DEAL ALERT: Groupon for GlutenFreely.com

I've mentioned before that I love Groupon and other such deal sites (like, pink puffy sparkly heart love).  Anyway, one of the current deals for the Seattle area is for the GlutenFreely website which offers many gluten-free products plus information about gluten-free living.  There are two choices for this Groupon:  $25 for $50 of credit or $39 for $85 of credit + free shipping.  I've not used the GlutenFreely website before but after a quick perusal will say they offer an insanely large selection of gf food for prices I would classify as moderate to on the high-ish side (for example, Udi's hot dog buns are on sale at GlutenFreely for $5.57 whereas my local Fred Meyer carries them for $4.99 regular price).  This Groupon (especially the $39 choice) would make their prices competitive and therefore worthwhile to snag in my humble opinion. 





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Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge

I mentioned in an earlier post that the husband and me were considering doing a Whole30, which is essentially eating paleo approved whole foods for 30 days (that's seriously a nutshell explanation, see the website for more info).  I've been a primal eater for about a year, so for me, it was mostly a tightening up of the sloppy eating habits and eliminating sweeteners and dairy for a month.  Since the whole family is gluten-free by necessity, the jump to paleo/primal eating for the husband was mainly cutting out grains.  Which doesn't sound like a huge thing but in actuality was posing a pretty big jump mentally.  Since his metabolism is through the roof high (lucky guy), keeping him satiated on a daily basis is a real challenge. He literally eats four to five meals a day plus snacks, so things like rice, potatoes and bread help fill the gaps of keeping him full.  The idea of exclusively eating straight up meat, veggies and healthy fats was giving him pause (would he starve? could he survive on celery and nut butter?).  In the midst of deciding how to plan our Whole30 and discussing whether it would really work for the husband or not, Mark's Daily Apple announced their yearly Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge.  Phew!  What a relief!  Twenty-one days felt like a much more doable length of time for the husband, and since my eating style falls more into the primal camp, it felt like second nature.  Plus the exercise component of the 21-day challenge appealed to us (especially since we've fallen off the daily exercise wagon over the summer).  About the only tweak I've made to the challenge for myself is eliminating dairy and not using any sweeteners (bye-bye dark chocolate, sniff sniff).  We're also eating our largest meal of the day at lunch time, which is not part of the challenge, just something we're trying on our own.

We're three days in and so far so good.  I'll try to chronicle this current (mis-)adventure as we go along and will keep you updated on whether the husband is making it on celery and nut butter (I kid, he's really eating very well).  If you're interested in the Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge, head over to Mark's Daily Apple for information and to enter all the super cool contests he's running.

Grok on!

Mob 2, Week 5

Mob 2 has reached the five week mark and are, against all odds, still forty-three birds strong (for the moment, see below)*.

Two feeders

We are finding that forty-three chickens present unique challenges that thirty-three birds did not.  For one thing, they didn't all fit around our extra-large 30-pound poultry feeder which resulted in a MMA, winner-take-all attitude at feeding time.  It was getting seriously violent and as much as we want strong (read lots of dark meat) birds, feeding times were becoming the kind of activity from which you'd hide your children's eyes.  So we bought another feeder and for the moment, dinner in The Fortress has become a much more civilized affair.

Another issue we've encountered with the larger mob is they produce a heck of a lot more poo.  In addition, this flock has continued in their intelligent ways and graze like crazy on whatever patch of ground their chicken tractor rests upon.  As a result of the increase in au naturale fertilizer and quick denuding of the ground, we've taken to moving The Fortress twice a day.  This is probably excessive, but at least it means the chickens get more fresh "pasture" and aren't sitting in their own excrement.  Plus I'm hoping for a really green lawn come spring so we're spreading the love around, so to speak.

Chicken in a box (again!)

*Speaking of our miraculous 0% mortality rate, we're pretty sure we have one chicken who is at death's door.  We're not sure what the problem is but about two days ago she started acting off and was being "hen-pecked" by the rest of the flock.  As a result of her not feeling well, therefore not getting out of the way, she was run over by the chicken tractor on one of the twice daily moves and to add injury to insult, now has a bum leg.  She's still eating (and pooing) but honestly, she's not well.  I keep reminding myself that this is the way of chicken raising and seriously, we're waaaaay ahead of the curve right now, but it's still sad (especially since we've put 5 weeks worth of feed into her).  So we again have a chicken living in a box, just not on my kitchen counter this time.

Because he's so darn cute and really believes we pay far too much attention to the chickens

A Couple of Ways to Save When Eating Gluten-Free

I got an interesting email in my in-box today and after looking it over, felt it was worthy of sharing. 

I subscribe to BeFreeForMe, a gluten-free and food allergy conscious website that shares coupons and deals with the food allergy community.  They also maintain a blog which discusses gluten-free foods and tips, post articles and maintain a recipe database; in addition, they don't clog your inbox with lots of email so when I get something from them, I know it's worth a look.  Anyway, today's email was about a gluten-free "groupon" style website called Gluten-Free Saver.  Being a big Groupon and Amazon Local fan, I admit I was all over this, and after an initial review of the site, I decided to sign up.  Many of the deals have potential, so if you're interested head on over and check them out. 



* We get no compensation or benefit from recommending these sites or the products they offer. As always, sign up and use at your own risk.

If a picture is worth a thousand words... (chicken edition)

So if a picture is really worth a thousand words, than all these pictures today will save me from coming up with anything to say (witty or otherwise).  With the start of school, life has throttled into full gear with both boys starting their virtual academy studies, the husband going back to work, and me wrangling everyone and the ensuing chaos.

The short feathery report on Mob 2 consists of 43 chickens (still!) eating about 50 pounds of food a week and now big enough to be moved outside.  The change of abode from garage nursery to outdoor chicken tractor (aka The Fortress) will happen today because (1) it's warm enough, (2) the chickens have their adult feathers and (3) and probably most importantly, they're stinking up and making a mess of the garage. 

So without further ado, the chickens.

Chickens in the nursery, sans brooder

Their newest hobby, standing on the waterer plotting their escape

Why yes, I AM king of the pen