ICE CREAM!

I decided weeks before we left for vacation that I would attempt to eat ice cream at the Dells.  Well, we went to "The Fudgery" and I figured, if I'm going to try it I might as well go big or go home.   

Just picture it...a giant, crispy, golden brown waffle cone with one scoop of Moosetracks (peanut butter cups, fudge, goodness, etc.) settling into the bottom of the cone.  Heaping over the top edge was sweet caramel ice cream loveliness.  Oh baby.  The girl serving up the ice cream could feel my excitement.  She said, "Oh I know...I get really excited about ice cream too!"  She had no idea.  Seven months is a LONG time to abstain from ice cream.  I savored it.  I loved it.  It was THE BEST ice cream cone I have ever had.  Totally worth the seven month wait.  What a treat! 

After it had been devoured, the waiting game began.  Would I get a migraine?  How long would it take to come on?  Would it be worse than normal?  Well, the next day brought with it a migraine starting on the way home.  I really would like to think it was not because of the sugar, but because of the sleepless nights of vacation.  Our cabin was not air conditioned and my body is a total wuss when it comes to heat and not sleeping.  So the migraine could be attributed to lack of sleep or the sugar. 

Well I was determined to find out. Yesterday we went over to visit my mom and she had Toffee Ice Cream bars so I decided to give it a shot because I've been sleeping like a baby ever since I got home.  Guess what??  No migraine!!!  One more crossed off the 30 before 30 list!  Woot woot!!! 

Now I don't want to get crazy here.  My goal is to reserve sweets for when I REALLY want them. 

I don't want to become additcted to sugar like I did before and I still want to be sugar/sweetener/preservative free in my meals because let's face it, it's good for my body.  But what a relief that I can have a sweet treat from time to time and not worry about a migraine.  It could be that if I ate sugar like I used to, then it could trigger a migraine.  Minimal amounts once or twice a month could be the ticket!! I've found it's all about moderation.  Eat well 90% of the time and "indulge" the other 10%. 

Life lessons...I know there are many many more to come :)

Healthy eats on vacation...my "how to"

Tom and I just got back from vacationing at Wisconsin Dells.  We've been doing really well with eating right and making good choices so I didn't want that to stop just because we were going away from home.  I did end up eating some goodies and I'll tell you about that in my next post.  But this is all about my meal planning.  We stayed in a cabin with a fridge, fire pit and a microwave.  We brought a toaster with us. So I planned out all of our meals except for one dinner, which we decided would be a nice dining out experience :)

Here's my valient attempt at a stress-free healthy eating vacation...it worked too, because we only ate out once and it was planned!  Go us!! :)  Here's how we did it...

Step #1: Plan out breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners (remember drinks too!)

Step #2: Be choosey on what, when and where you want to eat out.  Make sure it is something you will enjoy, you don't get often, keep it special so you won't feel like you are being deprived of eating out on vacation.

Step #3: Avoid typical camping food like premade salads (pasta salad, potato salad, coleslaw, etc.) They are full of mayo and won't fill you up.  Plan for lots of fresh fruits, veggies, hummus, string cheese and whole wheat crackers instead...think picnic at a rest stop instead of McDonald's drive-thru.

Step #3: Write down every single necessary food item to make those meals (don't forget condiments!)

Step #4: Write down every appliance, dish and utensil needed to make (and serve) the meals.

Step #5: Write down everything you will need to clean up or wrap up leftover food (think foil, cling wrap, zippy bags, paper towels, clorox wipes, etc.)

Step #6: Make a grocery list of everything you don't already have on hand.  Go shopping!

Step #7: Prepackage, prewash and precook anything you can.

Step #8: Pack wisely.  Utilize all those reusable grocery bags you get for free.  Put all snacks in one bag.  Put all appliances in another.  Pack all paper goods together, etc.  Take a small cooler for picnics or for day trips (to waterparks, theme parks, etc.) Pack a big rolling cooler with ice for all of your refridgerated or frozen items. 

Step #9: Fill up milk jugs with water ahead of time and put them in the freezer.  Then pack the cooler with them so you don't need as much ice and then you have drinking water at the end of the trip and you won't have to resort to that gas station soda!

