Lefse (and now gluten-free lefse) is all about tradition.

Justin’s family has been making lefse (pronounced leff-suh) since I’ve known them (and for a very long time before that). Every Thanksgiving they pick a home, tote over their Norwegian gear and paraphernalia and spend the evening grilling what is probably most easily described as a tortilla made from mashed potatoes.

I know, it doesn’t sound amazing. But it is. And Thanksgiving just wouldn’t be the same without it.

But alas, I’m gluten-free and lefse recipes call for flour and I was a little daunted by the idea of mixing my own gluten-free flour.

So I cheated a bit, bought a premixed gluten-free flour, made a few adjustments to our normal repertoire and am pretty happy with how they turned out.

The Gluten-Free Lefse Recipe

One important note about making lefse: It’s not an activity, it’s an event.

It takes several hours to make  and cool the mixture and several more to cook it all up. So if you’re going to attempt it, invite friends, plan to rotate shifts at the griddle and the rolling pin and provide a meal (you won’t want to be waiting around for the lefse to be finished all night).

Ideally, you’ll want a few specialty tools for this (we found ours here), but I’ll try to offer alternatives as well.

Specialty Tools:

• Potato ricer (alternatively you can try to mash them by hand if you’re very thorough in getting out the lumps, or you can check out these ideas)
• Pastry board covered in a pastry cloth (I’m still not convinced you couldn’t just use a hard, floured surface)
• Rolling pin with pastry sleeve (or floured rolling pin)
• Lefse turning stick (or for this recipes you could use a spatula or a few well-placed hands)
• Lefse griddle, large hot pan or stovetop griddle
• Two large towels or cozies for finished lefse
• A few awesome “It’s Lefse Time” t-shirts or “Lefse is Beautiful” aprons, if you’re a true die-hard

The Gluten-Free Lefse Version:

5 pounds of potatoes, peeled and diced
1/4 cup of butter (we used salted; I’m not sure it matters)
3 tablespoons of heavy cream
1 and 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt
1 and 1/2 teaspoons organic evaporated cane sugar
1 and 1/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour from Gluten-Free Pantry (if you’re not gluten-free, use regular all-purpose flour)
Several more cups of flour for dusting

1. Boil the diced potatoes until tender. While they are still hot, put them through a potato ricer to remove the lumps.
2. In a large bowl mix well the riced potatoes, butter, cream, salt and sugar. Let this mixture cool to room temp.
3. Once cooled, mix in the flour. Form a few lefse “logs” and stick these in the fridge for a few hours.
4. When you’re ready to cooking, tear off a tennis ball size chunk of dough. On your floured surface, roll the dough out as thin as possible into circles.
5. Cook on a hot, unoiled griddle (between 400-500 degrees) until each side browns, popping any bubbles as you go. Place the warm lefse between towels or a cozy to cool. You can store them in the fridge for a week.

Some Notes on Gluten-Free Lefse

With regular lefse, you can usually make fairly large pieces (larger than a dinner plate), but with gluten-free lefse we found it would tear if we rolled it out larger than 6-8 inches in diameter. Also, if we rolled the dough out too thin, it would get crispy on the griddle. Lefse crackers do not win points for creativity in this family.

The edges of the lefse turning stick didn’t agree with our gluten-free dough, so I found it easier to loosen the lefse from the pastry board with the stick but use my hands to carefully pick it up and transfer it to the griddle.

And we found the gluten-free lefse is best eaten warm to prevent tearing; the cold lefse tended to fall apart at the folds. (The photo above was from lefse that was folded when warm, then refrigerated, then warmed again; it just fell apart – still yummy though!)

Next year I may try some different things to see if we can improve upon the recipe at all. But for our first try, we were both happy with the way it turned out. It tasted just like traditional lefse!

Traditionally lefse is eaten with butter, sugar and cinnamon. But my favorite is slathered with butter and rolled up with leftover turkey inside. Yum!

If you try the recipe, let me know how it goes!

What Thanksgiving traditions did you share this year?

