Gluten Free Foods That Are Actually Yummy to Eat

Having been gluten free for about two years now I have tried many brands in search for the most delicious food. From rubbery bagels to plastic crackers, I've tried it all. When I first discovered that my stomach was sensitive to gluten, I felt that I was no longer able to enjoy the yummy foods that I loved! I soon realized that there are some bad brands out there but there's also many good brands! And I'm here to tell you what those are. Whether you're gluten free or not these are the best brands and yummy foods that I love!

Breakfast: 

{ Chocolate Chex Cereal | Publix | GF Chex Oatmeal | Publix | Bisquick GF Mix | Publix | GF Toaster Waffles | Trader Joe's | Udi's GF Double Chocolate Muffins | Publix }

I'm a huge breakfast person and while I can't have a gormet meal every morning these are the second best thing! Chex brand has awesome gluten free cereal that comes in many different flavors, I personally love the chocolate. They also make GF oatmeal which has always been one of my favorite breakfast meals. I use Bisquick gluten free mix to make pancakes, biscuits and Belgium waffles. You can't even tell the difference and that's what I love about it! When I don't have time to use the mix I pop two GF waffles in the toaster. There are numerous brands that sell GF waffles but I found the best to be from Trader Joe's. They're not dry and flaky like other brands. My absolute favorite brand is Udi's and these double chocolate muffins are to die for. Udi's also makes some delicious pizzas as well as bread!

Lunch/dinner/snacks:

{ Toufayan GF Wraps | Publix | Mueller's GF Pasta | Publix | Amy's GF Garden Vegetable Lasagna | Publix | Glutino GF Crackers | Publix | Lance GF Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers | Trader Joe's }

For lunch I'll eat one of these Toufayan GF wraps (I add lunch meat and cheese), I'm not a huge bread person because it makes me feel too full so these were a great find. Sometimes they're hard to find in Publix but ask an employee for help they're definitely worth it! My favorite food is Italian and that really stinks because most Italian food had gluten in it, but when I'm at home I use Mueller's GF pasta for spaghetti and other yummy dishes. Amy's brand has a ton of tv like dinners to choose from. Shown above is the garden vegetable lasagna but they also make things like burritos, Mac and cheese and even some Chinese food! Glutino is my second favorite brand! I love to eat their crackers with cheese or chicken salad! Lance recently came out with these peanut butter sandwich crackers and I couldn't be more thrilled, I use to eat the ritz brand as a child and now I can have one of my favorite snacks back!

Dessert:

{ Krusteaz GF Fudge Brownie Mix | Kroger | GF Chocolate Cupcakes | Trader Joe's | Glutino GF Chocolate Vanilla Creme Cookies | Publix | GF Chocolate a Chip Cookies | Trader Joe's }

Gluten free brownies that actually taste good are hard to find so when my aunt made me these Krusteaz fudge brownies I was in heaven. I honestly think they're better than regular brownie mix. Dessert is my favorite "meal" and Trader Joe's chocolate cupcakes make me realize that even more. They're so moist and the buttercream icing is the perfect touch. Glutino has done it again with some yummy cookies. These are as close to GF Oreos as you can get. My mom recently found the Trader Joe's chocolate chip cookies and I think I have fallen in love. I used to be obsessed with Famous Amos cookies and these are almost exactly the same but even bigger and better!

These are just a few of the gluten free foods that I enjoy and know are actually delicious to eat. So when you're cluelessly wondering around the grocery store looking at many different GF brands, you can count on these to be the best!

Summer Beach Day Essentials

Summer is by far the best time of year. My hair gets lighter, my skin gets darker and I get to spend most of my time at my favorite place in the world, the beach. Mexico Beach to be exact. It's a small, quiet place that I like to call paradise. Being a summer local, there's no doubt I experience the hot sun in full force and have had my fair share of bubbling sunburns. So I thought I'd share the items that are a must in my beach bag for the time spent in the sun and for the hours after a long beach day.

While in the sun:

1. Yeti Cup: Water is a definite when out in the sun for hours. I'm always drinking water to keep my self hydrated and happy at the beach. My go to cup is my Yeti I received as a gift from one of my best friends. This cup is literally the best cup you can own. It's stainless steel so it keeps my water ice cold all day (yes the ice cubes barely melt). I can't stand guzzling down warm water so this cup is my life saver when it comes to a refreshing beverage.

2. B & B Surf Spray: I'm a big fan of messy hair dos at the beach and this spray gives me volume and texture before I even reach the sand. I get a wind-blown feel which creates my effortless beach waves. All I do is spray B & B throughout my hair before heading to the beach and the wind does the rest!