Step #10: Enjoy, have fun and eat great food without guilt!

Here's a few photos of my food prep...

My shopping trip for some of our snacks and sides for the week.

We got a good deal on a meat bundle at HyVee...pork chops, brats (for Tom), chicken sausage (for me), chicken breast (I cut it up and precooked it).

I divided up the Pirate's Booty into individual servings.  Otherwise, I would eat half the bag in one sitting.  I also did this with my oatmeal so I wouldn't have to bring the huge container of oats or a measuring cup.

Prewashed cherries, blueberries, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, carrots, celery.

I used naan for my lunch sandwiches.  Naan, chicken, spinach, tomato and cheese...mmm.

The directions say they need to be warmed in an oven, but I just stick the pieces in a toaster :)

There it is folks...it does take time to plan, shop and pack, but it was totally worth it! 

I'll weigh myself in the morning and let you know my progress!

I ate a rice krispie treat...

It's true. 

I have decided to tell you about it through a new way of blogging, commonly refered to as "vlogging" (video/blogging).  This is my very first shot at shooting a video.  Hopefully my ramblings make some sort of sense to you.

I hope you enjoyed by very first "vlog".  I really thought I would feel something huge when I finally ate something sugary.  I thought maybe I would feel a huge weight lifted off my shoulders or maybe I would feel intense guilt or disappointment in myself.  Maybe I would feel a rush of happiness or satisfaction...but no.  I felt none of those things.  I just felt like me.  There were no real big emotions for me.  I just decided that it didn't taste the way I thought it would (oh and I got lots of compliments on my rice krispie treats so it's not that they were bad or anything...hehe) and I'm glad I ate it now because I don't feel like I HAVE to eat sweets and I don't feel like I'm depriving myself either.  I don't know when I will eat something sugary again, but I don't think it will be very often just because I want to take care of my body and give it the fuel it needs while enjoying what I eat at the same time.

Do I even want to eat sugar again?

"Can I eat sugar yet?"  That was the pressing question that kept flying through my mind a few weeks ago.  But now I am rethinking the wording of that question.  I'm not sure if I want to eat sugar even if I could eat it without getting a migraine.  Studies after studies are coming out with negatives about sugar.  The studies show that sugar can cause depression, memory loss, aging, immune system disorders, high blood pressure not to mention weight issues or diabetes.  I don't know how valid all of these studies are, but I am living proof that cutting out sugar/high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has a positive impact on health.  I have kept my portions the same, but only cut out sugar/HFCS/sweeteners and have lost 25 pounds over the past 6 months.  I've just started to get a consistant exercise routine down in the last six weeks and am able to add exercise into the equation now.  I am overwhelmed at the difference cutting out sugar has made on my body.  I don't think everyone needs to cut it out completely, but keeping it at a minimum could definitely make a positive impact on health. 

Now that I am feeling healthier, I want to keep it up.  As you know, I am part of the "lose a marathon" challenge created by my fellow Sole Sister, Jess.  Losing 26 more pounds would put me at an ideal and healthy weight.  So I have been stepping up my healthy eating by trying to make my meals 50% fruits and veggies, 25% protein and 25% carbs.  It's a good start :) I am also trying to be more consistant with my exercise.  I don't see the scale moving very quickly, but it didn't come on quickly either. 

I am petrified of getting diabetes and heart disease from being overweight.  I am still getting the weight off from when I broke my foot 3 years ago.  I was teaching from a wheelchair and gained almost 40 pounds.  I got 15 of it off before my wedding and then gained 5 back.  Since January I have lost 25, so I am 5 pounds away from where I was 3 years ago.  It's been a long journey, but I am going to get there.  I want to be healthy and be healthy for my future children.