This is the candy Zeb got from two trunk-or-treat events and one night of trick-or-treating.

Or I should say it’s all the candy he has left.

From Friday through Tuesday he probably ate another grocery bag full. Because of all the sugar in his system he ate little else during that time.

Was I worried? No.

Okay, for a minute there on Tuesday I began to wonder. And we certainly had a discussion or two and offered him plenty of other foods.

But mostly I just waited.

Was it hard? Yes. Even though I trust Zeb to find his own limits and listen to his own body, that little Bad Parent voice tends to chirp up and ask “What will other people think?” I’m pretty proud of how well I told that voice to shut it’s trap.

Because no matter what common parental rules dictate, I know a happy, healthy child will not choose candy forever.

I know my child rarely chooses to eat that much candy. I know all humans will experiment with their own limits. And I know Zeb needed to experiment with his own.

And sure enough Tuesday evening he put his pillowcase of candy away and hasn’t touched it since.

He has instead requested and had all the food his body thrives on:

• salmon
• cod
• nearly a gallon of grass-fed raw milk
• tomatoes with sea salt
• lots of water
• oatmeal
• green smoothies
• grass-fed beef
• (Oh, he also bought himself a hot dog at the park, but said it didn’t really hit the spot.)

Halloween is fun. Candy is fun. Sugar is fun.

And our kids should have fun.

They should also be allowed to decide and learn for themselves their own limits. And we should be okay with those choices, even when they don’t match our own choices.

Our kids don’t have to have our own value system or beliefs. It doesn’t always need to make sense to us. We don’t even need to be comfortable with all their choices.

We just need to trust that they will do what makes sense to them.

Because they always will.

What’s been your experience with Halloween candy?

I’m not into food dogma, the “rules” that say if you eat this you’ll be healthy and live longer and if you don’t eat it you’ll live a miserable, disease-ridden life. And sadly, I’ve heard nearly those exact words.

What I am into is “instinctual” eating: tuning into your body and eating what makes you feel best at any given moment. Unfortunately, I think many of us lose those instincts amongst the myriad of fear-based teachings, blatant misinformation and cultural bias (as well as upbringings that taught us tings like The Clean Plate Club and extrinsic control of our bodies). I’ve found it important to research all sides, try things on for size and choose what makes sense to me.

I also feel within the bigger picture of Life there is no “right” or “wrong” and I often wonder if we’re all so determined to find a fountain of youth because we’re really just afraid of death.

All that being said, the three of us instinctively gravitate towards what is commonly referred to as “real foods”. The definition of that is somewhat obvious: no processed or genetically-modified foods, but also lots of fruits and veggies, pastured meats, fermented foods (like sauerkraut) and so on. On top of that, I personally feel fantastic when I avoid gluten the it’s Black Death (which it tends to feel like) and eat enough grass-fed beef to keep my joints feeling fantastic.

We also tend to eat seasonally. Summertime means mostly raw fruits and veggies with a small amount of pastured meats and very little dairy. In the winter I crave heavier meals, more meats and potatoes and lots of raw dairy. Zeb and Justin are fairly similar to me, but their meat consumption stays about the same year-round and Justin’s body never wants dairy.

I do feel there are foods that have been created to warp the hell out of our instincts, things like appetite-enhancers, sugars and bad fats can confuse us into wanting more initially. But I’ve found that if we indulge those cravings with both good and bad sources, our bodies will learn from the contrast and naturally desire the best versions for our needs.

Some things that make sense to us:

• We need fat: Kids especially need a lot of fat, but so do adults. It’s good for our brains, our joints, cell production and our reproductive systems. Not all fats are bad.
• Sugar is not the enemy: Sure processed sugar leaves us craving more, but that doesn’t make things like honey bad. And I do think our bodies can tell the difference between real and processed sugars given the opportunity to learn.
• It’s as much in our heads as our stomachs: Things like fear, judgment, and personal issues around food – or gratitude, enjoyment and consciousness – create and prevent more disease than any one way of eating.

