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Author: Mary | Just Take A Bite

White Rice Pancakes (egg free, nut free, dairy free, gluten free)

I continue to experiment with my allergy-free foods. Last night for dinner I made pancakes. I made our usual buttermilk pancakes for the family…whole wheat, dairy and eggs. Doesn’t quite cut it for me.

It was a rice day for me, so I tried rice pancakes. I didn’t really have a recipe. I just kind of poured and mixed what I thought might work. I ended up with a thick white batter that I really thought would just turn into a messy glob in the pan. But to my great surprise (and to my growling tummy’s delight) they turned out quite well!

My biggest concern was not being able to use eggs. But it wasn’t a problem. I compensated with a little extra baking soda and some oil.

These weren’t as light and fluffy like the other pancakes I made. They were a little thicker. I’m sure I’ll keep experimenting with the recipe. But honestly I really liked them. I found myself sneaking another bite and another bite and another bite as we sat at the dinner table (after I was “done” with my dinner :P). And then I started snacking on them later in the evening 🙂  The combination of white rice, coconut milk and lard gave them a unique, addicting flavor.

When I search for gluten free recipes I get the usual combo of about five different flours and gums to bind them all. I can’t do that with a rotational diet. I have one or two grains allowed each day. And I can’t do gums. So my goal is to make simple allergy-free recipes that don’t require twenty ingredients.

Eating allergy-free foods doesn’t mean you have to give up your favorite meals or buy a ton of specialty food. Do you have a go-to pancake recipe? Do you have a favorite allergy-free breakfast? Give these pancakes a try. Even if you don’t have to eat allergy-free. It’s a nice change from the usual wheat pancakes.

White Rice Pancakes (egg free, nut free, dairy free, gluten free)
makes ~ 6 pancakes

1 cup white rice flour (you could substitute another gluten free flour…you may have to adjust the liquid ratios)
1 cup coconut milk (I used mostly the liquidy part but also a little of the cream)
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 Tbsp. EVOO
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. cane sugar

lard, tallow, coconut oil or palm shortening for frying (you can use butter if you are not dairy free)

Directions:

Mix all  ingredients (except frying oil). Adjust to desired thickness by adding more coconut milk or water.

Fry in lard over medium heat on griddle until golden, 3-5 minutes per side.

Serve with honey, maple syrup or fruit topping.

These can also be used as bread/buns.

Beautiful Babies

Are you thinking about having a baby? Are you already pregnant? Do you have small children? Do you struggle with infertility? Do you simply want to learn more about Real food?

If  you answered yes to any of these questions you should read Beautiful Babies by Kristen Michaelis (writer at Food Renegade). This book is packed full of information about how to grow and raise healthy, happy children.

As someone that has struggled for years with my own health I found it to even be extremely helpful for myself! Kristen shares a wealth of knowledge about all aspects of diet and overall health.

Beautiful Babies will be available on March 19, 2013. But you don’t have to wait until then to secure your copy. You can pre-order today on Amazon!

The best part? If you pre-order, you’ll ALSO receive a free enrollment in Kristin’s Beautiful Babies Online Nutrition Course (a $199 value)!
You can find out more about Kristen’s e-course here: http://www.foodrenegade.com/babies/

To receive free enrollment, you must email Kristen a copy of your Amazon sales receipt to [email protected]. When she verifies the purchase, she will email you a coupon code for the free enrollment!

What an amazing deal!!

I don’t have much time to read these days, but I could not put this book down. Even as someone that has been eating Real food for years now I still learned so much. But don’t just take my word for it. Here is what others are saying:

Joel Salatin — a hero of the sustainable food movement (who also wrote the book’s foreword!) — said this about it:

“I find Kristen’s feisty spirit and mischievous humor both empowering and liberating. As a dad of two, husband of one, and grandfather of three, I covet these historically proven and normal principles for every family on earth. I wish this book had been around when my wife, Teresa, and I were starting our family.”

Dr. Jill Tieman, a doctor of chiropractic care and a clinical nutritionist (and VGN blogger at realfoodforager.com, said this about it:

“Before civilization, humans once had an innate intelligence about what was edible in their environment and how to prepare it in order to extract the most nutrition from it. Kristen Michaelis walks you through the minefield of conventional nutrition babble to the safety of what thousands of years of cultural traditions have shown: that vibrant health comes from eating what our ancestors ate—unprocessed foods from animals raised as they are supposed to live. This is correct nutrition that needs to be taught in every household and school and handed down from parents to children. This book should be required reading for all parents and those contemplating parenthood.”

