Hubs & Wifey and their incompatible allergies

(our) Allergen Free Beer

2012-02-15T09:41:00.000-08:00

Over the last year I haven't had beer. Hubs brews his own and controls the ingredients to exclude his allergens (primarily corn and soy) but hasn't attempted a gluten free beer. Mostly because the GF beers I have tasted were horrible. Prior to my gluten intolerance discovery I enjoyed beers such as St Arnolds Brown and Amber ales. I never tolerated the Bud or Coors beers. I liked, in small quantities, a good Guinness but having been through England and Ireland the beer imported to the US just wasn't the same and I never did drink much of it. Greens Dubbel Dark Ale was the first beer I had tasted in about six months. I'd given up on beer, which was okay I prefer wine and had found some labels that were vegetarian (to avoid beef which I'm allergic to) and were really good. The Dubbel Dark was delicious. I had two when usually I'd limit myself to one. I had it with fish and chips that had been coated with brown rice flour and fried in rice oil. The combination was amazing and I can't stop thinking about it. The beer was sweeter than Guinness but richer than St Arnolds Brown. Hopefully I can get Hubs to make a few comments about this beer because all I can really say is it was delicious and before you write off GF beers - try this one. (It's made without corn also. Which I have never seen before.)

Menu Planning Saved The Day

2012-02-06T15:13:00.000-08:00

We lost one of our dogs quite unexpectedly over the weekend. I have no appetite and no interest in food but life must go on despite grief and today has been an utter waste except for dinner. One look at my menu and I knew to drop a frozen chicken in the crock pot. So now I can smell chicken and I'm thinking about mashed potatoes and carrots. Comfort food. Nearly 12 hours have passed since I got up and I have no idea where it went... But we have dinner! :) Sunshine would be happy about that. My sweet girl didn't miss a meal for anything. So even if I didn't mop my floors or fold my laundry. I walked our dog Scratch and made dinner. That has to count for something considering how hard we have to work to have a meal around here. =) The weekend wasn't just a sad affair. Only a few hours prior to the death of my precocious doggie I discovered a beer. It is all of our combined allergens free. So NO corn, soy, wheat, beef..... Give me a few days to wallow in my misery and then I will give my review of this beer. I haven't had a Gluten Free beer I have liked. And I'll see if I can get Hubs to chime in - he makes his own corn free brew and actually knows his beers. Me - I can only speak to whether or not it tastes good.

February Menu

2012-02-01T12:22:00.000-08:00

By meal planning a few months at a time I can make purchases on meat and other items that are costly but can be frozen for later use. It also helps me utilize all leftovers. For instance, I purchase whole chickens (the healthy ones with room to roam and adequate time to grow with out hormones and antibiotic use) and cook them in the crock pot. Then I make broth by adding water, spices and herbs to the pot with the bones, skin and other bits of leftovers from the chicken once it has been cleaned of meat. It usually sits on my counter for two days on low. Then I use the broth to make a soup, lentils, gravies and so on. Left over chicken means fried rice or another dish that calls for cooked chicken. Meal planning also cuts down on trips to the grocery store. I go each Friday to get fresh fish and keep a little list of other items I'll need like fruit or veggies. This is a very quick trip to the store and usually not very expensive. I do a really big shopping every month but I'm working to make it every 6-8 weeks (I think I was successful in January) that blows the bulk of our grocery budget minus dairy which we purchase from Gramen Farms.

Fast Food Night: Bison Burgers & Sweet Tater Fries

2012-01-28T17:19:00.001-08:00

So we miss fast food. We don't miss the gross after eating it feeling but I really miss a huge burger and fries. When Hubs was diagnosed, we got really good at making burgers at home. A friend introduced us to home made sweet potato fries and it was a perfect addition to burger night. Now with no gluten it's impossible to find a good burger bun and I'm still trying recipes. Mostly the best thing to do is make a top 1/2 and bottom 1/2 of a bun rather than try and bake something to be cut in half. Since I'm allergic to beef we use bison.

First I chopped up several raw sweet potatoes. I like the skin on so I don't peel them, I just wash them off and chop them. The sit and dry while the oil heats (they are also good in the oven, baked rather than fried but for fast food night frying is a must).

While the oil gets hot I mix buns. I used a grain free recipe this time that was butter, almond flour, an egg and a little salt. They mix up quickly and go into the oven right before I put in the first batch of sweet taters, and mix the bison. I use 2 pounds because when you're going to make burgers you may as well have leftovers. They freeze well if they make it that long.

Hubs came in and dug out some bacon and beans too. In the bison I mix finely chopped onion, garlic powder and home made chili powder mix. Also an egg to help it stay together. I mix it all well and make four large burgers and two smaller ones - sometimes David will eat two burgers but even he can't do a pound of meat in addition to sides...

The first batch of fries is done before everything else and usually gets eaten before the rest of the food is done. Kind of like an appetizer. Just as we are done with the rest of the food and load up our plates the second batch of fries is complete. The third batch cooks as we eat.... and usually we eat some off the pan like dessert.... They reheat well in the toaster oven so we try not to eat them all.

Hubs made navy beans with a little of this and that. He's getting more creative in the kitchen and likes to throw everything in. It's usually how I cook, but for him it's very new - he's a recipe guy. The beans had kick which he likes.

Oh and don't forget some delicious cheese.... a chunk of grilled onion, some tomato, lettuce and some homemade BBQ sauce for the top....

We didn't get any plated pictures because we ate so fast. And it was amazing. I love good food. I should be a huge person but thankfully I'm not (thank you 24 hour fitness).

Home Made BBQ Sauce
1 cup tomato sauce (I use an organic olive oil, basil & garlic)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup + 2TBSP vinegar (I use Bragg's Apple Cider)
3/4 cup brown sugar (I use an organic brown sugar)
3 TBSP olive oil (I use about 1.5 TBSP b/c my sauce I use has olive oil in it)
2 TBSP Paprika
1 TBSP Home made Chili powder
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp cayenne

So the original directions say to heat the oil and saute the garlic first then add everything and simmer 15 mins but I just dump all of the above into a sauce pan and simmer it, stirring occasionally until it thickens. Which is usually more like an hour of simmering but only because I like a thicker sauce. The apple cider vinegar is a natural preservative so it keeps in a tightly sealed jar in the fridge for a month or more. Usually we eat it in less than 6 weeks so I'm not sure how long it'd actually last.

Ethiopian Food

2012-01-28T09:15:00.001-08:00

We love food from all over the world. Prior to discovery of all our allergies we would go out for Indian food, Ethiopian food, French food and more. With our myriad of allergies we are very limited in our dining out. At home we primarily eat organic foods, so even if we can find a restaurant we can both eat in, the food is sometimes difficult to digest when it's conventional.

I meal plan a few months in advance and do one big monthly grocery shopping trip then pick up fresh fish, fruits and veggies as needed on Fridays. This helps us stay within our food budget and keeps me from getting bored with cooking. I incorporated several labor intensive dishes for weekends when I have more time to cook.

One night last weekend was Ethiopian night. I started the Injera a few days early so it would have time to sour. The link is to the recipe I'm going to use next time. The recipe I used last weekend didn't have me feed it and then keep some for later like a sour dough bread. It was more like using just a starter - which made for a very flavorful bread.

I also mixed Berbere, their traditional spice mix. I omitted the spices we are unable to use (ginger for instance) and I made my own Chili Powder for adding to some of the dishes while cooking. (Chili powder is a mix of spices/herbs that nearly always has an additive to prevent clumping or caking. It's usually corn based.)

The morning of our Ethiopian dinner I made Niter Kebbeh (scroll down about 1/2 way), the traditional Ethiopian butter. It's clarified and flavored with herbs and spices.

A few of the steps in this T'ibs recipe is making a mock Niter Kebbeh of sorts. Rather than follow that portion I used a Tablespoon of the Niter Kebbeh I'd made that morning.

The afternoon before I cooked, I set the lamb for T'ibs (lamb stew) to marinate and I chopped all the vegetables I would need for all of my recipes.

I organized the recipes by the length of time it would take them to cook. I made Yemiser W'et (spicy lentil stew) which required lentils to be cooked prior to seasoning. I put a pot of lentils on to boil while I had Hubs sear the lamb.

I also made Yetakelt W'et (spicy mixed vegetable stew). But since all the veggies were chopped this took minimal work.

Once everything was to the simmering for flavor point I got out my huge pan and started cooking Injera. I made about 6 pieces. We didn't have a platter large enough to serve it traditionally with one communal plate so I served it on two plates. Basically when everything is cooked you put down Injera then servings of each dish on top. It's served with extra Injera and everything is eaten with one hand scooping up servings in pieces of Injera torn into chunks. I made three dishes because traditionally there would be a selection of dishes. Injera doesn't store well. It requires that one eats it at the meal for which it is cooked. For the left overs I made a large pot of rice and we ate the dishes with rice in lieu of Injera.

The dishes were delicious. The Injera will be better when I make it over the course of a few days and use it as intended, like a starter. Also I was completely grossed out because there was a bit of mold on it one day. Upon research, I discovered this is (mostly) normal and the mold should be scooped out of the starter and the starter should be fed and stirred well. I scooped it out but since I wasn't doing the starter method it wasn't fed and what not. This effected my enjoyment of the Injera though and next time I'll keep a closer eye on it and do the starter method.

The recipes were very easy to modify for our allergies. Teff flour is naturally gluten free and I simply omitted the spices we were allergic to and made our own mixes. Next month I'm doing Ethi night again but I'm going to try Doro Wat (Ethiopian chicken stewed in red pepper paste) rather than the lamb. The lamb was delicious but I can't see making two meat based dishes for two people.

Banana Bread (beef, corn, gluten, peanut & soy free)

2011-04-16T16:13:00.000-07:00

After attempting a yeast bread and being so disappointed in the result (much more like a quick bread) I decided to bake a quick bread this weekend. I went for banana because I had two bananas that were just over-ripe waiting to be consumed. Almond flour is extremely expensive so I've been purchasing whole almonds by the pound and grinding them myself in my magic bullet knock off. I didn't have walnuts, my preference in banana bread, but I did have an abundance of the almonds.

Ingredients
1/4 cup sweet sorghum flour
1/4 cup garbanzo bean flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup ground flax seeds (you can purchase flax meal but the seeds are cheaper per pound)
1/3 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon baking powder (Hains)
1 teaspoon guar gum
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (extra full - not a full teaspoon, maybe closer to 3/4 teaspoon)
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 medium ripe bananas
1 egg
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds)

Method
My butter was cold from the fridge so I cut it into chunks and threw it in my stand mixer with the paddle attachment and the sugar. I whipped it for a few minutes until the butter was well incorporated with the sugar. Then I added the egg, mixed well. Add the bananas (I just broke off chunks and dropped it in while the paddle was turning). Put the baking powder, guar gum
and baking soda in and mix well. Then I dumped the first two flours in. Mixed well. Put about a third of the sour cream in and mixed well. Then the potato starch and flax seeds, mixing well. Another third of the sour cream. Mix. Then the almond flour and remaining sour cream. I mixed it for just a moment the dropped in the nuts.

I buttered a loaf pan and dusted some of the almond flour on the bottom and a little up the sides of the pan.

350 degrees. 45-50 mins until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it sit in the pan about an hour if you can wait. It should turn right out of the pan.

Serve
We like butter

We couldn't tell that this was made with alternative flours. YEA! =)

*Sorry for the blurry pics, I was too busy eating to re-take!

Breakfast Food (beef, corn, gluten, peanut & soy free)

2011-04-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

Something David and I have enjoyed from the beginning of our marriage (6 years ago!) is having leisurely breakfasts together on the weekends. I would usually cook something and he'd make coffee or help with prep work and we'd linger over a great meal. When David was diagnosed with his allergies we had a hiccup in that routine but nothing major as it's easy to purchase corn free flours, if one is willing to pay the price. It's been almost 2 months since my diagnoses of a wheat and beef allergy and I have to say I've been tired of bacon and eggs for a while now...

At some point I made Walrus Bread from the back of a Bob's Red Mill garbanzo bean flour. I followed the recipe exactly with 3 substitutions. I used GUAR GUM rather than Xanthan Gum which can be (and usually is) derived from corn. For the Vinegar I used RICE VINEGAR and for the vegetable oil I used Canola. I wanted this to be alllll of our allergens free. I made the recipe to get a better feel for the flours. Unfortunately this bread is very much like a quick bread. Kind of crumbly and moist. It was okay. The Garbanzo Bean Flour made the bread taste "beany". It wasn't strong but it was NOT wheat bread. Also it didn't rise much as the flours are so different and (obviously) don't contain gluten. Since the bread wasn't flexible enough to make a traditional french toast I did it in the oven. I even threw the crumbs and bits in because they "bake" together.

Here are some recipes I've done in the last few weeks to break the monotony *and fat* of bacon & eggs.

BAKED FRENCH TOAST for 2
Ingredients
6 slices of Walrus Bread
2 TBSP butter, melted
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1-4 TBSP brown sugar (this bread is NOT sweet by itself)
1 tsp vanilla
1-3 tsp cinnamon

Method
-Preheat oven to 350
-Grease 9*11 pan well
-Mix all ingredients well (except for the bread)
-Pour a few TBSP of the mixture on the bottom of the pan, enough to cover the bottom with a little extra
-Place the bread into the pan on the liquid
-Pour the rest of the liquid mix over the bread, slowly so it's absorbed
-Bake about 40 to 50 minutes or until a little brown and "dry" to the touch

To Serve
Cut into squares and place on plate. Top with powdered sugar and maple syrup. Yummy.

PANCAKES for 2
Ingredients
(dry)
1/4 cup gluten free oats, ground fine
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup sweet sorghum flour
2 TBSP flax seeds, ground fine
1 TBSP white sugar
3 tsp baking powder (Hain is GF & corn free)
1/4 tsp sea salt ground fine
(wet)
1 egg
1.25 cups milk (reserve .25 cup)
3 TBSP canola oil

Method
-Mix dry ingredients well
-In a separate container mix wet ingredients well, using just 1 cup of the milk reserving a .25 cup of the milk
-Combine the wet and dry ingredients
-This pancake mix will be thicker than one made with wheat flour but if it's too thick to pour slowly add the .25 cup of reserved milk until the batter is "pourable"
-Heat a skillet or griddle on medium heat until very warm, water should sizzle on it
-Pour the batter onto the dry pan
-NOTE: Extra oil or butter should NOT be needed and the pancakes won't cook as well if one uses butter in the skillet (I use all stainless steel traditional pans that do NOT have non-stick surfaces and my pancakes browned more evenly and looked/textured more like wheat when I used a dry skillet)

Serve
Serve pancakes with whatever you like! These pancakes are a little less sweet than traditional as buck wheat is slightly bitter.

WAFFLES for 2
Ingredients
(dry)
1/4 cup gluten free oats, ground fine
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup sweet sorghum flour
2 TBSP flax seeds, ground fine
2 tsp baking powder (Hain is GF & corn free)
1/8 tsp sea salt ground fine
(wet)
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup canola oil, plus extra for the waffle iron

Method
-Mix dry ingredients well
-In a separate container mix wet ingredients well, using just 1 cup of the milk reserving a .25 cup of the milk
-Combine the wet and dry ingredients
-Heat the waffle iron until it's very warm
-"Paint" the extra oil onto the waffle iron with a basting brush or spray non sick spray on the iron (if you can find a GF, corn free one)
-Pour the batter onto the hot, greased iron and spread it out a little with a spoon
-NOTE: This batter won't "spread" out onto the iron like traditional gluten waffles. Also for some reason they love to cling to the iron. I found that oiling the iron and then letting the waffles cook until crispy brown makes them easier to remove.

Happy eating!

What we miss...

2011-03-20T16:45:00.000-07:00

I think that prior to the discovery of my own food allergies it was easy for me to tell someone not to worry about making something special for Hubs, he didn't need it.... And this is still true, for both of us now. However, there are things we miss -

Sunday
Going to church, the routine of Sunday: getting up having breakfast attending church with our friends and being in a class. We have chosen to attend on Saturday nights because here in the South, ladies and gentleman put on their Sunday best prior to arriving at church. This includes loads of perfumes, colognes, body powders, body sprays, deodorants, hair sprays, hair gels, nail polish and so on...... all of which contain corn. And sitting in, even our larger auditorium, amongst all that corn makes my husband sick. Enough to effect his ability to participate in worship and reap knowledge from the sermon.
Communion, while we can still participate in the Spiritual aspect of remembrance and self examination we are unable to partake of the elements. I've yet to see corn free, gluten free, soy free communion elements and probably won't in this life time.

Monday - Friday
Fast Food, while we have never been a family that lives on fast food it is nice to have that option! Mondays always seem busiest and it would be nice to simply pick something up on the way home.

Saturday
MOVIES in the theater at night! As a couple we have never gone much (David used to see one every weekend or so before we were married) but it was fun to do dinner and a movie from time to time. Now we have to sneak in at an early showing and avoid the popcorn maker. In the evenings there's too much popcorn floating around and wiped on handles and such.

Life in General
Quick Grocery Shopping Trips, I used to be able to shop for a week in less than 30 mins. Now it's an hour minimum if I should up super early and only scan my regular items labels. Buying something new adds at least 5 minutes - there's no spur of the moment let's try this for this family!
Eating meals at friends homes without crazy advance planning and worrying, we entertain more in our home to avoid accidental contamination. We have wonder friends and family that work hard to accommodate us but it's hard to host us.
Whole What Flour, I'm not going to lie. I feel better for avoiding whole wheat (gluten really I'm not eating gluten because every thing I have tried that was supposed to be wheat free has made me feel sick) but I miss knowing how to bake with out corn while still having wheat. I'm getting there. I've done gluten free, corn free pancakes with success. And brownies.

