Detox diet day 4-5

I was a little concerned about hitting this part of the detox diet but so far, so good tolerable.

On day 4, in addition to all the previously eliminated foods, we eliminated all remaining grains, which included the Flaxmilk and rice milk we were using in the fruit smoothies. We also eliminated nuts and seeds. This left us only eating fruits, veggies and legumes.

We increased the drink mix to two scoops of powder mixed into smoothies twice daily. The fruit smoothies could still include berries, bananas and other 100% fruit juices so the kids had fun "designing" their drinks. Bean actually learned to make his own and was quite enthusiastic about it.

I made a fresh peach sorbet for a treat on Day 4.

It was very simple and very good so I'll be making this again after this diet is over. I peeled and cut up a pile of fresh peaches...
...and put them in a blender. Then I added water, lemon juice and a little honey (we were allowed to use a little of this natural sweetener) that had been heated together. I poured the liquid in to the blender and processed until smooth.
The mix cooled for several hours in the refrigerator and then 15 minutes or so in the ice cream maker...

...and we had a delicious frozen treat! I added afew fresh peach slices to mine. Mmmm.

Days 5-7 of the diet are the hardest days and we're smack dab in them now. Day 5 was yesterday and the only allowed foods are cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, brussel sprouts), raw greens (spinach, lettuce, endive) and apples and pears or apple or pear juice (organic with no sugar added). We increase the drink powder to 2 scoops 4 times daily mixed only with the allowed juices and ice in the blender. This was probably the hardest thing for the kids who were really enjoying their berry and banana loaded smoothies.

For supper I made roasted cauliflower with a little olive oil and garlic. Java ate 3 servings. Bean had one and said he was full.

Then I made baked apples that were very lightly sweetened with honey.

It's hard when the only fruits allowed are apples and pears but we can do this.

We toasted our success so far with some organic sparkling apple cider. The kids loved this!

Overall Java and Bean are doing very well with their desire to stick to the plan but we are definitely seeing some physical and behavioral reactions to the diet.

Bean has had some increased trouble with problem solving. He wasn't able to figure out how to put a large piece of poster board back in the slot in my office yesterday and he had a 2 year old style meltdown over it. He reported feeling hot yesterday, then cold, then anxious, then achy.

Java is doing well with the diet itself but she is very volatile. It reminded me of the difficulties we had earlier this summer when we added a new probiotic, only worse. I am exhausted by the end of the day just from trying to keep her as calm and regulated as possible. We had several incidents late in the day yesterday of throwing things, charging at people, overturning furniture, etc... and our neighbors have definitely heard a lot of screaming. It helps to remind myself that this is temporary and that we'll be on a better track again soon.

We were told that this is the time during the diet when the toxins from the undesirable organisms that are being eliminated are released and the most difficult symptoms can appear. This means that the diet is working so we'll focus on that.

*You might wonder what the rest of us are surviving on since we don't have the nutritious drink mix that Java and Bean are drinking. Venti spent several days at Latte's house and last night he had a cook out with friends at a local park. I had a lunch picnic for my work yesterday so I had a chance to eat something then and when I got home StarBUCK had a drive thru "errand" to run.

Now to conquer day 6....

Day 3 Detox Diet

Today was day 3 of the Detox diet. Gluten and corn were added to the list of "do not eat" foods. Tomorrow all other grains are eliminated along with nuts and seeds. I'll have to get even more creative with meals.

Tonight's supper consisted of black beans, basmati rice with lime, fresh salsa and watermelon. Simple but very good.

Bean's mood has been good and his thinking seems to be fairly flexible. He mentioned having loose stools yesterday but today is better. He does have a slight headache and he is craving something sweet but he is sticking to the plan. I'm very impressed.

Java is a little less intense today. She is very active but had a few sneezing fits today. Not sure what that's about. She has a hard time telling me if anything is bothering her or aching but she seems to be doing well. She and Bean both tolerate the fruit smoothies and drink them without argument. Again, I just have to say I'm very impressed.

Grilling out- meatless

We aren't eating meat for the 10 day detox but tonight I had the hubster fire up the grill anyway. We had tinfoil packets of potatoes, carrots, green onions and garlic...

and portabella mushrooms!
I marinated the mushrooms for an hour with oil, onions and garlic before we threw them on the grill. The smell was incredible. Even the 13 yr old who had insisted he would never eat a mushroom that big was begging for one by the time they were ready. (Venti, our 16 yr old is at big sister Latte's house tonight. He said he'd be spending several of the detox days there. Go figure.)

If you've never had a grilled portabella mushroom, the best way to describe the taste is a juicy piece of steak.

We all liked them (StarBUCK and I especially!) and we plan to make them again soon!

