Chicken Bone Broth

Chicken Bone Broth (in a CrockPot)! Not only is broth delicious, comforting, and versatile, when made from healthy chickens and veggies, it's one of the most nutrient-dense substances you can consume! The boxed store-bought concoction is NOT real broth, and the real stuff is SO easy to make - you can do this! Your body and wallet will thank you!

Bone broth contains all of the valuable amino acids, collagen, gelatin and trace minerals (like calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur, & others) that most of us are lacking in our diets, and bone broth helps support: joints, gut, skin, immune system, detoxification, metabolism. 

If you #alimade a #wholechickeninacrockpot, just put the bones back in the crockpot, add whatever: veggies & herbs (I use onion, celery, carrots, garlic, italian seasoning, bay leaves), chicken feet (clip the nails for more collagen), organs (though this makes the broth strong: beware). It's important to add at least 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (to draw out nutrients from the bones). Fill the pot with water, and cook on LOW for about 24 hours. The longer, the better, really; just keep adding water if needed. 

Then, when you're tired of waiting to kick-start your health, turn it off, let it cool, strain the broth, discard the bones & stuff (eat the veggies if you want), pour into jars or baggies, and freeze until you need it for a recipe or want to drink it (like I and my baby do every day!). There's so much information out there on the multitude of benefits from consuming broth, but one of my favorites is from Dr. Axe.


Consuming a little bit of broth a few times per week can add so much fuel to your body! Your organs, joints, skin, energy, and immunity will thank you! Go for it!!

Roasted Chicken in the Crockpot

Roasted Chicken in a Crockpot! This has become one of my favorite weeknight meals because it's easy, inexpensive, beautiful, nutritious, and delicious. 

Easy: the crockpot does most of the work, and since it keeps the bird moist, it's almost impossible to overcook it! Plus, the potatoes are cooked with the bird, all in one pot! You don't have to crisp up the chicken in the oven, but this step is the money-maker in my book. Do it. 

Inexpensive: I purchased this organic, free-range chicken at Natural Grocers for $11, and it fed my hubby, 2-year-old, and me for 2 meals, plus left overs for my pizza the next night! That's less than $2 per serving! People are often deterred from healthy eating because they have been led to believe that it has to be expensive. Nope! 

Beautiful: I mean, just look at this gorgeous bird! If your family doesn't like bone-in, just pull/shred the chicken before you serve like I do. 

Nutritious: meet off the bone has SO many nutrients that we are deficient in, including higher collagen and other essential fatty acids, and the skin from a humanely-raised and minimally processed chicken is also packed full of nutrients that help you recover and age amazingly. Buy and eat the whole bird! And save the bones to make broth (which I'll show you how to do in the next video!). 

Delicious: this method of cooking gives you tender, juicy meat with a crispy skin to feast on. Mouth watering yet? I didn't do this, but you could also make gravy from the juices in the crockpot. Boom.

Are you ready for a winner, winner, chicken dinner?! 

Sweet Potato Pizza Crust

Sweet Potato Pizza Crust!
This 3-ingredient recipe is the easiest, yummiest, most pizza-est healthy pizza crust I've EVER made (and I've made a LOT of pizza crusts, y'all)! Wednesday night is Pizza Night in our house, and for the longest time I sadly ate my lame, soggy cauliflower crust, or had to spend hours making crusts, or just gave up and ate left-overs. 😭 And that made hubby sad, which totally defeats the point of Pizza Night! But then I found this gem... Because you don't have to precook the sweet potato, this crust takes about 10 minutes to make, no joke, with ingredients you probably already have in the kitchen! It does require 30 minutes to bake, so I usually make the crusts, freeze them, and then pull them out for pizza night. 

I top mine with homemade pesto, pepperoni, leftover/frozen chicken or ground beef, goat cheese, garlic, and Italian seasoning.