So while we do work to keep a good attitude and not worry or complain, there are things we miss. They aren't huge but come up from time to time. Over all we are both healthier and happier for living with out and so we smile and say "no thanks" to the free breakfasts or lunches at work and agree with our coworkers that we eat super healthy. Some people will never understand that food allergies are medical conditions and if one continues to eat the foods that make them ill the worse their medical issues will be.

PS - there are more but this is an insight to those that might not have considered the things that we avoid or do with out as a result of our allergies.

BEEEEEEEF

2011-03-13T15:58:00.000-07:00

Learning about beef by products. Wow, it's quite prevalent in everyday foods. It can be found in many every day items such as:

sausage
marshmallows
candies
mayonnaise
chewing gum
oleo
shortening
pate
clarification agents for juice, wine and beer
sausage casings
yogurt
cookies
gelatin in salads/desserts
head cheese
ice cream

YIKES! It's pretty easy to eat gluten free but it's been challenging to do gluten and beef free. Example. Yogurt. I eat some nearly every day and had researched to make sure that one was gluten free. It was. But it had gelatin. Which was from beef. I usually feel pretty horrible for two days when I get contaminated by beef. It's not fun. And it's stinky. It oozes out of my pores gives me rotten egg gas and S.TA.N.K.Y. bm's. Yup. And those are just the things that you would notice. The pain and discomfort is what really bothers me. So now I'm constantly checking for gluten free first then doubling back to make sure it's also beef free. And thankfully I've found a yogurt that's both. Stonyfield plain organic. It would be Stonyfield, it's the most expensive in our market. =) Thankfully it's also very tasty and has simple ingredients, no additives or other misc. things.

PICTURE FROM: http://www.newswise.com/images/uploads/2009/04/23/fullsize/cow_b.jpg

Road tripping with (multiple) food allergies....

2011-03-13T11:16:00.000-07:00

David and I loaded up the pups and made a long loop out to the Grand Canyon and back in a 13 day trip. The details of the road trip can be found here over the next few days or weeks. This post is going to be about eating on the road (literally) for nearly 2 weeks while avoiding BEEF, CORN, MUSTARD, PEANUTS, SOY, WHEAT and a handful of other misc. food allergies.

What I packed:
*One mid sized cooler
*Wide mouth jars full of ice, wrapped in brown paper bag to prevent "sweating"
*Rice
*Canned beans
^Kidney
^Black
^Pinto
*Irish oats
*Safe maple syrup
*Brown sugar
*Raisins
*Home made trail mix
*LARA Bars
*Safe potato chips
*Potato
*Sweet Potato
*Onion
*Sea Salt & Pepper
*Granola
*Rice Chex
*Canola oil
*Apples (pre-washed wrapped in safe paper towels and in zip top bags)
*Oranges

What we did while we were going from one stop to another:
While we were on the road moving from home to stop one from stop one to stop two and so on was:
1. Eat at Whole Foods where we could go in and each purchase something we could eat
2. Cook roadside at rest stops. We did this more frequently because there aren't Whole Foods in the middle of West Texas and we limited our Whole Foods spending to gift cards David had received as Christmas presents (thanks!!) It's amazing how quickly one can set up a single propane burner & cook a pot of rice and heat some beans. That's what we did. A long long time ago my little faithful rice cooker bit the dust. I kept the pot and lid, for which I endured much teasing from Hubs. However, happily, it is brilliant for propane burner rice cooking! I didn't take any pictures but it's amazing. I guest-imate the rice and water and ignore it. The rice has been perfect every time. Then we heat up a can of beans and wallah a gluten free, corn free dinner on the road. Literally on the road. Then we'd take a little walk and get back to the driving.

While camping and in hotels we:
1. Cooked. Of course. =) We mostly camped but even while we were in hotels for a night we'd cook out front. One evening David made dinner in the Grand Canyon outside the laundromat while I ran a load of laundry.
Breakfasts: Eggs, bacon, potatoes, rice, steel cut oats. Steel cut oats are fantastic. More filling than regular oats and here is a little trick. If in the evening you bring your oats and water to a rapid boil for five minutes then remove the pot from the heat and allow it to sit out, in the morning you need only cook the oats for about 5-10 minutes. We did this several times and even when the pot sat out in AZ when it was less than 30 degrees the oats cooked up perfectly. (Typically steel cut oats simmer 45 mins)

Lunches: One of the days we did purchase fries and a milkshake (the two items we thought would be safe) from IN & OUT Burgers. Because we had to eat something from there. In & Out is the stuff of legends. Happily, David consumed both the chocolate shake and the fries with salt and had no reaction for corn or soy. It was fantastic. I believe I had a reaction to beef. Probably a cross contamination as they are a burger joint, or as a gelatin in the shake. Except for that day we camp fire or propane cooked food. Also, we ate cereal. David Wheat Chex and me Rice Chex. Sometimes we had granola with yogurt if we had found a grocery store between camping stops.

Dinners: Our anniversary was 03.05.2011 so we ate out at a pretty nice place in NM - Albuquerque I think. We were both able to order something to eat with out a problem. With that single exception we cooked. Typically we found a grocery store where we could purchase meat and we would grill that with potatoes or rice. We could find eggs almost anywhere, even gas stations, so if we really wanted protein and couldn't find meat we'd fry eggs for dinner and eat them with rice and beans or potatoes.

We ate well. That's what I really want to re-assure other allergy suffers. And for no more than we would have spent had we been home.

TIPS
*Pack lots of filling, safe, foods!! You don't know when you'll find a market you can purchase safe foods in so pack nuts, hearty fruits & veggies that won't spoil like oranges, apples and root veggies
*Plan at least a little. Know where you'll be able to eat out grocery shop at least to some extent.
*Be flexible. Cereal for lunch is an option!

Homemade Chicken Broth (beef, corn, gluten, peanut & soy free)

2011-02-25T12:26:00.000-08:00

First - it's easier than one might think! I typically clean out the last of my root veggies that are in the "eat me or toss me" stage of life. Whatever is in the veggie drawer goes in the pot. I prefer stove top simmering but this can be done just as easily in a slow cooker.

INGREDIENTS
chicken or turkey carcass, skin, fat (I like to keep a glass container for "discard" and one for "eat". Into the discard goes all the skin*, fat*, bones and whatever else I find that I don't want on my plate. Of course the chicken meat goes into the eat one.)
water
veggies such as:

onion
celery
carrot
shallots
scallions
parsnip
garlic

seasonings such as:

salt
pepper
bay leaf
sage
rosemary
thyme
nutmeg (only a pinch)
paprika

METHOD
I load my largest pan with all of the above with the items that don't fit whole (such as carrots) roughly chopped. *I buy organic veggies and while I do wash them well, I DON'T peel or skin them b/c most of what goes in the pot will be trash at the end*
Bring it to a rapid boil then reduce to a simmer and allow it to simmer for as long as you can. 24 hours is good. I sometimes turn mine off and leave it on the stove for overnight (8 hours or less) than bring it back to a rapid boil for a few minutes and back to a simmer for a second day.
I get about 8 cups of good broth from my 5qt stock pot. You can thin it out if you'd like but I like it rich so I fill the pot with water only once and let it go until 1/2 of the water simmers out. I taste it every few hours and adjust spices as needed.

When the broth has reached desired taste I send it through a large colander into a measure cup and/or bowls. This pulls all the veggies, fat, skin and bones. Most of what went into the pot will be pretty much disintegrated and mushy. This time around my carrots were still in good shape and had good flavor so I pulled them from the mush to stick in my soup. They'll disintegrate completely in it which is fine because it's split pea. Most of what goes into that is cooked into nothing. The second time I use a much finer colander to catch the sludge of spices and disintegrated "stuff". If the broth seems very fatty you can let it sit out. The fat will separate and thicken on the top and is easily skimmed off with a slotted spoon or small scoop.

Today I'm using the broth I made yesterday for split pea soup. But it can be frozen in ice cube trays or muffin tins then transferred to a zip top back for later use. If it's pre-frozen in a tray it's easier to thaw out the amount needed rather than have to use the entire batch.

*We buy range free organic chickens. They have very little fat on them. Conventional chickens might be fatty in which case I would NOT include the fat/skin unless you have the time to allow the broth to cool completely so you can skim the excess fat off the top.

(our) Allergen Free Meatballs (beef, corn, gluten, peanut & soy free)

2011-02-24T07:49:00.000-08:00

A staple in our home is meatballs. I always have (home made) meatballs in the freezer. I usually do about 1/2 clean ground pork and 1/2 grass fed ground beef. Now that I'm allergic to beef I've been investigating meat alternatives and figuring out how to stock up on this heavily relied upon freezer staple.

I chose:
Pork because I was familiar with it as an ingredient.
Lamb for a little flavor and fat.
Ground chicken for extra meat but relatively neutral flavor.

I purchased clean (no antibiotics, no hormones, pastured piggies) ground pork and clean ground lamb at the market. I purchased whole organic chicken (boneless skinless) breasts and stuck them in the freezer. This morning I sent them through the "shred" attachment on my food processor. I don't have a meat grinder but because they were mostly frozen they went through cleanly and shredded quite nicely. I think that boneless skinless thighs would be fine as well but more difficult to shred because of the smaller size.

MEAT
1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground lamb
1 lb "shredded" chicken breast

BINDING
2 eggs (I have heard that you can supplement ground flax seed & water for egg)
1/2 cup or so quick cooking oats {one can use traditional (NOT Irish!) oats but they should be ground or chopped prior to adding them to the meat.}

SEASON
Onion Granules
Garlic Powder
Italian Season Mix from Cost Plus World Market

CHEESE
2-3 oz Plain Feta, crumbled
2-4 oz Parmesan, shredded

METHOD
Drop all meat into large bowl (in my case I used a stand mixer with flat attachment but a large bowl and clean hands would work too). Mix until the meats are thoroughly combined. Dump in season & cheeses. Mix again until all is thoroughly combined. I then added one egg and mixed thoroughly to see how it would feel. I decided that for my preference I wanted a 2nd egg and some oats. Mix until everything is combined well and the meat clings to the mixer paddle.

Scoop onto cookie sheets. I use a hand held medium scoop and fill up the sheets. Then I use my hands to form them into a better ball shape.

Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit about 18-20 mins. (Baking them this long is baking them all the way through. If you want to finish baking them in a sauce prior to serving cut baking time in 1/2.) When you peek at them they should be paler than when they went in but browning and you should be able to hear a sizzle. Don't over bake. They are very low fat and will be tough, chewy and unpleasant. (Well I think they would be, thankfully I didn't have to experience this.)

EAT
I ate them hot off the pan to make sure they were delicious before baking my second batch. Ordinarily we eat them with pasta and tomato sauce but they are good for sandwiches and pizza topping also.

STORE
After the meatballs have been cooled completely, I always set aside several for the evening meal. Then I put the rest of them into a zip top freezer bag and drop them in our deep freezer. Typically I make meatballs about once every 6 weeks or so. When we use the last few I wait a few days or a week and start the process over again. This recipe yields approximately 48-50 medium (2 inch diameter) meatballs. It's very easy to double this recipe if one feeds more than 2 people at a time. I find that this is a good number to have on hand for the two of us for quick meals.

TASTE
I think it's evident there is no beef. That being said they are delicious. I can't wait to get them soaking in marinara and onto my (rice) pasta tonight. I've eaten 3 fresh off the pan and I can taste a little lamb but it's very subtle. Neither pork or chicken stand out and I think once the balls are in a sauce or dish the lamb flavor will be concealed except that I know it's there.

PHOTOS
Pictures are in order of preparation starting with the method I used to shred my chicken and working the way through the recipe to show the difference between "scooped" meat balls and "shaped" meat balls (there really isn't much difference but I'm particular). The in the oven shot is about 1/2 way through baking. The cookie sheet shot is just out of the oven and the final picture is of my first batch of meat balls cooling and waiting on the final 30 to arrive from the oven.

Buckwheat noodles

2011-02-24T05:15:00.001-08:00

I've done very little cooking of late. There's a certain amount of shock that arrives with a food allergy diagnoses that is about as opposite as the one we already deal with. I've cleaned out my fridge & pantry twice and still find items I can't really eat (ginger keeps sneaking up on me in crazy places). On Tuesday night I tackled buckwheat noodles. While the name seems scary they are actually a gluten free product *while gluten free = wheat free, wheat free does NOT = gluten free*. I have attempted them before because I was hoping to find something wheat free to incorporate into our diet but was never happy with them and thus, discontinued using them. Being told I'm allergic to wheat was enough to get me to try buckwheat noodles again.

I cooked them by instinct this time rather than just package instructions. Since I was planning a loose white sauce I added olive oil & salt to the water as I would if I were using wheat noodles. I cooked them right at 5 mins then did a quick cold water rinse.

While the noodles boiled I used a little 1/2 and 1/2, cottage cheese & Parmesan cheese to make a loose or watery white sauce. Buckwheat seems to absorb a lot of liquid so when we loaded our bowls with fresh spinach, then the noodles then the sauce, the sauce thickened in the bowl and left us with cheesy deliciousness.

Today the plan is to make meatballs. I purchased ground pork, ground lamb & chicken breasts. I'm going to send the chicken through my food processor to get them about the consistency of ground chicken (we can't buy ground turkey or chicken it's all corny corny corny).

Have you always been allergic?

2011-02-19T09:25:00.000-08:00

The most common question that is asked usually right behind "What are your symptoms?" or the alternate "What made you want to get tested?" which is basically the same question.

And so, I don't really recall having any problems digesting any of my allergens (wheat, beef, caraway, ginger, mustard, scallop) before I was 18 or so. When I was very young I had eczema, a classic sign of food allergy but I think that it's only been associated with food allergies in the last 10-15 years. My eczema cleared up, I think on it's own as I aged. It usually appeared behind my ears.

When I was 18 I went to college where I lived on cafeteria food and things I occasionally cooked in a shared kitchen. I don't really remember what all I ate but I do remember they had build your own pizza options and lots of cereal all the time. Since that's what I remember the most clearly, that's probably what I mostly ate.

At 19 I moved to TX and into my own apartment. My budget was very tight and since it was just me, I typically ate a lot of salads, very little meat and sometimes cereal. On the weekends I'd often cook up one big dish of something and eat it during the week but my diet consisted of very little bread or baked goods. I'd occasionally buy a cheap loaf of white bread b/c I find this to be the BEST for grilled cheese sandwiches.

I can distinctly remember going with a friend to his family home where his mother ground her own wheat and baked a lot. I can also remember having terrible stomach cramps, bloating and gas while there. I associated it to the (fresh ground) whole wheat which I rarely ate b/c as stated before I bought very little bread and only the cheap white stuff rarely.

One time I went with co-workers to the Olive Garden where I ate the endless soup, salad & bread sticks and gorged myself senseless (back then it was $4 at lunch). I was in such pain and agony that I had to go home early from work, something I never did because, at the time I didn't have paid time off. It was horrible the pain was unbearable. I attributed it to the ice burg lettuce that was exclusively used at that time.

I got married at a few weeks shy of 24. David's income was far greater than mine and his appetite and food consumption much more varied and much larger quantities than mine. I'd gotten in the habit of grocery shopping less than every 2 weeks. With David I was finding that I needed to buy 3-4 times what I was used to purchasing. He loved that I could cook and bake. He loved that he could say "I feel like fresh bread" and he'd come home and it'd be there warm waiting with a home cooked meal. He delighted in the fact that out of all the women he had known he'd married the one that could cook anything and bake everything. And so I did. I cooked and baked a lot. And started gaining weight. Which I attributed to:
A) being happy
B) meals being intimate and social rather than quick and necessary
C) the wider variety and bigger consumption.
All of the above was probably true but I think, now, there was more going on.

About 18 months ago David was diagnosed as allergic to corn & soy so we eliminated everything from our house with either of those ingredients. We switched to 100% organic whole wheat pastas, cereals, flours, crackers, pretzels and so on. I packed on the weight. Which I attributed to stress and anxiety. I struggled with depression and exhaustion. Again I dismissed these indications as stress or how hot it is here in Houston all the time. My gut became unpredictable. I'd have about 5 seconds between "I have to go" and getting to the bathroom. The pain and bloating was uncomfortable and the gas was embarrassing. As the indications stacked up I ignored what I have suspected for some time - I was allergic to wheat. I didn't want the inconvenience or complications. If one is just allergic to wheat there are many, many gluten free options that are fantastic. Baking mixes, snacks, cereals and so on but for us they aren't an option because all of it contains corn or soy. David is so sensitive to corn that I don't bring anything in the house that has any amount of corn in it. Cross contamination is a big concern when there are trace amounts of corn so I rarely bring anything that even contains ingredients derived from corn into our home. Eliminating wheat just seemed overwhelming.

Here's the deal though. Looking at things I loved like yeast donuts makes my cheeks flush and my gut twinge now. I remember the pain and discomfort I was experiencing and I don't even want it. It took David over a year to get to this point and I'm so thankful I am already here. It makes it so much easier to simply stick to wheat free, beef free, mustard free and so on eating.

So go get tested. It's not that complicated. It's worth the hassle and after four days my energy is returning and my belly is settling. I'm not nearly at the energy level when I was in my 20's and working full time w/extra hours and taking classes at night and swimming every morning but I had the energy (and desire) to clean out my truck and sweep the garage. Lately it's been all I can do to keep up w/the house and laundry. Weekends were for sitting on my tush re-cooping from the house cleaning and the long weeks of cooking and laundry and my part time care giving job.

