Saturday, August 24, 2013

My Sister Joins the Gluten-free Club

My sister's test results came back, and to everyone's surprise she is also gluten-free!  No one suspected my sister because she weighs as much as I do and seems taller (though she is only a tiny bit taller than I was at her age.)   She is also allergic to dairy and eggs, but she is not allergic to soy or corn.  She does not like the gluten free diet because she has had more headaches in the past three weeks than she has had in the past 3 years.  I suspect it is because her body is getting rid of all the glutens, so she is feeling bad.  Now we are going to test her for celiac disease.  I hope she doesn't have it!

Also, my dad just finished reading a book called The Immune System Recovery Plan  by Susan Blum.  He said it was really helpful and explanative about the immune system and gluten-free stuff.  It is not a recipe book, it is an information book.  I recommend it!

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

(All-purpose) Flour mix #4

This flour recipe has a slight bean-y flavor to it, similar to flour #2.  If you don't mind that, it was great!  We used this flour for the blackberry pie that we made (soon to be published!).

(All-purpose) Flour mix #4

-1/12 cup brown rice flour
-1 cup oat flour
-1/2 cup white rice flour
-1 cup mayocoba bean flour 
-1/2 cup potato starch
-3 Tb flax seed, ground in a coffee grinder
-1/2 cup quinoa flour

This recipe does not include xanthum gum, so be sure to add about 2 tablespoons to the recipe you use it in. 

Monday, August 19, 2013

Dietitian

Doctor, allergist, pediatrician, and now a dietitian!  We met with a dietitian for advice on how to keep up calories and prepare meals.  The dietitian had information that was very useful.

First, the dietitian said that we should have fat at every meal.  Whole milk used to be a major part of my diet, and it had a lot of fat.  Now that that has been eliminated, we need to keep the fat intake the same.  The dietitian gave us a list of fatty and caloric foods that we should use, and how much per meal (about.  You don't need to use everything on the list.). 

Food                    Amount
Almond Butter     1 tablespoon
Coconut Oil         1 tablespoon
Olive oil               1/2 tablespoon
Sunflower Seed  1 tablespoon
Pistachios           12-16 nuts
Pecans                8-10 nuts

 The dietitian also gave us an idea of what our plate should look like.  We should eat 2-3 fruits per day.  Half of our plate should be vegetables.   A fourth should be starch, but watch out for high portions of rice products because they are fast sugar (which means that it doesn't give you energy for very long.  It also makes your blood sugar go up, and then down very quickly.)   The last fourth of your plate is, of course, protein.  Beans, nut butter, hummus, are all things she mentioned.  You should have 1-2 oz. of meat twice a day to be healthy.  You should also have milk or yogurt, but we have to cut that out of our diet for a year.  

I recommend seeing a dietitian, because ours was very helpful.  We will meet with the dietitian again in a few weeks so she can see how I am doing.   The dietitian also liked the food log I have been keeping.  Unfortunately, she said I had the highest celiac test levels she has ever seen.  Also,  my dad and sister's test results still have not come back.  They should be here soon!

Friday, August 16, 2013

Tacos

Now that I can eat corn again, tacos are an option!  


To make a healthy taco, make sure that you have different colors, in a rainbow!

Red                 Orange       Yellow/White    Green     Blue     Purple    Black
Tomato       Bell Pepper      Chicken         Lettuce    Good luck          Olives
                                                                                      finding this!

This turned out to be really filling!  My mom liked it because it was fast and easy.  She is running out of lunch ideas that are fast and easy, because macaroni can no longer be used as a quick fix.  Hopefully, we'll find more lunches soon!


Another thing we found:  Laughing Planet is a really good restaurant!  You can request to have anything made gluten-free.  Here is the website:  http://www.laughingplanetcafe.com




Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Celiac Disease

One of the tests the pediatrician ran was a celiac disease test, and the results came back positive.   So my gluten-free diet is a definite yes because I actually have this disease.  I don't know if anyone has celiac in my family, but if they did I would only have a 10% chance of getting it.  I must have bad luck.

Now we are making an appointment to see a gastrologist in Salem.  They will probably recommend a scope for me.  A scope is one of those cameras on a tube that they send inside you to see how bad your reaction.  If my  reaction is horrible then any gluten is really bad for me.  The doctor thinks that having celiac disease is affecting my low weight.  

As for my height, he thinks that I am just going to grow later than anyone else.  My hormone levels are normal, so I won't need growth hormones or anything like that.  I am just naturally short!



Sunday, August 11, 2013

2 More Opinions

A couple of days ago we saw 2 more doctors, and both had different opinions than doctor 1!  One doctor was an allergist and one was a pediatrician.   Now I'm not sure what to think!


The allergist's main diagnosis was:  You can eat everything you want except for beef.  When we got the test, all the bars that showed how much I was allergic to something were gray except beef (something about IgE or IgG)  which was black.  The allergist said that beef, being IgE, was my only true allergy.  The others were just the foods I eat most.  So, no gluten-free or anything for me!  That night I noticed that when I had a biscuit I felt bloated, so I don't know if that means it was bad.  