Yes, I feel we’re omnivores by nature. Yes, Real Foods make sense to me. Yes, I totally respect when something completely different makes sense to other people. Diversity is beautiful! What I don’t respect (and don’t tolerate on my blog) is the bullshit condemnation thrown around by certain foodie groups. Seriously, that kind of hatred or judgment is going to kill you long before the worst of foods possibly could.

Real Food On The Road

Now on to the topic at hand: Finding real food sources while traveling hasn’t been easy. Sometimes we’re stuck with a local supermarket (or ::gasp:: Walmart Supercenter).

We especially enjoy eating locally, like trying crawfish in Louisiana, eats brats in Wisconsin and Tex-Mex in New Mexico. And we do what we can for the rest:

• Local Harvest hasn’t been as helpful as we had hoped. CSA’s aren’t usually open to transients and farmer’s markets keep falling on the days we’re not passing through. But it’s a resource, regardless.
• Farmer’s markets are our best bet when we can find them. We stock up on things like freezable meat and cheese when we can.
• Green People helps us find local (and sometimes tiny) health food stores, especially useful for resupplying things like gluten-free items.
• Connecting with locals has been key. They know the farms and farmers and neighbors with an abundance of backyard chickens.
• When we have no other option but a nearby Walmart, here’s what we choose:
  • avoid the Dirty Dozen
  • avoid any animal products
  • choose lots of fruits and veggies (occasionally we can find organic items, like greens or tomatoes)
  • choose unprocessed grains, like rice or quinoa
  • Zeb and Justin have found the few loaves of bread free of HFCS (Nature’s Own and Oroweat)
  • comb the aisles for the occasional display of organic or gluten-free “specialty” items

Of course we also have to meet the needs of a very selective 11 year old, a gluten-free eater and, well, Justin will eat whatever. Some examples of our most common meals:

• Rice and veggies (can’t get much more simple than that)
• Salads with pastured chicken
• Gluten-free pasta with either spaghetti sauce and grass-fed beef, or my personal fave, cooked greens, cooked cherry tomatoes and feta cheese.
• Grilled cheese and tomato soup (I tend to just eat the soup)
• Tacos! Everybody loves tacos and they can include beans or pastured meat depending on availability

There are some things we have little option over with such a small space. We obviously don’t grow our own food. We don’t make a lot of soups or stocks, soaked grains or sprouted items. Perhaps if our kitchen space included a real counter we would.

It’s not as though any of these things would be impossible in an RV, even in our tiny RV. It’s that we’ve found we can eat whole, pastured and mostly unprocessed foods without the extra time or energy by keeping things simple. And with so much going on while we travel, we like simple a lot.

Do Real Foods Interest You?

Did you know that certain veggies shouldn’t been eaten raw in excess or things like tomatoes and other veggies can exacerbate joint issues? Are you interested in learning why meat should always be pastured, cholesterol and saturated fats are good for you and what constitutes Living Foods and Superfoods?

Food Renegade has a phenomenal learning tool for self-education. It was created with homeschooling kids in mind, but I found it useful for myself and learned so much I hadn’t known before. It really reaffirmed a few things I had been feeling, like why my body didn’t seem to like raw spinach. I don’t support it as a curriculum for kids who aren’t interested in learning about it, but I wholeheartedly support it as a resource for anyone wanting to know more about traditional foods, preparation and even how to eat real food on a budget.

Food Renegade is also offering a Fall E-Course for those interested in learning even more. Full of videos, materials and activities to engage you, the course promises to leave a lasting impression in a fun, dynamic way. Here’s a sneak peek:

Again, it was originally designed for homeschooling kids in mind, but it’s open and welcoming to interested adults. Remember, Real Food advocates can be dogmatic, too! Read, research and learn for yourself and apply what fits your body.

And please: If you’re interested in having your kids learn this, but they aren’t interested, don’t force it. We all do what makes sense to our own bodies in any given moment and I find it crucial to validate our children where they are. But I highly recommend learning yourself! Be a life-long learner, soak up the information that is valuable to you and integrate it into your lives in a passionate (but not forceful) way! Be a conduit of information for your kids, bringing knowledge into your home and allowing them to gravitate toward it if it makes sense for them.