3 days allergen free

2011-02-18T13:42:00.000-08:00

I had made an appointment with a General Practitioner to have a physical done including blood work and a UA to see if anything turned up to help explain any of my symptoms. After diagnosed as allergic to wheat I assumed the bulk of my problems were driven by my diet being laden with wheat but decided to keep the appointment as it'd been about 5 years since I'd had a physical. As I was reading about wheat allergy, naturally I stumbled into all things gluten and then Celiac disease. Several medical conditions such as : Diabetes, Non Hodgkins Lymphoma and a host of other things are linked to Celiac Disease. Both run in my family so I started to wonder if I should under go further testing. Some indications of Celiac are similar to a wheat allergy (Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disorder, NOT an allergy and it is genetically linked - you have to carry the gene to have the disease.) but can show up in vitamin deficiency, hypo/hyper blood sugar, and hypo/hyper thyroid. All of my blood work came back with in range, with exception of things that indicated I was having an allergic reaction, and so I've put the idea of Celiac Disease (for me anyway) on the back burner. Another indication: I forgot my allergy pill last night which I take for seasonal allergies. Today, despite fasting, I've felt nauseated off and on. An allergy pill would not combat symptoms of Celiac Disease but I think I'm having some relief from my food allergies when I take my seasonal allergy pill.

Another reason to prefer a wheat allergy to a corn allergy: I can take many OTC and prescription drugs with little concern of wheat.... David on the other hand can not take any OTC meds and thus far we have had to had the few drugs he's needed specifically compounded with out corn... looks like standard prescription meds are basically out of the question as well. Boo for Government subsidized corn making it super cheap and thus grossly over used.

White Chicken Chili (beef, corn, gluten, peanut & soy free)

2011-02-17T17:55:00.000-08:00

I cooked tonight. I took last night and the night before off because we had a mountain of foods I can no longer eat and David needed to work his way through them because, quite frankly, our food is expensive. Even before it was pricey I H.A.T.E.D. to throw away food. Such a waste. If one plans accordingly it's not necessary to throw away food. That being said I made an allergen free White Chicken Chili tonight. It was delicious. I can do this - totally and I feel even better. I've been told to look forward to weeks 3 and 4 of being allergen free. That I'll feel fantastic and have crazy amounts of energy. Yes!

White Chicken Chili (or soup if you add lots of broth) (free of corn, wheat, soy, peanuts, beef.............)
2 Cans of white beans (I used Kroger brand organic pinto and organic Eden's Cannellini beans)
16-32 oz or so of chicken broth (Kitchen Basics for me)
Salsa to taste (I had home made that I needed to use before too long)
Garlic, 2 cloves - chopped
Olive oil (Bertolli) & butter (organic HEB label)
CHEESE (organic HEB label)
2-4 chicken breasts (I had organic)
1/2 bell pepper
salt & pepper to taste

Chop the chicken and brown it in the oil/butter. Add the bell pepper and garlic once the chicken starts to brown up. Let it all cook a few minutes. Dump in the salsa - up to 8oz would work if you like that much spice - and beans. Simmer for a few minutes. Add chicken broth to desired thickness. Grate cheese. I put about a 1/2 cup in the soup and reserve some for the top. Let it all simmer until the chicken is cooked through. Add additional seasonings if desired. I typically add cumin, cayenne pepper, adobe chili and onion & garlic powders because we like a little punch.

To serve:
For us we either use potato chips or wheat crackers. I can't have wheat crackers any more.

David (corn allergy) : ate his with cheese on top and his pretzel rods as a dipping bread stick
Becca (wheat allergy) : ate hers with Rice Chex and cheese. I put the chex on bottom and ladled the soup on top. Then topped with cheese.

NOTE: David can't have rice chex

24 hrs Wheat Free

2011-02-16T14:49:00.000-08:00

So I've been wheat free for 24 hrs and I'm already feeling better. I ate a banana this morning on my Rice Chex for second breakfast (first breakfast was at 5am, steel cut oats with brown sugar & raisins so I needed a 2nd at about 9:30). The banana was a mistake. It wasn't on my test panel so I wasn't tested for an allergy to banana but it tore me up. No more bananas for me. I've also decided to avoid eggs as I was tested only for egg whites (negative), not yolks and I believe I have had a reaction to eggs. It could be that I typically eat eggs with toast but to be safe I'm avoiding them and after a month or so I'll see if it was the eggs or just the toast.

I already feel better. For those on the fence get tested. It took me less than an hour of my time and $35 out of pocket.

24 hours wheat free and while not 100% right, my gut is far less painful. My bottom is not itchy. I'm tired but not nearly as fatigued. I read today that many of my seasonal allergy symptoms (confirmed for me with skin prick in 2002) could also be wheat allergy symptoms so I'm hoping to see a decrease in those things as well.

I wish I could remember some of the websites I visited but here are the wheat allergy symptoms I remember:

Swelling, itching or irritation of the mouth or throat
Hives, itchy rash or swelling of the skin
Nasal congestion
Itchy, watery eyes
Difficulty breathing
Cramps, nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea
Anaphylaxis

I have all of the above minus the anaphylaxis but attributed the first five to seasonal allergies. Which may be correct but might not be. Or maybe those symptoms won't be as ridiculous.

I'm relieved that I know what's bothering me. I had suspicions about certain foods but now that it's "official" I feel confidant in eliminating them and calling them for what they are: allergies. Rather than just feeling sick every time I ate today I was fine (minus the banana but I knew what it was right away b/c I tested negative for rice and milk, the only two things I ate with the banana). Yesterday I experience nausea all day. Same with all the days prior.

Not everyone has the same symptoms to the same allergies. Get tested. I should have done it 18 months ago when I had my original suspicions. All of my reasons for waiting seem like silly excuses now.

PS Don't expect your regular physician to recommend food allergy testing. It's an under-diagnosed problem that even allergy clinics are hesitant to recommend. I see an asthma/allergy specialist every 6 months for my asthma & seasonal allergies and when I requested a food allergy test she grilled me on what would make me think I would need one. I didn't mention wheat (ever hopeful) but talked about how I sometimes felt after eating eggs, avocados & iceberg lettuce (tested negative for egg whites, avocados & lettuce go figure). Even if I didn't have anything specific to talk about I would have pushed for a test due to general malaise. When David requested his allergy test the Doctor all but laughed at him. Especially when he got to the symptom of heartburn. Yet, he ran the basic panel (10 foods I think) and said "Wow, that's interesting" when he saw the huge reaction to corn. You have to be your own advocate and take control of your own health care.

Wifey's allergies

2011-02-16T04:14:00.000-08:00

In June of 2009 we discovered David had a severe allergy to corn and allergies to peanut and soy as well. I've been contemplating getting myself tested since then thinking I might have an allergy to wheat but hoping it was only in my head. After a year and a half or so of food managing we have David's allergies in control but I've been feeling crummier and crummier.

Symptoms (because let's be honest this is the stuff everyone wants to know):
Nausea - a lot of it: after eating, before/after eliminating waste (BM's, Poop - whatever you call it)
Abdominal cramping - usually after eating
Gas - sometimes it just sits in my gut, sometimes it passes and sometimes it has no smell and sometimes it's clear the room something died horrible
Inability to loose/difficulty maintaining weight - My weight has fluctuated a lot in the last 18 months and I've struggled especially in the last 6-9 months to reach my goal weight. Prior to marriage (6 years) I've had very little difficulty maintaining weight and if it started to creep up I'd count calories for a week or two to readjust my concept of healthy portions. Despite counting calories (weighing & measuring everything I eat/drink) my weight has not changed - I'm at the high end of healthy for my height - I'm hoping once I eliminate the wheat I'll get back down to lower-mid healthy weight
Itchy bottom - a sure sign of food allergies if unrelated to hemorrhoids or yeast infection but I dismissed it as having to use cheap, scratchy toilet paper b/c it was the only corn free stuff. Hey, I was in denial loosing wheat is going to be tough on my love of baking.
Fatigue - my lack of energy has been obnoxious
Foggy brain - Not sure how else to describe this but my mind feels a little sluggish and bogged down. I attributed this to being out of school since May and not really challenging myself mentally but now I believe it's related to the wheat allergy in particular.
Bloating - I have been carrying water weight that makes me uncomfortable all the time

Since the discovery of David's allergy to corn & soy we have gone to 100% wheat for a lot of things such as pastas, cereals, flours, breads and so on. This is probably why over the last 18 months and especially the last 6 or 9 I've been miserable. I asked David if he thought something was wrong with me. He said "Yeah, but I'm not as observant or in tune as you are." I was hoping he'd be able to pin point symptoms for me as I'd done for him. I think over the next few months as I start to feel better I'll be able to pin point additional symptoms or indications that I handily dismissed.

I'm not really even upset about the beef. I'll miss steaks but I can do with out, we don't eat them that often anyway. It's the wheat that's going to be a pain.

I'm REALLY looking forward to feeling well again. I can't wait to experience a day or two without gut pain or nausea. And to stop retaining water and all of the other indications to fade away.

I'm thankful that I'm uniquely equipped to handle this food allergy because I've learned over the last 18 months while helping David manage his allergies.

Christmas Baking Corn Free

2010-12-22T12:41:00.001-08:00

Avoiding corn during the holidays is even more difficult with the exchange of cookies and treats and shared meals.

Baking is something I thoroughly enjoy and now tackle the task with a more observant eye and wary outlook. I assume that if an ingredient is not self explanatory that it is corn. This is the safest thing to do at this point. Thus, coloring frosting for sugar cookies has been the object to tackle of late. The sugar cookies were a basic recip e:

3/4 cup organic unsalted butter, softened
1 cup organic white sugar
2 organic free range eggs
1/2 teaspoon home made vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups naturally white Hodgson Mill flour
1 teaspoon Hain baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt salt

which I baked yesterday. Using cookie cutters is so fun - creating tasty shapes and making a mess. I ran out of time to make icing though. This morning I made a basic frosting but wanted a colorful frosting in addition to white. I am not certain that food coloring is corn free so it wasn't an option. After making a batch of frosting I took just a little more than 1/2 and set it aside. To the remaining I added a tablespoon or so of organic strawberry jelly and a handful of pureed fresh cranberries. This thinned the frosting out a bit so I added additional organic powdered sugar to add a bit of stiffness to it. Not only is the frosting delicious it looks close to a red color. It's a bit faint but I didn't want to end up with gobs of frosting and thus didn't add more cranberry which would mean more sugar.....

I'm pretty happy with the outcome. My favorite are the little Santa hats... I couldn't figure out what they were pre-frosting. I had some snow flakes which had broken and so I had to eat. ;) There's a pile of cookies left to be frosted. Now I'm inspired. The white frosting and cookies are bland enough to support a variety of additional flavors in the frosting. I have some bells that could really use yellow and Christmas trees that sure would look nice with green. I wonder if I can get the same result with lemon juice & zest for yellow and perhaps some fresh mint leaves for green. I guess I'm off to the market.

Pacific Natural Foods

2010-11-22T09:03:00.000-08:00

So excited about this link I found. I hate that it hasn't been updated since 06.2009 but I called to ask about their condensed soups - CORN FREE - all of them and requested they update the information. It's a great chart - even if most of their products contain corn or soy.

Flu Season

2010-11-19T16:04:00.001-08:00

Hubs came home last night feeling crummy. Achy, sore throat, head ache. Fabulous. He had called earlier so I changed the menu from a hearty chicken chili to a basic chicken soup loaded with veggies, ginger & garlic.

We can't purchase any kind of safe over the counter treatments or vitamins so standard procedure here is different than loading up on Vitamin C and store bought chicken soup. When allergies are at hand nipping these things in the bud is the best you can do. Lots of sleep, lots of water, lots of veggies and citrus fruits (for vitamins & minerals).

Quick chicken soup
Chicken, boneless skinless breasts or thighs work best
Veggies (I ran to the market and purchased a fresh zucchini & onions. I already had fresh carrots, celery, spinach, canned green beans, & frozen peas)
Broth (I used 32oz box)
Garlic (I used a few cloves of fresh & some powdered as well)
Onion (fresh & a little powdered)
Ginger (powdered - hate grating my own)
Salt & Pepper
small amount of butter/olive oil

Melt the butter or warm the oil in a large pot. Throw in the fresh onions & garlic until they start to become translucent. Chop chicken into bite sized pieces. Brown in the pot with onions. Season well with salt, pepper, onion & garlic powder as well as ginger. Once the chicken is browned pretty well, dump in the rest of the fresh ingredients - minus the spinach and simmer. Carrots & celery take a little while but after a few minutes drop in frozen ingredients. The spinach can be put in the bottom of a bowl or added right before serving into the pot. It really needs only a moment. I always taste the broth. If it's not flavorful enough I add more of the powdered seasoning because it disperses more quickly than fresh garlic or onion.

This soup works well for any occasion but I made a large pot last night and we ate it for dinner last night, lunch this morning and dinner this evening. It's not too filling but it's loaded with nutrients and easy to digest.

Stock up on:
Safe chicken stock
- home made keeps in the freezer for up to a year but takes time to thaw out and requires a little time
- Kitchen Basic Original Chicken Stock in a box is wonderful - you can purchase it in boxes of all sizes and I always keep it in the pantry, it specifically states "corn free" and we have never had a problem with it
Eggs
- Scrambled eggs are very easy to digest and quick to make
Veggies
- Fresh, seasonal is best but they have to be used quickly so they don't spoil
- Canned veggies are good and we typically keep green beans (Central Market Organics)
- Frozen, I always have peas in the freezer & if my organic veggies aren't being eaten fast enough I will freeze just about anything. Currently I have bell peppers & spinach that I was afraid we wouldn't eat before it spoiled (HATE, hate, hate throwing away food!).
Spices & Herbs
- Garlic
- Ginger
Honey - we purchase raw local wild flower honey
Orange Juice - Central Market Organics is pure 100% squeezed oranges, nothing added and is less expensive than purchasing oranges and juicing them myself
Epsom Salts - just the salt don't purchase the scented ones they might have corn
Pure essential oils - we add to baths, and "humidifiers"
Since I don't have a diffuser or anything for my essential oil so I boiled water on the stove and placed about 4 quarts of very hot water in a pan with a few drops of eucalyptus oil on a table beside the bed. It acted as a humidifier of sorts.

I'm happy to report that David is nearly as good as new despite being so sick last night.

Helpful links:
http://www.organicnutrition.co.uk/articles/colds.htm
http://www.remedies-for-natural-health.com/natural-flu-remedies.html

Corn Sick

2010-11-18T07:33:00.001-08:00

Last weekend David got home early and popped his head in our bathroom - where I was scrubbing down our shower with a really powerful mold killing product....

(I don't like using it but living in the Houston area it's got to be done at least once a month or the mildew takes over the shower in the worst way - it doesn't matter what I scrub with or how often in between my once a month mold & mildew scrubbing.)

I had the exhaust fan above the shower on and the window by the shower all the way open b/c that stuff isn't good for anyone. David still got sick from popping his head in. Grrr.

Yesterday he came home from work sick. Someone had popped popcorn. So aggravating.

I wish he wasn't so sensitive. The peanuts & soy are so much easier to deal with. I keep a small jar of peanut butter in the fridge in fact and eat it w/apples or on sandwhiches (hey, PB is waaaay cheaper than almond or cashew or any other nut butter, store bought or home made) and it never bothers him. I don't keep anything with corn in it though.

A delightful discovery: David can have Horizon Organic Egg Nog. Hmmm........ it's corn free and delicious.

Lamb Kabobs

2010-10-25T06:34:00.000-07:00

After a hard day of fence building David and I made some delicious lamb kabobs. I could eat kabobs every day. They are beautiful to look at, smell great and are a perfect food combination (protein/neutral veggies).

We used lamb meat from US Wellness Meats. We order a selection of meat about once a month. The prices, even with the $7.50 handling fee (no additional postage or fees), beat that of the prices in our market for grass fed beef and lamb and compassionate certified pork. We have only purchased drum sticks from the chicken selection as our market does have better prices on range free chicken. David has been able to eat their products with no problem including the plain beef franks - impossible to find with out soy else where.

Ingredients
1 pound lamb meat, chopped in cube chunks
1/2 a red onion, chopped in fat chunks
1 Bell pepper, chopped in thick wedges (we had 3 colors so I used about a 1/3 of each pepper)
1 zucchini
Spearmint
Dill
Italian seasoning mix

Rosemary
Thyme
Parsley
Sage
Oregano
Basil

Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Pepper

Method
Thread the meat and veggies onto skewers. Drizzle a little olive oil onto the loaded skewers - this helps the seasoning to "stick". Sprinkle season onto meat/veggies.
Grill about 15 mins turning to evenly brown the meat and veggies.

Unfortunately we didn't get pictures of the grilled product. We were 1/2 way through eating when I realized we hadn't taken a picture.... David and I decided we'd take pictures next time. So the picture is of the raw veggies and meat. It still looks delicious to me.

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread Review by David

2010-10-22T17:14:00.001-07:00

Fresh bread is the best and you know it is fresh when the butter melts instantly. The sweetness of the bread balances the tart cranberries. The pumpkin is not too strong but provides a good base flavor. I highly recommend this bread. I am sorry for all of you with gluten allergies as you may not be able to taste these flavors as described. However for those of us with corn allergy....bake on!

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread (corn free)

2010-10-22T15:12:00.000-07:00

I haven't baked in a while. Baking is something that prior to David's allergy I took for granted. I could purchase whatever flour was on sale and same for all the other ingredients out there....

