I finally GET it!

I've flirted with the idea of going fully "paleo" for several years. I actually tried it for a while back in 2011 and continued off and on for the past 2 years... until about 6-8 months ago when I was ANYTHING but paleo. Bring on the gluten-free oreos!

Now I've mentioned before how much I don't really like labels. I'm not saying I want to be "paleo" to have a certain online reputation or to pretend I am the be-all, end-all of all things food knowledge. I'm not. Far from it.

See the thing is, I was feeling terrible. Tired ALL the time. Sugar swings EVERY. SINGLE. afternoon. Cheetos and diet Dr. Pepper were a daily part of my food intake... and I was even nearly falling asleep on the way home from work in the evenings.  And that was not cool. Not cool at all. It was embarrassing and I just felt terrible. Again, ALL the time. And I finally had had enough. I was honestly scared that I might get into an accident on the way home just from the constant sugar swings.

It took me years to get to that point. Do you still want to go to McDonald's? No judgement here! I went for years and years, even just for the gluten-free eggs & sausage. But apparently after years & years of abusing my body through food... it had had enough.

My Dad needed heart transplant surgery. My grandmother was a long-time diabetic. I really didn't want to make either of those health issues part of my future and I was just exhausted from feeling bad ALL the time.

So with the help of my husband's cousin Sabrina, I decided to try paleo again. Sabrina talked about the great success she had had over the past few months and her soaring energy levels and I wanted that. I want to feel good. On a daily basis, without tons of caffeine or sugar swings in the afternoon.

I was finally ready to say goodbye to my beloved "Cheetos."  My body felt bad enough that I didn't want them anymore. You don't have to be there yet. It took me a LONG time. And that's kind of the beauty of this whole journey. I know how hard it is to let go of those foods. No judgement here.

Today marks being 1 month completely paleo. It's actually closer to 6 weeks, but a month since I've been tracking my weight and my stats just to see how paleo has helped me. And it has tremendously. My energy levels are incredible. I finally feel GOOD most of the time, most days. I've lost quite a few inches in my waist, arms, and thighs. My clothes fit much better. But I'm still learning things. I'm still learning what foods work best for my body and what foods don't.

Right now, as much as I love baking, I'm not baking much at all. I want to hold off on the "paleo" baked goods until I'm at a healthy weight and mindset. Baked goods are an 'overeating" trigger food for me. And right now, I feel better about my health than I have in years. I feel like I'm finally ready to make healthy eating a life choice, not just a "few months" choice, or a "transitional" choice... but lifelong.

I'm no longer angry that I can't eat whatever foods I want too. I came to the point where I'm more interested in my health than in what I cannot have. It took years, I MEAN YEARS, for me to get to that point in my life. But I'm here. And I'm ready. I'm ready for a healthy and happy future that works for my body.

Saying Goodbye, Weddings, and A New Heart

My grandmother "Nan", a few summers ago

So the last three months have been an emotional roller coaster for me. I finished up two more books. My grandmother Nan passed away in mid-August, my sweet cousin Tiffany was married two weeks later, and a week after that my Dad received a new heart!

It's been quite a ride and as sad as I am about my grandmother passing away, I'm also incredibly happy for my sweet cousin Tiffany and my Dad's new heart, which will hopefully give him the gift of a much longer life. How do you take all that in? How do you process all those emotions and feelings.

Sweet Nan 

We found out my grandmother had a heart-attack in mid-August and thankfully Michael and I were able to drop what we were doing, go down and spend her last week on earth with her. I'm so thankful for that time. I'm thankful that my job was willing to be flexible and give me that special time with her. It was a gift I will never forget! She was such an amazing woman. Words cannot adequately describe the legacy she leaves behind in 2 sons, 5 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren. My dad wrote a beautiful tribute to her for the local paper and her life was truly lived well.

Many of the recipes on this blog have been because of Nan. She taught me how to make skillet dinner, she loved Caesar salad, and she taught my Dad how to make his famous pancakes. She was a gifted listener and she loved her grandchildren more than anything in the whole world. We were all truly blessed to have her as our grandmother.

Tiffany's Beautiful Wedding

My cousin Tiffany is a lot like me. I've often thought of her as a younger sister, even though she's really not that much younger than me. We look a lot alike and we have similar physical builds and even the same color hair. She's always been a favorite cousin of mine (don't tell anybody Tiffany!! :-p) Her wedding was absolutely beautiful and had an autumn woods theme. They love nature and the outdoors and it was a small, intimate wedding in the mountains of NC. It was such a beautiful weekend and I felt so honored to be there and be a part of their special day.

Tiffany, if I could tell you anything about marriage, is that it's a journey. And as fellow hikers, you know the ups and downs of a good day on the trails! There are awesome days and rough days and you work through them all. It's a true gift to wake up to your best friend everyday and I know you and Deron have a great future ahead of you! I can't wait to see where life takes you and to see the wonderful journey you have ahead of you!

