He has been found and is safe. We have no other details yet. We are still praying for his family as they figure out what happened.

James is a great kid. His cell phone was found tossed in a yard about 8 miles from his house. Our family has been looking for him all day and will join the search party that is meeting at Crossroads Fellowship in Raleigh at 8:00 AM. The church is also open for a prayer vigil tonight. Please keep praying for this teen and his family and friends.

I love this! My kids constantly surprise me at what they want to do.

Here is how writing has been getting done here: Write Thank You cards when receiving gifts or for field trips, etc. Write in conjuction with Scout badges Writing Contests (one has a motivation to earn money) Druidawn Writing stories (DS likes to write about his D&D games and his video games and DD likes to write Monster High Scripts for filming) Journaling (One does and the other has no interest) Copywork/Commonplace journal -we all have one and when someone thinks something in a book is cool enough to read aloud to me, I just say "That sounds like something that would be nice to have in your commonplace journal" Movie/Book/Video Game reviews (Amazon, Goodreads, etc) Blogs Emails/IM's with Grandma (who she can't do textspeak with lol). My daughter worked on a play for two weeks for a contest and finished it over the weekend. This week she is working on a small essay in conjunction with a modeling job that she wants and writing a review for a Monster High Doll. My son is writing a Skyrim (video game) story this week. We will play Druidawn at least once this week and I am sure at least one of them will do some copywork.

But don't think it's easy. My kids are just as lazy as the next kid. I have to remind them frequently of THEIR goals (Hey, are you still interested in going to college?" or "How's your Silver Project going?"or "When is the next tournament for____" or "I am going to store, do you need me to pick up a new craft supply, logic book, etc (something I know that will renew an interest). I subtly suggest "What should "I" read next? So and so from Sunday School suggested I read this. What do you think?" and I read out all the opportunities that come up each day and what do they want me to put on the calendar (which usually depends on who else is signed up). They have their good days and they have their bad (and I do fret on the bad days and call up Captuhura and complain that I am ruining them). **I could go on but my daughter is yelling down to me that I need to get to bed since she has to be at soccer at 7:30 AM, followed by an open casting call to be an extra, and a birthday party, followed by helping a friend edit the video and going to dinner with that friend's family. She is stressed that we will both oversleep and she won't get her hair straightened before the game! NOTE: She's already got her soccer bag packed, breakfast stuff ready to go, my coffee ready to go on time, my alarm set, birthday card made and package wrapped so all we have to do is go.

