I’m sorry for not posting for so long.  Life has been a little chaotic around here.  Oh and where did 2010 go?  This year just breezed by!  I still have a month of December to look forward to and then goodbye 2010.  I’m trying to remember what I did this year.

Good news though!  My last post was about removing grains from DD’s diet.  She gained over 2 lbs in 3 weeks after that!  Thank you God!

She had a blood test to test for delayed food allergies and/or intolerances(this is not the RAST).  I’m waiting on the results for that.  I’m afraid to see it but at the same time I’m anxious as well.

So much has happened even in the amount of time that I didn’t blog.   My life has been one big rollercoaster.  I’m looking forward to a more normal life where food will no longer be a problem.

Today at lunch, my husband asked me what I want for Christmas.  I started tearing up and said that all I want is for my child to outgrow all her food allergies and be able to eat regular food and thrive.   I know if he could, he would move heaven and earth to make that happen.   I would too.

"chicken soup but not really chicken"

OK, I had a hard time coming up with a title, this soup actually contains Cornish hen (what’s left from roasting it). It’s kind of like chicken soup except it’s not chicken. Around passover last year I found some potato pasta and used that with the recipe. It came out really delicious. I basically just sauteed onions, added the Cornish hen leftovers, added some diced potatoes and carrots. Boiled them til soft. Later I added the noodles, which I cooked the day before. Then some ground pepper and salt. Voila, we had this for lunch and dinner. It was inexpensive, fast and perfect for a chilly autumn day like today.

I have been wanting to post this but keep forgetting.  I’ve been thinking of grains and how it’s affecting my daughter.   Almost 2 weeks ago she had a bout of diarrhea again with lots of mucus.  I finally took her to the pediatrician after a week of it.   He suggested trying going grain-free, he said some people with celiac can’t do any grains at all.   I told him that I have been researching about this topic as well and that I’m intolerant to grains.

I’ve actually looked into the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.  I thought of trying it for myself first.

So as hard as this sounds, a week ago, I removed all the grains from my daughter’s diet.   It’s hard, very hard.  I’m really struggling what to feed her and still trying to stay in the rotation diet.  Some days the rotation diet is completely messed up.   I stress about her that I don’t want her to lose any more foods in her diet, I think about this all the time.

Since I’m intolerant to grains, I’ve been doing my best to stay off it as much as I can.  Last Sunday I cheated and ate some popcorn at the farmers market, it was bad idea of course.

We went to the birthday party yesterday, it was basically just across the street from my house.  There was a lot of people, lots of children.  There was a huge inflatable in the backyard.  My daughter  was ecstatic about that and jumped right in.  In fact she had been watching that thing since morning when it was first set up(the party was late in the afternoon).   She kept going on and on about it!

We didn’t stay long, it was her naptime and she and I were both tired.  We didn’t know most of the people, I socialized but still felt out of place.  We went inside the house to see if there was something we could eat.  I took some fruits and some chips but I ate very little.  T didn’t eat anything though I know from the look in her eyes she really wanted the other foods.   She was such a good girl and didn’t fuss and cry about not being able to eat them.

So I think it went great, however again it hurts to see my daughter feeling sort of left out, and me as well.  The great thing was there was a lot of people so the homeowner didn’t have much time to fuss and make sure I was eating their food.

I posted a not so great picture of fried plantain several weeks ago.   I thought the picture didn’t make the plantain appetizing!  Anyway I have a better snapshot and here it is.  Scroll down several posts prior for the recipe.

These are so addicting!

Finger-lickin good!

2 racks of ribs (pork)

8 dried bay leaves

Ground pepper

Cayenne pepper

Ground pepper flakes

Sea salt

1/2 can of tomato paste

2 tbsp brown (turbinado) sugar

*Once again I’m eyeballing the recipe, I apologize!  You could taste the sauce as you go along and season to your liking.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a glass pan,  lay the ribs and add all the spices.  Roll the ribs to make sure both sides get seasoning.   Add some water to the pan.   Mix the tomato paste and brown sugar with a some water.   Tomato paste is heavier so make sure you add enough water.  You don’t want the sauce too thick or too thin.   Pour sauce on meat.  Sprinkle some brown sugar on top of the meat.    Cook for an hour or so, it would depend on your oven, just make sure you check every now and then.

