Cooking for Wellness http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com lactose and gluten free cooking that's actually good Sat, 17 Sep 2011 13:29:24 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 Recipe Chain Letters http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2011/02/14/recipe-chain-letters/ http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2011/02/14/recipe-chain-letters/#comments Mon, 14 Feb 2011 16:24:53 +0000 Laurel http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/?p=271 So I was bored last week, in the middle of getting yet another snowfall, and when one of those recipe chain letters came from a friend, I sent a recipe to the first person listed, per instructions and sent it on to a dozen friends. I really didn’t expect to get much in return, as I seldom participate in these things. The few times I have tried it, the response was far less than the 36 recipes that were cheerfully promised.

Over the weekend I received a recipe in my inbox from a casual friend that I see once or twice a year, whose daughter was diagnosed with multiple food insensitivities last year. I had talked to her about adjusting her family’s diet, and tried to encourage her that the resources were out there to meet their needs.

Seeing my name at the top of the list, she picked out a gluten free applesauce bar to send. It totally made my day, to see that she has made the adjustment to gluten-free cooking and is doing well!

]]> http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2011/02/14/recipe-chain-letters/feed/ 0 Raising Public Awareness http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2011/02/01/raising-public-awareness/ http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2011/02/01/raising-public-awareness/#comments Tue, 01 Feb 2011 23:04:56 +0000 Laurel http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/?p=266 Back when I started learning about food intolerances and gluten free foods, it was so difficult to find any resources other than the celiac-related websites and publications. Interesting how things change in a few short years. I subscribe to several cooking magazines and receive multiple women’s magazines from friends recycling their subscriptions, and it amazes me how often they publish recipes with various food intolerances in mind. Even our local paper has occasional articles and recipes for people with various needs. Food intolerances are in the limelight– which is good for the many moms out there trying to cook good food. This rice pudding made with almond milk was in our paper a few weeks ago, and it is excellent, very yummy and creamy. I made it for breakfast, but it would be equally good as a snack or even a light dessert.

]]> http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2011/02/01/raising-public-awareness/feed/ 0 Pesky Pesticides http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/08/12/pesky-pesticides/ http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/08/12/pesky-pesticides/#comments Thu, 12 Aug 2010 13:48:42 +0000 Laurel http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/?p=252 Now that fifty percent of our diet consists of fruits and vegetables, the matter of how they are grown has become more of a concern to me. We live in town and do not have a garden, and we have two grocery stores within easy driving distance. Beyond the occasional farmer’s market, that means most of our produce comes from somewhere else on the planet. Organic is great, but limited, and when it costs twice as much as the rest, it just gets too difficult to maintain that standard. I have looked at several different washes for produce but never found one that wasn’t as iffy as the chemicals they use to kill the bugs, not to mention expensive. Till this summer!

Our local Curves posted an easy and natural way to clean produce: mix 1 cup water, 2 Tbsp. soda, and 1 Tbsp. lemon juice. It fizzes up a bit, and then settles down again. Put into a spray bottle. Spritz fruits and veggies with mixture and let sit for 3 minutes, rinse well, and eat!

I found another version that adds 1 cup white vinegar to this mixture. Whichever version you use, it is an easy and natural way to reduce pesticides and enjoy that abundance of Summer produce.

]]> http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/08/12/pesky-pesticides/feed/ 0 Great food service http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/06/01/great-food-service/ http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/06/01/great-food-service/#comments Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:39:06 +0000 Laurel http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/?p=245 Houghton College has signed on a new food service company, here at the end of the year, and we are all celebrating! The old one was fine if you can eat anything, but they made very few concessions for special diets and were often not even pleasant about it. I would listen to parents telling about the special meals prepared for celiacs at their student’s school and try not to feel bitter about Esther’s cooking for herself in the tiny kitchen in her dorm and eating alone in her room, or subsisting on multiple pieces of fruit on weekends when the kitchen did not cook gluten-free pasta or make rice. She abandoned meat altogether, since they could not cook her anything plain.