OTHER INTERESTS: DD has a few passions: Monster High, Dance Moms and making movies. She makes a lot of videos of her Monster High Dolls (teaching her self stop motion and other techniques) and making tribute videos of the Dance Moms girls (who have gotten in contact with her to show their Thanks). She recently won a video contest. She also wrote the script, directed, filmed, and participated in a public service video for Girl Scouts. Tomorrow she is teaching one of the other scouts how to edit so they can edit it together. She draws Monster High dolls a lot and is getting good at drawing them and designing outfits. She is in the process of redoing an old Barbie doll house to make it a Monster High Doll house - painting, papering, making furniture, making polymer clay miniature food and accessories, etc. She has also started learning how to make her own custom Monster High Dolls. She has researched different "monsters" and mythical beings, created back grounds for them, drawn them, designed outfits, made outfits (took a sewing class), repainted the dolls, took out the hair and put in new hair of a different color, etc. Recently, she had a brand new doll break and contacted Mattel and they sent her a new one (and she talked them into a few extra stands for the dolls). She has learned how to use ebay as part of looking for Monster High Dolls (and to earn money for Disney) and now buys and trades on ebay, even overseas (learning to convert from pounds to dollars, etc). She has branched into antiques to help my parents antique business. She also has learn to put hair extensions in (to make money -she watched someone do it, went out and bought the supplies and did it) and she designs and makes jewelry to sell (took a class and gets help from my sister and husband who do it as a hobby). She also loves to Dance. She take four dance classes. She has decided that she wants to move to a more competitive studio. She researched all the local studios, made a spreadsheet, determined which one was the best for what she wanted, came up with a presentation for her dad and I so that she could convince us to spend more money and drive further next year. She was in the Nutcracker this past year and loves to listen to classical music and broadway tunes. She also does recreational soccer, two Scout troops (GSA and AHG), has her own plants and pets she cares for, does about half the cooking in the house, her own laundry, assists me with shopping/couponing, in on the worship team for children's church, has a fantasy football team (to be a sport and help the family out and it impresses the boys lol). She is about to take a Babysitting class and does some babysitting/Mother's helper already. She is very good with kids. (I swear this child is a better mom than I am). She volunteers at soup kitchen with me and likes to volunteer to do stuff at Ronald McDonald house (makes cookies, blankets, collects tabs, etc). DS is one of those D&D/Video game kids. He loves it but if friends are home, he'd rather play with them and of course, he also reads and does math all the time. I think he keeps a healthy balance but he has the occasional all day long of gaming (But he tends to do whatever he does math, read, science, etc all day long on any given day). He is into the middle ages somewhat (and the ancients). He and his dad made a chain mail outfit and we all do historical swordfighting. He and I duel several times a week and we made our own swords (foam lol). As a family, we all take part in a weekly class (even DD who isn't into it but will go if there is nothing else to do that day). He is also a NRA marksman and is almost a marksman first class. He is state champion in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and on the demonstration team that goes around to schools and events. He also helps the Little Ninjas class for preschool/Kindies. He played football (Touch for a few years and last year, contact) but didn't like it that much (plus he's too small) so he's probably not going to do it again. He also plays baseball. He's the catcher (one of best in league) and a good solid hitter. He's not a home run hitter but he gets on base 3/4 of the time and often gets doubles. This is from hard work rather than natural talent. He practices a ton. He will have earned second class in Boy Scouts after this weekends campout. He was just on tv for rock climbing (though DD is probably a better climber -he was in the right place at the right time). He also loves chess and wants to join chess club (just can't seem to fit it in). He loves strategy/logic in general. He's read Fallacy Detective twice, took a logic class in co-op, does logic problems for fun, and also read Sun Tzu this year and took a class on Sun Tzu applied to WWII. He can solve a Rubik's Cube in a minute or two and is teaching himself piano (but not as fast or consistent as I would like!) DH and I are very active people. DH owns a computer business and I help him out by organizing the charity golf tournament, filling in when receptionist is out, doing some odd jobs here and there. DS helps him install lan lines, etc. Both us volunteer in Sunday School on Sundays (He does security for the youth department and I teach 6th grade girls -so I don't teach my kids lol). Both of us are Scout leaders and he's the range coach and I am a certified archery instructer and both of us are outdoor certified and merit badge instructors. I co-lead a Bible Study group and we both teach in Co-Op. He coaches football and baseball. We both play on church softball league. We are both in Marine Corps League and do volunteer work w/ them and I do a lot of visiting the older members who are in the hospital, plan the ball, etc. I am a couponer but a Traditional foodie (Paleo for myself) so lots of balance there lol. I do Crossfit 4 times a week. We have a lot of pets, have family in New York and Florida and travel several times a year. We usually perform in Renaissance Fairs and both of us have taught sword fighting (but usually only do it now if the younger adults are not there -they need the money). We both are avid readers, love documentaries and educational type shows, listen to talk radio, etc. We have a lot of customers that are in the health fields so I do a lot of 5k's and events (and kids do too). I am addicted to logic problems and sudoku and DH loves jig saw puzzles. We both like to play Boggle and have a 15 year running score. We are constantly doing some project on the house (DD just helped DH put in a new floor in my bedroom). The kids and I are in 3-4 different homeschool groups. In other words, we LIVE which means there isn't much time for doing nothing but watching tv and playing video games (those get done and some days they are an all day thing but those days are rare).