Dad's Brand New Shiny Heart

My Dad has been given one of the greatest gifts in the world. The gift of time. The gift of a new heart. There have been such crazy, yet glorious mixed emotions during this time! Sadness for the family who lost a son or daughter, yet absolute thankfulness for their donation of organs. Such a gift. Such a gift.  And so much happiness for my Dad. So thankful that he has an positive, hopeful future in front of him and I'm so happy we can be there along the way.

This surgery and hospital visit was so much easier than his heart attack last year. He was talking just about 15 hours after surgery. It was amazing to witness. Here he was with a brand new heart, with major surgery behind him and he was already talking, sitting up, and eventually walking the floors of the hospital. As a matter of fact, he went home yesterday, less than two weeks after his surgery!

He still has a long medical journey ahead of him... but it will be a very positive one! I hope one day we can somehow connect with the family of the person who donated their heart. I hope I can tell them what an incredible gift they have given us and how thankful we are.

Thank you for the precious gift of time with my Father.

Getting ready for "The Everything Gluten-Free Baking Cookbook"

In just over a month my 3rd book will be released from Adams Media. The book is entitled, "The Everything Gluten-Free Baking Cookbook" and I'm absolutely THRILLED about this collection of recipes. If you pre-ordered the book you should already be receiving a notice saying it will ship earlier than expected!! 

My first love in the food world is baking. I love to bake. I love making cookies and cupcakes and baked chocolate donuts and fresh loaves of bread... warm, sweet fruit pies in the summer and gingerbread for Christmas! With full chapters on pie, cookies, cakes and cupcakes, holiday recipes, and even a whole collection of recipes for bake sales and potlucks!

This book will have 300 gluten-free baked goods recipes. From many of your favorites on this blog (all updated and made easier!) such as the best chocolate chip cookies to peanut butter cupcakes to streusel-topped blueberry muffins... This book is not only a compilation of my best recipes over the years, but also includes a chapter for gluten-free vegans and vegetarians, and those who are both gluten-free AND low glycemic. This means many of the recipes in this book will work without eggs, dairy, or soy.

This collection is truly the cookbook I've always wanted to create. I'm so proud of the recipes in this book along with the fantastic photography taken in my very own kitchen by an amazing photographer, Jennifer Yandle of Jennifer Yandle Design and Photography. All the pictures both in the book and up there on the cover: they were created and baked in my kitchen.

This book has a 6 page photo insert, something many of you have been asking for! I wish we could have included a picture for each recipe, but then the book would probably be $50! :-) I think the recipes we photographed represent all of the recipes in this book very well! I hope you will take the opportunity to go ahead and order this book while it's less than $15.00!! Right now it's selling for $14.04 on Amazon, over 26% the list price of $18.99.

Are you as excited about this book as I am? I hope so!

Review: Pillsbury Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Pillsbury contacted me several weeks ago about working with their new promotional campaign for their brand new line of gluten-free baking doughs. To be honest, at first I was slightly hesitant. I know many of my readers prefer to make things from scratch. And generally I do too... 

BUT the longer I've been gluten-free, I've realized the more I long for shortcuts. Not all the time, but for those times when company's coming over unexpectedly, or when you just want a chocolate chip cookie! Shortcuts can be really helpful and when you're gluten-free they are not always readily available. So I agreed to participate in the paid campaign. This is my first compensated review and I can tell you, that no matter what I agree to review, the food will be reviewed with utmost honesty and integrity.

Also once I have reviewed all three products, I will have a baking set & Pillsbury product giveaway, sponsored by Pillsbury. So stay tuned!

So last week I received the 3 Pillsbury gluten-free doughs in the mail.  It's been a busy week and I wasn't sure when I was going to get a chance to try them. If you've been reading this blog very long you know my husband Michael loves chocolate chip cookies. Today I thought I'd give them a whirl.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the plastic container of dough is how much it actually looked like MY cookie dough! Same color, similar consistency. I do recommend taking the dough out of the fridge and allowing it to come to room temperature before baking. It's much easier to handle that way.

The dough was very easy to work with and we got right around 2 dozen small cookies (about 1 - 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough per cookie). We baked them for around 11 minutes and allowed them to cool on the parchment paper for several minutes before trying them.

Really, I was skeptical. I honestly didn't expect these cookies to be ANYWHERE near as good as my homemade cookies. But in spite of my reservations, I really liked them. I mean I really liked them! I went back and looked at the ingredients and told Michael that I thought they must have borrowed MY gluten-free cookie recipe! The cookies are really good. Michael really liked them too (although he would NOT say they were better than mine... I think he was just being nice though! lol)

The cookies end up being a bit more greasy than the cookies made from my homemade dough, but I absolutely would not hesitate going out and buying this Pillsbury gluten-free chocolate chip cookie dough.

Charlie was really intrigued by the aroma of the cookies as they came out of the oven... I had to stop him from climbing on the table a few times.

**************
UPDATED: 8/7/2013, 10pm
Jenny G. a reader on facebook requested the ingredient list on the cookies, which I meant to include in the post.

Ingredients: Brown Sugar, Rice Flour, Semisweet Chocolate Chips (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, natural flavor), Water, Palm Oil, Canola Oil, Sugar, Corn Starch, Modified Potato Starch, Contains 2% or Less of: Eggs, Modified Tapioca Starch, Salt, Baking Soda, Xanthan Gum, Natural Flavor.

