So we found some free-range, nitrite-free ham for Christmas. It does contain rosemary, so it's very high in salycilates, but I decided that was a reasonable compromise to make. And in any event, since I'd already promised Boy he could try the candy cane he was given at school for Christmas, I figured it wouldn't make much difference.
So now we're inundated with leftover ham.
So far, we've had scrambled eggs and 'bacon', fried rice with ham, fritters with ham, rissoles with ham....
Trying to think of a few more ideas to fill the coming week with ham!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Chocolate ice cream
I finally got my hands on a copy of Fed Up and, browsing the back section, I found a recipe for dairy-free maple syrup ice cream, which seemed easy enough. So I borrowed a friend's ice cream maker. It was only when I'd already put in the rest of the ingredients that I realised that I didn't actually have any maple syrup. So I tried making vanilla instead. It was uber sweet and not particularly nice (well, the kids liked it). Anyway, then I thought - what about chocolate....?
So here's my recipe for dairy/gluten/soy-free chocolate ice cream
2 cups rice milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 Tb vegetable oil
1 1/2 Tb cacao
Chill and mix in ice cream maker.
So here's my recipe for dairy/gluten/soy-free chocolate ice cream
2 cups rice milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 Tb vegetable oil
1 1/2 Tb cacao
Chill and mix in ice cream maker.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Golden Syrup Biscuits - gluten and dairy free, failsafe
A fun, tasty alternative to gingerbread men
Cream:
125g nuttelex
90g (3/4c) brown sugar
Add 1 egg and beat well
Combine:
125g (3/4c) gluten free flour
185g (11/2c) self-raising flour
1 ts bicarb of soda
Fold together
Add 2Tb golden syrup and combine
sprinkle extra flour onto flat surface and knead till soft but not sticky. chill for 30 mins
Divide mixture into 2 ( you can wrap and freeze the second lot for later, or leave in fridge till you are ready to cut and cook the second lot)
Roll out into 4mm thickness and cut into shapes
Place on tray lined with baking paper and cook for 10-15 minutes at around 180 celsius
Cream:
125g nuttelex
90g (3/4c) brown sugar
Add 1 egg and beat well
Combine:
125g (3/4c) gluten free flour
185g (11/2c) self-raising flour
1 ts bicarb of soda
Fold together
Add 2Tb golden syrup and combine
sprinkle extra flour onto flat surface and knead till soft but not sticky. chill for 30 mins
Divide mixture into 2 ( you can wrap and freeze the second lot for later, or leave in fridge till you are ready to cut and cook the second lot)
Roll out into 4mm thickness and cut into shapes
Place on tray lined with baking paper and cook for 10-15 minutes at around 180 celsius
Gluten and dairy free Banana Cake
Melt together:
125g nuttelex
3/4c brown sugar
1ts vanilla
Mash 2 large bananas
Mix with:
1 egg
11/2c gluten-free self-raising flour
2Tb non-dairy/gluten milk (ie, rice milk)
Add liquid ingredients
Cook for ~30 minutes at 150 celsius
125g nuttelex
3/4c brown sugar
1ts vanilla
Mash 2 large bananas
Mix with:
1 egg
11/2c gluten-free self-raising flour
2Tb non-dairy/gluten milk (ie, rice milk)
Add liquid ingredients
Cook for ~30 minutes at 150 celsius
Failsafe, gluten and dairy free Pear Cake
Cut up 2 pears into slices. If they're quite firm, you might want to poach them slightly
Mix:
2c self-raising flour
1c sugar
2 eggs
125g melted butter/margarine/nuttelex
1c milk
Pour half of mix into tin, place pear slices on top, then add the rest of the mix
Cook at ~190-205 celsius for about 40 minutes
The original recipe, as invented by my mum, uses 2 apples, which are sliced and cooked with a little brown sugar. The recipe also includes spices and you can put sultanas in the middle with the apple.
Mix:
2c self-raising flour
1c sugar
2 eggs
125g melted butter/margarine/nuttelex
1c milk
Pour half of mix into tin, place pear slices on top, then add the rest of the mix
Cook at ~190-205 celsius for about 40 minutes
The original recipe, as invented by my mum, uses 2 apples, which are sliced and cooked with a little brown sugar. The recipe also includes spices and you can put sultanas in the middle with the apple.
Hitting your stride
I was that strange woman a Coles today taking a picture of her shopping trolley.
It takes a while, but it all becomes easy eventually.
Shopping - a cinch. You always buy the same things. I don't even do a list any more.
Pears
Bananas
Leek
Beans
Carrots
Cabbage
Spring onions
Potatoes
Frozen peas
Chicken breast
Rice milk (on special!)
Rice crackers
Chips
We already had enough gluten-free flour, bread mix and quinoa crumbs at home so none of those today, ditto for daddy's rice puff cereal. The chocolate was a special treat
It takes a while, but it all becomes easy eventually.
Shopping - a cinch. You always buy the same things. I don't even do a list any more.
