Conflictedli

So AJ has embraced the wheat free life style.  He has been to Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Cub, Costco and Linden Hills Coop looking for ingredients like coconut oil, xanthum gum and shiritaki noodles.  He made a chocolate pie (that might as well be a coconut chocolate pie) from the wheat belly cookbook that was delicious, but coconutty, which I am trying to learn to love  The problem is that each portion of the pie is 438 calories.  I mean, come on!  That's quite a piece of pie.  There are no ingredients that are supposed to cause a glycemic spike, and no carbs that aren't nuts, but geez!  That's a lot of calories!  Tonight I decided to leave the pie to AJ and just have my regular 100 calorie fudgesicle.
I'm conflicted.  It's hard for me to believe that a 400 calorie piece of pie can really be ok to eat.  I'm pretty sure the no wheat thing is a good idea, but wondering why no one is losing any weight.  Wouldn't it be better to skip the xanthum gum and cococut flour and just eat delicious meat and vegetables?

Kristin Ate
irish cheese ( 3 small slices_
handful almonds
3 coffees with cream
salad with pickles, olives, salami, celery
2 diet cokes
2 leek and morel cheese pieces
handful almonds
celery with peanut butter
corned beef
cabbage
1 tiny potato
asparagus
carrots
red wine

Kristin Spent 
$0.00

AJ ate

1/2 grapefruit
slice of German pancake
celery
olives pickles
2 slices almond crust pizza ( That finishes it off)
32 oz diet coke
piece of cheese
corned beef
cabbage
small piece of potato
carrots
asparagus
red wine
slice  of choc cream pie

AJ Spent
$0.75 diet coke
$11.28 small bags of xyilitol, coffee, xanthum gum, coconut flour

Meat and Vegetables

It's the day after St. Patrick's, but as a non irish family, we feel obligated to celebrate out of respect.  No wheat-based green beer this year-  We stuck to baily's irish cream.

Weekend News

The best thing about Friday night pizza is the leftovers it provides to enhance my Saturday eggs!  We also went mall walking and to trader joes, whole foods and cub and costco looking for the magic ingredients that will let us eat low carb, wheat free bread and pizza crust. And chocolate pie.  My thinking is that those things are a big distraction and we need to eat meat and vegetables, and that's it.  AJ agrees with me, and then bakes a wheat free chocolate pie to seal the bargain.  So far, little to no weight has been lost.  Aj has lost a solid 5 pounds

Saturday Kristin Ate
scrambled eggs with carmelized onions and mushrooms
3 cups coffee with cream
cottage cheese
carrots
celery
diet coke
handful raw almonds
tuna with egg and mayo
fudgesicle

Saturday Kristin Spent
$10.00 Nook Book

Sunday Kristin Ate
Wheat Free German Pancake (really good)
St. Joseph's syrup (sugar free)
3 pieces bacon
handful almonds
slice cheese pizza no wheat
diet coke
bubble and squeak (mashed potatoes and cabbage)
boiled cabbage
roasted carrots
1 amy's chicken sausage
salad
no wheat, no sugar chocolate cream pie with whipped cream
bailey's irish cream on ice.  (yum)

Kristin Spent 
$0.00

Saturday AJ ate

scrambled eggs with carmelized onions and mushrooms

3 cups coffee with cream

mixed berries with cream

2 slices almond crust pizza

tuna with egg and mayo

1/4 almonds

Saturday AJ spent

$21 Sheets for amanda's bed JCP credit

$28.44 Trader Joes  liq stevia, shamrock plant, almonds, coconut oil, coconut milk, can of coconut milk

$16 whole foods 2 bags of shihtoki noodles, can of zenia, organic coconut, St josephs syrup

Sunday AJ ate
3 strips bacon
1/2 grapefruit
german pancake, wheat free st joseph's syrup
3 cups coffee
slice of pizza with goat cheese and onions
Bailey's on ice
diet coke
handfull almonds
amy's sausage 1 1/2
2 servings bubble and squeak
roasted carrots
salad
chocolate pie, wheat free
small coffee

