So Grace has still been having a lot of issues with constipation and/or diarrhea accompanied with severe stomach cramps. I decided I would try to contact a nurse at the Pediatric Gastrointerology Clinic where she has an appointment in July to see if they had any suggestions and they said they would have to see he first. Long story short, we have an appointment with Dr. Semancik on Tuesday, April 19th.
My mom was gracious enough to let me transfer some of her air miles so we could try to fly for "free", but I was only able to book 1-way on miles and we have to pay full fare to get back. guess that's what we get for relocating to an island in Alaska...lol. Grace and I are definitely going to make the most of the day aka "Our Girls Day" in Anchorage. We are leaving at 8:30am and won't be back to Kodiak until 7pm.
I am just really hoping to get some answers or even some kind of meds or vitamins to help regulate her system. She seems to be in agony and nothing I can do seems to help.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Hoping to Get More Answers...
When Grace last visited Dr. Demain here in Kodiak he referred her to see a Pediatric Gastrointernologist in Anchorage. I called the office of Dr. Semancik at Providence in Anchorage and got an appointment the week in July that we will be visiting Anchorage. It actually worked out perfect...we (Chad, Zach, Grace & I) fly into Anchorage on the evening of July 6th, then the very next day Grace has her appointment at 8:30am and then Zach has an appointment with Dr. Neeno (an allergist at Dr. Demain's office) right down the street, then my in-laws arrive at 12:15pm later that same day. We then have another 3 1/2 days on the Mainland to have some fun. We've rented a condo with a full kitchen in order to be able to make our own meals since we cannot eat in most restaurants with the possibility of gluten cross-contamination. We also have plans to visit the zoo, the waterpark and take the train to Seward. We've been here in Alaska for 4 years and my kids still have not been to Anchorage or the Mainland for a visit, so e decided this was the year!
At the visit with the gastrointerologist they will determine if Grace needs to have an endoscopy. I have a feeling that this will need to happen because she has been gluten-free for more than 6 months and she has bouts of stomach pains, diarrhea and/or constipation. If she does have to get the endoscopy, her and I will have to reschedule our return flights and stay a few extra hours.
I guess I'm still a little irritated that it took us moving to Alaska to find out what was ultimately her diagnosis. She was constantly sick (at least once per month) and no one ever thought to run any extra tests/blood work for her. I have come to the realization that mother's intuition and being your own child's doctor is the only way to really get to the bottom of what is going on. Although, I am so very thankful for Dr. Jennifer Webster (Family Practice) for initially referring Grace to Dr. Jeffrey Demain (Pediatric Allergist/Immunologist) and ultimately getting her diagnosis. I am also very hopeful to meet Dr. Semancik and finding out if there is anything else we can do to help Grace.
At the visit with the gastrointerologist they will determine if Grace needs to have an endoscopy. I have a feeling that this will need to happen because she has been gluten-free for more than 6 months and she has bouts of stomach pains, diarrhea and/or constipation. If she does have to get the endoscopy, her and I will have to reschedule our return flights and stay a few extra hours.
I guess I'm still a little irritated that it took us moving to Alaska to find out what was ultimately her diagnosis. She was constantly sick (at least once per month) and no one ever thought to run any extra tests/blood work for her. I have come to the realization that mother's intuition and being your own child's doctor is the only way to really get to the bottom of what is going on. Although, I am so very thankful for Dr. Jennifer Webster (Family Practice) for initially referring Grace to Dr. Jeffrey Demain (Pediatric Allergist/Immunologist) and ultimately getting her diagnosis. I am also very hopeful to meet Dr. Semancik and finding out if there is anything else we can do to help Grace.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Valentine's Day 2011
I found a great Sugar Cookie Recipe in a cookbook that my mom gave me for Christmas. I decided to cut them into heart shapes and then pipe a pink frosting heart with sprinles on the top for the kid's class parties.
Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies
from the 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes cookbook by Carol Fenster
Makes 24 servings
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter
1 c. granulated sugar
1 T. packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 t. vanilla extract
2 c. gluten-free flour blend (I used a Sorghum blend from this cookbook)
1 t. xanthan gum
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1. Place a rack in the lowe-middle position and another in the upper-middle position of the oven. Preheat oven to 375. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar fro 1 minute or until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually add flour blend, xanthan gum, baking powder & salt and beat on low speed until well blended.