Pears
Bananas
Leek
Beans
Carrots
Cabbage
Spring onions
Potatoes
Frozen peas
Chicken breast
Rice milk (on special!)
Rice crackers
Chips
We already had enough gluten-free flour, bread mix and quinoa crumbs at home so none of those today, ditto for daddy's rice puff cereal. The chocolate was a special treat
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Easy chocolate cake
I've been cheating. Yes. I have. (Just quietly, when The Boy isn't looking.)
The Girl seems to be sensitive to salycilates, which is a nuisance - though I'll willingly stick to bland food if it means getting some sleep - but otherwise shows no signs of having the same issues as her brother.
Good news.
Today I got out mum's never-fail easy-peasy chocolate recipe and substituted with gluten-free flour, nuttelex and rice milk.
It is delicious!
1 3/4 cups of flour
3/4 cups cocoa (I used organic cacao)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 ts bicarb
1 ts vanilla (I forgot this and it still tasted good)
3/4 ts salt
1 1/2 cup milk
125g margarine
2 eggs
Just mix it and bung it in a moderate oven for 40-45-ish minutes
I topped it off with icing to please the kiddies.
This works well as gluten and/or dairy free. It's very high in amines! Yum. Love amines.
The Girl seems to be sensitive to salycilates, which is a nuisance - though I'll willingly stick to bland food if it means getting some sleep - but otherwise shows no signs of having the same issues as her brother.
Good news.
Today I got out mum's never-fail easy-peasy chocolate recipe and substituted with gluten-free flour, nuttelex and rice milk.
It is delicious!
1 3/4 cups of flour
3/4 cups cocoa (I used organic cacao)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 ts bicarb
1 ts vanilla (I forgot this and it still tasted good)
3/4 ts salt
1 1/2 cup milk
125g margarine
2 eggs
Just mix it and bung it in a moderate oven for 40-45-ish minutes
I topped it off with icing to please the kiddies.
This works well as gluten and/or dairy free. It's very high in amines! Yum. Love amines.
Everybody's looking for something
Sweets!
A few things that have worked well.
Failsafe (also gluten & dairy free)
Gluten-free carob cake (can also be done as muffins, for easy freezer-stored snacks)
Golden syrup biscuits (which can be cut into lovely shapes)
Pear cake - adapted from mum's gluten-free apple cake recipe
Gluten & dairy free
Easy chocolate cake - mum's recipe adapted (amines)
Lemon or lime pudding (but it tastes better if you use butter) (amines, moderate salycilates)
Banana cake (amines)
(Non-salty) Chocolate balls (amines)
A few things that have worked well.
Failsafe (also gluten & dairy free)
Gluten-free carob cake (can also be done as muffins, for easy freezer-stored snacks)
Golden syrup biscuits (which can be cut into lovely shapes)
Pear cake - adapted from mum's gluten-free apple cake recipe
Gluten & dairy free
Easy chocolate cake - mum's recipe adapted (amines)
Lemon or lime pudding (but it tastes better if you use butter) (amines, moderate salycilates)
Banana cake (amines)
(Non-salty) Chocolate balls (amines)
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
My inner chef
This week I got just ever so slightly inventive.
I give you "bread" rolls...
..and meat pies.
Bloody oath.
I give you "bread" rolls...
..and meat pies.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Diet Apocalypse Survival Guide
Now I'm sure you've heard of zombie survival guides. And intergalactic hitchhikers will know of the importance of a good towel. But how do you survive an elimination diet? Well, dear reader, read on...
1.* Potatoes.
To be precise, fried, salted potatoes. They come in handy packs like this:
You might start out with a one-a-day limit for the kids. But a week in they'll be living on them :)
2, Pikelets/pancakes
Well, they're the same thing, really. One's just bigger and thinner. And you can make halfway decent ones with no gluten or dairy. And you can have golden syrup and/or maple syrup on them!
Oh yes, I've mentioned that we eat these everysingleday, haven't I?
3. Plain rice crackers.
You know, for when you run out/get sick of the chips.
4. Pears.
Peel 'em and you can eat 'em. They're apparently the most inoffensive fruit around.
5. Salt & pepper
Love them or live with zero flavour whatsoever.
6. Sugar.
See 5.
7. Magic cordial.
What better way to cushion the blow for fussy pre-schoolers?! Mix it with soda water and you have a very special fizzy drink.
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 ts citric acid
Mix it over heat till it's all dissolved and you're done.
8. Vodka.
Seriously. (Mix with magic cordial - da bomb.)
There may also be times when a shotgun comes in handy.
*Do you also love lists? ;)
1.* Potatoes.
To be precise, fried, salted potatoes. They come in handy packs like this:
You might start out with a one-a-day limit for the kids. But a week in they'll be living on them :)
2, Pikelets/pancakes
Well, they're the same thing, really. One's just bigger and thinner. And you can make halfway decent ones with no gluten or dairy. And you can have golden syrup and/or maple syrup on them!
Oh yes, I've mentioned that we eat these everysingleday, haven't I?
3. Plain rice crackers.
You know, for when you run out/get sick of the chips.
