Gluten Free...INTERNATIONALLY?

Just a quick post tonight-I want to start off the quarter with good study habits! If, like me, gluten is a major problem, traveling is a scary scary thing. Of course, there are obvious conventions: don't eat bread, pasta, pastries, etc. But what about the more subtle things? Barley malt? Wheat germ? The things that show up in sauces and soups and spreads, leaving you with headaches and stomachaches later? Like I said, scary. And that's just in English.

I'm applying to study in France next year, which as you can imagine, takes a LOT of preparation on the nutrition front alone! Also, asking une serveuse ou un serveur to rattle off the ingredient list, while I adjust to full-time French, is nerve-wracking and tedious, let alone potentially insulting the to restaurant! 

But now...SOLUTION! Here is an amazing site dedicated to gluten-free travel, with free cards that explain your digestive system both politely and concisely! The cards are free, but a donation would be appreciated. I'm a poor college student, so I went with the second option and linked them! Miracles :)

Gorgey, no? Hello, seventeen year old Courtney. This was three years ago, after high school graduation. Yes, I'm twenty. Shhhh.

Jab, Cross, Uppercut, Hook!

Awesome new exercise trend: PILOXING! Strength of pilates, with boxing moves. I jabbed, crossed, hooked, and used weights to my heart's content tonight! While I'm home, my mom got be a student package membership to her yoga studio, which is $30 for a month of unlimited classes. Drop-ins are $7, but if you go to five of them, the package is paid off anyway. I've been going constantly to show my mom how appreciative I am, oh & I'm totally in love. I've been going to body sculpt, different yoga classes, and decided to try the piloxing class. I'm hooked! Too bad I leave for school on Sunday, I wish I could stay with that studio year round!

So what is piloxing? A lot of boxing moves, but the instructor, Nick, also focused on form. He reminded us constantly to drop our shoulders, tuck our tailbones, and engage our core muscles. At the end, he used pilates moves with short rounds of extended child's pose. It was incredible. The music all had a great beat, and a lot of it was Michael Jackson! Sweet deal. I'd definitely recommend it!

After piloxing, I stayed for the yoga class, which is the only class I've taken on Thursdays over winter break. Piloxing definitely didn't kill me-it was actually something I felt really strong in. After month 1 of Insanity, I felt like a lot of the moves were the same. Yoga, however, was extremely challenging. My arms were quite fatigued, so I found myself dropping into child's pose quite a lot. Downward facing dog just wouldn't hold for a long time, and neither would any of the warrior poses, but I'm glad I went.

Yoga was definitely a lesson in listening to my body. I've been bad at this over the years, pushing and pushing and pushing and hating the idea of rest or not going all out. Post-injury, though, I've started listening to what my body wants and needs-if it's exhausted, I'll go easy on it. If I need to modify something, or take a rest, I'll do it. Tonight I had to do a lot of that, and it wasn't as horrible as I used to think it was. I'm learning, slowly but surely!

And because no post would be complete without one of these:

Switching it up a bit with La Jaconde! Blurry but still, awesome! From the Louvre.

I Love You, Neuroscience!

For the past few days I have searched the Internet for nerdy, cogsci-related pickup lines. I SWEAR it's not because I have a 4k word paper due on Friday, a lab due, a stats writeup, a midterm Wednesday, and quiz tomorrow. That CAN'T be it, right? Hah.

Disclaimer: I came up with NONE of these. 

If I were a neurotransmitter, I would be dopamine so I could activate your reward pathway.

My hypothalamus must be secreting serotonin because baby, I want you!

Hey baby, want to form a synapse with me and exchange neurotransmitters?

If I were a Shwann cell, I'd squeeze areound your axon and give you a fast action potential.

If you were a concentration gradient I'd go down on you.

You must be the one for me, since my selectively permeable membrane let you through.

Hey baby, why don’t we instantiate a new Love object and pass in ourselves as the parameters.

Just being around you sets my synapses on fire.

Before I can commit to this relationship, I need you to declare your variables.

I checked your syntax and found no errors. Wanna go compile?

Baby, if they made you in Java, you’d be the object of my desire.

Why don’t we use some Fourier analysis on our relationship and reduce to a series of simple periodic functions

You just made me cross the action potential threshold...

