Here is another fairly healthy family favorite. I love the fact that there is NO added sugar, just don't tell my girls. I try to bake an extra couple of potatoes just so I can make these. This recipes uses a flour blend - I use my America's Test kitchen blend, but here is the blend from the book -- pretty simple too. 2 cups brown rice flour, 2 cups sorghum flour, 1 cup potato starch, 1 cup tapioca starch.
1 1/4 c mashed sweet potato
1 1/2 cups gf flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 butter or coconut oil, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 c milk
Combine all dry ingredients. Mix together eggs, milk, oil and sweet potato. Pour liquid over flour mixture and stir until just combined.
That's it -- sweet potato pancake batter, viola!! Now just pour into heated griddle and cook like regular pancakes.
They are awesome!!
Sunday, November 30, 2014
GF Cinnamon Oat Scones
I've done some experimenting lately and found a few good recipes -- here is the latest on that all of my family likes!! Kevin said the texture of these were really good, they were moist, although I found them a bit dense. Don't think I will try to modify them, not bad at all like they are.
As always, my measurements are by weight -- amazing that I've become "that" cook ;}
4.2 oz sorghum flour (approx 1 cup)
1.3 oz white rice flour (approx 1/4 cup)
1.15 oz brown rice flour (approx 1/4 cup)
1.3 oz potato starch (approx 1/4 cup)
1 cup gf oats (I put mine in the blender just to make them a little finer, Hannah doesn't like chunks)
1/4 c brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp guar gum
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
5 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 - 1/2 c cinnamon chips
1/2 c buttermilk
1/4 c applesauce (you could use an egg instead)
Preheat oven to 400. Weigh or measure flours, starch, and oats. Combine with next 7 ingredients (through nutmeg) in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or two knives until mixture looks like it has little pebbles in it. Stir in baking chips. Add buttermilk and applesauce, stir until moist.
It seems like not enough fluid, but keep stirring, it will work.
Now comes the fun part. I put out a piece of parchment paper onto a round cookie sheet. Dump the dough and shape into a 8 inch circle. Cut into 12 wedges and then separate a bit. Bake at 400 for 14 minutes.
There are several variations -- you could add finely diced apple -- yummy.
You could also pat out and use a biscuit cutter to make round biscuits, instead of traditional scone shape. Or just drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet.
Also, you could brush with either egg white or milk and sprinkle a bit of sugar on top.
Like I said earlier -- we loved these and they aren't that unhealthy!! Only 169 calories per scone. Enjoy warm with applesauce or a glass of cold milk.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Cinnamon Bread - gluten free and yummy!
firstof all this is taken from "the how can it be gluten free cookbook" by americas test kitchen.
they include a flour blend that i tweak a bit, mostly because i do not want to use that much white rice flour, instead preferring to add something a bit healthier. so here it what i use, if youwish you can use the original amounts given in parentheses.
12 oz brown rice flour (7 1/2 oz)
12 oz sorghum flour (none)
7 1/2 oz white rice flour (24 oz)
7 oz potato starch
3 oz tapioca starch
3/4 oz powdered milk
after mixing all of that together, here is the actual recipe.
Dough -
14 oz flour blend
4 oz oat flour
1 1/2 oz milk powder
3 T powdered psyllium husk
3 T sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp yeast
2 c warm water
2 eggs
2 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1 cup raisins (optional, i did Not add)
Filling
1/2 c powdered sugar
4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
Put all dry ingredients, except raisins) in mixer with paddle attachments, pulse until combined. in a separate bowl mix water, eggs, and butter. with mixer running, slowly pour into mixer, scraping down side if needed, mix on medium speed for 6 minutes. this is VERY crucial. add raisins if desired.
dump 1/2 the dough onto an oiled piece of parchment, using wet hands spread into an 8 x 11 rectangle, spread 1/2 the sugar mixture evenly over dough and spritz with water, using parchment, roll into a log and place in sprayed pan with seam facing up, repeat with remaining dough and filling, and place seam down.
let rise until doubled, bake at 350 for almost an hour and half. cool completely before slicing.
they include a flour blend that i tweak a bit, mostly because i do not want to use that much white rice flour, instead preferring to add something a bit healthier. so here it what i use, if youwish you can use the original amounts given in parentheses.
12 oz brown rice flour (7 1/2 oz)
12 oz sorghum flour (none)
7 1/2 oz white rice flour (24 oz)
7 oz potato starch
3 oz tapioca starch
3/4 oz powdered milk
after mixing all of that together, here is the actual recipe.
