Time For a Change...

Quote for the Day:

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

~Albert Einstein

Since starting with my new chiropractor a month ago, I've seen GREAT improvement in my back and right knee pain.  I still have the underlying problem...osteoarthritis...but the symptoms are significantly reduced with the atlas orthogonal adjustments and decompression therapy.

That's the good news!

The bad news is that I still have the osteoarthritis, which is a chronic, progressive, degenerative disease.  

Dr. Leonette, my chiropractor, has encouraged me to cut out wheat and gluten from my diet.  He said he thought I'd experience significant arthritis relief if I did.  

Well, I'm a "scientific" type of person who has to know the "who, what, when, why, wherefore, etc." of things, after all, my nursing degree IS a SCIENCE degree.  So I went to our local library and checked out "Wheat Belly", by Dr. William Davis, and spent 4-5 days reading up on the how and why wheat is bad for our bodies.  The book was interesting and informative, but when I read the chapter on wheat and osteoarthritis, I was sold!  

The book recommends that you go off of wheat when you aren't going to be working because some people go through withdrawals since one of the reactions to wheat is a morphine-like chemical reaction.  That...and the blood sugar spikes it causes...is why wheat is so addicting!  :(

I decided to start my gluten-free journey this weekend since I'm not working.  I started on Saturday by going grocery shopping to get the "real" food that I need...veggies, meat, cheese, etc.  No processed foods.

Gluten-free lifestyle does mean that you have to cook and plan ahead, so today I put a brisket in the crockpot with cabbage, potatoes and carrots for supper tonight.

I also made some mini omelet muffins based on this recipe.  

These will be stored in the fridge and can be taken out and heated in the morning for breakfast.  To make them, I sprayed the pan with oil, then put in a layer of sausage followed by some cut up fresh mushrooms, black olives, and then grated cheese.  I then took eggs and whisked them with some milk, salt and pepper, onion powder and a touch of garlic powder.  I poured this mixture over the top of the other items and baked at 350 degrees F until an inserted knife came out clean...about 20 min.  These will make a quick, healthy, high-protein, gluten-free breakfast food for  me in the mornings.

When shopping yesterday, we learned that my favorite coffee creamer is gluten-free!!!

In my morning coffee I just like to use half and half, but if I have a cuppa in the afternoon, I like to make it "special" with a little flavored coffee creamer.  

At this time, I'm not completely giving up sugar, but I am cutting back and am going to try to get my "sweets/sugar" from natural sources like fruit.  I've started a board on my Pinterest page for gluten-free recipes and you can follow it here if you'd like.  Right now there's a lot of dessert recipes on it, but that is because we are entering the holiday season and I'm thinking ahead to desserts that I can make and remain gluten-free.  

I've also ordered a gluten-free cookbook that is all crockpot recipes..."Make it Fast, Cook it Slow" by Stephanie O'Dea.  Ms. O'Dea has celiac disease, so all her recipes are gluten-free.  I've followed her blog for several years simply because I like to use the crockpot as much as possible, and the gluten-free part is an added bonus!  :)

Loretta