3. Roll out 1/4 of daough on lightly dusted cutting surface. Cut out into desired shapes.
4. Once you have 2 cookie sheets prepared, bake 12-15 minutes, roatating sheets between racks halfway through baking. Cool 2-3 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
Creamy White Frosting
from Better Homes & Garden New Cookbook
1 c. shortening
2 t. vanilla
1 lb. powdered sugar (about 4 cups)
3-4 T. milk (I use lactose-free)
food coloring (optional)
In a large mixing bowl beat shortening and vanilla on medium for 30 seconds. Slowly add about half of the powdered sugar, beating well. add 2 T. of the milk. Gradually beat in the remaining powdered sugar and enough milk to reach desired consistency. Add drops of food coloring to get desired color. Add to prepared piping bag.
Pipe in heart-shape to cooled cookies. Add sprinkles.
Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies
from the 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes cookbook by Carol Fenster
Makes 24 servings
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter
1 c. granulated sugar
1 T. packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 t. vanilla extract
2 c. gluten-free flour blend (I used a Sorghum blend from this cookbook)
1 t. xanthan gum
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1. Place a rack in the lowe-middle position and another in the upper-middle position of the oven. Preheat oven to 375. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar fro 1 minute or until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually add flour blend, xanthan gum, baking powder & salt and beat on low speed until well blended.
3. Roll out 1/4 of daough on lightly dusted cutting surface. Cut out into desired shapes.
4. Once you have 2 cookie sheets prepared, bake 12-15 minutes, roatating sheets between racks halfway through baking. Cool 2-3 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
Creamy White Frosting
from Better Homes & Garden New Cookbook
1 c. shortening
2 t. vanilla
1 lb. powdered sugar (about 4 cups)
3-4 T. milk (I use lactose-free)
food coloring (optional)
In a large mixing bowl beat shortening and vanilla on medium for 30 seconds. Slowly add about half of the powdered sugar, beating well. add 2 T. of the milk. Gradually beat in the remaining powdered sugar and enough milk to reach desired consistency. Add drops of food coloring to get desired color. Add to prepared piping bag.
Pipe in heart-shape to cooled cookies. Add sprinkles.
Grace's 7th Birthday - 1.26.2011
Grace always gets super excited about birthdays in general, but most expecially hers. This year there was 3 birthdays in her class during the week of her birthday. We decided to make some gluten free cupcakes with frosting from a Pamela's Products. She had a fun time sharing the cupcakes with her friends and singing Happy Birthday!
On Sunday, January 30th she had her party at the Kodiak Community Pool and invited her whole class. We had about 14 kids attend. The kids swam for about 1 1/2 hours and then had cupcakes & ice cream while she opened presents. I rented the cupcake stand for $5 from Ton of Fun (a local party supply store)
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Gluten Free Holiday Favorites
So I know that this time of year would be difficult for our family, especially Grace, but since I was going to have 2 weeks off from work I figured I would have the time to experiment and tweak our favorite Christmas/Holiday recipes for year's to come.
I started by baking my regular goodies with wheat flour, which turned out to be a good thing because I was able to use up all the flour and not throw it out. I made these goodies for friends & co-workers.
The kid's classroom parties were fast approaching, therefore, the first recipe I experimented with was iced pumpkin cookies from allrecipes.com, all I did was substitute the wheat flour with a flour blend recipe I found in a Living Without magazine and I substituted milk for lactose-free milk. Both kids said their classmates really enjoyed the cookies.
PUMPKIN COOKIES V (allrecipes.com)
2 c. shortening
2 c. white sugar
2 c. canned pumpkin
2 eggs
2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. salt
4 c. all-purpose flour (substitute-gluten-free flour blend - recipe below)
1 t. xanthan gum
Icing
6 T. butter
8 T. milk (I used lactose-free milk)
2 c. confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 c. packed brown sugar
Makes 4-5 dozen. Preheat oven to 350. Cream shortening, white sugar & pumpkin. Add eggs and mix well. Sift together baking soda, ground cinnamon, salt and flour. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
To make icing: Cook butter, milk and brown sugar until dissolved. Cool and add confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Pour over warm cookies. (I liked my counter with wax paper and set my wire cooling racks on top of the wax paper. I then poured the icing over the cookies and let harden. Finally I sprinkled confectioners' sugar over top.)
Next, I wanted to make an apple pie, because our family's Christmas tradition is to have a slice of apple pie for breakfast on Christmas morning. I had found a gluten-fee pie crust product at our local health food store, I had to several ingredients, but it made 4 single-layer crusts, which could be refrigerated or frozen for later use.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare recipe for two-crust pie. Wipe, peel, core, quarter and slice apples; measure to 6 cups. Combine sugar and cinnamon. The amount of sugar used depends on how tart your apples are. Arrange apples in layers in pastry lined pie plate. Sprinkle each layer with sugar and cinnamon. Dot top layer with small pieces of butter. Cover with top crust. Place on lowest rack oven in preheated oven. Bake 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for 30-35 minutes longer.