We grill pizza on the smoker at or house, and 8-10 minutes crisps the pizza to perfection. Probably re best part is you can pick this crust up and hold it, like a store-bought pizza!

This will change your life! Or at least Pizza Night!

Roasted Okra

Roasted Okra! Roasting veggies is my favorite because it brings out such great flavors, and okra is adds some shock-and-awe because most of us have only had it fried in mass-produced, sad-battered chunks. 😞 But not anymore!

Drizzle olive oil on clean, dry whole okra (found at farmers markets or even most grocery stores), then sprinkle with some sea salt. If you're feeling festive, add garlic and Italian seasonings as well. 

Then roast for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees, tossing once somewhere in there (I often forget this and it still turns out great 😉). You can grate some Parmesan or goat cheese over the top, or just serve plain. I often take left overs for a snack at work and just eat them cold. So good! Try it and let me know how much you love it! ❤️ 

What other veggies do you love this time of year?

Plantain Chips

Plantain Chips! You have GOT to try this microwave chip maker from Bed Bath & Beyond! Avoid the oil, artificial ingredients of the junk chips, and save a ton of $ over the "healthy chips" by making your own! 

In addition to plantain, I've also made chips from banana, potato, sweet potato, apple, carrot, and zucchini, but it seems that any fruit or veggie is up for grabs! 

These plantain chips are my favorite go-to road trip snack for my two-year-old, and I feel so good about letting her crunch away!

Order the kit for yourself and let me know how it goes! ❤️ 

Fermented Salsa!

Fermented salsa! **note: I tried a wide-angle lens and it totally jacked up the audio. But I still wanted to get this to you, so I had to lamely voice-over this whole thing. Sorry! ** Salsa is one the tastiest ways to eat lots of veggies (that I don't normally eat otherwise). To avoid the junk in store-bought brands and enjoy fresher and more local ingredients, make your own! Plus, fermenting allows the nutrients to become more bioavailable, and adds guthealthy probiotics, deeper flavor, and a fun fizz! 
For more benefits than I could ever articulate regarding fermentation, probiotics, and gut health, follow my fermenting mentor (or as I call him, my "fer-mentor") @jaredsprobiotics. His website www.jaredspropops.com is a huge source of all things digestion. His list of 75 fermented recipes is where I found this gem! 
Back to the salsa, if you don't have a food processor (or just want a hand workout) you can chop all these veggies. If you're not into whey (or if Miss Muffet are all yours), at least 2Tbsp salt should do the trick to ferment. Make sure to tightly seal the jar, and let it sit at room temp for at least 3 days to ferment. 
Otherwise, adjust this recipe to your supplies or heat-tolerance. Try it atop eggs or pulled chicken, or of course with your favorite chips or any Mexican dish!  💃🏼💃🏼💃🏼

Spaghetti Squash in the Crockpot

Spaghetti (Squash) in a CrockPot! I looooove spaghetti, but 1: Regular spaghetti noodles do bad things to the body, 2: Gluten-free noodles do bad things to my taste buds, 3: The prep and clean-up can be SUCH a mess. This one-pot recipe solves all those problems! Spaghetti Squash will blow your mind if you've never tried it before - when cooked right, the consistency really is just like spaghetti!
Now, you can roast spaghetti squash (400 degrees for 30 min or so), which I love, but the ease of #crockpotlife makes this busy mom go hallelujah (in Italian)! 🍝

Ground beef... in a Crockpot!

Today #AliMade Ground beef... in a crockpot! This kitchen hack just dawned on me a couple weeks ago, and it's a huge time saver, especially if you brown ground beef in bulk (to freeze and use for various recipes) like I do! Once you start utilizing your crockpot for everyday tasks, you'll wonder how much of your like you spent splattered in grease over the skillet! 🍳 

I like to buy a bazillion pounds of grass-fed ground beef when it's on sale from Sprouts, or when I can buy a portion of a cow from my uncle or a farmer, and store the meat in the deep freezer. 

