vivir la vida silvestre sin gluten

Living the wild life, gluten free

Sadly, my daughter and I have had our share of stomach issues and have both eliminated everything we could think of from our diets.  My daughter is a vegan - so we knew it wasn't dairy products or meat causing the trouble.  We asked ourselves recently, "what is left??"  My daughter's answer "Gluten??"  UGH, Yes!!! Gluten.  

For the last two weeks we have been experimenting with living gluten free and voila! tummy troubles have disappeared, along with foggy brain, fatigue, irritability, and a host of other things I don't care to discuss! 
 
Wondering if you may be gluten intolerant? Here is a a quick self-test from Dr. Oz's site: Dr. Oz - Self test for gluten intolerance

Here is a link to the list of symptoms from the Mayo Clinic: 
Mayo Clinic - Symptoms of Gluten Intolerance

 Now that we have had our Eureka! moment, it is off to the races, researching the art of cooking gluten-free.  After researching the best gluten free blogs, this is the list I have compiled.  Now to the chore of reading each one, making notes and acquiring ideas for recipes. The number one challenge is creating a tasty bread.  The first efforts have been minimally successful, but I believe there has to be a better bread out there!  

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  Can't wait to check out all these gluten-free blogs!

A Gluten-Free Day 

Blender Girl

Book of Yum

Celiac Chicks

Delightfully Gluten Free 

Elana's Pantry

Hey, that tastes good!

Ginger Lemon Girl

 

Gluten Free Blog 

Gluten-Free Girl   

Gluten Free Gobsmacked

Gluten-Free Goddess   

Gluten Free Kay

Gluten Free Mom 

Gluten Free Mommy

Gluten-Free NYC

Jules Gluten Free

Karina's Kitchen- Recipes from a Gluten-Free Goddess

Mama & Baby: Gluten Free

No Gluten, No Problem 

Please Don't Pass The Nuts

Simply...Gluten Free

Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried

The Good Eatah

The Spunky Coconut

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If you have sites for gluten free living and gluten free recipes, please share!

B as in Being Gluten Free 

a daring adventure

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure. 

- Helen Keller

Let the adventure begin, pass it on.  I dare you!

b as in being brave

Rowing Upstream without a Paddle

Outside the window it is beautiful - sun shining, warm temps and bright blue skies, yet here I am rowing paddle-less against the current up a raging, murky river in my own little private storm. To the left and to the right huge waves crash over the sides of my little canoe, and I bail water with my hands, persevering, desiring to be the over-comer in the midst of the difficulties. In this place, it seems there is a dark spirit of discouragement that I am battling and like a dark cloud, it lingers. Still I remember that greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world... so i keep calm, and fight on.


April is Parkinson's Awareness Month and as we fight the good fight, we realize that Parkinson's Disease brings it's own little bucket of discouragement some days - a splash here, a splash there until eventually you have yourself a big old wet blanket. My goal is to live and love and enjoy the moments, day by day - but still on days like this one, there are more tears than laughter.

Every dog has his day, so, i will let this be mine. Today I will complain and whine about the daily drudgery, and the laundry list of things that need to be done in and around our home. There is the 50+ year old kitchen with chipping, laminate counters / dingy cabinets, the deck with painting peeling off in sheets and rotten wood, the bathroom that screams "help me" and the entire house needs a fresh coat of paint inside. Alas, money doesn't grow on trees, so wah wah wah, whine, complain, whine complain.

Anyone facing various medical conditions for a loved one knows well the monthly bills for secondary insurance and specialists and medications and the toll it takes on finances. There are many others like us, who live paycheck to paycheck. There is no such thing as savings - let alone money for house repairs. After my husband's health took a nose dive, he handed over the management of finances to me, along with home care / repair - yeeeha.. Between tremors and poor vision, he didn't get his license renewed - which increases my duties as caretaker. Working full time while also being a caretaker is like having two full-time jobs and no one really understands the toll it all takes on you... mentally, physically and emotionally - so you do the best you can.

Tomorrow is a new day. Great is the Lord's faithfulness. His mercies are new every morning. Taking deep cleansing breaths, out and in, out and in. Lord help us all. No matter how much whining and complaining I am doing today, I know that I am blessed and for a million reasons. This is just a snag in the carpet of life and I will step back from this and remember the truth... I am blessed. (Repeat) I am blessed.

Although I have utilized this blog to air my complaints against life today, I would like to end on a high note and say thank you to the many people are working tirelessly to find a cure for Parkinson's Disease. God bless them every one. The new website, Whatever it takes -  is outstanding! Kudos to the team at National Parkinson Foundation for their vision and passion to provide help to each one of us! AND thank you to my friends and family who love me, encourage me, and pray for me - YOU are the real blessings in my life.

KEEP CALM, AND FIGHT ON FRIENDS!

B as in battered by the storm.