I Am A Packhorse

I lug around so much stuff every day it's ridiculous. Stuff for me, stuff for the kids, stuff for breastfeeding or babywearing support, homeschool stuff, ballet and tae kwon do stuff, computer stuff, crochet stuff, library stuff, stuff I need to return to friends or loan to friends, stuff, stuff, stuff...

And then there's the food. I can't leave the house without packing enough food for an army (I mean, me and two kids). To avoid eating out (a challenge, and expensive) I lug around a huge insulated lunchbox cooler full of ice, sandwiches, fruit, cheese, beverages, and miscellaneous other snacks. Luckily when I get where I'm going I can usually park the cooler in a corner and ignore until my children are starving. But added to all the other STUFF I carry it's crazy. I actually invested in a rolling cart to hold it all and minimize trips to the car.

So I was really excited to see that Heidi over at Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom seems to have found the food solution. She really likes this new Easy Lunchbox System after getting to test-drive it for a few weeks. And she is lucky enough to get to give away a set! So I am writing this post, after months of crickets chirping, not only to promote Heidi and her wonderful blog but also to shamelessly earn more entries in the giveaway. Get yourself on over there and enter! Even if you're not GF, but pack your own food for other reasons, this lunch system is cool.

New Blog Member-Please Welcome Mindy

My friend Mindy has decided to join me in this gluten-free journey. She has lots of experience with sensitivity to different foods and I have already used several of her techniques to get our family through trying situations. She has been very supportive of our efforts, and has not yet yelled at me for messing up her own meals (Mindy, I'm sorry again about the soy in the marinara!). I'm excited that she wants to contribute to this blog. I hope the nonexistent readers are okay with the change...

More Than Two Weeks In

As the title states, we have been doing this more than two weeks. Almost three actually. I can actually state that none of us has deliberately eaten anything containing gluten. Of course I am not sure if anything has slipped in unbeknownst to us...because then I would know about it. My mantra is CONSTANT VIGILANCE. I should add it's probably a good thing nobody reads this blog yet, or they would be sorely disappointed by my posting frequency. I'm glad it's just for me right now.

I have had some good days and some bad days. Went walking through the bakery department of a grocery store, with a friend, and thought the smell alone would do me in. But, I have also found some good products. We have a decent pizza crust mix, and a DELICIOUS chocolate chip cookie mix. Alternative choices are always great too. We have been eating lots more fruits and veggies (In fact I lost almost 7 pounds in the first four days before leveling out and gaining some back...but that is the subject of another post). I miss being able to throw together a sandwich to take to work. I am REALLY looking forward to experimenting with some of the different flours available. I want to make my own bread again. Returning the wheat grinder to my dad almost broke my heart.

Here's a partial list of some of our favorite GF treats:

Watermelon popsicles (frozen watermelon slices on sticks)
Coffee with sugar and milk
French fries
Chocolate!
"Happy snacks" (WalMart's store brand fruit snacks, actually called "Smiles" but renamed by the 4yo)
Popcorn (lots and lots of popcorn)
Hard cider (that one is just for me)

Stay tuned for some restaurant reviews. We have been eating out more than I'd like, budget-wise, due to circumstances beyond our control, so I have few experiences to share. Hopefully sooner than three weeks from now.

Independence From Gluten

Today my family declares its independence from gluten. No more shall we eat anything containing wheat, barley, rye, or oats. It has been a long journey to get to this day, and I intend to write about most of it at some point. For now, some intentions...

I intend to use this blog as a place to write about how it's going, as I am sure our friends and family are sick of hearing about it by now. (Although, if they're not, they are welcome to read along.) I also intend to write about our progress towards a healthier life. You can expect to learn more about gluten, gluten sensitivity and intolerance, celiac disease, and many aspects of a gluten-free life. At some point I will write about how we got to this point, and what it means for the rest of our lives. I want to put up recipes, when I find some good ones. I want to share successes! I am sure the topics of this blog will evolve over time, so I am not excluding anything at this point!

Who is this blog for? Mostly me. (See the first sentence in the above paragraph.) If friends and family want to use it to check in on us, that's great. (See the second sentence in the above paragraph.) If interested strangers want to follow along, well, maybe I won't kick them out. I don't expect to post anything too private or personal, and if what I write can help someone else, then that makes me happy.

But back to the main point. Today is our first day gluten-free. I expect this to be a journey, and I know it will be full of challenges. I expect to learn a lot, and I hope to enjoy it all. I just hope I'm ready for this...