Happy May, everyone!
It’s finals week for me!
And as such, I’ve been blogging every day so far. 😉 Seriously, I find that I blog more the busier I am…I guess it’s just a good outlet or something.
Anyway, I have a bit of news to share with you all. Did you know that May is (inter)national Celiac Awareness Month? I didn’t know that was a thing until I saw it mentioned in my April issue of Clean Eating magazine. But sure enough, it is – check out THIS website for more information about last year’s awareness month!
You all know that the schtick of my blog is “living a healthy, happy life – without letting allergies get in the way,” and that I initially started it as a place to put a whole bunch of allergy-friendly recipes. It’s turned into something bigger than that (which I love), but the fact that I have allergies still remains, and as it turns out, many of you do too!
When I was younger, I was diagnosed with lots of allergies, including egg and nut. My allergies have caused a lot of health problems over the years, including digestive issues, acid reflux, eosinophilic esophagitis, and even skin issues. I’m not complaining because I know a lot of people have issues far worse than mine, but nevertheless, I have to live with these things every day.
During one allergy appointment when I was little, I was also diagnosed with wheat allergies. My parents decided to simply cut back on wheat instead of completely cutting it out, because at that time there weren’t a lot of things my brother and I could eat as the world was not so allergy-friendly then. However, recently, I’ve reading studies and articles, watching documentaries, and listening to accounts of people who are gluten-intolerant or have Celiac disease, and I’ve begun to wonder – am I sensitive to gluten?
So after talking with my parents (who have been reading things too), I have decided, along with my mom and dad, to go gluten free for the month of May (at least).
I have a couple of reasons for wanting to do this. Like I said, I’ve been reading a lot of things lately that claim the wheat we eat today is so genetically modified and “fake” that it doesn’t even resemble the wheat we ate even 50 years ago, which is why so many people are all of a sudden becoming intolerant. I’ve also read or heard accounts from people who have gone GF who have said it helps them lose that bit of weight that just doesn’t seem to come off any other way. So there are those reasons. But I also want to do it from an allergy standpoint. For a few years I was eating eggs in baked goods, and all of my allergy symptoms flared up and made me miserable. When I stopped eating egg, I got much better. So what will happen if I stop eating gluten?
So, throughout the month of May, Celiac Awareness month, I’m going to be eating egg, nut, and gluten free. We’ll see how it goes! I am a carbaholic, and love cereal, breads, crackers, cookies, etc. so this will definitely be an interesting experiment. 🙂
So after all of that, how about I get back to the normal Wednesday routine and share a recap of this week’s favorite eats? 😀
WIAW
Thanks to Jenn for hosting!
Breakfasts
The usual. Greek yogurt bowls every day this week.
Lunches
On Saturday, I quickly whipped up this deeeeelicious quinoa bake. I will have the recipe up before the weekend! (I promise this time…I know I’m horrible at actually doing that.)
And on Sunday, lunch was a bowl of brown rice, peas, tofu, and Craisins. Yummm.
Snacks
I brought back an old favorite over the weekend…an organic, unsalted rice cake with sunbutter and chocolate chips on top!
And, because the fruit in Michigan this time of year is all bad, I decided to buy a bag of frozen strawberries instead of a bag or pint of some other gross fresh fruit.
They’re actually working out really well for a quick, healthy snack!
Dinners
I had some tasty dinners over the weekend!
First up was this amazing spaghetti. I haven’t had a big plate of pasta in forever, so this was a real treat.
And it was real delicious. Whole grain pasta topped with a meat sauce and parmesan cheese. HOLY YUM.
On the much healthier side, dinner on Sunday night was salmon, peas, and a sweet potato.
I love meals that I feel super healthy about eating!
Desserts
I bought some chocolate frozen yogurt to enjoy over the week, and have been topping it with crushed pretzels and mini chocolate chips.
I also made those chocolate chip cookies for my creative writing “final” that I mentioned the other day. You might’ve seen this picture on Instagram…
…they were a hit, I’m pleased to say!