Dough -
14 oz flour blend
4 oz oat flour
1 1/2 oz milk powder
3 T powdered psyllium husk
3 T sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp yeast
2 c warm water
2 eggs
2 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1 cup raisins (optional, i did Not add)
Filling
1/2 c powdered sugar
4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
Put all dry ingredients, except raisins) in mixer with paddle attachments, pulse until combined. in a separate bowl mix water, eggs, and butter. with mixer running, slowly pour into mixer, scraping down side if needed, mix on medium speed for 6 minutes. this is VERY crucial. add raisins if desired.
dump 1/2 the dough onto an oiled piece of parchment, using wet hands spread into an 8 x 11 rectangle, spread 1/2 the sugar mixture evenly over dough and spritz with water, using parchment, roll into a log and place in sprayed pan with seam facing up, repeat with remaining dough and filling, and place seam down.
let rise until doubled, bake at 350 for almost an hour and half. cool completely before slicing.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
GF Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Hannah and I have been doing the gluten free thing for exactly a month !!! (for all those worriers out there, it's because she has been diagnosed with celiac disease, not because I was bored and needed a new challenge)
Last night, supper was just for the girls and I - we've had rice lately and Mexican too, and quite frankly, I didn't feel like experimenting with yet another so-so pasta - so pulled out an old favorite. Muffins!! I haven't attempted anything like since Hannah was diagnosed, but figured why not. Started going through the cookbooks and liked this one the most. I have to say, everything I've made from this particular cookbook is awesome!! "America's Test Kitchen: How can it be Gluten Free?"
Here's the recipe -- it starts with a flour mixtures, of which you use a little over half. That's the only issue with this cookbook, but I've started making up the flour mixture and having it ready, mostly because this IS the book I use most.
12oz white rice flour
3.75 oz brown rice flour
3.5 oz potato starch
1.5 oz tapioca starch
1 1/2 Tbsp milk powder
I know -- all white stuff, but I'm experimenting with ways to make it better, especially bread.
Okay, on to the recipe -- makes 12 normal to large size muffins
11 oz of the flour mixture
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of either xanthan or guar gum
3/4 c white sugar (next time I'm only using 1/2)
6 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 c plain yogurt
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp. ground flax (not in the batch I made, but will add next time)
1 medium to large apple, diced into small pieces (approx. 1 - 1 1/2 cups)
Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, flax and gum of choice.
In a separate bowl combine sugar, butter, yogurt, eggs and vanilla.
Add to flour mixture and stir until well combined. Fold in apples (or blueberries, or cranberries with orange zest, whatever suits your fancy) cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes -- this is the important part. Once batter has rested, spoon into prepared muffin pan.
Heat oven to 375 and bake for 20 minutes. They will brown a little on top, but not too much.
These would also be good to use lemon extract and add some zest and poppy seeds. Just your basic muffin batter.
Last night, supper was just for the girls and I - we've had rice lately and Mexican too, and quite frankly, I didn't feel like experimenting with yet another so-so pasta - so pulled out an old favorite. Muffins!! I haven't attempted anything like since Hannah was diagnosed, but figured why not. Started going through the cookbooks and liked this one the most. I have to say, everything I've made from this particular cookbook is awesome!! "America's Test Kitchen: How can it be Gluten Free?"
Here's the recipe -- it starts with a flour mixtures, of which you use a little over half. That's the only issue with this cookbook, but I've started making up the flour mixture and having it ready, mostly because this IS the book I use most.
12oz white rice flour
3.75 oz brown rice flour
3.5 oz potato starch
1.5 oz tapioca starch
1 1/2 Tbsp milk powder
I know -- all white stuff, but I'm experimenting with ways to make it better, especially bread.
Okay, on to the recipe -- makes 12 normal to large size muffins
11 oz of the flour mixture
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of either xanthan or guar gum
3/4 c white sugar (next time I'm only using 1/2)
6 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 c plain yogurt
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp. ground flax (not in the batch I made, but will add next time)
1 medium to large apple, diced into small pieces (approx. 1 - 1 1/2 cups)
Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, flax and gum of choice.
In a separate bowl combine sugar, butter, yogurt, eggs and vanilla.
Add to flour mixture and stir until well combined. Fold in apples (or blueberries, or cranberries with orange zest, whatever suits your fancy) cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes -- this is the important part. Once batter has rested, spoon into prepared muffin pan.
