What’s on the menu for this week…
Spicy Sriracha Chicken and Quinoa Bowl – Family Fresh Cooking
Broccoli Quinoa Casserole – Damn Delicious
Burrito Bowl with Creamy Chipotle Sauce – Latest Food
Other Meals:
Scrambled Eggs
Sweet Potatoes
Spaghetti
Sweets:
Chocolate Oatmeal No Bake Cookies
Happy Monday everyone!
Like I said in my post from Tuesday, I’m trying a gluten free diet. I have a sensitive stomach and wanted to see if it helps. I won’t go into all the science of it, but if you want to research how gluten affects your body you can look here, here, and here for starters. The last source is about Celiac Disease, but still has a lot of information on what gluten can do to the body. Here is what I’ve decided for myself as far as how gluten affects me:
Less Stomach Pain – I haven’t got nearly as many stomach aches, in fact, none at all. I’ll need to continue not eating gluten for a while to make sure that it is directly related.
Much Easier to Run – This was the moment I realized that either there has been a huge coincidence or my body benefits from cutting back on the gluten. I run, but I’m not a runner. I have flat feet and my stomach normally always ends up hurting (even if I wait hours after eating to run). I decided to go on a short 2 mile run yesterday and ended up running 4 without stopping. That basically never happens to me. If I run 4 miles I usually end up walking 1/2 a mile, and it doesn’t feel so good. My stomach didn’t hurt once, which is out of the ordinary for me. Now if I can just figure out what to do about my flat feet…
Not Eating Gluten Isn’t That Hard – It may seem hard to believe, especially since you can’t eat any of these ingredients, the main ones being wheat and flour. But if you’re eating at home it’s really not too bad. There are a ton of gluten free recipes online.
Cutting Back On Gluten Is Better Than Nothing (hopefully) – My plan is to continue going easy on the gluten. I’m going to see if I still get some benefits (no stomach pain, easier runs) by limiting my gluten intake but not banning it from my diet all together. I’m sure at times I’ll crave some pancakes, cookies, or pasta.
Listen To Your Body – Although I’ll enjoy some occasional flour (yum!) I want to make sure I listen to my body. This article will really freak you out if you have Celiacs or are sensitive to gluten. Basically if your stomach is hurting a lot that means your intestines are inflamed and eventually you could die from it (wait – what?!), so I plan to take it easy on the gluten if that’s the case.
Read The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan – This book isn’t about being gluten free, it’s about everything we eat and how it affects us. It is fascinating and you’ll never look at food the same. Kinda makes since that we are eating wayyy too much grain after reading this.
So if you have consistent symptoms that may be linked to a gluten intolerance give a gluten free diet a try, maybe just cutting back will help you feel much better! P.S. I’m not a doctor, just a suggestion.
This post is somewhat late, but there are still 4 weeks left of Lent! Here are some things to inspire you on your Lenten journey.
If you fall off the wagon with your resolutions don’t forget that that’s the whole point of Lent! If it was easy nobody would strive to fulfill their resolutions.
You can click on this to make it bigger. These are great ideas for ways to remember what Lent is about. Dedicate a small (or large!) portion of you day to focus on what God is calling us to become during Lent – hopefully more like Him!
Go see this movie. We did and it was really good. It inspired me to keep moving forward with my resolutions and to pray more consistently.
The part where Jesus says this in the movie really stuck with me. Jesus says this when he is up on the cross about to die. So the next time someone cuts me off on the road and I want to freak out, I’ll just remember this.
You can click on this to make it bigger too. Another great thing to read to put your heart and mind in the right place for Lent.
Everyone’s resolutions are different for Lent, but I’ve found that if you’re already pretty healthy it’s a good idea to resolve to do something that makes you more like Christ – don’t gossip, pray more, give to the poor, give up swearing, be polite, don’t be selfish, be more positive, etc.
I hope this post will help give us the push we need for the next 4 weeks of Lent, and hopefully even longer than that!
What’s on the menu for this week…
Chicken Salad – Simply Recipes
Breakfast Taquitos – Damn Delicious
Fiesta Chicken – The Girl Who Ate Everything
Others:
Sweet Pototoes
All of these recipes are gluten free (as long as you make sure to use corn tortillas for the tostadas and taquitos). I’m trying a gluten free diet for a week or so to see how it makes me feel. I have a sensitive stomach and have heard a lot about the benefits of a gluten free (or minimal gluten) diet. If I don’t feel glorious after trying it out I probably won’t worry about eating gluten free anymore, but if it does help I’m sure they’ll be a future post about it.
P.S. Even if you aren’t a big fan of chicken salad try the recipe above, it’s so good.
St. Patrick’s Day is on Monday. Here are some fun and easy ways to decorate.
Paper Shamrocks – How About Orange
St. Patricks Day Free Printable – Paisley Petal Events
Tassel Garland – Merry Thought
Printable Lucky Banner – HGTV
Another Lucky Banner! – Etsy
Shamrock Pillow Cover – Etsy (this one would be easy to DIY too with some fabric paint)
St. Patrick’s Day Treat – not a decoration, but still really cool. Use rainbow licorice and rolos!