——————–
Workouts April 29 – May 4
Sunday: off
Monday: P90X UML (upper middle lower)
Tuesday: 45 minutes walking with incline on treadmill + 15 minutes jogging
Wednesday: Blogilates
Thursday: 30 minute run + 20 minute walk on treadmill
Friday: A Jillian Michaels DVD? P90X? Not sure…any suggestions?
Saturday: …Any more suggestions?
In other news, I went for a glorious run the other day…outside! It was about 60*, sunny, and barely breezy. It was perfect. I figure I covered about 2 miles jogging, and 1 walking. I’m getting excited for that 5K!
Because the weather was so gorgeous over the weekend, Ella and I got a lot of playing time in. Ready for more dog pictures? Good. 😉 Remember those pictures I shared last week? I have another funny one of her eating grass or leaves or something:
She makes me smile. 🙂
Lots of playing (and getting her hair buzzed cut) makes her super tired, so she was being extra adorable over the weekend.
Maybe I should have called my blog Ella Lives Life…
Questions for the day:
Do any of you have suggestions about gluten free baking flour? What brand is your favorite? I can’t have nuts, so things like almond flour are out…
What’s your favorite healthy snack?
Do you like to exercise outside or inside?
Do you have any favorite online exercises? I’m getting bored with the ones I have!
Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Liv Lives Life 
Wow you’re up early.
Sent from my iPhone
Haha I wrote this post yesterday. 😉
I love the idea of topping your frozen yogurt with crushed pretzels (oh and the chocolate chips too of course). I have been obsessed with adding crushed pretzels to my smoothies lately. Love the extra crunch it gives.
p.s. holding you to that quinoa recipe missy, Ha Ha!
Favorite snack: Smoothie or apple & pb
I like the idea of putting them in smoothies, too!
Ok, good, then I’ll be sure to post it! 😉
I have to say that I was more than a little excited to see what your “experiment” entailed when I saw the title of today’s post 🙂 And now I’m even more excited to see what amazing gluten-free recipes you come up with and how much better you’ll feel! *Fingers crossed*
I think if you look at Bob’s Red Mill products a lot of their gluten-free mixes are also nut-free as well…But they are manufactured in a facility with tree nuts. Is that a problem for you? Either way, I would recommend buckwheat flour (for buckwheat pancakes! my favorite 🙂 ), rice flour, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, and millet flour. I made a nice gluten-free flour mix with those last four. Gluten-free Girl has absolutely the BEST post on how to make your own gluten-free flour mix: http://glutenfreegirl.com/2013/02/how-to-make-a-gluten-free-whole-grain-flour-mix/
Since you can’t have almond flour, that will be tougher to find gluten-free recipes, but I would just suggest that you make your own homemade nut/seed flour with those that you can have. That way you won’t be limited to only certain recipes! 🙂
I love how most of your meals today were already gluten-free. This should be no problem for you 🙂 Especially because my favorite kind of pretzels are gluten-free already! Just watch out for hidden sources of gluten. Things like store bought chicken breast is often injected with broth that contains gluten, vanilla extract often contains gluten, as does baking powder and a lot of seasonings (they act as a separator and don’t have to be listed). Just always make sure to get things that aren’t produce labelled gluten-free! Good luck and sorry for the very long message. That makes two days in a row. Lol.
No need to apologize – these are some *great* tips! Thank you!
It’s so good to know about all of those flours…that’s exactly what I was looking for. I knew I could count on you! 🙂
I’ve actually used Bob’s Red Mill stuff before and I do think it’s good. The tree nut thing shouldn’t be a problem…I feel like companies need to put that warning on there just in case. And that’s a great link, I’ll definitely be pinning that one.
Thanks so much for all of your tips!!
In that case, I would definitely check out some of their gluten-free mixes. I personally loved their gf homemade wonderful bread (Some of the reviews towards the middle have egg-free recommendations). However, I really don’t like garbanzo bean flour and this is the only one that I was okay with. Also, if you have a Big Lots near you, they usually have tons of Gluten-Free Bob’s Red Mill products on sale!
All so good to know! Thanks so much!!
So much good food! It all looks *amazing*! I have so many favorite snacks – protein bars, greek yogurt with granola and nut butter and fruit, banana with peanut butter and chocolate chips…
Thanks! All of your snacks sound great to me, too (with the exception of the nuts, of course 😉 )!
