Gluten Intolerance Update

Well good morning y'all!

It's been tough this last month. As y'all may know, I went paleo in the beginning of April. I soon discovered I had a switch that flipped. I discovered that I am gluten intolerant. How did I come to this conclusion?

Any gluten slip ups I made led to sore throats (like the allergic reactions I have to crab and paprika), headaches, and stomach pains in the morning that rivaled that of labor! I verified this with someone I consider an expert because celiac disease and gluten intolerance is hard to diagnose.

I've had some personal issues with this. Our house, as I've mentioned, was destroyed by a tornado. We're having to depend on the kindness of donations (which we haven't been able to eat much of) and have been on the most extreme of budgets. That makes it really hard to restock the normal things I need to cook with.

I've been discovering just how bad my intolerance is. I can't even use seasonings with gluten in it. You would think seasonings would be a miniscule amount of gluten, but there is still a reaction.

It's personally difficult because many people don't understand. You can't see gluten intolerance. People don't understand the pain I go through when I eat gluten. It's hard for my husband when he just wants to go out to eat and I'm sitting there for half an hour trying to figure out what I can eat and asking the waiter a million questions.

Then you get the comments about being a health nut...and that you ate gluten your entire life. These can be some of the most hurtful. I've held this weight for my entire life. I've worked hard to get it off with no success. I've never been the cleanest eater, but ate much better than most people I knew. I worked out consistently and with intensity. Nothing worked.

This has worked for me! Let me list just a few of the benefits I've seen since going paleo.

• Less bloated
• More energy
• Less headaches (as long as I stay completely away from gluten)
• Clearer skin
• Better sleep (at times when there are no interruptions like we had this morning)
• A little bit of weight loss (I don't have a scale to measure how much, but last I checked about 5 lbs)
• Clothing fits better
• Food is more satisfying

I'm hoping if you're reading this and might have a friend or family member that has an intolerance that you'll be a little more kind. We're not making these things up. While I started this for weight loss, it turns out that I actually needed to do this for my health. Be supportive and kind. (Which you should do that anyways...)

If you're reading this and are going through the same situation, know that you aren't alone. This is a switch that can be unswitched. This will be an issue we deal with the rest of our lives. Hopefully it will become happier and healthier. There's a great article on PaleoMom.com that mentions how our bodies create antibodies to attack the gluten we ingest and I think gives good evidence of why I can't "un-gluten intolerance" myself.

I love you guys and thank you for your continued reading.

If you have any questions, comments, etc please feel free to leave them in the comment section below! <3

Who says you can't eat healthy on a budget!?

I've done a video on this subject on the vlog and I'll link that here:

And btw....I say you CAN eat healthy on a budget!!!!! It just depends on what you're buying and putting in that cart....

Last night as I pushed my cart through the isles, knowing we have a whole house to restock eventually....Living with family members who are young and don't have the same things in their cabinets that I would (which hey! is not a bad thing, I've had fun experimenting ^__^). So there are a few things that I needed that would increase the bill. I had to buy olive oil, aminos (a questionable paleo item...but I'm going with it...I do way too much asian cooking not to having something soy sauce like), and I went ahead and bought a pre-mixed bag of bread mix. I am just not a big fan of the breads that I have found so far. They're not soft and often taste very bad. I've tried this brand's gluten free brownies and let me tell ya...They're pretty amazing!!!!

So bread pans and bread mix... I think it will be helpful if I could have an easy mix, and bake. It may even be slightly more cost effective. A frozen loaf of Rudi's bread found in the natural isle freezer section at Kroger is $5.87 and the bread mix by itself is $4.49. The ingredients that need thrown in it are things we usually keep around such as eggs, oil, water. They have several ways to use this as a pie crust, pizza crust. Really....I'm a huge fan of Pamela's.

I also got the two ingredients I didn't have on hand to make homemade organic ketchup!!!! My crazy obsession with organic ketchup is legendary. I usually go for Simple Truth Organic Ketchup. It's SO GOOD! But, I am always looking to make things more paleo, more from scratch with as little ingredients as possible. I'm looking forward to when we get back home and start a garden and I can grow my own tomatoes!

But, all in all (and I guess getting back to my point...), YOU CAN EAT HEALTHY ON A BUDGET! Krogers is great for coupons even on meat and produce! Look for ways to use cheaper ingredients to make the things you need. Eat closer to "in season" when certain veggies and fruits are in abundance and not having to be trucked in. Check out your local farmer's market. If you're like us and using SNAP or food stamps, use coupons and buy responsibly so that your balance lasts longer and you get those benefits such as not having to pay the tax. Every dollar helps. Just because you don't make a ton of money, have five people to feed, and times are uncertain, don't let it throw your budget in the garbage!

Paleo helps so much on our budget because we don't have to buy dairy, wheat bread, or I even realized also, sugar! With coupons, I saved 10% or $14.46! Even though it was only 4 days worth of food, I was really happy with what I accomplished and I know it'll go down the next time because I have some of my essentials in the pantry.

So check it out! And if you have a success and want to share it with me and the rest of the readers, leave a comment below! <3

Sending you lots of love and peace to you and your journey...

Ami M. Lee, The Crazy Paleo Hippie Gal

The Dreaded CRAVINGS!!!