Detox diet day one and two

On day one of the 10 day detox diet we eliminated all processed sugars, food dyes, meat, fish, poultry, and caffeine. The kids don't drink caffeine so that wasn't an issue for them.

*I am not doing the full detox diet because I don't have the supplement drink powder that was prescribed for the kids, but I'm eating supportively. I'm still drinking my coffee though. Seriously, if you took that away from me right now, very bad things would happen.

Today is day two and we started the supplement detox drink, one scoop twice per day. It was met with some resistance...But the kids helped me make the smoothies and with enough blueberries, bananas and mango juice, the taste was bearable.
Today we added dairy and eggs to the do not eat list. We ditched dairy six months ago so that part was a breeze. I used a replacement for eggs in the GF bread I baked this morning so again, not really an issue.

Tomorrow we eliminate gluten and corn so I told the kids we are half way there already.

I'm supposed to be keeping track of their moods and how they feel physically each day so I'm recording that here...

Java- INTENSE. She is blowing up for every little thing and it takes a lot of energy to keep her regulated. I think it has more to do with the fact that she's been off her regular supplements and probiotics for a week than any change yet from the diet. She did well one to one today helping me with supper and slicing peaches for a snack. This detox diet, other than downing those smoothies a few times a day, probably isn't going to be too difficult for her because her favorite foods are fruits and veggies.

Bean- some whining but overall he's doing well. He wants to do better in school this year and is willing to do this to see if we can get his brain and body working together in a healthy way so that he can do his best. He said yesterday that he was feeling very tired and I could see that, too. He has also been without supplements and probiotics for a week.

We made sure to drink more water today and we took the dog to the dog park to get some fun exercise. We're looking forward to a meatless grilled supper that I'll write about later tonight.

Maple Roasted Banana CF Ice Cream

I found this recipe for Maple Roasted Banana Ice Cream (dairy free) and had to try it. I'm glad I did because it was a very sweet treat and everyone who tried it liked it!
These are the ingredients....bananas, brown sugar, pure maple syrup, bourbon vanilla, xanthan gum, EVOO, sea salt and coconut milk.

Here are the bananas before and after roasting. I don't think the syrup or brown sugar was even needed because the roasting really brought out the sweetness of the bananas. In fact, I found this recipe for banana ice cream that uses only roasted bananas...that's all! I'll try that next time. But back to this recipe.

After roasting, blend the bananas and syrup until smooth and put in the refrigerator next to the rice milk and on top of the Coconut milk and Flaxmilk. Actually, put it next to whatever you want in your own refrigerator. It doesn't really matter. Dang, we have a lot of milks since we stopped drinking milk.

Freeze the blended banana goodness in an ice cream maker just before serving.

It was incredibly rich, sweet and banana-y. One scoop was enough to satisfy any sweet tooth! Next time I'll try the one ingredient version and compare.

Gifting the shredded pork

A farming friend gave us a pork butt roast so I made this mouth watering recipe and cooked it in the crock pot overnight. (The linked recipe uses an oven but it works just as well in the crock pot.) I can't even describe how good my house smells this morning.
The secret is in the seasoning that you rub all over the roast.

You use some of this rub to make the brine solution that the roast soaks in for 8 hours. I soaked the pork all day yesterday.

Then I patted it dry and rubbed as much of the seasoning on it as I could make stick.

After cooking overnight I took off the layer of fat, removed the bones, and shredded it with two forks.

I had saved several tablespoons of the rub and I worked it in to the shredded meat.

The sweet, salty and spicy taste is scrumptious.

As much as I am tempted, we aren't having this for lunch today. I'm sending it home with our son in law to share or not to share. It's his birthday.

I'm fixing these bacon wrapped chicken shish kabobs for us to eat today. They're delicious, too!

Apple Cake- GFCF and perfect for fall!

We did some school shopping this week so I've been thinking about fall...and that always gets me in a mood for apples. The adult kids are coming over tomorrow after church and I wanted a dessert that would please even the gluten and casein eaters. I think I found it here.

You need a springform pan for this recipe. If you don't have one, you should treat yourself. The sides come off so you don't have to serve the cake from an ugly pan or wreck it while trying to remove it. It's perfect for pretty recipes like this one. Just cover the bottom with parchment paper and you're all set.
I've been buying more organic foods lately...especially the "dirty dozen" foods listed here, which includes apples.

See that sticker on the apple that says it is organic? I learned something recently. That number on the sticker actually means something! You can read more information here but basically you want to look for a five digit number that starts with "9" when shopping for produce. That means it hasn't been genetically altered and it was grown without pesticides.

I told you it was a pretty recipe...even before it is baked!