I love pumpkin. It signals fall and pies and comfort foods galore. Pumpkin pie, however, was about the extent of previous pumpkin baking in my repertoire. I decided today to search on cooks.com and see what else was out there for my recently obtained organic pumpkin in a can. I chose to make Pumpkin Cranberry Bread because it sounded good. Also I just opened a container of cranberry juice. Just the cranberry juice, nothing added and NOT from concentrate. That'll put your teeth on edge. We purchase juice like this all the time. And then we typically drink about 1/2 water with the juice. For the cranberry, we needed only about a 1/4 glass of juice to the water. Also we don't have juice every day. We'd rather have high quality real JUICE occasionally than concentrated with who knows what juice every day. That said I figured what the heck cranberry and pumpkin - bring it on.

Adapted from cooks.com

Ingredients

3 cups flour
1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (I mixed my own)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1.5 teaspoons sea salt
3 cups granulated organic sugar
15 oz of organic pumpkin
4 large eggs
1 cup canola oil
1/2 cup cranberry juice
1 cup frozen cranberries

Method

Pre-heat oven to 350
Dump everything except cranberries into large mixing bowl (Kitchen Aid stand mixer to the rescue!) and combine.
Add berries and fold in.
Pour into two greased loaf pans.
Bake 350 for 60-65 mins or until toothpick comes out clean

(my 2 loaves baking away as I post)

It's not personal....

2010-10-22T05:30:00.000-07:00

I think something that is really difficult for David and I to remember is that for the general population food allergies are something of an abstract idea - never mind moving into the idea that corn isn't JUST a "food" allergy. The rude deli worker, the less than helpful waitress, the lack of response from a company when inquired.... It's not personal - for THEM. For the allergy afflicted, however, it's VERY personal.

Thankfully with both the peanut and soy allergy the problem shoots through David - literally. Uncomfortable for him, miserable if out in public and nothing he can do/take to slow it down (because again, corn isn't just a food allergy - it's in every OTC medication we have ever tried).

Corn however sits in his system and wrecks havoc for WEEKS.

Unless a person has a food allergy themselves or has PREPARED food for someone with a food allergy on a regular basis, they just won't get it. Period. Yes, eating gluten free is all the rage - but many people do it by choice so if they stumble into something contaminated they are fine. Again, it's not personal - for THEM.

We do run into the occasional really friendly, helpful waitress or manager. The occasional extra sweet deli worker that is willing to let me read the labels on the packages. And sometimes we are lucky enough to contact someone at a company that is sensitive to our situation. But again, it's the exception not the rule.

When I start getting defensive -

(Hey this is MY husband we are talking about here - I work REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hard to make sure that our home, our "stuff", our food, our cleaning products and on and on are safe. So when someone else screws it up because of carelessness it's aggravating beyond words.)

- I remind myself that it's not a personal attack. Sometimes it "feels" that way but it's not. And my getting irate with a restaurant worker or store manager isn't going to help anything. Thankfully, I have never lost my cool but I have watched other people. (Let's just say that NO one looks attractive having a melt down in public - even if for a good reason.) Rather, I attempt to educate as best I can. Some are very receptive while others, have no interest. Again, it's not personal for THEM.

We are blessed to have family and friends that try really hard - and we are thankful. When people want to have us over for dinner I often bring the food and cook myself. Occasionally I will recommend a simple meat and veggie meal with no breads and no spices please. If fat is needed, please use olive oil. (This is David's food allergy but because I do the bulk of the shopping and cooking/baking I am the most familiar with ingredients. He is learning out of necessity and can even make a mean brownie.)

We have to be our own advocates. No one else will. No one else understands. Even with family and close friends. And hey while it is personal for the allergic person, it's not personal against the well intended.

*Sadly the most recent picture I could find of this "corn free" family is nearly 3 years old.*

Meatballs

2010-10-21T09:02:00.000-07:00

It's impossible for us to purchase store bought meatballs. I don't ever remember my mother using store bought meatballs while growing up and I don't actually think I have ever done it myself but now that home made meatballs are a necessity rather than just fun....

INGREDIENTS
Makes About 48 meatballs
*Approximately 2.5 pounds of ground meat (I used about 1/2 ground certified humane pork and 1/2 grass fed ground beef)
*2 eggs
*Ground Oats (amount needed will vary depending on how "wet" the meat is, I grind my own with my handy Magic Bullet knock off)
*A few tablespoons of fresh ground Parmesan
*Garlic powder
*Onion powder
*Italian blend seasoning: (I am able to purchase a blend at Cost Plus World Market that contains only the following so I use it - something I don't have to make/mix from scratch, sign me up.)

Rosemary
Thyme
Parsley
Sage
Oregano
Basil

One large dog under foot (Oh wait that's not necessary AT ALL but Scratch loves meatball making day. Never know what kinds of bits of meat will drop.)

METHOD
Dump everything EXCEPT the ground oats into a large bowl and mix well. Prior to receiving the gift of a Kitchen Aide stand mixer (Thank you again Aunt Barb) I mixed this by hand. It's gooey and takes a while. If you have a stand mixer use the flat paddle. Let it mix well for a few minutes. It should be sticky. Start adding the ground oats until the meat stays in one large chunk on the paddle and the meat is "mold-able".

Once everything is mixed well, I use a medium size cookie scoop to drop the meat onto cookie sheets as it keeps them uniform in size and shape but prior to the scoop (Thank you again mom) I used my hands and made fist sized meatballs. A broiler pan works well too if you want the fat to drip down. I like my meatballs cooked on a sheet so the fat will ooze out but still add flavor... yummy. A little healthier than just frying 'em in a skillet, which also works.

The meat balls cook about 15-20 mins at 350 but I usually start checking on them at about the 10 min point. If I'm dropping them right into sauce I usually just lightly brown them so they stay together in the sauce. If they aren't lightly browned in the oven they run the risk of falling apart in the sauce. Typically however, I make a bunch at once and freeze most of them.

Grass fed beef and high quality pork have very little fat so as you can see in the last picture the edges around the meat balls brown a little but they are by no means swimming in grease.

They are ready to eat RIGHT NOW. Literally. I took pictures while I made them this morning. David is coming home for lunch in a while so we will eat some soon. The rest will go in the freezer.

I typically put the meatballs right into the freezer as is on the pans (AFTER THEY ARE COOL!!) Once they are frozen solid (about 2 hours or so) I put them in Zipperlock Freezer bag. If they are frozen in this manner they don't stick together in a clump and I can take out a few at a time.

USES
EVERYTHING!!

Meatball grinders
Spaghetti & meatballs
Pizza topping
Appetizer

REHEAT
If sauce is involved I typically put them right in the sauce. If I remember I let them thaw an hour or so in the fridge on a plate but if it's a last minute thing I drop them in the sauce from the freezer. For pizza it's best thawed in the fridge first. Otherwise I stick 'em in the oven or toaster oven for 5-10 mins until warmed through. They are cooked so it doesn't take much. We don't use the microwave much but I suppose they could go in there for a re-heat.

Rookie Error

2010-10-18T07:06:00.001-07:00

I spent this weekend in Galveston with two of my favorite girl friends. One of them was one of the main reasons David and I sought allergy testing and discovered his corn allergy. While we were away I brought items to make chili. My friend is allergic to wheat and several other things such as cayenne pepper. I brought along my handy "chili powder" seasoning to add when we made chili. I have been using this repeatedly without reading the label. I assumed it was, literally, powdered chili pepper. My friend casually pointed out the back of the container.

INGREDIENTS: CHILI PEPPER, SPICES, SALT, SILICON DIOXIDE (ADDED TO MAKE FREE FLOWING), AND GARLIC.

*scream*

I constantly say "read everything" and work so hard to make sure that our home and our food is corn-free and here I hadn't even THOUGHT to read something I use profusely. My friend was so gracious - I wanted to smack myself upside the head.

Two things are wrong with this label:
^1. The ubiquitous "spices" a generic term that is often used and typically hides additional things within that term. When I see "spices" on any label on any food, I drop the item and find something else.
^2. While I can't verify it, nearly always free flowing agents include corn products. This product specifically says "silicon dioxide" which should be just an oxide of silicon with a chemical formula SiO₂. However, I never purchase items with the words "free flowing agent" of any kind and in any context.

Technically this might be a safe product but had I read the label I wouldn't have continued using it when cooking for Hubs. I left that "spice" at the beach house for future guests. Thanks for the reminder my friend not to become complacent in food purchases and prep!

Simple Syrup

2010-10-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

Light Corn Syrup Substitute:

***CLEARLY ONE WITH A CORN ALLERGY CAN NOT USE CORN SYRUP***

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 cup water

Instructions:
1. Combine ingredients.
2. Over medium heat, bring to full boil.
3. Boil for one minute, or until all sugar particles are dissolved.
4. Transfer mixture into airtight refrigerator container.

Marshmallows

2010-10-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

Yum. I had never made marshmallows before. Hadn't even thought about it. Picking up a bag at the market on the occasions we "needed" them was so simple. Enter corn allergy. Not so simple. Marshmallows are LOADED with corn: corn syrup, corn starch, powdered sugar.....

Hubs and I went camping last weekend for the first time since March. We love camping and cooking over the fire and sleeping in a tent for a couple of days. Hiking and lazing around a campfire... s'mores....

Thus began my thoughts of home made marshmallows... I'd already conquered the art of graham crackers and we can purchase corn free, soy free chocolate bars soooo...

We toasted them over the fire - they aren't flammable!!! How exciting for me - she who always ignites her marshmallows. I stuck one right in the flame and it just browned up. That's it. What is in those goofy store bought that makes them burst into flames I wonder... They smooshed well with graham cracker and chocolate squares and were soooo tasty. They don't tend to hold the heat the same way store bought does so we ate them straight off the fire and into the s'more with no burned tongue! Yea.

The first evening we went camping we dropped a marshmallow into a cup of hot chocolate too. They melted perfectly and added such great flavor to the home made hot chocolate mix.

When we got home from camping I made rice krispy treats with the 10oz of marshmallow I left behind for just such a thing. I made the traditional recipe from Kellogg's but of course with organic puffed brown rice cereal because Kellogg's is made with loads of corn. They were so delicious Hubs couldn't keep out of them long enough to "set". I caught him with a spoon going after the warm gooey treats. Several days later he's still taking them to work (I had them in a covered container in the fridge) and they are still delicious. I should know, I ate one with a piece of chocolate and a graham cracker two days ago.

I didn't take pictures of the process because it is SUPER sticky and very messy. It's fun too don't worry but I didn't want to try and mess around with my camera while managing the gooey treats. The website I adapted the recipe from (linked below) has loads of pictures and my experience is basically what she has pictured.

Springy, Fluffy Marshmallows
(adapted from: Smitten Kitchen)

Makes about 96 1-inch cubed marshmallows

About 1 cup confectioners’ sugar~~~~
3 1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin^####
1 cup cold water, divided
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup simple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
1 tablespoon home made vanilla

Oil bottom and sides of a 13- by 9- by 2-inch rectangular metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with some confectioners’ sugar. (Don't be stingy w/the powdered sugar it's what is going to help get those buggers out later! I used a glass pan because that's all I have.)

In bowl of a standing electric mixer or in a large bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold cold water, and let stand to soften.

In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, simple syrup, second 1/2 cup of cold water, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240°F, about 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.

With standing or a hand-held electric mixer beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about six minutes if using standing mixer.

In separate medium bowl with cleaned beaters beat egg whites until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and vanilla into sugar mixture until just combined.

Pour mixture into baking pan.

Sift 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar evenly over top.

Chill marshmallow, uncovered, until firm, at least three hours, and up to one day.

Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up one corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and ease onto cutting board. With a large knife trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallow into roughly one-inch cubes. (I used an oiled pizza cutter).

(I had a glass pan so I used my thin metal spatula and slid it around the side of the pan and then under the edges and worked the marshmallow out in a big sheet. It's quite pliable and plopped out as intended. I trimmed the edges and stuck them along with other "rough" cut pieces into a glass container until I had the 10oz I needed for Krispy Treats.)

Sift remaining confectioners’ sugar back into your now-empty baking pan, and roll the marshmallows through it, on all six sides, before shaking off the excess and packing them away.

Do ahead: Marshmallows keep in an airtight container at cool room temperature 1 week.

^{~~~~Organic powdered sugar is often made corn free but be sure to LOOK! Powdered sugar often is made with corn starch.~~~~}

^####I used Knox original gelatin unflavored 4 envelopes 1 oz pack. I called Knox and they assured me that this product was made with beef and pork products only. NO CORN^####

Update on Food Combining

2010-08-05T06:08:00.000-07:00

It has now been about 2 weeks of our food combining attempt. I have read more books and information online. We continue to food combine about 90% of the time.

Yesterday Hubs brought home a Greek plate which was NOT properly food combined and we ate most of it and loved it and only once said something about the bad combination. Think moderation in everything. We'll see how we feel today. Oddly enough after a heartburn free day, David had a bit after dinner. This could be from one of two things OTHER than improper food combining: ^1. The food was packaged in Styrofoam - can it be made with corn??? Probably but I haven't checked. ^2. Inside one of the packages (it took 4 to contain this plate intended for one person, one meal, but we both had dinner last night and David had left overs for lunch today) was a fýllo wrapped cheese item. It is nearly impossible to find fýllo that is Corn Free. I have looked. A lot. We picked out what we saw that had transferred but most likely, this is the culprit. They are delicious little cheese pastries but we would have requested it be left out or packed separately had we been paying attention.

Ah well such is the life. This Greek restaurant makes delicious food and we have only had a problem with corn when we order something with fýllo. Which is easy enough to avoid when one remembers.....

WARNING I'M ABOUT TO TYPE ABOUT BM'S

Since food combining I have more regular BM's. When one's digestive system is working correctly one should have about one BM per meal (snacks not included) per day. So the average person should be having about 3 per day. When we had corn in our diet I was good if I had one every other day. We eliminated corn from our diet and what do you know about one BM a day for me (and I am NOT allergic to corn - just Hubs). With food combining, I have a BM as one is supposed to when digestion is running smoothly.

While talking about the waste a body produces isn't "proper" conversation it does indicate a lot about how one's body is working and what one is consuming. And not just BM's, tinkle too. =)

Toothpaste and Contact Solution

2010-08-05T05:35:00.000-07:00

TOOTHPASTE

We have been looking for corn free products. It's quite difficult. Tom's of Maine clearly explains on the package of some of their products where each ingredient is derived from. One has to be very careful though reading labels because not all of the toothpastes have even the same basic ingredients. I did NOT call or contact this company. We purchased this product solely based on label reading and product transparency. I think the taste of this product is comparable or better than the leading brands. It also seems to leave ones breath fresh and clean comparable or better than the leading brands.

CONTACT SOLUTION
Contact solution is a much bigger deal. You stick the product in your eye which is an entry point for germs and infection. So sticking corn in one's eye when one is allergic can be quite traumatic. Toothpaste can be absorbed through the gums while brushing but it's not actually consumed, it is spit into the sink and one typically rinses their mouth with water after brushing. Not so with contact solution. One loads up the lens with it and plants it in their eye for the day. I called the 1-800 number on the box while standing in Target. The representative I reached was very kind and said that while she didn't have the information she would take my number and return my call. After about 4 days of no response I had given up on hearing from Bausch & Lomb about Bio true. She called Tuesday morning and left a detailed message saying that she had confirmation from: the product manager, one of the Doctors on the product and a chemist on the product that there was NO corn used in the making of this contact lens solution. Yea for David!! I wasn't even upset about paying full price. (I'm obsessive about getting the best deals and coupon clipping and bargain hunting.) If one fills out the survey HERE - one can get a $2 coupon to try this product. There is supposed to be a travel size (2oz) but I have not yet found anything other than the size pictured. NOTE: This solution is for soft contact products. David wears soft contacts so he can use this product. I wear rigid gas permeable and this product is NOT recommended for hard contact lenses.... although I think I might just be the only one left wearing hard contacts....

DISCLOSURE: I paid with our hard earned money, full price for both of the items. There was no compensation from either company, I am just really happy about finding corn free products I don't have to make myself. I have however, since printed an online coupon for Bio true that I found on my own time and of my own volition.

.C.ould .O.ur g.R.eed explai.N.

2010-08-05T05:06:00.000-07:00

David and I watched King Corn. A documentary made by two young guys, just graduated from college who decide to rent an acre of land in IA and grow corn. Their plan is to follow their acre from seed to product. Interesting concept and of course holding our attention since we seem to do that every day ... trace our products back to corn ...

From Netflix:
King Corn
2007 NR 90 minutes
In Aaron Woolf's thought-provoking documentary, friends Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis move back to America's Corn Belt to plant an acre of the nation's most-grown and most-subsidized grain and follow their crop into the U.S. food supply. What they learn about genetically modified seeds, powerful herbicides and the realities of modern farming calls into question government subsidies, the fast-food lifestyle and the quality of what we eat.
Cast: Curt Ellis, Ian Cheney
Director: Aaron Woolf
Genres: Documentary, Science and Nature Documentaries, Political Documentaries, Indie Documentaries
This movie is: Witty, Cerebral
Format: DVD and streaming

Despite our extensive research out of necessity, we were still surprised at some of the content. While some of the knowledge was "there" it hit home the actual role the government is playing in growing and producing of corn.

The bottom line is that the government, through subsidies, is propping up an artificial (literally) market for corn. Corn derivatives are so inexpensive that it has helped to drive down the annual cost of food in U.S. households, by about 1/2. While it sounds shocking, even in our household since discovering David's allergies and subsequently switching to primarily organic foods our grocery budget has more than doubled. Even 100 years ago, maybe even 50 years ago the thought of having to purchase "Organic" foods was probably ludicrous. Food was still being produced primarily through smaller farm operations - with naturally healthy methods.