Dr. Cate Shanahan, author of Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food, said this about it:

“Kristen Michaelis can help rescue your child from the quagmire of unhealthy baby formulas, cereals, and jarred foods and teach you how to implement a nourishing lifestyle that is your child’s best immunization against illness. I see many happy babies growing up on these kinds of real foods, and I would like to see more.”

Order your copy and reserve your spot in Kristin’s online course today!

Meal Plans Week of 2-10-13

Good morning. A new day. A new week. New diet. New supplements. Let the fun begin.

I want to start this post with some good news. I’ve been completely Miralax free and synthroid free for a week!!! No more synthetics/chemicals going into my body. I’m so excited. The adjustment isn’t easy. But I’m doing it. I’m trying to work through the daily struggles and keep the end goal in mind…a healthy body that functions on its own without chemicals. Getting rid of these was a big goal of mine for February (and for the last year!). And I’ve done it! I’m not going back.

Last week was busy with some food experimenting and cake decorating. We also had a wonderful time yesterday celebrating my nephew’s birthday! I’m so thankful for a SIL that also has a passion for real food and understands food intolerances/allergies. It makes parties much more fun when you know there will be good food to eat that won’t make you sick 🙂  Thanks, Sara!! I appreciate it. We had snow and more snow last week, so we spent time outside. It was good to get some fresh air. Now we’re anxious for spring!!

Looks like another busy week here. In addition to my regular grocery shopping I need to get to the health food store. Now that I’ve started my restricted, rotational diet I need to stock up on food I can have. I want to try some new grains – teff, amaranth, hemp. Maybe garbanzo flour. I also want to give coconut milk and sweet potatoes another try. We don’t have any Valentine’s Day plans (yet). We generally don’t do much for it. We have a MomBreak playdate on Friday. I hope we get to go. The kids could use some social time. Saturday Rebecca and I have our Mommy/daughter date. We’ll be seeing Sleeping Beauty (ballet) with my mom.

I’m hoping to do more baking experiments this week. I’ve already found that meals aren’t too tough. But snacks sure are! I’ve laid out some options below. But I need to add to the list. We are out of homemade golden grahams. Rebecca and Abram have really been enjoying them lately, so I’d like to make a new batch.

I also want to make turkey broth. I 100% believe that broth and stock are great for your health, great for gut healing. But…it seems like every time I have chicken broth I feel worse. Sadly I think it might be one more thing that I’ve become sensetive to by consuming so much of it day after day (on GAPS). So I need to try different kinds of broth. I still have turkey bones in the freezer from Thanksgiving, so I’ll make some broth with them this week. I’d love to make fish stock, but I have no idea where to get fish heads. I would like to get some plain gelatin as well to experiment with.

So I’ve been gradually encorporating my supplements and dietary changes into my life. I’m on a rotational diet with my top food sensitivities compeletly elminated. I’ve been taking probiotics, fish oil, Armour thyroid, magnesium and multi-vitamins. Today I started vitamin D3, L-glutamine and Zypan. I still have a couple more things to add to the list, but I’ll wait a few days.

My body is definitely going through some adjustment. It’s hard to know what’s die off, what’s inflammation, what’s from something I ate that was bad or what’s just my body trying to heal. I can’t tell if what I’m experiencing is good or bad. I’m hoping that in the next couple weeks things will calm down. Right now I have on and off bad headaches, major cysts/acne basically from head to toe (so annoying, gross and painful), water retention, eye pain, bloodshot eyes, very dry skin (on my face and hands…lots of little cracks/cuts) and digestion problems (compounded with what I’m experiencing from eliminating Miralax). My plan at the moment is to try to be strict with my diet and just work through this adjustment phase.

I will be trying to get more sleep when possible too. I know that will help.