As a working mom, my crockpot is easily my favorite kitchen appliance. 🙌🏻In fact, my dream kitchen has a huge (I'm talking 10-quart) crockpot - that converts to a wok and and skillet and grittle - built into the counter. Does something like this exist??? Comment below if you've tried this or any other time saver with your crockpot! How did it turn out?

Cashew-Macadamia Nut Butter

Cash-damia Nut Butter! This smooth, sweet yet nutty spread is one of my favorite foods to eat with apple slices, celery, pancakes (recipe soon!), or just on a spoon. 🤤Macadamia nuts are one of the -if not THE- healthiest nuts around, with all kinds of nutrients and a super omega ratio (see @drjoshaxe 's site for impressive health benefits that'll make you ditch your almonds). They're kinda pricy, so paring them with cashews makes this spread more economical as well as more nutty flavored and creamy.

If you tried to buy a jar of this nut butter, you may spend up to $20 per jar 😱, but you can make it for about $6 (if you buy nuts when they're on sale 😉). Don't be daunted by the 24-hour soak time (I recommend this with all nuts) and the 15 min in the processor - you can DO this, and it's so worth it! But if you don't have a food processor (or the time), you could buy mine! 😉 The next best thing to homemade is AliMade. 💗

AliMade a Change to Her Blog!

I'm so excited to start this new adventure!  I make 60-second video tutorials on healthy meals, snacks, drinks, and hacks to help you make your own food, feel awesome, and have fun! Follow me on instagram (@ali_made_in_60) and on Facebook for more daily videos and tidbits, but here is where I'll post the recipes (printable versions, woo!) and other insights!

Beware if you read the posts of my past... though you may glean some insight of my digestive journey, please understand that I have grown a LOT since my last insanely stressed posts of 2012! :) 

I'm convinced that the Lord has brought me though a plethora of maladies so that I can empathize with almost anything. I also believe that He made us to be resilient, self-healing organisms who can live life to the full with Him and the right fuel (adequate food, sleep, stress, movement, and love). :)

I love requests, suggestions, and feedback! How can I help YOU feel great?

Yummy Sweet Potato Muffins!

Sweet Potato Muffins from Runners World Magazine

• 2½ C whole wheat (or I use brown rice) flour
• ¾ C sugar (or I use agave nectar)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ C melted unsalted butter
• ¼ C vegetable oil
• 1 C pureed or mashed cooked sweet potato
• 1 egg, beaten
• ½ C buttermilk

Heat oven to 375 F. Grease 12 muffin cups or add paper liner. Combine flour sugar, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk butter, oil, sweet potato, egg, and buttermilk. Fold wet mixture into the dry; stir until just combined. Fill muffin cups ¾ full. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Per muffin: 248 calories, 37 g. carbs, 3 g. protein, 4 g. fat.

Ahhh Wheat, How I've Missed You!!!

Celebration! The six week trial diet is over; I have conquered my will and stomach's desires long enough: it's time to enter gluten back into the diet! The interesting thing to me over the last few weeks (when the GF & DF diet was to be really taking effect), my energy level has been low. Really low. Right when I was supposed to be feeling better than ever, I was constantly so tired and energy-deprived that it hurt. My synopsis: my body needs brain food (BREAD!!!)

We decided that dairy's a lot easier to avoid (or at least limit), so I had my first pizza pie in a little over a month last night! I really missed pizza, especially because my diet didn't keep Chris from partaking. The funny thing is, when eating it, finally, I couldn't help thinking, "What was the big fuss over? This isn't THAT great." I know those are pretty much blasphemous words to Chris, but the grease-bomb wasn't worth the stomach ache later that night through the next morning. I felt like Michael Scott when he downed the fettuchine and then ran the Rabies 5k.

So I might have to pass when he wants to order pizza again.

