Memorial Day weekend had its reflective moments for me. I have had the misfortune of losing 3 grandparents within the last few months. Two of them were my two grandfathers, and both were vets. One went on to have a career with the VA, and one went on to be a public school superintendent.
The third that recently left us was my step-grandmother, who was a RN and a Seventh-Day Adventist. Both her career and religion had an effect on her cooking, and she would bring us low sugar cookies stuffed with seeds and dried fruits that were really quite delicious. The first Christmas after I got married she gave me a cookbook called "Healthy Choices," which I really appreciated.
Over the last few years as we have been embarking on our healing allergen-free diets, this cookbook has been sadly neglected. Last Friday I brushed the dust off of it and revamped one of our old favorites to fit our current way of eating. It was a great way to sit back and remember these great people I have had in my life and look forward to meeting again one day. I have my own way of preparing this recipe, and so I thought it would be appropriate to share here.
Spicy Southwest Chicken Skillet
4 chicken breast halves, boneless and skinless, or bone-in with the skin pulled off
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 can drained black beans
1/3 cup thick and chunky salsa
Mix the chili powder, salt and pepper. Rub on both sides of the chicken. Heat oil in a 10 inch skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken in skillet, turning once, until juices run clear. (This will take 8-10 minutes or more if using bone-in.) Stir in beans and salsa. Heat to boiling and then cover and reduce heat to simmer. I like to simmer off much of the salsa liquid, as condensing gives it great flavor. Serve with rice.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Baby Boy
The arrival or our second child is only weeks away. It seems like it was such a short time ago that we were anticipating the arrival of our first child, who is now six years old. Little did we know of what our journey with him would be! It was like going to an unknown destination, and I have been thinking quite a bit recently about this story I once posted called "Welcome to Holland."
I do not regret that our journey with our son has been different. Holland is a nice place, after all, and he is so much more well than he once was. What I do regret occasionally is that I feel like I lost lots of time with him while he was little and not feeling so well. That is to say, our interactions were not what they could have been for quite a long time. He only appeared to be attached to me when he was little because he had serious separation anxieties. His dad and I were like extensions of him, and he did not call us mom and dad, or anything at all, for many years. We began to see a big turn around with him by the time he was 4. By that time he had been in the DAN! program for about 6 months and he had started ABA therapy.
Our second, yet to be born child is also a boy. I admit I have experienced some anxiety over this, (given that boys are so much more likely to have autism than girls are,) and in fact I really wanted a girl this time for that very reason. The thing about it is though, I have already been to Holland. Figuratively speaking, I already know some of the language, and I already have an itinerary, and I am already packed for the weather. If this second little boy is destined to have autism despite my best efforts to prevent it, he will feel better sooner, and both directly and indirectly he will learn many valuable things from his brother.
And so with that said, here is to the journey, and where ever it may lead us.
I do not regret that our journey with our son has been different. Holland is a nice place, after all, and he is so much more well than he once was. What I do regret occasionally is that I feel like I lost lots of time with him while he was little and not feeling so well. That is to say, our interactions were not what they could have been for quite a long time. He only appeared to be attached to me when he was little because he had serious separation anxieties. His dad and I were like extensions of him, and he did not call us mom and dad, or anything at all, for many years. We began to see a big turn around with him by the time he was 4. By that time he had been in the DAN! program for about 6 months and he had started ABA therapy.
Our second, yet to be born child is also a boy. I admit I have experienced some anxiety over this, (given that boys are so much more likely to have autism than girls are,) and in fact I really wanted a girl this time for that very reason. The thing about it is though, I have already been to Holland. Figuratively speaking, I already know some of the language, and I already have an itinerary, and I am already packed for the weather. If this second little boy is destined to have autism despite my best efforts to prevent it, he will feel better sooner, and both directly and indirectly he will learn many valuable things from his brother.
