Tag: Recipe

How I made it a better day.

On By WendyIn Meniere's Disease, Recipe, whole nutrition1 Comment

One of the things I do when I’m having a down day is create.  Sometimes I work on my artwork, other times, like today, I create in the kitchen.

Organic Kale from Durham's Farmer's Market

It all started with a bunch of Kale.  I decided I’d try my hand at Kale Chips.  I’ve heard so much about them but I’ve never tried any.

Simply tear the Kale into small pieces, and arrange them on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.  I then sprayed them with olive oil.  (I used one of my favorite products, Pampered Chef’s Spritzer)

Bake them at 350F for about 10 minutes.  You want them crisp, but not brown.   I found if I put a little bit larger pieces around the edges and smaller pieces in the middle of the sheet they get ready about the same timeSprinkle them with your flavoring of choice.  Many people just use salt, but you know I don’t eat much salt, so I used a mixture of Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, and a little of regular Mrs. Dash.  Even Stuart liked these, and he has an aversion to most things green.  : )

Then I decided to start a batch of Raw Sauerkraut.  I got the recipe from my new Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook.

It’s really very easy, and I hope it turns out.  I’ll let you know in a few days.

Here’s the mess I was making while getting the cabbage the way I wanted it.   You have to pound shredded cabbage and make the juice come out to make Sauerkraut.   I started doing this in a bowl, and decided this was just way to hard for me.  So I decided to try putting the plastic blade in my food processor and let it do some pounding for me.  Then I transferred it to my jar.

I used the mortar from my mortar and pestle to pound the cabbage down in the jar.

I was so surprised at how much liquid there was in this cabbage.

It only takes cabbage and a little salt to make sauerkraut.   I didn’t use as much salt as they called for in the recipe, I hope my cabbage ferments well and turns into some wonderful sauerkraut.

Then came time to fix dinner.  I had some chicken left over from cooking some Split Chicken Breasts with about 30 cloves of garlic in the slow cooker this weekend.   All I did there was oil my crock, then I put the breast in skin side down and threw in all the peeled cloves I got out of one big head of garlic.  Put the cooker on low for a little over 6 hours and that’s it.  The chicken just fell off the bone.

I decided to stir fry up some veggies with San-J Gluten Free Asian BBQ sauce.

I threw these plus some onion and garlic in a wok with the left over chicken and the San-J Gluten Free Asian BBQ Sauce.

We had this over brown rice.  I wasn’t very impressed the Asian BBQ Sauce.  It tasted like I had a stir fry with regular BBQ sauce on it.  It was ok, but it wasn’t the Asian flavor I was looking for.  I don’t think I’ll bother with this sauce again.

After a day of not only feeling creative but also productive, I feel much better than I did at the beginning of the day.

I was very lucky today that I was able to work in the kitchen.  When I have these feelings and I can’t get around enough to really work them out, it makes things much harder.  On those days, I try to write, or read.  Usually, even when I’m not able to walk, if I focus on something up close to me I can usually accomplish something.  Those are the days I’m so grateful I have a laptop, and that I love to read.

What do you do to help when you are having a bad day?

 

 

 

Easy Apple Dessert

On By WendyIn RecipeLeave a comment

Last night I decided I’d like to have something a little sweet, but didn’t really know what I wanted.

We just bought some lovely organic apples, and my husband loves my Apple Crisp, but I didn’t want to take that much time.  So I came up with this:

 

Easy Apple Desert

 

 

  • 2 Honey Crisp Apples cut into thin slices
  • A little bit of Earth Balance Buttery spread, a couple of teaspoons probably.  (you might be able to leave this out.
  • 1/4 cup apple juice , or a little more depending on your apples.  You will be reducing the apple juice and this will add a good amount of sweetness.
  • ground cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.
  • a little bit of agave or other sweetener if they aren’t sweet enough.  (this is to taste.  I added light agave, it comes in a squeeze bottle so I just squeezed a little over the apples.)
  • gluten-free oats (I blended these in the food processor so they’d be more like quick oats)   (I’m not sure how much I added, I just sprinkled some in to see how it would work, then added a little more.  Probably no more than 2-3 tablespoons)

