Dinnertime Action

Blood streaming down his face, Silas screamed his way into the kitchen, the kind of scream that actually means something more serious. Grabbing 2 washcloths, I grabbed his head, aiming for the general area I thought the wound might be and held on. The screaming now changes to "I have to pee!" We begin towards the bathroom, too late. He is now more upset about the wet pants than anything else. I negotiate the pants off, while locating and examining the wound. It is rather small, no stitches required, thank you Lord! It stopped bleeding profusely almost immediately with the pressure. Caleb ran and got new underwear, Malachi put them on while Silas sat in my lap and I kept some pressure on. The Tribal Clan in action!

Paregrine Falcon

During the rain today, a paragrine falcon took a rest in a branch above the trampoline.

I was feeling very sleepy, wishing I could crawl into bed, which I can't do for many reasons, one of which is 2 linoleum guys are here installing new flooring in the bathroom. I looked out the kitchen window, and what a treat to see a falcon.

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/animals/images/primary/peregrine-falcon.jpg

The link above shows a much better picture of the peregrine falcon. What a treat!

Food

Chips by Lawrence. Russet and red potatoes dusted with a Gluten Free flower blend(GF Mama) then fried in Coconut oil.

Rice stick noodles with chicken and veggies Coated chicken breast with GF(gluten free) flour mixture
browned chicken in about 1/4 c coconut oil
after almost cooked through, added tons of minced garlic (then add some more)
added mushrooms, onions, shredded cabbage, carrots, and peas.
Salted the chicken while it cooked
Boiled water and added rice stick noodles. Keep an eye on them they cook quickly.
Rinsed the noodles with cold water then added them to the meat and veggies. Stir together and sprinkled fish sauce for salt and flavoring(careful not to add to much, it is potent stuff!)
poured some olive oil over the entire mixture (off heat) and mixed together.


That's all. It was quite flavorful. Would be better with other sauces, but everything has soy, citric acid, vinegar, sugar. Those are but a few of the things we are not eating on this elimination diet. Eating gluten free is looking much easier now after having so many other restrictions.

Rice Mush

On this elimination diet, there are more foods to avoid than I will bore you with, however, aside from rice, not any grains (quinoa is in the chard family and not a grain, thanks Stacy for the trivia!) As I am in the very steep learning curve of this eating style, I am spending way too much time thinking about food, preparing food, food, food, food,food.....

I added too much water to short grain rice and it came out very sticky, almost gooey. I added cashew milk, and ground flax seeds, and voila a hearty, comforting breakfast cereal! As oats are off the menu for a while, and when they do come back, they are way too expensive to eat for breakfast every day, I feel so blessed and taken care of by this simple meal. I feel more loved by God from discovering this easy food, than I have in a long time by many bigger miracles, go figure. Food is so hard right now, this is one easy creamy food. There are no sauces, adds that I have come across yet for this diet for cooking. So many things I make are enhanced by vinegar and soy products (both are temporary unless we have a reaction when we reintroduce).

The Elimination Diet........dun dun dun

Wow, I've got a lot on my plate right now. We're nearing the end of the bathroom shower re-do, praise God for that! Removing the mold, healthier, and much nicer looking too, solid surface, I really detest cleaning tiles.

The hot water has turned tepid. All showers and baths are luke-warm. Why? Probably the water heater, I hope it doesn't blow before the problem is fixed. Warm, not hot water happened yesterday, and today, a little leak has sprung under the kitchen sink! It's raining, it's pouring.

And the looming challenge, the kids and I are starting an elimination diet tomorrow. This is challenging! We have been progressing toward being a gluten free home, less stressful that way. I thought the elimination diet wouldn't be toooo difficult. It's short term, but we rely on eggs as fast food. Corn, tortillas, chips, popcorn, corn meal mush..... I need to whine before I have to buck up and be the mom. Sugar, maple syrup, gluten, dairy, peanut butter, vinegar, beef, pork, shellfish. I know we can do this, it just feels overwhelming right now.

Also baseball practice is starting next week, so my schedule is going from tight to jam packed. The benefits we will reap will be worth the sacrifice, but sacrifice is what it is, sacrifice.

I must add that I'm in a fabulous food coop, however, we get what we get. It is the surplus, expired things, misc. from Trader Joe's and other local places. Lots of produce, dairy, often marinated meat(usually has gluten). God knows what we need and has continued to be faithful to care for us, so I will share how he takes care of us over the next few weeks.

This diet is 7-10 days before we start adding back foods. Add 1 food, wait 3 days before adding the next. This will be an experience I will appreciate and look back at fondly after it's finished I'm sure, looking at the work aspect from this side of it is like waiting for a shot.

On the upside, Malachi is beginning to read short sentences after a year of speech therepy and working on phonics and blending. We hadn't actually began to read words yet, when he started doing a workbook, 'Explode the Code'. He has in 1 1/2 weeks gotten through 3/4ths of the book! He is so excited about being able to do this book. I am too. Caleb is reading early readers, and while not such an eager reader or writer, is moving at his own pace. His reading has moments of smoothness, where it is not halted and sounded out. As a home school mom, this is a big deal. The tangible evidence visible to the outside world.

Gluten exposure is a lot like cigarette exposure. Your first cigarette you may get a headache, cough, feel nauseated. But if you continue to smoke, these symptoms will be circumvented by your body, even though the damage to your body is really still happening. So it is with gluten exposures. Most of us have grown up eating gluten, so we don’t really know what life feels like without it. We ache because we’re getting older, we assume. When your body is free from gluten contamination, it reacts more strongly when you re-introduce or are inadvertently exposed (if your gluten sensitive or celiac only).