I like purchasing organic, corn free products. I DO NOT like the dent that it has caused in our over all budget, but by purchasing responsibly grown plants and animals I am choosing to support small farms and casting my vote for free market - not one propped up with subsidies and corn kernels.

While we don't own a TV I have seen the commercial that is touting all the benefits of High Fructose Corn syrup. The actresses are playing 'mom' in this commercial and one of the 'moms' says to the other "Oh but do you know what is IN that??" And the (obviously more informed mother - typed with only a hint of sarcasm - ) says "What?" And then spouts off all the fantastic things about HFC.

Here is the thing: the guys in King Corn make HFC themselves when companies won't allow them to bring in cameras. They have to wear GLOVES & GOGGLES because of the poison that is required in the process of abstracting HFC from kernels of corn. Pretty sure that I don't want to consume a product made with chemicals that have a skull and bones on it. And I sure as anything wouldn't feed it to kids. No wonder our kids are fat, have diabetes, early periods, and on and on.... The government is encouraging parents to feed their kids crap - literally. It's hard for me to make good grocery store decisions and I have a household of 2. I can't imagine having 4 or 5 mouths to feed and looking at the meat or dairy and having to choose between products. When will the government - especially this current administration with all the talk of healthy eating - stop enabling companies to obtain cheap product. Cheap, unhealthy product.

Food Combining: Day Seven

2010-07-29T05:37:00.001-07:00

Well we have some what successfully completed 7 days of food combining. About a year ago I got fat. As in I'm 5'1 and I was ounces shy of 140. BMI 26.4. (Overweight = 25–29.9) I have never really worried much about weight. I've always been less than about 115 with out much effort. I got myself lined up and counted calories obsessively, was hungry all the time and grumpy from being hungry and missed ice cream and wine. But I got to about 123. BMI 23.2 (Normal weight = 18.5–24.9) Then I slowly backed off calorie counting and settled in at 129. BMI 24.4. While not delighted I'm working out and feel pretty good and it's still within that healthy range and Hubs thinks I look hot so I wasn't trying to loose just maintain and preferably rebuild some muscle tone.

All that to say. In 7 days of food combining. Without being hungry and with eating ice cream several days of those 7, I've been sitting pretty at 125 for 4 days. If I could cut out that ice cream.... yesterday I attempted and had chocolate milk (skim milk mixed with Hershey's syrup) instead. When I read the labels though - I should have just eaten my Ben & Jerrys. So when David had some after dinner I did too.....

Food combining is "supposed" to help you reach your pre-programmed weight. I think everyone has one. And if you're destined to be 150 you will never be 115. It's just kind of how it works. Counting calories is all that has ever worked for me to loose or maintain weight so I was a bit worried but figured a week wouldn't kill me. I work out typically at least every other day. I do cardio at least 30 mins (I push myself further by keep a note-book with the stats in it) and then light weight training for 20-30 mins depending on how much time I have. I figured I wouldn't gain/loose much so I'd try it. So I think (cautiously) that I have found another benefit of food combining.

Yesterday for lunch I re-made the Shepherds Pie again. This time I made a grilled sandwich out of it. Rather than cheese I slapped the veggies between two slice of lightly buttered bread and cooked it like a grilled cheese. I also added garlic to the mix to change the flavors. I'm not a huge fan of leftovers but I DESPISE throwing away food even more so....

For dinner I made a beef hot pot. From "The Food Combining Bible". I followed the recipe almost to the "t". Which if you ask Hubs is about a miracle. It was the best recipe yet. We both thought so.

I found another person who food combines... I see her name and think crazy combined family with a weird nephew that lives in the yard in a trailer and stuck up girls and a tom boy... And I think about Thigh Masters....

Yea Suzanne Sommers. It's a bit difficult for me to take her seriously. However, all her books are based on a method of food combining. Her main theory is that sugar is what makes people fat. So in her books she encourages readers to eat fat galore. Chicken with skin, thick creamy sauces.... but to avoid foods that are high in sugars or starch. Even naturally occurring sugar/starch like carrots, potatoes, winter squash and so on. It's an interesting approach that I'm sure Gillian McKeith would preach against and have Kensington and Hays rolling in their graves. But it's out there. And the book I got "Fast and Easy" is riddled with success stories. I am not an idiot, I realize that tipping into the edge of "overweight" is something a lot of people would envy. That being said I wasn't happy and was uncomfortable in my own skin. The people in Sommers books. They were huge. Some loosing over 100 pounds - almost my body weight when you look at it like that.

Food Combining: Day Six

2010-07-28T07:16:00.000-07:00

Every morning I sit and eat fruit while I reflect on the prior days attempts at food combining... sometimes I'm drinking coffee, which always comes first, but usually I'm eating fresh, seasonal, usually organic, fruit.

Yesterday was Shepherds Pie leftovers for lunch. I browned a bit of whole wheat bread and tossed it on top for some crunch. It was good.

Last night I baked Rainbow Trout with a bit of almond oil, grated hazelnuts and lemon juice. On the table I garnished with more lemon juice and nuts. David and I made large side salads to accompany the fish. It was actually quite delicious. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to get trout that is caught wild. I prefer wild caught, fresh (NOT previously frozen) fish. The selection yesterday wasn't great. The wild caught had all been previously frozen and all the fresh were farm raised. So I went by preference and price. Always good fall backs.

And no pics because we ate it all before I thought about taking a picture. It was actually a pretty plate with the slightly browned edges on the pink fillets and the toasted nuts. We feed our dogs all raw foods (an entirely different topic which would fill an entirely separate blog) and our Bull Mastiff couldn't get enough of the Rainbow Trout before I stuck it in the oven. Of course then he didn't want his chicken later....

Oh and while David did use his cloth towel to prevent food splatter a woman made popcorn in the microwave..... probably not the best day to test theories.

Food Combining: Day Five

2010-07-27T07:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday David packed his own lunch from a variety of leftovers in the fridge. He said he mostly stuck to food combining when eating at work.

I did the same at home. I always start the day now with a breakfast of fresh fruit. Yesterday I blended fresh fruit with a little 100% organic apple juice (NOT from concentrate - no point in buying organic if it's concentrate) for a smoothie of sorts. It kept me full for several hours. Then I reinvented the pasta dinner from Saturday night on the stove top with fresh parsley.

Dinner was Sweet Potato Shepherds Pie. I used the recipe from Gillian McKeiths book but eliminated a few items (kidney beans - to make it food combo friendly, arrowroot - didn't have any, tamari sauce - it's soy and David's allergic) but stuck to the basic recipe and served it with the last of my home made whole wheat bread.

I posted on Facebook that David didn't realize it was vegetarian. He saw the post before trying the meal... He swears it didn't effect his perception. I thought it was really good. I think I will re-invent it today with some kind of crunch on top.

(Since I didn't add arrowroot I drained all the liquid off the veggies before putting them in the baking dish.)

Not Just a FOOD Allergy

2010-07-27T06:36:00.000-07:00

Corn. We've call it a "food" allergy. That seems a bit shy of reality. While David would never eat glue or adhesive tape, contact with those items makes him ill. Same with deodorants, soaps, shampoos and so on. Soy is prevalent as well in products such as lip balm and lotion but thankfully, soy seems to truly be just a food allergy. We haven't had any problems with contact reactions that don't involve the actual consumption of soy (products). (We still however, attempt to a avoid products with soy that will come in contact with David.)

David's been having "issues" again at work. Last night as we were drifting to sleep I did my typical 100 questions - or however many he stays awake for.

I've decided that perhaps the problem is his use of paper towels to prevent splatter when using the microwave at work. (I'm hoping *fingers crossed* hoping that he can use the microwave at work because if eliminating the use of paper towels doesn't work he'll have to avoid the microwave completely.) We typically don't use the microwave at home. I prefer to "re-invent" left overs on the stove top or in the oven. At work David doesn't have that option. And it's tough to come up with enough food for him if we don't include left overs from dinner in his lunch kit. Raw fruit and veggies don't cut it out for him. Raw nuts and seeds help but still - not enough. Sandwiches are ok but again, he can eat 4 in a day with out something more filling.

Last night I asked him to take a dish towel to work with him. Specifically a thin 100% cotton towel I like to use for covering dough while it rises. It's light weight, easy to clean and perfect for bread rising, storing, serving as well as laying flat on the counter for air drying hand washed dishes (I detest hand washing but I do still occasionally).

My theory is that microwaving the paper towel some how transfers allergens in a way that simply using it does not. It was the same with plastic food storage containers. While we now avoid use of plastic in the kitchen in any form, he can drink cold beverages from plastic and not have a reaction. When hot beverages, however, go into a plastic thermos, he gets a reaction. When I stored veggies in a plastic container he was fine, but if he reheated in a plastic container he had a reaction....

We shall see. I think I only had 3 of these towels to begin with so it looks as though he didn't take one with him this morning. Hopefully he grabbed another dish towel because I'm pretty sure I was unable to convince him that his pasta tossed with olive oil, Parmesan and cracked black pepper could be eaten cold.

(DAVID JUST TOLD ME I HAD FOUR OF THOSE TOWELS AND HE TOOK THE RED ONE....)

Food Combining: Day Four

2010-07-26T06:46:00.000-07:00

I attempted to do McKeiths detox day so David was on his own for food. This doesn't happen much, typically I plan all the meals and cook most. David fried eggs and bacon for breakfast. I'm not sure this was a good combo but David felt more energetic yesterday.

We had leftovers galore from the previous days so he ate some of those and had cereal and bread as well.

I started the day with warm lemon water. Then flax seed in water. Then a run. Then fruit. We went to church so I missed the next several steps in McKeiths detox day which included an herb tea and a juice break, also a broth break I believe. When we got home I didn't take the time to juice my own fruit. I had 100% organic grape juice. Only ingredient: Organic grapes. Then I had some apple juice (same 100% organic apple ingredient). I cooked Quinoa per the lunch for Detox day schedule. I ate only a small amount before I began to feel very sick. David though it was delicious and ate a large bowl of it. I thought I was going to vomit so I took a nap. I slept about 3 hours missing the other steps in the detox day. I attempted to pick up detox day with a snack of raw sour kraut and seeds. Since I still felt terrible I had toast - 100% whole wheat home made bread. Toasted and buttered - a good combination but not at all a part of detox day - for dinner.

I'm not sure if missing the steps made me ill or the combination of grape then apple juice or just detoxing in general but it was pretty awful.

This week I'm focusing on good food combo's. Thus far I've had only coffee this morning. I'm skipping my run since I still feel pretty crumby from yesterday.

For dinner we are having Sweet Potato Shepard Pie. It's a good combo and it's a recipe from McKeiths book.

Here's a web-site that I have found. It's very helpful in determining a foods dominate trait (Fat, Protein, Carb...)

Food Combining: Day Three

2010-07-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

Today is the first full day of food combining experimentation. I attempted to make yesterday a full day but had leftover minestrone soup (Poor combination of protein/starch thanks to my addition). We did well with supper last night and that boosted my confidence enough to go full force this morning.

First breakfast:
Chopped nectarine, sliced strawberries, blueberries tossed with a little cinnamon and nutmeg.
(I should have taken a picture of this because it really was pretty.)

Fruit is supposed to be eaten first thing in the morning and with no other foods. With the exception of melon, all fruits can be mixed.

Second breakfast:
Omelets. Whisked eggs with cream, chopped chives, finely diced garlic, a little salt and pepper and grated raw cheddar cheese. Poured into skillet with heated olive oil. Added lots of chopped broccoli to mine and a very small portion to Hubs (he doesn't prefer broccoli in his omelets but he tolerates small portions). Then I grated a bit more cheese into the egg. My favorite thing about broccoli in omelets is the way that the broccoli is perfectly steamed while the egg cooks. It's slightly crunchy but the bite is taken out of it.

This was a protein dominate meal combined with veggies. Veggies can be mixed with anything. Potatoes, however are a veggie that is considered a starch... so don't add those.

Here is another good chart for reference. I printed this one out and put it on my fridge. It's easy to read and use in a pinch. Food combiners differ over technicalities such as combining acidic fruits with non-acidic fruits and so on. The most basic chart is in "You are what you eat" by Gillian McKeith. She breaks food into four distinct groups and explains which groups make good combinations and which don't.

Dinner was a pasta dish straight from The Food Combining Bible.

For the record we purchase primarily ORGANIC, or NATURAL products (all foods, meats, cheeses and other dairy) and attempt to keep it local and in season (fruits/veggies). Clearly it is not possible to do this all the time but we believe that an unhealthy earth or animal can not possibly produce a healthy product. Traditional large scale farming and animal raising strips the ground of essential nutrients and keeps animals on un-natural diets (Such as corn for cows, cows were intended to eat grass. When they are fed corn the occurrences of e-coli become far more prevalent than those on grass diets.) That being said, we don't attempt to push organic lifestyle on others and don't think that one person can make that decision for another. Organic foods are expensive and can be difficult to find. With David's corn allergy organics make additional sense because the labeling is clearer and there are fewer hidden ingredients.

Food Combining: Dinner Two

2010-07-23T19:22:00.000-07:00

Grilled chicken & veggies

I think I nailed this one. I had Hubs grill organic chicken breast (protein) with garlic and onion and "Italian Seasoning Mix" from World Market. I steamed carrots. Sauteed green beans in Sweet Almond Oil (only a tad). Mixed raw cucumber with onion and a little vinegar.

(No pics and no recipes - we created this on our own and didn't take pics b/c we had company... it'd be a tad odd to tell them "Sorry folks if you could wait a few mins while we take pics of din-din...")

The meal was protein and veggies. A very happy combination.

Food Combining: Dinner One

2010-07-23T19:12:00.001-07:00

Minestrone Soup

Had I followed the recipe perfectly I would have been fine. But alas I am used to using recipes as "ideas" and adding/subtracting ingredients as I see fit.

This soup is from "The Food Combining Bible". It's basically carrots, celery, potatoes, veggie broth, a little oil, some basil and oregano. I think that is it. So starch and veggies. A good combination. With out thinking I added KIDNEY BEANS. A protein. So I totally screwed up my first attempt. I was thinking I could have bread or beans.... yea well potatoes are a starch which eliminated the protein option... Gag. Also the soup wasn't filling enough for Hubs. He was super hungry after only 2 hours. So we had oatmeal. At 8pm. Something we wouldn't typically do. But a starch. Does that make up for the beans? I keep reading the book. I've probably read all of the sections several times now. Today the part that said something along the lines of picking one or two bad combination's and avoiding them stuck out. I really wanted to jump in with both feet. I'm still trying but it's going to take time for it to become habit.

Next time I make the soup I'll add pasta - a starch - and serve it with whole wheat bread - also a starch.

Food Combining

2010-07-22T05:38:00.000-07:00

Starting today, I am going to attempt to Food Combine. I've read several books. The two I own: "You Are What You Eat" by Dr.Gillian McKeith (this was actually a gift I requested at Christmas) and "The Food Combining Bible" by Jan & Inge Dries. I picked this one up in a used book store prior to corn allergy discovery (PCAD). McKeith's book doesn't go into detail about the use of food combining but she does write about food allergies and sensitives and the use of ones pulse to help determine them. She also talks frankly about BM's and itchy bottoms. It's quite interesting actually. The Dries book goes into detail (um - hence the name of the book) about food combining. They reference Dr. Hay and Dr. Shelton quite a bit in this book. Both of the good Dr's did extensive research/work on food combining.

Both books discuss the benefits of food combining to aid in digestion and possibly help eliminate or alleviate food allergies. The basic physiological explanation is that when foods are eaten in specific orders they are digested properly and there are no "back ups" in one's digestive track.

"Although allergy is a disorder of the immune system, food combining removes the factors that induce the reaction. Eating different foods, mixed together, disrupts the digestion: gases and toxins are formed, and protein residues remain in the intestines. These are absorbed through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream, causing an allergic reaction. Food combining results in perfect digestion, improving the metabolism and making allergic reactions less likely." The Food Combining Bible Dries (pg 79)

This does not mean I am going to re-introduce corn into our diet. That would be ludicrous. My hope is that by food combining we can avoid situations such as the one we are in now - huge reactions, NO idea what from.

PCAD I'd occasionally call David and ask him to pick up dinner on the way home. I didn't typically care what he picked up just so I didn't have to cook and do dishes. While I miss the ease of an occasional to go dinner, both of us have a healthier lifestyle as a result of our meals being home prepared with out preservatives or additives.

Fasting

2010-07-22T05:17:00.000-07:00

Through the course of history and even still today people practice fasting - the giving up of, traditionally food. There are religious reasons to fast and there are health reasons to fast and, I'm sure, there are several other reasons.

David and I fasted on Sunday 07.11.2010 for his health. He'd been sick from the effects of corn for several weeks in a row and we decided that giving his digestive system a break would be very beneficial. We ate nothing from when we got up Sunday morning until we woke, and broke the fast on Monday morning. We drank lots of water, a little organic chicken broth and a little 100% organic, clear fruit juice.

The following Monday morning David felt significantly better and had very little heartburn (which is the first symptom that he experiences from his corn allergy). He was feeling great until yesterday when he experienced heartburn all day. David's symptoms start with light heartburn, build up to chronic heart burn, shortness of breath and skin ailments (eczema, acne, rashes), digestive problems (constipation) and psychological effects (depression, anxiety, irrational thoughts). If we can end the allergic reaction at the first sign of heartburn he typically avoids the other symptoms which typically build within just a few days and not always in an "order" but usually after the heartburn the other symptoms hit together at the same time, or in very short succession.