4. Pears.
Peel 'em and you can eat 'em. They're apparently the most inoffensive fruit around.
5. Salt & pepper
Love them or live with zero flavour whatsoever.
6. Sugar.
See 5.
7. Magic cordial.
What better way to cushion the blow for fussy pre-schoolers?! Mix it with soda water and you have a very special fizzy drink.
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 ts citric acid
Mix it over heat till it's all dissolved and you're done.
8. Vodka.
Seriously. (Mix with magic cordial - da bomb.)
There may also be times when a shotgun comes in handy.
*Do you also love lists? ;)
Mistakes: I've made a few
Most of my mistakes have stemmed from my inability to properly follow instructions or read labels.
1. Pears - skin on, skin off!
Pears with the skin off have almost no salycilates.
The problem with tinned pears, however, is that they're often packaged in pear juice, which contains pear skin and there's no telling how much of the 'sals' are there. Making delicious-sounding things like 'No-Tomato Sauce', pear chutney or pear jam, recipes often call for pears in syrup. Unfortunately the only pears in syrup I could find were Coles snack packs. And unfortunately I didn't actually read the label - not syrup, but juice...
2. Tapioca - Take 1, Take 2, ....
So tapioca flour is fine. It's kind of expensive, however, so I thought, hey, maybe I should buy some tapioca seeds and grind them up*.
Uh oh. I notice - before I open the packet - that there's preservative in there.
Then I think, gee, maybe I should check the tapioca flour.
Oh.. yeah.... Luckily potato flour is a good replacement in my bread recipe.
3. Cornfour/starch/maize/I'm confused
So apparently maize cornflour is ok, but maize flour is not. What's maize flour? Perhaps the fact that I don't know means I haven't used any..?
I'm guessing gluten free cornflour (i.e. not wheat-flour-dressed-as-cornflour) is ok. I hope.
4. Flavourful!
This was a deliberate mistake - Girl had a fever and was desperately miserable. I didn't have the heart to either seek out suppositories (much less administer them) or crush up paracetamol and figure out some way to make it palatable for her. So, yeah, I gave her this crap.
My biggest mistake, of course, was mating with a man with such a terrible family history of food sensitivities.
*I still have some half-milled brown rice. I gave up on that little experiment in my food processor.
1. Pears - skin on, skin off!
Pears with the skin off have almost no salycilates.
The problem with tinned pears, however, is that they're often packaged in pear juice, which contains pear skin and there's no telling how much of the 'sals' are there. Making delicious-sounding things like 'No-Tomato Sauce', pear chutney or pear jam, recipes often call for pears in syrup. Unfortunately the only pears in syrup I could find were Coles snack packs. And unfortunately I didn't actually read the label - not syrup, but juice...
2. Tapioca - Take 1, Take 2, ....
So tapioca flour is fine. It's kind of expensive, however, so I thought, hey, maybe I should buy some tapioca seeds and grind them up*.
Uh oh. I notice - before I open the packet - that there's preservative in there.
Then I think, gee, maybe I should check the tapioca flour.
Oh.. yeah.... Luckily potato flour is a good replacement in my bread recipe.
3. Cornfour/starch/maize/I'm confused
So apparently maize cornflour is ok, but maize flour is not. What's maize flour? Perhaps the fact that I don't know means I haven't used any..?
I'm guessing gluten free cornflour (i.e. not wheat-flour-dressed-as-cornflour) is ok. I hope.
4. Flavourful!
This was a deliberate mistake - Girl had a fever and was desperately miserable. I didn't have the heart to either seek out suppositories (much less administer them) or crush up paracetamol and figure out some way to make it palatable for her. So, yeah, I gave her this crap.
My biggest mistake, of course, was mating with a man with such a terrible family history of food sensitivities.
*I still have some half-milled brown rice. I gave up on that little experiment in my food processor.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Cacao-CHING!
Before being rudely interrupted by unsolicited sweets, we had started our first challenge - salycilates - a couple of weeks back.
Boy has been stable for a good week now, so we're about ready for another go. But, after just 4 days on salycilates last time, it was looking like Girl may have been reacting. Being tactically minded as I am, and knowing that a failed challenge means weeks of returning to baseline in between, I decided to change our game plan this time.
So we're bypassing salycilates and dairy, for now, and on to amines.
And amines means ripe bananas and CHOCOLATE! No milk chocolate, but still.
See you in a week....
Boy has been stable for a good week now, so we're about ready for another go. But, after just 4 days on salycilates last time, it was looking like Girl may have been reacting. Being tactically minded as I am, and knowing that a failed challenge means weeks of returning to baseline in between, I decided to change our game plan this time.
So we're bypassing salycilates and dairy, for now, and on to amines.
And amines means ripe bananas and CHOCOLATE! No milk chocolate, but still.
See you in a week....
Friday, August 17, 2012
Another day, another...bloody...pikelet
We had pikelets for breakfast this morning, as we have almost every other morning since we began this diet. They used to be a lovely treat for the weekend, but no more.