Silas has sure been a case in point. I had him tested for the celiac anti body because of a prolonged tummy ache, 1 ½ months. Noticed it was after toast and sandwiches. Now, when he has a reaction……WHOA! Misery! For all. Last Friday night’s episode was like watching someone in the transition stage of childbirth, seriously intense, and nothing I could do to help but be there.
According to current research, most MD’s not up on this, 1 out of 100 people have Celiacs Disease! 40 out of 100 are gluten sensitive. WHAT!!!! Sleep problems, arthritis, behavior challenges or any number of issues that could go away by removing gluten from your diet.

What is the difference between Celiacs and gluten sensitivity? Celiacs Disease is an auto-immune disease, gluten sensitivity can present in many ways similar to celiacs disease, but to my current understanding is not necessarily destroying your intestinal lining. Gluten sensitivity can be causing a wide range of symptoms, joint pain, seizures, depression, too numerous to name here! Inflammation though is big. Inflammation can cause many problems.

The good news about the havoc gluten can reign on a body, is the treatment is simple, no, I didn't say easy. Eliminate gluten. Wow! Gluten is in so many places, goes by so many names it takes much more front-end education than you'd expect. Soy sauce, Ricola cough drops, rice crispies to name a few unlikely places to find gluten. I got my BA in gluten detection in September, now I’m working on my doctorate! It really makes a difference for Silas.

I had already come to the conclusion for our home, cooking separately, keeping gluten in the home, and dealing with possible contaminations, causes more work and STRESS than going gluten free. I say this while still consuming, and serving gluten. My reason, your body must react to gluten for the test to be accurate. So with every bite of gluten, I see the end of my affair quickening.

The stereotypical Celiac, according to old information (which our medical system still uses): pale skin, Nordic descent, very thin, often red hair. Some very thin, melanin challenged person is probably popping into some of your minds. They tend to eat way more food than seems right for such a skinny person. It’s probably chalked up to a great metabolism. Well, this is old information. While this is one type of Celiac, there are others out there. Overweight, obese people, bad nutrient absorption, lack of satiation, compels the body to seek out the nutrients, but these people don’t have a problem with calorie absorption. Hmmmm.

At Silas' appointment yesterday, we found out, if a child has celiacs, in this guys experience, there is one or both parents with celiacs or gluten sensitivity as well.

As we move along this path we’re on, I’ll keep you posted.

Cigarettes and Gluten?

Gluten exposure is a lot like cigarette exposure. Your first cigarette you may get a headache, cough, feel nauseated. But if you continue to smoke, these symptoms will be circumvented by your body, even though the damage to your body is really still happening. So it is with gluten exposures. Most of us have grown up eating gluten, so we don’t really know what life feels like without it. We ache because we’re getting older, we assume. When your body is free from gluten contamination, it reacts more strongly when you re-introduce or are inadvertently exposed (if your gluten sensitive or celiac only).

Silas has sure been a case in point. I had him tested for the celiac anti body because of a prolonged tummy ache, 1 ½ months. Noticed it was after toast and sandwiches. Now, when he has a reaction……WHOA! Misery! For all. Last Friday night’s episode was like watching someone in the transition stage of childbirth, seriously intense, and nothing I could do to help but be there.


According to current research, most MD’s not up on this, 1 out of 100 people have Celiacs Disease! 40 out of 100 are gluten sensitive. WHAT!!!! Sleep problems, arthritis, behavior challenges or any number of issues that could go away by removing gluten from your diet.

What is the difference between Celiacs and gluten sensitivity? Celiacs Disease is an auto-immune disease, gluten sensitivity can present in many ways similar to celiacs disease, but to my current understanding is not necessarily destroying your intestinal lining. Gluten sensitivity can be causing a wide range of symptoms, joint pain, seizures, depression, too numerous to name here! Inflammation though is big. Inflammation can cause many problems.

The good news about the havoc gluten can reign on a body, is the treatment is simple, no, I didn't say easy. Eliminate gluten. Wow! Gluten is in so many places, goes by so many names it takes much more front-end education than you'd expect. Soy sauce, Ricola cough drops, rice crispies to name a few unlikely places to find gluten. I got my BA in gluten detection in September, now I’m working on my doctorate! It really makes a difference for Silas.

I had already come to the conclusion for our home, cooking separately, keeping gluten in the home, and dealing with possible contaminations, causes more work and STRESS than going gluten free. I say this while still consuming, and serving gluten. My reason, your body must react to gluten for the test to be accurate. So with every bite of gluten, I see the end of my affair quickening.

The stereotypical Celiac, according to old information (which our medical system still uses): pale skin, Nordic descent, very thin, often red hair. Some very thin, melanin challenged person is probably popping into some of your minds. They tend to eat way more food than seems right for such a skinny person. It’s probably chalked up to a great metabolism. Well, this is old information. While this is one type of Celiac, there are others out there. Overweight, obese people, bad nutrient absorption, lack of satiation, compels the body to seek out the nutrients, but these people don’t have a problem with calorie absorption. Hmmmm.

At Silas' appointment yesterday, we found out, if a child has celiacs, in this guys experience, there is one or both parents with celiacs or gluten sensitivity as well.

As we move along this path we’re on, I’ll keep you posted.