3. Sunnies: You can never go wrong with your favorite pair of sunnies! I have a little obsession with sunglasses and may have a small drawer full but my favorite pair of the moment is shown above. These are Crap Eyewear sunnies, and though I'm not a fan of the name I'm a fan of the look and feel. I'm going through a little retro phase and these definitely have that style. But really, any brand will do as long as you're protecting your eyes (they can get sun burned too)!

4. Nivea/Banana Boat: Chapstick is the second best thing to coffee. I put it on every morning and every night. I love to mix these two particular brands when out in the sun. I'll put on Banana Boat SPF 30 first and then top it with Nivea Shimmer SPF 10 for a simple colored lip. I do this because I want to make sure my lips are protected with a higher SPF but I also love a lip shimmer! DO NOT forget to apply SPF to your lips, they will burn, they will peel, they will bleed TRUST ME!

5. Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream: Dream Fresh BB is one of my favorite beauty products I have ever used and I love how I can use it every day, not just at the beach, knowing my face will be protected with SPF 30. I have dry skin but my face almost always breaks out when I use normal face sunscreen due to all the oils and other heavy ingredients. With BB, my face never breaks out because there are 0% oils and it gives me a sun protected, even skin-tone face for a day in the sun.

6. Bose Speaker: Both of my parents are musicians so it's a given I love music (even if I don't play an instrument). I received my Bose Speaker as a present and use it almost everyday, you could say I'm obsessed. I bring it along every beach trip and it's music to my ears (literally). There's just something about the beach, good music and good people, now that's a good day at the beach.

8. Banana Boat Deep Tanning Oil: This stuff will turn you into a bronze goddess, no question. But be careful, you're basically an oiled up chicken in an oven. Do not use this with out sunscreen even if it says sunscreen is in it. There's only a tiny amount and You. Will. Burn. It's a blessing and a curse but mostly a blessing.

After a beach day:

1. Victoria Secret Beach Sexy Tinted Body Lotion: Exactly what the name says. I use it after I hop out of the shower to moisturize my skin from the sun exposure and it also enhances my tan!

2. John Frieda Sheer Blonde Lightening Spray: This one's only for the blondes, sorry brunettes... I spray this product all over my damp hair after a shower and blow dry until it's completely dry. The secret is the more heat you use the lighter your hair will get. So keep your blowdryer on the hottest setting possible. I take it to the next step and straighten my hair afterwards to get my hair even lighter. Now I'm not saying this extreme heat is the best thing for your hair, in fact too much will damage it, but hey you'll have bright blonde hair...beauty is pain and if that means actually cutting your long blonde hair to get it healthy again then so be it.

3. Olay Fresh Effects Deep Pore Clean: This cleanser is Out Of This Swirled!!! It's a mixture of moisture-rich swirls and exfoliating microbeads to give your pores a deep clean. I like to use this in the shower after a beach day (or any day really) to clean out all the sweat and sunscreen that gets trapped in my pores.

4. Softlips Chapstick: I like chapstick, I like soft lips. What can I say!?

5. Olay Fresh Effect Gel Moisturizer: I've fallen in love with this moisturizer. It's super lightweight and oil free and it doesn't clog my pores and cause me to breakout...YAY!!!

Always always always take a break from the sun. Even though us girls love to be tan we should take breaks now in then. Don't forget a hat and an umbrella and of course the tanning oil!!!

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Sweet Baby Stephen

Today my mom and I drove down to Gainesville with my little brother for his weekly therapy sessions. For those of you who don't know, here's a little background about my brother, Stephen. He was born on December 26, 2013 at 26 weeks or 3 months early. My mom had developed preeclampsia and needed to have an emergency c-section. My baby brother was born at only 1 pound 11 oz (the average baby weighs 7.5 pounds). Stephen was a micropremie and was in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for 96 days.

Stephen is now 2 years old and is in need of a kidney transplant once he is big enough. He currently has a gastrostomy tube connected from the outside to the inside of his stomach for all the medicine he needs to take as well as a catheter along the inside of his body for peritoneal dialysis that is done every night while he is asleep. This filters out all the toxins inside him (the stuff that our kidneys do that his doesn't). Since Stephen was a micropremie he is behind with his growing and other developmental stages such as walking and eating real food, this is the need for all of his therapies. Now I'm sure many of you are still trying to figure out how that g-tube thing works or maybe you're laughing at the fact that I really define the term "big sister" or maybe you're just thinking about how difficult it must be for our family with a special needs child, but it is our everyday life, we're used to it by now. I'm not saying it's easy but we have our day to day routine down to a science and we love our little miracle, I mean who couldn't? Look at those glasses!!!

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