And so with that said, here is to the journey, and where ever it may lead us.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Everyday Pancakes
I cook breakfast every morning, and about 5 of the 7 days of the week end up being these pancakes. I have chosen this recipe as a staple in my home because they contain whole grain, are free of all of our allergens, and they are quick and easy to make. This recipe is a sample from Allergy Menu Specialists, where many delicious gluten-free recipes can be found. (Used here with permission.)
Everyday Pancakes
2/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup potato starch (or corn starch)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
Mix together dry ingredients. Add:
1 Tablespoon agave nectar (or honey)
1 egg, medium or large
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup water
Whisk together until the right consistency. If cornstarch is used, start with 3/4 cup water and add more as needed.
That is all there is to it. Now they are ready to fry up! I get the best results with my cast iron, which I heat up nice and hot while I am mixing the batter.
This is just one of the many recipes that can be found with this fantastic new business. If gluten is your main allergy concern, signing up for a recipe card membership will get you great gluten-free recipes mailed to your home on nice laminated cards. Many of their recipes are revisited old-fashioned delights. :)
Everyday Pancakes
2/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup potato starch (or corn starch)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
Mix together dry ingredients. Add:
1 Tablespoon agave nectar (or honey)
1 egg, medium or large
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup water
Whisk together until the right consistency. If cornstarch is used, start with 3/4 cup water and add more as needed.
That is all there is to it. Now they are ready to fry up! I get the best results with my cast iron, which I heat up nice and hot while I am mixing the batter.
This is just one of the many recipes that can be found with this fantastic new business. If gluten is your main allergy concern, signing up for a recipe card membership will get you great gluten-free recipes mailed to your home on nice laminated cards. Many of their recipes are revisited old-fashioned delights. :)
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Painting Together
This is just one of those moments that make a mom happy. My son often needs suggestions of activities to do after the video games and TV are turned off. Lately when I suggest that he paints, he is very enthusiastic about it, and insists that I paint with him. He fills the water jar, and I pull up a big sized chair to his little desk and we use brushes with his bottles of finger paint. Super fun!
Friday, April 29, 2011
The Chocolate Effect, 14 years later
Once I wrote a little story about a teenage girl and her brother with autism who got his hands on a piece of chocolate. Although the story was fictional, the events and conditions in the story were based on my own experiences. Those experiences I had as a child really framed my mind for receiving the DAN! program as treatment for my son because I knew firsthand the effects that certain foods/toxins had on my brother. (Read The Chocolate Effect here.)
Now fast forward 14 or so years later, I am now an adult, (well...sort of!) and my brother is 18 years old and is spending some time staying with my family along with our mother. On Easter Sunday they both attended church with us. My brother received such great treatment and acceptance that he attended his Sunday School classes on his own. The teacher for his first Sunday School class approached me, saying that she had cupcakes for the class and she didn't know if my brother is in the same treatment as my son. I told her no, but thank you and PLEASE scrape the icing off of his cupcake. (Too much sugar is a HUGE trigger for bad behavior!) My brother seemed to do pretty well on Sunday, but on Monday, his behavior took a turn for the worse.
On Tuesday morning he was telling mom something like this: "In my class on Sunday I got a rice crispy treat shaped like an egg and it had m&ms in it. And I ate the whole thing! I was hoping that I would get to miss school! Too bad I was wrong!" A sweet teacher, (who did not know about the chocolate effect,) in his second Sunday School had given this to him. Mom was making him go to school, and this was his confession after he realized that all of his plotting, horrible behavior, and sabotaging his own gut came to no avail.
It has been a long week with the uptight, much more easily triggered teenage brother around. The chocolate effect wore off to a good extent by Thursday, and mom was actually able to get him to take a shower. (Thank goodness!) This morning I heard "Good Morning, Eli," when my son woke up and walked into the other room. In my story "The Chocolate Effect," I had the chocolate effect wear off in just one day. I was trying to make the story a good balance of positive as well as negative, but in reality, it takes many days to wear off.
My purpose in writing this is to point out that food can be a psychological trigger for abnormal behavior. Even for myself, I have food sensitivities and I can have altered, depressed moods if I eat gluten or too much of something else on my "no" list. Looking back, I just wonder at my son's old pediatrician, who is a very sweet man, but basically told me I should not take my autistic toddler off of milk. How much better our son's life is nowdays with special diet and biochemical intervention!