So on to the menu. I tried to lay things out well for myself so I would know exactly what I could eat each day. Here’s hoping that by the end of the week I’ll be feeling better and getting better at my new diet.
_____________________________________________________
S (soak flour, cook quinoa, church, make snacks, prep smoothies) D1
  L – chicken and broccoli quinoa, blueberry yogurt
  D – soaked cheeseburger cups, popcorn, strawberry milkshakes (family), sauteed cauliflower, lunch leftovers, kale chips (Mary)
snacks: blueberry, raspberry, dates, hot carob

M (make turkey broth, SP, PS, HH?) D2
  D – baked or pan fried white fish, seasoned rice, peas, maybe lettuce/salad for me
snacks: cinnamon crunchy crumble

T (strain/freeze broth, make 2nd batch of broth, make VD dessert, KM, CCS) D3
  D – baked salmon, baked potato, broccoli, pumpkin, zucchini
snacks: ?

W (soak beans and lentils, strain/freeze broth, make VD dessert, Meijer, PS, HH, WT) D4
  D – tacos w/ beef, salsa, sour cream, avocado, shredded cheese; carrots, cucumber
snacks: ice cream, soaked graham crackers, raisins, hot cocoa

Th (cook beans and lentils, prep dinner, Dr. M., make bread w/ kids, Valentine’s Day) D1
  D – sweet potato and lentil soup, crispy garbanzo beans, applesauce bread
snacks: blueberry, raspberry, dates, hot carob

F (make cookies, MB playdate) D2
  D – pancakes (white rice pancakes for me) w/ syrup, bacon, peas, pear slices
snacks: crunchy crumble or coconut rice pudding

S (chop veggies, Sleeping Beauty, dinner guests) D3
  D – dinner guests – TBD chicken, roasted potatoes, cauliflower and brussels sprouts, asparagus?
snacks: ?

___________________________________________________________________
D1: chicken, dry beans (pinto, navy, white, fava, mung), lentils; quinoa; broccoli, kale, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, cualiflower; blueberry, raspberry, date; coconut oil, carob, cane sugar, mint tea

D2: white fish, pork; white rice; green bean, lettuce, peas, beets; pear, cranberry; lard, cinnamon, maple syrup, coconut milk

D3: turkey, salmon; amaranth, tapioca; asparagus, pumpkin; palm shortening, coconut water, goat’s milk yogurt

D4: tuna, beef, raw cream, sour cream; wheat, coconut flour; cucumber, squash, zucchini; coconut, avocado, grapes; EVOO, butter, ghee, tallow; cocoa, raw milk, green tea, honey

snacks: D1 blueberry, raspberry, date; D2 crumble; D3 TBD w/ palm shortening, tapioca flour or amaranth and pumpkin; D4 ice cream, soaked graham crackers, raisins, frozen grapes

Candy Bar Ice Cream (gluten free, egg free, nut free, dairy free option)

I had some raw cream to use up this week. Of course that means ice cream 🙂  So the kids and I made a fresh batch yesterday.

With all of my food restrictions I was wondering what flavor to make, besides plain old vanilla again. I had just made some crunchy crumble the day before. And we like ice creams that are fruit pie/cobbler/crumble flavors. So I thought we’d try a crumble ice cream…without the fruit.

I made a larger batch of the white rice crumble, using white rice flour, palm shortening and maple syrup. I added it to a batch of egg free vanilla ice cream. It was really good!

As I was scooping it out of the ice cream maker we all tasted it…and instead of tasting like a cobbler it tasted like a crunchy/nutty candy bar. So I added a few mini dairy free, egg free, gluten free chocolate chips to make candy bar ice cream! Amazing!!

I can only eat it once in a while (every four days at most). But what a treat!!

Do you like candy bars but have a lot of food restrictions? Give this candy bar ice cream a try. You can swap the cream for coconut milk to make it dairy free. You could even try making the crumble with coconut flour or almond flour to make it grain free. There is a version for almost everyone.

Candy Bar Ice Cream

Ingredients:

3 cups raw cream (or coconut milk)
1/3 – 1/2 cup maple syrup (or honey or a combination)
1 tsp. organic vanilla (optional)

1/2 cup white rice flour
2 Tbsp. palm shortening, lard or butter
2 Tbsp. maple syrup or honey

1/4 cup dairy free, egg free, gluten free mini chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine the flour, shortening and syrup until crumbly. Spread on a baking sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes, until golden. Let cool completely.

Combine cream, syrup and vanilla in a blender. Adjust sweetness to taste (make it a little sweeter than seems right since the sweetness goes down as it processes).

Process ice cream in an ice cream maker according to directions (mine takes 15 – 20 minutes in a Kitchen Aid attachment). Add the crumble during the last minute or two of processing.

Transfer the ice cream to a freezer safe container. Stir in chocolate chips. Freeze until firm.