She called today to say how great the new food service was, how they came looking for her and asked her to come in and talk to them about her needs. They promised to cook her plain meat, and whatever she needed, because they did not want her to go hungry. I could have cried for sheer thankfulness, remembering all the days she has done just that. For the couple dozen special needs diets on campus, life just got a whole lot better!

]]> http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/06/01/great-food-service/feed/ 0 Raising Consciousness http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/05/08/raising-consciousness/ http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/05/08/raising-consciousness/#comments Sat, 08 May 2010 14:52:36 +0000 Laurel http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/?p=240 A friend passes on piles of women’s magazines to me after she is finished (she’s a grandmother who supports her grandchildren’s fund-raising efforts conscientiously), and I love the luxury of skimming through them, spending as much time or as little as I want, since I did not pay for the subscription. The recipes and the features on fashion and home-decorating are great, but mostly I like the glimpse of trends and ideas in society– those magazines provide a graph line of modern opinion on everything from health, to world-perspectives, to child-raising.

In the latest pile of February-April, an interesting thread emerged. Every single one of those magazines contained an article about or recipes for gluten-sensitivities. I have to say, “It’s about time!” considering that statistics say 1 in 100 people are now being affected by celiac disease to some extent.

Most obviously the rise in gluten sensitivities is caused by the saturation of wheat-based products in our diet, but there also seems to be a genetic trigger– though it isn’t confined to any race or age or gender– and any number of other unidentified environmental factors. An article in the Saturday Evening Post (March/April) suggested the “hygiene hypothesis” that is linked to the rise of other allergies and asthma. Basically it says that our obsession with cleanliness has hindered our immune systems in the long run. That, coupled with the over use of antibiotics, has left us vulnerable to environmental and dietary sensitivities.

It makes a lot of sense to me. And it joins in the rousing cry for a simpler lifestyle: plenty of physical activity and fresh air, eating natural whole foods, living at a slower pace, building relationships with other human beings, and sleeping the night through with peaceful dreams.

]]> http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/05/08/raising-consciousness/feed/ 0 Candida Cleanse http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/05/01/candida-cleanse/ http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/05/01/candida-cleanse/#comments Sat, 01 May 2010 18:39:51 +0000 Laurel http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/?p=236 We are doing the cleanse thing again– or should I say, Esther is. It is actually much easier for her to do that at school, because she can make her own food choices. The cleanse is so radical that I can’t adapt a whole family menu to it. Anyway, the symptoms started coming on in February, just little things here and there, and she wanted to put it off, so we did. By April, she was feeling pretty miserable with both physical and emotional symptoms, and could no longer ignore it.

Each time different symptoms predominate, and this time the emotional ones were overwhelming. She would literally sit there and cry for no reason, for hours at a time– that was very weird. On top of the pain in her ears and face, the tiredness, nausea, and so on, she was almost to the point of non-functioning. I’m not sure it is wise to let it get that bad before doing something about it, but it has to be her decision. She is nearly finished with the Candigone and Candex treatment now, and will follow with a month of preventative measure using Candex and Pau D’Arco.

Pau D’Arco is the bark of a Brazilian tree that has been used for decades medicinally. It is a natural anti-fungal and anti-viral– how cool is that?! The best way to get it is by steeping the bark for tea, several times a day, but a more convenient method is taking it in capsule form. The funny thing is that no one knows exactly WHY it kills the candida albacans, although everyone agrees that it does so quite effectively. And it does so with minimal side effects, too.

It appears that a twice yearly cleanse is the norm for Esther at this point, but if she feels well in between, that is bearable. We were up to visit last week and she honestly looked the best she has in a couple years. Her color and her weight were good, and she has the energy to stay up till midnight hanging out with cute boys, just like any college sophomore.

While we were visiting she cooked lunch for the two of us in the dining hall, some delicious concoction she made up herself. I’m calling it Chick Peas and Broccoli Stir Fry.

