Closing the window

So for 7 days I have been able to avoid white flour and white sugar products before noon.  A baby step, yes, but a step in the right direction nonetheless.  The good news is that I have NOT gone completely gluttonous at 12:01 PM!  I did have a little "episode" with gf cookies that I bought "for my son," but beyond that, I have been pretty good...avoiding white flour products 98-100% of the time during the remainder of my day.  As I have "studied" myself in this first short jaunt of my journey, however, I have realized that evening snacking is another area that requires attention.  Again, for the most part, the good news here is that, on most evenings, my preferred white food product is popcorn.  It's a little bit of a fettish actually, and though popcorn lacks in super "nutritiousness," it's not as bad as other choices I have made, and it is definitely not a food I'm ready to leave behind this early in the game!  That said, the bad news is that I have a problem with using chocolate as a reward in the evening (see below)!  So, you may be wondering... I was supposed to be rid of "holiday bootie" and the like... my house supposedly having gone through a "cleanse" all of its own around January 3 or 4???!!!! Not exactly, because lurking in the freezer is "Halloween bootie" that I confiscated from my children's  ( note: we have 5... 4 of whom were Halloween candy collectors this year) candy bags in the guise of the "switch witch" (she takes all that "bad candy" and leaves behind a toy).  Instead of tossing the candy, I parsed out the chocolate and carefully stowed it away into the freezer, in case of an "emergency."  I think that is how I explained it to my dear husband, who was standing by for "moral support?"  Addict-like behavior.  So tonight, right before I sat down to lesson plan for our upcoming week at homeschool, I snuck away to the entrails of the chest freezer hidden within the dark place that is our basement and stuffed three "fun size" bars into my bathrobe pocket.  A few minutes later (after sufficient thawing time...not a fan of frozen candy bars), I dealt with my "emergency," washing it down with some silky smooth almond milk.  So the point of all this yadayadayada... STEP 4--- no white sugar/white flour after dinner!  (And the switch witch chocolate will go the way of the Holiday goodies... My husband's office).  I want to close that window of time to bad "white snacking" and open it to drinking water and eating fruit or veggies or nothing at all. This will be a bit painful for me, but it's all part of the journey... here we go....

Bad to the Bone

I have no formal celiac diagnosis.  I recently had a doc tell me that I may have wheat sensitivity.  I have experienced "feeling really good" when I go off wheat and other grain foods.  So, do I have a leaky gut?  I suppose to some degree I probably do.  I've been using and abusing white flour products for a long time.  Presently, I don't want a visual of my potentially leaky gut; instead, I'll just work on taking steps to start eating more "gut friendly."  So, a friend of mine turned me on to "bone broth."  Research it and you'll find it synonymous with: "gut healing super food."  It is, in my interpretation, the hallmark of the GAPS diet.  I've got a pot of beef bones, onions, celery, salt and pepper and apple cider vinegar simmering right now.  The house smells "comfort foody" good, and I'm almost convinced that bone broth vapors permeating through the house provide healing properties all of their own, "calming beef bone broth" (if it could be bottled as an essential oil it might be named that).   Bone broth is "bad" (bad as in really cool and good), and like most things that are, in recent years, being hailed as really good for us to eat, it is simple and basic and completely common sense.  A "whole food," that is just naturally loaded with so many things that our bodies need.   I now, formally, pledge to add bone broth to my journey's regime.   Step 3 -- I will keep bone broth on hand 90% of the time (have to give myself a little flexibility here... life happens), using it as a supplement and a snack, and I will wear a t-shirt that reads, "Bad to the Bone: love animals and DRINK them"--- to promote consumption of bone broth!

Birth Order

I've always been a bit curious about birth order theory.  I meet someone highly organized and productive and sure enough,  I later discover they are "first borns."  On the other hand, I run into someone a little more carefree and whimsy; indeed, it's later revealed that they are "last borns."  I am not a first born, if I were, I am sure that this blog would be visually and textually different than what is here presently.   I am a last born.  Declaring my whiteout (though I realize it's important to my health) , was kind of whimsy, and the plan for achieving this new lifestyle was not calculated and controlled; rather, it unfolds quite randomly on a day by day basis, but this, I feel, is what will work best for me.  So, if a last born, you should totally follow this, if not, just hang in there with me.  In my last post, " January 1- Resolution," I outlined step 1 of my plan: throw out The gluten in my home aka-"holiday bootie."  Surprisingly, this was more painful than I had anticipated.  I had some leftover pumpkin roll in the fridge.  I am a glutton for cream cheese icing.  I REALLY wanted to snag one more piece of that spicy, cakey, gooey, creamy cream-cheese confection before I tossed it, but I declined, sticking to my guns!  Yay me!  By following through with step 1, (and I stress "follow through" which is really first born-like), I was inspired to come up with (baby) step 2 in my whiteout journey.  Step 2--- No gluten or sugar before noon.  If I continue to stick to my guns with step 1, step 2 should be a breeze.  My plan is to obtain 100% success with steps 1 and 2 of my plan for 7 consecutive days.  I think I can do it!  Thankful to have the "last born's" sense of optimism!

January 1 Resolution-WHITEOUT!

My initial plan was to go "cold turkey" with my "WHITEOUT."  I've been there and done that.  Unfortunately, it does not work for me.  Somehow I forgot this life lesson.

