Day 3 part 2

I almost forgot to mention my new favorite gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free snack - Luna Bars!  I tried the Cherry Pie flavor today, and seriously, so good.  They have 3 ingredients:  cherries, dates, almonds.  That's it.  No wonder they are so good. 

They are right around 200-250 calories for anyone who cares about such things.

Tomorrow's flavor:  Banana Bread.  I'll let you know. 

Days 2 & 3

I made it through Day 1 - barely.

Later in the evening, I felt hungry.  This was a time that I would normally have a slice of cheese or a piece of bread, and both are now on the No list.  I tried a few berries, some walnuts, nothing really satisfied.  So I went to bed.

But these are new days. 

Days 2&3: Feeling very energetic and definitely not as irritable as usual.  Breakfast both days was steel cut oats with berries.  Lunch on Day 2 was raw kale with tahini plus aztec salad from Whole Foods.  Lunch on Day 3 was a big ol' salad with turkey and tons of veggies.  Feeling good, no hunger, no headaches.  I don't seem to want to snack as much as I usually do. 

Dinner on Day 2 was tough.  We went to a BBQ, and there were tons of things that I definitely wanted to eat.  Instead, I had 2 chicken wings with a spice rub, 2 raw oysters, plus green beans, suger snap peas and a few corn chips with salsa.  Oh, and I cheated a bit with some 8 layer Mexican dip.  A teeny bit of dairy, but not a ton.  And I managed to steer clear of the beer.  I went to bed feeling satisfied, if a little bit drunk.

Woke up on Day 3 with a bit of a tummy ache - although I attribute this the several glasses of wine I had the night before.  Oats for breakfast took care of this. 

Again, less irritation than normal, and I had a super productive day. 
This was definitely a more stressful day than normal, but I felt like I held up a little bit better than usual.  Feeling good.

After work meeting & then happy hour with the girls.  Ouch - super tough cause we went to a pizza place.  Nothing for me to eat here.  The girls ate 2 yummy pizzas, and I had to use all of my self control to say no.  But I did it. 

At home, eating split pea soup and some dolmades.  Feeling pretty good.  My skin seems to be getting clearer and brighter, although maybe that's just wishful thinking.  So far, pretty happy with the wheat-free, dairy-free life.  It's hard though, right?  Always having to ask:  "What's in this?  Is this gluten-free?  What are the ingredients?" 

Yeah, I'm totally one of *those* people now. 

Day 1 - more kale, less camembert

Please welcome me back after a months-long hiatus. 

So here's the deal. For the next two weeks minimum, I will try definitely omit wheat, dairy, and processed foods from my diet.  I suspect I may have an allergy to either gluten or lactose, and I'm hoping a little elimination diet will help.  Also, who couldn't use a few more fruits and veggies in their diet?  So that's it.  No wheat.  No dairy.  No crap.  How hard could it be?  Yeah, right.

Also, I'm going to try and blog about this every day, not so much for the Gentle Reader's entertainment, but really just to keep a record of it all. 

Day 1 has actually gone very well. 

Breakfast - Steel cut oats with vanilla almond milk and blueberries
Lunch - Lemon quinoa with dried cranberries and raw kale with tahini garlic sauce 
Dinner - Grilled salmon with aspargus, mushroom and onion stir-fry plus strawberries
Snack - Sunflower seeds

All great meals, never felt deprived, wasn't ever really hungry or denying cravings.  I definitely could have come home and had a slice of cheese before dinner.  I didn't.  Energy level was good.  Didn't notice a real change.  Overall, day 1 was a success.

Invisible - Paul Auster

Looking for a quick and interesting read complete with murder, incest, and Paris?  Look no further than Invisible. 

This is a good, if not great, book.  Told by three different narrators, and spanning three countries and four decades, you'll be hooked right away.  Basically, we have the life of Adam Walker, apparently super cute, smart and interesting.  He's a student at Columbia when he meets a visiting professor, Rudolf, and his French hottie GF, Margot.  They hang out, get to know each a bit.  One night something super shocking and super crazy goes down, and the course of Adam's life is altered forever.  

Definitely shocking, thought-provoking, and page-turning.  There's sex, there's violence, there's jealousy, there's anger, there's death.  What more could you want in a light 300 page read?