CONTAINS: EGG AND SOY; MAY CONTAIN MILK INGREDIENTS.
***************

So overall, I'm really impressed with these cookies. They are crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle. They are soft and have a chewy crumb. They were honestly much better than I thought they would be. And I kinda hate to admit they were just about as good as my homemade version. A neighbor stopped by to drop off a dish while these cookies were baking and she loved them too. She even took a few home with her... and she's not even gluten-free!

Pros:

• Easy to make, you don't have to add ANY additional ingredients
• Resealable container, which makes the dough easy to save for later, you can easily just make a few at time, if desired. 
• Tastes great! DOES NOT "taste" gluten-free!
• Would be great for parents to make with kids, super easy to assemble and bake. 
• Perfect for travel or to make when visiting friends or family. Easy to suggest to friends & family to have for you when you come to visit. 

Cons:

• A bit more greasy than homemade gluten-free chocolate chip cookies
• High sugar/starch/calorie content -- but this is generally the case with just about any gluten-free processed sweet treat

Good job Pillsbury!

GLG Disclosure: 

Full disclosure: this article is financially supported by Pillsbury®.

The product samples and product stock photos were also provided by Pillsbury. 

However, the opinions in this post are completely my own.

July Self-Care Retreat 2013 - Exploring Self-Care through Faith and Meditation

Over the past month a beautiful group of bloggers and readers have shared their thoughts on self-care. What it is, why it's important, best practices, etc...

Mid-way through the month I shared my own thoughts on what self-care has really meant to me in the past few years. Exploring my own spirituality and emotional health has been very important and has helped to shape the ever-growing person I am today. 

Through this month I spent time doing several guided meditation sessions with Iris Higgins (you MUST check out her new website: yourfairyangel.com) along with a few metta meditation sessions on youtube. (Youtube is a wonderful tool for free meditation resources!) 

For me, meditation has become one of my favorite methods of radical self-care. Meditation, done with a thoughtful teacher, has a way of helping me to better understand my own thoughts and feelings. Meditation has a way of quieting my mind and letting me see the "why" behind many of my frustrations and challenges. 

I often draw while I'm meditating. It helps me to focus and it gives me an actual "picture" of the feelings I'm working through. 

The sketches above were done while I was listening to the 1st meditation in Iris's 3 Day Chrysalis workshop. (If you scroll to the bottom of the Workshop page, Iris has the meditations in a podcast format, so you can listen and participate yourself!) 

I had a lot of deadlines this month, so I didn't set a list of primary goals to accomplish. But I really thought about all of the different ways I practice self-care and how much they have made a difference in my life the past few years. 

I have such a different perspective on problems than I did a few years ago. I have a much more positive outlook on life now than I used too. I feel so much happier than I did before! Much of this has been due to really wonderful counseling and wellness coaching from Cheryl Harris, the host of this amazing July event. But I also know, that a lot of it is due to finally being truly present in my life and working through issues as they come. No more ignoring things I don't like...no more resistance to change... no more hiding from my own feelings. 

As I look back on how life has changed for me in the past two years one thing that stands out to me is that REAL change takes time. Real change takes a lot of practice and patience and willingness. Real change takes communication. Real change takes exploration. And for me that hasn't always been easy. As Cheryl wisely told me in our last session, "We all have our "stuff" to work through." And I feel like I can really look back over the past two years and see real change. I can see that I deal with problems as they arise instead of putting them on the back burner and letting them simmer. I'm present to experience the blessings of each day, instead of dreading the challenges I might face.

Self-care is a process. A humbling, beautiful, and raw process... but the gradual results are priceless. Exploring life with joy instead of fear is one of the most abundant gifts I have ever been given.

Do you want to know more about how you can incorporate self-care into your own life? Please check out the thoughtful posts by all of the fellow bloggers and readers who participated through this month's event: 

Our fantastic group of bloggers:

June 28th:  Cheryl of Gluten-Free Goodness
July 6th: Valerie of City Life Eats
July 13th: Shirley of Gluten Free Easily (GFE)
July 20st: Iris of My Fairy Angel (you probably also know her from The Daily Dietribe)
July 27th Kate of Eat, Recycle Repeat
Aug 3rd Carrie of Ginger Lemon Girl

My Self-Care Goals 2013 GF Goodness

Guest Post from Linda on Self-Care

July Self-Care Goals on City|Life|Eats

Wrap up and July Challenge on Eat, Recycle, Repeat

13 Self-Care Lessons from the Masters GF Goodness

Guest post from Linda

Debi of Hunter’s Lyoness on Unconditional love

City Life Eats on Infusing some new into yoga

Iris of Daily Dietribe on Letting Go

Carrie of Ginger Lemon Girl with 9 Things that Make Me Feel Happy & Calm My Spirit

Cheryl of GF Goodness on Re-Writing the Story

Carrie of Ginger Lemon Girl on Emotional and Spiritual Growth

Kate of Eat Recycle Repeat on “How to Surrender”

Cheryl of GF Goodness on Depression and Self Care