*These are affiliate links: resources, products or services I enjoy and recommend based on my personal standards. If you purchase from these links, you will help to support my family and my love for blogging at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

It seems we’re funny travelers…falling somewhere between feeling like we’re on vacation and resisting the urge to play a tourist. I feel like we’ve been so many places (some of which is already running together) and met so many people (some of whom I’m blanking on their names) and yet we haven’t done very much. We haven’t explored local scenes, delved into local cultures or really investigated our stops.

Thankfully, I also feel like that is changing.

We’re slowing down, not allowing some predetermined date to rush us along the road, taking more back routes and discovering new, amazing, beautiful or just plain fun things along the way. I suppose the first three and a half months have been about growing accustomed to the RV, the regular movement, the new rituals or climates or people in and out of our lives. And now, as we fall into a (albeit somewhat unrecognizable) routine, the country seems to be opening itself to us more…or we to it, truthfully.

While in Louisiana I was inspired (partially by the crawfish) to try my hand at more Cajun foods. Being on a budget means very little eating out for us, but Google is a good friend, and although I have nothing to compare my meals to and didn’t actually make the attempts until we had left Louisiana, I had fun all the same.

One thing I found I liked: Most Cajun recipes seemed to be gluten-free (someday I want to post a gluten-free update, but today is not that day). However, they also call for meats that are very hard to find sustainably raised. We made a couple compromises, of which my stomach regretted. Apparently, once you go grass-fed you can’t go back.

The two recipes I attempted and enjoyed: Crock Pot Jambalaya and Smoked Sausage something or other (minus the call for “processed cheese” and with fresh, diced tomatoes from a “neighbor’s” garden instead of canned). Both were yummy, not spicy at all or even enough, easy to make and easy to clean up. But the Smoked Sausage concotion pictured above was my favorite – one skillet (not including the rice), simple ingredients, and (if I can find a healthy source of sausage) very likely to be made again.

Local, yummy, gluten-free…and best of all, new, experimental, and interesting. For Justin and me anyway. Zeb prefers mostly peanut butter and jelly sandwiches these days.

When in Louisiana, eat at the locals do, right? We made our way down to Mudbug Madness this weekend. Zeb wouldn’t even consider trying it, but Justin and I did. I won’t say crawfish are bad, but I do have two preferences of my food: 1) That it not be so much damn work and 2) That it not stare at me while I’m trying to eat it.

Justin’s also learned the importance of washing the Cajun seasonings off his hands before using the restroom. Ahem.

An alternate title for this post could also be Lonely in Louisiana. It’s beautiful here but I’m seriously missing having a tribe of families to connect with. Our cell phones don’t work here and our internet is limited. We are about an hour from Shreveport and most of our neighbors are retired. There is one family (the friends of Justin that he came to work with) and while they are great, there isn’t much of a deep connection.

We thought it would be rough here but we also thought it would be worthwhile. Justin was promised work at a decent wage, but that turned out to be…well, a blatant lie. >:(

And his trying to hustle other work is leaving him tired and distracted during the few hours he’s home and we’re all feeling the disconnection. I keep asking him why we’re here and if this is fitting within our focus?

I certainly feel like I’m losing my focus. I feel disconnected being here and have a hard time centering myself. But I think this has also taught me something about myself: As highly sensitive as I am to too much stimulation, I thrive best when I’m connecting with people in ways deeper than many are accustomed to. I need that intellectual connection to feel whole. It fills me and allows me to give unconditionally. It’s my Love Language.

Justin’s Love Language is all about physical connection. He’s not a talker and struggles to meet that need of mine. And when he’s tired and I’m feeling close to desperate with loneliness, it’s even harder. It creates a cycle within us of disconnection.

I can’t say if Justin is losing his focus while being here. I have to assume that he is here for a reason, learning this lesson of personal value and figuring out exactly what he needs and wants. And even though I think we’re wasting our time, I try to trust that perhaps he needs this contrast of what we don’t want (endless hours of doing something we don’t love and feeling lousy about it) in order to finally know what we do.