We are not quite highschoolers yet but this year we moved into a more unschooling approach in that I don't "make" my kids do anything (but they do have chores if they want allowance/I do suggest and strew and discuss and follow my own interests/and I do remind them of their goals if they seem off track) After a few years of trying everything, I discovered that my daughter wasn't going to learn anything that she didn't want to learn PERIOD. I could assign books but she wouldn't remember them or would just look up the summaries on line to bluff her way through. Everything was a blank stare. My son on the otherhand, seemed to do fine no matter what we did. He loves to read and loves to learn PERIOD. So here's how things get done: MATH: They both decided they want to keep college open. They know they need a certain level of math to do that. DD (7th) is doing Kinetic Pre-Algebra a few times a week. If she does poorly on a test, she will go to Khan Academy and do that a while until she gets it. She does a lot of math via cooking (a passion), shopping (nothing teaches percents like sales at Justice, Kohl's and Target lol), running a business, and making doll furniture. DS (6th) is doing AOPS Algebra. He loves Khan Academy and will do it hours a day and has completed the Geometry & Trig portions of it. He loves math literature like the Number Devil, Life of Fred, etc. He plays Lure of the Labyrinth a lot and occasionally goes back to Timez Attack just for the memories. He does balance benders for fun. He can't get enough math. FOREIGN LANGUAGE: This is another thing that they both know they need to get into college. We discussed that they could do it traditionally for two years or do a little bit a day until they had done two years worth by the graduation time. They chose the latter. DD has big desires to travel the world. She hated Latin (because I know it) and chose Greek (she loves all things Greek). She just started this fall & is on her 3rd Hey Andrew Book and taken an online course. She does it 4-5 times a week without much reminding (she did go a week without doing it and I just asked if she lost interest and no, she had just gotten out of the habit because we were out of town and immediately got back into the habit). She just started taking a class in Chinese (it won't go very far as it is just a "fun" class but it is sparking a lot of interests. She also works on her sign language often (I have a deaf sister that she adores).DS liked Latin and decided to keep doing it. He just went two months without doing (I reminded him but he chose not to do it because he wants to do math all the time). Recently, he decided to do it and realized that he had forgotten too much and that he was better off doing it a little each day. So he started over and spent a week reviewing and is typing out a Latin-English dictionary of all the words he forgot LOL. LITERATURE: I got some great basic questions from SWB last year that could be applied to any book. My DD never liked to read and now she reads an hour a day and has been known to read all day occasionally. She mostly reads popular series -Percy Jackson and other Rick Riordan books, Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, Dork Diaries, Twilight, Hunger Games, Kingdom Keepers, etc. She also will read the occasional classic that a friend is reading (Pride and Prejudice, Diary of Anne Frank, all the Little House books, Anne of Green Gables) but other than Little House, they didn't do much for her. She loves Mythology and reads that quite often and is into Monster High so has read a few of the classic monster stories. She just picked up Where the Red Fern Grows because her brother liked it and we watched the movie and she liked the movie.DS loves to read will read just about any book I suggest LOL. I just go by the Books Every Boy Should Read site I found and strew them. The only one that I suggested that he didn't like was Lord of the Flies. Right now, he is reading Touching Spirit Bear so he can do a Book Club with his friend and this month (which isn't half way over), he has read Inheritance, Hunger Games, and Animal Farm. COMPOSITION-DD is trying to earn money to go to Disney. This has motivated her to enter a couple writing contests each month. One recent one was a play writing contest. I got in contact with a friend who is a published playwright and a professor of dramatic writing and they have been working together on various elements of writing. This connection led her to read Joseph Campbell and watch a few of his lecture. This child has always loved to write (as long as it was not assigned). She keeps a journal and is always writing stories about Monster High, etc. We work on grammar and spelling (Definite weaknesses of hers and she relies heavily on spell check) when she asks me to look over her works before submitting. DS has always hated writing. However, he loves role playing games and so we play Druidawn. DD doesn't care for Druidawn that much but she plays willingly to help him out. In turn, he did a few of the essay contests to see if he can earn some money for her Disney fund. Both do writing in their Scout badges too. DS goes through phases of wanting to do MCT grammar. He loves it. Then DD will do it because she doesn't want to be outdone by him LOL. We all try to come up with new vocabulary words to share with each other every day. SCIENCE: As a family, We go to the zoo, aquarium, science fairs, science shows, and museums all the time. My kids will go just about any place that another friend is going to but they prefer the science field trip/opportunities over the history ones lol. We also do a lot of nature walks because I hike for fitness and they take turns going with me to get one on one time. Everyone has nature journals. I do the most journaling but they do it occasionally. Both do science via Scout Badges -DD just completed Woman Inventors today in AHG and DS did Chemistry in Boy Scouts at the last merit badge university. DD has very little interest in science other than animals. She reads books about different animals and will do lapbooks for them once in a while and watch nature shows. However, she loves to cook. She has watched a lot of Alton Brown, done a lot of Kitchen Science books from the library, etc. As a Traditional Foodie Family, she can cook just about anything -even down to perfecting the emulsification process for mayo and knows way more about nutrition than most people. She is applying to work at a horse farm to work to get free riding and is supposed to get a lot of work in with the horse vet and has done some volunteer work at local shelter and vet and has just got a promised internship at a small zoo that rescues endangered animals once she turns 16 (her dad is helping out now so she is going to do some time there this summer with him). Just a few minutes ago, she was upset that her polymer clay earrings were breaking when she was making them so she looked up why this could be happening and came and told me the science behind it. DS on the otherhand likes science. He has memorized all the bones of the body, elements on the periodic table, etc. He is currently in 3 Science Olympiad events and has the State tournament coming up in that. He does the Science Fair and reads a lot living science books and watches a lot of documentaries and shows like Mythbusters, etc. He plans to take some science classes at the community college when he's a junior (can't do it before then) SOCIAL STUDIES-DD has never been into history beyond the ancients but she will read/watch anything she can get her hands on about that! She is into fashion and has read a series of Fashion History books and picked up quite a bit from those. DS has strong interest in all things military. He reads a lot of books on famous battles and the history of weapons, etc. He has been reading the Idiot's Guide to the Twentieth Century and a lot of the Uncle Eric books on government and economics. I like to watch historical movies and I watch a few a week (that I carefully chose for strewing LOL). They usually join me and do their crafts while watching and we discuss (Both my kids LOVE musicals so that makes things easy to strew). My husband is addicted to Talk Radio so there is quite a bit of discussion there. My son is in a gun club and DH and I just went to a NRA fundraiser. The kids wanted to know about that and so we spent the morning looking up websites that were for gun control as well as the NRA and discussed my opinions, their dad's opinions, their opinions (and none are the same lol) the current Trayvon news, etc.