The next day we saw a pediatrician.  His diagnosis was:  Don't go everything-free, just try one thing at a time.  Right now we are still gluten-free and we eat everything else only moderately.  I think this is a good idea because I had more reaction to gluten than any other allergy.  The pediatrician also tested me for IgA, which is the intestines reacting to the allergens.  This tests specifically for gluten.  When the results come back, we will know for sure whether or not I am allergic to gluten. 

My dad and my sister's tests still have not come back.  Our diet could get really hard if they are allergic to different things!

Friday, August 9, 2013

Vanilla Sugar cake

Vanilla Sugar Cake
Rating: 4/5



Ingredients:

-1 3/4 cup flour # 1
-1 cup sugar
-1 tsp. flax seed, ground in a coffee grinder
-2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
-1/2 cup butter or margarine
-2 eggs or egg replacer
-1/2 cup milk or substitute
-1/4 tsp. salt
-1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Sift flour (or stir with fork) to break up clumps.
2. Mix dry ingredients.
3. Add butter, eggs, milk, salt, and vanilla.  Beat until well mixed. 
4. Spread in a 9x9 pan (greased).  Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.


This cake was yummy, though the way we made it was interesting.  My dad put it into a 9x13 pan and had to spread it around to completely cover the bottom of the pan.  It rose quite a bit in the oven, but it was still pretty flat.  It tastes really good.  The taste is actually exactly like sugar cookies!  My dad also tried to make his own powdered sugar, which half worked.  Then he added orange juice and made orange frosting, which I do not recommend.  We actually got the recipe from my great grandma's cookbook, the Joy of Cooking, but we altered the flour to make it gluten-free.  For the first cake, it was pretty good!

Quinoa - Potato - Peanut Stew

Quinoa - Potato - Peanut Stew
Rating: 4/5

Ingredients:

-3 tablespoons peanut oil
-1 large onion, peeled and chopped
-2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
-1 tsp. ground cumin
-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
-2 tablespoons salted natural creamy peanut butter
-1 large potato or sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes
-One 14-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
-Two 14-oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed
-4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
-Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
-2 cups cooked quinoa (see my post on how to cook it)
-1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
-Lime juice

Directions:

1. Set a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add the oil.  When the oil moves around the pot easily, add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and starting to brown, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the cumin and cinnamon and cook for 1 minute.  Add the peanut butter and stir it into the onions well.
2. Add the potato and stir well.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the potato starts to soften, about 5 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes and beans.  Pour in the stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer the stew for about 20 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, then stir the stew and let it simmer 5 more minutes.  When serving, put 1/2 cup of quinoa at the bottom of the bowl.  Top with cilantro and lime juice.




I liked this soup a lot, even after I learned that peanut butter was in it (I do not like peanut butter!).  It gets thicker when it is a leftover, but my sister said it was still good.  This would be really good in the winter.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Chocolate cookies

Chocolate Cookies     
Rating: 5/5, very good!





















Ingredients:
-1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter (or margarine, or ghee), softened
-1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
-1/4 cup granulated sugar
-1/2 tsp. gluten-free vanilla extract
-1 egg or egg substitute
-1 cup flour mix # 1 (see below)
-1 1/2 tsp. xanthum gum
-1/2 tsp. baking soda
-1/2 cup cocoa powder
-1/4 tsp. salt
-Powdered sugar, if desired

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cream together butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla in a mixer.  Add the egg and mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, xanthum gum, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt.  Combine bowls and mix until well blended.
4. Using spoons, put dough balls 2 inches apart on a baking sheet.  
5. Bake for 5-10 minutes.  Let cookies rest 5 minutes.  Transfer onto a cooling rack.  If desired, roll cookies in powdered sugar.





 Everybody loved these cookies! They stayed moist overnight and they are chocolate-y, yummy, and (the best part) they taste like normal cookies! This was a huge accomplishment after our first try, in which the cookie dough was black.  These cookies also save well if you store them in a container. 


All-Purpose Flour Mix # 1

We got to use our WonderMill to make these flours!  It is cool because we can make our own flour.  We made our own rice and oat flour in this recipe.  My dad loves the WonderMill, and now he is making flour out of everything!

Ingredients:

-1 1/4 cup rice flour
-3/4 cup oat flour
-2/3 cup corn (or potato) starch
-1/3 cup potato starch
-1 large tablespoon Tapioca flour
-1 tsp. xanthum gum

All of the flours were ground in the WonderMill!

Monday, August 5, 2013

The Food Log

Today I started a Food Log.  I am going to keep track of everything I eat.  It will help us stay on a rotational diet.  If I get a headache, we can see if it is related to something that I am eating.  It takes a while to write everything down.  Here is an example of what it looks like:
 8/5/13-Mix Mash day
Cheerios, Rice milk, Yams, Bok Choy, Chicken, Strawberries, Blueberries, Grapes, Spinach, Basil, Chocolate cookies, Vanilla chamomile tea.

As you can see, it takes some time and effort, but i think it is a good idea.  That is only breakfast and lunch, too! 