Let ice cream set at room temperature for 5 – 10 minutes before serving.

Crunchy Crumble (gluten free, dairy free, egg free, nut free, corn free)

I made it through a full day on my rotational diet (yay!!), eating three meals that weren’t exactly the same 🙂  Then evening rolled around. And I wondered what in the world I was going to eat?

I have to have a snack before bed. If I don’t my stomach will growl all night, and I can’t sleep well. So I needed something.

I have not had time to make any snacks/baked goods with new grains. I didn’t have any fruits on my list for the day actually in the house. I had already eaten beets and green beans for every meal…and didn’t want more for bedtime snack. There was no leftover pork or rice. I was pretty much out of food for the day.

So I came up with a quick, easy, crunchy snack that was just what I needed. And it was so good!!! I’m actually bummed now that I can’t have it again for four days.

It’s like the topping for a crumble/crisp. But you can eat it plain 🙂  The best part? It took 3 minutes to prepare. And you can actually eat it without baking it if you’re looking for something really quick. It won’t be crunchy that way, but it still tastes great.

This crumble is the perfect crunchy treat at the end of the day. You can eat it plain, sprinkle it on fresh fruit or make a little crumble with it by baking it on fruit. Lots of options. This is a single serving.

Now the wheels are turning. I foresee some dessert baking coming soon 🙂

Crunchy Crumble
serves 1

1/4 cup white rice flour
2 tsp. lard (or palm shortening or butter)
2 tsp. maple syrup (or honey)

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix flour, lard and syrup. Break into crumbles in an oven safe dish or on a baking sheet. Bake for 12 – 20 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes to fully crisp.

Single Serving Simple Pot Pie (gluten free, egg free, dairy free, nut free)

I’ve just started my rotational diet. And I have a trial four day rotation that I’ve laid out. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s a start.

So today I’m allowed rice as my starch/grain, lard as my fat and beans and beets as my vegetables. How do I make that appealing all day long? I had rice cooked in chicken broth with beets and beet greens for breakfast. But I didn’t really want the exact same thing for lunch.

I came up with this easy single serving pot pie. Lots of nourishing broth and fat. Plus it’s super delicious! It really hit the spot for a comforting lunch as I’m adjusting to having my options so limited/so different from what they were just a week ago.

I was also trying to feed two grumpy kids, so it’s a bit lacking in visual appeal. But you get the idea.

My protein for today is pork. I don’t have any cooked yet (I’ll be making it for dinner). But it would be a great addition to this dish. Chicken or turkey would be great too. And any kind of vegetable will work.

I didn’t measure anything as I was cooking. I’ll give a rough idea of quantities. But feel free to adjust as needed. And you can multiply this to make a larger dish to feed more than one person.

Single Serving Pot Pie

1/4 cup white rice flour
1 Tbsp. lard (or palm shortening or butter)
2 tsp. water
1/4 tsp. sea salt

1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup vegetables (I used roasted golden beets and frozen green/yellow beans)
1 Tbsp. white rice flour
sea salt to taste
2 tsp. lard (or butter)
1/8 cup cooked pork, turkey or chicken (optional)

Heat oven (I used the toaster oven) to 400 degrees F.

Combine flour, salt and lard. Add enough water for the dough to stick together. Mix until combined. Press into bottom and up the sides of a small oven safe bowl (I used a small pyrex dish). Bake for 15 – 20 minutes.

While the crust is baking, in a small cast iron or stainless steel pan bring chicken broth to a boil. Add vegetables, lard and seasoning. Simmer until broth begins to reduce (about 10 minutes). Add meat. Sprinkle on flour and stir. Continue to simmer until thick. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Pour the filling into the baked crust. Return to the oven. Bake 5 more minutes. Serve warm.

Meal Plans Week of 2-3-13

I’m pausing just for a moment here to gather myself. It’s been quite a whirlwind here lately. Last week I got all of my test results, and I’m still trying to process it all/decide how to proceed. In addition to that the whole family has been sick…and there may be more to come. It started Monday night with Abram puking. I’ve felt somewhat sick pretty much since Tuesday. Thursday Rebecca started puking (non-stop for 12 hours straight). Then I got worse Thursday night (one benefit of my digestive issues is that it takes a LOT for me to puke…so I held it together). And it didn’t help to sleep in the living room floor waking up every 15 minutes with Rebecca. Friday Justin started. Yesterday we thought we were on the mend. Then Rebecca started puking in the night again. When will it stop? I’m still hoping and praying that what we are all recovering from is what Abram had last week and not something he has yet to catch. And hopefully Rebecca is done for real this time.