I’m ready to leave behind this lifestyle of ascertainment behind us. I don’t care about making a living just for the purpose of making a living. I want to make a life.

But I’m not sure he is there yet. He’s struggling again with feeling as if he “has to provide”, even though what he has to provide is actually much less than his perceptions. I don’t think he understands that our first desire is to simply have him with us, connected, feeling whole and joyful. He’s not that right now and it’s driving us all mad.

I asked him what he would do if he could do anything and his answer was almost instantaneous: He wants to race motorcycles. But as soon as I said okay, he seemed to stall. :sigh: I wish he was a steady blogger so I could occasionally get inside his mind.

Needless to say, I’m ready to leave Louisiana. I want to head south actually. I want to connect with some people in New Orleans and Baton Rouge and I want to see how the Gulf oil spill is affecting things down there.

I want to move onto other things. But I also wonder if we’re here for something that I’m missing. And maybe to sit with this discomfort and learn to connect through the disconnection is what we truly need.

I found this recipe in my Anyone Can Cook* cookbook. (Yes, I have a cookbook named Anyone Can Cook; yes, I always think of Ratatouille when I see it; yes, I’ve proven them wrong a few times.) It’s a pretty rad little book, as it explains everything. And it has pretty pictures. The skillet tostadas in their picture looked way yummier than mine, but I love this recipe because it can be done as simply as I prefer and it’s easy to modify it to our personal health standards.

Easy Skillet Tostadas

• 8 oz sustainable, pastured ground beef, pork, chicken or turkey
• 1/2 cup chopped onions (1 medium)
• 1 15-oz can light red kidney beans, black beans or pinto beans (whole or refried)
• 1/3 cup salsa
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• 8-16 tostada shells
• Seasonal toppings: Shredded or baby greens, diced tomato, sour cream, avocado, black olives, etc

1. In a 10 inch skillet cook the ground meat and onion until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain fat and stir in the beans, salsa, and cheese and heat until the cheese is melted and the beans are hot.
2. Slather the shells with sour cream, divide the mixture between them and add your favorite toppings.

Depending on availability of sustainable meats, we might make ours vegetarian. We add whatever sounds good and they are super yummy. The biggest problem is finding healthy tostada shells. You can always make your own by frying organic corn shells. Or you can cheat, which we’ve had to do.

The number of shells depends on how much of the beans/meat mixture you use and how high you pile on the veggies. We usually end up making plenty with this recipe.

Have any other one-skillet recipes for me?

*This is an affiliate link through Amazon. Anything you purchase using this link sends a small portion of the price to us, at no additional cost to you.

This recipe is not only for those with gluten-sensitivity, it is also for you Real Foodies and Weston A. Pricer’s who know the benefits of soaking grains and pastured eggs.

Oats are technically gluten-free but will affect some gluten-sensitive or celiac folk, mostly because of cross-contamination in processing. There are certified gluten-free oats, such as Bob’s Red Mill, if you are extremely sensitive but I use regular oats with no problem.

Gluten-Free Oatmeal Pancakes

4 cups whole oats, ground (preferably not the quick cook kind)
4 cups plain yogurt (I’ve also used whole raw milk)
4 tablespoons melted butter
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2-4 tablespoons local raw honey (optional)
Olive oil or butter for cooking (optional)

I grind my oats in the blender. You can also use a food processor. You want it ground as fine as you can get it.

1. Mix the oats in the yogurt or milk and let it soak overnight (from 12-24 hours).
2. Add the butter, eggs, sea salt, baking soda and optional honey and mix very well.
3. Cook over a medium-low heat. I like to cook them in a bit of olive oil or butter for a slightly crispier edge or you can use a griddle. The temperature seems to vary depending on the pan, so experiment with yours. Oatmeal pancakes do cook slower, and are easy to burn with a gooey center, so take your time!

Thanks to Amy for giving me this recipe months ago! She also told me you can substitute the butter for coconut oil and the milk for water plus 2 T whey, lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, but it will affect the taste.

