"PMA"

Growing up in a military household, I've been raised with a multitude of acronyms. Many of which escape me at present (sorry Dad!). One acronym does come to mind today, and that is PMA (or Positive Mental Attitude). As a somewhat melancholy natured person, I tend to focus on what's wrong, how to fix it, and then get busy fixing said problem. Since Celiac Disease was first given as a suggested diagnosis for my many symptoms, I've been searching. Searching for ways to substitute gluten in all the recipes that I can't have anymore. Breads, bagels, stuffing, cake, doughnuts, etc., etc., etc...

BUT not today! Thanks to a fabulous blog that I have checked almost daily for wonderful recipes to inspire me, I have been focusing on all the things that I CAN have! In her post today, Kate Morgan Jackson of Framed Cooks, said the following, "I'm thinking there is some pulled pork over grits in my future sometime very, very soon." DUH! Instead of having BBQ on bread, I can have BBQ over GRITS! yummy! I know she won't read this, but THANKS KATE!!! Here's just a few wonderful things that I can still have:

1. chocolate covered strawberries (which I just finished making - thank you very much!)

2. ice cream

3. grilled chicken (and just about any other meat that's not prepackaged, and some that are prepackaged!)

4. pineapple

5. kiwi

6. oranges

7. bananas (do you see a trend here?)

8. cucumbers

9. onions

10. tomatoes

11. potatoes

12. several different Mexican dishes (that use corn tortillas and not flour tortillas)

13. salad (hold the croutons please:)

14. celery with peanut butter

15. homemade salsa and corn chips

16. popcorn

17. homemade vegetable soup

18. fried eggs

19. cottage cheese

20. sliced cheese with apples

21. French fries (at home or at a restaurant like Five Guys that doesn't fry anything else in their fryers)

22. COFFEE

23. some potato chips

24. sweet tea

25. pickles

26. yogurt

27. string cheese

28. sauteed cabbage

29. baked potatoes (with lots of butter! and salt & pepper)

30. scrambled eggs

31. spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce

32. popsicles

33. cashews

34. smoothies (we made some mango/peach/strawberry smoothies that were so refreshing last week)

35. chili (serve with corn chips and shredded cheddar for a change)

36. peppers

There! I'm thirty-six years old. So I figure that thirty-six is a good number to stop at for now. I feel better. It's amazing what a PMA can do for someone...Thanks Dad!