Every lady that has ever been pregnant either loves cravings, or loves to hate cravings. Men, you guys get cravings too! I've even heard of sympathy cravings with husband's of pregnant women, but that's probably hearsay.

So what are cravings? Why do we have cravings? From my experience, and various sources it is the way our body let's us know our body needs something to function properly.

For instance, I know that I have been low iron for a very long time. Not enough to be medicated for anemia. However, my mother is anemic. I also monitor what I call, "The Doctor Oz Trick." If you gently pull your lower eyelid down to see the reddish colored part around the eye, it should be a rich pinkish red color. If the part closest to the eye is light pink to white, then it is a sign of low iron.

I have been this way for many years now, especially after I had my son. It makes sense that I have craved GREENS ever since! I couldn't live in a world without some greens. And I'm not picky about them either. LOL But, think about what greens are good for... These type of plants (leafy greens) are usually high in iron. It's often high on the list of recommendations for pregnant women including red meat, chicken, legumes...etc.

When we're dieting...people get really scared of cravings. Y'all know I have plenty of them! Every now and then I just need a brownie. Sometimes you have to stop....stay calm....and figure out what is in what you're craving.

Now...I know how hard it is to do to give in to cravings responsibly. Well, going paleo and finding out your gluten intolerant kind of helps. I know I'll get sick, have a headache, or sore throat if I have even miniscule amounts of gluten. That really deters me from straying. Sucks that it takes actual pain or illness to deter me from eating something, but that's how our bodies were originally designed.

So here's my two cents about cravings. Realize you have a craving. Identify what the benefits or basics of the craving is such as sweet, salty, or the benefits that could be in the food such as iron in leafy greens. Figure out how to responsibly satisfy what your body needs so that your body's cravings will subside.

One part of being gluten intolerant and possibly facing issues with celiac disease, the gluten breaks down the lining of the intestines making it difficult if not impossible for you to get the nutrients out of the food you're eating. Removing gluten is essential for my body so that I can actually pull out the nutrients my body is craving. Now, I know paleo and gluten free is not for everyone. I understand tough times guys...My house just was destroyed. All my healthy food in a fridge that was never found.

I have had to eat gluten because I had to, but for some reason I couldn't get back used to gluten. It's like when you go off gluten and find out your reactions and intolerance, there's no going back. It's been a few days back on the mostly paleo path (I see to be okay with dairy on occasion) and I'm feeling much better. I have more energy. I feel like getting up and actually doing things and my panic cravings when I'm extremely stressed are subsiding.

I hope this was helpful and that'll you'll do some self-reflection when you have a craving and figure out what your body is asking for. Understand that cravings are your body giving you hints to what will help you feel better. Any questions or need help? You're always welcome to leave me a comment!

Sending you all lots of love and peace to you and your journey!

-Ami M. Lee, Journey on the Final Coutndown

My Absence

Hey my blogging family peeps!

So it's been a few weeks since I've blogged. Why? Oh, a tornado kind of destroyed my computer...and my house....And everything I own.

We lived in Vilonia, AR and about 7:20ish on April 27th, 2014 a storm descended upon our town. An EF-4 tornado forever change my life.

I don't want to go on about it. I'm actually writing my story down in the hopes of publishing it so that others going through this same situation can have hope and to encourage others to have a safety plan.

Long story short? Never...

My family is safe. My husband was at work. I am still very sad about two of our neighbors passing trying to ride out the storm in their house.

Since that time we've seen some of the best people in the world and some of the worst. I like to try to stick to thinking about the best. I don't think many people understand much about literally losing every item from the carpet on the floor up. Not just it all being crushed...We haven't found big things such as appliances, walls, doors, windows, beds, mattresses.

Our immediate needs have been met and if you would like to donate or get updates we have a facebook page at: Lee Family Needs #PrayForVilonia

We're trying to raise money to have a house put out there. We love and appreciate all the love and support we've received. So many amazing volunteers, especially the night this happened.

Things will never be the same.

But we're still fighting....Down, but never defeated.

Wishing you all out there safety and love.

I know there have been many storms since and many reported tornadoes. Have a plan. That's honestly, what saved our lives.

Our House Was Lost in A Tornado

On April 27, 2014 a tornado warned storm produced an EF4 tornado that destroyed much of our town of Vilonia including our home.

You guys may know by now that I'm always looking for the positives. We have our lives. We have the beautiful generousity of others.

In this new adventure on the Journey on the Final Countdown I may be very absent for a while. Although, I am quite proud I still haven't broken 'A Year with No Soda' yet, even though I down right feel I deserve to.

So I sit, waiting to go out and see the progress on cleanup. I'll never look at my storm photography, or severe weather the same. My love and passion is still there, but I'm hoping in the future I can pay it forward and help others in our same situation.

I told my husband last night that I haven't really cried much, but I figure when everything is clean. When all of the houses and debris are gone, that will probably be my moment to truly morn and say that our lives are gone.

We have met some of the greatest people and some of the worst. But, the best outweight the worst by far. No amount of insurance could have saved our house or our neighbors lives.

If you would like to donate to help out my family please check out www.facebook.com/leefamilyneedsvilonia We appreciate prayers and positive thoughts are equally appreciated. Please remember that if you can't say anything nice, the best response is silence. All my love to those generous hearts out there.

-Ami M. Lee