Living on the Cheap with Celiac's Disease

Sometimes going to Whole Foods can be like a trip to Disney Land for a gluten-free gal such as myself.  These days there are endless options in the aisles of wheat-free fare...gluten-free burritos, ready-bake pizzas, cake mixes, even crackers that look like Ritz!  Almost ten years ago, when I first received my diagnosis, this kind of heaven was just a dream.

But heaven comes at a price...If you've perused the shelves at your local Whole Foods or organic market, gluten-free foods, especially the ready-to-eat kind, can be 5-10x as much as the wheat-enriched varieties.  This isn't an issue for some, but many if us have to be careful with our paychecks...I, for example, have the grad school monster eating up a hefty chunk of our resources.

I'm here to tell you that you can eat gluten-free and do it on the cheap.  But cheap come at a price, as well, and that's your time.  But if you have time on Sundays to prep a little food, you will have grab-and-go gluten-free options to last you the whole week!

Are you ready for some tips?  Here we go!

Pit Juice Thunderdome!

I have been conducting a real-life science experiment since July.  In my efforts to stop putting crap, in, on, and around my body, I thought a great place to attack would be my antiperspirant.

Since the presence of aluminum in anti-stinky stuff for the underarms has been possibly linked to breast cancer and other heath issues for quite some time, I knew I'd have to give up the ghost of NOT sweating all together.  Antiperspirants actually clog the pores in your underarms, hindering your apocrine and eccrine glands from "sweating" at all, and no sweat means less places for bacteria to grow and start to funk up the place.  Deodorants, allow your glands to sweat, but wage war on the bacteria that try to set up camp in your sweaty armpits.  The only natural options are all deodorants, since one of the functions of aluminum it to stop up those glands from leaking!

SO, the rating system I chose for these natural pit juices is from 1 - 5 Sweaty Bettys.  "1" meaning a Sweaty Betty like myself would need to reapply alllllll day long at every bathroom break possible and I'd still be a stinky mess.  "5" Sweaty Bettys means, while you are sweating, there is little to no stinkage detected and if re-application is needed, it's after working out or a stressful presentation (this happened!)  Points were also deducted for ingredients that could be health no-nos, but have yet to be proven as completely dicey to use.  I used each pit juice for three weeks to allow them to get their mojo started.  Let's get to the Pit Juice Thunderdome!!!

Tom's of Maine - 1.5 Sweaty Bettys
Tom's of Maine Long-Lasting Care gets a whole Sweaty Betty ADDED for it's awesome ingredient list!  Every ingredient is listed and explained on their website, no extra gunk here, like synthetic fragrances.  If you don't perspire, just "glow" as my junior high P.E. teacher told me that's what girls should do, then by all means, get some Tom's of Maine on your pits.

Unfortunately, I was smelly by my second cup of coffee the mornings I swiped this on.

Mbeze Deodorette and Dabber Dust - 5 Sweaty Bettys 
I stumbled upon Mbeze after watching a segment of Kathie Lee and Hoda (don't ask) talking about battling the summer makeup meltdowns.  The cute little deodorettes are a little larger than a lipstick and one little deodorette lasted me about a month.  It's small size is perfect for traveling or just stashing in your purse for touch-ups.  I used the Dabber Dust on top to help with my perspiration-problem, and this magical combo worked like a charm!  My favorite scents were the Once Bitten and Coco Haze.

I used this in San Diego by the beach on a sunny day where I probably walked 5 miles on the boardwalk with no reapplication and my pits were fresh as daisies!  The only drawback to these beauties is the price...While the Dabber Dust lasted about three months, the little deodorette only held on for about a month, and at $10 a deodorette, that adds up.

 Crystal Stick Body Deodorant - 0 Sweaty Bettys 
Should have just gone commando pits with this one.  Smelly and stinky minutes out of the shower.  Ok, that is a bit of an exaggeration, but seriously, save your moolah and skip this one!

GudonyaTOO Stinky No More Deodorant - 2.5 Sweaty Bettys
This was a nice surprise, it was big, you could pick your scent (I loved the Chai), and it worked moderately well.  One Sweaty Betty was deducted for the use of propylene glycol as the first ingredient, which has not been fully investigated for it's carcinogenic potential.

Soap and Glory One Pit Wonder - 3 Sweaty Bettys
This punny line was recently available at Target, but has since been removed from their shelves.  You can still order Soap and Glory items online and I'd say it's worth it to wait for this "Wonder" in the mail!  It was one of the few antiperspirants that went on and dried clear, so it didn't leave a powdery residue on my clothes.  It also has a delicate rose scent, unlike the popular hippie-ish Chai or lavender scents that are used to help "cover up" the stinkified pit in many natural deodorants.