Not-Quite-Top-Chef

So shocker - I've been doing some experimental cooking lately.  Those of you that know me well know that I am not much of a chef.  I can cook all right.  Although I didn't really learn until after I was married (the first time).  It's true.  Coli taught me a few things in college - you know, the necessities like chicken on the George Foremen, nachos, and tuna baked potatoes.  Cara was my scrambled eggs educator in NZ.  (Seriously, I didn't know how to make scrambled eggs until I was 24 years old.)  But when I moved in with Matt, he did all of the cooking.  But when we moved back to the US, my domestic side (sort of) came out.  I became interested in learning how to cook, and I bought myself some cookbooks and tried out a few things.  I was actually okay.  Not a great cook, but not bad either.  I'm pretty good at following directions.  I very rarely stray from recipes though, and I would not call myself inventive.  Definitely not experimental. 

But now that has all changed.  Sort of. 

I made a white bean chicken soup, egg white salad, and chicken salad last week.  All without recipes.  And all with considerable success. 

The soup was chicken broth, tomato basil pasta sauce, white beans, chopped roasted chicken, and spinach.  I also used a decent amount of crushed red pepper.  I added fresh basil and parmasean when serving.  Tim told me it was the best soup I've ever made.  (I am both flattered and irritated by this statement as many other soups I've made required much more blood, sweat and tears.)

The egg white salad consisted of egg whites (duh), celery, red pepper, red onion, mayo, mustard, and dill.  I am obsessed with TJ's egg white salad, but at $3.99 for a teeny tub, I have been forced to take matters into my own hand.  Hizzah - great results!  I recommend tucking it into a toasted wheat pita with a little Baconaisse.

Finally, I created a little combo with the leftover ingredients from the soup and the egg white salad.  Combine the leftover chopped roasted chicken with celery, red onion, a little mayo, and the secred ingredient, PESTO.  Presto - a fabulous chicken salad. 

Yes, I realize that none of these recipes were that creative or that different or that amazing.  But still.  For me, it was a big day.

The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters

I just finished reading The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, and I'm not quite sure what to think.  This is going to sound ridiculous, but it was recommended by Stephen King (yes, that Stephen King), and I tend to like the books he suggests (see:  Ravens).  

The Little Stranger is part social commentary and part ghost story.  Frankly, I expected a litte heavier emphasis on the ghost story, and was disappointed to find the "scary parts" were few and far between.  There is a definitely a suspense aspect to the book, but the ending didn't quite deliver.  I kept forcing myself to pick it up and read, thinking that the next page might hold something shocking or surprising or revealing.  Alas, no. 

The commentary on social classes and the changing times was interesting, sure, but not the reason I picked up the book in the first place.  I mean, c'mon!  Stephen King likes scary things, right?!

Am I missing something?  Is there a deeper meaning I'm not quite grasping?  Did something shocking happen while I was skimming the pages?  Has anyone else read this book?  Insights, comments, questions are welcome here.

Day 10 - Kauai - Aloha Kauai

Waking up on our last morning in Kauai, there is definitely an air of melancholy hanging around the cottage.  Clicker, our gecko, is chilling on the headboard, sort of watching over us as we pack up our clothes, kick the mud off our boots, and search for our flight confirmations.  Our flight's not til 9pm though, so we're determined to enjoy the last few hours of our vacation.  We decide to come full circle and hit up one last trail.

We picked a pretty short hike near our cottage - can't even remember the name actually.  It was unmarked, and the only reason we knew about it was because of the Ultimate Kauai Guidebook (recommended).  Our last hike was an easy hike, but still really beautiful.  It was a great way to spend our last morning in Kauai. 

After the hike and one last outdoor shower (sob!), we had to pack up and leave the Surf & Ski Cottage.  Again, I must tell you, this is a GREAT place to stay.  We loved it.  If you go, say hello to Clicker for us.  And I hope you love the outdoor shower as much as me. Although I would think that is damn near impossible.

We still had a bottle of wine and a couple bottles of beer in the fridge, and obviously we needed to drink those before going home.  We headed out to the beach in front of the Islander on the Beach and soaked up the afternoon Kauai sun. 

A hike, a few drinks, sandy feet, ahi sammie, and a little more sun - the was the perfect end to a perfect holiday.  Really, our Kauai trip was incredible, outstanding, more than we could have hoped for, fantastic. 

You should go.