Just to add to the “fun” I decided that now would be a good time to stop my Miralax cold turkey. What was I thinking? I’m not really sure. But here’s hoping I can manage and my body can figure things out quickly. I have a sick family to care for. So far it has led to lots of extra nausea and pain. But I’m determined to get this garbage out of my body. I’m trying to drink some extra fluids to help the process. I’m not a fan of overhydrating. But I can tell that my body is not absorbing water the same without the miralax. So I need some extra.

Let’s hope this week proves to be a bit more positive. None of us will be going to church today. Another day to rest and recover. It’s fine with me. We got so much snow in the past few days. It’s hard to even get out of the house. We are starting our new milk drive share tomorrow. Hopefully that goes smoothly (and doesn’t take an extra hour on snowy roads). I have an appt. with my psychologist and the kids have a post-ear infection check up. Our bloggers gathering was cancelled last week because of the snow. So we’ll try again this week. Friday is Bible study. But whether or not I go is TBD. It depends how much prep work I have to do for Saturday. We’ll be going to my nephew’s birthday party, and I’m making the cake.

The only extra I have planned so far for this week is the cake. I hardly had time last week to even think about meals, let alone anything extra. We’ll just see how everyone does this week. If time allows I can do some experimenting with allergen friendly recipes.

I will be taking time this week to do lots of research on test results and treatments. For now I’m implementing a rotational diet (as my tummy is able…sometimes the nausea wins over what I think I should eat). I am sticking to totally egg free for a bit. I have about 5 dozen eggs to use up…so I have to come up with some ideas for those (Sara…do you want me to bring you some on Saturday?? :). I am not completely eliminating wheat and dairy yet. But I am cutting back and trying to only eat them in rotation. So you’ll notice in my meal plans that I’m attempting to give myself some guidelines to help keep track of when I eat what. I know I won’t be perfect since I’m just starting and I haven’t had time to prep all of the necessary food or shop for new things. But it’s a start. And I’m trying to plan ahead so I can eat decently at our party on Saturday.

I started my new thyroid medication this morning. I’m hopeful that it will be a big help. But I think it can take a couple weeks to really make a difference.

I think that’s about it for now. My brain is kind of mush after illness, lack of sleep and lots of anxiety (over myself and my kids). Here’s what’s on the menu for now. We’ll see what everyone is actually up for eating. Our Super Bowl menu could turn into chicken noodle soup 😛  Rebecca picked out some new veggies at the store and helped plan some meals this week.
__________________________________________
S (prep dip, make lemon bars, church, Super Bowl, prep smoothies)
  L – leftover hashbrown egg and ham bake, beans, custard w/ granola
  D – 7 layer dip cups, onion rings, lemon bars, bbq hot dog bites, veggies

  Veg: beets, chickpeas, beet greens, beans
  Grain/starch: chick peas
  Fat: butter
  Protein: beans/chick peas

M (bake cake, milk, ps)
  D – “tuna sea salt cakes”, “white kale crunchy salad” / leftover hashbrown bake, toast, broccoli

Veg: kale, avocado
Grain/starch: quinoa
Fat: evoo
Protein: tuna

T (bake cake, KM, Dr. V.)
  D – (prep ahead) – beef and bean nachos, custard w/ granola

Veg: peas, zucchini
Grain/starch: wheat
Fat: cream, butter
Protein: beef

W (bake cake, PS, Dr. S.)
  D – chicken nuggets, roasted brussels sprouts and cauliflower, tator tots

Veg: brussels sprouts, cauliflower
Grain/starch: squash
Fat: coconut oil
Protein: chicken

Th (WM Bloggers)
  D – pork chops and apples over rice, beans, artichoke

Veg: artichoke, green beans, beets
Grain/starch: white rice
Fat: lard
Protein: pork

F (crumb coat/frost cake, MB, PS, BS)
  D – scrambled eggs, toast, corn, custard w/ fruit

Veg: squash, TBD
Grain/starch: tapioca
Fat: palm shortening
Protein: salmon

S (decorate cake, swimming, bday party)
  D – at party

Veg: lettuce, avocado, peas
Grain/starch: TBD/wheat
Fat: TBD
Protein: beef

Chocolate Chip Scones (dairy free, egg free, gluten free, nut free)

I got all of my food allergy results a few days ago. So what does that mean? Let the experimentation begin!

