Oh, home made cookies!

Today I went to camp after work and that was such a blessing. I still find it hard to believe that my time at camp has come to an end. I sat in on Ashley's small group with her kitchen staff and the snack shack staff. I found myself envious of her ministry. She gets to spend 9 weeks pouring into the lives of the staff and campers. My heart went out to a few of the staff tonight and I felt like I had so much advice to offer, but no time to do it. I miss being able to invest in the staff! I always felt my place at camp was more to minister to the younger girls (usually 4 or more years younger than me) than it was to give trail rides to campers. I miss it. A lot. I've been through a lot and learned a lot of lessons and feel like I have some insights to offer. And I love to help people out and give advice!

Last week when I went, I was sorely tempted by the chocolate chip cookies. This week I barely batted my eye at them. It's crazy! I LOVE...loved(?) chocolate chip cookies! And Ashley made them from scratch tonight to boot. But I think since I'm now on week three without wheat, it makes it easier to resist. Plus, last week I was experimenting with eating some wheat here and there. The more I resist, the easier it is!

I'm feeling really good being wheat free. I also find it's much easier to stay within a lower calorie range to lose weight. Where it used to be a struggle to keep my calories down and eat well, it's now super easy. My meals are all meat and veggies. Lots and lots of veggies! Gosh, I feel so much better! And I feel like I don't have to watch what I eat! The last few days of tracking meals, I haven't made a goal to keep it under a certain number of calories. I've just been eating to make myself feel satiated and having snacks at work. And again, I FEEL SO GOOD!

Experimenting

Last time I was at the store, I decided to experiment with corn tortillas. I was pretty excited that they might be a good alternative to normal wheat wraps. What a let down! They were thick, stiff, and tasted like cardboard. Ugh. I even heated them up per the instructions on the package! Hopefully I can bake them into some good chips or something. Hopefully next week or so I'll make it to Earthfare and get some almond and coconut flour! I have two recipes I really want to try - one for a biscuit and one for rolls.

I did make one oopsie today. I had corn muffin mix and used it to coat my okra before reading the ingredients. To my dismay, it included wheat flour. That being said, it was very yummy! I'll remember to check better next time!

Wheat Free

Tomorrow marks two full weeks wheat free for me. Well, mostly wheat free. After both my boss and my brother told me to try going wheat free, and after reading a few articles, I felt compelled to give it a go.  The first week I was completely wheat free. For the second week I was mostly wheat free, but experimented to see if wheat was truly a problem for me, and yes indeed it was. The second day of adding it back it really upset my stomach and I had some IBS issues - which I had not had any problems with since I cut wheat. Definitely a sign to cut it out! So, after much debate, I have decided to go almost entirely wheat free. I find the less I eat, the better I feel, and the easier it is to resist!

So, now my fridge is full of meat, fruit, and veggies! I have a few friends who are thinking about trying it out, but wonder what my meals are like.