Sunday AJ Spent
$12.38 Cub for 2 cans coconut milk
yogurt
green pepper
tomatoes

Another Try at Pizza

In our quest for better health, and with the promise that extra weight would just, you know, fall off suddenly, we have embraced the Wheat Belly lifestyle.  Also, it's a great way to save money.  No donuts, no bagels, no way to eat out much,
Well, last week AJ made the wheat belly pizza, which was pretty tasty, but not exactly pizza.  Amanda almost cried.  There was a bunch of mushy cauliflower under the pizza toppings.  Kind of like expecting pizza and getting ...I don't even know how to describe it.  It's just that we had gotten used to such wonderful pizza.  Sigh.
So  tonight, I stopped at Barnes and Noble and bought the Wheat Belly Cookbook, which was attractive and full of really wonderful sounding recipes, two for pizza crust.  We chose the one with yeast, for that "yeasty flavor that some miss." AJ stirred it up, and put it to rise, but as far as we could tell, there was no rising.  He made a double batch out of habit, but we all only at a piece, or a little more.  It was tasty, but like everything else, super nutty.  And very rich.  The crust was like a big nutty cookie.  Trying to avoid the junky carbs, but we may have to break down and go for a pizza crust that is more like, well, pizza crust. And doesn't make me feel like I just ate a big load of nuts.
At least this time Amanda didn't cry.

Kristin Ate
Cheese
almonds
2 coffees with cream
lovely salad with more cheese
handful almonds
more cheese
salad
1 piece pizza with nutty crust that overwhelmed the goat cheese, mushrooms and caramelized onions.
white wine
fudgesicle

Kristin Spend
$45.00 at BN on books, Wheat Belly and a Marzano book about translating research into practice.

Thursday Kristin Ate
Basted egg
2 coffees with cream
stir fry left overs
carrots. lots of carrots
diet coke
burger patty
brocolli
potato chips
diet coke
fudgesicle

Kristin Spent
$o

Wednesday Kristin Ate
1/2 bowl flax cereal with milk
2 coffees with cream
salad with cheese
avocado
carrots
chicken stir fry with asparagus and ginger
a little fried rice
fudgesicle

Kristin Spent
$0.00

Traditional Anniversary Tummy Ache!

Every since I went into labor on our anniversary and eventually produced Ben Sonquist, 10 lbs, 2 oz., we have set the bar pretty low for anniversary fun.  Always a birthday party to make it festive, and to take away the pressure to have a perfect, romantic and thoughtful anniversary.  So we've enjoyed our anniversaries more than most people, I bet.
This year's tummy ache came courtesy of Benihana, where you can get a whole lot of meat and vegetables, stay wheat free, and even have a moderate amount of starch if you love fried rice.  Which we do.  We did enjoy the complimentary Haagen Daas as well, which netted  way too many carbs for the day, but what the heck.  It's our anniversary!  And Ben's birthday.  So, happy, happy, happy!  Burp.

Kristin Ate
Scrambled Eggs with cheese and mushrooms
3 cups of coffee (including a surprise latte from Kathy Shipp!)
leftover cabbage and sausage
cheese and celery (left over steak was too tough)
diet coke
handful raw almonds
The Teppenyaki Trio (steak, chicken, shrimp)
fried rice
salad
clear soup
zucchini
onions formerly in the shape of a volcano
a scoop of vanilla haagen das
green tea
red wine

Kristin Spent
$ 39.00 (Two birthday presents)
$ 126.02  (Benihana for 3.)

AJ eat
Scrambled Eggs with cheese and mushrooms

cheese, celery and steak

2 coffee with cream

diet coke

Tuni Hibachi fried rice salad clear soup zucchini and mushrooms

choc ice cream

AJ spent

13.14 wine

4.24 flowers

Note skinniness!

Party Food!

Saturday steak

Fancy anniversary eggs

Dreaming of Benihana

We've been eating such amazing food.  Really.  I don't use that word lightly.  But the eggplant casserole.  The tender steak.  The flavorful asparagus.  The succulent cabbage.  It's hard to complain about missing a little starch, a little bread, a pizza crust that is not made of cauliflower. #mushy.