The early AM scene at my house unfolded like this... I had a "delayed start" to my day (that means, I woke up and did a handful of activities prior to eating breakfast, so by the time I got to the kitchen for breakfast I was hungry, really hungry!  I was groping around looking for anything quick to stick into my mouth to satisfy.).  There, on the table, was a bag full of oatmeal raisin cookies brought into our home on New Year's Eve by my dear father in law.  I started to eat cookies... Wait... what about my "WHITEOUT????!!!!!"  What about it???? A man vs himself struggle ensued as I went to the refrigerator, grabbed leftover chocolate frosting (we had a little New Year's Eve get-together so junk is in the house) and starting dipping the cookies.  It was the epitome of the phrase, "it wasn't pretty." Feeling defeated,  I was reminded of the motto of a Beachbody Coach/facebook friend of mine... It has something to do with goals requiring a plan.  A goal without a plan, well, that's just something that never works.  My morning, if nothing else, illuminated that little factoid in Broadway stage style lighting!  So here I am, the night of the first day of my "WHITEOUT" (that wasn't) knowing full well my goal for 2015 (Ditch the white flour and white sugar) but left needing to devise my plan.  Tomorrow I will institute a plan.  Step one is obvious based on what happened today-- throw out/send to the office with my husband all holiday (food)  bootie remaining in this house!  Most likely, tomorrow won't be pretty either, but I will be kind to myself,  I will try to keep focused on the baby steps of my plan(which is evolving each day) and I will remember that this is not just a WHITEOUT, but rather a Whiteout JOURNEY.

Let's talk taco.

So for quite sometime, I have been veering away from traditional American diet breakfast choices, i. e., cereal, oatmeal, toast, bagels, etc.  I opt for eggs or another protein and veggies.  Because we had leftover chicken taco "fix'ins" in the refridge,  I was a little excited about breakfast this morning.  A few days ago, when I was preparing for last night's Mexican extravaganza (we had out of town family, in for Christmas, joining us for dinner), I had quite randomly picked up some oversized taco shells; when I opened the package, I was pleasantly surprised to see larger sized, sturdier shells.  So, with reckless abandone, I ate up two yummy and "healthy" ( or so I thought) tacos for breakfast.  I had seasoned the organic chicken with my own spices and all my other toppings were whole foods.  I took a moment "post breakfast" though and I got to thinking about the shells.  They were soooo tasty, and unfortunately, for my palate, that usually spells trouble like added sugar or wheat!  I do tend towards being a careful food label reader, but I was reminded that I just kind of threw these into my cart as a last resort; I had been looking for soft corn tortillas at the time, but could not locate them in the grocery store.  At any rate, I sauntered back to my pantry and pulled out the taco shell box--- things were initially looking good, pretty straightforward ingredients until I spied maltodextrine.  I had seen it before on labels, but had no idea what it was and it sounded like sugar to me.  Sure enough, my google search, for the most part, indicated "it's pretty safe," but no one really knows "how safe it really is," it could contain wheat depending upon where it is processed and "it really doesn't have any health benefit."  At the end of the day, I realized maltodextrine is just not quite as "straightforward" as eating an organic carrot, and so next time I buy taco shells (chips, cereal, and crackers, for that matter), I will hope to be able to find some at a decent price that do not contain maltodextrine... I will keep you posted.

Now, it is T-minus one day until I really get my whiteout game on... Feeling scared.

"Sick"

"I cannot go to school today said little Peggy Ann McCay, I have the measles and the mumps, a gash, a rash and purple bumps..." You may be familiar with this children's poem by Shel Silverstein titled, "Sick."  In the end, it turns out Peggy is really not sick at all, just really adamant about not going to school.  Unfortunately, unlike Peggy, I have had many physical complaints over the last few years, that are not just made up excuses, but real, inconvenient complaints that impede me from living my life to the fullest.  Fatigue, joint and muscular pain, carpel tunnel syndrome, nausea, constipation, irritability, mood swings, suppressed immunity, sluggish lymphatic function and yeast infections comprise my list of ailments that I have been dealing with in an ongoing way.  When I have sought help from a naturopathic chiropractor, he has always askedhow my diet is going.  When I research managing my symptoms there is a comon theme...(which I now paraphrase), "White refined flour and sugar exacerbate these conditions... They should be removed from the diet."   In response I have attempted to remove these items from my diet, time and time again, but I have been unable to make any permanent changes.  At one time, I did commit to a paleo diet for approximately 6 weeks... Indeed, I felt ahhhhhmazing!  A child's birthday party, some other type of social get together or the advent of a new pregnancy came around and all my good habits eventually disintegrated.  Here I am again,  I recently visited my chiropractor, bothered by candida related issues, his testing revealed sensitivity to wheat.  I have had a rough go with things the past few weeks -- UTI, flu, yeast infection and lingering aches and pains --- the time seems ripe to have another go at it... Fresh fruits, veggies, unprocessed whole foods and removal of the "whites" (sugar/flour) from my diet.  This time, I think I may be desperate and I figured a blog just may give me some sense of accountability... We'll see--- my journey officially starts in two more days.

On January 1, 2015 my journey begins.  It will be a daily struggle to remove white flour and white sugar from my diet... "Whiteout Journey."  I'm a sugar/flour addict!  I admit that as I sit here with a plateful of carrot cake frosted with buttercream that I brought home from a bridal shower, which I attended this afternoon.  I never say "No" when offered.  I' m an easy target for "food pushers" (folks who like to send home leftovers with guests)--- I have 5 small children.  I think it makes folks feel good to give me treats to feed my small ones.  Problem is, I usually eat the treats before offering them to my kiddos.  It's sad, but I do love flour and sugar sooooo much that... well...(my battery needs to be charged)... More of the consequences of my addiction tomorrow...