For dinner, we had rissoles, rosti and steamed veg. Yesterday it was rissoles, mashed potato and steamed veg. The night before that it was crumbed chicken pieces, mashed potato and steamed veg. And before that? Fish, potato bake and, you guessed it, steamed veg.
And for seasoning, we have salt and pepper. That's it. Oh, what I'd give for a pinch of spice, a splash of soy sauce or even that floppy leftover sprig of parsley on the restaurant plate.
We have at least a few days yet before we can break the monotony again. Boy is doing well, but Girl is a bit off her game - it could be some sort of illness, it could be a continued reaction to the salycilates... who knows? So we wait.
I had my showdown with Boy's teacher on Wednesday. She was running late and I was on my way out, having given up on waiting, when she finally turned up.
I expressed my anger, frustration and annoyance. She was apologetic and sympathetic. She hadn't realised it would matter - just a little chocolate and lollypop. Telling her that he should only eat what I've prepared and "here, for morning tea he can have this apple, if you wouldn't mind peeling it for him" wasn't explicit enough, perhaps? (I suspect she just forgot about it entirely.)
So now she seems to get it. Boy told me he went into the other kindy class and there was food there but he didn't have any of it because it would ruin his diet! And the poor love howled after missing out on a cupcake that one of the mothers had brought for all the kids to eat on the way home.
"When will we figure out what's wrong with my tummy so we can stop this diet?!"
Soon, I wish it would be soon...
For dinner, we had rissoles, rosti and steamed veg. Yesterday it was rissoles, mashed potato and steamed veg. The night before that it was crumbed chicken pieces, mashed potato and steamed veg. And before that? Fish, potato bake and, you guessed it, steamed veg.
And for seasoning, we have salt and pepper. That's it. Oh, what I'd give for a pinch of spice, a splash of soy sauce or even that floppy leftover sprig of parsley on the restaurant plate.
We have at least a few days yet before we can break the monotony again. Boy is doing well, but Girl is a bit off her game - it could be some sort of illness, it could be a continued reaction to the salycilates... who knows? So we wait.
I had my showdown with Boy's teacher on Wednesday. She was running late and I was on my way out, having given up on waiting, when she finally turned up.
I expressed my anger, frustration and annoyance. She was apologetic and sympathetic. She hadn't realised it would matter - just a little chocolate and lollypop. Telling her that he should only eat what I've prepared and "here, for morning tea he can have this apple, if you wouldn't mind peeling it for him" wasn't explicit enough, perhaps? (I suspect she just forgot about it entirely.)
So now she seems to get it. Boy told me he went into the other kindy class and there was food there but he didn't have any of it because it would ruin his diet! And the poor love howled after missing out on a cupcake that one of the mothers had brought for all the kids to eat on the way home.
"When will we figure out what's wrong with my tummy so we can stop this diet?!"
Soon, I wish it would be soon...
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Hell & Starvation Redux
Hmmmm. Next time mummy maybe I just shouldn't tell you....
----------------------------
In a previous life I was an editor. Now, some financial analysts are excellent writers but, on the whole, they're not known for their prose. The ones that could string sentences together would often construct dry, turgid essays. And they were forever repeating themselves, leading many to use my least-favourite 'device' in their titles - redux*.
For this blog post I considered:
To hell and back again
Boy's teacher did a bad, bad thing
Hell hath no fury like a Mummy conned
... and so on
But I've settled on the redux title because a) I'm in a shitty frame of mind and b) sod it, I don't have an editor to do my work for me.
But, Mummy, why? You ask. Why must it be redux? Well, a funny thing happened on the way home from school on Friday. Boy announced - very pleased with himself, he was - that the other kindy teacher had given him some chocolate and a lolly at lunch time.
WHAT!!????
He detected my displeasure, leading him to mutter that perhaps he'd best not tell me next time.
There had better not be a next time. Being of lazy disposition, I did not turn us around and march back there to confront the teachers - I will do that next week - but this little indiscretion has set us back.... Back all the way to square one, in point of fact.
So, there were a few changes on the agenda this morning. Now, what normally happens in the morning is that Justababy wakes me up and I lie there in the (always, always) futile hope that she'll just drift off again if I keep my eyes closed and determinedly ignore her jumping on me. Then, once I've given up, I pass her over to Daddy so I can get an hour or so shut-eye before he has to head off to work.
This morning, however, I was rudely interrupted - and this is despite the ear plugs - by extremely loud, shrill shrieking from Boy demanding honey with his breakfast and screaming his displeasure at the reinstitution of The Diet.
I have a feeling his teachers will be hearing about it too...
*Or sometimes it was groundhog day, but you get the picture.
----------------------------
In a previous life I was an editor. Now, some financial analysts are excellent writers but, on the whole, they're not known for their prose. The ones that could string sentences together would often construct dry, turgid essays. And they were forever repeating themselves, leading many to use my least-favourite 'device' in their titles - redux*.