Put the apple juice and apples in a small skillet and cook over med-low heat until the apple juice is reduced  and the apples are as tender as you like.  (we like ours a little crunchy)  Add the Agave, or sweetener now.  The Agave made it a little thicker and a tad sweeter.  Add the Earth Balance and oats, they won’t get crispy like they do when you make apple crisp, but they add a good texture.   Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.  I didn’t add enough at first, but it can be easily added when you are eating them.  That way if one person likes more cinnamon or nutmeg they can add more.

I enjoyed this a lot.  I kept thinking it needed ice cream (well Rice Dream would have been better for my tummy).  My husband said it was good, but missing something.  I asked him if he really wanted ice cream with it, and he agreed he thought that was the missing ingredient.  He still prefers the Apple Crisp because he likes it when the oat topping gets crunchy, and I think he also likes it more because it has sugar and brown sugar in it.

All in all, this was a very good, light desert.  You can play with it to get the taste the way you want it.  I’m trying to reduce my sugar intake, but you could add sugar if you wanted.

What?

On By WendyIn Meniere's Disease1 Comment

I thought I was feeling better today.  I woke up ready to face the day.  I got up and started making pancakes, after about 4 I realized I hadn’t put an egg in the mix.  Yuck.  I tell you my husband will eat anything.  Burnt?  He loves it.  Ingredients left out?  He doesn’t really notice.  (Sometimes it makes me wonder if I really am a good cook.)  : )

So I started my pancakes over, of course I can’t make just 2 so there are 4 in the refrigerator for later.  Luckily, they are good warmed up.

Then I settled down to read a little email, and look up something I was wondering about on the internet.  I was reading an email from a good friend when all of a sudden the words moved.  Well, here we go again.

The attack right now is really hard for me because I love Halloween.  But now it seems there will be no Jack-O-Lantern carved, no costume, no party.  I’ll be lucky if I get my traditional treat bags ready to give to my trick-or-treaters.  Kids love coming to our house, we usually have the front all decorated, we are in costume, and I give out treat bags full of goodies like spider rings, crayons, Halloween themed coloring pages, glow sticks….  Fun things they can play with and if they have a food allergy no worries.  We also have a tub of candy for them to choose from, but if they can’t have some of it they don’t feel left out.  I remember wondering if they really appreciated the little treat bags, then a little boy came to our house and I gave him his treats, he turned to his mother and screamed, “MOM! I got a bag!”  That made it all worth it.

We’ve had a party at our house the past 2 years, but friends of ours got a new house and they wanted to have the party there this year.  I guess it’s for the best since I’m feeling so out of it.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like I’ll be able to even attend this year.  Oh well, we always have next year!

Today on Fleetly Dreaming’s Blog by Nicki, she asks “What CAN you do?”  She challenges us to stop thinking about what we can’t do because of Meniere’s, but think about what it is we still can do.  I decided to take the challenge and list  some of the things that I CAN do, and things I’m grateful for.

