize for delays between postings

I had it all planned out. I was going to have a bunch of extra blogs all written and ready to go and then type up a blog each morning and publish it. If i wasn't feeling up to it, I would use one of my "extras" as filler. As the say, the best laid plans...

I had plenty of ideas. Still do, but they haven't been written down and I haven't really been on my computer long enough to do much writing. When I wake up, breakfast, then pool or beach with HistoryBoy finding a nice shady spot so I don't melt or break out in a beautiful lupus rash in the heat. Then it is lunch time, then nap time for me.

I have tried to use a little of that time to use the computer but most days I am so tired, I start my blog but wipe out and when I awake I forget to finish my thought. I think there are about 6 unfinished blogs saved for a rainy day, I just have to pick up the unfinished thoughts where they left off, which isn't always as easy as it should be.

Once our "get me healthy" trip is over, posting will begin to be regular again. I hope my readers, but especially my loyal followers can understand.

Feel free to leave a comment or email me at teenahope@gmail.com