For this blog post I considered:
To hell and back again
Boy's teacher did a bad, bad thing
Hell hath no fury like a Mummy conned
... and so on
But I've settled on the redux title because a) I'm in a shitty frame of mind and b) sod it, I don't have an editor to do my work for me.
But, Mummy, why? You ask. Why must it be redux? Well, a funny thing happened on the way home from school on Friday. Boy announced - very pleased with himself, he was - that the other kindy teacher had given him some chocolate and a lolly at lunch time.
WHAT!!????
He detected my displeasure, leading him to mutter that perhaps he'd best not tell me next time.
There had better not be a next time. Being of lazy disposition, I did not turn us around and march back there to confront the teachers - I will do that next week - but this little indiscretion has set us back.... Back all the way to square one, in point of fact.
So, there were a few changes on the agenda this morning. Now, what normally happens in the morning is that Justababy wakes me up and I lie there in the (always, always) futile hope that she'll just drift off again if I keep my eyes closed and determinedly ignore her jumping on me. Then, once I've given up, I pass her over to Daddy so I can get an hour or so shut-eye before he has to head off to work.
This morning, however, I was rudely interrupted - and this is despite the ear plugs - by extremely loud, shrill shrieking from Boy demanding honey with his breakfast and screaming his displeasure at the reinstitution of The Diet.
I have a feeling his teachers will be hearing about it too...
*Or sometimes it was groundhog day, but you get the picture.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Oh happy day!
Tomorrow, tomorrow, I'll eat you, tomorrow.....
------------------
It's been two weeks and five days and tomorrow we start our first challenge. Which means broadening our diet ever so slightly. We're starting with salycilates and I've already stocked the fridge with watermelon, rockmelon, strawberries, onions and capsicum. We can also enjoy some honey, peppermint tea and spices - Ooooh la la!
To challenge gluten, dairy, salycilates and amines, we uber-load on the foods for seven days, then take three days off. If we pass - no symptoms in this period - we can move on to the next challenge. If we fail, we stop and wait for five symptom-free days before trying something else.
I've chosen salycilates first so we can add some flavour to our meals. I also have a game plan. Dairy next, then amines - why? Because the test for amines is mostly ripe bananas and chocolate. And if we've already passed dairy, that means milk chocolate. Oh yeah.
Then we'll try glutamates - only a three-day challenge - and if we pass that we can have tomatoes.
We'll leave gluten till we've done all these, since it's the one we expect to fail. I'm hoping there are no surprises along the way.
We'll leave the additives till the end. And coffee till the very end. Sorry Daddy.
------------------
It's been two weeks and five days and tomorrow we start our first challenge. Which means broadening our diet ever so slightly. We're starting with salycilates and I've already stocked the fridge with watermelon, rockmelon, strawberries, onions and capsicum. We can also enjoy some honey, peppermint tea and spices - Ooooh la la!
To challenge gluten, dairy, salycilates and amines, we uber-load on the foods for seven days, then take three days off. If we pass - no symptoms in this period - we can move on to the next challenge. If we fail, we stop and wait for five symptom-free days before trying something else.
I've chosen salycilates first so we can add some flavour to our meals. I also have a game plan. Dairy next, then amines - why? Because the test for amines is mostly ripe bananas and chocolate. And if we've already passed dairy, that means milk chocolate. Oh yeah.
Then we'll try glutamates - only a three-day challenge - and if we pass that we can have tomatoes.
We'll leave gluten till we've done all these, since it's the one we expect to fail. I'm hoping there are no surprises along the way.
We'll leave the additives till the end. And coffee till the very end. Sorry Daddy.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Every cloud...
I used to comfort eat...
----------------------
Well, it's been two weeks now. We're still alive, though I'm heartily sick of cooking, cleaning up and then starting all over again. We now face five days at this 'baseline', before we can start the challenges.
We haven't really been out lately - when we do, I have to do extra preparing, cooking and cleaning up ahead of time so we have food. Then I must hover anxiously over the kids to make sure they don't eat anything they shouldn't. Even still, at our one outing this week Justababy managed to scrounge a partial biscuit dropped by another child. I think I snatched it off her before she ingested any.
Daddy helpfully asked me what vegies we were having with dinner - The same bloody ones we have every single meal!!! I don't know if it's that I'm withdrawing from something, but I'm super grumpy all the time. It seems so unfair that I'm the one doing everything when I don't have any food problems!*
Anyway, the silver lining today was some bread** which actually didn't taste half bad. With heartfelt thanks to an "Internet Friend", from this recipe.
*It's all Daddy's fault and his dodgy genes.
**Take 6
----------------------
Well, it's been two weeks now. We're still alive, though I'm heartily sick of cooking, cleaning up and then starting all over again. We now face five days at this 'baseline', before we can start the challenges.
We haven't really been out lately - when we do, I have to do extra preparing, cooking and cleaning up ahead of time so we have food. Then I must hover anxiously over the kids to make sure they don't eat anything they shouldn't. Even still, at our one outing this week Justababy managed to scrounge a partial biscuit dropped by another child. I think I snatched it off her before she ingested any.
