Thankful Thursday

vacation edition...

We recently took a family vacation for 10 days. It was such a blessing to be able to take such a chunk of time off and go on a road trip together to the Pacific Northwest. There were many things I was thankful for.

I am thankful for the innocence an joy my little boys have.

Corbin enjoying the fall leaves at the James Cant Ranch in the John Day Fossil Beds

I am thankful for fossils we got to see at the John Day Fossil Beds and that this is proof of the ice age and that Noah's Flood actually happened.

I am thankful for our trailer that we got to camp in. I am grateful for the heater and the comforts of home we had in it. I am also thankful for the memories we have made using our trailer. ** This is the first road trip that I have actually packed a fruit and vegetable basket to take along and homemade broth to drink throughout the trip!

I am thankful for waterfalls. Sunsets and waterfalls are two of my favorites in God's creation. We saw A LOT of waterfalls at the Columbia River Gorge on our trip. I was in awe of the beauty. I took over 80 pictures of the waterfalls!

I am thankful for new discoveries, like this leaf that is as big as Corbin's head. I am thankful for the quiet peace that the hikes up to each of the falls had to offer. 

I am thankful for my family of boys. They are so curious and full of energy. I am thankful they have a Daddy who is willing to teach them how to grow up to be men and give them the wrestle time now that they need. 

I am thankful for sweet treats! We had several treats on our vacation and since the boys are Gluten Free and I am Paleo we had to hunt for treats a lot of the time. We were thankful to find Kyra's Bake Shop. It is a 100% Gluten free bakery! She is the two time winner of Cupcake wars on Food Network. She won with some of her Gluten Free Cupcakes.  I did not partake in a cupcake but did have a small bite and they were delicious. The boys were in heaven! 

Speaking of food, we found some amazing places on our trip that were Paleo Friendly and had many Gluten Free options. One of the places we stopped was Cultured Caveman - a little food truck in Portland. I am thankful for Clean, Whole Paleo food that is prepared for me. We had coconut crusted chicken tenders (fried in beef tallow), braised collard greens with bacon, bacon wrapped dates, macaroons, chili, and homemade garlic aioli. MMMM...I can taste it now. I am thankful for good food! 

I am thankful for the power and majesty of God. We visited Mount St. Helens and it had a way of making us feel real tiny. Like small little peons. It is amazing how this 8,000+ high foot mountain could literally blow thousands of feet off it's top devastating everything (for miles) in it's wake in a matter of three minutes. There is nothing like being at the foot of this mountain in person. It is HUGE. It is active. It is mind blowing. God is big! God is all powerful. Nahum 1:5 The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.

I am thankful for laughter. We visited the fish market at Pike Place in Seattle and it is always so much fun there. The fish Corbin is standing by moves when the fish monger pulls on a chain it is connected too. I knew this (because we had been there before but Corbin was really young) and so I told the boys to go up close and look at the fish. They did and when they did the Monger moved it and scared the bejeebers out of them. Corbin thought it was funny and Cody did not! He wouldn't go near that thing. It gave us a good laugh.  Such fun memories.

I am thankful for animals and for Corbin's love of animals. I have always loved animals too just like him. They are so fun to watch and learn about. It is amazing how much we can see that we have an intelligent Creator through the study of animals.  The intricacies of all animals is astounding. There is no way they could just have formed from a blob. When we visited the Seattle Aquarium it was like a field trip for our homeschool. We learned so much about aquatic animals (which happens to be what we are studying in science right now anyway.) We saw Octopus being fed and very active, otters, harbor seals, fur seals, jellyfish, starfish and more. It was a great time!

I am thankful for my husband. To have a complete family is a blessing I don't take for granted. God has blessed us tremendously. He was the one to do all the dirty work on the trip like jack up the trailer and make sure we had the spare tire. Get the "lines" hooked up to make sure certain things - eh-hem, went where they were supposed too. All the loading and unloading. I am thankful to literally have the man-power. Also I am thankful that God has allowed my husbands back issues to heal and God has given him relief and ability to be able to do these tasks without pain.

I am thankful for time away from the normal routine and all the many sites to see on this earth. I am thankful for renewal and refreshment at the perfect time of the year. It was much needed and what better time that to go see the fall colors!  This is the Puget Sound in Seattle from the top of the Seattle Great Wheel. We were in a Ferris wheel that was 200 feet above the ground over the Puget Sound. We got so see an amazing sunset which I am thankful for and view all the sites of the town from way up high.

I am thankful for the means to take a much needed family vacation like this. God has provided in abundance! 

I thought this Psalm was a fitting end to this thankfulness post...

Psalm 145
A Praise of David. I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works. Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, And I will declare Your greatness. They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, And shall sing of Your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works. All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, And Your saints shall bless You. They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, And talk of Your power, To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, And the glorious majesty of His kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord upholds all who fall, And raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them. The Lord preserves all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, And all flesh shall bless His holy name Forever and ever.

~Blessings~

One year Gluten Free!

Today is my one year anniversary of being gluten free.  It has been a journey.  You can read my initial posts early on in my journey here, here and here.  If you read any of those links you can see how dreadful it was to have my doctor tell me that I needed to eat gluten free one year ago. I literally called it my "death sentence."

Before I update you on where I am at today in regards to eating gluten free let me just tell you why I have to be gluten free. I get asked the question a lot so I figure I will tackle it here...

