A swift switch in diet can be a tough challenge in the kitchen, but the impact doesn’t stop there. Navigating ingredients can be rough on the brain, but anyone who has been this route knows -it can be just as rough on the budget! Did you know that you could possibly write-off the cost of your increased grocery-spending on your tax return?

Right around the corner lurks a yearly extravaganza of ghoulishly engrossing treats and spooktacular tricks. Children have selected their favorite characters to transform into for a night of house-hopping fun. Schools are having fall parties, churches are putting together carnivals, and neighborhoods are stocking up with sugary and corn-syrup laden “goodies”. Does this scare the nightlights out of anyone else?

The heat is ablazin’ here in Texas, leaving no room for argument that summer is in full swing. Moms everywhere are packing up their coolers of sugar-pouch drinks, oily chips, cheesy puffed sticks, and cream-laden cones and setting up camp with a poolside view. On a yeast-free, cheesy-puff-free, ice-cream-free diet, it is easy to feel like your left in the shade. It’s a good thing that the shade is exactly where you want to be right now!

For some, the fourth of July means pool parties, yard volleyball, anticipating the booming display of fireworks, ice cold pitchers of that powdered lemonade stuff mixed with water, potato salad, macaroni salad, burgers and dogs ~(breath)~ strawberry-gelatin-whipped-cream-stuff salad, cheese puffies, chips & stuffies, cream-cheese dips and popsicle sticks. For some, that all sounds fantastic. For me and my food intolerant GFCF dieter, that sounds like a challenge! Good thing I like a challenge.

A mother’s work is never ending. It is ever nurturing. It is all-consuming in the purest of ways, and every mother would have it no other way.
But a father, with cool and collected abandon, holds steady his ship like a weathered sea captain. He is the net for which his family will fall to. He is the strength when the swinging needs swung higher. He is the courage when the spider is too big to stomp on. He is the scout when the living room tents must be pitched. He is the finder of the fallen teddy bear. And in our house – he is the very patient and ever-gallant gentlemen of our gfcf-life!

Last week, I discussed in “School Lunches on GFCF: Obstacle #1” the tough task of meal planning for your GFCF child’s school lunch. This week, I am writing about the second obstacle which parents face in regards to taking that GFCF lifestyle to school. I am talking about peer pressure.
OBSTACLE #2: PEER PRESSURE

A few months back, I was on Facebook and read a quip posted by a good friend [yes, still a friend] - “organic foods are a scam…they aren’t getting that extra fifty cents out of me!”. I sighed heavily and shook my head. This is an intelligent man with three beautiful children, and I couldn’t help but wonder why the obvious escapes so many of us. My question to him and to all of you is this: How much is your health worth to you?