Now fast forward 14 or so years later, I am now an adult, (well...sort of!) and my brother is 18 years old and is spending some time staying with my family along with our mother. On Easter Sunday they both attended church with us. My brother received such great treatment and acceptance that he attended his Sunday School classes on his own. The teacher for his first Sunday School class approached me, saying that she had cupcakes for the class and she didn't know if my brother is in the same treatment as my son. I told her no, but thank you and PLEASE scrape the icing off of his cupcake. (Too much sugar is a HUGE trigger for bad behavior!) My brother seemed to do pretty well on Sunday, but on Monday, his behavior took a turn for the worse.
On Tuesday morning he was telling mom something like this: "In my class on Sunday I got a rice crispy treat shaped like an egg and it had m&ms in it. And I ate the whole thing! I was hoping that I would get to miss school! Too bad I was wrong!" A sweet teacher, (who did not know about the chocolate effect,) in his second Sunday School had given this to him. Mom was making him go to school, and this was his confession after he realized that all of his plotting, horrible behavior, and sabotaging his own gut came to no avail.
It has been a long week with the uptight, much more easily triggered teenage brother around. The chocolate effect wore off to a good extent by Thursday, and mom was actually able to get him to take a shower. (Thank goodness!) This morning I heard "Good Morning, Eli," when my son woke up and walked into the other room. In my story "The Chocolate Effect," I had the chocolate effect wear off in just one day. I was trying to make the story a good balance of positive as well as negative, but in reality, it takes many days to wear off.
My purpose in writing this is to point out that food can be a psychological trigger for abnormal behavior. Even for myself, I have food sensitivities and I can have altered, depressed moods if I eat gluten or too much of something else on my "no" list. Looking back, I just wonder at my son's old pediatrician, who is a very sweet man, but basically told me I should not take my autistic toddler off of milk. How much better our son's life is nowdays with special diet and biochemical intervention!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Cast Iron Goodness
These are my two lovelies:
Anyone who has been to my place has seen them sitting on the range, side by side, (and hopefully when you saw them they were cleaned out and oiled for the next use!) Cast iron is pure awesomeness for it's natural non-stick abilities without the funky nonstick treatments that are so popular, but are bad for our food.
I was introduced to cast iron when I was in college and took a little trip to visit my aunt and uncle. My sophomore year I was no longer eating in the cafeteria, "The Galley," and had a kitchen in my apartment. So, when asked what I could use as a Christmas gift, it was a cast iron skillet. My mother thought I was SO WEIRD! I have always been grateful that she took me serious enough that she got me a beautiful 12 inch skillet. I have had the 12 incher for almost 10 years now, and it literally gets used just about everyday. My smaller 10 inch cast iron skillet came into our family when my son went gluten free three nearly three years ago, and it was our "gluten free skillet." Since I went gluten free, about 2 years ago, gluten does not touch the cast iron as a household rule. Because the surface of cast iron is somewhat porous, the gluten eaters in the house are left to the stainless steel.
Here is one of my recent dinner creations using my 10 incher:
Crepes! I have recently discovered that the natural nonstick surface of cast iron is great for making these. This dinner was admittedly an experiment. (Don't worry, my family is used to that!) I was trying to see if a crepe could be used as a sandwich wrap. My son and I do not eat corn, and it is difficult to make a rice tortilla that is thin, soft and pliable, (I think so, anyways.) I had heard that crepes could be really good with a savory filling, and so that is what I tried out for this dinner. I made a sloppy-joe type filling; ground hamburger, tomato sauce, onion, and we wrapped it in the crepes with some shredded lettuce and tomato. It really was good. My only complaint is that the raw veggies were a bit much for the delicate crepe to handle, so next time I will have to rethink my approach and cook veggies in a different type of filling or have the veggies on the side.
This crepe recipe came from my local girls, Kristi and Betsy at www.eatingglutenfree.com.