These would also be good to use lemon extract and add some zest and poppy seeds. Just your basic muffin batter.
Monday, June 9, 2014
search for bread
Decided I wanted a healthier version of the bread I made earlier this week. It turned out super and was pretty straightforward, so I figured I couldn't mess it up too bad, so I made a few changes.
I left out a bit of the oat flour and replaced it with buckwheat. I also replaced one of the eggs with ground flax seed, used honey instead of sugar, and finally replaced the butter with about 1/2 the amount of oil.
It turned out okay -- a little heavy maybe - I have a hard time baking for the full 1 1/2 hrs and then an even harder time letting it cool for over an hour.
Here are a few pictures of the process.
I left out a bit of the oat flour and replaced it with buckwheat. I also replaced one of the eggs with ground flax seed, used honey instead of sugar, and finally replaced the butter with about 1/2 the amount of oil.
It turned out okay -- a little heavy maybe - I have a hard time baking for the full 1 1/2 hrs and then an even harder time letting it cool for over an hour.
Here are a few pictures of the process.
this is what the flour mixture looked like after adding the buckwheat
The egg, honey, oil mixture
Beginning of mixing it all together -- kind of a goopy mess
Let it go for 6 minutes and you get a thick batter/dough consistency
It still isn't sturdy enough to not fall over the sides when it rises, so I fashioned a foil collar to help create a taller loaf
the glob waiting to rise
Final result - sorry I didn't get a picture of the fully risen loaf before it went into the oven.
a couple more tweaks over the wknd - going to add some whole grain cereal to one loaf and then make another with only partially ground flax seed, make it meal instead of powder and see if I like the way that turns out. The flavor and texture of all have been good, I'm just trying to make it a little healthier.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
And the Journey Continues
Two and a half weeks in -- here's the scoop
Hannah is doing fantastic. I think we've only had one little tiny incident. She made some candy sushi and had a bit of the cand -- that night as we were going to bed, she doubled over with a small tummy cramp - lasted a couple of minutes and then she was off to bed. Next morning she asked me if one of her friends at school that has peanut allergies could eat it, so we checked. We were good with peanuts, but in reading the ingredients, come to find out, one of them had wheat. Hannah had picked up the candy, all of which she had checked out, but one of the was mini's, not the regular candy, guess they used flour to keep the candies from sticking -- other than that, we haven't had any issues with anything.
She seems to be feeling better and has a better outlook on life. It's amazing to me how many things I've read that relate to neurological and behavioral issue in children that have Celiac. Her outlook on life seems to be better, granted we still have some of our normal issues, but I can usually put a finger on what is causing them - usually hunger. Still haven't been able to convince her to eat any quantity. Her definition of a meal consists of about 1/4-1/2 cup of food. TOTAL. We're going to be working on it, next week we meet with an occupational therapist that is a feeding specialist. Can't wait to see how that evaluation goes.
We were cuddling the other morning and when I asked Hannah what she thought about how this lifestyle changed made her feel, she gave me an answer in the form of a most beautiful grin. Almost made me cry. Right now she's an awesome trooper!! I only hope it continues as we try to get her to eat a variety of foods and see what the OT has to say.
My journey - not quite the same. The first week I felt like I was covered with poison ivy or bug bites everywhere. My skin was crawling -- I just wanted to peel my skin off. My nerves were on end, not just physically, but emotionally as well. I wasn't sleeping well and was craving sugar all over the place. About drove me crazy. Lasted for about a week, still have occasional itchiness, but not so bad.
Then I got sick, nothing major initially, just sore throat, coughing, sinus gunk, etc.. Put up with it for 5 days or so and then went to the Dr. Turns out I had a sinus infection and an ear infection - antibiotic on board. I'm actually done with it tonight and can't say that it helped a ton. I'm still coughing and sinusy -- YUCK. Also feel exhausted all the time, I'll sit down for a bit and find myself falling asleep, except when it's midnight and then I'm wide awake. I even took to sleeping on the couch, so that I wasn't tossing and turning in bed for hours on end, let myself fall asleep whenever it happened.
I still feel like my body is reacting, I'm exhausted and just cranky. The physical symptoms of withdrawal I can handle, but I'm still trying to figure out the emotions involved. I find myself reading something and just tear up or I'm in the grocery store, usually with Hannah, looking for all the foods we can find, trying to tempt her to eat something, to pique her interest in something other than the 3 foods she'll eat, and I'll feel the tears welling up. I know she doesn't get the enormity of this disease, but at times it hits me and I just want have a pity party for her.