This is pretty much what we do too (inspired by Jackie no less). Mine also chose their math curriculum and chose their foreign language. Reading and writing is interest based w/grammar, spelling, vocabulary thrown in as needed.

I had a hard time the first time I tried Primal Blueprint. I lost weight but I felt horrible for weeks. I had gone sugar free for two weeks and then primal. I made it about 2 months before getting derailed. THe second time I tried was last July. I gave up one thing a week until I was primal and had no problems whatsoever. I have been primal ever since with no problems. I do have an occasional cheat but they are truly minimal/special occasion type of things.

My husband and I have read it and so has our daughter (12 -almost 13). We are okay with our 11 yo reading it (He read Ender's Game at age 9 and was okay with it and he just read Animal Farm and got the themes). In my opinion, it depends on the child and how they react to violence and how well they grasp themes. I think my 11 yo will "get" the themes quicker than my 12 yo. I had to explain a lot of things to her as she mostly was about the romance.

I need more coffee - I read this as how many CRACKPOTS do you have?

All of these are okay on South Beach. Everything but hummus is okay on paleo and all but the yogurt and hummus is okay on paleo. I personally don't do serious low carb. I do primal blue print (basically a lacto-paleo). I don't do regular yogurt -just plain Greek Yogurt which is much higher in protein than regular yogurt and only on days I have to be out the door early and don't have time to scramble my eggs (I would do hard boiled but I can't stand them lol). My fruit is usually strawberries or blueberries and I tend to only do fruit or Lara bars on the days I do CrossFit. Sweet Potatoes have been allowed on every low carb diet I know. I personally do an eggplant dip instead of hummus but most people haven't heard of it. Most people I know on low carb eat hummus. For what it is worth, I have gone from a size 14 to a size 4 eating this way and have maintained it.

Breakfast Eggs w/nitrate free bacon, sauteed veggies of some sort Occasionally Plain Greek yogurt and Fruit if no time to cook eggs Lunch leftovers ham and cheese cubes, veggie slices with hummus, fruit salad w/chicken or roast beef on it chicken salad in lettuce wraps Taco Salad or taco meat in lettuce wraps Hot dog or hamburger (no bun), sweet potato fries or roasted green beans, veggies chicken tenders sauteed in coconut oil, steamed broccoli Dinner Meat (roasted chicken, roast beef, pork loin, pork chops, etc) with veggies or small salad, occasional sweet potato Spaghetti Squash w/sauce Fajita (but no tortilla) -just meat, seasoning, peppers, onions Stirfry (but no rice) Beanless chili Snacks: nuts, plain Greek Yogurt, Lara bars, fruit, celery w/almond butter, cottage cheese (blended to remove lumps, sweetened with stevia and cinnamon), kale chips Staples: Coconut oil, stevia, eggs, bacon and whatever meats and veggies are on sale. I make my own mayo and then use that to make my own ranch dressing.

