here I go again

I don't know if anybody is actually interested in this information, but I thought I'd give an update on the whole gluten-free thing...

So, I was doing very well at gluten-free until I visited my parents last month, and it was just too, well, difficult.  So I gradually started eating foods with gluten again, and seemed to be without all of the uncomfortable symptoms I'd previously reported on.  I thought to myself that maybe it had been a coincidence, or all in my head, until all of the symptoms came back.  Apparently, it takes time for the inflammatory process to kick in, because it was last week before I clued in that gluten was once again making my joints swollen and painful, making me feel groggy and irritable much of the time, and disrupting my sleep, even.  It was a culmination of things like pasta, angel food cake, cookies, cereal, and bread over a period of a couple of weeks that brought on a huge flare up in my right knee, right hand, and left elbow, which even Aleve and ibuprofen wouldn't touch.  I did get some relief with Tylenol, I must say.  Once I put my foot down and cut out all that gluten (a little cheat here and there, but maybe quantity is important) my symptoms subsided pretty quickly and my energy level improved greatly.

I did make some yummy Buffalo cauliflower bites last night (Skinnytaste) that are coated in flour, indulged in a few, and felt some stiffness in my left hand when I woke up this morning, but I'm back on track and being a good girl today.  I stocked up on Chobani and walnuts at Costco, my go-to gluten- free snack or lunch, and when I made out my grocery list/menu for the week on Monday it was all gluten-free recipes.  This is off the subject, but I love this weekly meal planner template, and this grocery list template.  When I'm feeling especially anal-retentive I color code with highlighters list items according to where I plan to buy them!  I sort of hide them from fellow shoppers, afraid they'll think I'm a weirdo.

What I really want to switch to, as much as I've enjoyed this blog, is a blog dedicated to type 1 diabetes, because that is what I feel truly passionate about right now.  Blogs on healthy eating are a dime a dozen, I don't feel like I have anything exciting or revolutionary to share on the topic, but I feel like I do have some valuable information for parents of or persons with type 1 diabetes. So, I will make it my last post when I launch my diabetes blog, I want it to be top notch so I'm going to take some time to plan it out, but I will post the link when it's ready.  Until then, I hope all my friends are having as beautiful spring as we're having here in North Carolina...dogwoods, baseball, and BBQ!