I made two batches of chocolate chip scones this week. Both are egg free. One is also dairy and gluten free. Both are delicious! And very easy to make. Honestly, the dairy and gluten free version tasted just like chocolate chip cookies to me. What a treat as I embark on this journey.

As someone that is passionate about baking…and loves to taste what I make, it’s good to know I don’t have to completely give up what I love. Having some allergen friendly treats here and there will definitely make this process easier.

These scones are great for breakfast, brunch or a snack any time of day. They pair well with soup too. Give them a try. Which version do you like best?

 
 

Chocolate Chip Scones (egg free, nut free)

1 cup whole wheat flour*
1 cup white rice flour
1/3 cup sucanat/rapadura or cane sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/3 cup chocolate chips (dairy, egg, soy free)
1/2 cup butter (cold)
1/2 cup milk
3 Tbsp. sour cream

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix flour, sugar, baking soda and salt (in a bowl or food processor).

Cut in butter until the dough is crumbly (I do this with my hands or food processor).

Mix in chocolate chips.

Add milk and sour cream. Mix until a ball of dough forms. Shape dough into a round disk, 1/2 – 3/4″ thick. Cut into 8 – 10 scones.

Place scones on prepared baking sheet. Bake about 25 minutes. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes.

*You can use all wheat flour or all white rice flour (to make them gluten free).

Chocolate Chip Scones (egg free, dairy free, gluten free, nut free)

2 cups white rice flour
1/3 – 1/2 cup sucanat/rapadura or cane sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/3 – 1/2 cup chocolate chips (dairy, egg, soy free)
1/2 cup palm shortening
1/4 cup squash or pumpkin (pureed)
1/2 cup water

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix flour, sugar, baking soda and salt (in a bowl or food processor).

Mix in the shortening until the dough is crumbly (I do this with my hands or food processor).

Mix in chocolate chips.

Add the water and squash. Mix until a ball of dough forms. Shape dough into a round disk, 1/2 – 3/4″ thick. Cut into 8 – 10 scones.

Place scones on prepared baking sheet. Bake about 25 minutes. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes.

Monthly Goals – February 2013

I was ready to leave January behind along with all of its sickness. Then February started with a round of the stomach flu for most of the family. Hopefully we’ll all be doing a little better today. And hopefully we’re done with the flu for the winter now!

Another month. Another set of goals. A lot of my goals will relate to my test results and change in eating. And hopefully I’ll see improvements. Here’s to a month of feeling better!

1. Writing –  Write my GRNL article. Research creating a newsletter. Come up with May/June RFH topics.

2. Photography – start reading my photography book and implement one new method/tool.

3. Healing – I still want to continue to eat to keep my metabolism up. I’ve actually finally seen some 98 temps! That is unheard of for me. So even with my new food limitations I am not abandoning Eat for Heat. This morning I had scones and squash. And I’m toasty warm! Almost hot. And it was all dairy, wheat and egg free.

I will be researching the different parts of my test results and how to effectively implement them. I plan to start with some simple supplements. And I will be implementing a rotational diet. I will completely eliminate my “red” foods (worst sensitivities). And cut down on the others by only eating small amounts every four days (in the rotation). I will be starting a spreadsheet to keep track of what I can eat each day. It will definitely be a new way of eating/be a challenge. But hopefully I’ll see improvements quickly.

I also want to eliminate Miralax. After reading this Scary article I know I need to get rid of it for good this time. I’ve already started cutting back. And hopefully the other changes I’m making will compensate for the lack of “help.”

The medications/supplements I am starting with are: Armour Thyroid, Zypan, Lithium, Magnesium glycinate, Vitamin D3, probiotic and Omega 3 (fish oil). Soon I will add in alpha lipoic acid and Nusera. I already take a multivitamin and a couple other mineral supplements.

4. Homemade Food – I’m not setting any specific goal for homemade foods this month. Instead I’m going to experiment with allergen friendly baking. I started this morning with dairy free, wheat free, egg free, nut free scones. They are delicious!

