New Year New Food Choices

Well the New Year for us entered on a bittersweet note, my husband fell on November 11, 2011 while we were walking our dog and shattered is Tibia/Fibula this is his worst fracture to date (he has Osteogenesis Imperfecta). I have been struggling with my digestive issues since September 23, 2011 when we had our most recent pregnancy followed shortly after by another miscarriage. Unfortunately on January 4th things took a turn for the worse for me and ended up taking steroids again to clear things up. We just had another colonoscopy which again showed no issues but we are still waiting on the biopsies to come back. They are now thinking some form of IBD but our having trouble finding evidence other than symptoms and blood work. I am now making some more dietary changes in order to try and control these symptoms, I drink a cup of hot water with fresh lemon and ginger prior to eating anything in the morning I follow this by 1/4 of Gluten free oats with 3Tbs Hemp hearts with a little agave nectar and a 4oz glass of Kefir. This seems to be making a difference as of yesterday I am off all meds and doing ok! I am also trying to focus on eating more whole foods and excluding flours and sugars. I recently picked up this book from the library Simple Food for Busy Families I am finding it very informative.

http://www.amazon.ca/Simple-Food-Busy-Families-Nutrition/dp/1587613352

Last Friday night I  made a treat for my Husband, he used to love Wendy's Bacon Mushroom Melt which they no longer have here but I found a Gluten Free Cheese Recipe and made this for him. It was extremely yummy and unfortunately I forgot to take a picture for you.

Gluten Free Cheese Sauce
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Gluten Free Flour (I used Bob's Redmill All Purpose Flour)
3/4 Rice Milk (personal preference)
1.5 C Sharp Cheddar

1. Melt 2Tbsp butter in a saucepan. 
2. Whisk in the flour and cook until fragrant and light brown in color.
3. Slowly whisk in the rice milk and bring to a boil. Cook while whisking until smooth and thickened to the consistency of gravy.
4. Remove from heat and blend in the shredded cheddar cheese until melted.

I added some mushrooms and kept it on low while the burgers cooked. After which I topped the burgers with bacon and the cheese mushroom sauce, so yummy!

Today I made a Banana Snack Cake for the daycare  for afternoon snack, I have been reading of the importance of kids having protein throughout the day to fuel their growing bodies and minds. So altered the recipe which I found here to be Gluten Free and contain a source of protein.

Gluten Free Banana Snack Cake
1 Large Egg
1/3 C Loosely packed Whole Brown Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 ripe Bananas, mashed
3/4 C Fava/Garbonzo Bean Flour
1/4 C Brown Rice Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Salt
3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8x8 pan with non-stick spray
2. In the mixing  bowl, whisk egg and brown sugar until smooth. 
3. Add in the vanilla and mashed bananas, mixing until combined.
4. Add in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt, mixing until the batter comes together.
5. Add in the melted coconut oil and mix until evenly distributed.
6. Pour batter into pan and bake for 20mins or until the center no longer jiggles and the edges are golden.
7. Serve warm.

To finish off our day we did some yoga including several rounds of Om's what a wonderful sound coming from children!