I try super hard to be upbeat and keep a sense of adventure for her sake, but right now I feel like I'm going at it alone. I really don't mind the cooking and experimenting, but sometimes I'd love to just look at the family and say let's order a pizza" or let's go out to eat without thinking of where and what we are going to do. Oh well, one step at a time and one meal at a time -- today we survived with homemade pita bread and falafel with gf rice krispies instead of bread crumbs. Part of it though, is the experimenting, I'd love to be able to just pull a recipe and know how it will turn out -- again, time will persevere.
If you are a praying person, my request is that I'll find someone that has been down this road and that I will connect with. I know there are lots of people that go gf, but I would love to have a connection with someone that i can just click with. Okay, enough whining -- off to toss and turn for another couple of hours :-)
Hannah is doing fantastic. I think we've only had one little tiny incident. She made some candy sushi and had a bit of the cand -- that night as we were going to bed, she doubled over with a small tummy cramp - lasted a couple of minutes and then she was off to bed. Next morning she asked me if one of her friends at school that has peanut allergies could eat it, so we checked. We were good with peanuts, but in reading the ingredients, come to find out, one of them had wheat. Hannah had picked up the candy, all of which she had checked out, but one of the was mini's, not the regular candy, guess they used flour to keep the candies from sticking -- other than that, we haven't had any issues with anything.
She seems to be feeling better and has a better outlook on life. It's amazing to me how many things I've read that relate to neurological and behavioral issue in children that have Celiac. Her outlook on life seems to be better, granted we still have some of our normal issues, but I can usually put a finger on what is causing them - usually hunger. Still haven't been able to convince her to eat any quantity. Her definition of a meal consists of about 1/4-1/2 cup of food. TOTAL. We're going to be working on it, next week we meet with an occupational therapist that is a feeding specialist. Can't wait to see how that evaluation goes.
We were cuddling the other morning and when I asked Hannah what she thought about how this lifestyle changed made her feel, she gave me an answer in the form of a most beautiful grin. Almost made me cry. Right now she's an awesome trooper!! I only hope it continues as we try to get her to eat a variety of foods and see what the OT has to say.
My journey - not quite the same. The first week I felt like I was covered with poison ivy or bug bites everywhere. My skin was crawling -- I just wanted to peel my skin off. My nerves were on end, not just physically, but emotionally as well. I wasn't sleeping well and was craving sugar all over the place. About drove me crazy. Lasted for about a week, still have occasional itchiness, but not so bad.
Then I got sick, nothing major initially, just sore throat, coughing, sinus gunk, etc.. Put up with it for 5 days or so and then went to the Dr. Turns out I had a sinus infection and an ear infection - antibiotic on board. I'm actually done with it tonight and can't say that it helped a ton. I'm still coughing and sinusy -- YUCK. Also feel exhausted all the time, I'll sit down for a bit and find myself falling asleep, except when it's midnight and then I'm wide awake. I even took to sleeping on the couch, so that I wasn't tossing and turning in bed for hours on end, let myself fall asleep whenever it happened.
I still feel like my body is reacting, I'm exhausted and just cranky. The physical symptoms of withdrawal I can handle, but I'm still trying to figure out the emotions involved. I find myself reading something and just tear up or I'm in the grocery store, usually with Hannah, looking for all the foods we can find, trying to tempt her to eat something, to pique her interest in something other than the 3 foods she'll eat, and I'll feel the tears welling up. I know she doesn't get the enormity of this disease, but at times it hits me and I just want have a pity party for her.
I try super hard to be upbeat and keep a sense of adventure for her sake, but right now I feel like I'm going at it alone. I really don't mind the cooking and experimenting, but sometimes I'd love to just look at the family and say let's order a pizza" or let's go out to eat without thinking of where and what we are going to do. Oh well, one step at a time and one meal at a time -- today we survived with homemade pita bread and falafel with gf rice krispies instead of bread crumbs. Part of it though, is the experimenting, I'd love to be able to just pull a recipe and know how it will turn out -- again, time will persevere.
