123 Gluten Free

O. M. G.

123 Gluten Free products on Amazon

2013 Resolutions/Goals

Things I'd like to do in the next year...

1. Cut down on pop & artificial sugar consumption. I'm thinking I need to limit myself to 24oz a day. So, 2 12oz. cans or 1 20 oz. bottle. THIS INCLUDES ENERGY DRINKS.

2. Come up with and stick to a manageable budget. I always come up with stupidly unattainable goals for a budget then I fail spectacularly and spend several months catching up. I need to come up with something better.

3. Go to the gym 12 times per month. We have the membership now. We should use it. We'll see how crazy it is around the new year, but

4. Stop making excuses about allergies. I allow myself to eat potato chips and tomatoes occasionally. I don't check information when I eat out. I don't want to do this. I'm tired of being sick. This leads into #5.

5. Get back on a keto/paleo/low-carb diet. I feel better, I can maybe lose a little more weight. If only Moose would join me, it would be easy!

6. Get into art and music more. I intended to do something spectacular this year with music, but the goals were a little too lofty. I want to actually develop my hobbies instead of just think about what I would do if I had the time. Sundays have already morphed into cleaning days around our house, so maybe I can find time then.

Food and Diet

I've made a lot of changes in how I eat over the last year.  I think all of them make me feel a lot better, a lot healthier, and just less sick in general.  Turns out finding out about all of the things that have been making your sick does a lot for your physical well being.  It sucks, but it's worth it.

But... I'm left with very few "vice" or "comfort" foods.  I turn to eating excessive amounts of Old Dutch potato chips and ice cream.  These things are fine in moderation, but once I have a taste, I want the whole bag/pint/etc.

The best I have ever felt would have to be when I was following an extremely low carb diet.  I would love to get back to that.  Bonus: I could lose that last 15-20 pounds I have hanging around before I'm back in the "normal' BMI range.

Using the keto calculator, I can determine what sort of calories, protein, fats, and carbs I should be following.  It gives me the information below (for a 6.5lb loss per month).  Also, I really just like the round numbers.

1400	kcal Net Calories Consumed
25	g Carbohydrates (7%)
100	g Protein (29%)
100	g Fat (64%)

I'll eventually need to tweak this, but I think these are good guidelines for me to follow. 

I may still splurge a bit over the holidays, but it's hard when you can't eat flour, corn starch, or soy...  I might be able to have some treats if I make them myself, but I'm not hopeful.  I did find an awesome recipe I could make keto-friendly.  Maybe I'll try it for the christmas party.  Substitute sugar for sugar-free sweetener, sub cool whip for heavy cream, use dark chocolate/unsweetened cocoa for the chocolate. I think it has great potential!  Heck, I might even make it with normal sugar if I feel up to it.  It only has 1/3 cup as it is... that may or may not be taking into account the sugar from the cool whip, though.  WORTH A SHOT!

Another LoL halloween costume idea

I got a dress like this from Charlotte Russe for $5.

I've been trying to decide what to use it for, so here's a half-assed halloween costume idea... sexy female astronaut teemo.

Plus, I already have (something like) these:

So, to complete the costume, I would need:

1. A helmet.
With modifications to face shield, adding ears, etc.

Another option would be dealer visor + ears:

2. A pair of snowboarding mittens, painted silver (or buy silver mittens...). Or could do something like this:

3.  A big (silver) belt.

4.  Dryer vent hose (not required)

5.  Face paint.

6.  And making the blow gun/staff.

Crock Pot Indian Cuisine

Gotta try this!

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/12/crockpot-chicken-makhani-indian-butter.html

Costume Idea Dump - Arcade Sona

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Credit Card Crud

I have a credit card.  It has a modest limit.  It is tied to my main checking account.

It has grown fat and tired.  It has been over used.  It's too easy to buy things when you don't have to pay for them right away.

My credit card expires today.  I don't intend to activate my new card.  I'm not going to use it.  I'm not going to tie it to every goddamned online store and use it willy nilly.

I've made a couple of purchases online today.  Cards Against Humanity - Second Expansion, and another pair of slightly larger (and super onsale) Vibram 5 Finger running shoes.

Hopefully, putting things on my debit card (with a limited supply of money!) will help me to not buy things as much.  I've been doing better, but not as well as I had hoped.  Gencon kinda screwed up my savings plans.... and I haven't even paid Moose back yet.