Don't get me wrong, it is HARD to cut out sugar. SO HARD!  But I'm doing it with the hope of it diminishing my migraines.  So when I am aching to eat ice cream I think about the debilitating pain of migraines.  Also, my grandma says that eating sugar is just 30 seconds of pleasure and it's over.  She's right.  I am constantly asked the question, "How do you do it?  How have you been able to go without sugar for so long?"  I never know how to answer this, because I was completely addicted to eating sweets.  I never ever dreamed that I would be able to go without sugar for so long.  It has definitely been a result of divine intervention.  Lots of prayer and faith that God is in control.  Also, God has blessed me with an amazing support system.  Between Tom, my mom and the rest of my family and friends, I have been able to pass up cake, cookies, Blizzards...I am going to stop typing all these goodies cause it's making me crave them.  But anyway, when I tell Tom I want Dairy Queen soooo bad he says "Well, are you sure?"  Then I say, no I'm not sure and then I eventually convince myself that I don't need it.

Realistically, I'm sure I will eat sugar here and there in the future, but with the knowledge and experience I have with cutting it out I will definitely be VERY selective in how much and what kinds of sugar I will be eating.

Healthy Energy Bites

Yesterday's post was lacking a picture of these little morsels of goodness! 

I made them this afternoon and they were super easy and delicious. 

Oh and I figured up the calorie count. 

They are 110 calories each.

Healthy Energy Bites:
1 cup oatmeal (quick oats)
1/2 cup natural peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1/3 cup honey
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup ground flax-seed
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix everything together in a medium bowl until thoroughly incorporated. I had to use a little extra honey to make it stick together. Let chill in the refrigerator for a half hour. Once chilled, roll into balls and enjoy! Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Mexican Stuffed Shells & Apple Pineapple Crisp

Hey I'm back...it's been so beautiful out that I haven't taken much time to be on the computer.  We just had some friends from Sunday School over and they brought their boys.  We had an awesome time eating, playing Xbox Kinect, and taking a nice long walk through the neighborhood.  Once again I tried out a new recipe when I was having guests over and so far both recipes have been a complete success!  Yesterday I made these Mexican Stuffed Shells and baked them for the first 30 minutes, then put them in the fridge for today's lunch.  Since we were coming from church I wanted to have the meal as close to ready as I could so as soon as we got home I heated up the oven and stuck them in for 20 more minutes to bake with the cheese on them.  PERFECT! They were so delicious.  Husband and kid approved!  Pretty simple too!  YES!!  Here's the recipe, but I doubled it for 6 people.  Sorry no pictures...they got gobbled up really fast!

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:1 pound ground beef (or ground turkey)

1 package taco seasoning (I used my homemade taco seasoning with no sugar)
4 ounces cream cheese
20 jumbo pasta shells
1 cup salsa
1 cup taco sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup Monterrey jack cheese

For toppings:

tomatoes

Sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a pan brown the ground beef; add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Stir together and mix well. Set aside and cool completely.

While ground beef is cooking, cook the pasta shells according to package directions; drain. Set shells out individually on cutting board or baking sheet so that they don’t stick together.

Pour salsa on bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Stuff each shell with 1-2 tablespoons of the meat mixture. Place shells in 9×13 pan open side up. Evenly cover shells with taco sauce. Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add shredded cheese and bake for 10-15 more minutes with the foil removed. Top with green onions or olives if desired. Serve with sour cream and/or more salsa.

The next recipe I want to share with you is Apple Crisp.  Hmmm...how do you make apple crisp without adding sugar??  Well, my aunt found this yummy recipe and you don't need a grain of sugar, because the baked fruit gives it all the natural sugars you need.  It's even gluten free for all you gluten free peeps!  It is adapted from http://www.food.com/.

Apple Pineapple Crisp

Ingredients

• 4 medium tart apples ( She used Jonathons)
• 1 cup canned crushed pineapple in juice
• ½ cup quick oatmeal or ½ cup regular oatmeal ( not instant)
• ¹⁄₈; teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 bananas, frozen

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spray an 8X8 square baking dish with cooking spray.
3. Peel, core, and slice the apples.
4. Put them in the pan.
5. Add the canned pineapple and mix it all together.
6. Put the frozen banana in the microwave until it is defrosted and mushy.
7. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, add the oatmeal and cinnamon and stir well.
8. Peel the banana (it will be runny) and add it to the oatmeal.
9. This will clump up and be very sticky.
10. Put the oatmeal mixture on top of the apples.
11. I use my hands but it is sticky and not real easy.
12. You may, if you want, spray the top of the crisp with cooking spray or olive oil spray but I didn't find it made much difference.
13. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the topping is starting to brown.
14. Serve warm or cold.