We have become much more relaxed since last fall. I would call us quite unschoolers though (at least not radical ones). My kids are 12 and 11 (7th and 6th grade) We watch movies, tv shows, documentaries, etc on the tv (via netflix we don't have cable) for lunch everyday. This week, they've been on a MASH kick (we recently studied the Korean War). They like comparing it to Hogan's Heroes. We also have Majestic, Pork Chop Hill, and Blue Hawaii to watch this week. Last week we watched Gandhi and Grease (didn't quite remember it being so sexual-but that led to some neat conversations) They are both reading Idiot's Guide to the 20th Century and a couple of Uncle Eric books (my son has plowed through the latter as he like them a lot and my daughter just dabbles in them when she's stuck in the bathroom lol). We listen to a lot of talk radio and discuss current events on a daily basis. We've been discussing civil rights lately -went to a museum field trip to a film and exhibit on the civil rights movement in Raleigh. We're reading MCT's guide to the I Have a Dream speech. We went to bookstore on Sunday to use their Christmas gift cards. My Dd got Hunger Games and a Monster High book. She read the Hunger Games this week (in two days) and is now reading the third book in the Monster High series. Tonight we are going to Barnes and Nobles to get the other two books in the Hunger Games series. She put in a red hair extension in her hair today to go along with the book. (BTW -she has a business of putting in colored hair extensions!) She is learning how to make a custom Monster High doll and has been gathering materials. She recently bought a Monster High doll and it broke so she called Mattel and they sent her a new one. She is using the broken one to practice the techniques on. She taught herself how to remove old hair and put in new hair with a needle. She usually makes a lot of videos but hasn't done any this week (yet). She does math almost daily (Pre-Algebra-Kinetic Math online) because she wants to keep her options open to college. We've been doing a lot of oral questions on percentages via sales off (what is cost if this is 40% at Justice or 75% off at Target or 70% off at Kohls LOL) I just got her a new Greek book (third in the Hey Andrew series) but she hasn't touched it this week. I need to remind her of her goal to visit Greece and do a dolphin study :) She does dance three days a week (four classes) and is working on the recital dances. She has a big solo in at least two of the dances. She sent off to request info on the dance ministry at church since she doesn't like the teacher of her Wednesday night group and if she doesn't go to church, then I can't go (due to the schedule of driving her home after dance). She is working on an essay on WWII for a contest. She is motivated to earn money to pay for her Disney trip. We told her if she saved enough to buy the tickets, we would pay for hotel and food, etc. She has the whole tripped planned. Her brother is helping her save up for the tickets. The rest of her Scout troop has decided they don't want to do the Silver Award so she is researching ideas of things to do on her own. She has earned two journeys and a couple of badges. She has a candy sale fundraiser this weekend for American Heritage Girls. She just helped my husband put a new floor in the bedroom this week. My son bought Inheritance with his gift card and is reading it. He is also reading Animal Farm (at my suggestion -he loves it and read half of it right away and so gets the parallels to the Russian Revolution, etc). He is doing Khan Academy for math but occasionally comes over and does some AOPS Beginning Algebra. He does math a few hours a day. He is studying for the Science Olympiad state competition next month. He is one requirement away from getting Second Class in Boy Scouts (which he will do at next campout in two weeks) and almost has First Class complete too. He recently earned the chess and computers merit badges at merit badge university. He does Brazilian Jui Jitsu 2-4 times a week and has the state championships coming up next month. Last year, he was state champion for both NC and Virginia for his level. He is playing baseball again this year. He's just an average player but he enjoys it. His best friend is on the team. That is twice a week currently but will go to 3 times a week. He hasn't touched his Latin in two weeks -need to remind him. He likes to do things in chunks instead of a little bit each day. It's part of his Aspergers issue with transistions. He hasn't done a Latin chunk in a while! He was going to do same essay that my daughter did but got distracted in researching and then decided that he couldn't pick just one thing to focus on. Instead, he wrote up a review for his video game. He has been doing transposition ciphers this week and giving them to me. He has done a few logic problems too. These are things I taught him in our Co-op's Critical Thinking class. He helped me measure our bedroom so that we could buy the flooring that my husband needed.

My kids are not grown but certainly can't be called sheltered since they interact with other kids and they learn more from church kids than I would like! We also deal with mean girls, snobbery, cliques, bullies, button pushers, etc in our homeschool group, Christian dance studio, church, Scouts, etc. My daughter is almost 13 and feels the need to wear make up, dress in the latest fashions from particular stores, be obsessed with owning all the Monster High Dolls, knows all the latest songs on the radio (even though I don't listen to those stations in the car -only radio we have) and keeps up with all the latest tv shows (we don't have cable). She is boy crazy and wants a boyfriend (The sheltering part is that the boys she knows are not girl crazy yet OR are too old to like a 12 yo or too geeky for her to like). On the otherhand, a girl on her soccer team told her that she was the most innocent person she's ever met. We joined a secular homeschool group and stopped going because she didn't like the cursing that a few of the boys did (and the parent felt the kid should be able to do) nor the fact that one asked her if she was a virgin the first time they met! She is constantly perplexed and saddened by how mean one of our neighbor friends of same age is becoming (and why said girl wants to dress like a tramp and change boyfriends constantly). My son is way more "sheltered" but that is more due to his Aspergers and just not getting it. He does get bullied a lot though and there is one kid in our homeschool group/scout troop that loves to push his buttons and is constantly trying to get him in trouble.

