Cooking Classes and Birthdays....

I can't believe it's already been 3 weeks since I started my plan. I'm sure I've unintentionally ingested the offending ingredients of gluten, casein, and soy; but all in all, I think it's been an extremely successful adventure.

Restaurants... I'm becoming much more vocal when I dine at restaurants. I always ask to speak with the manager, explaining my "special" interest to the waiter. On the instance I didn't talk with the manager, I was sick for two days. It's amazing that my symptoms when I eat an offending ingredient are worse now then they were when I was eating them daily - but then again, I was talking daily doses of advil, and almost daily doses of tums and pepto chews, so I guess I was in denial of those symptoms. I have become over concerned with cross contamination, so eating out is a rare treat. Although I really don't consider it treats anymore. They've become more of a necessity when I do eat out - dinner with friends, birthday celebrations, lunch with co-workers so they don't think I'm ditching them.

Cooking Class... A few weekends ago, David and I attended a gluten, casein, soy, peanut, and shellfish/fish cooking class. It was hosted by Sally from Aprovechar and Moore Farms & Friends. We both thoroughly enjoyed it!! They started our class off by serving us breadsticks, followed with a Slow Cooker BBQ Beef (with pasture-raised beef), Mac 'n "cheese", coleslaw (minus mayonnaise), sandwich bread. The night was topped off with a Fruit Gelette. Everything was fabulous. We recreated most of the menu items this past weekend and are now enjoying leftovers (yum).

The cooking class reinvigorated my love of cooking great food. Unfortunately, I can't cook things "from scratch", but I recipes I follow turn out amazing (or so I think), so that's a start. I hope the ability to rearrange recipes and make things "from scratch" will follow with practice. Either way, cooking has become my replacement to eating out. It's been wonderful to know that what I'm eating is completely safe, and therefore comes with no additional worries about whether I'm going to have a stomachache, or have a bad headache or mood swing the next day.

Celebrations.... Yesterday was my 35th birthday (shh! don't tell anyone I'm over 21). I celebrated with my family at Joe's Crab Shack. As always, I asked to talk to the manager, assuring the waiter it wasn't that I didn't trust him, it was because I needed to make sure the manager followed my order through the kitchen. So it was a great relief when the manager on duty happened to be a manager I had worked with several times before when dining at this restaurant. Having 10 people in our party, I was a little more anxious this time, but when she walked up, I felt much better. After a wonderful Steam Pot dinner (steamed crab with corn and potatoes), we all indulged our chocolate addictions by eating the Chocolate (safe mind you) Cake my husband made for me. Ahhh... heaven!

These past 3 weeks have gone by fast. But I finally feel as if I have control over my food situation and not the other way around. I have lost 7 pounds, my face is clearing up, I don't have daily headaches, my brain-fog isn't as bad (although it's still there), I have more energy (at night more than in the morning), and I more importantly, I'm starting to feel like my old self. Now to start tackling my ankle injury with the same focus and start exercising (again). This is my year... 35 IS going to be my best year yet!! So here it goes....