Still, tomorrow we go to Benihana, to celebrate our anniversary and Ben's birthday.  I can't wait to eat that rice.  Oh baby.  I'm going to have shrimp, scallops, and fillet, not the regular steak.  I won't regret the food OR spending the money.  I am dreaming of Benihana, and my dreams come true tomorrow.


Kristin Ate
basted egg, right out of the pan.  (it was not a yard egg, and I could tell)
2 cups of coffee with cream
salad with steak, great veggies, 1/2 avocado and delicious cheeses
1/2 cup almonds
more almonds
diet coke
amy's chicken gouda sausage and cabbage
(it was cut up, I probably ate 2 sausages total)
cottage cheese
fudgesicle

Kristin Spent
$0.00

AJ eat

basted egg on gf bread

2 cups of coffee with cream

 steak, veggies, 1/2 avocado and delicious cheeses

power bar

Amy's chicken Gouda sausage and cabbage

cottage cheese

yogurt with choc yogurt sauce

almonds

coke

Weekend News

How does it happen that we don't post every day?  It's one of my favorite things to do, and I think it really helps us to write down what we eat and spend.  Well, on Friday I slept in my chair until I went to bed at 9:10.  Saturday was a big day; studying, writing, shopping, and a fundraiser in uptown.  Was that ever fun!  The Emerson school fifth graders are getting ready to go to Puerto Rico, and had a sweet silent auction with free wine and food.  It was a treat to see Amy, Ben, Ted, Stephanie and all of their boys.  My girl looked super-beautiful.  We bid on lots of stuff but we only won one thing- a gift card for Common Roots.  We paid less than it was worth.  I bid on way too many things, and it scared me a ltttle bit.  If I had won everything, that would have cost me about a hundred bucks.  Naughty, but for a good cause.  As it was, some lady swooped in and outbid me by a buck on all but one item.  What a cheapskate.  If I had known, I woulda done the same thing to her, and then I coulda had my bowling night at Elsie's and my nesting Russian doll.  Oh well.  It's for the best.

Friday

Kristin Ate
flax cereal with milk, stevia and cinnamon (holy cow!  yummy!)
2 cups coffee
eggplant casserole
carrots
cauliflower crust pizza (crust ick, the rest mushy)
fudgesicle
lots of almonds
red wine

Kristin Spent
$0.00

AJ eat
2 slices gf toast
3 cups coffee with cream
power bar
fuze
chicken breast
cashews
almonds
dark choc yogurt pudding
glass of wine

carrots

cauliflower crust pizza 

fudgesicle

lots of almonds

red wine

Saturday

Kristin Ate
2 cups coffee
bacon
eggs
tomato
spinach
tuna bowl (tuna with mayo and veg, heated, with cheese)
diet coke
almonds
7 carrots
3 cheddar cheese
fudgesicle
red wine

Kristin Spent
$20.00 gift card common roots (fundraiser)

Sunday

Kristin Ate
2 cups coffee
eggplant casserole with an added egg
almonds- 1/2 cup
diet coke
steak
asparagus
salad
fudgesicle

Kristin Spent
$0.00

eggplant and accidental agave

So a lovely friend brought some almond-based gluten free cupcakes for me, Amanda and Adam.  She said they were almond flour, chocoate, agave, dairy free, etc.  I ate it right up, and then I thought, oh, agave.  That's sugar.  I guess I was thinking "aloe." Which my dad used to drink.  But it was an accident, and a tiny but exceedingly delicious cupcake.  With no wheat.  So, yeah.
For dinner, AJ made the three-cheese eggplant casserole from the wheat-belly cookbook.  Oh em gee.
It was really good.  I mean really.

Kristin Ate
scrambled egg with spinach and cottage cheese
2 coffees with cream
emergen- c
beef and cabbage
carrots
3 handfuls of almonds
diet coke
three cheese eggplant casserole
brussel's sprouts
avocado
1 square dark chocolate
healthy choice fudgesicle

Kristin Spent
$35.some odd cents, Target, 10.00 on balloons and tissue at target (about- all on clearance), notebooks for AJ's pocket, 2 boxes hair dye so we could get the $5.00 gift card.
$2.36  2 diet cokes MacDonald's

AJ ate
egg with spinach and cottage cheese
3 coffees with cream
apple
2 handsfull cashews
3 cheese eggplant casserole
brussel's sprouts
avocado
fudgesicle

