funny how time flies...

So I ran into someone yesterday and she asked how my blog was.....well....should I be honest?

No good.

Sometimes I find it discouraging to type away, post, photo shop and put effort into something that only has one reader. Then I think, one reader who may not know anything about Celiac disease may be enough.

My ego is still adjusting.

So I am planning to blog more. To keep in tune and in touch with the new faves.

Thanks Millstream Market for the kick in the pants.

My sister's visit

Hayley, Steph and Quinn outside the ferry terminal.
Me and Steph - photo taken by Hayley!

My sister flew here for five days to take in the National Celiac Convention with me. We had such a good time! Actually, I am a big believer in "you never get more than you can handle" - and she arrived on Wednesday and was able to be here and be a HUGE help to both Roger and I during the time of Chantal's funeral and all the arrangements that needed to be made. I love her! So do the girls, who had a blast with their "Aunty Stuffy".

The Conference was a huge success. Every year a new city has the privileged of hosting it, and Victoria seems to have a huge drawing card with it being the provincial capital and home of the gardens. It was held adjacent to the Empress, with a gluten free tea provided to all those who had nothing better to spend $60 on than tea and sandwiches with the crusts cut off as well.

We had over 400 people registered (the last conference was capped at 280) and when we opened it to the public on Saturday afternoon - we had a staggering 850 people come through the door! We had to have security and everything! It was a huge awareness weekend for us in the Celiac Community - we had home tests that are approved for use here in Canada for sale and over 100 untested individuals took them home! Poor doctors.....

Steph and I had a great time, it was a huge bonding weekend for us, with us both sharing the common gene of Celiac and sisterhood. I miss you Steph!

Buckwheat pancakes

These pancakes pack a punch. They are beautiful, filling and simple to make. It is a great breakfast option, with butter and pure Maple syrup and topped with strawberries. They are very filling, and so for this, I recommend eating one only. But you might not be able to stop at just one!

Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

**These highly nutritious pancakes contain more than double the protein of a couple of traditional ones, plus they are rich in omega-3 fatty acids**

I cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup hemp protein
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 ts[ nutmeg
1 banana
1 1/2 cups water
1/2-3/4 cup blueberries
1/2 cup buckwheat grouts, sprouted or cooked

Instructions:

In a bowl, mix buckwheat flour, flaxseed, hemp protein, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

In a food processor (or in my case, a blender, as my Kitchen Aid does not arrive until we move into our new house!!) process banana and wanter while slowly adding dry ingredients. Process until mixture is smooth. Stir in blueberries and buckwheat grouts.

Very lightly oil a pan with coconut or grape seed or olive oil - and put on medium heat. Pour in pancake batter and cook for about 5 minutes or until bubbles begin to appear. Flip and allow to cook for another 5 minutes. Since these pancakes contain essential fatty acids that are destroyed at high heat, they are cooked at a lower temperature than traditional pancakes and therefore take a bit longer to cook.

**you can further increase nutritional value by replacing the hemp and ground flaxseed with Vega Whole food Smoothie infusion. This will give the pancakes a slight greenish colour, but is super yummy.

This recipe was found in a magazine called Clean Eating an is one of the best new magazines out there. It's statement is to "...improve your life, one meal at a time...." It has gluten free recipes, shopping tips, meal plans, and tons of interesting articles. I highly recommend this magazine!

Enjoy your Sunday, we had a freak snowstorm here in Victoria BC - a place that is world famous for its Butchart Gardens....but today is sunny and little bug and I are off for a bike ride to see big sister play a lacrosse game. All fueled by these buckwheat pancakes!

I saw my name in print!

Well, it happened.

The Celiac newsletter that our Chapter puts out published my blog address! So that means one of two things......more readers stopping by my humble blog...........OR.............life going on as normal.

Let's hope that I have some readers!

I have been busy as of late, but with the added pressure of knowing that I will have my fellow Celiac sisters and brothers reading my latest contribution, I may have to update more often.

I will leave you pondering this question:

Would you eat a protein bar that you made yourself? With the knowledge of knowing without a shadow of a doubt that it is gluten free?

If you answered yes, then this recipe is for you:

PEANUT CRUNCH BARS

1 TBSP honey
1 TSP vanilla
1/2 cup cottage cheese (or ricotta)
1/2 TSP cinnamon
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 cup almond butter or chunky all natural peanut butter
5 scoops of vanilla protein powder**
1/2 cup gf flour (I used garfava - for added yumminess)

Puree honey, vanilla, cottage cheese (or ricotta), cinnamon, and water together in a food processor. Then transfer all to a large bowl. Mix in peanut/almond butter.

Add protein powder, gf flour and mix well. Add water.