I'd bind to your active site.

I think we should use an re-uptake inhibitor..

Let my ligand bind your G protein... I swear, you'll experience a cascade of reactions.

What a Rush..

...of gratitude! Happy Thanksgiving! I know I'm a little late, but that's okay. My mom was an angel: she created a 80-90% gluten-free feast and it all tasted so delicious! No one, not even my glutenivore family members, felt deprived! Bless her, she also created a vast array of healthy dishes that were fantastic and left us feeling content but not too full! 

Last Thanksgiving, I ran my 10K PR, which is around 56 minutes. Considering this was my first sanctioned 10K, not too shabby! This year, I was reminiscing about how much things have changed. I have yet to work up to a marked 10K, but I'm so grateful that I can be out and running without pain, and without fear! Today I just...went. I'm such a little principessa sometimes though, it's not THAT cold at home but I still went out in full underarmour! I just ran...it was one of those days when I just couldn't get comfortable in my shoes, so I ran from my mom's to my dad's with major shinsplints, stopping to retie them. It was casual and I have no clue how far I ran, or how long I was gone. No pressure, no worries, just some mechanical foot turnover and life was good! When I got back I did another twenty-minute vinyasa video to help with mindfulness. As I sat there in savasana, I felt so much gratitude rush into me: for my family, my health, my home, and life :) 

Happy Holidays from the Bay Area!


And of course...

Tuolomne Falls, I think. Near Glen Aulin High Sierra Camp.

If you haven't noticed, I'm obsessed with these pictures. They remind me that nature has such beauty, such simplicity, yet such perfection<3

Camping: How to do it Gluten-Free Part 2

Well hello again. Back to the pressing topic of how to camp gluten-free. Unless you are allergic to bright stars and clean air, and if so I don't judge, sooner or later you're going to have to figure out how to do this. I would have posted this yesterday, but I had linear and nonlinear curve fitting code to write in MATLAB. So I'm going to assume we can all move on, yes? Yes. So here it is...

How to Continue to Survive a Week of Camping and Hiking Without Major Health Meltdowns:

(keeps getting catchier, I know...)

1. Check, doublecheck, and triplecheck labels. Tuolomne had a great little general store: they had gear, maps, souvenirs, food, you name it. This was great: if you ran out of something mid-trip, or forgot to pack it, you could grab it there! But I have to warn you: you MUST check labels. Camping is supposed to be low-maintenance, not a banquet catered by specialty grocers. There is no "gluten-free" section. Still check, even if on the off chance the product is labeled gluten-free. I got lucky and found some rice chips that I still really enjoy, labeled and everything, but this is rare. You may look funny examining every ingredient list, but if something is wrong, it is YOUR digestive system in the woods and in the small, enclosed living space. 
1. Be careful, gluten-free and wheat-free are two different things! Especially beware the word malt. Malt comes from barley, which is not wheat, but contains gluten. Malt is used in CLIF bars, Luna Bars, and a lot of other products. Will wheat always be on the ingredient list? No. Will this fool your digestive system? No. Will you have a very uncomfortable experience? YES. 
2. Hold the bun. Here's a secret: burgers and sandwiches can be put on lettuce. You can either ask specifically for this, or just ask for no bun. With all the low-carb diets out there & your credit card in your hand, cashiers usually won't ask questions. It's economically sound as well. They don't waste the bun, which means they don't waste the money. 
3. Just Ask. Restaurants are always tricky. This usually won't be a problem, but if you have a lodge or local hotspot, like the Tioga grill, you have to be smart about it. 

1. Let them know what you can't eat. I asked a waitress about wild rice one night, saying, "You're going to hate me, but is there any form of wheat, barley, rye, spelt, or kamut in this?" She was a sweetheart: "You mean like, gluten?" Yes, that's exactly what I mean. She didn't hate me at all, and mentioned that a manager had Celiac so they were very aware of their ingredients. Wild rice did in fact have barley, so when she brought out the dish I actually ordered, she told me that she asked the chef and it was gluten-free! Except the two pieces of bread on top, to which she replied, "OH MY! The chef does that out of habit! I'm so sorry!" She went back and told the chef, who was horrified. Waiters and waitresses will  accomodate you if you're polite about it: they don't want a health meltdown any more than you do! And don't skimp on the tip, either.
2. In the town of Lee Vining, right outside of the park, there is a Mobil Station. Yes, a gas station. In this gas station, there is a restaurant. Not a dingy little hot dog heater, a restaurant. Live music on Thursday nights, I think. When I asked if there was any flour in a certain dish, the cashier said no, but the cook asked me specifically if I was asking about gluten. Affirmative. Nope, can't have those! But he then listed the dishes that were safe for me to eat. Just be nice about your needs, and no one will have a problem accomodating you! I ended up with a salmon salad pictured above. Gorgey, isn't it? And it was devoured...

