Gluten-Free: Days 19-23

saladBecause the bf and I had a couple of cheat days during this challenge, we extended it another couple of days to be sure we got in the full 21 days. I know this doesn’t really count because we still interrupted the gluten-free diet, but we did it anyway. The last week wasn’t really any harder than the previous weeks, and I found myself still feeling great in the afternoons – no crashes like I normally have with starchy foods. So, here’s how we ended up: Continue reading

Gluten-free: Days 12-18

timthumbThis week included a cheat day for me. For Sean, however, there were several. I don’t think this experiment is meant to include cheat days, but Sean did have tickets for a beer fest and we had some other plans that involved beer. We could have abstained, but in reality we are not going to quit drinking beer. There was no “perfect” time to do this challenge, so we knew going in that life would just go on. Continue reading

Gluten-Free: Days 5-11

IMG_20131002_194737702_HDRThe bf and I have been continuing on our gluten free challenge all week. The weekend was really easy – we went apple picking and made lots of gluten-free dishes with the apples. Monday night the bf was volunteering at the brewery and didn’t have a sip of beer – I was so proud! We ate out after the brewery at a Mexican restaurant, but cooked at home the rest of the week which made it easy to stick to the challenge. Continue reading

Gluten-Free: Days 1-4

IMG_20130925_123801288The first few days of our gluten-free challenge have gone pretty smoothly. I planned out our lunches and dinners, as well as my snacks, so we’d have an easier time making the right choices. 

On the first day we went to a local restaurant called Sun in My Belly and I regret to say I failed a little. I didn’t know it at the time, though. The bf and I each had a salad, and he had a pork chop with a sweet potato hash and greens. I ordered the mis-glazed salmon with marinated kale and cilantro couscous. I thought couscous was in the same vein as quinoa…oops! I discovered later that it’s made from semolina flour. I was disappointed that I made a mistake so early on in the challenge. However, I learned 2 main things from it: Continue reading

Gluten-Free for 3 Weeks

3-reasons-going-gluten-free-could-boost-brainThat’s right, I’m embarking on a “challenge.”

I’m often skeptical of challenges like these – after all, what really changes when it’s over? What keeps us from going back to exactly the way we were before? My friend Jesse, over at The Ripening, has been doing a series of 21-day challenges including going car-free, meditating, drinking only water, etc. This was very inspiring to me, especially when he described how the challenges DID stay with him. He rode his bike more often than before, would meditate frequently even if not daily, etc. Continue reading