If you are a praying person, my request is that I'll find someone that has been down this road and that I will connect with. I know there are lots of people that go gf, but I would love to have a connection with someone that i can just click with. Okay, enough whining -- off to toss and turn for another couple of hours :-)
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Try and try again
Well, we've made it one week!! Hannah has survived, she has done very well. We made it through eating out, a couple of parties at school, and an overnight visit with the grandparents. We've also experimented with made from scratch pancakes, biscuits, pasta, and chocolate chip cookies. Nothing turned out horrible, although some were better than others.
The pancakes I made at home - so, so. The biscuits were made at GraMona's -- again so, so. Next time would definitely cut down on the fat (plus I forgot the xanthan gum at home, so they were a bit crumbly) I had planned to stay for breakfast so mom and I had that meal pulled together, but we ended up staying longer and neither one of us had planned lunch. Last minute, we decided to have pasta. She makes pasta a bit, so we just made her regular recipe with brown rice flour. Normally you let the dough sit before rolling and cutting -- BAD IDEA. Getting used to different chemical reactions is going to take a bit. I'm assuming that with wheat flour you let it sit so that the gluten can develop -- NOT with RICE!! So next time, lesson learned, roll immediately. Again, xanthan gum would have helped.
Then this morning, Hannah told me they were having a chimes party at school and she would like to take something that everybody could eat, not just a single serving for her (that's what we did last week with the school stuff). Unfortunately, I've been knocked out with some nasty cold/allergy/sore throat whatever and did not feel up to a trip to the store. Happened upon some choc chips and decided to make choc chip cookies. What kid doesn't like those. Followed the recipe to the letter and this is what the first batch turned out like.
Definitely needed more flour, so added that, and not only did they hold their shape while raw, but worked beautifully in the oven as well. The true test was that Hannah said the kids really liked them and several of them were amazed they were gluten free. Hannah has been testing out various things the last couple of weeks and "graciously" sharing them with her friends. They unanimously agreed that this was a keeper. So here's the recipe -- adapted from "Gluten-free, Hassle Free" by Marlisa Brown.
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup potato starch
1/2 cup tapioca flour
3/4 cup almond meal (I ground it up a little more fine in my dry container Vitamix)
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 bag of chocolate chips or mini baking chips
Preheat oven to 350.
Cream butter and sugars, add eggs and vanilla, beat until well combined, scraping down sides of mixing bowl.
In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients and then add to butter mixture. Mix well. Dough should be stiff, but not crumbly.
Place by the tbsp on a baking sheet and bake for 9 -11 minutes. Let cool on pan for a couple of minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
I put the rest of the dough (dropped by tbsps) on a cookie sheet and put in the freezer. Guess we'll find out later if that works or not :)
The pancakes I made at home - so, so. The biscuits were made at GraMona's -- again so, so. Next time would definitely cut down on the fat (plus I forgot the xanthan gum at home, so they were a bit crumbly) I had planned to stay for breakfast so mom and I had that meal pulled together, but we ended up staying longer and neither one of us had planned lunch. Last minute, we decided to have pasta. She makes pasta a bit, so we just made her regular recipe with brown rice flour. Normally you let the dough sit before rolling and cutting -- BAD IDEA. Getting used to different chemical reactions is going to take a bit. I'm assuming that with wheat flour you let it sit so that the gluten can develop -- NOT with RICE!! So next time, lesson learned, roll immediately. Again, xanthan gum would have helped.
Then this morning, Hannah told me they were having a chimes party at school and she would like to take something that everybody could eat, not just a single serving for her (that's what we did last week with the school stuff). Unfortunately, I've been knocked out with some nasty cold/allergy/sore throat whatever and did not feel up to a trip to the store. Happened upon some choc chips and decided to make choc chip cookies. What kid doesn't like those. Followed the recipe to the letter and this is what the first batch turned out like.
Definitely needed more flour, so added that, and not only did they hold their shape while raw, but worked beautifully in the oven as well. The true test was that Hannah said the kids really liked them and several of them were amazed they were gluten free. Hannah has been testing out various things the last couple of weeks and "graciously" sharing them with her friends. They unanimously agreed that this was a keeper. So here's the recipe -- adapted from "Gluten-free, Hassle Free" by Marlisa Brown.
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup potato starch
1/2 cup tapioca flour
3/4 cup almond meal (I ground it up a little more fine in my dry container Vitamix)
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 bag of chocolate chips or mini baking chips
Preheat oven to 350.
Cream butter and sugars, add eggs and vanilla, beat until well combined, scraping down sides of mixing bowl.
In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients and then add to butter mixture. Mix well. Dough should be stiff, but not crumbly.