HINT: When working with this gluten-free crust, you make have to assemble top crust in pieces on top of apple-filled pastry.
I started by baking my regular goodies with wheat flour, which turned out to be a good thing because I was able to use up all the flour and not throw it out. I made these goodies for friends & co-workers.
The kid's classroom parties were fast approaching, therefore, the first recipe I experimented with was iced pumpkin cookies from allrecipes.com, all I did was substitute the wheat flour with a flour blend recipe I found in a Living Without magazine and I substituted milk for lactose-free milk. Both kids said their classmates really enjoyed the cookies.
PUMPKIN COOKIES V (allrecipes.com)
2 c. shortening
2 c. white sugar
2 c. canned pumpkin
2 eggs
2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. salt
4 c. all-purpose flour (substitute-gluten-free flour blend - recipe below)
1 t. xanthan gum
Icing
6 T. butter
8 T. milk (I used lactose-free milk)
2 c. confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 c. packed brown sugar
Makes 4-5 dozen. Preheat oven to 350. Cream shortening, white sugar & pumpkin. Add eggs and mix well. Sift together baking soda, ground cinnamon, salt and flour. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
To make icing: Cook butter, milk and brown sugar until dissolved. Cool and add confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Pour over warm cookies. (I liked my counter with wax paper and set my wire cooling racks on top of the wax paper. I then poured the icing over the cookies and let harden. Finally I sprinkled confectioners' sugar over top.)
Next, I wanted to make an apple pie, because our family's Christmas tradition is to have a slice of apple pie for breakfast on Christmas morning. I had found a gluten-fee pie crust product at our local health food store, I had to several ingredients, but it made 4 single-layer crusts, which could be refrigerated or frozen for later use.
APPLE PIE I (allrecipes.com)
Substituted ingredients to make gluten-free
6 c. thinly sliced apples
3/4 c. white sugar
1 T. butter
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 recipe gluten-free pie crust
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare recipe for two-crust pie. Wipe, peel, core, quarter and slice apples; measure to 6 cups. Combine sugar and cinnamon. The amount of sugar used depends on how tart your apples are. Arrange apples in layers in pastry lined pie plate. Sprinkle each layer with sugar and cinnamon. Dot top layer with small pieces of butter. Cover with top crust. Place on lowest rack oven in preheated oven. Bake 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for 30-35 minutes longer.
HINT: When working with this gluten-free crust, you make have to assemble top crust in pieces on top of apple-filled pastry.
I always make Rice Krispie Treats for the holiday season, but most rice cereal are made at factories with gluten cereals. My mother-in-law, Debi, suggested I make them with the Gluten-Free Rice Chex that I usually have on hand in my house, so I did and they were super yummy. My son's friend said if he were blind he wouldn't be able to tell the difference between our Chex Bars and the original Rice Krispie Treats.
CHEX BARS
1/4 c. butter
1 pkg. (10oz.) marshmallows (or 3 c. mini marshmallows)
6 c. Gluten-Free Rice Chex cereal
Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Meanwhile, prepare baking dish with cooking spray. Once melted, remove from heat. Add cereal and stir until well coated. Using a buttered spatula, press mixture into prepared dish. Cool; cut into squares.
We also ate a very traditional dinner that included a roasted turkey (which we won in our bowling league - and gluten-free), mashed potatoes (included sour cream & milk), corn, homemade turkey gravy (Grace could not eat) and rolls (which Grace could also not eat). We were planning on giving her the Lactaid for the mashed potatoes, but we forgot. About an hour after dinner, we realized that the dairy had not affected her so maybe we can now slowly start to reintroduce dairy products to her....ALL IN ALL AWESOME HOLIDAYS!!!
Also, my mother-in-law sent me a Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free cookbook called Cooking for Isaiah, written by Silvana Nardone, the Editor in Chief for the magazine Every Day with Rachael Ray. i haven't read through it thoroughly yet, but it does have tons of dessert recipes...yum, can't wait to try some out.
GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR BLEND
Living Without magazine
1/2 c. rice flour
1/4 c. tapioca starch/flour
1/4 c. cornstarch or potato starch
I tend to quadruple this recipe and store it in an airtight Tupperware container.