Line 9X9 dish with plastic wrap. Put mixture in dish and top with slivered almonds. Gently pat down the almonds so they are "stuck" to mixture. Chill overnight and then cut into bars (I did small bars, as they are filling)

**Hartland Gold, Sprouted, non GMO Brown Rice protein powder is gluten free, soy and lactose free. Each scoop contains 16g protein. Yummy in smoothies or pancakes if you are trying to add more protein in your diet.

Enjoy!

An Epiphany

I am two weeks into boot camp and loving it. I love the feel of new muscles budding out of places ne'er seen before. I love the fun and inclusion of working out. I love that I do this without kids, talking to adults and sculpting my body in the process.

I especially love that I can now do TWO military push ups instead of ONE a week ago.

What I have discovered on this journey through a change in nutrition and food journaling is that my body does not like dairy. I took it out of my diet one week before boot camp began, and started to see the difference then. No bloating, no nasal congestion, no fatigue and really full feeling after eating. No trips to the bathroom - so to speak..... So I began to listen to my body once again, and what I heard it saying was .....cut out the cheese please.

So I am a modified lactose intolerant chick now. I still eat cottage cheese, but only two times a week, and never two days in a row. I also have plain, unflavoured yogurt with fresh berries and homemade granola. Other than that, I really try hard to not eat it. My body, and tummy love me for it.

I used to think that I was cross- contaminated, or "glutened" as some say when really it was dairy. I used to doubt my ability to eat truly gluten free when I felt sick after, when it was dairy. I used to think my body was self-sabotaging when it was really dairy. Take dairy out of the equation, change nothing else, and BINGO it was dairy as the culprit all along.

So now I am a gluten-free, dairy-free girl!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

I got adventurous and made some new muffins. Roger is taking them to work, and I need something quick and easy to eat now that I am bootcamp. They were wonderful - moist, lemony, they did not taste gluten free at all!

**for the flour I used Carole's quick mix (sorghum flour, potato flour and tapioca starch) but you could use any gluten free flour that you like.

LEMON POPPY SEED MUFFINS

1 1/2 c. sugar 1/2 c. powdered milk 3 eggs 1 c. oil 3 c. gluten free flour 1 1/2 tsp. salt 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp xanthan gum 1 1/2 tbsp. poppy seeds 1 1/2 tsp. lemon extract 1 1/2 tsp. melted butter 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla Grated lemon peel from 2 lemons Cream together sugar, powdered milk, eggs and oil. Add flour, salt and baking powder alternately to creamed mixture with 1 1/2 cups milk. Add remaining ingredients. Beat 1 to 2 minutes. Pour into muffin pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Magnificent Mushroom Soup

Not blurry, that is the steam rising from the sauteed veggies.

When I was a kid (like two summers ago) the thought of eating a mushroom was enough to throw off the gag reflex. Seeing them on a raw veggie plate left me feeling slightly off. Knowing what they grew in was enough to do me in. The thought of them in spaghetti sauce, or from a can for .98 at the grocery store was repulsive.

Then I was diagnosed with Celiac. It opened my eyes to my limited veggie repertoire. I ate broccoli, cauliflower, or carrots with vigor. I had peppers when I remembered to buy them. I ate avocado when it was a premix for guacamole. Basically I ate three veggies. I guess five - I forgot to add in lettuce and tomato on my fast food burger.

We try to eat healthy. We eat veggies every day now. I have a container in my fridge with cut up veggies and dip that comes out on the table every night about 4pm/the witching hour. My girls gobble up sweet peas, peppery radishes, sweet peppers, celery, carrots and ....yes....raw mushrooms.

I saw a great recipe in the Gluten Free Girl book that I recently blogged about, and thought that I would try it out. It was amazing. Photos first, recipe and instructions to follow.

simmering in the sherry and rice flour mixture.

then add enough stock/water to cover by 1"

The finished product accompanied with flax and ground corn tortillas.


Recipe:

1-2 pounds of mixed exotic mushrooms (I used white and brown button, shiitaki, enoki, oyster, and portabello)
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves - minced fine
2 tbsp fresh thyme
1 large carrot - finely chopped
2 celery stalks - finely chopped
1 large onion - minced
3/4 cup sherry
3 tbsp rice flour
2 cups cream
**I used vegetable stock to cover my mixture, but you could use water if you wanted**

Instructions:

easy peasy.

Melt butter and olive oil. Add garlic and only cook for about 30 seconds. Add in all veggies and toss to coat in lovely garlic blend. Turn heat to medium and cook down for about 5 minutes. Add thyme. Sprinkle with rice flour and add sherry. Cook until sherry is reduced by about 1/3. Add stock/or water to cover mixture by about 1-2". Cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Transfer to food processor or use hand blender to puree down to fine mixture. Put back in pot and add cream. Stir gently in until well incorporated.

I found that it was too thick this way, so I played around with the stock ratio, and added a bit more.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Get ready for it to not last long.

Hello new relationship with mushrooms!