Place by the tbsp on a baking sheet and bake for 9 -11 minutes. Let cool on pan for a couple of minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
I put the rest of the dough (dropped by tbsps) on a cookie sheet and put in the freezer. Guess we'll find out later if that works or not :)
Friday, May 9, 2014
Day 3 and counting
So Hannah has officially survived 3 days and as far as I know she hasn't had any gluten. Although, somewhere I'm sure it's lurking the the shadows and she's consuming it in her sleep. I guess that's my greatest fear - that no matter how hard I try to make sure everything is GF for her, I'll miss something and this will all be for naught. I know I can't think that way and that I have to trust that God knows the best for her and that he will bless my efforts. Kind of like this silly blog stuff -- I'm not a writer, but hoping that maybe it will do some good, if not for anybody else, at least for me!!
What a ridiculous day we had - eating GF was the least of our worries :-) Hannah's Dr. called and requested some more labs and a bone scan. Turns out, Rachel's Dr. put in orders for her to have bloodwork done as well. So off to the children's hospital to have it all done. Got there, signed in, went for the bone scan, told we couldn't do it there, that we would need to go to Asheville Imaging. Not a big deal, only a couple miles up the road. Went and had Rachel's blood drawn, where Hannah realized she was going to have to get stuck again too. MAJOR MELTDOWN for 5 minutes or so. Finally drug her into the room, had the blood drawn and off to have bone scan. No biggie. Keep in mind, I had picked the girls up at lunchtime, assuming we could have this all done and they wouldn't miss much school. Get to Asheville Imaging, they tell me, first of all, I'm in the right building, wrong floor, so up we go to the 2nd floor where when handed the orders, the receptionist looks at me like I'm crazy and she can't figure out why I'm there. No appointment. I went through the whole thing, it was supposed to be a quick scan, we were told we could come in anytime, etc... Super long story made short - we waited for almost 2 hrs and then it took like 5 minutes to actually do the scan. So much for getting back to school before music practice.
Decided I was going to tackle going out to eat -- the plan was to get all the lab stuff done, go home, eat and then send the girls back in time for music practice, their big program being in the evening. Didn't go as planned, so off to Moe's we went. Rachel ordered, then I asked the dude to change gloves, told him I wanted corn tortillas and to leave them on the foil when he put them on the grill. He was wonderful, he actually followed Hannah's order the entire way, letting no one else touch it and he didn't touch anything that would contaminate his gloves. We enjoyed our meal, but more importantly Hannah realized she could and CAN do this. There's nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about, just state what you need and expect in a friendly manner and keep going.
Day by day -- step by step -- we ARE moving - mostly forward!!! Now if only I could say the same about my kitchen. Think I'm going to tackle it this weekend -- wanna come help??
What a ridiculous day we had - eating GF was the least of our worries :-) Hannah's Dr. called and requested some more labs and a bone scan. Turns out, Rachel's Dr. put in orders for her to have bloodwork done as well. So off to the children's hospital to have it all done. Got there, signed in, went for the bone scan, told we couldn't do it there, that we would need to go to Asheville Imaging. Not a big deal, only a couple miles up the road. Went and had Rachel's blood drawn, where Hannah realized she was going to have to get stuck again too. MAJOR MELTDOWN for 5 minutes or so. Finally drug her into the room, had the blood drawn and off to have bone scan. No biggie. Keep in mind, I had picked the girls up at lunchtime, assuming we could have this all done and they wouldn't miss much school. Get to Asheville Imaging, they tell me, first of all, I'm in the right building, wrong floor, so up we go to the 2nd floor where when handed the orders, the receptionist looks at me like I'm crazy and she can't figure out why I'm there. No appointment. I went through the whole thing, it was supposed to be a quick scan, we were told we could come in anytime, etc... Super long story made short - we waited for almost 2 hrs and then it took like 5 minutes to actually do the scan. So much for getting back to school before music practice.
Decided I was going to tackle going out to eat -- the plan was to get all the lab stuff done, go home, eat and then send the girls back in time for music practice, their big program being in the evening. Didn't go as planned, so off to Moe's we went. Rachel ordered, then I asked the dude to change gloves, told him I wanted corn tortillas and to leave them on the foil when he put them on the grill. He was wonderful, he actually followed Hannah's order the entire way, letting no one else touch it and he didn't touch anything that would contaminate his gloves. We enjoyed our meal, but more importantly Hannah realized she could and CAN do this. There's nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about, just state what you need and expect in a friendly manner and keep going.