This worked pretty well for me, with just one mandatory re-application at lunchtime.  This also got a Sweaty Betty point deduction for propylene glycol as the first ingredient.

 Bubble and Bee Pit Putty - 2.5 Sweaty Bettys
Oh, how I wanted this Putty to work SO BADLY!  Not only is this made locally here in Utah, it's ingredients are 100% USDA Organic.  You seriously could EAT this stuff and it would be a-ok...except it wouldn't taste so great.  I tried the Geranium & Lime scent and it smelled lovely and citrus-y!

You have to swipe the Putty on and rub it into your armpit, so if you rock hairy armpits, I imagine this could take awhile.  While I appreciated how natural and local this stuff was, I had to re-apply at LEAST twice a day to keep the stinkiness away.  If you aren't a Sweaty Betty like myself or have lots of time and privacy to reapply often, I'd highly recommend this local concoction.

The Body Shop DeoDry Dry-Effect Deodorant - 4.5 Sweaty Bettys
This was the underdog that I bought on a whim during my layover in Cincinatti on my way back from Paris.  You know how the Body Shop gets you, the whole "Buy 3, Get 2 Free!" deal that has your basket filled in no time!  This was one of my "2 Free!" items and I'd thought I'd give it a whirl.

It is GREAT!  I have yet to need to re-apply when using this stuff!  The roll-on is the kind I've been using and it get's and extra half-a-point for being refillable, so less waste!  The fancy specialty to this deodorant is that it uses perlite to keep your pits dryer than the average deodorant.  While breathing in perlite is a big health no-no, this is suspended in liquid form so inhaling the perlite in DeoDry is low-risk.

A half of a Sweaty Betty was deducted for the synthetic fragrance used, but I'm not gonna lie, I loved the Fresh & Floral scent..!


So there you have it!  Pit Juice Thunderdome completed!  It really was a tie between the Mbeze and Body Shop DeoDry, and the super-loser being the Crystal Stick Body Deodorant.  I hope this helps and remember everyone's body chemistry and sweat glands are different, so don't be cross with me if these don't work the same way for you;)!

Source

Eggs

Have you ever had a "farm fresh" egg?  Before today I wold have answered "yes," because the organic, free-range eggs I purchase clearly state: FARM FRESH right on the package.  Yes, I am a sucker for what's printed on a package of food I consume, because it's in the great hope that what I find inside will indeed be a myriad of things pertinent to my survival that the package promises.  Silly little words like gluten-free, pesticide-free, and organic are all on the roster.  I really thought I was eating the "best" I could.

Enter Rico Locals, locally grown Utah food brought to a convenient, downtown center.  Shug brought home some "farm-fresh" eggs a few days ago and, thinking they were like allllll the other "farm-fresh" eggs we've consumed in the past, they sat in my fridge for a few days.

This morning, with a very welcome unexpected day off, I indulged myself in an omelette.  After the first egg was cracked I knew something was up.  The bright, vibrant hue of the yolk practically blinded me!  I have always thought egg yolks were yellow...that's how they're depicted in cartoons, pictures, and in my mixing bowl.  These yolks were ORANGE.  Glaring, healthy, sunny, ORANGE.  The first rational thought that popped into my head was, "They must have gone bad. Egg yolks are never this color."

I cracked egg number two.  SAME THING!  I decided to crack a third and if all three were this alien-orange color, I'd give it the good ol' college try and eat them.  Sure enough, the third egg was just as loud of an orange hue as the previous two.  Into the pan they went.

As the eggs cooked, instead of opaquing into a soft buttery yellow, they morphed into a rich golden saffron color.  I was really getting freaked out.  What if I poisoned myself?!?  What if they had already gone bad?!?  What if all of the eggs I've consumed in my life were just "blah" and these eggs were "bang"!?!?!  EXISTENTIAL CRISIS.

The eggs sizzled sweetly in their pan as the sun through the window caught the wafts of steam curling up from the stovetop.  I plated the eggs, gave them the holy trinity of egg dressing: freshly cracked black pepper, ketchup, and Cholula.  I readied myself for the worst.

Words cannot describe how lovely and perfect these eggs were.  They were rich, flavorful, and delicious and I am sad to say I have NEVER tasted an egg like this.  In 27 seconds my newly found love was gone.  I hadn't the strength to savor them.

But, I'm planning on omelettes for lunch and dinner.

Salt Lake Talent - Ello There

I feel pretty lucky to live in an era where I can find local

talent at the drop of a word created JUST for interweb sleuthing.

Ello There is a local wedding invitation shop

that uses windpowered press

and,

I'll tell you,

Labyrinth references getyoueverywhere with me...!

So cute.