Food Surprises

Here is a list of some things and what are in them.  It is mostly stuff I am allergic to: corn, soybean, dairy, wheat.

-Pesto.....Soybean oil
-Powdered sugar.....Corn Starch
-Fake syrup.......Corn Syrup
-Marshmallows.....Corn Syrup
-Oreos......Flour
-Margarine......Whey 
-Some hand sanitizers...... Wheat ammino acids
-Imitation crab.....Wheat Starch
-Salad dressings.....Various


I will keep adding to this list when I find unexpected no-no food surprises.  (I hope this list does not grow. :) )

Milk Substitutes

Because my favorite drink/food is milk, the no-milk rule has been hard.  My dad tried coconut milk and liked it, but I tried it and it was disgusting!  Coconut milk is too sweet.  If you like vanilla milk, you might like it, but I thought it was sickly sweet.  

Almond milk is better, but you can taste an obvious nutty flavor.  I also did not like that one because nuts are not one of my favorite foods.  

I recently got vanilla enriched Rice Dream milk, and I thought it was much better!  The vanilla flavor is not super strong and it masks any rice-y flavor.  Original rice milk is also good, but you can taste a kind of strange aftertaste.  I like original in cereal but vanilla to drink.  Normally I have water.  It is better for you and less expensive.  I am also trying caffeine-free herbal tea.  I tried cinnamon apple tea, but it was gross.  Vanilla chamomile is pretty good!

Friday, August 2, 2013

Flour # 2- Riceless

My dad made another flour today, but riceless!  It is good if you are doing a rotational diet.  

Flour # 2- Riceless

-1 cup oat flour
-1/2 cup tapioca flour
-1/4 cup potato starch
-1/8 cup garbanzo flour
-1/16 cup flax seed (ground in coffee grinder)
-1/16 cup quinoa seed (ground as above)

 The way my dad did this one is by filling 1 cup in layers, so 1 cup was just oat flour and another cup was everything else.  It is kind of approximate, so if it is tweaked it will not make much difference.

By the way, quinoa is pronounced KEEN-wa, not kwi-NO-a.  Weird!


The First Pancake!

The First Pancake!

Ingredients:

-1 cup all-purpose flour mix # 1 (see the post on how to make this.)
-1 Tb white sugar
1 Tb brown sugar
-2 tsp. baking powder
-1 beaten egg or mixed egg replacer
-2 Tb oil
-1/4 tsp. salt
-1 tsp. vanilla extract 
-1 cup substitute milk of your choice (we used coconut)

Directions:
1.  In a large bowl mix dry ingredients.  Add wet ingredients.  Mix well, but do not overmix.
2.  Pour batter onto a lightly greased griddle on medium heat.  NOTE: Ours did not bubble like normal pancakes so we had a hard time knowing when it was time to flip them.  Turns out that they cook really slowly, so leave them on for a long time.  Flip them when you think it is time.  

These were pretty good (though it is hard to judge when they are undercooked).  I thought they were so-so, but the rest of my family loved them.  Best with fruit, or berry syrup.




The doctor said that I would be noticing some changes, but I haven't.  I do not feel better, or worse, or different.  I am just hungrier.  Since I have only been on the diet a few days, I guess that makes sense.  Another thing I learned was that eating out is hard.  We went to a sushi place, but everything had something!  The main problem was imitation crab, because we realized it has Wheat starch, corn starch, soy, and egg whites, all of which I am allergic to.  Eventually I had teiryaki with rice.  Later, I had a stomachache, but I don't know if it was food-related or not.  Anyway, we will always eat at home now.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

All-Purpose Flour mix # 1

My dad wants me to write down the flour mixes we make, so here is the first one!:

All-Purpose Flour Mix # 1

Ingredients:
-1 1/4 cup rice flour
-3/4 cup oat flour
-2/3 cup corn (or potato) starch
-1/3 cup potato starch
-1 large tablespoon Tapioca flour
-1 tsp. xanthum gum

Just mix all this stuff together and you get flour.  We used it in some pancakes and it worked great.

The Doctor

Today we went to the doctor and got some really good information.  The doctor told us a lot about what I can eat, can't eat, eating programs, and stuff about guts.  He said that  for 6 months I have to go completely gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free.  Apparently, if you eat things that you have allergies to your intestines get inflamed.  Small proteins, like gluten, can get through the intestine and into the bloodstream.  This makes you weaker, so dairy might slip through.  All the things that "get through" are new things so your body makes antibodies and treats it like a virus.  Then, you get these intolerances...
  
It takes 6 months for the intestines to heal.  So in 6 months I should be pretty healthy again! Until then, I have to have a super strict diet so I heal as fast as possible.  In six months I will have the test again to see if the levels go down.  If they do, we know we are eating right!

Another thing:  The whole eat-rice-every-day thing that we were doing is bad, because if you eat so much of something then you develop an allergy to it.  You try not to eat things in the same food group for 4 days, in a rotational diet.  Our ancestors ate things when they were in season, so they did not eat the same thing every day.  That prevented them from getting allergies, so it will work for us too.

Now we have our questions answered, and my dad & sister are also getting tested.  That could complicate things.