So we are back to the drawing board on his allergy. He's experiencing more than heartburn right now and it was a quick build. He couldn't think of anything special about yesterday that would cause the problem.

Becca "Did you lick any envelops?"
David "No"
Becca "Did you have any meetings?" (They sit in the old "print" room)
David "No"
Becca "Did you eat anything from a co-worker?"
David "No"
Becca "What did you eat for breakfast?"
David "That new organic cereal" (I read the label 12 times - it shouldn't cause a reaction and wouldn't cause one all day if there were minute levels of corn - not on the label. He'd be sick for an hour or so right after breakfast.)
Becca "Did you handle a lot of paper?"
David "No more than usual"

And on and on and on until David falls asleep and quits responding. It's really aggravating for me to be unable to determine what is making him sick. We keep a corn free house including the bulk of our cleaning products and other household items. I'm careful about cleaning with questionable products in the early mornings so that when he gets home the fumes have dissipated (he's gone about 11-12 hours a work day). I wash all the fruits and veggies we purchase even the occasional "pre-washed lettuce" I purchase. We buy mostly organic because the labels are easier to decipher and 100% organic means that salts can't have "pouring agents." Speaking of salt we have only 100% sea salt that we have to grind ourselves....

(Keep in mind corn can be organic so organic DOES NOT mean corn free it just means it should have clearer labels and no hidden ingredients or miscellaneous "spices" listed.)

Needless to say the grocery bill is OUTRAGEOUS for 2 adults.

plaCes t O Read iNgredients

2010-07-13T05:10:00.000-07:00

I checked a book out of the library that was all about purchasing organic foods. The bottom line was that home cooking from scratch was the best way to avoid additives and preservatives.... Well of course but for those of us with a corn allergy even home cooking from scratch can cause allergic reactions.

This means I'm the one parked in a corner at the grocery store carefully reading all the labels before anything gets placed in my cart. Organic does not = corn free. 100% organic means that in the labeling not much can be hidden under the ambiguous "spices" or "natural flavors". Corn is ubiquitous. It is used as a sweetener, lubricant, thickener, adhesive... and on and on...

Home cooking from scratch is basically all we eat. But chicken is sometimes packed with "broth". Even the whole chickens or the chicken breasts packed separately. Veggies are coated with wax to help prevent bugs and make them look prettier... and that wax often contains corn. One can see where I am headed with this.

I wish that corn and corn products were only found in food items but when I shop I have to read the labels on detergents, soaps, deodorants, household cleaning products, dog shampoos, toilet paper, medicines and so on. We have friends that have an allergy to wheat. I wish David had an allergy to wheat. Avoiding wheat is much more common. Individuals and families avoid wheat not just for allergy purposes but as a diet preference. It is easy to find "gluten free" items at the market in every aisle. I've only found one item that specifically says "made with out corn", but then it's in a list that also includes: soy, wheat and so on. That's ok, I'll take it.

Prior to corn allergy discovery (PCAD) I cooked from scratch for fun and because that's what my mom did. When time was of the essence however, I would occasionally pick up short cut meals such as frozen pasta with sauce in a bag and in the summer I purchased all our bread (we live in Texas and I made all our bread from scratch in the cooler months but hated running the oven in the summer heat). PCAD one could open the pantry, the fridge or the freezer and find these shortcut items. Now my pantry contains two short cut items that I purchase regularly and never make from scratch BECAUSE I DO NOT HAVE TO. Kraft Macaroni & Cheese is corn free. (Who-da-thunk??) I've emailed Kraft and have had a response. Ingredients do change in products but David has not had a reaction to this product so we continue to purchase and eat it. And of course Kitchen Basics products.

Happy label reading!! Be diligent even with safe products as companies do change ingredients from time to time.

Shower Spray & Automatic Dish Packets!!

2010-06-30T17:21:00.000-07:00

I am delighted to find a shower spray and dish washing packets that we can use!! There are so many things that I HAVE to make from scratch all the time every day that when I find even little things, I have a small party in my head - corn free of course!! Below is an excerpt from a woman with Mrs. Meyers Clean Day products:

"Greetings Rebecca,

Thank you for your interest in Mrs. Meyer’s, and for taking the time to write. Our shower spray (I specifically asked about LEMON VERBENA SHOWER CLEANER)
and automatic dish packs (I specifically asked about AUTOMATIC DISH PACKETS LEMON VERBENA) do not contain any known corn derived ingredients.
...The automatic dish packs do contain active enzymes which come from bio-fermentation. I am having our lab research what plant source the bio-fermentation comes from, and I will let you know as soon as I hear back...."

She went on to tell me where corn came from in the other specific products I inquired about. How nice! I am so pleased to have had such a pleasant interaction with a company rep that I'm going to go buy loads of each product!

UPDATE - got the response already!!

"Hi again Rebecca,

The lab has confirmed that no corn ingredients are used in the bio-fermentation process for the auto dish packs, so those would be safe to use. Have a great day!"

Yea for safe products!!

Basic Semi-Sweet Chocolate Sauce or Candies

2010-06-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
100% High Quality Cocoa Squares
Butter
Cream (or 1/2 & 1/2)
Milk
Vanilla (home made for us)
Sugar

Directions
In sauce pan melt cocoa. Add a touch of 1/2 & 1/2 or cream, vanilla and sugar. Whisk all ingredients until thoroughly mixed. I don't really have measurements - I do it to taste. It is important that the ingredients have enough time to thoroughly dissolve the sugar or the chocolate will be grainy but one must watch that it doesn't burn.
Storage is best in glass jar in fridge.

For a chocolate that can be solidified in the refrigerator or freezer use less milk/cream. Chocolate can be "shaped" by pouring into molds or mini cupcake tins.
Storage is best in freezer.

Tested & Failed

2010-06-28T06:29:00.000-07:00

Items that David has used or been exposed to and has had a CORN ALLERGY reaction to & ingredient we believe that caused reaction:

Aleve caplets - Microcrystaline cellulose
Zantac 150 - Microcrystaline cellulose & Hypromellose
Tupperware - Plastics are made w/corn (not just name brand, all plastic food storage containers and reactions occur especially when hot food is involved)
Concrete sealant - Latex is made w/corn (this is particularly dangerous as fumes are inhaled causing shortness of breath)
Baking Extracts - Alcohol is present in nearly all extracts, corn syrup in most
Arm & Hammer Toothpaste - (I received a phone call from a company rep. and yes the sorbitol in their product is derived from corn starch. Bummer we liked that toothpaste, we are on to one made by Tom's of Maine.)
Envelop sealant - the kind that you "Lick to stick" are all made with corn
Painters Blue Tape - adhesives often contain corn derived products
Wood floor glue - we glued our bamboo flooring to our concrete sub flooring. This product caused huge reaction. David slept at the neighbors house for several days until the fumes cleared.
Paper-towels - when used in microwave with food to "prevent splatter"
Foot aerosol spray - We don't use any aerosol products in our house anymore but David walked through the garage in his friends home. His friend had just sprayed his boots and David was sick almost immediately.
The MICROWAVE at work - There are so many corn products being heated in the microwave in the employee kitchen at work David gets sick each time he uses it. He has stopped using it. He is tired of sandwiches and cold lunches but he doesn't get sick every day anymore.
Plastic water bottles - Corn is used in plastic bottles. The only plastic bottled water that David can drink is Fiji Water which is in a plastic bottle but he's never had a reaction to. We have replaced all our reusable water bottles with stainless steel and glass.

(This list was updated on: 10.14.2010)

List of igredients that may contain corn...

2010-06-28T06:16:00.000-07:00

This will be updated as frequently as we make discoveries.
(Yes, it's obnoxiously long and yes we avoid everything that contains an ingredient from this list.)

Acetic acid

Adhesives (glues, pastes, mucilages, gums, etc.)

Alcohol

Alpha tocopherol

Aluminum

Antibiotics (penicillin)

Artificial flavorings

Artificial sweeteners

Asbestos insulation

Ascorbates

Ascorbic acid

Aspartame (Artificial sweetener)

Aspirin

Astaxanthin

Automobiles (everything on wheels)

- cylinder heads

- ethanol

- fuel & windshield washer fluid

- spark plugs

- synthetic rubber finishes

- tires

Baby food

Baking powder

Barley malt* (generally OK, but can be contaminated)

Batteries, dry cell

Beer

Bleached flour*

Blended sugar (sugaridextrose)

Breakfast cereals

Brown sugar* (generally OK if no caramel color)

C.M.A. (calcium magnesium acetate)

Calcium citrate

Calcium fumarate

Calcium gluconate

Calcium lactate

Calcium magnesium acetate (CMA)

Calcium stearate

Calcium stearoyl lactylate

Candies

Canned vegetables

Caramel and caramel color

Carbonated beverages

Carbonmethylcellulose sodium

Cellulose microcrystalline

Cellulose, methyl

Cellulose, powdered

Cetearyl glucoside

Cheese spreads

Chewing gum

Chocolate products

Choline chloride

Citric acid*

Citrus cloud emulsion (CCS)

Coatings on wood, paper & metal

Coco glycerides (cocoglycerides)

Colour carrier in paper & textile, printing

Confectioners’ sugar

Corn alcohol, corn gluten

Corn chips

Corn extract

Corn flour

Corn meal

Corn oil, corn oil margarine

Corn starch

Corn sweetener, corn sugar

Corn syrup, corn syrup solids

Corn, popcorn, cornmeal

Cornstarch, cornflour

Cosmetics

Crayon and chalk

Crosscarmellose sodium

Crystalline dextrose

Crystalline fructose

Cyclodextrin

DATUM (a dough conditioner)

Decyl glucoside

Decyl polyglucose

Degradable plastics

Dessert powders

Dextrin

Dextrose (also found in IV solutions)

Dextrose (intravenous solutions, icing sugar)

Dextrose anything (such as monohydrate or anhydrous)

d-Gluconic acid

Disposable diapers

Distilled white vinegar

Drying agent

Dyes

Edible oil

Erythorbic acid

Erythritol

Ethanol

Ethocel 20

Ethyl acetate

Ethyl alcohol

Ethyl and butyl alcohol

Ethyl lactate

Ethyl maltol

Ethylcellulose

Ethylene

Explosives - firecrackers

Fibersol-2

Fiberglass (Insulation)

Finished leather

Flavorings*

Flour & grits

Food starch

Frozen foods

Fructose

Fruit juice concentrate*

Fuel ethanol

Fumaric acid

Germ/germ meal

Gluconate

Gluconic acid

Glucono delta-lactone

Gluconolactone

Glucosamine

Glucose syrup* (also found in IV solutions)

Glucose*

Glutamate

Gluten

Gluten feed/meal

Glycerides

Glycerin*

Glycerol

Golden syrup

Grits

Gypsum wallboard

High fructose corn syrup

Hominy

Honey*

Hydrolyzed corn

Hydrolyzed corn protein

Hydrolyzed vegetable protein

Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose

Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose pthalate (HPMCP)

Ink for stamping prices in stores

Inositol

Insecticides

Instant coffee & tea

Insulation, fiberglass

Invert syrup or sugar

Iodized salt

James, jellies and preserves

Ketchup

Lactate

Lactic acid*

Latex paint

Lauryl glucoside

Leather tanning

Lecithin

Licorice

Linoleic acid

Livestock feed

Lysine

Magnesium fumarate

Maize

Malic acid

Malonic acid

Malt syrup from corn

Malt, malt extract

Malted products

Maltitol

Maltodextrin

Maltol

Maltose

Mannitol

Margarine

Mayonnaise

Methyl gluceth

Methyl glucose

Methyl glucoside

Methylcellulose

Microcrystaline cellulose

Modified cellulose gum

Modified corn starch

Molasses* (corn syrup may be present; know your product)

Mono and di glycerides

Monosodium glutamate

MSG

Mustard, prepared

Natural flavorings*

Olestra/Olean

Paper board, (corrugating, laminating, cardboard)

Paper manufacturing

Paper plates & Cups

Peanut butter

Pharmaceuticals - The Life Line of The Hospital

Polenta

Polydextrose

Polylactic acid (PLA)

Polysorbates* (e.g. Polysorbate 80)

Polyvinyl acetate

Potassium citrate

Potassium fumarate

Potassium gluconate

Potato chips

Powdered sugar

Pregelatinized starch

Propionic acid

Propylene glycol monostearate*

Propylene glycol*

Rugs, carpets

Saccharin

Salad dressings

Salt (iodized salt)

Semolina (unless from wheat)

Shaving cream & lotions

Shoe polish

Simethicone

Soaps and cleaners

Sodium carboxymethylcellulose

Sodium citrate

Sodium erythorbate

Sodium fumarate

Sodium lactate

Sodium starch glycolate

Sodium stearoyl fumarate

Soft drinks

Sorbate

Sorbic acid

Sorbitan

Sorbitan monooleate

Sorbitan tri-oleate

Sorbitol

Sorghum* (not all is bad; the syrup and/or grain CAN be mixed with corn)

Splenda (Artificial sweetener)

Starch & glucose (over 40 types)

Starch (any kind that's not specified)

Stearic acid

Stearoyls

Sucralose (Artificial sweetener)

Sucrose

Sugar* (not identified as cane or beet)

Syrup

Tacos, tortillas

Textiles

Threonine

Tocopherol (vitamin E)

Toothpaste

Treacle (aka golden syrup)

Triethyl citrate

Unmodified starch

Vanilla, natural flavoring

Vanilla, pure or extract

Vanillin

Vegetable anything that's not specific*

Vinegar, distilled white

Vinyl acetate

Vitamin C*

Vitamin E*

Vitamins*

Wallpaper

Wheat bread

Whiskey

Xanthan gum

Xylitol

Yeast*

Yogurts

Zea mays

Zein

*Might not always contain corn but proceed with caution!!

Sources used to compile this list include:
http://www.cornallergens.com/list/corn-allergen-list.php
http://www.ontariocorn.org/classroom/products.html
http://www.cornproducts.com/products/pd_descript/index.php

Honey Graham Crackers

2010-06-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

INGREDIENT LIST:
1/3 Cup Milk
1/4 Cup Honey
1 1/2 Cups Graham Flour
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar, Packed
1 teaspoon Baking Powder (I used corn free)
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/3 Cup Butter
1/4 Cup Shortening (I just used more butter)

DIRECTIONS:
Pre-heat oven to 350

Whisk milk & honey together and set aside.

Mix all dry ingredients thoroughly.

Cut butter (and shortening if you are using it) into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add milk & honey all at once and and stir until a ball is formed.

Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth.

Roll out dough and slice into 2 inch squares (I used my pizza cutter for this step to make "perfect" cuts - press lightly for the "graham cracker look" or simply cut all into 2 inch squares.)

Prick with a fork.

Bake on un-greased sheets for 12-15 mins.

(adapted from: http://www.budget101.com/recipes/id381.htm)

Plastic (be)ware

2010-06-25T05:35:00.000-07:00

The culprit of David's on going work day reaction is what we were packing his lunch in. That's right my handy-dandy Tupperware collection. And did I ever have a nice collection. Bummer. I had suspected this might be the cause but was hoping - and looking - for another explanation.

Corn is heavily subsidized by, well if you pay taxes, you and I. Corn is used in the production of M.A.N.Y. things:

Adhesives on envelopes
Construction materials
Pharmaceuticals
Cosmetics
The mining, oil and gas drilling industries also use corn starches in their processes
Plastics

The above is a partial list. It's a tad scary the amount of corn and corn products or derivatives out there.

David's sensitivity is increasing. We've used the Tupperware from the beginning of his allergy discovery and only in the last few weeks has it caused a reaction. It seems that the primary cause is heating up food in the plastic containers. This week he's been heating up food in glass ware (think we've been packing food in glass bowls and serving dishes) and he's had minimal reaction, most likely from the assault his body faced Monday and Tuesday before I suggested it was plastic containers.

I've packed up the bulk of my plastic containers. A sad day for me. What's a girl to do without a horde of plastic containers and lids taking up most of a small cupboard?

I got online and ordered a set of glass ware with lids. (Thanks SIL for the gift card from graduation it was put to good use.) Until they arrive we're packing food in glass cereal bowls and glass serving dishes. It works. David's body is healing from the latest attacks and we're thankful he's not epi-pen allergic like many of the other corn allergy suffers out there.

Corn Free Products

2010-06-22T17:37:00.001-07:00

Lately we have been diving in head first to find out what is making David sick. It seems only on work days and it builds during the week. It's been exhausting and frustrating.

The products we use at home do not contain corn, corn derivatives or corn by products. We've checked with the companies and have heard from those listed below.

Ivory (sensitive skin)
American Crew Classic Shampoo
Clorox 2 Sensitive Skin
Ziplock baggies
Thai Salt Stick Deodorant

Sun Products sent us the following:

******************
Hello MS. REBECCA WARD,

Thank you for writing us regarding 'all' 2X Free Clear .

Sun Products does not disclose specific ingredient information as they are proprietary. However, if there is a medical necessity for this information, we would be more than happy to work with your physician upon receiving their written request. Requests can be sent to:

Sun Products Consumer Services 920 Sylvan Avenue Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632

Sincerely,
Your friends at 'all'

****************************

Who knew. We are not going to bother with this yet as it does seem to be something only occurring when David is at work. He wears clothing on the weekends so if we are unable to find anything else we will make our own laundry detergent. Fantastic.

Petition

2010-06-22T17:08:00.000-07:00

There is a petition out there to get corn listed as an allergen on food products. If you feel so inclined, consider signing it.