Day by day -- step by step -- we ARE moving - mostly forward!!! Now if only I could say the same about my kitchen. Think I'm going to tackle it this weekend -- wanna come help??
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
From this day forward ---
9:42 am - phone call that will change our lives forever, but most definitely Hannah's. The biopsy results are in and there's no doubt that H has Celiac's. In fact, Dr. thinks she's had it her entire life. I tend to agree based on all sorts of symptoms. In some ways, it's a total relief to know that I haven't totally screwed up this little life and raised the monster she sometimes turns into, but that there are reasons why she acts the way she does. Not that it's an excuse, but not something we have to live with or try to adapt to.
We've been leaning this way for a while. Her blood work came back positive a couple weeks ago and immediately after the biopsy on Monday, the Dr. told me that her small intestine was classic textbook with scalloped folds, but that the only way to get a definitive answer was to wait until the results came back in. Because we were pretty certain, I've been doing a lot of research and coming up with ways to change our eating habits. Pretty straightforward - until today.....
I lost it!! Spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with the nurse and then i was off to have my own blood drawn. After that was over with, I headed over to the local bookstore to do some searching. I don't mind the internet, but prefer a book to hold in my hand and reference to over and over. I was standing there looking at the selection of gluten-free cookbooks and then headed over to the medical section, trying to find something other than cookbooks, something on how to live the day to day life of Celiac. Standing there, the tears just started to flow -- they wouldn't stop. I finally pulled it together, checked out and then sat in the car bawling. Made it home, and just let it go. I don't know if it's the relief of finally knowing what's going on, the overwhelmingness of what it's going to take to help Hannah, the frustration of taking 10 years to figure it out, or a combination of it all.
Talked with my Mom, she shared this quote -
We've been leaning this way for a while. Her blood work came back positive a couple weeks ago and immediately after the biopsy on Monday, the Dr. told me that her small intestine was classic textbook with scalloped folds, but that the only way to get a definitive answer was to wait until the results came back in. Because we were pretty certain, I've been doing a lot of research and coming up with ways to change our eating habits. Pretty straightforward - until today.....
I lost it!! Spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with the nurse and then i was off to have my own blood drawn. After that was over with, I headed over to the local bookstore to do some searching. I don't mind the internet, but prefer a book to hold in my hand and reference to over and over. I was standing there looking at the selection of gluten-free cookbooks and then headed over to the medical section, trying to find something other than cookbooks, something on how to live the day to day life of Celiac. Standing there, the tears just started to flow -- they wouldn't stop. I finally pulled it together, checked out and then sat in the car bawling. Made it home, and just let it go. I don't know if it's the relief of finally knowing what's going on, the overwhelmingness of what it's going to take to help Hannah, the frustration of taking 10 years to figure it out, or a combination of it all.
Talked with my Mom, she shared this quote -
Don't forget that you're human.
It's okay to have a meltdown
Just don't unpack and live there
Cry it out and refocus on where you are headed --
I'm now refocused and am ready to tackle Day 2. We made it through Day 1 yesterday, so it's step by step moving forward.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Counting Down to Scope Day
Counting down - less than 2 weeks to go. After waiting all of last week to hear from the Dr's office re: Hannah's endoscopy, I finally got the call early Monday am (figures I was in the shower and missed it) so called them back and around noon we connected and scheduled her procedure for Monday, May 5. Turns out Rachel won't be home that day, so Hannah will have a chance to have parents to herself, which will probably be a good thing, as she's pretty nervous and being a major diva about it :-) I can understand, think I'd be nervous as well, but we'll get through it.
Seems like this has been my life lately. I've done tons and tons of research, just hope it will stick in my brain. We're trying to make a game out of it - for instance, yesterday we were at Wal-Mart and saw two kinds of GF pasta - one was rice and the other corn. So the idea is to see which one tastes better. For now, Hannah is ok with the whole thing, we'll see how it goes when it actually gets down to brass tacks.
I did get a taste of what it's going to be like though. Hannah went on a 3 day field trip a couple weeks ago and I packed her a cooler. She had tupperware containers of rice and cans of beans. once she got there, the cooler went into the fridge and she had access to it when needed. Seems like people are pretty understanding. I hope it will continue to be as positive, but don't have any delusions that this is going to be easy.