Today I didn't have any glutenish things, I guess feeling that I should ease it in, and I guess because I still have a bunch of rice cakes and other GF things lying around waiting to be scarfed. And boy, did I scarf them! I think doing all kinds of things and being at home, alone, around all kinds of foods beconing me is not a good combination with not ever eating a full, sit-down meal. Hmmm.

I did come up with a new (for me at least) creation, involving slicing up a potato (I did both regular and sweet), spraying a cookie sheet with Pam olive oil, sprinking the potato slices with salt and pepper, and baking for about 30 min. My version of sweet potato fries! Yum!!!

So apparently this is the end of my diet, and though it is disappointing in the fact that it did not help me, it crossed out gluten and/or dairy as the cause of my chronic muscle tightness (back to the drawing board there), and it benefitted me in other ways as well. An exercise in self-control is always a good thing, and this was as close to fasting that I've ever come. It helped me release food as my idol by first showing me that it has become one (at bare minimum because I think about food constantly), and I had to release my control from it in many situations (esp. with other people). Looking back at my hopeful outcomes, my complexion, sadly, only got worse, but I did lose a few pounds, that I will hopefully keep off by keeping the ice cream away! So this exercise wasn't a total disaster!

As for the near future, I'll continue with soy instead of dairy milk and other things, but I'm not going to pick cheese of things,pull chocolate chips out of cookies, or anything freakish like that. I'll minimize my dairy intake, not do away with it. And I'll try to limit my gluten, instead of basing every meal on my bready-carbs. I am going to have a big heaping bowl of cereal (the thought fills me with so much joy!) tomorrow, but I'll try to have more rice/potato options and less hamberger helper/pizza - I'll leave those to Chris!

So, farewell, my gluten-free blog, for apparently God made wheat for me to enjoy! :)

One week to go!!!

As of today, I've completed 5 weeks of the 6 week trial, and am feeling a mixture of encouragement and melancholy over this whole deal. Both ends of the emotional spectrum jointly because I feel absolutely no different now from one month ago. I'm bummed because for goodness-sake, I went through all this crap for nothing?!? Yet thankful because who would want to live her whole life without some of the best things this world has to offer? :)

Since I've already diagnosed myself as having no problems with either gluten or dairy, it's be extremely tempting to cheat these last few days, well maybe it was only last night. We were over at Chris's 2nd cousin's house, who happens to be a great chef/baker/epicurian/whatever, and calling my name was this pumkin pie with cake in it thing and cool whip on top. The thoughts, "This whole diet's not doing anything for you anyway... What would one little bite do?... You only have one more week left, anyway..." Crowded and controlled my thoughts all evening. It was terrible. And I almost caved. I even picked up a spoon...

But then my knight-in-shining-Northface-armor came to my rescue: "ALI! What the HECK are you thinking?!?! You've made it this far, and you're going to throw it all away NOW?!?"

My wonderful husband has a way of smacking sense into me, so I resisted. Whew... that was a close one.

Other than that, I'm just tired of thinking about food all the time: what am I making for Chris (that he'll eat & that he hasn't already eaten 3 times in the last 3 weeks), do I have enough rice and chicken/beef on hand for when I'm starving upon home-arrival? BLAHHHHHH. Not that I don't think about food all the time anyway, but this is like double the thoughts I'm used to.

Awesome randomness: In our school district, an employee may participate in a heath-screening in order to lower insurance costs. [Score!] Well the screeners aren't exactly RNs, and so a lot of funny things go on there.

1. My body fat was measured by a little handheld thing at 16%. That's lower than I was in college and like marathon runner level. I'll TAKE it!!!
2. The lady taking my blood pressure didn't want me to roll up the sleeves of my sweater. Then when the pump broke, she sighed, "Oh well," and wrote down some random numbers: 112/80. I'm thinking a little high for me, but who cares - I guess that evens out the body fat % in my favor.
3. They didn't tell me not to eat (and I always have a snack right after school - that day an apple with PB), but then they did a glucose count from my blood, which was 82. Apparently this is fairly low if you're fasting, let alone if you ate 45 minutes prior to the exam. I remember taking the blood exam after fasting, and it was like 62, almost hypoglycemic. No wonder when I need food, I need it NOW!!!

