Wow, it seems so long since I have posted here. Since going gluten and dairy free, boosting our nutrition and trying to create a safer home environment, I've had to make some changes in the way that I shop for things and what I shop for. Gone are the days I can just go to the grocery store and pick up whatever I want whenever I want.
Yes, I am still couponing and I subscribe to the Sunday paper so I can have my coupons delivered to my door. I clip and file them in a 5 x 7 binder that fits easily into a shopping cart and I still try to plan my shopping around sales and consult with some of my favorite websites such as moneysavingmom.com, couponmom.com and stockpiling moms (which is also a bit of a gluten free blog too). I am finding, however, that I am not clipping nearly as many coupons as I used to as I am buying less from grocery and drug stores and I move around more from Trader Joes, GFS, Aldi, Marianos and mail order places such as Vitacost and Melaleuca. In other words I only buy certain things from certain stores. I am so loving Marianos, a new grocer in the Chicago area that has more gluten free and health foods than stores like Jewel and Dominicks. There is one by my work and also near my mom's house. I hope they make one closer to my house.
When my son went gluten free a year ago, it pretty much turned our life upside down. I went to Whole Foods (aka whole paycheck) and bought 2 bags of groceries and spent $100. Yep, that was dumb. I joined my son in the GFCF world last summer after getting the blood test done and finding that I had 28 food sensitivities myself. I have also developed environmental sensitivities over the past couple of years and I cannot walk through the detergent aisle of a grocery store without my eyes and nose pitching a fit.
With an autistic kid and my own emerging allergies, I thought it was best to go green and lighten the toxic load, at least in our home environment. A couple of months ago I joined Melaleuca - the Wellness Company to buy supplements, toiletries and safer products for my home and body. I'm so happy I did. I am feeling a hundred times better, eat healthier, don't have a 2:00 crash and I have lost nearly 40 pounds since going gluten free. Melaleuca is a manufacturer of top quality green (and mostly gluten-free) products and is only available to customers who have been referred by other customers. If you would like an invite, please drop me a line at katdaddy5 (at) gmail dotcom and put mela in the subject line and leave a phone number and good time to call and I will give you the skinny. Membership is only $1 until March 31, 2013 so hurry.
So although going on the gluten free casein free diet has been limiting, it has also been liberating. I used to feel awful and trapped in a body I hated. I know just what I can have and when I'm feeling ambitious, I kick the GF/CF diet up a notch to Body Ecology, which is really healthy. Social events revolving around food are still a bit awkward, but as long as there is meat, veggies or salad around, I make the best of it. I see my son recovering in ways I never would have imagined before attending the AutismOne conference last year and although skeptical at first, I'm glad I've made the choice to become the groovy earth mom I was always meant to be.
I shamelessly love money...cash, gold, silver...whatever I can get my paws on. And when I get it I'd like to keep it, thank you. This is my blog on money, frugality, getting out of debt, couponing, silver and gold, saving and investing. In these uncertain economic times I am educating myself on personal finance matters, getting out of debt, and taking the necessary steps to improve my financial situation.