AJ spent
$48.89 gas
$200 TCFU Visa
$21.-- costco, eggplant, cream, almonds

Yard Eggs

Last night we were waiting for a couple Dexters to load and flipped over to AJ's cache of episodes of Outdoor Cooking with Jimmy Nix, a guy whose outdoor kitchen is made entirely of cast iron.  Except he says "in-tahr-lee of cayst ahrn."  And pronounces oil "ole."  Jimmy was making a cowboy breakfast. After he put a bunch of ingredients in an oven proof dish ("first, spray it up good with pam.  pssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  Thar.") He placed the oven proof dish in a cast iron pot with a lid and a handle and hung it on a "300 degree hook, piled it with hot coals, and settled in to expound.  "Nayxt, we crayck in a couple yahrd aygs.  Mah daughter, she keeps a couple chicken, and she give us a egg ever day.  Ain't nothin' lahk a yahrd ayg,"

After we figured out what he was saying, we got all excited.  We have yard eggs!  Our chickens lay them right in our yard!  Jimmy Nix was right.  Yard eggs are delicious.

Kristin Ate:

1 yard egg, basted

2 cups coffee with cream

green salad

1/2 avocado

olives

cheese

2 handfuls cashews

burger and cabbage

cottage cheese and blackberries

healthy choice fudgesicle

Kristin Spent 

$0.00

AJ Ate:

gluten free toast with peanut butter

1/4 cup fried rice, chicken, veg

2 cups coffee with cream

diet coke

grilled curried chicken with fried rice (gluten free)

avocado salad with carrots,

big ginger (while I operated on my finger)

beef and cabbage

cottage cheese and blackberries

1.5 squares dark chocolate

AJ Spent

$.25 diet coke

Daddy's Home!

Although I packed a nice lunch for Amanda and I based on leftovers from our juicy lucy triumph, I left them out all night.  So we had cheese, celery and cashews for lunch, which is actually tasty and sustaining.  Even Amanda thought so.
Thank goodness AJ is done with his convention.  He did get to eat prime rib, and I hear there were some donut-related backslides.
We're back on the straight and narrow, with a delicious dinner with just a little bit of rice to get us started.  One day at a time.

Kristin Ate:
scrambled egg with spinach and sour cream
4 cups coffee
2 squares 95% cocoa chocolate
diet coke
cashews (1/2 cup)
celery
carrots
cheese 1 oz or so
chicken, ginger, asparagus, mushroom stirfry
fried rice with lots o veggies (1/3 cup rice)
healthy choice fudgesicle


Kristin Spent 
$0.00

2 coffee w/ cr
egg sausage cheese biscuit
sm apple
donut
open face pulled pork sand
Algrotin potatoes
salad
diet coke
stir chicken and veg
fried rice
square of dark chocolate
15 cashews

AJ spent
$10.64 cub for little sizzlers, dark choc. pea pods, green onions

Leek Morel Juicy Lucy

Chicken asparagus stir fry with ginger

And just a little fried rice.

Don't even try to call an exterminator; they are all eating prime rib

So AJ has been on the new job about 2 weeks, I think, and it seems like he is having the best time.  Tonight he is at the state convention of exterminators,  They are staying all night, because I guess those guys like to party, but they also like to be at their meetings on time. So the guys are all staying at a cool hotel downtown, so they can do their thing and keep the company cars and trucks in good condition.  It isn't just AJ's company, it is every exterminator in the whole state.  AJ is hoping for some prime rib, and trying not to eat whet or carbs.  We'll see how he does.  I'm hoping he posts from the convention.

In the meantime, Amanda and I are on our own.  No one to make our breakfasts or pack our lunches.  We managed this morning and already have tomorrow's lunches in the fridge.  So I guess we'll be ok.  If it doesn't snow too much.
sigh.

Kristin Ate ( and cooked)

scrambled eggs with spinach and sour cream
3 pieces of cheese
3 handfuls of cashews
celery
diet coke
truffle-leek juicy lucy with wine sauce
asparagus
healthy choice fudgesicle

Kristin Spent
$0.00

AJ ate:

coffee w/ cream 3

Yogurt cup

cheese danish

coke

salad

breaded chicken breast

black beans and corn

spanish rice

lemon bar

prime rib

ceasar salad

mashed potatoes

3 big gingers

beer

choc moose

AJ spent 

$5 car wash

$20 drinks and tips

Friday! Friday!