Daddy helpfully asked me what vegies we were having with dinner - The same bloody ones we have every single meal!!! I don't know if it's that I'm withdrawing from something, but I'm super grumpy all the time. It seems so unfair that I'm the one doing everything when I don't have any food problems!*
Anyway, the silver lining today was some bread** which actually didn't taste half bad. With heartfelt thanks to an "Internet Friend", from this recipe.
*It's all Daddy's fault and his dodgy genes.
**Take 6
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Chip off the old block
I think you're tricking me mummy....
No, really, crisps are potatoes, too
But when I bite into them, I can't see any potato
-------------------
I had a little win last night - fish and chips for dinner. I say "little" because the young 'uns wouldn't touch the chips. "Real" chips, you see, are not made from potatoes! Potatoes are GROSS!
I was happy with the meal. Happy enough to take a snapshot. Say non-dairy cheese!
Today started off ok, pikelets for breakfast - yes, again, bloominheck there's nothing else* - and potato cakes for lunch (ha ha, no Boy did not eat them).
And for dinner, I planned a splendid meal of homemade spring rolls using rice paper. Inspired! It was an awesome idea which literally fell apart in the execution as my lovingly prepared rolls burst in the frying oil and created an enormous gelatinous mess.**
They were edible unfried, which is just as well. I nearly repeated my error of Day 2, when my failed attempts at creating something different left us hungry as I had no backup prepared. Always have a backup. Even if it's just a packet of plain salted crisps.
Tomorrow we venture out for half the day. Will I be able to feed us while we're out? Will I be able to prevent my desperate seagull children from claiming verboten food? Stay tuned....
*There was some cereal. I thought it was ok, but I didn't actually read the label properly. Then we magically ran out over night.
** Note: Not nearly as messy as my falafal fail.
No, really, crisps are potatoes, too
But when I bite into them, I can't see any potato
-------------------
I had a little win last night - fish and chips for dinner. I say "little" because the young 'uns wouldn't touch the chips. "Real" chips, you see, are not made from potatoes! Potatoes are GROSS!
I was happy with the meal. Happy enough to take a snapshot. Say non-dairy cheese!
Today started off ok, pikelets for breakfast - yes, again, bloominheck there's nothing else* - and potato cakes for lunch (ha ha, no Boy did not eat them).
And for dinner, I planned a splendid meal of homemade spring rolls using rice paper. Inspired! It was an awesome idea which literally fell apart in the execution as my lovingly prepared rolls burst in the frying oil and created an enormous gelatinous mess.**
They were edible unfried, which is just as well. I nearly repeated my error of Day 2, when my failed attempts at creating something different left us hungry as I had no backup prepared. Always have a backup. Even if it's just a packet of plain salted crisps.
Tomorrow we venture out for half the day. Will I be able to feed us while we're out? Will I be able to prevent my desperate seagull children from claiming verboten food? Stay tuned....
*There was some cereal. I thought it was ok, but I didn't actually read the label properly. Then we magically ran out over night.
** Note: Not nearly as messy as my falafal fail.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Let them have cake!
Gluten-free carob cake
Recipe stolen and adapted from http://fedup.com.au/recipes/sweet-things-biscuits-desserts/gluten-free-carob-cake
Put
125g of nuttelex
11/2 cups of sugar
2 Tb carob powder
1 cup of water
Into a saucepan and simmer till mixed together
Add 1 ts baking soda and enjoy the show
Allow to cool a bit (I continued on with warm gloop, seemed to work just fine)
Mix together
2 eggs
1 cup rice flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cup plain gluten free flour
1ts baking powder
Add in the brown gloop gradually and mix with beaters till smooth. It'll be very runny.
Cook it at 200 degrees (bit lower in a fan-forced oven) for about 50 minutes.
Recipe stolen and adapted from http://fedup.com.au/recipes/sweet-things-biscuits-desserts/gluten-free-carob-cake
Put
125g of nuttelex
11/2 cups of sugar
2 Tb carob powder
1 cup of water
Into a saucepan and simmer till mixed together
Add 1 ts baking soda and enjoy the show
Allow to cool a bit (I continued on with warm gloop, seemed to work just fine)
Mix together
2 eggs
1 cup rice flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cup plain gluten free flour
1ts baking powder
Add in the brown gloop gradually and mix with beaters till smooth. It'll be very runny.
Cook it at 200 degrees (bit lower in a fan-forced oven) for about 50 minutes.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
I can't believe it's not tomato
Spllff. Ucky ucky!
-----------------
Another day, another triumph in the kitchen.
I know the kids won't eat it, but it's not *that* bad
First: No-Tomato Sauce
It won't pass the Boy test - no way! - but Daddy might give it a go.
What's in it? Do you really want to know....?
And next - Baked Beans. Sort of... but not really
Take that foodie-bloggers
-----------------
Another day, another triumph in the kitchen.
I know the kids won't eat it, but it's not *that* bad
First: No-Tomato Sauce
It won't pass the Boy test - no way! - but Daddy might give it a go.