]]> http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/05/01/candida-cleanse/feed/ 2 Health is scary http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/04/05/health-is-scary/ http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/04/05/health-is-scary/#comments Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:24:35 +0000 Laurel http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/?p=225 Since Esther came home for Christmas break she has been trying little bits of cheese, single M&Ms, a spoonful of yogurt on granola. Those small changes open up dozens of new recipes for us. That should be cause for great rejoicing. And it is, except there is this thread of unreasoning fear that runs underneath my thoughts. We have learned to manage this illness by constant vigilance and disciplined living, relentless focus. If I relax my grip I may lose my ability to control this thing. Except it isn’t mine. And control is an illusion. All I am really doing is cooperating with my daughter to change behavior and knowledge so as to affect her symptoms. So why does letting go seem so frightening?

Who would have thought illness would feel comfortable and familiar? Who would have thought that the changes of healing would bring the insecurity of the unknown? No wonder Jesus asked people with lifelong infirmities in the Gospels if they wanted to be healed before he helped them.

I am not ungrateful. Just not brave.

]]> http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/04/05/health-is-scary/feed/ 0 Weekend with Friends http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/01/31/weekend-with-friends/ http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/01/31/weekend-with-friends/#comments Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:18:48 +0000 Laurel http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/?p=219 Esther is feeling confident enough in her diet and in her ability to cook that she is finding other girls with special diets and sharing her recipes with them. Her roommate this year is a vegan, and another good friend has multiple food allergies, so maybe there is a camaraderie in the unusual food consumption. I’m glad they are cooking together and enjoying it! She wants to bring them all home with her some weekend, which will stretch my creative powers considerably…and Steve may need to order out pizza while we girls cook without meat and dairy! Cuban black beans and rice, anyone?

]]> http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/01/31/weekend-with-friends/feed/ 0 Marking Milestones http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/01/11/marking-milestones/ http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/01/11/marking-milestones/#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:45:48 +0000 Laurel http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/?p=192 Well, we have passed the one year anniversary of this diet. Esther shed a few tears and had a rough day, but for me it was a welcome milestone. One whole year away from that illness; one whole year closer to health; one whole year we have come through, stronger and still intact.

Looking back over the past year, it has been one of the hardest years of our lives– and not just because of Esther’s illness– but we survived with God’s help, and we have learned so much. As we cooked together over Christmas break, the conversation in the kitchen had to do with cooking vegetables to retain the vitamins, and grain consumption in different areas of the world, and studies into the cause of Celiac Disease. We have a stash of recipes that make meal preparation much easier than it was when we were starting out. Best of all, Esther is now interested in cooking and nutrition, and will readily join me in the kitchen, something she never wanted to do when she was younger!

More milestones over break included Esther’s trying Breyer’s Lactose Free Vanilla ice cream (real dairy, but treated with lactate)– she said it tasted sooo good, but was surprised by how dairy smelled. She tried some yogurt in cooking, in a yummy new recipe for Maple, Walnut, and Flaxseed Pancakes. She even tried a couple teaspoons finely grated cheese on a quesadilla.

No ill effects from the bits of dairy! That is really exciting in terms of progress. And have I mentioned that we can use normal Quaker Oats again in our kitchen?? Much easier on the budget, and yet more evidence of a strengthened digestive system.

]]> http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2010/01/11/marking-milestones/feed/ 1 Taste for Life http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2009/09/30/taste-for-life/ http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/2009/09/30/taste-for-life/#comments Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:43:43 +0000 Laurel http://wellness.shieldsgroup.com/?p=180 Our little health food store, The Herb Place, has been very helpful in providing gluten free products, for being a small business. The owner takes suggestions well and even orders in products that you like– she is somewhat of a local expert on eating gluten free.

She has been passing along to me the magazine Taste for Life, which has all kinds of ads and articles about healthy living in it. More importantly, their website has recipes for all sorts of special diets, as well as sections on nutrition and healthy eating in general, recommended books, and so on. I am looking forward to trying some of their recipes for myself, like the Cranberry-Sweet Potato Bread recipe I just printed out!

Check it out here: www.tasteforlife.com

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