I've still been ordering with the online company azurestandard.com to get a lot of my favorite gluten-free products.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Gluten-Free, Lactose-Free Oatmeal Muffins
I took a base recipe from an old cookbook and updated it to fit our family, thought it would be great Grace to take to school when other students have birthday cupcakes:
GLUTEN-FREE, LACTOSE-FREE OATMEAL MUFFINS
Makes 11-12 muffins.
1 3/4 c. rice flour
1/3 c. gluten-free oats (I prefer Bob's Red Mill brand)
1/3 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
3/4 c. Lactose-Free milk
1/4 c. olive oil
1/3 c. gluten-free oats (I prefer Bob's Red Mill brand)
TOPPING:
I plan on freezing several of these for Grace!
GLUTEN-FREE, LACTOSE-FREE OATMEAL MUFFINS
Makes 11-12 muffins.
1 3/4 c. rice flour
1/3 c. gluten-free oats (I prefer Bob's Red Mill brand)
1/3 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
3/4 c. Lactose-Free milk
1/4 c. olive oil
1/3 c. gluten-free oats (I prefer Bob's Red Mill brand)
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1 tsp. sugar
Preheat oven to 400. Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper bake cups; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine rice flour, gluten-free oats, sugar, baking powder & salt; set aside.
In another bowl, combine egg, lactose-free milk & olive oil. Add egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy).
Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups; filling each 2/3 full (mine usually only fills 11 cups). In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and 1 tsp. sugar. Top each muffin batter with 1 tsp of sugar mixture.
Bake 18-20 minutes or until golden brown and a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Coo on wire rack for at least 5 minutes.
I plan on freezing several of these for Grace!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Dealing with Birthday Parties & Holidays...ugh!!!
Well I thought I was beginning to get a handle on this whole gluten-free thing, but apparently not. Grace had been invited to the birthday party of a little girl from her class and told me that she is getting too old and did not want me to stay at the party (I know the mom and this is Kodiak, so I knew it would be fine). I told Grace if there was cake and ice cream, she could have the ice cream as long as she took her Lactaid. Well, when we got to the party they had a huge spread (2 tables full) of delicious food including Pancit (a Filipino noodle dish), which Grace could not have along with many items on the table. She still insisted that I leave her there, so I did. They did have steamed white rice so I told her she could eat that if she wanted. Well, needless to say I did leave a little early to check on her and I was entering the party the birthday girl's mom was calling me to tell me Grace didn't feel well. It actually turned out that she was severely allergic to something at the party and had an asthma attack when she got home. During the asthma, with tears in her eyes, she said, "I wish I was just a normal kid", it broke my heart. I responded, "God made you super special!"
Another thing I have realized is that even when I make food at home that contains gluten I need to be very aware of cross-contamination with the food we give Grace. Therefore, whatever we do or wherever we go for the upcoming holidays, I need to make sure that I bring her "special snacks" to avoid the cross-contamination. I have recently subscribed to, and awaiting my first issue, of "Living Without" magazine, which contains gluten-free and dairy-free recipes and advice. I can't wait!!!
I have decided that even though she is almost 7 years old (January 26th) I need to stay with her at parties and get-togethers in order for her to stay healthy. I will say though that she has been feeling much better since being gluten-free and her behavior has also been better, which I assume is because she feels better.
NEW RECIPES/ITEMS THAT I LOVE:
Lundberg Organic Brown Rice Spaghetti Noodles
Gluten-Free Mama's Pancake Mix
Red Mill Bob's Gluten Free Oats
Pamela's Bread Mix
(I have been ordering a lot of these items from azurestandard.com)
Another thing I have realized is that even when I make food at home that contains gluten I need to be very aware of cross-contamination with the food we give Grace. Therefore, whatever we do or wherever we go for the upcoming holidays, I need to make sure that I bring her "special snacks" to avoid the cross-contamination. I have recently subscribed to, and awaiting my first issue, of "Living Without" magazine, which contains gluten-free and dairy-free recipes and advice. I can't wait!!!
I have decided that even though she is almost 7 years old (January 26th) I need to stay with her at parties and get-togethers in order for her to stay healthy. I will say though that she has been feeling much better since being gluten-free and her behavior has also been better, which I assume is because she feels better.
NEW RECIPES/ITEMS THAT I LOVE:
Lundberg Organic Brown Rice Spaghetti Noodles
Gluten-Free Mama's Pancake Mix
Red Mill Bob's Gluten Free Oats
Pamela's Bread Mix
(I have been ordering a lot of these items from azurestandard.com)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)