On another note -- I've been trying to be a little more pro-active with my own health, so 10 days or so ago, I started taking a thyroid supplement. Imagine my surprise when I stepped on the scale for the first time in a while and I'd lost 3lbs. I weigh less now than I did after walking 5x a week for 2 months. So maybe I'm onto something. Wouldn't that be great!!
Well, guess I better get going -- supper tonight is Indian all the way. Malai Kofta, Mung Dal, and Chole Marsala. Might even make Naan. My house is going to smell so yummy!! Much better than the nasty smoke smell of burnt beans from a week ago :-)
Seems like this has been my life lately. I've done tons and tons of research, just hope it will stick in my brain. We're trying to make a game out of it - for instance, yesterday we were at Wal-Mart and saw two kinds of GF pasta - one was rice and the other corn. So the idea is to see which one tastes better. For now, Hannah is ok with the whole thing, we'll see how it goes when it actually gets down to brass tacks.
I did get a taste of what it's going to be like though. Hannah went on a 3 day field trip a couple weeks ago and I packed her a cooler. She had tupperware containers of rice and cans of beans. once she got there, the cooler went into the fridge and she had access to it when needed. Seems like people are pretty understanding. I hope it will continue to be as positive, but don't have any delusions that this is going to be easy.
On another note -- I've been trying to be a little more pro-active with my own health, so 10 days or so ago, I started taking a thyroid supplement. Imagine my surprise when I stepped on the scale for the first time in a while and I'd lost 3lbs. I weigh less now than I did after walking 5x a week for 2 months. So maybe I'm onto something. Wouldn't that be great!!
Well, guess I better get going -- supper tonight is Indian all the way. Malai Kofta, Mung Dal, and Chole Marsala. Might even make Naan. My house is going to smell so yummy!! Much better than the nasty smoke smell of burnt beans from a week ago :-)
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Crazy World - Is there Hope??
So finally after being fed up with Hannah's tummy issues and seemingly not being able to figure out what's wrong, I broke down and we had an appointment with a pediatric gastroenterologist (say that five times fast).
I loved her. She's fairly young (probably my age) and was extremely thorough. She spent pretty close to an hour with us, going over a detailed history and then physical exam. She suggested blood work and then an abdominal ultrasound.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised how quickly their office got it all going. Hannah's u/s was less than a week later. According to the radiologist there, everything looks fine.
But I did find out the day before that her TTG was positive. Never heard of that before in my life -- found out it's the celiac marker. So my brain has been going crazy. Believe it or not - I tend to be a person of action. Once the problem is identified or a solution is given, I go full speed ahead and get it done. (wish I felt the same about housekeeping!!) But, no such luck. Because of the nature of the disease I have to wait until the next step is discussed before going gluten free. Hopefully by next week we will have another dr. appt. and can figure out what's next.
On a positive note -- we did discuss the possibility with Hannah and she and I made a trip to the grocery store. She was very pleased to see some of the GF possibilities. We'll see how she likes the taste. Thankfully she LOVES rice!
For the first time in years, I'm allowing myself to hope that maybe something will help with my daughter. I love her and wouldn't survive without her, but at times I think she must be the absolute most difficult child on the planet. Maybe a new diet will help with some of that.
I just want to get on with it!!
I loved her. She's fairly young (probably my age) and was extremely thorough. She spent pretty close to an hour with us, going over a detailed history and then physical exam. She suggested blood work and then an abdominal ultrasound.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised how quickly their office got it all going. Hannah's u/s was less than a week later. According to the radiologist there, everything looks fine.
But I did find out the day before that her TTG was positive. Never heard of that before in my life -- found out it's the celiac marker. So my brain has been going crazy. Believe it or not - I tend to be a person of action. Once the problem is identified or a solution is given, I go full speed ahead and get it done. (wish I felt the same about housekeeping!!) But, no such luck. Because of the nature of the disease I have to wait until the next step is discussed before going gluten free. Hopefully by next week we will have another dr. appt. and can figure out what's next.
On a positive note -- we did discuss the possibility with Hannah and she and I made a trip to the grocery store. She was very pleased to see some of the GF possibilities. We'll see how she likes the taste. Thankfully she LOVES rice!
For the first time in years, I'm allowing myself to hope that maybe something will help with my daughter. I love her and wouldn't survive without her, but at times I think she must be the absolute most difficult child on the planet. Maybe a new diet will help with some of that.
I just want to get on with it!!
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