The Great Migraine Battle Update:

January: 4
February: 4
March: 10
Pounds lost: 18
Inches lost: 18
Sugar free 85 days and counting!  Nut free for 1 week and counting!

There's no time like Gnocchi time!

You like the title??  Haha...I thought it was pretty good.  Normally I can't think of cute puns, but last night I dreamed that I got a gig as a stand-up comedian at a Christian bar....yeah I don't know if there is such a thing, but all I know is that I was funny.  Not just oh she's pretty good, no I was AMAZING in my dream.  I was cracking myself up all night long.  It was refreshing to have a good dream and not my regular someone is hunting me down/chasing me/yelling at me/trying to kill me dream. 

Anyway, it's been quite the week.  Something every night, but it was all good stuff.  The week flew by and I am so glad it's Saturday.  I passed up countless temptations this week...cake, cookies, dips, cupcakes, beer bread, wine, chex mixes, chips, mac n cheese, strawberry limeade (my fav) so I am going on 63 days of no sugar.  Wow I can't believe it's been that long.  It is getting easier, but it's not easy.  Someone told me yesterday to just have a tiny bite and that it wouldn't hurt.  I told her that yeah I could have a tiny bite, but then the next time I would have just a small piece and in no time I'd be eating a whole carton of ice cream.  It's best for me to just stay away all together.  I made my favorite kind of cupcakes to take to work for my co-workers b-day.  That was stupid.  I wanted to lick the icing off of the knife SO BAD!  Then I got a little on my fingers putting them in the cupcake carrier.  Did I lick???   NO!  Immedietely I washed my hands.  It's tough, but definitely worth it.  Here's the stats:

Migraines in January: 4
Migraines in February : 4
Migraines in March: 2 (yeah it stinks especially because we are only on day 3 of the month)
Pounds lost: 14.5
Inches lost: 15.5

I'm really pleased with the results of this whole anti-inflammatory food eating.  (Did you notice how I tend not to use the word "diet"??  That word doesn't make sense to me because if you are eating then you aren't on a "diet" in my book.  If you want to continue on the path you have begun then it's not a "diet".  It's simply what food you are eating.  Diets are temporary.  I don't plan for this to be temporary.  This is life.  That's my rant.  Now I'm done.

Anyway, normally I would have had at least 20 migraines by now and only having 10 is AWESOME!  I'm still wanting to decrease them more though.  So this morning Tom and I went to this pharmacy nearby.  I'd been told by at least 4-5 people that I "HAVE TO GO THERE!" So after the fifth person told me, I finally went.  It's a place where you just go in and talk to the pharmacist, no charge.  They are focused on natural wellness and supplements.  The pharmacist was really knowledgeable and nice.  She seemed confident that if I take this magnesium compound that it will decrease my migraines even more.  It's different from the magnesium supplement found in stores.  So I got the compound and I am supposed to take 3 pills nightly before bed.  I am excited to see how it works, but only time will tell.  Also, it's safe to use during pregnancy, which will be great for when that time comes. If this doesn't work after a couple of months I can take a saliva test, which will test my cortisol and hormone levels.  That might be the next step in trying to combat these migraines.

So onto the gnocchi.  At Aldi, they had some prepackaged gnocchi (pronounced no-key) which is a potato pasta in a solid oval shape.  So I boiled it up, added some spaghetti sauce, spices and voila!  Gnocchi!  High-class baby.  High class for only $2.59 to serve 4.

There's no real recipe for this.  Boil, warm sauce, add whatever spice you want. 

Top with cheesy goodness. 

Combine.  Eat.  Love.

Pulled Pork, Spaghetti Aglio & Banana Bread

The other day I threw a pork roast in the fridge to thaw that had been in the freezer for a couple of months.  I was so pumped to make my first crockpot pulled pork.  I got a great recipe at my wedding shower for it, so I couldn't quite remember what the recipe called for.  Well, I definitely should have taken a peek at the recipe BEFORE I defrosted it.  It calls for a can of beer, onion soup mix and worchestershire sauce.  The latter two ingredients contain sugar and alcohol is an inflammatory food too.  Bummer.  Well, needless to say, my house smells fantastic and Tom can eat it so it's not a total loss.  It's not sugar free, but for those of you who don't care about that here's the recipe...