Week 4, VivaGirl

As it's already Tuesday on week 5 of the diet, I guess I must comment on week 4. As of right now, I have less than 2 weeks to go in this 6 weeks of seeming torture, but as I've noted, it hasn't been that bad at all! Soy milk for regular is a trade fine with me, and I am such a bland eater that plain rice and chicken doesn't bother me a bit. The only things I really miss are (of course) real ice cream and real cereal. This week I made the mistake of trying soy ice cream (because it was on sale). BIG mistake. HUGE. I mean, it's okay, but that Rice Dream stuff is worth every penny of its outrageous $4.99. As for the breakfast foods, oatmeal doesn't take too much longer to make (since I also always make eggs), but the extra effort at 5:20 is not a welcome experience most of the time. Organice rice millet cereal is fine, especially when covered in a fruit entourage of bananas, strawberries, and blueberries.

I don't know if I wrote on this last time, but a loaf of GF bread (mind, it is less than half the size of a normal loaf) costs a whopping $6! If I had to remain on the GF diet, I would most likely resort to baking my own bread, which demonstrates how desperate I'd be to save a few bucks per week.

Having family in town this past weekend frightened me a little, dietarily, anyway, but there were no glitches! Steak & potatoes, BBQ (which is kind of weird without the accustomed Texas toast), and lame-O salad at our favorite pizza place. Eh well, it's just weird having to be so conscious about where we're eating and what I'm allowed to eat there.

Observations: My muscles are feeling pretty good, though there are many veriables interupting the controlledness of this experience: I'm receiving chiropractic care (with pretty much physical therapy wrapped in, since I'm doing stretches/exercises each day), I've actually been able to exercise a bit (walking, jogging, stair-stepping), and I've received and am wearing orthodics (which are supposed to help everything). As far as my energy goes, I've been pretty tired, but I've been burning the candle at both ends too. I'm not complaining about being busy like every other human being, but my body requires a lot of sleep, and I have self-diagnosed a phobia of sleepiness. If I were allotted a superhero power (I've actually thought of this before), I would opt for sleepless energy. Seriously, imagine how much you'd be able to do if you had perfect energy, 24/7, and never needed sleep. I'll name my alter ego "VivaGirl" since viva means life or lively. I would have changed the world by now, as apparently it's only the necessary evil of slumber that's stalling my success. And with that, I think it's time for me to hit the sack.

Week 3: No turning back now... halfway there!!!

Until I logged onto the blog, I seriously thought I had completed week 4... and now I'm a little perturbed. :( If I could only fast-forward to the Shake's Frozen Custard at the end of this long, dark tunnel... Oh well.

Week 3 did have some surprising highlights: I wore a pair of capris Mom had bought me that had never fit loose enough to wear in public! I felt like sharing that info with everyone I saw at the high school girls JV golf tournament, Tuesday, but realized that would be vain, braggy, and weirdly irrelevant. So I'm sharing with you now! I confirmed when I stepped onto the scale at the gym today that I'm 4 lbs lighter than 3 weeks ago. Note (more to myself than you): I'm not in this to lose weight; that's just a side-effect of not eating ice cream every night. To tell you the truth, I thought I'd lose more just from that life-style change. Maybe all the RIce Cream and rice milk chocolate bars are holding me back from skinny jeans. Which is a fine trade-off, if you ask me.