Today I got a basted egg instead of scrambled.  OOOh.  Big dayd!
There were piles of treats and donuts, but I was happy to have some almonds.

Kristin Ate
Basted egg
2 coffees
2 handfuls of almonds
celery and carrots
cheese
almond/walnut bread with butter
diet coke
tuna bo


AJ Ate

egg on toast
2 coffee with cream
carrots and celery
cheese and crackers (wheat free)
tuna bowl

AJ spent

$1.29 cup of coffee

Saturday and Sunday

Today was a big day. AJ gave Tom and Kendra all of the delicious wheaty foods from the freezer.  Goodbye egg rolls, perogies, mozzerella cheese for frying.  Goodbye bread and chips.  AJ has been evangelized.

We made a bunch of paper mache goop from flour in the canister and there is only a little bit left.  Wheat and water, boiled up, make a sticky paste that when dry, becomes rock hard.  I wonder if it does that inside your belly?  It makes your hands itch, too.

We both noticed that, after our nice breakfast we all forgot to eat lunch; Amanda too.  Hm.  AJ doesn't usually forget to eat.

Kristin ate:
a basted egg
cheeses, both morel/leek and sharp cheddar
cashews
5 berries
2 cups of coffee
cheese hunk
chicken florentine with cream sauce (and spinach, of course)
salad
red wine
diet coke
2 handfuls cashews
fudgesicle (healthy choice)

Kristin Spent
$59.00 ASCD online membership
$8.00 nook books (working on my thesis)

Saturday Kristin Ate
scrambled eggs with spinach and sour cream
bacon
samples at costco- hot dogs, tilapia, pot roast
2 cups coffee with cream
cheese and cashews for lunch
diet coke
pork chops encrusted with almonds
roasted vegetables
salad
green beans
fudgesicle (healthy choice)

Saturday AJ ate
scrambled eggs with spinach, onions, sour cream
3 cups coffee with cream
hot dog, tilapia, pot roast samples at Costco
Raspberry smoothy with flax seed
cashews ( 2 handfulls)
pork chops
roasted vegetables
salad
green beans
fudgesicle

AJ spent
$230 at Costco (meat and vegetables, work gloves, toilet paper, cashews, coffee)
$50.00 gas
$6.35 at Cub for ELOO, soy sauce w/no wheat, Worshestershire sauce
$243 ATT  bill
$9.60 CUB cabbage, cream, apples, spinach

Sunday AJ ate
Flaxseed and coconut cereal with berries
2 handfulls of cashews
chicken florentine
salad
glass of wine.

Sunday morning breakfast. No wheat

Kristin had morel and leek jack cheese, organic sharp cheddar, a basted egg and cashews. Aj and Amanda had hot flaxseed coconut cereal with blackberries. Everything was very tasty.

Happy Happy!

I got to work and AJ was putting together a delicious broccoli chicken casserole.  He was about to add some rice, (which isn't wheat, but was banned on every other "low carb" kind of diet.  He said that the book made no mention of rice.  I went to the internet, where Dr. Davis takes a stand- no rice.  We began our nightly discussion about meat and vegetables.  I think that's enough- AJ can't give up on the idea that there will be a starch substitute.  We were having a battle of information when

ding, ding!

Kendra texted. 

Can we come over for dinner?

OOH!  happy! happy!  Add some chicken, put some potatoes in the microwave!  The kids are coming for dinner!

The door squeaks.  It's Jonny!  Good think we made lots of potatoes!

It's nice when another discussion about meat and vegetables turns into a happy family party.  AJ even had some bread hidden away.  For the boys.  Not me.  Meat and vegetables.  That's what I'm eatin.'

Kristin Ate

1 scrambled egg with onions and peppers

2 coffees with cream

pot roast leftovers

diet coke

mixed nuts

brocolli chicken casserole

Kristin Spent

$0.00

AJ ate:

AJ spent: