eating right.

“Cheshire Cat …“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to."

"I don't much care where –"

"Then it doesn't matter which way you go.”

--Lewis Carroll

I’ve always loved this quote. It gives a swift kick whenever I find myself without a plan. And I recently found myself in that situation.

This last year has been crazy—marriage, pups, and moving just to name a few of the big things that have been the focus of my energy. But now that we have our pups trained, are settled into our new home, and our year anniversary was this week, I find myself wondering “which way I ought to go from here?”

But I know where I want to go. You see, apparently I’ve been sick for the past 25 years of my life—I just haven't known it until recently. I’m allergic to gluten and sensitive to inflammatory foods, and my body has been constantly fighting what I’ve been putting in it all these years. But when I first found out I was like, “Ehhhh…I really like those foods though. I'll eat healthy later. Please, pass me another slice of bread and some Doritos. Oh, and some cookies and pizza too. And a biscuit.” (Sick and exhausted feelings soon follow)

Deep down though, since I found out, I’ve known what path I should take. I just haven’t wanted to care. Until now. I have so much I love so deeply, and everything/everyone I love has become my motivation.

The last few weeks I’ve been eating right for my body and exercising more, and I’ve found myself waking up in the mornings full of energy—something that, if you know me, has NEVER been my reality. I don’t feel exhausted, I don’t feel sick, my skin feels clean and my joints don’t hurt. It's amazing!

WHAT?! All this time I could have been feeling this great?! If only I had listened to my body sooner—I wouldn’t have slept through, like, half of my life!

I’ve come to realize that it’s really so important to listen to your body—after all, it knows best what’s going on inside. Eating the right foods for your body and exercising has made all the difference for me…though I do cheat every so often. Come on, a girl’s got to eat cake sometimes to stay sane!

Josh has been eating healthy and exercising along with me, and we both feel great, it really is a great goal we've set together.

And just to get you excited about this gluten-free thing too, here is a recipe for the most amazing waffles Josh and I have ever eaten.  

Gluten-free Waffles  

Ingredients

2 cups gluten-free flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk, plus some
2 eggs
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled 

Directions
 
Combine the dry ingredients.
 
Mix together the 1 1/2 cups milk and eggs; stir in the butter. 

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. 

Add additional milk until you get a batter a little thicker than pancake batter. 

Spread a ladleful or so of batter onto the waffle iron and bake until the waffle is done, usually 3 to 5 minutes, depending on your iron. 

Top with cream, berries, or syrup (or all three) and serve while hot! 

This isn't exactly anti-inflammatory, but these are a great treat that will keep you craving gluten-free!