Yay...

Let's see how this goes...

Nightshade

So, I was told at the allergy doctor that I am allergic to tomatoes.  Generally, a tomato allergy is a nightshade allergy.  Generally, this type of allergy causes joint pain, inflammation, and/or stomach discomfort.  I've been valiantly avoiding tomatoes since I got the results, but apparently I should also be avoiding:

• eggplant
• potatoes
• bell peppers
• spicy peppers
• cayenne
• paprika
• pimentos
• tomatillos

I haven't had bell peppers or anything for a while, but I have been eating potatoes and bell peppers and spicy things rather heavily.  I can't really be sure if these things are affecting me or not, but it probably can't hurt to cut them out for a while as well.  I know I had a really bad reaction to a meal a while ago that involved a baked potato, possibly undercooked. I should really be avoiding potatoes all together.

Not sure I can live without potato chips - might have to eat lots of pork rinds again.

Money and Savings

I spend too much money.  It's been a problem that has been plaguing me since I got my first job in college.  You have money?  Sure, let's buy things that sit in boxes in the basement for all eternity.  I like spending money.  I like having new things.  I like opening random boxes sent from the internet.  Buuut I'm an adult now.  I should evaluate these habits and stop as many of them as possible. 

Starting August 1st, I am not going to order anything from the internet unless I can't get it anywhere else.  (I gotta have my cheese chips)

I've been setting myself up for failure with saving for a long time.  Right now is no exception.  I come up with goals for saving, but don't subsequently cut down my spending.  I have about $300 per paycheck (or $600/mo) that I am not putting into big bills or savings right now.  I know I have been spending more than that.  This means I will eventually max out my (meager) credit card limit and pull the money out of savings to pay it off and start all over again.  I end up not saving anything.  This has happened to me numerous times in the past.

The one time I had some success saving was when I told myself I had to pay for everything in cash (this doesn't work very well when you also have auto payments coming out of your checking account... damn you year subscription to WoW) but this helped me immensely.  I only had so much to spend but I could still spend it how I pleased.  I may need to try this again.

What about the temptation from the internet?  I probably need to go through and delete a bunch of my subscriptions from shopping mailing lists...  but I like to look at them.  At least I've stopped checking out Woot daily!  I've only ordered one thing from them in the last, oh, probably 3 months.  I consider that a success.  For the time being, I will change my shopping filter on my gmail account to mark all of my emails in those filters as read.

So...  plan, starting August 1st: 
1. Pull out $200 in cash. 
2. Spend as sparingly as possible.
3. On second monthly paycheck, pull out another $200 if necessary.
4. Spend as sparingly as possible.
5. Try to pay off the remainder of credit card balance in the mean time (or just pull this from savings for now to have a fresh start, I haven't decided yet).
6. Only buy things online if they can't be purchased anywhere else.

Alfredo Sauce

Since I can't eat tomatoes or canned alfredo sauce anymore, I need to get good at making alfredo sauce.  Here's an easy recipe I found that I want to try.

• 1 quart heavy cream
• 1/2 pound of butter
• tablespoon of granulated garlic, or really finely minced fresh stuff
• 2 cups grated parmesan cheese (buy it whole, grate it yourself!)
• 1/3 to 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsely

Simmer the heavy cream and butter on low heat.
Add garlic and pepper and keep whisking throughout remainder of ingredients
Add 2 cups of grated parmesan, a little at a time, remembering to whisk/stir throughout
Top with parsley.

Abbey Road Gif

Tara sent this to me.

Proposed Night-of-the-week Schedule

Moosey and I have discussed only playing video games one night a week.  But what does that mean for the other nights of the week?  Here are some ideas.

Monday - Cleaning/mowing/laundry, Applebees (9-11pm)
Tuesday - Flash Game Work
Wednesday - Personal Project (Music, art, etc) work
Thursday - Date night?  Special dinner/movie/going for a walk, etc?
Friday - Video Games
Saturday - Shopping?, shadowrun, DnD (7-11pm)
Sunday - Relaxation/whatever, perhaps lots of cooking for the rest of the week?

Alt-J - Fitzpleasure

Heard this on the current.  I want to get the album when it is easily available.