St. Patrick’s Day Burlap Wreath – source unknown
Framed Shamrocks – source unknown
Rainbow Shamrock Garland DIY – Make and Takes
May you have the luck of the Irish this upcoming Monday!
I’m a wannabe globetrotter. And here are just a few of the places I’d like to visit.
Pacific Coast Highway, California
Santorini, Greece
Horseshoe Bend, Colorado River, Grand Canyon
Bora Bora
Costa Rica
Colorado
St. Lucia
Grand Teton National Park
Great Barrier Reef
View of the Mont Blonc at Le Panoramique restaurant in Le Brevent, Chamonix, France
Cenote dive at Peninsule de Yucatan, Mexico
Machu Picchu, Peru
For more travel destinations check out my pinterest board. I wonder how many I’ll be able to check off the list! 🙂
What’s on the menu for this week…
Chicken Broccoli & Pasta Skillet – Gal on a Mission
Pigs n Blankets – I use turkey dogs and then wrap in croissants (optional – add sprinkle cheese)
Breakfast Burrito – scramble some eggs, sprinkle with cheese, roll up with a warm tortilla, serve with salsa (optional – add sausage or bacan to eggs)
Mexican Casserole – flour tortillas, can of rotel, can of ranch style beans, can of cream of chicken, 1-1/2 lbs ground beef cooked, 1 c. grated cheese. Mix all ingredients except tortillas and cheese. Spray 9×11 pan. Layer tortilla, mix, than cheese. Layer one more time. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars – Averie Cooks
All of these recipes are super easy and use minimal ingredients. Hope they help you in deciding what to make this week!
I’m a gamer…but not that kind of gamer. I mentioned board games as a fun free thing to do in my post from yesterday. So here is a list of my top 14 favorite games.
Backgammon – probably my favorite 2 person game
Cards – Spades, Oh Hell, & Presidents are my favorites. Click on links for instructions on how to play
Monopoly Deal – another great 2 player game (although you can play with more people)
Whonuu – this game is easy to play, good for large groups
Catchphrase – a fun game to play on teams, another good one for large groups
Loaded Questions – super fun, more fun if you’ve been drinking, just saying
Balderdash – you definitely have to use your brain for this one
Scattegories – simple and easy
Rummikub – another good one for 2 players (or more)
Ticket to Ride – it’s more fun than it looks
Settlers of Catan – and this one is wayyyy more fun than it looks, prepare to be addicted
Apples to Apples – good for a large group, easy to play
Bananagrams – like Scrabble but quicker and easier
Set – a game of matching, but its harder than it looks
This post makes me look like a major nerd but I’m okay with that. Games are fun people!
This post is inspired by this post from the blog, And Then We Saved. You don’t have to spend money to have fun. Here are some ideas free of charge.
1. Bake. Particularly cookies. You’ll be glad you did.
2. Do a DIY project from Pinterest.
3. Hike/Go on a walk. Your view may not be as good as this one, but still!
4. Call a friend.
5. Read. Always underrated.
6. Clean out your closet. Get rid of old clothes.
7. Organize your drawers.
8. Sell stuff on Craigslist.
9. Plan a dinner party.
10. Board games! Another underrated option.
11. Go to Barnes & Noble. Look through books and magazines.
12. Or check out the Library.
13. Update your planner.
14. Look over your finances. Set new $ goals.
15. Start a blog!
16. Record your memories. Smash book, scrapbook, yearbook, Project Life, etc.
17. Download new music. This may cost a little money, but it’s minimal.
18. Clean your house &/or car.
19. Learn something new. Photography, gardening, an instrument.
20. Do something nice for someone else. Send a card or small gift.
You won’t have to worry about wasting any money with these ideas. Have a fun, $ free day!
I’m not a big fan of wearing makeup. I tend to want to wash it all off after a few hours. Hence I keep my makeup routine pretty basic. Below are the products I’m using currently. Anything with an asterick are steps I add for a more “done up” look.
1 – Moisturize! I use Aveeno Daily Moisturizer
2 – Foundation. If I want to go lighter I use BB Cream, Garnier Skin Renew
For more coverage I use Revlon Photoready. For both of these I use a minimal amount, usually just covering my nose and under my eyes.
3 – Concealer. Mary Kay
4 – Powder. CoverGirl Clean Pressed Powder. In my opinion pressed powders get a bad rap. As long as you use it lightly it looks good.
5* – Blush. e.l.f. Bake Blush in Peachy Cheeky
6* – Bronzer. e.l.f. Baked Bronzer in St. Lucia. I put this around my hairline and jaw line
7* – Eyeshadow. e.l.f. Baked Eyeshadow Palette in California
And Rimmel Quad Eye Shadow in Smokey Brun
8* – Eyeliner. Rimmel Soft Kohl in Pure White for my bottom waterline
And Rimmel Eye Definer in 211 Sable for my top lashline
9 – Curl My Eyelashes
10 – Mascara. CoverGirl Clump Crusher
11 – Lip Gloss. Rimmel Stay Glossy
So if I’m so unlucky as to have to wear makeup during the day, these are the basics I typically go to. Thanks for reading!
fixed on the unseen 