I have Hypothyroidism and Hashimotos disease (an autoimmune disorder.) Click here to find out more about it.  Hypothyroidism can be treated by taking a thyroid hormone - either synthetic or dessicated.  Hashimotos can't be helped by that hormone.  I didn't know this until last year on March 21.  You see my Endocrinologist only ever told me that my thyroid medicine would help everything.  Then I saw my Integrative Medicine Doctor (otherwise known as a D.O) and she told me that taking a thyroid hormone does not do anything for Hashimotos. That explains why I never felt most of my thyroid symptoms went away just taking the "medicine."  My D.O told me that there are a lot of antibodies attacking my thyroid making it not work and making it lumpy and abnormal.  She said that the more gluten I eat, the more antibodies there will be.  Getting off of gluten won't make ALL the antibodies go away (I wish) but staying away from it will allow less antibodies to be formed and make my symptoms lessen.  I wanted my symptoms to lessen so I chose to take the D.O's advice and stop gluten. Just a side note ~ there are other things necessary to help the symptoms of Hashimotos and eating gluten free is just one of them.

Sorry to get all technical but I hope that makes sense as to why I don't eat gluten.

In a nutshell let's get into the past year and my progress and what I have learned....

I had concerns when I first went GF.  How would I eat out, How would I feed my family of boys, How would I travel, and How would we afford this?

It was hard at first but now it has gotten a lot easier.

I do eat out.  My family and I only go to places that serve GF items and are knowledgeable about gluten.  If they aren't knowledgeable then we steer clear.  We don't eat out a lot though.  It is just safer to eat at home.  Having said that, there are A LOT of restaurants that have gluten free menus.  You just have to be your own advocate and know there is potential for cross contamination. Make sure you do your research online about a particular restaurant or call ahead to find our your options.  You may be sorely disappointed if you go in expecting options and there aren't. I also have had to accept that there are places I just can't go anymore.  At least not until they offer something I can eat.  I am OK with that now.

My boys and I do eat good healthy meals (and sometimes not so healthy.)  Throughout this year I have learned many tricks on how to make the same food we have always eaten gluten free.  For instance - I use La Choy Lite Soy sauce, wheat free tamari or Braggs Liquid aminos for recipes that call for soy sauce.  I have found a yummy brand of GF pasta that I like called Tinkyada. I also buy GF pasta in bulk at a local store. If I am buying canned foods or more "processed" foods I always check labels.  Modified "Food" starch and "natural flavors" can be a killer. Sometimes I have to call the company to find the source of their food starch or natural flavors. To thicken gravies or sauces I use GF cornstarch or Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour.  I make my own broths and freeze them in bulk to ensure they are free of gluten. I have found myriads of ways to adapt and be able to eat our favorite recipes.  Thank you Lord! On occasion we can still eat things like The Pioneers Womans Mac N Cheese or Paula Deens Bobby's Goulash, making it GF of course. I am looking forward to our garden and canning and eating fresh organic fruits and veggies this year.  All fruits and veggies are naturally GF!

We do travel. This past year we have traveled.  We have taken mostly road trips which are the easiest. I have to really plan ahead for traveling though.  Making sure I have all proteins, fruits, veggies and snacks is key.  I like Justin's Nut Butter packets for protein to put on celery or just to eat by themselves. I like having mixed nuts, GF yogurts, cut up carrots and various fruits (fresh and dried).  Homemade chicken salad to put on GF crackers is yummy. GF Beef Jerky was also a fun snack on the road.  There are ways to do it you just have to have a cooler and plan ahead for what you will need to eat and plan that you will not be able to find a place with GF items available.  There is nothing like traveling and being hungry (and grumpy in my case!) 

We do afford it. As I stated in one of my earlier posts about this journey "I have to learn to bake GF from scratch and not use mixes." In order to make eating GF affordable I truly have had to learn to make things from scratch.  Having a mix (like this one) is nice in a pinch but there is no way we could sustain those costs all the time.  The mixes are expensive.  I learned to make my own GF all purpose flour (made from a ratio of White Rice flour, Tapioca Starch and Potato Starch.)  I use that mix in whatever I am baking and then add a whole grain flour like sorghum, almond or coconut flour to make what I am eating healthy.  The least expensive way I have found to keep this all purpose flour on hand in big tubs is buy the flours at the Asian market and mix them together at home.  The Asian markets have the best deal on the flours in my mix.  I also order some GF items online at Vitacost which has the best prices on most products.  I make my own loafs of wholegrain bread once a month and freeze extra I will not use right away.  The best book I have found with really yummy recipes on a budget is Gluten Free on a Shoestring by Nicole Hunn.  I love Nicole.  She makes good recipes, takes good photos and has a great sense of humor.  Her book has made my life easier.

I am healthier.  I am not symptom free but I have lost 10 pounds and kept it off eating gluten free. While eating GF I naturally just eat less sugar and more whole grains and like quinoa, millet, and sorghum.  I use healthier ingredients like almond flour, coconut flour and oil, more veggies, and fruits, etc. Mentally I feel better knowing that I am not putting something into my body that is causing my thyroid to worsen which in turn can cause a chain reaction in my body.  Things like heart disease, high cholesterol, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, etc., can be caused by an untreated thryoid condition or in my case eating gluten.  I really don't want to have those problems and pray that eating this way will help stave those off.

If you are still reading..... I hope this was helpful to you.  Maybe it gave you an idea about eating GF, maybe it encouraged you to stick with it, maybe it helped you know more about me?  I realize this post wont be interesting to some people out there (especially who don't have food allergies) but I pray for those who have read to the end that it was worth your time.  Afterall, my main objectives on this blog are to inspire, ignite and encourage.  If you are trying to eat GF and it is hard, stay the path.  Seek out books and blogs for helps.  Maybe there are GF cooking classes in your area?  I assure you it will get better and easier.  It is just about education, practice and commitment.

Stay tuned for Friday's post on gluten free mini cinnamon & sugar donuts!

~~Blessings~~