5. Relationships – We will be spending time with family at birthday celebrations. We will have a  Mommy/daughter/grandma date to see Sleeping Beauty (ballet) and celebrate my mom’s birthday. We might have a small group activity, but it might be on the same day as some family stuff. We will have Bible study. I would like to continue to try to call my sister at least once a month. And we might try to set up skype dates with my brother-in-law and niece so the kids can get to know each other better.

6. Rebecca – be positive and encouraging

7. Crafts – browse pinterest

8. Cakes – I will be making my nephew’s birthday cake. I will plan cakes for Rebecca (currently she wants Strawberry Shortcake) and Abram (probably Mickey Mouse).

9. Declutter – Organize Abram’s closet

10. Acceptance – I am working on acceptance of family members. I am also working on acceptance of my current health status. Although it’s frustrating to have to cut things out of my diet yet again. I’m hopeful that it will be helpful and temporary. I have to accept where I’m at and hope for better things to come.

I will also continue to read Bittersweet.

The Results Are In…

After years of experimenting, going to various doctors and trying to figure things out on my own I recently decided to see a more holistic doctor. She ran a lot of tests to get a better idea of what is going on in my body.

I got all of the results yesterday. To say that I am overwhelmed is an understatement.

I’m not making tons of changes today. I’m giving myself time to read, research and plan. But I will also be making some simple changes right away.

Since I’ve been sharing my healing journey for so long I figured I’d share all of my test results as well. So here goes.

I’ll start with a positive – my CBC is almost all normal. No anemia! Blood sugar, red/white blood cells, etc. all normal. I am thankful for that. It doesn’t seem as though I have any kind of autoimmune disease. That was great news. I was also happy that my temp was 98 degrees at the doctor’s office!

Thyroid: As expected my overall TSH is in the normal range (because of my medication). But my Free T3 is NOT. It is very low. That is why I still have hypothyroid symptoms even on medication. I will be switching to Armour – a more natural thyroid medication. I can’t wait!! Hopefully this will take care of things since I don’t think I have anything more serious, like Hashimotos.

Vitamin D: My vitamin D levels are very low. So I’ll be taking a large dose of D3 once a week to try to get that back up to normal.

Magnesium: As expected my magnesium levels are low…even while taking quite a bit of supplemental magnesium. So I have a new form to try.

Minerals: On the whole all of my mineral levels are low. Which means I’m not absorbing them from the food I eat. This is largely due to a leaky gut, low stomach acid and taking Miralax. One of the minerals that is really low is Lithium. So I’ll be taking a low dose supplement of that. I will also take Zypan to help with stomach acid and absorption. And I will be taking L-glutamine. My goal is also to stop taking Miralax as soon as I am able. Hopefully some of the other changes I’m making will help my digestion and take away the need for Miralax.

Heavy Metals: I have fairly high levels of lead and nickel in my body. Other metals that are higher than desired are aluminum, arsenic, cadmium and mercury. At the moment I am not going to do any thorough testing/chelation. But I will be taking alpha lipoic acid to get some of it out of my body.

Adrenals: My adrenals/cortisol levels are way out of whack (I knew that). They are really high in the morning (should be 7-10, mine are 16!). Then they dip into the normal range mid morning. But instead of continuing to go down as the day goes on they go back up a bit and never get back to the normal range. So my body is always in a fight or flight stress mode with raised cortisol levels. I will be taking Nusera to help with anxiety to get my stress down and I’ll be trying to get more sleep.

Allergies: This is a big one. I don’t have any life threatening food allergies…if I did I would have known that by now 😛  But I do have some very strong reactions in my body from some foods. You can call them food allergies or food sensitivities. It just depends on your definition. Either way my body is attacking itself when I eat these foods. Here is the list of foods that came up positive (I have antibodies to them), from the highest (worst offenders (in red)) to the lowest (in yellow).

yogurt
egg yolks
baker’s yeast
malt
brewer’s yeast
_____________
wheat
bran
gluten
cow’s milk
coffee
egg white
_____________
lima beans
orange
cashew
barley
cheddar cheese
rye
strawberry
sesame
ginger
walnut
black pepper
carrot
peanut

The plan of action for dealing with this is to completely eliminate all of them from my diet. After 3 months I can one at a time try re-introducing the yellow foods. If I tolerate them I can add them back in to my diet. If not I have to wait another 3 months and try again. After 5 months I can start trying the orange foods. After 6 months I can try adding the red foods.