Allergen-free Dinners

What can I eat for dinner:

• Classic breakfast: Eggs, bacon/sausage, cheese, spinach omelet
• Spinach with salmon or chicken (+ soy-free mayo or other dressing)
• Zucchini "pasta" with butter and cheese (pesto?) with chicken or steak (beef tbd)
• Cub raw brats (plain or cajun, possibly other flavors), cucumber slices with dip (ranch, etc)
• Shredded pork and cheese (carnitas) on spinach (taco salad, no tomatoes)
• Crab/tuna salad (meat + soy free mayo) on spinach salad
• Sashimi!
• Chicken wings, cucumber slices with dip (ranch, etc)
• Mussels in white wine/cream sauce with zuchchini pasta
• Spam, eggs, cheese 
• Spaghetti Squash with cheese, butter + meat 
• Home-made Alfredo sauce with veggie pastas instead of just cheese and butter
• Grilled shrimp with spinach salad or zucchini/squash pasta

Eating out:

• Sushi/sashimi
•  Buffalo wild wings chicken wings (+ mango habanero sauce)
• Applebees wings, plain.
• Famous Dave's plain chicken

Desserts:

• 3 minute flourless brownie
• Instant coconut ice cream - 3 tbs cream, 1 tbs melted coconut manna
• Dark chocolate
• Dark chocolate + heavy cream cocoa
• Berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries) and cream

Pizza, mama mia!

Now that I can't eat nuts, I need to find a replacement for my go-to almond flour, egg, and cheese pizza crust.

Thinking about trying this one tonight: http://stuffimakemyhusband.blogspot.com/2011/02/hybrid-pizza.html

Once I have added a few more acceptable vegetables in my diet, I'll try it with the vegetable substitution as listed.  Perhaps with spinach or cauliflower.

Another problem is I cannot eat tomatoes...  Thinking of using a white/alfredo sauce, or just going with the crust and cheese.  My sister did it for many years, why can't I?

If only I could get over my love of pizza, I wouldn't have to keep trying...

Food Allergies

I haven't posted anything in a long time, but I feel like I need to get these anxieties off my chest a little bit, so here goes.

After nearly a year of gluten-freedom, I decided to have a standard allergy test. The kind where they poke your back with different allergens and note the results after 15 minutes.

Here's the list of things that I am "allergic to" according to the prick test:

- cats
- grass pollen
- birch pollen
- "Tree mix" (not sure what that is)
- grass
- corn
- oranges
- soy beans
- cabbage
- carrots
- celery
- tomatoes
- peanuts
- almonds
- cashews
- pistachios
- hazelnuts
- pecans
- walnuts

No sign of wheat, milk, or egg allergies, even though they tested for them.

They told me I have "Oral allergy syndrome." This basically means I'm allergic to the things I'm allergic to because of how they get pollinated. Looking at the list from wikipedia, this means I'm allergic to:

Birch pollen: almonds, apples, apricots, avocados, bananas, carrots, celery, cherries, chicory, coriander, fennel, fig, hazel nuts, kiwifruit, nectarines, parsley, parsnips, peaches, pears, peppers, plums, potatoes, prunes, soy, strawberries, wheat; Potential: walnuts

Grass pollen: fig, melons, tomatoes, oranges

Sounds about right. Not sure about the whole CORN thing.  How the hell am I supposed to avoid corn and soy and ALL nuts? Not sure about the whole avoiding gluten thing too. I know that has made me feel better.  I should probably continue that unless they want to run another celiac test on me.  Time to see a nutritionist and in the mean time, eat rice and meat.

Time to be gluten, corn, soy, and nut free.  O_o

Coconut Cake

http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/2012/03/coconut-frenzy-cake-lc-sf-gf.html

Bacon-peanutbutter-cornbread

http://bacon.wikia.com/wiki/Tantalizing_Bacon_Peanut_Butter_Corn_Bread

Need to make this. No flour!

(also - 200th post!)

Andrew Bird- Fever Year

Another useless - I need to watch this post.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1800665/

Andrew Bird TED Talk

Need to watch this later:

http://video.ted.com/talk/podcast/2010/None/AndrewBird_2010-480p.mp4

Gluten-free cake (kidney beans)

Something else for me to experiment with...

http://spoonofeverything.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/its-your-birthday-well-mine.html

Gluten Free Quick Breads

http://www.elanaspantry.com/gluten-free-recipes/breads/

Saving for future reference.