I thought she cursed way too much. That turned me off. She sounded very angry and self-righteous and that turned me off.

My daughter isn't old enough for Venturing (and we don't have that many crews around). We also do AHG but like someone else said -it's BORING w/30 minute devotionals that even I can't stand and absolutely zero girl input.

We are using Classical Writing Homer this year

My 7th grader Literature: TOG Year 1 Dialectic and first half of Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings (loosely). Writing: Classical Writing Diogones I Grammar/Vocabulary: MCT Math: AOPS Intermediate Algebra (if he finishs Beginning Algebra) Science: Trying to decide -he's done physical science and we are trying to see if the person who teaches the Co-OP will take him in the Apologia Biology class at his age. I can't find a secular class :( and I don't want to teach it at home at this level. Either way, he's doing the Science Olympiad again so there will be some science. History, etc: TOG Year 1 Dialectic Logic: Art of Argument Latin: Latin Prep II

Most of what I listed doesn't have dairy except for some optional cheese here and there. Butter can also be skipped as condiment. Mayonnaise is usually fine for the non-dairy eater unless you can't have eggs. Mustard should not be a problem at all. If you can do potatoes, you should be able to handle sweet potatoes which are lower in phytates, carbs, etc. You could probably do starchier vegetables like squashes, pumpkin, carrots etc. You haven't been clear on what you can't eat other than gluten or what your issues were so I'm not sure what else to offer. If it is IBS, I would avoid raw veggies and broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage until your gut heels. I would avoid citrus fruit and melons too. I suffered from horrible IBS/GERD for years and mine has cleared up with removing grains and sugars and very little dairy or legumes. It's been amazing because I spent YEARS on the toilet moaning in agony and taking every known prescription in the world! Good Luck!

