Struggling with going GLUTEN-FREE!!!

It has been really difficult these past few weeks to stay to my strict gluten free diet.  I think part of my struggle is that I buy groceries for the rest of the family and then if there is any extra I will go buy my gluten free stuff.  Well, lately there hasn't been any extra.  In fact, barely enough to buy the essentials for the family!  I feel that buying something just for me is being selfish when things are tight.  Especially since I already spend about $100 a month on supplements from my doctor.  So, I usually don't have anything to snack on which leads me to eat some of the kids wheat thins or other snacks, which definitely have gluten in them.  My stomach has been a terrible mess for about a week now!  I need to set my health as a priority, but sometimes I think that is hard to do when you are a mom! 

I was searching the web the other night and came across this great blog that has recipes that I feel are budget friendly and family friendly.  Gluten Free Mommy has so many great tips and recipes and I can't wait to start eating for my health!  It has been challenging to read all the labels of food to make sure there isn't any gluten in them.  I am surprised and how many things have gluten in them that I wouldn't expect! 

I am still trying to stick to the yeast-free eating as well.  Which is actually pretty easy when I can't have gluten.  I need to start limiting my fruit again.  With all the blueberries and cherries we got last weekend, I think I am still on a sugar high!  So, it is a learning process and I need to focus on what I can eat instead of what I can't!  I know that when I am diligent about watching what I eat, I feel 100% better!  I need to put myself first so I can be at 100% to be the best Mommy and Wife that I can be!

A Day Picking Berries and Cherries!

Saturday we went to Bill's Berry Farm for the Blueberry Festival!  We had so much fun picking blueberries and Bing cherries!  This was definitely a different experience than picking blueberries in the wild in Alaska!  We ended up with 16 3/4 pounds of blueberries!  The kids did great picking them too!  TJ even got in on the action and did good about not picking the green ones! 

When we had finished picking blueberries we took a break for our lunch, but first the girls had to go on a pony ride!  They had so much fun!  TJ had fun checking out a chicken that got out of the fence while the girls rode ponies!

When we had finished with our picnic lunch we headed into the cherry trees!  I am not sure who had more fun picking cherries...the kids or mommy!  I had to admit that I have never picked cherries before or really seen them on the trees still.  Tim lifted the kids up so they could pick some too.  Some of the branches were low enough that Tori and Trista could reach them.  We ended up going home with 25 1/2 pounds of cherries!  Today I spent the day freezing the blueberries, and pitting and freezing cherries! 

I am so excited to have fresh fruit this summer....that is relatively cheap!