According to my doctor it is rare to be able to add dairy and wheat/gluten back. I don’t think that is totally true.

Regardless of what phase I’m in I should be on a rotational diet…permanently. That will take some getting used to. If you eat a food one day, you can’t eat it (or anything from the same family I think) again for 4 days. I’ll have to do some good planning and keep track of what I eat.

I think it will be difficult to find enough food to eat. In addition to this list of allergies, I have the list of food sensitivities that I’ve discovered just through trial and error (there is some overlap with this list). And if I can only eat a particular food once every 4 days I don’t know how I’m going to find enough options. So I need to do some thinking and planning. And I might need to talk to a nutritionist.

Here are my biggest offenders that I have found from experience (I did not mention the ones already listed above): brown rice, corn, potatoes, bananas, apples, almonds, oats, peppers, onions, tomatoes, spinach/most leafy greens starch/gums – corn starch, potato starch, guar gum, tara gum, arrowroot, carageenan, polysorbate, etc. (ice cream, processed foods, powdered sugar, frosting), artificial sweeteners, black beans.

This is too much to do all at once. At this point I’m planning to start by eliminating eggs (I started that last Sat. and I can tell it has helped.)  I already don’t eat yeast or malt. The only other item on the red list is yogurt. I will probably cut that out soon as well. Once I’ve got that going I will work my way down the list. Then eventually work my way back up 🙂

I still need to do some research before I cut too much out. I don’t want to make things worse again by cutting huge food groups out. I’ve done that before…and it hasn’t seemed to help. I finally got wheat and dairy back into my diet. So I’m hesitant to cut them back out again so soon. We’ll see.

I will be working on following a rotational diet. I’ll start with vegetables. I tend to eat a lot of different vegetables each day. But then I don’t have enough options left to skip all of them for four days. I need to focus on just a couple vegetables each day (even if I eat the same ones for breakfast, lunch and dinner). And make it easier to rotate. After I get going with vegetables I work on things like protein sources, grains and fats.

Candida:

Finally my tests showed major candida/yeast overgrowth. I tested positive for abnormal IgM antibodies (recent Candida overgrowth), increased levels of IgA antibodies (mucosal barrier overgrowth – digestive, respiratory, nasal, mouth ears, vaginal or skin) and increased levels of IgG antibodies (ongoing chronic infection).

This cuts even more foods out of my diet. Basically anything fermented or anything with sugar (added or natural). This includes things like olives, alcohol, vinegar, most condiments, sugar, honey, maple syrup, fruit, cheese, fruit juice and dried fruit.

The so-called remedy is to avoid foods that feed the bad bacteria and take antifungals. Then replace the bad bacteria with good bacteria through probiotics.

I am not sure what my views are on candida at this point. Some say anti-candida diets are so helpful. Others think it’s a bunch of bologna 😛  So I’m still researching right now. I have decided to focus on the other items (thyroid, minerals, allergies, etc.) and hold off on any treatment related to candida. I will be conscious of not going overboard with sugars. And I don’t eat much fermented anyway since I just don’t tolerate it well. I am taking a probiotic. But I’m not doing the antifungals or a totally sugar free diet right now.
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So that’s it…at least most of it. Hopefully you made it this far 🙂  I have a lot to think about. A lot to research. A lot to change. I’m going to do it one step at a time and not overwhelm my system. I’m hopeful that these changes will be very helpful and that I will experience a lot of healing. I’m hopeful that the elimination diet will be successful and I’ll be able to add the majority of the foods back into my diet at some point.

I’m sure there will be more updates as I get a better handle on everything. Now I need to figure out what I can/can’t eat and when. I need to figure out how to make meals that I can eat without totally restricting my family, especially my kids. And without always having to make a separate meal for myself. I need to figure out how to manage social settings that revolve around food. All in good time.

I am thankful that I don’t have any life threatening allergies. I am thankful that I have more information and direction about what my body needs to heal. It will take work and will be challenging. But it’s just that, a challenge. Nothing I can’t handle. I know God will provide the knowledge and strength and help I need. I look forward to new cooking and baking experiments that fit my new lifestyle. And I’m excited to continue to share my journey and knowledge with others.

I want to continue to spread the word about Real food and health. I want to continue to spread the word about hope and healing. I want to get healthier so I can be a better wife and mother and servant of Christ. I’m thankful for answers. And I’m thankful that God has a plan and will guide me through this next phase.