Pulled Pork by The Rupes

6 lb. boneless pork roast
1 can beer
1 pkg Lipton onion soup mix
2 tsp worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp season salt
1 tsp garlic salt
dash pepper

Cook 6 hours in crock pot on high. Shred and return to juice in crockpot.

Here's what I made for myself for dinner tonight...

a fancy-shmancy sounding Italian dish that is super EASY! 

Boil the noodles...dash on the spices...toss and voila!

Spaghetti Aglio

Ingredients

7 ounces of spaghetti
2 large or 3 small garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons of chili pepper flakes
1/4 to 1/3 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1.     Cook spaghetti according to the directions on the package, until it is al dente.

2.     Strain spaghetti and place in a large serving dish.

3.     Add minced garlic, chili pepper flakes, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and toss.

       Serves 2 to 4.

       Tonight I also baked some banana bread with no sugar...I snagged a little piece when I pulled it out of the oven and it was really moist and yummy.

Coziest Banana Bread
Ingredients:
¼ cup milk of your choice (I used almond)
6 Tbsp. olive oil
6 Tbsp. maple syrup (I used about 4 Tbsp)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups mashed ripe bananas (approximately 5 medium bananas)
2 cups flour (I used whole wheat flour)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 cup chopped nuts or seeds ( I didn't use this)
¾ cup chopped dark chocolate (1 standard 100 g bar) – optional  ( I didn't use this)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Line an 8” x 8” cake pan or loaf pan with baking paper, or lightly oil and dust with flour, shaking out excess.
3. Put the milk, oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and bananas in a blender and blend until smooth.
4. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients. Add banana mixture and combine using as few stroked as possible. Fold in nuts and chocolate.
5. Pour into a cake pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (I baked mine 55 minutes) 

Oh and here's the update on the Great Migraine Battle:

Year to date:

Laura : 42  Migraines : 7

As an added bonus I've lost 12 1/2 inches and 11 1/2 pounds since starting this "no sugar so I don't get a migraine lifestyle" at the beginning of the year and these results definitely help me out when I'm craving chocolate. 

No migraines and more health!  Woot!

Creamy Shrimp Mushroom Pasta & Chicken Lime Fajitas

Hey friends.  I'm back :)  It's been a few days and I have a couple of new recipes for you. 

I also found a great new blog that is full of sugar free and gluten free foods.  http://simplysugarandglutenfree.com/

The blogger's name is Amy and her sugar and gluten free lifestyle has allowed her to get rid of her migraines and depression!  This is so exciting!  I'm not sure about going gluten free too, but I will definitely look into it. 

So far I am still not eating refined sugar, sweeteners, MSG, red meat, alcohol...but I have reintroduced enriched flour, which doesn't seem to have an adverse effect on the migraines.

I had been going strong on my no-migraine streak this month until I woke up with one at 2:30 this morning.  It even hurt to touch my forehead.  Thankfully, I was able to take my medication and woke up with only some wooziness this morning. 

So....

The Great Migraine Battle continues: (February Edition)

Laura : 11 Migraines : 1

Year to Date:

Laura : 39 Migraines : 4

It's still awesome though because normally I would have had at least 12-15 by now. 

I am EXTREMELY thankful :)

Ok so here's the first recipe for you:

Creamy Shrimp and Mushroom Pasta

• 8 oz fettuccine or linguine
• 10 tbsp butter, divided
• 8 oz sliced mushrooms
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 3 oz cream cheese, cut into small pieces
• 2 tbsp parsley
• 1 tbsp basil
• 2/3 cup boiling water (from your noodle pot)
• 1 lb cooked shrimp

1. Boil and salt a large pot of water and cook your pasta. 
2. While your pasta is cooking, cook your shrimp if necessary and reserve.  If your shrimp are pre-cooked and frozen, quickly thaw them under running water.
3. In a large skillet melt 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat and saute mushrooms until soft and brown.  Season with salt and pepper.
4. Reserve cooked mushrooms and melt remaining butter in the skillet.  Add minced garlic, cream cheese, and herbs. 
5. Simmer cream cheese mixture until well blended. Get a scoop of boiling pasta water from your noodle pot and mix it in, stirring quickly to smooth out the sauce.
6. Keep sauce hot and add shrimp and mushrooms, mix well and simmer (stirring often) until everything is hot and thickened, about 10 minutes
7. Toss sauce with cooked noodles and serve.