Being such a creature of habit, I noticed today how this really isn't too hard, now that I've somewhat got the hang of it. On Sunday, I boil eggs for my lunch salads, I boil rice for dinner throughout the week, and brown turkey for the turkey/rice/black beans/salsa dish. I have chicken in the freezer that only takes 25 min to bake, sweet potatos, fruits, asparagus, snacks (rice cakes w/PB & honey are my fave), and I'm good to go! Planning and cooking for Chris as well gets a bit tricky for me, especially since we've been on different schedules lately. Thankfully, he's laid back and understanding, though I'll have to coax him into making his own Hamberger Helper every once in awhile!

When I returned from Whole Foods today and glanced over the receipt, I noticed (since there was no price tag) that the GF bread is $6 a loaf! Yikes! And this bread is about 1/2 to maybe 2/3 the size of normal bread. For now, I keep a loaf and sliced turkey in my fridge at school (beats the tar out of making a lunch every day!), along with salad (to supplement for the mini-ness of the GF sandwich), but that might have to change due to the recession and all. Just kidding, my overall stinginess.

I also noticed that I really do miss ice cream. Bad. I may have mentioned this before, but this emotional addiction is a tough habit to break. I wonder how soy milk pudding is??? I had (until this moment) forgotten that I have GF cookie mix. I'll have to whip that up tomorrow and try'er out.

Subjective Outcome Measurement: this week, I've felt a little below average on the energy scale. Granted, there's been a lot going on: subs to prepare for, golf tournaments, crazy kids, etc., but the main thing that's weird is my energy while working out has been pretty low. Doing the stairmaster (a.k.a, the gauntlet) has been much harder than usual, forcing me to lower the level at which I climb (humiliating, even if I am the only one who sees me doing it). This morning, after 20 minutes at a fairly low level, I got side stitches and had to demote myself to the treadmill. Ouch. Where I walked for 10 minutes and then ran till I needed to stop. Five. Minutes. Later. Double ouch. Definitely going to inform the doc of this. Clearly ice cream feeds my muscles the nutrients they need to perform at their peak.

Week 2 Complete and Waiver-Free

Week 2 of my gluten and dairy free diet is almost over, which leaves me with 4 weeks to go. I've somewhat figured out my eating ruitine, which has naturally morphed into a healthy 5 small meals per day. My snacks have gotten bigger (rice cake with PB, apple with PB, celery with PB, or Cliff Bar), and my meals (I'm guessing anyway) a bit smaller. I've concocted a new staple: rice, ground turkey, and salsa, that I will add some kidney or black beans to next time. Yum. Other than that and the Barnezy Tacos I made tonight, I'm A-okay with blandness: chicken and rice.

I tried some soy protein power in a fruit smoothie the other day, which was disgusting, but Chris informed me that the kiwi I added or the rice milk was more likely the culprit, so I'll try again tomorrow for lunch.

The energy level is returning and so are the spirits; Dr. Iodice told me I should start really feeling changes during week 3, so hopefully this week will be big for me! The traps and hip flexors have still been really tight, but that's most likely due to shrugging while I sleep. I think it's been better the last few days, since we've added a huge wedge-pillow under my knees.

As far as temptations to cheat go, I'm not going to lie: I've had a few. I keep Little Debbie snacks in my class (for reward jar Fridays), and yesterday that Nutty Bar called out to me. I'm proud to say that I resisted its little chocopeanutbuttery voice. And tonight while Chris and I were walking, we passed by Sarpino's Pizza... ooohhhh pizza. How I miss you! I never thought I'd say this, but I'd rather give up dairy than gluten. Cutting out my beloved ice cream is probably the best change I could ever make for my heath. And besides, I've found many chocolaty substitutes! I've already mentioned Rice Dream ice cream, but today at Whole Foods, I found a rice milk chocolate bar on sale for 79 cents. After eating a bite (and then a few more!), I'm heading back tomorrow to buy out their stock! Tastes just like Dove milk chocolate. :)

There's only one more full week of golf, and then hopefully I can get back to the gym... or even more hopefully, the running trail (as my new in soles should be coming in soon!). I weighed myself this afternoon at the gym, and though I'm not in this to lose weight, and though I'm not sure how accurate the gym scale is or how good it is to weigh in the afternoon, I weighed 3 pounds less than the day I began the diet. My jeans fit the same (which is the only way I normally gage weight), but my tummy stays about the same size throughout the day (whereas it formerly would bloat). So that's nice. Other changes: the first week or so, my complexion actually worsened, which was very frustrating, but now it's getting better. I'm not sure if that was due to the increase of estrogen in all the soy I'm intaking now. Interesting.

