Cold, yummy Soup, Gluten-Free now, and Basketball

Happy Saturday everyone! Hope everyone is staying warm and cozy today. Prayers for those in the path of the blizzard hitting the east coast. I can't even imagine that kind of weather. Here, the weather has been cold, cold, COLD. We have had single digit temperatures and windchills of -10 to -20 the last couple of nights. Thursday morning when I took the kids to school my van said it was -8 outside and that does not include the windchill. What else has been happening around here?

Well, I worked Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at my sub food service job. I really like working at this certain elementary school as I really like the head cook there. So that makes working there a little easier. I will also be working there next week as far as I know, as they haven't hired anyone yet for an open position. 

I made what has probably become my favorite soup recipe the other night for dinner. I originally found it on the blog "One Hundred Dollars a Month" and it is SO GOOD!!! It is called Copycat Panera Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. Everyone in the family loves it! I was able to have it for again for dinner Thursday night, when I made the family hamburger helper and then again for lunch on Friday after work. It is so good!

Speaking of food though, we are making some changes to Benjamin's diet. Over the last 2 months, he has lost weight, been really tired all the time, can't concentrate and has been complaining after he eats that his belly hurts and when we ask him where it is around his intestine area. At first, Bill and I thought it was a phase and he just didn't want to eat what I made as this kid used to eat more than any of us. Well, I got tired of fighting with him on it and with the noticing of the weight loss, Ben not wanting to even eat snack foods or McDonald's (which was his favorite) I called his doctor. Bill took him to his appointment on Thursday morning before school and the doctor, along with us, suspected that he has at the very least a wheat allergy and possibly celiac disease. So, they did some blood work to figure it out. We also talked about that it may be a gluten sensitivity and so we are going to cut gluten out of his diet for the time being to see if that helps. 

So, the last few days have been me going to the Kroger and Walmart and scouting out gluten free items to replace everyday items for him--- the priorities being bread, chicken nuggets, pasta, and some snack foods. Well, I am pleased to say that I think I accomplished that, and he was THRILLED when I showed him the gluten-free pizza and chicken nuggets that I found. 

We did find out on Friday evening, that the test for celiac came back negative as did the test for the wheat allergy. So, we are thinking it is a gluten sensitivity. We are to continue on the gluten-free diet for a few weeks to see if that helps and if it does not, we are to contact the doctor again and she will refer us to a g.i. doctor.

 

We started him on the new way of eating on Thursday night and I noticed a difference Friday in him. He was more active, he ate more, and he said that while his belly hurt, it did not hurt as much as before. I told Ben that when I am eating with him that I would also follow his gluten free diet, so he is not alone. So last night, I made frozen pizzas for dinner. I made regular Red Baron ones for Bill and the older 2 kids and for Benjamin and I, we tried the Freschetta Gluten-Free cheese pizza. I will say it was pretty good and I am not usually a fan of frozen pizza.

One of Ben's favorite things that I bought though was Gluten-free Oreos. I tried one yesterday and they taste just like regular Oreos! So, if anyone has any tried-and-true gluten-free recipes or products that you love that are gluten-free, please let me know!

Today, has been pretty eventful. This morning, I had to have Rebecca at the high school to help with a service project. The choirs were coming out to help sort sheet music that the previous choir director had in no way shape or form organized. She was the previous director for 20+ years so there was a ton to do. Rebecca volunteered to come help from 8am to noon today. After I dropped her off, I went to Walmart to try out the Ibotta app, as I signed up last night and they had several freebies for new sign-ups. It was a super easy process! Then it was off to Kroger to finish up my grocery shopping and home to put it all away before going back out to pick Rebecca up. Then it was time to head out to the boys' Upward basketball games.

Thankfully, their games were back-to-back today. Both played really well.

Benjamin scored 8 points today and played great defense. Jacob scored 4 points while playing for the other team (as they only had 4 kids show up.) 

Now I am typing this up and thinking about what I want for dinner. It is supposed to be date night for Bill and I and usually he wants me to decide. Not sure what I am in the mood for. I will be making the kids some macaroni and cheese, including a gluten-free variety for Ben. So, I should end this so that I can get started on their dinner. 

What's the weather like where you are? Do you have any tried-and-true gluten-free recipes or gluten-free products that you love? What are you having for dinner?