The house smells wonderful. I can't wait to try it tomorrow!

Lemon Poppyseed Cake GFCF style

I made a Lemon Poppyseed Cake today from this recipe. I've been in a GFCF rut lately so I needed something zingy to get me out of it.
I love lemon poppyseed cake and I didn't even think about making it gluten and casein free until I stumbled across this recipe.

The adult kids are all coming over after church tomorrow for lunch and I made this and another dessert to have then...

But they won't miss one little piece....

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Picnics and PANDAS

Picnics and other gatherings with non-GFCF families can be difficult but are an integral part of our family life. This past week we had several social get togethers and I was able to bring fresh fruit, GFCF Rice Krispie bars, plain potato chips, and the above pictured allergen free hot dogs and gluten free hot dog buns. The kids didn't have to stand out as being different because of their diets.

However, Java was exposed to something that has affected her for several days now. She has a rash on her cheeks (both facial and the other ones!) and has had an increase in dysregulated, impulsive, confused and aggressive behaviors.

This isn't her typical reaction but we cultured her for strep because she has PANDAS. The initial 24 hour reading is negative. We'll know the final reading this afternoon. We'll be careful to pay attention to her diet as we try to identify what is going on with her.

In case you are interested, there is an interesting audio interview here about PANDAS.

Crossing it off my bucket list

When you find a recipe for kale with 500 reviews, a 5 star rating and a name like "Massaged Kale Salad", you simply have to try it. I've done a lot of things in my kitchen but I'm pretty sure I've never massaged a vegetable.
I washed the kale, cut out the stems and prepared it for the massage with lemon juice, EVOO and sea salt.
The massage was lovely. I'm pretty sure the kale enjoyed it as much as I did. Then I made the dressing.

That isn't some fancy gourmet type special whisk. It's a regular whisk that some kid forced, bent and slammed in a kitchen drawer. As long at least one of the rungs is still in place, I'll be using it. Don't judge.

Add the dressing, fresh mango and sliced almonds (I used those instead of pumpkin seeds) and enjoy. Delicious! Another 5 star review!

Bucket List:

Do a cooking blog

Massage a vegetable

Meet Juan Valdez

Tacos and sorbet

We have a lot of "repeat" meals so I'm not always able to blog about something new for supper. Tacos have become a summer favorite and we've had them about once a week.
Fried corn tortillas, taco seasoned hamburger, guacamole, black beans, and a huge batch of fresh salsa. Nobody even misses the cheese anymore.

Bean helped me make the salsa. He added six cloves of fresh garlic to the tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeno peppers, red onions and lime. Bean loves garlic and if we add it to a new food he will usually try it. (He's eaten fresh salsa many times already but thought the addition of garlic would improve the taste. I think he was right.)

We did have something new last night...

Dairy ice cream and sherbet are out but we can have sorbet! I bought mango and blood orange to try.

I liked the blood orange best because it tasted so light and refreshing. The kids liked the mango but decided that mixing the two created the best flavor!

A great gluten free menu

On my recent trip to Denver to speak about FASD at a large adoption conference, I met this blog friend (Lisa) who very kindly offered to pick me up at the airport. We stopped at a place called Le Peep for breakfast before going to the conference hotel. Lisa has been gluten free for much longer than I have and we were both very pleasantly surprised at this restaurant's gluten free menu.

It wasn't just one or two items...it was a whole page! I had the french toast with strawberries. It was delicious!

I wish we had a Le Peep in our area!

Food intolerances and mental illness

Interesting clips from a documentary on the connection between food intolerances and mental illness...

Fresh bread, cool kitchen

My friend Dorothy (who is busy moving her large family into a larger house) took time yesterday to deliver a GFCF load of treasures to us! Their family tried the elimination diet for 3 months but the results weren't positive enough to keep going with it so she blessed us with their stash.

The treasure load included a bread machine and some Pamela's GF Bread Mix. I've used the mix but not with a bread machine for two main reasons:

#1- I don't really like bread machine bread. The bottom crust always turned out too thick when I used it for regular bread so I could only imagine how icky gluten free bread would be.

#2- I didn't want to use my old bread machine to try it since it had been used with gluten bread and might still be contaminated (I bought it used).

Last night I decided to try the bread machine recipe for Pamela's mix. It's been hot and humid for a few weeks and it's taken a toll on the oven bread baking activities. Fresh bread without heating up the whole kitchen sounded too good to be true...

...but it was true! The bread was delicious! Even better than the oven version!

StarBUCK and I waited for the kids to go to bed before we sliced in to it, each of us covering a single slice with a thick layer of natural peanut butter and strawberry jelly. So good.

Thank you, Dorothy!