Enjoy!  I served this with quinoa.  Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the quinoa.  Ooops, next time.  I hope y’all like it!

My neighbor came over to drop off a birthday invite for us.  Her daughter’s having a birthday party this Sunday, she’ll be 2.  So now I’m thinking oh no, gotta socialize again, have to make something for my kid to eat there so she won’t feel out of place.  I doubt there will be anything I could eat there also but not to worry about me, I’m an adult and I can deal much better than her.

I don’t like this feeling at all, that my child is going to feel left out and there’s not much I can do about it.  I just try to shield her from real life right now as much as I can.  I’m always worried about cross-contamination at other people’s homes.  At least in my house I have a controlled environment, as long as people don’t bring anything that my daughter is allergic to.

We’ll see how this party goes, thankfully, it’s around her naptime so we’ll have an excuse not to stay too long.  I am just tired of answering questions and being made to feel like I’m overprotective and that it’s all in my head.

All these food allergies and me being celiac has dampened my social life!  By the way, I’m not complaining, I am mainly just stating a fact.

I promise it won't taste like beans!

You’re not gonna believe that this cake is made from garbanzo beans!  I guarantee that it will not have a beany taste, it’s just decadent and delicious!  It looks more like a moist brownie.

I actually found this recipe on Allrecipes.com but I’ve modified it a little.  I’ve also made it without eggs.  To substitute for eggs I used ground flaxseed and a pureed prunes, I just don’t remember the exact measurements now.

Ingredients:

4 organic eggs

1 can of organic garbanzo beans, soaked for 12 hours with 1 tsp lemon and rinsed well

1/2 tbsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups of Enjoy Life chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave or double broiler.

In a blender, mix garbanzo beans and eggs. When mixed, add the melted chocolate and baking powder.  Blend until there are  no clumps.

Pour mix into a greased cake pan or a glass square pan(this is what I used).  Bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Serve with the homemade confectioner sugar sprinkled on top (see recipe below).

Confectioner Sugar recipe (corn-free):

1 cup Domino’s sugar

1 tbsp arrowroot starch (tapioca starch is fine too)

Blend in a coffee grinder or in a Magic Bullet if you have one.  I have a Magic Bullet and it’s been one of the best kitchen gadget for me so far!

Sprinkle on the cake! Enjoy!

Have you had elk before?   When I first heard of it, it gave me images of a bushy-tailed Bambi,  gallivanting in the forest!   I didn’t want to eat that cuteness!

I just had it and it’s good, but it dries fast if you overcook it.   I’m trying it out with T and hopes that she will take to it.   So far I’ve tried it twice, 2 different ways of cooking it and she doesn’t really care for it.   However, it’s going into the rotation diet for now.

By the way, did I mention this meat is so expensive?  Gahhh!  I drove all the way to Indiana for this!

Today I broke an elk patty into smaller pieces, boiled with a little garlic powder and Kosher salt.  I added a little bit of tomato paste and some apricot(to give it a little sweetness).   I also put ground pepper.   Boiled that for a bit until meat is cooked and served it over zucchini that I made to look like pasta.

I like it but again the elk is a little tough to chew, so I think that may be why she won’t eat it?

I’ll post a picture later.   We’ll try again this evening.

I’m putting peas back into T’s diet.  Today or rather yesterday was the 1st day.   I boiled some organic peas that I purchased from Kroger.   She ate a few bites but won’t touch the rest.   She said it was “gross” and “yucky” complete with funny facial expressions!

I’ll try again in 4 days but today was a no-go.  Peas is just one of those vegetables that a lot of people don’t like right?   My husband doesn’t like peas either.   I like them a lot.   I always have liked peas.

So moving on and updating her rotation diet.