  1. I’m grateful that I have such a wonderful doctor who wants to help me live as normal as possible, and who isn’t satisfied with just treating Meniere’s, but he also wants to find the cause.  (Thank you Dr. Kaylie, thanks to you, I CAN have hope.)
  2. I CAN still keep in touch with my friends and family because of  the wonderful world of the internet.
  3. I CAN still hear, something.  That is better than living in complete silence.  (Sometimes it’s much better than others.)
  4. I may not always be able to hear my husband when he enters a room, even if he’s talking to me, but I CAN hear him tell me he loves me.  (He just has to look me straight in the face, and speak loudly.)
  5. I CAN hear much more during my bad episodes since I bought one of those little ear amplifiers that look like a blue tooth.  It’s not perfect, but at least I can hear something.
  6. Some days I CAN hear out of my left ear.  I’m very grateful for those days.  I CAN still hear the birds, I CAN hear water flowing, I CAN hear my friends talking to me on the phone…
  7. Some days I CAN keep my balance.   I’m very grateful for those days.  On those days I CAN cook,  go for a walk, dance with my husband, laugh so hard it hurts, play with my dog and cat, and simply enjoy life.
  8. I CAN still be creative.  Not every day, but some days I CAN work in my studio, I CAN paint, draw, take pictures and even work in my fused glass studio.
  9. On days I can’t work in my studio, I CAN often still work on the computer.   I can write, and even draw thanks to a great friend for giving me Photoshop.
  10. Even on my bad days I CAN usually cuddle with my dog, and cat.  They always seem to know when I’m not feeling well and will pay me much more attention.
  11. On the days when all I can do is throw up, I CAN still be grateful to my wonderful husband that I don’t have to go through this alone.

Thank you to Nicki, for making me remember all the things I CAN still do, and many of the things I’m grateful for.

I did get out and do some things today.  My husband took half a day off so we loaded up the Element with things to go to charity.  We dropped those off by the mission, and then had lunch out.  We picked up things at Petco for Sandy and Max.  Picked up a prescription for me (no not at the same place), and headed home.

I was pretty tired after all that so my husband started dinner.  He warmed up  some mariana sauce and put on a pot of Tinkyada noodles.  While the noodles were cooking I decided we needed more vegetables.

I cut up some zucchini, and some collard greens then sautéed them up with grape seed oil and garlic with a splash of balsamic vinegar at the end to deglaze the pan. I’ve never really eaten collard greens cooked any way but the old Southern way of boiling them with fat back and then seasoning them with vinegar.  Sauteing them was so much better.

Doctors, Stir fry, and Hearing

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Gluten-Free, RecipeLeave a comment

The Digestive Health doctor called to let me know my results from the “procedure” (colonoscopy) I had done on Tuesday.  However, I was unable to answer the when they called.  She called at 1:09pm and left a message that she wanted to discuss the findings with me.  She said not to worry “it’s not bad”, but she still wanted to talk with me and for me to call her back.  Today is Friday, their office closes at 1:00pm on Fridays, how was I supposed to call her back?  Now I have to wait until Monday to find out what the findings were.

I did make an appointment with a Naturopathic and Holistic physician for next Wednesday.  The first appointment if for one hour and thirty minutes.  Hopefully, she can give me some guidance.  I guess it will depend on what the results from my procedure turn out to be.  I do feel like this is a move it the right direction.

Last night I made a really good stir fry.  I love how you can just throw some stuff in the wok with a little sauce and in just a few minutes it turns into a wonderful meal.  I already had rice made so all I had to do was warm that up.  I didn’t have a lot of on hand so I scrounged the kitchen and found a bag of frozen Thai style vegetables, a can of black beans, garlic, San-J Gluten Free Tamari Sauce and heated up a little olive oil and then threw everything in the wok.  I was very pleased with the outcome.

I did another stir fry recently with black beans, fresh veggies, tamari, garlic, onions, and a splash of Mirin.   I served this stir fry over Mung Bean Fettuccine Noodles.  I like these noodles, but I actually like them better in a cold salad.  They are great left over, and make a wonderful pasta salad.  However, when we’ve eaten them in hot dishes they just seem a little off.  The texture doesn’t seem quite right.  Don’t get me wrong, the dish was still good, but I think I would have liked it better with either rice, or a different type noodle.