This week's going to fly also, with 2 golf tournaments and 3 dr appointments, so unless I briefly blog about War and Peace (which I'm hopefully finishing tonight!!!), I'll recap the week next weekend in between laundry loads! :)

One Week Down, Five to Go...

So it's Sunday, and that means I've survived one week sans-gluten and dairy. Quite an accomplishment, if you know me even somewhat. You know, I think I can do this thing! Mom and I played in a golf scramble, and together we fired a 7 under! I'm tellin ya, we were pretty impressed with ourselves! I'm now wishing I would've gone to Dr. Iodice about 5 years ago, my body felt so good on the course, but I guess I'd be on the pro tour or something instead of teaching kids, which has far more significance; so I take it back I guess.

The OSU football game was depressing enough, but the brisket, chicken, rice, chips, and salsa were fantastic; though the free ice cream snacks were tantalizing. I did try the new vitamin water with 10 calories. Blahhhhh. I remember that vitamin water itself didn't have enough flavor for me (why everyone doesn't just drink Propel baffles me). My energy level was pretty low for the most part, though I'm not sure how much of that can be attributed to the 1500 miles I've driven in the last 3 days and how much of that's due to the diet.

At Whole Foods tonight, I picked up so GF cereal!!! We'll see how it works out; I still got some oatmeal, as that's working pretty well for me now.

The hardest facet of this challenge seems to be all the planning that goes into meals where Chris is concerned. Do I make the GF stuff for him to (depleting all my GF resources)? Or do I make 2 seperate meals (who wants to do that?)? I made a big o'pot of rice tonight and baked chicken strips (non-breaded), but we ate almost all the chicken, so that'll have to be a per-nightly thing I guess. I've also got some sweet and regular potatoes, with the inevitable question: what the heck am I supposed to put on a potato if I can't eat dairy?!? I'll ask the doc that tomorrow. Also thinking I can brown hamberger meat and put it on top of the rice for me and make hamberger helper for Chris? Is that lame??

The really frustrating thing for me right now is that I haven't been able to exercise at all since this started. With teaching, golf practices and meets, and 3 dr. appt's per week, I'm not sure how much better my body's going to feel if I'm not working out. hmmm...

In other (more 6ish) news, I listened to 3 REALLY good Mark Dever sermons on Luke 12, 13, & 14, and am thus encouraged to love my wonderful Savior much more ardently and to love my brothers and sisters much more actively. My goal is to encourage and pray more fervently for others, encouraging them to seek Christ with everything.

Day 4: Things are looking up!

God answered my prayer from day 3 and day 4 was a lot better! I slabbed some peanut butter on a rice cake thingie for my planning period snack and added some boiled egg to the salad with crab meat for lunch. Much better. Also, I think the dark chocolate Chris and I picked up at the store last night helped curb my craving (and keep my attitude up) for the afternoon.

Golf practice was rained out, so I munched on some apple slices with PB before going to the chiro. The exercises he's giving me are training my core/scapulas/shoulders/hips to function as they should, utilizing stabilizer muscles instead of straining weaker muscles (which is apparently what my body has been doing to itself).

Upon leaving the chiro office, we ate at Chipotle (I've actually come to enjoy the chicken burrito bol) and drove down to Tulsa. We're attending a memorial service for Chris's uncle who is now in the presence of the Lord due to cancer. It'll be great to spend time with family and celebrate his life and what God did for him.