Ella lives life? Yes, please – or at least keep sharing many pictures of her. Because she’s making ME smile, too :).
The scenery on your run looks gorgeous and nothing beats running outside, right? Even though I generally consider runs to be a great source of inspiration my thoughts flow much better outside than inside, too.
Good luck with you gluten-free experiment! As a fellow carb friend I hear you on the worries. However, I do think you have a much better choice when it comes to gluten-free products over there than we have. I’m sure already eating lots of naturally gluten-free foods like quinoa, rice or potatoes and with your talent in the kitchen you’ll come up with great new creations.
One of my latest favourite snacks is actually gluten-free now that I think about it, too: Microwave mug brownies. I can’t seem to get enough of them.
Happy Wednesday, Liv!
Good! I’m glad to hear that – I sometimes worry that people get annoyed with my dog pictures. 😉 Yeah, running is just great for that. Sometimes I don’t even listen to music because it just gives me time to think.
You’re right, there is a pretty big gluten-free market here. I wish that was the case everywhere! And thanks so much for the support – I really appreciate it!
Can’t go wrong with mug brownies! 😀
Happy Wednesday to you too!
I couldn’t agree more! I am a student myself, and the busier I am, the more I plan to fit the things that I love into my schedule! Your food looks phenomenal. Happy WIAW!
It just must be a different mind set that comes on. People always think I’m crazy, but I actually like being busy! Thanks, you too!
I’ll be interested to see how that goes for you. I totally hear you about it being hard. I’m currently gluten, corn, sugar, tomato, potato, and peanut free, so that’s interesting. I’m getting my food labs back at the end of may, so maybe I can add some stuff back in. Good for you for trying it and for getting your parents on board!
You’re totally right about the fact that wheat isn’t what it used to be. If I add it back in, I’m definitely going to alternate it with more gluten free things.
Wow! That’s quite a list. My allergist told me to get rid of wheat, corn, soy, rice, barley, and rye, and I pretty much just said “no.” Haha. You’re very inspiring! I hope your labs come back with positive results!
yeah she told me to get rid of dairy too but it’s my main source of calcium and protein so I said no haha
Yeah, I was told that too once, but also said no. Gotta choose your battles, I guess! 😉
Good luck! I know because I am celiac I eat gluten free and now a days it isn’t that hard. the only thing to be careful of is the sneaky places it can show up like sauces, dressings, etc.
Thanks! Yeah, I’ve heard of that. Good to know it’s gotten easier for you!
Oooh, excited to see how this experiment goes! And that pasta is calling my name
Pasta always calls my name. 😉 I’m excited too!
Girl get at me with that frozen yogurt combination. Pretzels and chocolate are like one of the best combinations ever!! I need to try making a quinoa bake. I’ve been seeing a ton around, but I’ve been so lazy and yours looks delicious. Thanks for the motivation to make one!
Haha it is! I think chocolate and raspberries is my favorite combo, though. 😉
I will have the recipe up probably on Friday – I hope you give it a go!
Can’t wait to hear more about going GF for a month! Also, that quinoa bake is incredible- cannot wait for the recipe! And hehe, I’m terrible about actually posting the recipes right after too 😉
Thanks! It will be up on Friday! 🙂
So many genius food ideas from this post. Um, pretzels and chocolate chips over ice cream? YES PLEASE!Tofu and craisins? I’m down! Can’t wait to hear how your month of experimentation goes! I’m too much of a bread/carb/pasta lover to give it up. 😉
Haha I know, it’s already been a challenge – I had to pass up pizza and breadsticks today! I’m almost hoping I won’t feel any different at the end of the month so I can keep being a carbaholic. 😉
Ella’s so cute! And I am def going to add pretzels to my chocolate ice cream.
Thanks! You definitely should try it, it’s soooo good!
[…] just wanted to pop in and share this recipe with you. I mentioned it on Wednesday and promised you all I’d have the recipe up by the weekend. Thanks for holding me to it, […]
I hope finals go well for you!I just finished my midterms and was completely drained by them. The eats and pup look great!
Thank you! I hope you get some good rest. 🙂