Our Gassy Mistake

This weekend I was craving a chile relleno.

I may be converting to crunchy, but I'm still a Texan and I will ALWAYS love Tex-Mex.  Greasy, cheesy, spicy, artery clogging Tex-Mex.  So we try not to eat it often, and I even try to choose somewhat healthier options or else I cook it myself at home so I know exactly what I'm consuming and have more control over what I put in my body, but it's just....I could taste the chile relleno in my mouth.

Cheesy, spicy, with that slightly crunchy fried batter on the outside.  MMmmm...

I knew I should have had a salad or even some veggie enchiladas, but I just really, really, really wanted a chile relleno.

So we gave in to the craving and went to On The Border.  I haven't eaten at On The Border in YEARS.  Since I started slowly converting to a healthier lifestyle, my husband and I have been giving up most chain restaurants (however I just cannot convince him that Chili's is gross, no matter how many times we leave there feeling miserable).

The first sign that we were in the wrong place was the massive throngs of teenagers.  I hold nothing against teenagers since I used to be one and currently I'm the math teacher for approximately 130 of them, but in general teenagers are not known for having a refined taste in food, fashion, or....anything, really.

Just as I avoid wearing the same fashions sported by my students (they're horrid, really), I also avoid eating at the same places.  No self-respecting adult should be wearing Aeropostale.

But the craving for the chile relleno was so strong, not even noisy teenagers in short skirts wearing too much make up could convince me to go anywhere else.

My husband ate beef and cheese enchiladas...3 of them.  I ate half a chicken enchilada, a cheese chile relleno stuffed with more monterrey jack cheese than any one human should ever consume, and a little guacamole tostada.  I don't even want to think about how many grams of fat or calories must have been on that plate, but my pregnant hormones told me it would be okay.

It wasn't.

Not only did I feel as though a nuclear war was battling inside my intestines, but I could smell the war inside my husband's.

All

night.

long.

I don't know why we continue to do this to ourselves.  We know how to eat healthy...we like to eat healthy...we insist that we are on a mission to be healthy, and yet we continue to sabotage ourselves all because of cravings or convenience.

We walk away feeling bloated, gassy, gross, and fat and swear we'll never do it again, and then a week or two later, we find ourselves in the same position all over again.

Filling up the car with some serious gas, and not the petrol kind.

Next time I crave a chile relleno, I'll just make my own.  Stuffed with veggies and a reasonable amount of cheese (because really, who doesn't love cheese?), baked in the oven, not fried.

My husband even said that the enchiladas I make at home are better than the ones at On The Border, because I "use better ingredients."  I felt so encouraged by his compliment!

So to help my readers avoid a potentially hazardous gassy situation, I'm going to post my healthier enchilada recipe later this week.

I make enchiladas one of two ways - with a red sauce or with a green tomatillo sauce.  My husband prefers red, and I prefer green.  I make everything from scratch except the tortillas, but even those I buy freshly made from Central Market (or the local Mexican shop).  I usually use beef for him and veggies for me, and we NEVER leave the table feeling heavy or gassy.  We usually feel full, satisfied, and fresh.

So get ready!  Coming later this week is my super-yummy and super-easy enchilada recipe.  So easy anybody could make them, and so delicious anybody would eat them.  :)

First Post!

Welcome to our blog!

We're the Tiptons!

You may have previously followed me (the wifey) on BrunerAbroad.blogspot.com

But then I got married.

After I got married, I became a teacher.  Therefore, I became uber-busy.  I'm still uber-busy, but I miss blogging.  I didn't feel right blogging on BrunerAbroad because I'm not longer Bruner and I no longer live abroad (but hopefully not for long!).

So I finally decided to start a new blog with my new name, and the occasional input from my hubby.

You may be asking yourself, "Why are they converting to crunchy?  What's 'crunchy'?"

Well, we are slowly but surely converting to a more natural (i.e. "crunchy") lifestyle.  I've been following the blogs of some ladies far more crunchy than myself and learning from their wealth of wisdom.  I've started making my own laundry detergent, household cleaners, face/body soap, etc.  I try to buy mostly organic produce and all-natural animal products.

I also stopped using medication as much as possible.  I used to be at risk for diabetes.  The endocrinologist put me on diabetes medication when I was 19 and told me I would be on it for the rest of my life, weather I got diabetes or not.  The damage to my body was already done and the medicine (combined with weight loss) would keep the diabetes at bay.

After 7 years, I had lost approximately 85 pounds, ran 3 half-marathons, learned to tolerate and then even enjoy salad, and got my blood levels under control.  After some lab-work my doctor told me that it was up to me if I wanted to stay on the medicine or not.  I chose not.

So we're working towards a natural, non-medicated, chemical free lifestyle.  It's not always convenient and my husband doesn't always like it (and sometimes I just crave Chik-Fil-A!) but we're making healthy, natural living our goal.  We'll probably blog about that a lot.  Recipes for food, soap, laundry detergent, and all things natural can be expected on this blog.

My husband is in seminary working on a seemingly never-ending Master of Divinity (I was too, but then I started teaching this year).  So we'll probably post about seminary life, church, and what God is teaching us lately.  Which is a lot.

And I'm pregnant!

Yup.  Married 6 months...5 months pregnant...you do the math.

Our first baby is due June 14th, 2012.  Gender to be confirmed this week.

My goal is a natural, unmedicated hospital birth.  My doctor is a D.O. and super supportive.  True Crunchy ladies might scoff at me for having a doctor and not a midwife, and going to a hospital instead of a birthing center, but I love my doctor so much that I just can't hold it against her.

So don't be surprised if I post about a lot of icky pregnancy and birth stuff.  :)  Maybe I shouldn't say "icky" because it is a natural process, ordained by God, but let's be honest - it's icky.  Beautiful in a "wow I can't believe that just happened" sort of way, but still icky.

And since I'm a teacher, I'll probably make carefully worded comments about the education system.  But nothing too edgy, since I'd like to keep my job.  Maybe I'll mostly stick to funny stories about my students and the absolutely ridiculous things they say and do.

We're glad you stopped by our blog, and we hope you find it fun, educational, inspiring, enjoyable, thought provoking and occasionally a tad bit uncomfortable.

Thanks!

The Tiptons