Cheers!

Happy New Year!  I don't know about you, but this has been a big year in our family.  When recalling the high point of 2010, Chris and I simultaneously proclaimed, Henry!  This decade has been ridiculously packed with life-changing events.  Some highlights between 2000 and 2010:

• graduated high school
• attended NYU for a year before transferring to Cornell (where I met some of my absolute best friends)
• met the love of my life
• graduated from college
• married the love of my life
• moved across the country (opposite coast)
• gave birth to a daughter
• bought a house
• gave birth to a son

Here's to a year in which I am fully present and in the moment more often.  Here's to adventures as a family of four.  Cheers!

Food allergies: the next chapter

After seventeen months on a gluten-free diet (and limited eggs and yeast), I met with my doctor for the results of an IgG/ IgA antibody retest.  These antibodies are thought to be associted with Delayed-Onset Hypersenstivity Reactions (not anaphylactic reactions like throat swelling or difficulty breathing).  Recently, I've noticed that some of my old symptoms have been returning and I was discouraged, so I sought answers. 

There was not-so-great news:  new foods to eliminate.  I need to exclude whey (which, to seriously exclude includes basically all dairy and almost any packaged food) and corn (it's everywhere!) from my diet for six weeks.  I also need to be more dilligent about excluding egg whites and yolks in all forms-- even in baked goods. 

After six weeks, beginning with the food causing the lowest reaction, corn, I can try a small amount of each food one at a time to pose a "challenge."  If the symptoms return after a particular food, I need to eliminate it for a much longer period of time.  In the meantime, I continue taking probiotics and eating a whole-food diet to allow my body to heal.  Currently, I am eliminating dairy (because of the whey), corn, eggs, asparagus, oyster, and gluten.  Bananas, cranberries, and pineapples are borderline foods I will probably avoid but I don't need to completely eliminate them for now.

There was a silver lining, however.  This re-test showed that my reaction to gluten in all forms was either non-existant or very low!  I am so surprised; after the first six months without gluten, I tried a small amount and became very sick.  The new results give reason to hope that I can successfully introduce some gluten in the future.  I still need to wait until my body has healed and is symptom-free before adding gluten (hopefully after eliminating the newly reactive foods for about six weeks). 

Whether or not gluten is back on the menu, I can say that I will continue to eat foods as close to their original source as possible.  Crackers, breads, and pastas are simply not going to provide good nutritional foundations.  Still, I am hopeful that there will be a day when I can order a meal right off the menu at any restaurant or prepare a dish exactly the way I remember it from childhood on rare occassions.

Snapshot: Winter makes another appearance

And so it begins

Now that Henry is mobile and able to pull up to a standing position, Evelyn is showing more interest in playing with him.  Though some of their interactions still revolve around Evelyn swiping a toy from Henry and proclaiming that it isn't safe for "baby Henry," she spends a fair amount of time talking to Henry or handing him "approved" toys.  When Henry's little legs grow tired, he looks up at us and fusses until we help him up so that he can keep playing.  It's sweet to see the kids together.  

Snapshot: A new skill

Hey, they teach dishwashing in Montessori schools.  I was just trying to think of a new activity to thwart the pre-bedtime whining, but let's call this a learning moment. 

Mama Cooks: A (mostly) Local, Vegan, and Organic Christmas Meal

Merry Christmas!  Our family had a lovely holiday together-- and plenty of fun, thanks to Evelyn and Henry.  We spent Christmas day at our house with some of our family members who made the long trek to be together.  We went to a "standing room only" Christmas Eve Mass at our church and made a taco buffet that night.  The meal met our three requirements:  gluten-free friendly, vegetarian-friendly, and meat-eater friendly.

Our Christmas menu this year was largely based on our CSA share for the week and it added an element of creativity to the hours we spent in the kitchen preparing our meal.  What, exactly, was on the menu?  (Everything organic)

• Free-range turkey
• Rainbow garlic smashed potatoes
• Large yams
• Baby bok choy
• Rainbow carrots
• Ranbow swiss chard
• Green beans
• Gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, corn-free vegan stuffing (recipe below!)
• Gluten-free baguette (from Wheatless in Seattle)
• Butternut squash
• Whipped turnips
• Apple Pie

First, we sautee the vegetables for the stuffing.

Evelyn helps scoop out the seeds and pulp as we prepare butternut squash.

The stuffing is done!

Baby bok choy, fresh from the farm-- it was delicious.

The only non-vegan dish at our table was, of course, the turkey!

Stuffing Recipe (adapted from Sunny Valley):

2 rainbow carrots, chopped

1 stalk of celery, chopped

3/4's onion, chopped

small handful of fresh mushrooms, diced

2 cups vegan broth (gluten-free)

Sunny Valley Wheat Free bread crumbs

Sautee onions, carrots, celery, and mushrooms until soft.  Add dry bread crumbs and toss (1-2 minutes).  Add two cups of boiling vegan broth or cream soup.  Toss and mix until desired moistness is achieved. Pour into glass baking dish and cover with foil.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.  Serve immediately for best results and enjoy!

Henry says "no, thank you"

We offered some homemade organic carrots (silky smooth and mixed with a bit of breastmilk to thin the carrots and add a familiar taste).

"Whoa!  This is nothing like Mama-milk."

He did appreciate the spoon.  Henry has been grabbing at our utensils for weeks.  It is great fun to slobber on and taste new objects, as long as it isn't a new food!  We'll offer a little something again in a couple of days but there isn't any rush.  Henry is getting all of the nutrition he needs through nursing and, if he is anything like his sister,  he'll continue to get the bulk of his calories from my milk for at least another year.