I feel much better today than yesterday! Thanks to everyone who gave me suggestions and encouragement.

For lunch I made egg salad again. My friend had asked me what to do with curry, so I put some in: olive oil, lemon juice, and curry powder (there's a similar recipe in Cook Right). Then, I was eating a bowl of pineapple chunks at the same time. Then... I remembered a dish I used to like from a nearby thai restaurant...pineapple curry (it's full of dairy or coconut so now I can only miss it). So I threw some pineapple in the egg salad. It was very good! Kind of creamy, curried, sweet...very tasty.

I was reading Kate's question and Heidi's answer about sheepsmilk feta and such. I'm starting to get used to giving up cheese. Like other parts of the diet, once you say goodbye to an avoid, get past the loss, and realize the benefits, it's not as hard as you thought it would be.

If you're a nonsecretor, the creamy things we can eat that help make up for the loss of cheese are: almond butter, bananas, cream soda (a little rice milk, fruit juice and sparkling water), and egg salad.

It's good to like food again! Goodnight!

I've been sick since last night, some stomach maladie of some kind. I don't know if I accidentally ate some gluten or something else I shouldn't have, or if it's a virus, but it's knocked me down.

Sip Right tea and mineral water have been helpful today, along with a few scrambled eggs and some rice cakes. I've heard you have to be careful introducing protein after stomach flu, but eggs are so easy for me to digest that they don't cause a problem.

It brings back memories of childhood, and unhealthy cravings that go along with being sick. A can of Coke always sounds good at times like this. Of course I don't have any in the house and I don't want to go out to get it, so I've resisted. I've had so much to do today, and my son is sick again with a stuffy nose and grumpiness, so it's just been one of those days. I hope he feels better tomorrow; I don't want this going to his ears again! I know I'll feel better tomorrow, especially if we can all sleep through the night.

So Goodnight then...

I surprised myself by being compliant today, even though I was travelling. My relatives fixed a nice roast with carrots, onions, and celery. I filled in with a banana and plum. When I got home, once again, I had very little food in the house, but managed to find and eat some protein, fruit and veggies. Tomorrow I'm definitely going to the health food store.

Example shopping list for O n-s and A family at health food store:

DHA Eggs

ezekiel bread (for A's)

Peas

free range ground beef and roast for O

free range chicken

Rice Milk for Os (check ingredients)

Soy Milk (for As)

unsweetened cough drops

Rose hips

walnuts

unsweetened dried mango or figs (for O snack attacks)

almond butter

turnips or beets

greens

whatever produce looks good

I was silly to not pack some snacks I could eat for the road. I got so hungry by the time I got settled that I ate some avoids. I'm paying the price for those, but now I made it to the grocery store and I'm doing much better. I didn't realize that some of the 'lesser' avoids had such effects on me. They made me grumpy, like wheat does, though not as severe. It's been enough to teach me my lesson. I don't know how many times I have to relearn that lesson, but I'm grateful to know what's going on when I do eat something that makes me feel bad.

That reminds me of the last time I ate wheat. I knew better, and was pretty sure this cookie thing had wheat in it. But I was in a bad mood and I wasn't 100% sure, so I decided to eat it anyway. Look out!! I'm not the only one that suffered from that decision, I hadn't been so irritable and emotional for years! It was like a nightmare to be thrown back into depression so suddenly. I'd almost forgotten what that feeling was really like. It was a relief to realize, hey, this isn't me, it was that darn cookie thing. More of a relief to get rid of them and never touch the stuff again, and to know that would prevent the feeling from going on any longer.

It took a couple days to get back to normal. This was 3 or 4 weeks ago, and yet another nudge that I needed to get my diet back on course. Stress eating can result in much more stress than you're trying to escape...if you choose avoids. Choose fruit, choose sip right, if your a non-secreting O choose a few dried figs or whatever you like that's not an avoid. It's okay to forget about portions once in a while, just as long as you keep avoiding the things that would make you feel rotten.

That's it for now. Goodnight all!

Today wasn't bad, but I did get a bit chicken-ed out as I never made it to the store. Beef sounds really good right now. We'll see how the weekend goes. We're going to visit family in what we call "the land of milk and honey" but there's also plenty of protein. I'll have to see how my will power is for avoiding all the other tempting foods.

I just stepped on the scale for the first time since I started the diet and the blogging. I've lost 10 pounds! I should say 5-10 pounds, since my weight naturally fluctuates by about five pounds during the month. I'm happy about it. The last time I lost 10 pounds it was through deprivation, and I gained it back. This time I feel great!