So there you have it...camping a la Courtney. I think the major lesson learned here is that you can still eat S'mores. Oh yes.

I built a cairn! Glen Aulin High Sierra Camp hike.

Yes, that's my shadow. Photography isn't my major skill...or any skill.

Um hi,

I may or may not be the girl that eats all the chocolate chips out of the trail mix and ends up with a bag of everything else.

I almost suggested that they should make trail mix just for that girl, but they do, it's called a bag of chocolate chips. Hah.

I'm in a jazzy sort of mood :)

...And a twenty minute free Vinyasa download from yogadownload.com was JUST what I needed today.

Camping: How to do it Gluten-Free Part 1

Over the summer, my cousin & I went up to Tuolomne Meadows for a week. This was a true test: I had gorgey new hiking boots and a body that hadn't been put through serious exercise (aside from running around after campers) in months. And I was stoked. Naturally, I didn't want to be the girl in the group with major digestive distress, or the high-maintenance girl that sits there moping about what she can and can't eat while everyone makes s'mores. Because really, who wants to be in a tent (or tentcabin, I'm really not the most woodsy person) with THAT girl? Please.

There's only one rule when it comes to pulling off a feat like this. Have a sense of humor! Really, you're going to be among pb&j sandwiches, CLIF bars, graham crackers, hot dog and hamburger buns, and probably a million pounds of crackers. You might as well take it in stride! 

How to Survive a Week of Camping and Hiking Without Major Health Meltdowns:

(catchy title, right? I thought so.)

1. Explain your situation ahead of time. I told my aunt and my cousin my situation, and that I would be bringing my own specialty items, about a week before the trip. This let them pack for themselves and not have to worry about what I would like or wouldn't be able to eat. I ate my food, they ate theirs. Simple, and they don't go broke trying to accomodate me!
2. Load up on fruits and vegetables! This one was huge, because fruits and vegetables are my body's favorite, and they bulked up every meal! Salads, check. Fruit in my cereal, check. Quick sugars, check. Easy side dishes, check. Do itttt.
3. BYOFF. Bring Your Own Freak Food (I mean freak in the most loving way, as I'm referring to my own diet). Want to enjoy s'mores? Bring your own graham crackers. Need trail food? Stock up on GF energy bars. I took NUGO Free bars, which I wasn't too impressed with. The tastes were good; I tried the carrot cake and dark chocolate varieties, but the texture didn't suit. Too chewy, too rice-krispy treat-y, but soggy if that makes sense. I guess I should have spent more time planning that part out.
1. Cereal, Bread, and Graham Crackers: I took gluten-free cereal with me: Nature's Path Crunch Vanilla Sunrise. Definitely a winner, but I don't eat cereal often. In terms of bread, I took millet and LOVED it (thank you Fitnessista!). Tasted rather like a scone, and scones are my ultimate weakness! Finally, the crucial parts. S'more ingredients. I searched Whole Paycheck long and hard, and ended up settling on Healthy Valley Rice Bran Crackers. Not graham-y, really, but they did the trick and I adored the taste! I could have made my own, a la Lauren, but I didn't have the time or the ingredients on hand. Oh well, next time!
4. Go Anti-OPF. Unless you can be certain that what you are offered is gluten-free, stay away from Other People's Food. Exceptions: fruits, vegetables, water, most chocolate. It just makes things a lot easier.

Since this is definitely a lot of information to handle at once, I'm going to cut it here and come back later with a Part 2! Happy Tuesday? Sleepless nights are no fun :(

Elizabeth Lake, where the fish are so excited that they jump at you!