This turned out amazing - a nice, cool treat for summertime, and super easy. Pictures will come, as usual, when the camera is behaving.
Watermelon-Mint Salad
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Monday, April 20, 2015
Day 9 - Fried Smelt
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Homemade sunscreen
This one looks pretty interesting - a homemade sunscreen bar:
http://wellnessmama.com/4844/sunscreen-bars/
One thing, though, is that it requires a lot of oils that many of us can't use. Might be able to find something to substitute with, though.
However, in the interests of the most natural sunscreen ever, I remind you of pigs. Who roll in the mud not only to keep cool, but as a kind of protection from the sun, too.
That's right: rub mud on your skin - the most basic form of sunscreen there is.
Now, that sounds silly for folks who are going to, say, an amusement park or a picnic. Most of them dressed up and don't care to have mud all over. However, if you were, say, hiking, or gardening? You have a hat on for face protection, so typically you just need arms and legs. Which are going to be getting covered in dirt anyway, so hey, why not just rub them down with a little wet dirt and save the money on sunscreen? Or the possibility of a reaction, at least if you can find some clean dirt that's not, you know, contaminated by heavy metals or something.
I have a friend whose grandmother used to do this when out gardening, living out west and not having sunscreen at the time. Everything old is new again, I guess!
http://wellnessmama.com/4844/sunscreen-bars/
One thing, though, is that it requires a lot of oils that many of us can't use. Might be able to find something to substitute with, though.
However, in the interests of the most natural sunscreen ever, I remind you of pigs. Who roll in the mud not only to keep cool, but as a kind of protection from the sun, too.
That's right: rub mud on your skin - the most basic form of sunscreen there is.
Now, that sounds silly for folks who are going to, say, an amusement park or a picnic. Most of them dressed up and don't care to have mud all over. However, if you were, say, hiking, or gardening? You have a hat on for face protection, so typically you just need arms and legs. Which are going to be getting covered in dirt anyway, so hey, why not just rub them down with a little wet dirt and save the money on sunscreen? Or the possibility of a reaction, at least if you can find some clean dirt that's not, you know, contaminated by heavy metals or something.
I have a friend whose grandmother used to do this when out gardening, living out west and not having sunscreen at the time. Everything old is new again, I guess!
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Homemade Cashew Cream
Homemade Cashew Cream
The original idea for this is from a blog that is no longer in existence (and I can't recall the name to save my life) but it's basic and easy, so not too hard to pass on. There will eventually be photos, when my camera comes back to life.
If you don't know what cashew cream is, it's AWESOME is what it is. It has a hint of sweetness to the taste, but it thickens up like dairy, like really thick, so it's a great dairy substitute for dishes that need thickening during heating, especially if the flavors blend well.
The original idea for this is from a blog that is no longer in existence (and I can't recall the name to save my life) but it's basic and easy, so not too hard to pass on. There will eventually be photos, when my camera comes back to life.
If you don't know what cashew cream is, it's AWESOME is what it is. It has a hint of sweetness to the taste, but it thickens up like dairy, like really thick, so it's a great dairy substitute for dishes that need thickening during heating, especially if the flavors blend well.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Dairy Free mashed potatoes
This is the simplest recipe for mashed potatoes and is shockingly good. Three ingredients, make it all yourself, if you like.
Monday, October 13, 2014
What I eat
I am trying to put this up periodically, in large part as a reminder to myself, for when I'm feeling down about my diet, or to remind me how far I've come. Because folks with MCAD so often have very, very limited diets that I am doing REALLY well, and I want to hold on to that for the days when I'm feeling down...like right now when I need to lose a bit of weight and have to diet, ouch.
So, reminder to self!
Two weeks after going gluten free, I was reacting to so much that my diet of 'what I can eat without reacting' dropped down to:
Bison meat, carrots, sweet potatoes, quinoa, avocado, and salt.
Within a few months, I tried and discarded a few more items and was able to add amaranth, too. I don't think it was really any improvement, considering how little I liked the texture of amaranth.
And what I can eat now (without an unpleasant reaction):
So, reminder to self!
Two weeks after going gluten free, I was reacting to so much that my diet of 'what I can eat without reacting' dropped down to:
Bison meat, carrots, sweet potatoes, quinoa, avocado, and salt.
Within a few months, I tried and discarded a few more items and was able to add amaranth, too. I don't think it was really any improvement, considering how little I liked the texture of amaranth.
And what I can eat now (without an unpleasant reaction):
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Gluten free is definitely not always gluten free
New study just came out, and it's saying what a lot of celiacs have been saying for years: gluten free products are not always as gluten free as they claim.
In the study, out of 158 products labeled gluten free, 5% of those with the gluten free label with not gluten free. 4% of the products labeled as certified gluten free were not gluten free, and these are the ones that are supposed to certify as having half the allowed gluten contamination as the regular gluten free label.
https://www.glutenfreewatchdog.org/blog/Five-Percent-of-Tested-Foods-Making-Gluten-Free-Claims-are-not-Gluten-Free-Study-Finds/41
Personally, I think this is the canary in the coal mine of contamination. Gluten currently is one of the only allergens to have actual ppm contamination standards on the books. The other allergens do not. You would expect that having to meet actual standards would increase compliance, to avoid prosecution if nothing else.
So if gluten free foods are only gluten free about 95% of the time, what's the level of 'free' for other allergens that list themselves as soy free, egg free, and so on?
Obviously, it's something we have to figure out for ourselves. But for those of us with serious allergies, or who have very serious reactions to allergens, I think this may be a factor to consider for our food. Yet another potential reason to start looking at whole foods rather than processed foods when making dietary choices.
In the study, out of 158 products labeled gluten free, 5% of those with the gluten free label with not gluten free. 4% of the products labeled as certified gluten free were not gluten free, and these are the ones that are supposed to certify as having half the allowed gluten contamination as the regular gluten free label.
https://www.glutenfreewatchdog.org/blog/Five-Percent-of-Tested-Foods-Making-Gluten-Free-Claims-are-not-Gluten-Free-Study-Finds/41
Personally, I think this is the canary in the coal mine of contamination. Gluten currently is one of the only allergens to have actual ppm contamination standards on the books. The other allergens do not. You would expect that having to meet actual standards would increase compliance, to avoid prosecution if nothing else.
So if gluten free foods are only gluten free about 95% of the time, what's the level of 'free' for other allergens that list themselves as soy free, egg free, and so on?
Obviously, it's something we have to figure out for ourselves. But for those of us with serious allergies, or who have very serious reactions to allergens, I think this may be a factor to consider for our food. Yet another potential reason to start looking at whole foods rather than processed foods when making dietary choices.
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