This past weekend, we packed up the kids and headed out for a day hike. We were so blessed to have 60 degree weather with blue skies and sunshine and wanted to take full advantage!
We’d never been hiking at Cougar Mountain before and chose it based on the fact that the trailhead is only 30 minutes from our house, didn’t require a Discover Pass and seemed reasonable for small children. Based on this site, our trek was about 2.5 miles in length.
Below is a small portion of the map located at the parking area. Lots of trails to explore!
This was our first hiking experience with two heavier kids. We weren’t sure what to expect out of Annabelle – when we first started on the trail, it was up hill and she acted deprived of being outdoors. She dawdled and talked and talked and took her sweet time. We gave up hope of making it to the falls and decided it didn’t matter anyway, she was happy to be outdoors.
Suddenly, I had this thought and decided to tell her that baby jaguar needed our help at the waterfall just like in her Dora story. Amazing how something so little could get her attention and give her the motivation she needed (along with the trail grade evening out making it much easier on her little legs).
Obviously, we made it to the waterfall and Annabelle walked about 3/4 of the trip before we put her in the backpack and I put Elijah in the Ergo on my front. He fell asleep and the hike back was easier and faster as we were packing both kids on us.
We had a wonderful time and all slept good that night! The sunshine and fresh air was just what each of us needed. We’ll definitely go back again and do some more exploring!
So what is a food allergy or a food intolerance? And why would you care? I found Dr. Sears’ explanation easy to understand and especially liked his point that, “people don’t really care about definitions, they just know that certain foods bother them (or their child) more than other foods.”
I picked up a copy of The Food Intolerance Bible at my local library and was amazed at what it describes as possible symptoms of food sensitivities. There is an extensive questionnaire to determine the likelihood that your symptoms are caused by what you eat. It wasn’t just a list of digestion related issues, there were feelings, emotions, and behaviors as well as a host of other physical issues like skin irritations and cold-like symptoms. Here is a partial list of possible food related conditions:
Do any of these describe you? Maybe you have never really stopped to think about it. I think that so many of us are so used to feeling “sick” and “tired” all the time that it becomes our “normal” and we don’t realize what we are supposed to feel like when our body is functioning and being fueled properly. All too often we’re looking for that next boost of caffeine or the next sugar or carb fix to get us through the day that we don’t take time to evaluate how we really feel physically and what might be contributing to those feelings.
As with anything medically or health related, I do not claim for one second to be an expert – far from it. I simply want to share what I am learning in an effort to document it and maybe inspire someone else to take charge of his or her health and make the changes he or she needs to make to improve quality of life and longevity.
What do you know about food sensitivities? Do any symptoms on this list surprise you as possibly being food related?