What's in it? Do you really want to know....?
And next - Baked Beans. Sort of... but not really
Take that foodie-bloggers
Bad mummy!
If you're grumpy and you know it...
----------
Ooops. I got a note from Boy's teacher today. I thought I could sneak some cashew paste into his sandwich* but they obviously check everything! I also didn't realise crisps were not allowed. Boo! WTF else can I give him that he'll actually eat?
We had a dinner win with some lovely fish!
And I'm feeling demoralised. I thought we had two weeks of this then some challenges and we were done. Right? Except each challenge takes a week or longer...?!!?! Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaark.
Kids are getting so feral I fear they may eat me.
Thank goodness for vodka and magic cordial.
In other news, Daddy was a very naughty boy and had a COFFEE today! And there was an immediate, bad reaction. Take that Daddy! And now back to your cardboard.
*don't hate on me, no one in his class has an allergy to anything
----------
Ooops. I got a note from Boy's teacher today. I thought I could sneak some cashew paste into his sandwich* but they obviously check everything! I also didn't realise crisps were not allowed. Boo! WTF else can I give him that he'll actually eat?
We had a dinner win with some lovely fish!
And I'm feeling demoralised. I thought we had two weeks of this then some challenges and we were done. Right? Except each challenge takes a week or longer...?!!?! Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaark.
Kids are getting so feral I fear they may eat me.
Thank goodness for vodka and magic cordial.
In other news, Daddy was a very naughty boy and had a COFFEE today! And there was an immediate, bad reaction. Take that Daddy! And now back to your cardboard.
*don't hate on me, no one in his class has an allergy to anything
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Where we're at
Mummy. Can we have TV on this diet?
---------------
So, we're almost half way through. How are we going?
First, me. You know, the one organising everything and the one who doesn't have any food issues. I think I've fared the worst. Perhaps I really NEED gluten, dairy, MSG and salycilates to function properly...? I am craving horrible, nasty processed food. And chocolate.
And, because of the sulphites (and salywhotchamacalits, etc) we've had to stop wine! I could use this as an excellent motivation to endure a longer-term alcohol-free period.... but I've got some magic cordial simmering and a bottle of vodka chilling...
Daddy has been sleeping a bit better. He's mostly stopped grumbling, but still mutters things about cardboard and coffee... Poor man has had to give up his daily cup(s). Boo. Hoo.
The kids are irascible and inclined to mutiny. I must watch them very carefully. The Boy had a meltdown at the supermarket today because he might not be able to eat hypothetical food at a hypothetical birthday party if we were to, hypothetically, go to one while on this diet.
**TMI alert**
Boy has had some solid poo, though. He has also still been complaining about a sore tummy, so we'll see how things pan out over the next week. With luck, this will all have been worth it.
Food-wise, I've discovered that the key to survival is simplicity - forget about recreating diet-friendly versions of "real" food, just cook some meat and veg (of the non-verboten kind) and submit yourself to blandness. Thank goodness we are not vegetarians.
Tomorrow's challenge: Our first school lunch. I'm baking some "bread" for a cashew paste "sandwich", to which I will add some vegie sticks and a packet of crisps. He's sure to eat the crisps.
Cheers.
---------------
So, we're almost half way through. How are we going?
First, me. You know, the one organising everything and the one who doesn't have any food issues. I think I've fared the worst. Perhaps I really NEED gluten, dairy, MSG and salycilates to function properly...? I am craving horrible, nasty processed food. And chocolate.
And, because of the sulphites (and salywhotchamacalits, etc) we've had to stop wine! I could use this as an excellent motivation to endure a longer-term alcohol-free period.... but I've got some magic cordial simmering and a bottle of vodka chilling...
Daddy has been sleeping a bit better. He's mostly stopped grumbling, but still mutters things about cardboard and coffee... Poor man has had to give up his daily cup(s). Boo. Hoo.
The kids are irascible and inclined to mutiny. I must watch them very carefully. The Boy had a meltdown at the supermarket today because he might not be able to eat hypothetical food at a hypothetical birthday party if we were to, hypothetically, go to one while on this diet.
**TMI alert**
Boy has had some solid poo, though. He has also still been complaining about a sore tummy, so we'll see how things pan out over the next week. With luck, this will all have been worth it.
Food-wise, I've discovered that the key to survival is simplicity - forget about recreating diet-friendly versions of "real" food, just cook some meat and veg (of the non-verboten kind) and submit yourself to blandness. Thank goodness we are not vegetarians.
Tomorrow's challenge: Our first school lunch. I'm baking some "bread" for a cashew paste "sandwich", to which I will add some vegie sticks and a packet of crisps. He's sure to eat the crisps.
Cheers.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Days 3 & 4 - Looking on the bright side...
And 'lo, the deceiver delivered unto them an approximation of spaghetti
And they rejoiced, thinking it true
But the canny child spake honest:
This is GROSS!
..............................
Day 3.
I feel wretched. At first I thought it was this lovely new diet messing with me, but I think I have a tummy bug. Great timing.