Here's the second recipe for you:

SUPER EASY recipe right here friends.  I was brave this morning because I've never tried this recipe before and we were having friends over for lunch for the first time.  So I threw this in the crockpot before church and hoped for the best.  It was a hit!

Crock Pot Chicken Lime Fajitas

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast (frozen is fine)
• 1 c. frozen corn
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 c. salsa
• 3 Tbsp lime juice

Place chicken breasts in crockpot.  Add all ingredients on top of chicken.  Cook 4-6 hours on low.  Shred chicken and cook for an additional half hour.

I hope you enjoy these recipes!  It's really exciting that my blog has been viewed over 1,000 times in just over a month.  Thank you for your support and I hope that it has helped you in some way. :)

Homemade No-Sugar Peanut Butter Cups!

31 days of no sugar and no artificial sweeteners!  Only three migraines! 

I am SO excited and proud of myself that I made it a whole month without chocolate and my anti-inflammatory research paid off!  Three migraines instead of eight or more a month is definitely worth the sacrafices!

I'm planning to continue my  no sugar, no artificial sweeteners, so enriched flour products and red meat sparingly.  Also, I am going to replace my regular cow's milk with almond milk.  I tried it this morning with my puffed wheat cereal and it was surprisingly good!

To celebrate my success, I have been hunting down the ingredients to make homemade peanut butter cups. 

So as soon as I got home from work I started in on my special treat.

This is where I found the amazing recipe for no-sugar peanut butter cups...it's at the very bottom of her post. http://asmallsnippet.blogspot.com/2012/01/natural-eating-and-recipe.html. 

She has some great pics and here's her recipe card.



I used 12 tsp. of honey in mine.



Here's the elusive coconut oil.  I couldn't find it anywhere until I went to my local natural food store.  There it was only $10.39 a jar.  A great deal, right? Not.  But if it helps me have a sweet treat I'm okay with it.  Plus the recipe only calls for 3 tbsp of it so I'll be able to make lots of batches.

One would think coconut oil would look like oil.  However, clearly it doesn't.  It does feel VERY oily though.  It would make a great lotion.

Here's my peanut butter cups ready to rock into the freezer.  I have no mini muffin tins so I went for a flat peanut butter cup shape.  Bonus...some of them turned out looking like hearts.  Sweet:)

Here's a close up of my peanut butter heart.

Straight out of the freezer.  Delicious? 

YES!  I give it an A+. 

Definitely making these guys again!

The Great Cupboard Purge

This Saturday morning was spent getting rid of all the food on the naughty list.  Tom and I examined every single label in all of the cupboards.  We eliminated everything that included sugar, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, artificial sweeteners, or monosodium glutemate (MSG).  Labels with enriched flour were put on a "maybe naughty" shelf.  I really have a strong feeling that the root issue is sugar in all it's forms (besides that which occurs naturally, i.e. fruits) that is causing inflammation and therefore providing me with lovely migraines.  The first thing I am going to reintroduce into my diet is enriched flour products...I have really missed those tiny oyster crackers.  I am going to introduce those first because I don't think that's what's causing my migraines. 

Here's what has been on our shelves that I've been passing up for the past 21 days...

Yeah those are Godiva Chocolates.  Tom got me 5 HUGE bars for my Christmas stocking.  I haven't touched 'em this year.  :) 

There were also 2 grocery bags full of canned goods.  We are giving my mom a lot of it and some to the food drive at church.

The Great Migraine Battle:

Laura : 19  Migraines : 2

This morning on Facebook a friend posted this link about aspartame.  It's pretty interesting and honestly a little scary.  I am very thankful that soda has never been a big temptation for me.  Here's the article.

http://msmorphosis.com/aspartame

Have a great weekend!  Tonight is Spaghetti Crock Pot!  I can't wait!!