Progress

I've been doing the BOP avoidance diet for about a week now. It's getting easier. Now that I can recognize what foods have ingredients I need to steer clear of, I'm getting more relaxed. And the pay off is that my skin is getting better. The patches on my hands and feet are fading and the dry areas on my scalp are starting to go away. I knew from the onset that this would be hard to start doing, but once I figure out what soaps, lotions, and other products I can use and what foods I can eat, it would get easier. And it is. I'm less itchy now and I feel like I can go back to focusing on other things. Like teaching my daughter her letters. Tending to my son's scraped knees. You know-- every day stuff.

I've been trying to keep some treats around the house, since I can't have candy or store-bought baked goods. Having something sweet around is essential to me. I have a massive sweet tooth. Lately, I can't stop eating cottage cheese with honey dribbled on top. I need to start buying cottage cheese at costco, because I'm going through the pint tubs from the grocery store too quickly :P I've also been eating a lot more fruit and will start eating more salad once I mix up a batch of my favorite ranch dressing.

My happy moment yesterday came while I was staring at the menu at Panera, trying to figure out what snack I could get. I go there twice a month for a knitting group. We drink smoothies, knit, and chat. It's nice. It gets me out of the house. They have a seasonal smoothie on the menu with peach, blueberry, and plain almond milk. It was delicious and it didn't set back my progress!

My challenge tomorrow will be figuring out where I can get a whole dinner out. My daughter has a haircut scheduled for 5:30pm, and we're planning to get a quick dinner after. So I'll be checking the local menus tomorrow before we leave. Hopefully we'll have a good time with just a little planning.