gluten free

Love with Food – Gluten Free Box

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Several years back I started noticing that I wasn’t feeling that great. I was tired, had massive brain fog, and just felt awful. I was also having stomach issues like crazy and didn’t know what was causing it. One of the things I cut out of my diet back then was gluten. And I’m so glad I did. It has since been determined that I have a pretty bad intolerance to gluten. I know some people out there don’t believe that is possible, but they’ve clearly never been in my shoes. When I cut gluten out of my diet, it was SO hard to find things that I could safely eat. For a while, I wasn’t nearly as diligent as I am now about making sure there is no cross contamination and making sure it comes certified. One thing that has made my life easier was discovering this monthly box from Love with Food.

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Gluten Free Dairy Free Disney World

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We just got back from an AMAZING three days in Disney. I was worried though because I usually have enough problems eating at a regular restaurant, but was super scared that I wouldn’t be able to eat in the parks. Boy was I wrong. I did a ton of research before we left and wound up making plans to traverse the different parks and resorts in search of different foods that I wanted to try.

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Hungryroot Review- Gluten Free

One of my resolutions was to eat healthier for the New Year. I wanted to get a jump start on that by stocking our fridge with all the right things.

For months now I’d heard of the brand Hungryroot, and was interested to try their products. I absolutely love that their products are all gluten free!! And one thing I enjoyed more than that, is reading the “about me” section on their website. I really admire the chef that founded the company, especially because I have so many challenges with food myself.

I finally decided to give it a go, and ordered about 5 different products. We decided to try out two of them – the sweet potato mac with creamy cashew cheese, and the almond chickpea cookie dough (healthy snack foods count for something, right?!).

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The sweet potato mac with cashew cheese was interesting. I liked it, and would definitely try it again. But the consistency of the cheese will take me some time to get used to. Nick loved it though! We both thought it was quite filling.

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The cookies however, were fantastic. Because there is no dairy, eating the “raw” dough is totally ok. And delicious. But when I baked them, they were even better. Again, the consistency was weird at first, but they smell and taste like “regular” cookies, so it wasn’t a far leap.

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We still have the black bean brownie batter, sweet potato noodles, and beet noodles to go – and I’m SO excited!

* I paid for all of this food with my own money – and loved it so much I wanted to give it a review!*

Love With Food Gluten Free Review – February 2016

I may have said this before – but I LOVE love with food. I wait patiently each month for my gluten free box to arrive at my door. They have such great brands that I can always find something to enjoy in each box. This month was no different. I literally tore open one of the items the second I saw it. Note the chip clip on the popcorn…

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So what did I get this month?

-Stellar Strawberry non-dairy fruit and veggie blend by Ruby Rocket’s

-Strawberry Shortcake Flavored Instant Oatmeal by Bakery On Main

-Cookies by Labrems Bakery

-Organic Rice Vermicelli Noodles by Explore Asian

-Dark Chocolate + Bing Cherries Popcorn by 470 (AMAZING!)

-Google Grape Organic Lollipops by Yumearth

-Maple Sugar and Sea Salt Pumpkin Seeds by Super Seedz

-Plaintain Stips with Sea Salt by Artisan Tropic

-Gluten-Free Mini Honey Grahams by Pamela’s Products

-Saladpower by Allinone Vegetables

-Savory Bar by Mediterra

I LOVE Love With Food

After being diagnosed with stomach problems a few years back I’ve gotten used to having to hunt for fun new gluten free foods. I came across Love with Food a while back, and was so excited to find that I could get a box of gluten free foods delivered to my door monthly. I stopped for a bit, but picked back up again after grabbing a deal on Black Friday. I’m SO glad I did. Since coming back to the box I’ve had amazing snacks in my boxes and I just had to share. They also make boxes that aren’t gluten free as well. Plus for every box, a meal is donated to feed a hungry child in the US. That is awesome! EVERYONE should check out this box! Click here to go to their website.

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Not all items are pictured in the box above, because I ate them already!!

Included in my box:

Dried garcinia Indica Superfruit by Sant – you add this to water. I haven’t tried it yet but should be good!

Corn and Sea Salt Chips by The Better Chip

Oat Chocolate Chip Coconut Whenever Bars by Pamela’s Products

Gluten Free Brown Sugar & Maple Oatmeal Cup by Bob’s Red Mill

Handmade Sea Salt Caramel by Annie B’s

Dark Chocolate Toffee by Dave’s Sweet Tooth – SO. GOOD.

Snickerdoodle by Cybele’s Free to Eat

Baked Mac N’ Cheese Puffs by Snikiddy – I HAVE to buy more of these. They are the best thing ever.

Rosemary Truffle Gourmet Popcorn by Pop Art

Almond Butter and Cashew Pecan Energy Balls by Betty Lou’s

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These are my new favorite!

Living Healthy

Over the past few years I knew that I needed to start living a more healthy life. I wasn’t happy with myself, and needed to figure out a way to start myself on a better path. When I left college I was 10-15 pounds heavier than I ever had been in my entire life. And I had lost weight since my junior year when I was even a little healthier. The truth is that I just didn’t know what to do. Now I see what I was doing wrong, but back then I couldn’t figure it out. I over ate, ate things that made my body run poorly and hated to work out.

Ok, so who really likes to work out? I don’t mind it now, but when I was heavier I would joke that the only way I would run was if someone was chasing me. And even then, I’d say there was a marginal chance that would happen. When I turned 25 last fall I made a promise to myself to make this my best year yet. And so far, so good. Shortly after my birthday I joined a kickboxing gym, and fell in love. It is the hardest thing I’ve done in my life, but I have never felt so good and empowered. I’m so thankful I decided to give it a try because I was terrified I couldn’t keep up when I joined the class. Now I feel like I can take on the world.

Unfortunately with the ups, comes the downs. Last summer I was sick constantly and my stomach hurt terribly. After a few months and some tests I found out that I have gastroparesis. Basically I can’t digest properly and have to take medicine multiple times a day to regulate it. I also need to follow a FODMAP diet (I can do a post on my daily eating soon) and I live as gluten free as possible. No, I don’t have celiac, but I feel so great eating gluten free. And it bothers me deeply when someone dismisses a gluten intolerance. I wish those people could live my life for a bit, and see how hard it can be to eat foods with gluten, and feel like crap. I’ve seen how foods go through my body – and I can feel the aftermath often for a day or two. I’m all for eating clean, but I always indulge! And just to mention it – I’ve been out of college since 2011 and have lost 60 pounds. I’m living proof that hard work and dedication pays off!

Thankfully I have a great support system, and everyone takes care to make sure there is something I can eat when we go out. I hate making a big deal about it, but it adds unnecessary pressure to situations. I’d love to connect with others who know what its like to live this way – because while hard, its been the best life style change I’ve made, and I’d like to hear how others have done it as well. I’m going to post more about my diet, work outs and health in the future. But wanted to get the ball rolling!

The healthiest I've ever been!

The healthiest I’ve ever been!