Usually these turn out fluffy and light; sometimes not. I think it depends on how finely the oats are ground, and how long or in what they were soaked (using alternatives to yogurt tends to affect the results the most). They also work well as sandwich bread or hamburger buns, too! I don’t feel they save well for longer than a few days; they tend to get denser as they age.

As I’ve said, I’ve been off my gluten-free diet lately. Have any yummy recipes to get me back on track?

Crock Pot Version:

Soak the beans overnight. In the morning, cook the onion and garlic with the olive oil. Then throw everything in a crock pot on low for the day.

But I busted my crock pot. So I did this instead:

1. Soak the beans overnight. Wake up late and scramble to throw them in a large pot, covering them with extra water and cook them on medium until they’re soft. The water should be mostly gone by now; if not, drain most of it out. Or you can buy a can or two of beans, if you prefer.

2. In a small pan, add the olive oil and onions; cook until tender, then add the garlic and other spices and cook for another minute or so. Throw those all in the large pot of beans.

3. Add the tomatoes and sweet potatoes. (Note: The smaller you dice the sweet potatoes the less you’ll taste them, making it more likely your 10 year old will approve of their inclusion in his chili. Also, the faster they will cook.)

4. Add enough broth to get the consistency you’d like. Cook until the sweet potatoes are tender (about 30 minutes if diced small).

Gluten-Free Skillet Cornbread

This is a traditional recipe, grainier because it lacks any flour. In the original recipe, it lacked any sweetener but what fun is that?

2 cups 100% organic cornmeal
2 cups whole milk or buttermilk
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons organic shortening (butter might also work)

1. Around the time you start the beans (or several hours before you start the chili), mix the cornmeal and milk or buttermilk and let it sit. This seems to soften the grain a bit, making it a lighter texture. You could even soak the cornmeal overnight.

2. Once the sweet potatoes are cooking, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Put the shortening in a 9 inch cast iron skillet and place it in the oven to melt it.

3. Add the salt, baking soda, eggs and honey to the batter and mix well.

4. When the shortening is melted, spread it as evenly as possible around the pan and pour the batter into the skillet. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes, until top is golden brown and a fork comes out clean. Top with lots of homemade butter!

We do not restrict his diet in any way. Nope, not even a little bit.

We shop at all-natural stores and fill the house with whole foods. But when we grocery shop I take him to a chain grocery store if he requests and buy whatever he wishes. He experiments and he makes healthy choices based on his own findings.

• Last month he wanted sugary cereal; the antithesis of every mother’s whole foods wish list. For three weeks he picked out boxes of cereal, from Cinnamon Toast Crunch to Trix. They were his breakfast and snack choices. Except the last box of Trix still sits abandoned in our cupboard and he’s back to eating whole foods.
• Halloween candy was enjoyed by all of us. He chose to give most of it to the Halloween Fairy in exchange for a Lego she left. But she always leaves the candy behind too and it’s still sitting there, untouched.

Zeb loves to have a “fruit bowl” on hand when he’s playing games or building Legos.

• A couple weeks ago he craved ice cream, so I purchased half a pint just for him. He had half a bowl and hasn’t touched the container since. At parties or holidays he rarely has more than a bite of ice cream or cake.
• His doctor has told him to avoid corn of any kind (from HFCS to chips). At first this annoyed him (he loves tortilla chips) but slowly he decided to stop eating it. He says he feels better and his throat isn’t so congested in the mornings.

Currently, his favorite foods are artichokes, pomegranates, raw cheese and milk, mangoes, gluten-free spaghetti, carrots, green smoothies, pizza and kiwis.

Is he the anomaly? The exception to the Sugar-Is-Addictive rule?

No. At least I don’t think so.

Monkey Platters are a fave: A tray with crackers, cheese, fruit and other snacks readily available for munching make snacks easy and self-serving.

Kids make healthy choices when they are allowed to experiment and listen to their bodies. I’ve seen this in Zeb and many, many other kids. Yes, some foods have addictive qualities, especially refined sugars. But I’m a firm believer in the emotional addictiveness of food, over the physical.

Children who are overly limited, told when to eat and what, those expected to be part of the Clean Plate Club, all grow up with befuddled messages around food. They confuse their bodies signals with the signals of their parents or culture.

But kids raised within the safety of healthy family end up with a healthy self-image. Kids who’s decisions and trials are supported learn to choose wisely at a young age. Children who’s parents do not attach guilt, blame or negative emotion to food learn to enjoy eating and will allow their bodies to naturally gravitate toward healthy foods.

Our bodies want healthy foods. But our emotions may tell us otherwise.

He likes green smoothies more than I do:
Half spinach and half citrus fruits with a bit of water.

All that is needed to instill a healthy relationship with food is Trust and guidance. Filling our homes with balanced, nutritious foods, creating family rituals of eating together in laughter and peace, showing appreciation for our meals and TRUSTING and SUPPORTING our children when they want to experiment with other routes.

A healthy, happy child (physically and emotionally) will and should experiment. And a healthy, happy child will always find what is best for them.

Hmm…

I guess what I’m trying to say is maybe we should worry less about what is going into their bellies, and more about what is going into their hearts.

I don’t feel good. Increasingly so over the past few months. And the excitement of moving has really drained me empty. I wake up exhausted, I spend my day with little energy, then I can’t fall asleep. No appetite, moody, body aches and pains. Not. Good. At. All.

Long story short: I do not want to spend a year or more traveling the country, meeting interesting people and experiencing new things or investigating possible new homes with no energy or not feeling well. So I went to my homeopath a couple weeks ago who did some tests and told me the following:

• I have Adrenal Fatigue.  I was actually told this a long time ago when I first stopped working and thought time would be enough to heal it. It wasn’t and it’s much worse than before.
• My liver is not functioning as well as it should be. Wasn’t expecting this one.
• I’m wheat, corn and gluten sensitive. This still makes me want to cry. I never knew I had a favorite food until I was told I should give up pasta.

These are the things I’m doing right now to help:

• Iodine supplementation: Iodine deficiency is linked to adrenal fatigue. I’m using liquid iodine as a dermatological supplement. I rub it on my belly each night and it’s fully absorbed by morning.
• Green smoothies: Half spinach and half citrus fruits, the blended greens are absorbed much better into my body. (The FIRST day I did a huge green smoothie and within hours I had the WORST detox migraine ever.)
• Homeopathics: One for fatigue, one for adrenal support and one for a liver detoxification.
• Other supplements: a daily vitamin and mineral complex, a B complex and fish oil.
• A gluten- and corn-free diet.
• More water. Um, I’m pretty certain the one or two glasses I manage to drink now aren’t enough.

Changing my diet has been the hardest, of course. I never realized just how many of our meals rely on gluten. Gluten-free grains don’t really excite me. And Justin and Zeb don’t want to be subjected to the same diet (Well, we’re already corn-free because of Zeb’s sensitivities. He self-moderates and chooses his own level of comfort in eating corn or corn products but in family meals we choose corn-free options.).

My first gluten-free meal left a lot to be desired. Grilled cheese and tomato soup. The GF bread was so dense the cheese wouldn’t melt and the soup was tasteless. However, I have found Tinkyada’s Brown Rice Pasta, which Justin now prefers over regular pasta and I’m compromising with corn tortilla’s because brown rice tortillas…leave something to be desired. But overall I think my success is going to rely on very few gluten-substitutes.

Once I’ve been gluten-free for awhile I’m going to give a slow-rise sourdough a try, as explained on Weston A Price’s website.

It hasn’t been easy. In fact, there have been at least a few moments of such complete frustration and anger over the matter. BUT after only three days, I woke up with energy and felt energetic all day! I can’t honestly recall the last day I felt so good. It didn’t last long but it’s been a huge motivation to keep going, even if rather slowly.

I just keep telling myself that it’s a choice and I’m choosing one day at a time. I can choose whatever I want and change my mind whenever I want.. And right now, I just want to feel good.