Thanks!

Corn As Allergen Petition

2010-04-03T19:13:00.000-07:00

Warning: Not for the eyes of the weak stomach.
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For the past couple of years my toe nails have been cracking. I was even looking for thistle tea as I have read that this can help grow strong nails. The cracking was getting bad enough that when I would cut my nails they would come off in pieces. I have essentially been allergen free for about 9 months give or take. I have recently seen signs that my toe nails have been growing better. See picture below.

Safe Foods

2010-03-27T14:16:00.001-07:00

Here's a new list of safe foods. I still check the labels almost every time I purchase these things - just to be certain - but at least I can find them quickly now.

HEB Central Market sea salt potato chips
Kraft Mac 'n' Cheese (blue box, regular only)
Oscar Meyer Natural pre-sliced turkey breast
Breyers ice cream (strawberry, coffee, regular vanilla (NO other vanillas), chocolate)
Hagandaz ice cream (Most of the FIVE ingredient ice creams are safe!!)
Most block cheeses (but NOT reduced fat unless sometimes if it's made with 2% milk) and some "natural" sliced cheeses
Whole Foods has chocolate candy bars that are made w/o soy!!!!

updated 12.15.2010

Cornnnnn Breath

2010-02-06T14:14:00.000-08:00

It seems that eating corn has an effect on David's ability to breathe. It's an interesting effect that David is deciding is in fact occurring. Watching and avoiding corn intake has become that much more imperative. Seemingly his allergy symptoms to corn are getting worse, not better. We had hoped that it may be something that passes but probably not with the corn, at least.

Other than that, the allergies are getting more manageable. David's learning to be more assertive when asking about items on menus and avoiding the things he knows will make him sick.

We went to a Whole Foods last night. While we had shopped them before in other states this was our first time in one for quite some time. It's amazing. All of the case meats were labeled with exact ingredients. Not just "spices" but "spices (fennel, garlic, onion powder)". This is a store that is a breath of fresh air for both of us. We didn't find anything that had tricky labels or hidden ingredients. They have a reputation of being a high cost grocery, but in reality they were very competitive with the grocery stores that I typically shop. Especially because I am already purchasing quite a bit of organic and natural foods. (THANK YOU PILS* on behalf of David for the generous gift card. He had such a good time buying things like sausage and hot dog buns and other things he loves to eat but we can't find anywhere else.) Our only problem with WF is that they are soooo far away (an hour). Hopefully they will put one in that's closer so we can shop there more frequently.

*PILS: parent in laws

My Review of World Market Spices Bags and Jars

2009-09-23T04:17:00.001-07:00

Originally submitted at Cost Plus World Market

Sourced from around the globe, our spices offer exquisite, high quality flavor without the usual high price tag.

Bargin Prices - Great Spices!

By Visiting other countires via cuisine from Spring, TX on 9/23/2009

Pros: Exotic, Flavorful

Best Uses: Baking, Cooking, Seasoning

Describe Yourself: Foodie, Health Conscious

I love to prepare dishes from all over the world. Often my recipes call for Cardamom, Turmeric and other spices with low demand here in the US. I had been paying up to $15/oz at local grocery stores for some of them until I found the spice selection at World Market. None of their spices cost more than $2.99(at my local CPWM)! I was even able to purchase whole vanilla beans (with which to make my own vanilla extract) at the low price of 2/$2.99. When I priced them at local groceries, they were up to $13/each. Our local CPWM selection is great and I love the glass jars that a lot of their spices come in.
All of the spices I have purchased have smelled wonderful and have flavored my food at least equally well - if not better than the higher priced items avaliable else where.
(NOTE: I'm not supposed to mention pricing but it's one of the BEST things about purchasing spices from CPWM.)

(legalese)

Devils Food Cake

2009-09-12T13:24:00.000-07:00

When we go out to eat (which I'm sure one can imagine is not very frequent due to several things, David's allergy being but one of them) we like to share an appetizer, entree and dessert. This way we get to taste everything but not eat too much and have a reasonable tab at the end of it all. Since David has been diagnosed, however, desserts are pretty much off the list of options for him. Nearly all desserts have some form of corn or soy. Vegetable oil (soy), chocolate chips (soy), powdered sugar (corn starch), baking powder (corn starch) and on and on the list goes. David LOVES chocolate desserts. Pies, cookies, cakes ...

Yesterday was a difficult day. When I got home I decided baking was in order. Something about baking is calming, soothing, familiar. Similar to cleaning I suppose (something I also enjoy doing particularity when stressed out or nervous). NONETHELESS there is a point!

I chose to make a Devil's Food Cake for David. The recipe is as follows, taken from my Pillsbury Best Desserts cook book, and surprisingly, UNSUBSTITUTED!! All of the ingredients are available in safe brands so it was simply a matter of mixing it up.

DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE
*2 cups all purpose flour
*1^1/4 teaspoons baking soda
*^1/2 teaspoon salt
*1^1/2 cups sugar
*^1/2 cup butter, softened
*1 teaspoon vanilla
*2 eggs
*4 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
*1 cup milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour (OK so I did substitute this. Since it's chocolate cake I dusted my pans with cocoa powder rather than flour) two 8 or 9 inch round bake pans.

In medium bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well.

In large bowl, combine sugar and butter. Beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs. Blend well. Stir in melted chocolate. Alternately add dry ingredient mix and the cup of milk. Beat well after each addition. Pour batter into grease pans.

Bake at 350 for 27-35 mins or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 mins in pans. Remove from pans and cool completely, about an hour.

(I used 9 inch pans and they needed the lower end of that cooking time est.)

For the frosting I used some of the organic powdered sugar I had purchased that was made with tapioca starch rather than corn starch. I just sliced a bit of butter into the powdered sugar and mashed it with a fork. Then added some milk and vanilla. I mixed it a little with the fork to prevent it from flying all over when I used my little hand held mixer on it. Then I whipped it until it was all mixed thoroughly adding a little milk or powdered sugar as needed to reach my desired consistency. There's a recipe out there, I am sure, with the specific measurements to make a butter-cream frosting but I don't use one. I like to make it to taste. =) And it tasted good.

BASIC INGREDIENTS FOR BUTTER-CREAM FROSTING
Powdered sugar
Butter
Milk or cream (I used some 1/2 & 1/2 because we have one percent milk which isn't really rich enough)
Vanilla

I'd say about a cup of the sugar (you HAVE to use powdered or finely ground granulated or your frosting will be gritty) to 3 TBS or so of butter, 1 tsp of vanilla and a TBS or 2 of milk depending on desired consistency. But I really don't know the measurements. I just dump it in and mix things until I like it. For chocolate frosting just leave out the vanilla and add some cocoa powder. The vanilla can be substituted with any kind of flavored extract to give the frosting a little kick. I personally like plain white frosting for the most part on my chocolate cakes but I have used almond extract, mint extract, lemon extract and Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur in my frosting on occasion. Each adds a unique flavor to the item frosted.

Home Made Vanilla Extract

2009-09-07T11:37:00.000-07:00

David thought I should post about our making vanilla extract. I purchased, from Cost Plus World Market a few weeks ago 2 vanilla beans. I have been waiting for the purchase of potato vodka to start making my own vanilla. Although my mom had a vanilla, that I think would have been OK for David, I have seen only one alcohol free vanilla extract, which I purchased for an exorbitant amount of money. I brought it home in anticipation of making my own once I was able to get the two needed ingredients:

750ml bottle of potato vodka
&
2 vanilla beans

David came home two days ago with a bottle of potato vodka. We dropped the beans in and have been checking it daily to see progress. We both expected to see the clear vodka start changing colors immediately but that's just not the case. In two days the vodka has started to take on a faint brownish tint of sorts. Hence the reason that the beans must soak 30 days. Our camera is currently being recharged as the battery was so low it refused to allow me one picture but I will post a few pictures when the camera is charged.

I made another quick trip to the World Market today. I needed caraway seeds for rye bread. At about $7 for a tiny jar at the grocery store, I was hoping to find a bargain at WM. And I did! $.99 for a baggie full. I was so delighted. I was also able to find a bag of ground cumin, which we use for Hummus, curries and other things. I LOVE their spice section. Everything is so reasonably priced and thus far has been of good quality.

Visiting

2009-09-06T19:34:00.001-07:00

David and I went to CT in early August to visit my family. Mom read the blog called me and did loads of research and was able to provide David with some FABULOUS food - allergen free. It was great. Even all the little details about "dextrose" and unspecified vinegars, spice mixes and so on. She was able to make substitutions like ground oats rather than bread crumbs and other such things. It was so nice to relax and let mom do the cooking and not worry about David being sick for hours after eating. We had offered to bring food for David because we know what an inconvenience (and expense) it can be to purchase and prepare food for him but mom did beautifully (thanks, Mom!). She had homemade bread waiting for David and cookies and meatballs and on and on and on. We ate our way through our visit. We had dinner with other family members that also went out of their way to ensure that David was able to eat without concerns about label reading and it was humbling and gracious and so very much appreciated! This is the first extended trip we have taken since finding out about David's food allergies and it was so nice to travel and eat without worrying.

We packed snacks and such for the road (it's a loooong day of traveling to fly from Houston to Bradley) but once we arrived David was totally covered.

Our home, grocery shopping and food preparing has become a bit less challenging which is so nice. David is shouldering about 1/2 the cooking since my having gone back to school limits the amount of time I have to prepare meals. He's planning on making some cashew butter in lieu of the almond butter he's been eating since we discovered his food allergy. While we can purchase almond butter that would be safe for him to eat, it's about $10 for 6 oz and we simply can not justify that expense when we have a food processor and it takes on a few minutes to prepare our own nut butters.

While visiting mom my sister and David had "Pie School" as they termed it. Now that David can make a pie I'm looking forward to him baking one here. ;) My sister made an apple pie, my mom made a peach pie and David made a chocolate-pecan pie concoction that didn't last long. (I'm getting quite skilled at mixing up a batch of semi-sweet chocolate for all sorts of goodies from 100% cocoa).

BASIC SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE
In sauce pan melt 100% cocoa. Add a touch of 1/2 & 1/2 or cream, vanilla and sugar. Whisk all ingredients until thoroughly mixed. I don't really have measurements but I do it to taste.

The pie crusts were made from butter, rather than Crisco or lard. It makes for slightly different measurements but it has to be done by feel.

David has gotten quite good at substituting for baking powder and recently whipped up a great batch of blueberry waffles.

When David sticks to his food changes, he does really well. He can always tell when he's run into something because he typically feels sick for several hours. His energy is back and he's started running in the early morning with Sunshine, our lab mix. All in all, I am happy to report, things are well on the food allergy horizon. = )

PIZZA

2009-08-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

This is a quick rise pizza dough recipe that my mom used to make quite a bit when we were kids. I stumbled on it last night and David and I worked together to make it. It was fabulous. And really quick. About 20 mins to get it in the oven unless you use pre-shredded cheese and quick toppings. Total time, including baking - less than 40 mins.

Dough Ingredients
2 ^1/4 tsp yeast
1 cup warm water
2 ^1/2 cup flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt

Directions
Dissolve yeast in warm water in mixing bowl. Stir in flour, oil, sugar and salt. Mix with fork or use a stand mixer, just until dough forms. This dough is a bit sticker than most bread doughs. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for about 5 mins while you prepare your toppings.

Roll out dough (it's sticky so grease or flour the surfaces and rolling pin - I use a pastry mat with a little butter and a pin, also with a little butter - rinse rolling pin with hot water if you butter it as the butter can go rancid). This dough makes one thick crust 16 inch in diameter pizza or two thin crust 16 inch pizzas. This dough also works well on a cookie sheet if a pizza stone isn't avaliable.

Spread sauce and other toppings on top of dough and bake at 425. A single pizza stone, thick crust pizza needs about 20 mins. A cookie sheet or two thin crust pizzas need about 15 mins. Cook times will vary if ovens run hot or cool to temperature.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2009-08-05T05:44:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
^1/2 cup granulate sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1^1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups oats
1 cup raisins

Directions
Pre-Heat oven to 350
Beat together butter and sugars
Add eggs and vanilla
Add cinnamon, baking soda
Add flour
Stir in oats and raisins
Scoop onto cookie sheet
Bake 10-12 minutes
Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet
Continue cooling on wire rack

*This is a fabulous recipe for David because it doesn't call for any baking powder or chips. He can have everything in this recipe but make sure that the vanilla is CORN-FREE!!! Most vanillas, even the 100% vanilla extracts are made with corn syrup.*

Blueberry Walnut Granola

2009-07-27T16:31:00.000-07:00

Here is a specific granola recipe that David and I both LOVE. David prefers a sweet tasting granola and this one leans towards the sweeter side. Amount of honey can be adjusted to taste. I recommend tasting your dried blueberries for sweetness prior to adding honey. If your blueberries are really sweet you will need less honey. And reverse, if your blueberries are tangy or tart you may want more honey.

3 cups oats
1 cup coconut
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup honey
cinnamon to taste
1 cup dried blueberries

Pre-heat oven to 275.

Melt butter. Add honey to warm butter and whisk to blend the liquids. May need to heat mixture a minute or two more.

Put your oats, coconut, walnuts and cinnamon in a large bowl. Mix well so that cinnamon is well incorporated. Pour warm butter/honey mix on top and mix well. The oats will stick together a little and look wet.

Lightly grease a baking sheet with butter. Spread the oat mix over pan. Put pan in oven. STIR granola every 15 mins or so until brown. Usually takes between 45-75 mins depending on size of baking sheet. The more thinly that the granola is spread the less time it will take to brown.

When granola is piping hot and browned pour back into large bowl. Add dried blueberries and mix well.

Dump granola back on baking sheet and spread out. Set to cool or eat warm!

Once granola is cooled to room temperature, store in tightly sealed container. (Packing granola warm can cause condensation in its container which can lead to yuckiness.)

World Market

2009-07-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

Today I ventured to Cost Plus World Market. I have found that traditions and food availabilities in other countries often lend towards more corn free and soy free items. I wasn't sure I'd find much but was delighted with their selection of foods and SPICES!! I have been saving to purchase two vanilla beans to make my own vanilla extract. Thus far the best price that I have found was $17/per bean. YIKES!!! I need two pods. I couldn't justify $34 for vanilla extract given the explosion in our food budget. Imagine my surprise and joy when I found TWO vanilla beans for $2.99!!! In fact all of their spices were $2.99. I have never purchased spices, have never even looked at their spice selection. It's wonderful. All kinds of "exotic" spices for a fraction of the cost of grocery stores. They also had a large selection of organic foods. I had purchased a can of organic soup to keep on hand for when we don't have leftovers for David's lunch. The can in a grocery store was nearly $5. WM had the same product for 1/2 as much! They had organic pastas, raw sugars, chocolate bars and more on sale and at great prices. As a result of David's allergies we are eating more and more organic foods. Organic food labels are easier to read and have each ingredient labeled clearly rather than ominous words such as "spices" or "food thickeners" which could mean corn.... Many pre-mixed spices and seasoning salts have dextrose (corn) in them so unless spices are clearly listed we don't purchase the product. We had a food drive at church yesterday so we cleaned out just about everything left in our pantry that David couldn't eat. There are just a few items left that were opened like peanut butter. I love my peanut butter so I'm OK with that. I made David almond butter which was pretty delicious and plan on trying some cashew butter next.

Bertolli

2009-07-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

I was hoping *fingers crossed* hoping that I wouldn't have to make spaghetti sauce from scratch each time we wanted a pasta dish. On a whim I checked the sauces at Sam's Club. And found one! Bertolli Organic Olive Oil, Basil & Garlic sauce. First time to eat it is this evening. Hopefully it's delicious.

Brownies

2009-07-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

*1 Cup granulated sugar
*^3/4 Cup butter, melted
*2 Tbsp water
*2 large eggs
*2 tsp vanilla^
*1^1/3 Cups flour
*^3/4 Cup Nestle Toll House Baking Cocoa (it's a "safe" brand for David's allergies)
*^1/2 tsp Cream of Tarter
*^1/4 tsp Baking Soda

^Make sure it is corn free.^

Preheat oven 350

Mix sugar, butter and water in large bowl. Stir in eggs and vanilla extract. Mix in baking soda and cream of tarter. Mix in cocoa thoroughly, then the flour.

Bake about 18 mins - the center should still be a little soft.

These brownies are more cake like in texture than the typical store bought mixes but they are safe for David to eat. Safe chocolate chips are quite pricey so I have been making these instead of chocolate chip cookies.

Enjoy your diet. (by David)

2009-07-18T12:18:00.000-07:00

In this adventure of food, one thing I have found is that I tend to stop and enjoy my food more. I think there are a few things that cause this. One, is that my diet has become slightly more bland. I eat more oatmeal or other simple to prepare meals. So when I do eat a more flavorful meal, I stop and enjoy it. Becca does her best to prevent a bland diet.

Another thing is that my food either cost more or takes longer to prepare. Either way it causes a person to stop and think about the food when the cost goes up. Our fruit intake has increased also as of late. Many more fruits are in season currently but fruit is an easy snack that is "safe."

Granola

2009-07-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

I intended to post this recipe. Well it's an idea of a recipe.