We went to our therapist today for the first time in 3 months.  (We started going to see her when I was having such a hard time being disabled from the Meniere’s disease.)  Now that I’ve so much going on again I decided it would be a good idea to start going back to see her.  It’s much better to voice my anger there than to take it out on my husband all the time.  Stuart is wonderful and very understanding about when I get so grumpy and everything starts to get on my nerves.  He understands I’m not really mad at him, I’m just so mad at life.  I still don’t think it’s right for me to be mean to him, but it is nice that we can talk about it and that he understands that my anger is displaced.

Unfortunately, I’m having increased Meniere’s symptoms.  It started this afternoon, I noticed I couldn’t hear everything that was said.  Then tonight I couldn’t hear Stuart unless he was looking at me and there was no other noise in the room.  The tinnitus is so loud it’s very hard to hear over it.  The fullness in my ears is worse.  Now, all I have left is the vertigo.  I really hope it doesn’t start, but I won’t be surprised if it does.

Exercise for the day:

We took our dog, Sandy, for another walk around the block, this time we went clockwise instead of counter-clockwise and there is much more of an incline that way.  My hip was not fond of that at all, but I kept going, and kept my heart rate up for most of the walk.  I also worked in the little gardening area in the front of the house.  I dug up old plants, and worked with the dirt some.  It needs much more work, but I didn’t have what I needed to finish the rest.

Getting things done

On By WendyIn Diet, Gluten-Free, RecipeLeave a comment

Today I’m no longer running a fever, but I’m still have GI distress.  Oh well, don’t know why I’d expect that to change.

I started taking probiotics before every meal, hopefully this will help get my gut back to normal.  I also restarted taking my multivitamin, and extra B-12 + B complex supplement.  I tested low on B-12 but B-12 should be taken with a B complex and if you are a little older (over 40), like I am, you should take your B-12 sublingually (under your tongue).  B-12 isn’t absorbed as well in the stomach as you get older.

I also completely cleaned my kitchen. (more on cleaning green in my next post)  I wanted to make sure I’m not accidentally getting any cross-contamination from my husband’s gluten food.  He doesn’t bring much gluten in the house, a loaf of bread, and cereal of his own.  However, today I realized just how many crumbs from his bread and toaster get everywhere.  He has his own toaster, but have you ever noticed how many crumbs there are around a toaster and on the counter near a toaster, even if you clean them up every day.  I’m afraid I may have been getting gluten.  So we’ve decided there will be no more regular bread with gluten in our house.  I’ll just make bread more often, and Stuart can use the toaster oven like I do.

My favorite Gluten-Free Bread recipe is:

Flax, Quinoa, and Almond Meal Bread

(this recipe originally came from Kira at The Medicine Women’s Roots blog, but I changed it a lot)

Preheat oven to 375F.

  • 1 Cup Milled Flax Seed
  • 2/3 Cup Blanched Almond Meal (could probably used unblanched)
  • 2/3 Cup Quinoa Flour
  • 4 Teaspoons Baking Powder
  • ¼ Teaspoon Salt
  • 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
  • ¼ Cup Olive Oil, Butter, (do not use butter to make this dairy free), Grapeseed Oil, Coconut Oil (only use unrefined with a sweeter bread)
  • 4 eggs
  • water to texture desired, just enough so that the batter pours in the pan thickly.  It took a little over 1/2 Cup of water for this recipe. The more water you use the longer it will take to cook.

Mix dry ingredients together.  Gently beat eggs together before adding to dry mixture.  Add oil.  (I had my coconut oil in a mixing cup and added the eggs to mix together but the coldness of the eggs turned the oil solid, it was difficult to mix the solid oil in the batter.

Add water a little at a time until you get the desired consistency to pour thickly into your loaf pan.

I used a Pyrex bread pan with parchment paper, cooked at 375F for 40 mins.

I hope Stuart likes it. 

This afternoon we went for a walk around the block.  It’s nice to get outside this time of year.  The weather was beautiful today.  As we walked we saw a few neighbors out doing the same, we stopped and chatted for a while.  That may not be great for exercise, but it was great for the soul.

Flax, Quinoa, and Almond Meal Bread