Sof'ella

Sof'ella is a "Gourmet Natural Food" company that sells baking mixes. According to their website they have focused on high quality but easy to make mixes. Something a busy family would be proud to bake together. Not too long ago, they added two gluten free mixes to their line. They have an all purpose flour mix and a chocolate cake mix.

I recently purchased their chocolate cake mix after hearing about how good it was on GFree.TV. I was in love! It isn't just good gluten free cake, it's good cake! For $5.10 you only get 12 cupcakes so it's not cheap. But it has a way better flavor than any other cake mix I have had.

I also entered a contest that I learned about through GFree.TV and I WON!!!

I just received the prize a few days ago! This is how it looked. Isn't it pretty!

I opened it to see...

The mix does not come in a very big box but I think it is enough for what I need which is a small sometimes treat.

It was fun that they also included sprinkles and food coloring.

The pan is so cute! I think the whisk is also fun. My 9 year old likes to use it.

And finally, the donuts! They come out to be about the size of a quarter or half dollar! I didn't decorate them as nice and I would have liked but I got lazy. They are baked donuts so they are not like what you would buy at a bakery. I have thought of trying to fry them in coconut oil to see if they get texture closer to fried donuts. None-the-less, they were quite good and a nice little treat.

The GFree Diet

So I've been reading... and reading... and reading... I had started reading The Schwarzbein Program. It is a very good read. I just loved it. However at the same time I started The GFree Diet by Elisabeth Hasselbeck. I was hooked.

Can I just say, I had no clue!!! I knew gluten was in all baked/starchy/processed food but who knew it was in LIPSTICK!!! Oh, my word! And who knew that it was in hair care and condiments! And who knew that I may have to not have two sets of utensils in my kitchen. Can I get a HOLY BUCKETS! And who knew that there are (something like) 268 different symptoms (or sometimes none) for Celiac disease? Talk about overwhelming!! I don't think I want to be gluten sensitive anymore... lol

My thinking is that for the most part, I would rather just not eat things with gluten rather than trying to find substitutions where possible. For example, rather than buying gluten free bread I'd rather just not eat bread. I am not sure how it is going to work for everything, like when I need bread crumbs for a binding (maybe use gluten free oats) or cakes for birthdays (can't live without birthday cake). In the last 2 to 2.5 weeks it has been going pretty good with this way of thinking.

A day in my life looks like this...

Breakfast: 2 organic cage free eggs and usually a fruit but otherwise I sometimes will saute up some veggies.

AM Snack: 2 ounces of turkey with 1 table spoon of cream cheese and a piece of fruit or some veggies.

Lunch: 4 ounces of chicken strips plus some veggies (like 2-5 cups) and a tablespoon or two of Annie's Naturals Organic Buttermilk dressing

PM Snack: 1/2 of a Serotonin Sundae

Supper: Shepherds Pie

PM Snack/Dessert: Berries and whipping cream (no sugar)

There isn't any gluten in this but not because I have substituted a lot but because I'm eating good whole foods. I love it and I'm so satisfied at the end of the day.

G-Free

When I was eating the NWW (Nutritional Weight and Wellness) way the first time. I felt good! No, I felt GREAT! I lost 30 pounds without even blinking. I just lost motivation and it was a difficult time in my life and I just couldn't keep up! I was frustrated but it was kind of the way too hard for me at the time. However, that time, my nutritionist had me on a mostly gluten free diet. I made note of this but because so much had changed I wasn't sure if it was the gluten or something else. I was hoping it was something else.

My first time with Cassie Weness she didn't have me on quite as strick of a diet. It was very realistic and I think over time I have totally switched to this way of life when I was thinking of it. I would say that was about 50% of the time. The other 50% I just didn't care. Mostly because I was in college and didn't have time to think about it. I did notice that the weight wasn't coming off. Which was a big thing for me. Truth be told it still is but now to a lesser degree. The big difference was the gluten.

So this time when I wanted to get back on the wagon, I started with first trying to get back into the swing of eating the weight and wellness way. It was so much easier this time because I only a few things I needed to tweak because I was still mostly doing it. Anyway, part of what I did with our family is I found food ideas that involved little if no gluten. I had a feeling that is what I was the key.

I think because I had this feeling when Cassie said to me, I think we need to take out gluten, I said... Ok. :) I also have switched my thinking from thinking in terms of losing weight to be healthy but rather being healthy and hope to lose weight. I belive in my heart of hearts, if the weight isn't coming off, something else is "wrong" and I need to find another place that my body is is broken.

So here's what I'm doing...
**The biggest thing that has helped me. I have made a weekly menu along with all the recipes I need and a shopping list. I hope to have 4 to 6 weeks of these and we can just rotate through. It also helps that I know what I'm eating. I don't have to go for something fast (and bad) in the same way because I have a stocked fridge and ideas.

**I pack my food. And I really want to find foods that are easy to take with me.

**I purge the bad. I don't even try to use stuff up or anything because I feel that you can't feel the effects and can't get rid of the cravings unless you get rid of it all. And if I start with the momentum of wanting to change, it will only take me so far. Eventually I'll need to rely on not having the cravings to pull me through the had times.

**I READ LABLES!!! I have been doing that for a while now but I have found that I have to KEEP DOING IT!!! I don't read the front of the box because I don't believe the hype. I'm too cynical for that! The biggest frustration I have is that I don't know all the names of all the hidden items. What I have chose to do, for the most part, is only buy things with ingredients that I know and the fewer the better.

**I eat as many whole foods as possible. I like to have my food as close to how they grow as possible. And when I do this, I am just gluten free by default.

**I take supplements to aid in healing.

**I drink a lot of water. I am trying to drink half my weight in ounces. I found a cute cup and will keep refilling it all day long. I have tried to drink tea if I need to have something else.

I have given up some big habits in the last couple weeks that I didn't think I could. I had a Caribou a day habit as well as drinking a lot of soda. I also ate a lot of sweets. I have done almost a 180 in my life and I feel a lot better!