Granola Guidelines

3 cups of old fashioned OATS
1 cup of flaked coconut (although this can be left out if one doesn't like coconut, or the flavor doesn't go with the other choices below)

(FAT) 1/4 cup of any one of the following:
Canola oil
Butter, melted
Coconut oil
Olive oil (it's quite flavorful so be prepared)
Vegetable oil (but not if the granola is for David)

(SWEETENER) 1/4 cup of any one of the following:
Honey
Brown sugar
Other sweetener of choice

(SPICE) Amount to taste of any of the following or combo of the following - ground:
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
All Spice
Cardamon
Cloves
Garam masla (a spice mix that includes: cloves, black pepper, and more)

(NUT) 1 cup of any of the following, or any combo of the following - chopped:
Walnuts
Cashews
Pecans
Brazil nuts
Hazel nuts
Macadamia nuts
Almonds
Peanuts (but not if the granola is for David)

(DRIED FRUIT) 2/3 cup of any of the following, or any combo of the following:
Raisins
Dates
Craisins
Dried apple
Dried banana pieces
Any other dried fruit

(I wouldn't recommend going to crazy the first time you mix the granola as it's easy to over flavor when there are too many things going on at once. Pick a theme such as Hawaiian and go with it using coconut oil, dried pineapple and macadamia nuts with cinnamon as your spice.)

If using a solid fat such as butter, melt it prior to beginning. I keep my olive oil in the fridge so as to prevent it going rancid in our hot climate. Same with my Coconut Oil. Thus I set them out a few mins prior to starting. I still have to melt the coconut oil for a minute though.

In a large bowl thoroughly mix your fat, spice(s) and sweetener of choice. Add your oats, nuts and coconut to the bowl and mix well, ensuring that your oats are evenly coated. Depending on the amount of dried fruit/nuts/sweetener that you add you may need to ADD A LITTLE MORE FAT. Use the same fat and add a SMALL amount a little at a time. Mix thoroughly between adding more. The oats should be a little damp-ish but not soaking and the mix should have a little stick to it.

Lightly grease a baking sheet (or two) with whatever fat you used in your granola. Spread the granola mix evenly over the baking sheet. The thinner the layer the more quickly the granola will bake. Pop into oven at 275. Stir the granola every 15 mins paying attention to the edges which will brown more quickly. The granola will need about 50-75 mins depending on how thick it is on the baking sheet and how well it's stirred. STIR EVERY 15 MINS or it will brown unevenly and have an unusual texture when eaten with milk.

Remove from oven when reaches desired toasty-ness. I like mine with a little crunch so I let it brown up pretty well unless I am in a hurry and don't have 70 mins to cook and stir it. Also, if you use multiple pans rotate them in the oven with each stirring session. I typically use two sheets so I take the bottom one out and stir it then put it on the top rack, rotating each time I open the oven to stir.

Immediately after removing from oven add your DRIED fruit and mix in it well. (I like to keep my large bowl handy and dump all the cooked granola back in with the fruit and mix it up.) Then spread it back on the sheet and allow it to cool thoroughly, stirring it occasionally. When it's cool store in an air tight container. I like Lock 'n' Lock containers that seal when closed and prevent air from getting in but Ziplocks work well when my Lock 'n' Lock's are full.

David's body reacts

2009-07-10T09:54:00.000-07:00

David has been following an ever increasingly corn free, soy free, peanut free diet for 10 days. In the first few days David thought that he was thinking more clearly and already felt as though he had more energy. After 4 days of carefully reading labels and being cautious our neighbor woke us up early and said "We are going to breakfast, I am buying." What to do other than go? We ended up at IHOP. David picked a meal that was mostly meat and eggs. Some eggs mixes may have corn in them but we can't read the ingredient labels in a restaurant. Without thinking, he followed suit on the iced coffee orders. Right. So any pre-mixed iced coffee WILL have corn syrup of some sort and probably soy lechtin. Needless to say he didn't feel fabulous after that meal but it wasn't terrible because the iced coffee carries trace amounts. Another 6 full days of eating carefully and he's feeling even better. More energy, more even keeled, rational emotions (I'm getting my husband back!!), fewer crazy BM's, less bloated...

We were invited by a friend to join them for dinner last night. Tricky situation when one has such allergies as corn and soy. Especially when our friends have a son who is kept to a pretty strict gluten free diet (think corn and soy food alternatives). Nice. We talked about bringing David his own meal, prepared here but decided he would have a snack before we went and see how things went. Our neighbor also gave him digestive enzymes to take when he was going to be in such a situation. He took one and off we went. Thankfully our friend prepared fajitas. David was able to eat the meat and most of the sides. We sat down, huge bowl of chips in the middle. David dug in. Yea. CORN chips. Also he ate the cheese dip from a jar (corn and soy) and the pre-shredded cheese (corn starch and other products are used to prevent clumping). While he could have easily avoided these items, our friend had everything in separate bowls, I didn't have the heart to say "you can't eat that" and David didn't think much about it.

Needless to say David felt the effects almost immediately. We ate about 7:45pm. David was feeling pretty terrible by 8:50. The bloating, the BM's, the grumpiness.... And David says "I'm a believer!!!" LOL. I think he was some how hoping he wasn't really allergic or possibly attempting to ignore the situation and hope it went away.... poor guy. He didn't eat a ton of any of the items either. But CORN chips were probably the kicker.

So, today we are back to corn free and I'm thinking it'll be a while before David casually eats something without reading a label if it didn't come from my kitchen.

The baking challenge

2009-07-10T09:37:00.000-07:00

The following products all contain corn by products:
Baking Powder
Powdered sugar
Yeast (Except Red Star brand)
Vanilla
Some flours (nearly ALL self rising - which I don't use anyway and MOST bleached white flours - which I also avoid)
Corn Starch (duh!)
Corn meal (right?)

The following contain soy:
Baking chips - chocolate, butterscotch, dark chocolate... you name it soy lechtin is probably in it
Vegetable oil

As a result of David's allergies baking has become a challenge. What once was second nature and a soothing activity has become some what stressful and not nearly as enjoyable. Reading labels and researching basic baking ingredients has sapped some of the pleasure out of baking. Further more, many of our wheat products here in the US are genetically engineered. Which, many think, has led to the rise in wheat and gluten allergies. With this in mind I have been attempting to experiment with new kinds of flour. Rice, rye and so on. While rye has a trace amount of gluten, rice has none. This means that a standard bread recipe I once made and always turned out perfectly no longer has the same light weight texture and feel. Gluten helps bread obtain that beautiful airy-ish texture we know and love. I made a batch of bread yesterday. Using a cup of rye and three cups of rice flour along with the remaining 2 cups or so of wheat flour. The bread is quite dense. While it's not dry like biscotti, it's dense like biscotti.

I made brownies on Tuesday night. I was bringing a meal to a friend who just had her first baby and thought a little something sweet would be perfect. I made the brownies with my cream of tarter/baking soda substitute for baking powder.

Word to the wise something I wish I had known: CREAM OF TARTER WILL EXPEDITE THE DRYING OUT OF BAKED GOODS. The muffins I made last week were perfect on Friday night. Moist and delicious. By Saturday morning, despite having bagged them in Ziplock bags and removing all excess air, the muffins were dry. Particularly the poppy seed. Like sand paper on my tongue. How terrible. I mushed them up in a bowl and ate them like cereal. Sand paper, slight exaggeration, eating the muffins like cereal, true story. All that to say I wish I had known. I should have figured it out. Cream of Tarter is most commonly used for things such as: making egg whites stiffen for pie toppings or assisting in the crispiness of a sugar cookie.... but with so many other things to think about those things NEVER crossed my mind. And so, when baking and using the Cream of Tarter and Baking Soda alternative ADD EXCESS FAT or APPLE SAUCE or something that will help to keep baked goods moist. Also if you live in a ridiculously hot place (like TX) and your A/C is running all the time just to keep the house at 80 degrees, storing baked goods in the fridge is a good idea. Helps keep them moist and because there are no preservatives in home baked goods, keeps them from going stale or molding.

Back to brownies. I used the recipe on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa Powder: which is safe. Substituting the baking powder and using my alcohol free, corn free vanilla and adding a few extra tablespoons of butter. They turned out perfect and were still pretty moist when we finished the last of the brownies today.

SHOPPING!

2009-07-10T09:31:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday June 30 David and I went to the grocery store and picked up, among other things, the items in this photo. All of the items are safe foods for him to eat. Because I knew it would take time to ensure all of my staples were safe we purchased cookies and snack items as well as granola for breakfast. David's allergy is tricky because many gluten free items substitute corn or soy or both for wheat flour. Enjoy Life is dedicated to creating all of their product without the top 8 allergens, which include soy and peanuts but not corn. Some of their products do contain corn so we're becoming pros at reading labels.

Grocery shopping trip

2009-07-04T06:13:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday after a light supper of the few products that we had that we thought were probably corn free, we went grocery shopping to purchase products that David can safely eat.

Some of our great finds included:

Central Market Organics Powdered Sugar - This product is made from Tapioca Starch as opposed to the often used Corn Starch
Enjoy Life Food Products - All of their products are free from the top 8 food allergies, which include soy and peanut so we have only to look for corn ingredients. Their labels were pretty clear and easy to read so spotting the products with corn were easy
An alcohol, corn syrup free Vanilla Flavoring product - I have never used anything but Pure Vanilla Extract so I'm a little nervous as to the flavor of this product but typical vanilla's aren't safe for David so here goes nothing
Back to Nature Cinnamon Crunch cereal - David hasn't opened this cereal yet as he dug into the Enjoy Life granola we purchased to tide him over until I could make granola but it looks good and the ingredients once again were clearly listed and easy to figure out
Lundberg Rice Cakes - made from brown rice and a little salt, David's waiting until I make almond butter to eat these bad boys

I have been preparing for a brunch this morning. When David was a kid his family would have a 4th of July brunch. We decided to do something along those line, only here at home being that the weather is clearing 100 degrees before 10am. I made three batches of home made muffins last night (all baking mixes are now out for muffins, brownies and cakes - which is fine now but we will have a sweet shortage during school months). I made an apple cinnamon batch, a blueberry batch and a poppy seed batch. I used the same basic muffin recipe and substituted the baking powder with a mix of cream of tarter and baking soda.

Here are baking substitutes for the corn, soy and peanut allergy folks:

Baking powder = 1 teaspoon substitute is 1/2 tsp Cream of Tarter plus 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
Corn Starch = 1 Tablespoon substitute is 2 Tbsp flour

The baking powder substitute worked well in the cheddar biscuits I made for dinner and the muffins I made for this morning. I haven't tried the mix in anything else yet but I'll keep posting.

Food preparers beware

2009-06-30T14:28:00.000-07:00

The difficulty level in preparing foods for David has me a bit spooked. Read a label on any box, container, pasta.... in the pantry and you will see why. Nearly everything includes a variation on corn or soy.
Both are used extensively in items such as:

sugars (particularly powdered and brown)
baking powder and other leavening ingredients
flours
pastas
cereals
canned soups
bullion cubes
canned beans (think Bush's baked)
canned fruits
canned veggies
snack food items of all kinds from chips to fruit snacks and flavored yogurts
foods in foil packages as the packages are often dusted with a corn product to prevent sticking to the packaging
crackers
condiments
juices
sodas and many other beverages...

the list goes on and on and on and on.

Products that have an ingredient of "citric acid" often have used an acid derived from corn. Corn is hidden in the ingredients listed as:

modified starches
vegetable oil(s) (the standard veggie oil is made from soy)
alcohol
syrup
citric acid
maltodextrin

and once again the list continues.

This means I can't use traditional baking powder, I need to find a brand that uses a potato starch or make my own. This means that my vanilla may not be safe and I have to investigate it prior to cooking with it. This means I have to research my oats, nuts (can't be processed in a plant with peanuts) and coconut before I make David some granola. YIKES!!! Same with my powdered sugar, brown sugar, flour, pastas and so on. Thank God I have one less class in the Fall. Food preparation will be a full time job.

Of late we have been attempting to eat more plain veggies and grilled meat. Both of which should be safe. Some waxed fruits/veggies however are also now unsafe. Horizon organic plain yogurt appears to be safe. My neighbor and I had dinner one night and she served a dessert of fresh fruit and plain yogurt. While we were in San Antonio we got smoothies from a Mediterranean place that made smoothies from yogurt, bananas, other fresh fruit and a bit of honey. Combining both concepts, I have been making breakfast smoothies with the yogurt and fresh fruits. They are delicious but only a short lived fulfillment as there isn't much protein or fiber to keep one full until lunch time. David had one this morning. He mixed his with blueberries and the yogurt.

I'm feeling overwhelmed and I have to go shop. David and I made a pasta I think is safe last night and he tossed it with fresh mozzarella balls, garlic and Parmesan with a little olive oil. I'm still not 100% certain that my garlic is corn free. YIKES!

In the beginning

2009-06-30T06:06:00.000-07:00

We just found out yesterday that David, my husband, has a food allergy to corn, soy and peanuts. David started going to a GI specialist for the better part of 2009 trying to figure out the cause of his problems. We met in 1999. David had a few of the symptoms even then, just not nearly as noticeable. This blog is to collect all our resources in one location and provide a bit of information for other people that may also be looking for answers to their GI problems or need resources for a newly discovered corn, soy or peanut allergy.

Symptoms:

Eczema
"Personal noises" - my term for David's little hiccups, burps and other throaty noises. He didn't think that anyone else could hear them because they feel as though they are in his chest/throat and rarely actually arrive as a full blown belch.
Heart burn - excessive. In the past two years has been getting much worse. Poor Hubs pops Tums like a kid eating Smarties candies.
Bloating
Irregular BM's (sorry Love, it's a symptom and this is for medical purposes)
Breath that smelled rotten (literally)
GERD - this diagnosis was received and medicated with Nexium about 3 months or so ago. While the Nexium worked really well, it had unpleasant side effects and David didn't like the prospect of being medicated for life.

Prior to being married (03/05) the first, most noticeable, symptom was Eczema. Something most people don't realize, is that Eczema is most often a symptom of a food allergy. Actual skin irritations causing eczema is a secondary cause to food allergies. David called me and said "I have this weird rash on my arms and behind my knees and on my calf's..." I couldn't see it over the phone, but I said some of it was probably ring worm. I had picked up some ring worm on a missions trip to Mexico and had seen him while I had it. I was skeptical about it getting to his legs though so told him to see a dermatologist - it was probably eczema. I recommended iodine for the ring worm. He put iodine on every thing. The rash in a loose ring on his arm went away but the stuff on his legs didn't. A trip to a doctor confirmed eczema. He occasionally got eczema when we were in northern states, often in the winter (think chili and corn bread) but a quick visit to a tanning bed for a little while and it would clear up. I didn't think chili and corn bread at the time.

When we were first married the primary symptom was "personal noises". He had some affection for Tums but only occasionally.

After moving around together for Hubs' job, for a few years we bought a house and settled. David traveled nearly every week, for a couple of days for his job. His Tums popping habit got significantly worse. And the BM's were, let's just say, odd. We attributed it to his poor diet while on the road and excessive use of Tums (taking too many Tums to alleviate heartburn can cause irregular BM's). He often ate take out or pizza or fast food. The heartburn, the bloating and the BM's were all bothersome but were easily overlooked in light of his on the road diet. Foods we rarely eat at home. When David came home from several lengthy business trips late November he didn't take another trip for several months. We couldn't blame a poor diet any more.

Over about a year David's breath had turned sour. Even after having just brushed his teeth his breath would smell rotten, unfortunately, literally. I often would ask if he was dehydrated and we attributed the bad breath to dehydration. We live in TX after all. But there were times when we would attempt to blame it on dehydration but his urine would be clear. A sure sign of good hydration.

I finally asked David to see someone about what was going on. He was miserable and the personal noises and breath were out of control. We went to a general practitioner who referred us to a specialist (waste of time and a co-pay by the way - we don't need a referral to see a specialist, so cut the general practitioner out if you can). David went to see a GI specialist. She diagnosed him with GERD, put him on Nexium and started running tests. I mentioned it could be a food allergy but David decided to go with the GI specialist.

Several months of Nexium and we realized a side effect that is rare but unpleasant. The GI specialist had mentioned to David that a few months on Nexium may clear up his problem entirely so David stopped taking Nexium. The symptoms came roaring back full force. And he wasn't taking Tums so the BM's and bloating couldn't be explained by anything. Another drug, more testing.

At the same time a dear friend of mine was seeking answers to similar GI problems. She was also dealing with a severe rash as well. She was going through laundry detergents attempting to clear up what she had been told was an allergic reaction to detergent. She went through extensive food allergy testing about 2 months or so ago. She discovered allergies to wheat, strawberries, walnuts, specific fishes, cayenne pepper and a few other equally random allergies. She adjusted her diet and now she looks amazing. She has more energy, her rash is completely gone and her GI problems are dramatically reduced.

I mentioned again that allergy testing would be a $35 co-pay and an hour or so and may provide answers. David endured one more procedure with no results or answers and booked an appointment with an allergist.

The allergist was skeptical about David having food allergies because he didn't think that his symptoms fit a food allergy. We had done research on the internet and I had spent a lot of time discussing things with my friend (who had been looking for answers for at least 2 YEARS). David was tested for the 9 most common food allergies. Corn, egg white, fish mix, milk, peanut, pecan, shellfish mix, soy and wheat. Coming up positive for three. Corn, soy and peanut. David said that the nurse walked in to check his back and said, "Now this is interesting." She was skeptical as well when David went in. The doctor told David he had seen one other patient with similar symptoms. That patient had also had a corn allergy.

While we aren't certain that eliminating these foods from David's diet will solve his GI problems we are quite hopeful. David is going to remain on his current medication for another 4 weeks or so while we eliminate all food items and allow his body to flush the corn, soy and peanuts from his system. When we go off the meds, we shall see if his problems were indeed food allergies. We haven't found any other answers through testing ordered by his GI specialist so this is our best bet as of now.