Learning to live with Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS)

I went to the doctor and got a physical. My exam was pretty darned good! My doctor was happy with the weight loss and my bloodwork came back pretty awesome, too! My A1C came down from 7.9 to 6.3 and my LDL cholesterol came down from 99 to 70! *************************************************************************** I've been thinking about weight loss surgery for the last 20 odd years, but none of my insurance carriers would cover it. The insurance I have with my current position allows weight loss surgery, but now I don't want it because I'm doing so well on my own! I look at the side effects, and I would basically have to change my diet to the one I'm on... Soooo, what's the point in spending $5000 dollars on surgery when I can save that $5000 and get new clothes and possibly get some skin removed (tummy tuck and breast lift!)??? I'm glad that I never got the surgery, because I've seen so many people do it and then gain the weight back because...

I feel better today than when I was 18. Yeah, no shit! Eat clean and your body will notice.  I've been achy since I was a teenager. I always wrote it off to, not enough sleep, too much sleep, too much partying, etc... Then I stopped doing kid stuff and wrote it off to getting older.  Guess what? Getting older only has to be painful psychologically! It doesn't have to hurt physically! The weight is coming off slowly but surely at a bit less than 10 pounds a month. My clothes are getting baggier and I've started giving my "too big" stuff to my mom! She's going to have a bitchin' wardrobe! 

So, I bought some Boom Boom Shrimp from BJs this weekend. They were shrimp that had been dipped in egg white  and cornstarch. They were freaking fantastic and it got me to thinking about the other "breaded" items that would be fun to try the egg white batter on... Which led to a web search and THIS recipe!!! Seasonal and Savory - Crab Puffs  by a nice lady named Angela This is her recipe and I shall call them Crabbity Crabbity Puff Puffs because its such a darned fun name! The text is straight from her blog and I'm so glad I found it! Please visit her for more delicious recipes! I wanted to call these “crabbity crabbity puff puffs,” but that is largely due to the amount of cold medicine currently in my system.  So you might want to just ignore all of the text in this post and head straight to the recipe.  It’s a good one.  No grains or fillers, just crabbity-crabbity goodness going on. These are puffed up with beaten eggs whites, and they make a g...

I'm not sure what the bad dreams are about, but they all seem to be related to different aspects of losing weight. A little anxiety, maybe? 12 April 2018 I dreamed that I was getting my first ever crochet bikini. When I tried it on, my boobs looked like they were filling socks and hanging down..,. The girl making the bikini top took one look at me and said "Too Long! Too Long!" I woke up feeling just a little humiliated! It looked like I was wearing a Tata Towel... for a laugh, look at the $45 boobie towel 16 April 2018 I gained a couple of pounds over the weekend and I know its natural and partially due to the fact that I haven't "gone" well for a while, but you can't convince my subconscious of that. I dreamed that I had gained a few pounds (probably because I have gained 2 pounds and  my jeans are cutting me around the waist); the dream progressed to me realizing that I was pregnant and being extremely concerned about how my mom would re...

Dear Cake, You seduced me and made me subject to your whims.  I would leave the house in the middle of the night just for you.  I would bake at midnight and eat in secret to hide my shame. I loved your sickly sweet smell of sugar and shortening.  You made my mouth water in anticipation of the impending treat,  now my mouth waters because your aroma nauseates me. I gave you undying devotion, you gave me diabetes and a fat ass. I feel like we've grown apart. I'm breaking up with you. Goodbye

My favorite markets and what I purchase from them. Aldi's   Eggs - between 22 and 75 cents a dozen (No kidding!) Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast - regularly 1.99 a pound but on sale every couple of weeks for 1.69 a pound. HUGE chicken breasts, 6 of them are 5 pounds! 85/15 Hamburger Meat - Organic Grass Fed meat for 4.49 a pound, can't beat that with a stick! Mandarin Oranges - 2.29 for a 3 pound bag every couple of weeks Great deals on fresh fruit and berries each week. Costco   Bai Water  - my favorite flavors are the coconut infusions; however, the fruit and berry selections are quite tasty also.About as much caffeine as a cup of green tea; I am assuming the antioxidants are the coffee fruit and white tea extracts. VitaminWater Zero  - All of your daily recommended allowance for Niacin, B-6, B-12, and Pantothenic Acid; plus electrolytes. Great to have at work, gives you a nice B lift! Kirkland Signature Hormel Pre-Cooked Bacon  - because......

You can make this chicken salad Paleo if you make your own mayonnaise. I'll settle for gluten free and stick with my beloved Duke's Mayo. INGREDIENTS Boneless skinless chicken breast Garlic Salt Honey Carrots - diced Celery - diced Onion - diced Garlic - crushed Duke's Mayo Sprinkle your chicken breasts with garlic salt and bake (I bake for an hour on 250 to keep them juicy and tender). Cool and cut chicken into desired size cubes add diced veggies and mix around drizzle with honey and mix around some more (I'm a little heavy handed with the honey, because I like it on the sweet side) add mayo and mix, add more mayo and mix, keep repeating until you have the consistency that you like. Serve up on some lettuce leaves or plain on a plate. ***Walnuts and/or pecans are a great addition if you like a little extra crunch!

This is a great little soup and fills you up like nobody's business! MEAT BASE ground beef (the leaner the beef the better) garlic (for three pounds of meat I'll use about a third to a half a cup of jarred chopped garlic. Yeah, I really, really like garlic!) onions (at least one great ole big sweet onion per pound, two per pound if the onions aren't as big as softballs!) Mushrooms (quartered or sliced) Plantains and/or parsnips - diced or sliced into medallions, however YOU like them. Ripe plantains give wonderful little sweet bites to your mixture; whereas green plantains stay firm and have a potato feel and taste to them when you bite them. Bone Broth or organic broth (chicken or beef - 1 quart per pound of meat) Frozen veggies of your choice (1 4-6 serving bag per pound of meat) Put beef, garlic, and onions in a big baking pan (or not so big if you aren't making a ton of it so you can freeze portions) and bake at 250 until the meat is done and the o...