*I changed the recipe for the purposes of and gluten free AND casein free diet, using earth balance instead of butter, and and combo of rice milk and water instead of cow milk.*
Anyone who has been to my place has seen them sitting on the range, side by side, (and hopefully when you saw them they were cleaned out and oiled for the next use!) Cast iron is pure awesomeness for it's natural non-stick abilities without the funky nonstick treatments that are so popular, but are bad for our food.
I was introduced to cast iron when I was in college and took a little trip to visit my aunt and uncle. My sophomore year I was no longer eating in the cafeteria, "The Galley," and had a kitchen in my apartment. So, when asked what I could use as a Christmas gift, it was a cast iron skillet. My mother thought I was SO WEIRD! I have always been grateful that she took me serious enough that she got me a beautiful 12 inch skillet. I have had the 12 incher for almost 10 years now, and it literally gets used just about everyday. My smaller 10 inch cast iron skillet came into our family when my son went gluten free three nearly three years ago, and it was our "gluten free skillet." Since I went gluten free, about 2 years ago, gluten does not touch the cast iron as a household rule. Because the surface of cast iron is somewhat porous, the gluten eaters in the house are left to the stainless steel.
Here is one of my recent dinner creations using my 10 incher:
Crepes! I have recently discovered that the natural nonstick surface of cast iron is great for making these. This dinner was admittedly an experiment. (Don't worry, my family is used to that!) I was trying to see if a crepe could be used as a sandwich wrap. My son and I do not eat corn, and it is difficult to make a rice tortilla that is thin, soft and pliable, (I think so, anyways.) I had heard that crepes could be really good with a savory filling, and so that is what I tried out for this dinner. I made a sloppy-joe type filling; ground hamburger, tomato sauce, onion, and we wrapped it in the crepes with some shredded lettuce and tomato. It really was good. My only complaint is that the raw veggies were a bit much for the delicate crepe to handle, so next time I will have to rethink my approach and cook veggies in a different type of filling or have the veggies on the side.
This crepe recipe came from my local girls, Kristi and Betsy at www.eatingglutenfree.com.
*I changed the recipe for the purposes of and gluten free AND casein free diet, using earth balance instead of butter, and and combo of rice milk and water instead of cow milk.*
Friday, April 8, 2011
Dish Regimen
This post is a follow-up to the post I did recently on the laundry regimen. Like before with my homemade laundry soap, my dishwasher soap is an effort towards greater sustainability and affordability. I do not feel as though I have my dish regimen as perfected as my laundry soap is. If any of my readers have suggestions as to how to make it more effective, I am all ears. :)
Here is the ingredient line-up:
Dishwasher Detergent
one cup commercial powder dishwasher detergent
one cup borax
one cup washing soda (not baking soda)
white distilled vinegar
Mix all three powders together, storing in a container with a lid. For each dishwasher load, use one heaping tablespoon in the soap compartment, being sure to close it up, then fill the prewash soap compartment with the white vinegar.
I bought all of my supplies at Winco. For the commercial dishwasher detergent, I looked for the one that I thought was not only worth the money, but also appeared to be the more earth friendly of the choices available. Also, I buy my white distilled vinegar in the largest size so that I can to save even more.
Once again, I am indebted to a friend for this starter recipe. I have made some changes with better results than before, and I will continue to change it to get it just right.
Here is the ingredient line-up:
Dishwasher Detergent
one cup commercial powder dishwasher detergent
one cup borax
one cup washing soda (not baking soda)
white distilled vinegar
Mix all three powders together, storing in a container with a lid. For each dishwasher load, use one heaping tablespoon in the soap compartment, being sure to close it up, then fill the prewash soap compartment with the white vinegar.
I bought all of my supplies at Winco. For the commercial dishwasher detergent, I looked for the one that I thought was not only worth the money, but also appeared to be the more earth friendly of the choices available. Also, I buy my white distilled vinegar in the largest size so that I can to save even more.
Once again, I am indebted to a friend for this starter recipe. I have made some changes with better results than before, and I will continue to change it to get it just right.
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