Cross post from another gluten thread: Here is our family menus. I am the only one that goes gluten free but I try to limit the family to only one dinner with gluten in it. Because I'm trying to lose weight, I also usually skip corn, rice and beans when I fix them for the family. I do soak beans and rice and the grains they eat in the Nourishing Traditions way. I make mashed cauliflower when they have mashed potatoes. I do eat oven roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes because I love them and they don't bother me gastrically (just carb/calorie-wise lol). I also soak potatoes to help remove starch. I use almond meal or coconut flour instead of the all-purpose GF flours whenever possible but I do use the GF flours for soup thickeners or dusting. Week 1 Chili (usually no beans)w/GF corn pudding, veggie tray **I usually do cheese crisps with my chili instead to keep carbs lower "Breaded" Chicken Tenders, sweet potato fries, broccoli salad **I use almond meal and coconut flour mix Hot Dogs, corn on cob, Leftover broccoli salad **Everyone gets buns but me -I just top my dog with chili and cheese and eat with a fork! I also skip the corn and eat leftover s.p. fries Roast Beef w/oven roasted potatoes, asparagus Pan-Seared Garlic Chicken, green beans, marinated cherry tomatoes Roast Beef Salad Week 2 Spaghetti w/sauce, salad, grapes **I use Spaghetti Squash for me Hot wings (no flour kind), waldorf salad, veggie tray BQ Pork chops, corn on the cob, roasted eggplant and tomatoes Sticky Chicken (Roasted Chicken), Mashed sweet potatoes, Green bean bundles Country Style Steakw/mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower, leftover green beans (unbundled lol) **I use an all purpose GF flour mix for all but often do mine separately w/almond meal and no gravy. Chicken Salad on a bed of lettuce Week 3 Chicken Vegetable Soup w/sourdough rolls, veggie tray **I skip the rolls Steaks, Baked Sweet Potatos, Salad Kielbasa, Squash Medley, Veggie Tray (sometimes beans and rice too) Meatloaf (made w/almond meal); mashed potatoes or cauliflower, green beans Pecan Crusted Chicken, Brussel Sprouts, Spinach salad SLoppy joes, corn on cob, veggie tray **I skip the bun -usually eat on leftover mashed cauliflower! Week 4 Tacos, Black Beans, Veggie Tray **I personally make mine a Taco Salad and skip the shells but we use GF corn shells Blackened Cajun Chicken, Squash Medley, Spinach Salad Haitian Voodoo Kabobs, leftover black beans, veggie tray or Broccoli Pork Loin, Baked Sweet Potatoes, Salad ALice Chicken (Outback chicken), asparagus, marinated or stuffed cherry tomatoes Sauteed Pork Medallions, Fried Apples, Green beans Week 5 Hamburgers, Sweet potato Fries, broccoli salad or slaw **I do a lettuce wrap (actually most of my family is starting to do this!) Chicken Satay, Sauteed Cabbage w/bacon, Veggie tray Ginger Beef Steak, Sweet and Spicy Kale, Honey roasted carrots Crockpot Sticky Chicken, Acorn Squash Rings, Mango slaw (or greens) Ribs, Mashed cauliflower or potatoes, Green Beans and mushrooms braised in cream Chicken lettuce Wraps, Butternut Squash Soup, grapes Week 6 Zucchini Lasagna, Salad, Grapes **This one is going to be new-will have frozen pizza as back up for the kids Salsa Chicken, Mexican Bean Salad, Sauteed zuchinni and onions Hot Sausage w/peppers and onions, sweet potato fries, spinach-cranberry salad **hoagie rolls for everyone but me Pot Roast, peas, salad BQ chicken Breasts, corn on cob, Broccoli (steamed or salad) Vegetable Beef Soup -leftover hoagie rolls w/garlic butter; veggie tray Week 7 Steak Fajitas, black beans, veggie tray **I have fajita salad Chicken Stirfry over rice, tropical fruit of some sort Meat Balls, Spicy roasted green beans, veggie tray Pollo Con Salsa Roja, Mango (or other) slaw; veggie tray Cuban Mojo Pork, sweet potato (mashed or fries); Salad or leftover tropical fruit or slaw Spicy Chicken Soup, corn tortilla chips, veggie tray Breakfast Eggs w/bacon or leftover meats and veggies Greek Yogurt w/fruit Cottage Cheese blended smooth w/stevia & Cinnamon; sprinkled w/pecans -used a dip for apples. Sausage and Eggplant hashbrowns **Kids eat above plus buckwheat waffles and pancakes, Panda Puff cereals (GF) and Cheerios (not GF but not that bad w/gluten either -there is a gluten free version called Whole O's), hardboiled eggs Lunch leftovers salad w/meat Roast beef roll ups w/veggie tray (I usually use my own roast beef but will use Boar's Head in a pinch) Hardboiled eggs, deviled eggs w/veggie and fruit trays Hamburger patties Turkey ham cut into thin cubes and topped with cheese -broiled until cheese melts w/veggie tray My husband has experimented with GF cookies using almond meal. Everyone seems to like them. We haven't done much baking otherwise. I personally don't do desserts as I am trying to lose weight. I will have a square of dark chocolate on weekends and on special occasions. I always carry it when I know dessert will be around to tempt me. I also do Greek yogurt. On rare occasions when we go out for ice cream to celebrate, I get a no-sugar ice cream.