Easy oven Paleo chili Use as much or as little of each ingredient as you like, I like to load mine up with everything and make a big batch to freeze in portions later. The main thing that makes this Chili is the spices, you can use whatever veggies you want, these are just my favorite. Please experiment and let me know in the comments what YOUR favorite combination is! This chili does not have beans... Alas, beans are not "Paleo"; although, I'd put money on the fact that if my ancestors came across some kidney beans, I'm sure they would have made a big ole pot of chili with them! MEAT BASE ground beef (the leaner the beef the better) garlic (for three pounds of meat I'll use about a third to a half a cup of jarred chopped garlic. Yeah, I really, really like garlic!) onions (at least one great ole big sweet onion per pound, two per pound if the onions aren't as big as softballs!) Mushrooms (quartered or sliced) Plantains and/or parsnips ...

Its Friday, 6 April 2018. I am working from 1600 to 0030. One of the supervisors is buying pizza for all of the workers. I LOVE pizza; but I know its going to make me feel horrible. I fully intend on ignoring the cheesy, glutinous, disk of temptation. It's not due here for another 30 minutes and I can smell it in my mind! I'm NOT going to eat it! Please, God, don't let them bring it into this little office... I don't know if I will be able to stand it! More later... Pizza arrived. Two 35 inch party pizzas from Pizza Express in Chester. They have the second best NY style pizza around. Albert's Pizza on Broad Rock Road is the best.  I was a rock! I didn't eat any pizza! Major victory for me, I am usually a bit powerless around delicious food. I would have loved to get a slice, but I know that I want to feel good more. I have gluten free pizza in my freezer that will probably get eaten tomorrow! The GF pizza from Costco is surprisingly good, the crust i...

I don't usually eat at work, but today I brought a mini block of Velveeta cheese and a jar of Matouk's Kuchela to eat with it. Kuchela and cheese go together like peas and carrots! I ate the cheese with some Kuchela and then I got hungry for a snack. I walked the quarter mile to the snack machine to get a bag of pork rinds, and the machine wasn't stocked with them! Everything else in the machine was either chocked full of gluten, potato based (I'm allergic to white potatoes), or not advisable for a diabetic. I got a cup of ice and walked back to the shipping office and silently cursed my allergies and diabetes for ruining a potentially delightful vending machine experience. For those of you that aren't familiar with Kuchela, it is a condiment from Trinidad. Kuchela is amazing with cheese, and is absolutely the best thing that you can put on an egg and cheese sandwich! It also goes very well with curried dahl (lentils) or chana (chickpeas). Kuchela can be mad...

Several years ago, I caught the toe of my sandal on a stair and slid down my cement front steps like I was doing a stage dive. The results were not pretty. It wouldn't heal, so I went to a dermatologist who diagnosed me with Traumatic Psoriasis. I also got allergy tested. 100+ needles all over my back and down my arms. I am allergic to grass, trees, pollen, mold, mildew, lima beans, rye, white potatoes, oats... Well, you get the point, I'm allergic to everything except hardwood floors and my dogs. I also get asthma and migraines from chemical cleaning products, perfumes, air fresheners, etc. When I ingest food allergens, my leg itches and gets nasty looking. I've noticed that when I behave myself and eat right, my leg stops itching and gets a chance to heal. So you may ask why I keep eating the bad stuff and keep scratching my leg until it bleeds and looks a mess. Well, until recently I didn't know that gluten was hidden in almost everything that is processed, so ...

Update! This is the best cake EVER!  Please go to Chef Jana's site for more deliciousness from Hawaii! http://www.chefjana.com/  I love, LOVE, L-O-V-E, cake. Unfortunately, it's kind of loaded with gluten. I found the recipe for a Gluten Free cake that I'm going to try. I'm planning on using Stevia instead of sugar. I'll make this at my mom's house so I can give her an daddy half of it. Ingredients  1 pound Mandarin oranges to make 11 1/2 ounces of puree (approximately 5-6, but weigh them) 3 eggs 1 cup sugar - I will be using Stevia 3 cups almond meal or almond flour 1 tsp baking powder 2 Tbsp Amaretto (completely optional) confectioner's sugar for dusting Instructions  Set oven to 350F Step one is the only time consuming part of this cake. Wash your tangerines and put them in a saucepan covered with cold water. (They'll float, but don't worry about that) Bring to a boil, and boil for a full 15 minutes. The boiling removes the b...

FOOD JOURNAL  Eating well does not have to be expensive! I'm spending less than $30 (USD) a week on food and staying quite satisfied! I would also like to point out that I am not eating Paleo to part of the "In Crowd". The very thought makes my skin crawl. I have food allergies... LOTS of them, and Paleo suits my needs splendidly! Weight all time high 284 (the last time I weighed) in 2009. Fluctuated between 265 and 275 from 2010 until 2017.  Tried from mid 2017 until February 2018 to break the 250 barrier. 29 March 2018, I broke the 240 barrier. Since cutting gluten in March 2018 and going Paleo in April 2018, the weight has been falling off steadily. Broke 230 on 17 May 2018! I'm officially in (and sometimes out) of the 220's! ( I still gross myself out if I pass by a full length mirror when I'm nekked or in underwears) Hit 220 on 25 June 2018! My belt is on the last hole!  You may deduce from my weekly menus that I cook on Saturday or Sun...