Being the OCD person I am about food, I brought an entire bag filled with GF snacks in case the catered lunch is sandwiches or something of the sort. After the memorial, we're headed back to KC. Chris has his board exams Friday and Saturday; I'm teaching school Friday, and then driving back down to Oklahoma to spend the weekend with my family: playing in a golf tourney that benefits a college ministry and going to the OSU/Houston football game. The football game is the only thing that concerns me - I hope they don't confiscate all the Cliff Bars I try to smuggle in!

Day 3: Hunger Pangs of Death

Today my tank was on low. I guess that teaching a full day takes a bit more out of me than a Labor Day off, and my body didn’t like the different (or lacking) energy source. Anyway, I’m praying that it doesn’t get worse than this, or else I’m going to have to figure out ways to keep my stomach from eating itself. My oatmeal and eggs carried me until about 10, when my tummy started to squeal out of desperation. I usually eat a few almonds and sip some tea on my plan, but today I scarfed a handful and another fistful of GF (gluten-free) crackers as well, probably simultaneously.

Lunch was probably my biggest mistake of the day. I meant to bring apple and celery slices to dip in peanut butter, but forgot them, so all I had was my wimpy salad with some crab meat. Oh yes, and some more GF crackers. My crustacean friend wasn’t too appetizing, and I didn’t get my usual chocolate bite, so my kids saw me in rare form today. I think I snapped at one unsuspecting (though totally deserving) little twerp for rocking in my seat, then leaning over my podium, then sitting on his desk and rocking it back and forth. Not to mention that he must weigh 180. I don’t even know what I threatened him. But I then apologized, explaining that I hadn’t had chocolate in 3 days.

On the way to the golf course, I began stuffing all I could down my throat, but since all I had were GF crackers and rice cakes, that didn’t amount to much. My golfers figured out the weird taste of the GF crackers: burnt popcorn. Bingo. The munching continued throughout the round – I was fiercely hungry!

When I finally got home to the 2nd-time’s-a-charm rice spaghetti, I felt a little better, though tired. However, I’m becoming quite fond of the Rice Dream ice cream stuff. Wish I could haul that sweet chocolaty goodness with me all the time!

When I told the chiro at tonight’s appointment about my troubles, I think he dismissed me as an addict who’s undergoing necessary cleansing. I think he’s right…

Day 2: The Blues Strike

Today was a bit harder. I don’t know if the lack of serotonin-producing foods I’m used to is playing with my emotions or if other stresses are more to blame, but this afternoon I was in a pretty bad mood for me. I’d describe it as being on edge, on the verge of crying, what most of us women would call PMS symptoms (the emotional ones, anyway). Weird, and needless to say, I’m ready for this feeling to be over.

After talking to my mom, it could be the lack of control I’m feeling over my diet. Chris, his friend Alan, and I didn’t eat lunch till 2:30, because we were shooting a video of exercises and techniques for my chiropractor’s website. We went to Chipotle, where the chicken burrito bol is lacking bread, though Chipotle has some spice that always makes my stomach feel funky. Then we went over to a friend’s house for a cookout, and I felt kind of rude asking to see labels of all the foods they had (I’m still not sure what all is in things). Steak, salad (I had to pick out the feta cheese!), apples, grapes, and almonds were great, but then I started to feel anxious about getting home.

The day before going back to school always riles me up; I guess it’s the feeling of being unprepared. I got a lot of grading done this weekend, and have the next two weeks planned out, so the feeling is a bit absurd, but nonetheless it’s always there. Maybe someday, when I’m a seasoned teacher, it’ll go away? Hope so?

Tomorrow, I have FCA at 7 a.m., and I’m bringing the donuts… I can’t imagine rice-donuts. That’s got to be the grossest thing ever! Then after school my girls have a golf meet at the local par-3. And then I have a dr. appt. Busy day! Lord, help my attitude to be glorifying to you!