Here is my menus I personally try to avoid all grains so while I may have corn or rice on the menu, I usually skip those. I also usually skip the beans to keep my carbs lower. If I have mashed potatoes, I make mashed cauliflower (but I do eat sweet potatoes and oven roasted potatoes lol). I use tapioca or all purpose GF flour for thickening soups, etc. Week 1 Chili w/GF corn pudding, veggie tray **I usually do cheese crisps with my chili instead to keep carbs lower "Breaded" Chicken Tenders, sweet potato fries, broccoli salad **I use almond meal and coconut flour mix Hot Dogs, corn on cob, Leftover broccoli salad **Everyone gets buns but me -I just top my dog with chili and cheese and eat with a fork! I also skip the corn and eat leftover s.p. fries Roast Beef w/oven roasted potatoes, asparagus Pan-Seared Garlic Chicken, green beans, marinated cherry tomatoes Roast Beef Salad Week 2 Spaghetti w/sauce, salad, grapes **I use Spaghetti Squash for me Hot wings (no flour kind), waldorf salad, veggie tray BQ Pork chops, corn on the cob, roasted eggplant and tomatoes Sticky Chicken (Roasted Chicken), Mashed sweet potatoes, Green bean bundles Country Style Steakw/mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower, leftover green beans (unbundled lol) **I use an all purpose GF flour mix for all but often do mine separately w/almond meal and no gravy. Chicken Salad on a bed of lettuce Week 3 Chicken Vegetable Soup w/sourdough rolls, veggie tray **I skip the rolls Steaks, Baked Sweet Potatos, Salad Kielbasa, Squash Medley, Veggie Tray (sometimes beans and rice too) Meatloaf (made w/almond meal); mashed potatoes or cauliflower, green beans Pecan Crusted Chicken, Brussel Sprouts, Spinach salad SLoppy joes, corn on cob, veggie tray **I skip the bun -usually eat on leftover mashed cauliflower! Week 4 Tacos, Black Beans, Veggie Tray **I personally make mine a Taco Salad and skip the shells but we use GF corn shells Blackened Cajun Chicken, Squash Medley, Spinach Salad Haitian Voodoo Kabobs, leftover black beans, veggie tray or Broccoli Pork Loin, Baked Sweet Potatoes, Salad ALice Chicken (Outback chicken), asparagus, marinated or stuffed cherry tomatoes Sauteed Pork Medallions, Fried Apples, Green beans Week 5 Hamburgers, Sweet potato Fries, broccoli salad or slaw **I do a lettuce wrap (actually most of my family is starting to do this!) Chicken Satay, Sauteed Cabbage w/bacon, Veggie tray Ginger Beef Steak, Sweet and Spicy Kale, Honey roasted carrots Crockpot Sticky Chicken, Acorn Squash Rings, Mango slaw (or greens) Ribs, Mashed cauliflower or potatoes, Green Beans and mushrooms braised in cream Chicken lettuce Wraps, Butternut Squash Soup, grapes Week 6 Zucchini Lasagna, Salad, Grapes **This one is going to be new-will have frozen pizza as back up for the kids Salsa Chicken, Mexican Bean Salad, Sauteed zuchinni and onions Hot Sausage w/peppers and onions, sweet potato fries, spinach-cranberry salad **hoagie rolls for everyone but me Pot Roast, peas, salad BQ chicken Breasts, corn on cob, Broccoli (steamed or salad) Vegetable Beef Soup -leftover hoagie rolls w/garlic butter; veggie tray Week 7 Steak Fajitas, black beans, veggie tray **I have fajita salad Chicken Stirfry over rice, tropical fruit of some sort Meat Balls, Spicy roasted green beans, veggie tray Pollo Con Salsa Roja, Mango (or other) slaw; veggie tray Cuban Mojo Pork, sweet potato (mashed or fries); Salad or leftover tropical fruit or slaw Spicy Chicken Soup, corn tortilla chips, veggie tray Breakfast Eggs w/bacon or leftover meats and veggies Greek Yogurt w/fruit Cottage Cheese blended smooth w/stevia & Cinnamon; sprinkled w/pecans -used a dip for apples. Sausage and Eggplant hashbrowns **Kids eat above plus buckwheat waffles and pancakes, Panda Puff cereals (GF) and Cheerios (not GF but not that bad w/gluten either), hardboiled eggs Lunch leftovers salad w/meat Roast beef roll ups w/veggie tray Hardboiled eggs, deviled eggs w/veggie and fruit trays Hamburger patties Turkey ham cut into thin cubes and topped with cheese -broiled until cheese melts w/veggie tray My husband has experimented with GF cookies using almond meal. Everyone seems to like them. We haven't done much baking otherwise. I personally don't do desserts as I am trying to lose weight. I will have a square of dark chocolate on weekends and on special occasions. I always carry it when I know dessert will be around to tempt me. I also do Greek yogurt. On rare occasions when we go out for ice cream to celebrate, I get a no-sugar ice cream.

I haven't made my family go gluten free but I do try to fix mostly gluten free meals. I have a 7 week meal rotation plan right now. Only 13 of the 42 meals are ones that we would have gluten. Some of them, I can easily go gluten free by using an alternative flour (soup thickener, country style steak, meatloaf, meatballs, etc) and it's not noticable. One I will be switching soon as I run out of what I have (cornbread for chili) The remaining meals are hot dogs, hamburgers, fajitas, (all I can easily skip the bun/tortilla) and spaghetti (I do spaghetti squash) plus sourdough rolls on soup days (this is a switch from yeast rolls) that I also skip. This ends up being one gluten meal a week for dinner. We all do our own thing for breakfast and lunch so not too big a deal. I don't have allergies that require a total gluten free kitchen.

:iagree:

I eat paleo but I'm trying to slowly move my family to this style of eating. I had kefir for first time today.