I feel so much better today than I have in weeks! And it is really showing in my productivity: I put together half of my water garden, repotted my herb garden into its permanent planter home, hooked up and troubleshot our new wireless printer, worked on my paper, cooked, and even did some pre-cooking for meals later in the week.

For the past 2 weeks I have been ordering delicious, local, perfectly-ripe strawberries from my organic grocery delivery... and for the past 2 weeks I have been WASTING almost the entire carton because I forget they are in the fridge, because I am sick and don't feel like looking, or because they are so ripe that they spoil in 3-4 days. blah!

Well, this week was finally different. Today I went through and washed these perfectly-ripe berries and FROZE THEM for use in smoothies and steel-cut oats for the rest of the week. I can't believe I let them go to waste before, because they are pretty much the most delicious things in the history of EVER.

It's weird how lazy and apathetic I become when I'm sick from gluen-exposure... It just kills my motivation and puts me in a horrible, stressful mental state, leaving me craving high-calorie takeout and not wanting to lift a finger to cook due to debilitating fatigue. But, after 2-3 days of gluten-free eating, the motivation comes back, the headaches leave, my insides stop hurting, my energy comes back, and I am ready to tackle daily activities again. Best of all, I am back to craving fruits and vegetables instead of chips and queso--LOL

Obviously, the lesson learned is that I need to be more careful about my gluten-free diet being 100% gluten-free.

----

Dinner tonight was delicious (gluten-free) pasta salad.
I incorporated diced chicken breasts and asparagus that we grilled last night during our cookout, then added gluten-free penne, grass-fed feta cheese, diced bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, basil leaves, extra virgin olive oil, seasoned vinegar, salt, pepper, and spices. I served mine chilled over a bed of spinach. I must say, this is one of my all-time favorite summer dishes... so delicious any time of the day and perfect for packing in lunches or picnics.

Last night was my first time using our indoor electric grill...I was delighted by the results :) The meat and veggies got such beautiful grill lines, and tasted just as good as food cooked on a propane grill (though charcoal grilling is still my favorite in terms of flavor, too bad my apartment complex won't let us have one). I was also surprised by the lack of smoke... It was a night-and-day difference from trying to cook on my cast-iron grill pan.

If anyone is looking for a way to grill indoors and to add intense flavor to foods without smoking-up your kitchen, you should totally check out this little grill for under $50!:
www.amazon.com/Sa
nyo-HPS-SG3-200-Square-Inc
h-Electric-Barbeque/dp/B00
011HH22/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8
&qid=1338072591&sr=8-3
Everything tastes better grilled...