I have never tried this (I am quite ok without bread on a daily basis) but do you make your own bread? Here's a link to a bunch of non-wheat bread alternatives -- http://paleogrubs.com/bread-recipes-- maybe one of those will seem enough like regular bread to be able to put cream cheese and jam on it.

Is it possible for you to substitute a non-wheat-based starch instead, such as potatoes?

Oh, I totally agree that variety is nice and I would never tell someone to cut fruit out of their diet. But I think that if you don't LIKE fruit but are willing to eat vegetables, it's perfectly ok to leave it out of your diet and just compensate with vegetables. I don't think it's something that HAS to be there.

Taniqui's summed it up pretty well. Replacing bread, cake, or pie with fruit will be a net gain in the health of the diet.

The lady spent about an hour helping me try on various swimsuits and stuff. The price was a definite OUCH but I know it fits, I'd never have picked it out of a catalog, and it looks awesome. (my first two-piece EVER). I really highly recommend that shop.

Nah, it looks like you are a woman of discriminating taste, who prefers her bananas and squash so fresh that she purchases them on a daily basis to avoid the slight deterioration of the refrigerator! :)

http://scienceofmom.com/2011/12/22/fruits-vs-veggies-are-they-nutritionally-equivalent/ cool graphics -- supports my POV so of course it's right :D But seriously, I tracked on the USDA website for a while, and while fruits gave me some nutrients, veggies gave me so much more ... and fruits are a PITA to keep around, unless they're dried, at which point they're awfully sugary. I only really buy them for road food now.

Honestly I don't think eating fruit is really that necessary if you compensate by adding more veggies instead.

Well, I don't know about normal cities, but I'm close to the same size and just found something that I *love* at My Bikini Shoppe near Chicago, IL. It fits great and looks awesome.

I don't think that there is an answer that is good for all children. It would be nice if we could reduce it to a formula (if child has these traits, challenge) but I just don't think there is one. I think a child does need to learn to think hard in some way if they are going to be successful at university and beyond, and for accelerated students they are clear candidates for this. It doesn't have to be in math or in other subjects, but they need something where the answer is not obvious and they have to think hard and play with it in order to figure it out. This doesn't have to begin in very early childhood, but there may be more argument and fighting if they are not at least gently challenged early. Many very bright kids quit university simply because they think that if they have to work hard at something they are dumb at it.

Do the placement test. MUS pre-algebra is sort of a grab-bag of arithmetic that wasn't covered earlier and a child who is ready for MUS pre-algebra may not be ready for another program's pre-algebra.

Here's a great one! (german) http://www.dw.de/deutsche-grammatik-wird-radikal-vereinfacht/a-18352057

You know, I seriously think that selections from Beast Academy would be excellent training for anyone who was going to teach elementary school math.

Honestly, I don't think every subject needs to be challenging. I do think a student needs challenge from somewhere but it is totally ok to have easy subjects and hard subjects. As I recall, you were struggling with reading with him ... I would go ahead and let math be gentle while you work on the reading. I would look at ramping up the challenge eventually but I would go ahead and let him finish arithmetic for sure. Scope and sequence of arithmetic programs varies and I don't think changing in the middle of arithmetic is good unless it is clearly a bad fit. You can evaluate again when he is ready for algebra and decide then whether he will be better served by an easier program or more challenge. I don't think you need a plan from now until the end of the road.

There is a lot of middle ground between Saxon and AOPS. I agree that you should switch for a bright student where they intuit the concepts and fill in holes immediately. You might look into getting Key to Fractions/Decimals/Percent or Life of Fred's books on the topics (for a good reader and intuitive mathematician I think Fred is underrated) and then switching to something like Jacobs Algebra (if you can find it) or continuing with the Fred books (if he does well with fractions/decimals).

Yeah, a lot of my lunches (first meal of the day) are a couple of fried eggs and an enormous plate of steamed vegetables.

Yep. Grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches, every day.

Thanks for the kind words. Yes yes yes. And then it is so easy to say "If I have to live on bean sprouts for the rest of my life, or if I can never, ever eat a cupcake/piece of bacon again, forget it, I would rather be overweight." I know, because I have been there.

Yes. I think I said something similar but it really bears repeating. 1 serving > 0 servings. By a long shot.

Ugh, people who won't take "no" for an answer with their newest snake oil really irk me.

Yes. Plus, if I'm trying to increase something in my diet (such as vegetables) I err on the side of slightly underestimating. Nobody ever got fat from too much broccoli.

I don't know about pretty enough, but I *love* my Tevas. I feel exactly as you do about 1, 2, and 4, and they fit the bill in every way. They've also been pretty sturdy.

Yes, without a thought. I leave cheese out all the time and all that happens to it is that it melts if it gets hot.

Honestly, I think that since she's gone from tears to success I'd continue through and supplement with something like Zaccaro's primary challenge math and some living math books. I'd feel free to accelerate her through though.

Maybe she didn't learn very well from ALEKS? I would check again with the Saxon placement test and consider Algebra 1/2 instead.