The good news is that the mantle of responsibility has passed - at least for today - to Daddy. He has acquitted himself well, in that the kids have eaten. I'm sticking to fizzy "magic" cordial.
Day 4.
Grandma takes over and we have potato cakes for lunch - yummo.
And really there isn't much else to report, except that gluten-free spaghetti only works if it's coated in tasty sauce, and we have nothing tasty with which to make such a sauce, so we're left with 'gross'.
And they rejoiced, thinking it true
But the canny child spake honest:
This is GROSS!
..............................
Day 3.
I feel wretched. At first I thought it was this lovely new diet messing with me, but I think I have a tummy bug. Great timing.
The good news is that the mantle of responsibility has passed - at least for today - to Daddy. He has acquitted himself well, in that the kids have eaten. I'm sticking to fizzy "magic" cordial.
Day 4.
Grandma takes over and we have potato cakes for lunch - yummo.
And really there isn't much else to report, except that gluten-free spaghetti only works if it's coated in tasty sauce, and we have nothing tasty with which to make such a sauce, so we're left with 'gross'.
Days 1 & 2
No, I don't own a Thermomix.
...........
Actually cooking food from scratch takes heaps of time! Not just the preparation, but the cleaning up afterwards.
But I am valiant and hard working, etc, etc, so I press on.
We did not starve on Day 1. Hooray! In desperation, the Boy eats my "disgusting" food*.
Today I trialed a bread that could not double as a blunt instrument. Win. We also had crumbed chicken and veg for dinner. Actually yum.
Day 2 got off to a shaky start - the Boy did not want toast for breakfast. But we can't have pikelets and maple syrup every day, can we?
I spend hours - seriously - trying to get stuff ready for lunch.
Falafal - FAIL.
Mayonnaise - FAIL.
Flat bread - FAIL.
WTF? I totally followed the recipes. More or less.
So, for lunch we supped on vegie sticks. And some plain salted potato chips.
For afternoon tea, Justababy added in some blue paint to her diet. I'm not sure if it's allowed.
Dinner was less ambitious - Chicken drumsticks and steamed veg. Edibility win.
And I had a lovely steaming mug of carob drink before bed. My husband inquired if it tasted like chocolate. Nup, it tastes like carob. Well, it's brown, he says. Yep, but so are lots of things.
*It's always disgusting, that's nothing new.
...........
Actually cooking food from scratch takes heaps of time! Not just the preparation, but the cleaning up afterwards.
But I am valiant and hard working, etc, etc, so I press on.
We did not starve on Day 1. Hooray! In desperation, the Boy eats my "disgusting" food*.
Today I trialed a bread that could not double as a blunt instrument. Win. We also had crumbed chicken and veg for dinner. Actually yum.
Day 2 got off to a shaky start - the Boy did not want toast for breakfast. But we can't have pikelets and maple syrup every day, can we?
I spend hours - seriously - trying to get stuff ready for lunch.
Falafal - FAIL.
Mayonnaise - FAIL.
Flat bread - FAIL.
WTF? I totally followed the recipes. More or less.
So, for lunch we supped on vegie sticks. And some plain salted potato chips.
For afternoon tea, Justababy added in some blue paint to her diet. I'm not sure if it's allowed.
Dinner was less ambitious - Chicken drumsticks and steamed veg. Edibility win.
And I had a lovely steaming mug of carob drink before bed. My husband inquired if it tasted like chocolate. Nup, it tastes like carob. Well, it's brown, he says. Yep, but so are lots of things.
*It's always disgusting, that's nothing new.
Back story...
It's not fascinating, so I'll keep it brief.
Boy has tummy troubles. We spoke to a dietician. Now we're doing a hard-core, crazy-arse elimination diet.
We're cutting out gluten, dairy, a bunch of additives and foods high in salycilates/amines/glutamates for TWO whole weeks.
That's the hell part.
The starvation part may come into play as we're relying my ability to engineer edible food from what's left over.
I started doing a bit of prep beforehand. This included baking up some "gluten, dairy, egg, nut-free crumpet bread*. Yum. Right?
I wish I'd had my camera here to capture it. I didn't, so I'll describe it. It looked like a big lump of dog shit. It smelt foul. It actually tasted ok with lots and lots of cashew paste.
*Whateverthefuck that is supposed to be
Boy has tummy troubles. We spoke to a dietician. Now we're doing a hard-core, crazy-arse elimination diet.
We're cutting out gluten, dairy, a bunch of additives and foods high in salycilates/amines/glutamates for TWO whole weeks.
That's the hell part.
The starvation part may come into play as we're relying my ability to engineer edible food from what's left over.
I started doing a bit of prep beforehand. This included baking up some "gluten, dairy, egg, nut-free crumpet bread*. Yum. Right?
I wish I'd had my camera here to capture it. I didn't, so I'll describe it. It looked like a big lump of dog shit. It smelt foul. It actually tasted ok with lots and lots of cashew paste.
*Whateverthefuck that is supposed to be
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