Shmamcakes

A friend of mine showed me a new pancake mix, really excited about it in fact and as I read the listed ingredients my stomach turned. Knowing what I know, and the years of seeing my own children react to certain flours that I was assured were gluten free and therefore safe to consume, kind of puts a damper on what I preferred my reaction to be to my friends obvious joy. More information SHOULD be out there, but isn't, and it really bothers me. I think companies are too quick to slap on the GF label, not realizing the long term affects some food may have on humans and our health.

What ticks me off is that most 'gf' items are just starch and sugar, when eaten they jack up the system for a bit but do not offer any true nutrition or good fats/fiber, and yet we cling to these pre-made products because who has time to really research an entire menu? That's a really hard job. I know. It's taken me 17 years to get to the point I'm at now in my diet, and I still don't have all the answers. I still have headaches and pain in my joints and bloating out of the blue. But. I know I'm going somewhere positive, because my kids health is the proof of this, even though I'm still struggling because of my Celiac Disease.

We all have our own lifestyles, and run our households a specific way for our own reasons. Most of us want to live a healthy life, we want to avoid spending our golden years in hospital. We want happiness. We don't want cancer. We want independence until we die. We must continually ask our self; are we truly willing to give up certain things that harm our individual body in order to achieve and maintain this goal?

Here's the ingredients list of a popular brand of pancake mix, used by many who have been put on a gluten free diet, for whatever reason:

Ingredients: Gluten free pancake mix (potato starch, white rice flour, tapioca flour, dried potato syrup, guar and/or xanthan gum), baking powder (corn-free), salt.

And another popular brand:

Ingredients: potato starch, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, corn flour, evaporated cane juice, baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), baking soda, sea salt, xanthan gum.



Some mixes offer more sustainable ingredients like Amaranth and Millet, although Millet itself is a grain and finding it in its original form would be difficult as GMO has overrun our food system for years so I myself would not consume it nor feed it to my children. Amaranth is a seed from an herbed plant and so it by itself it would be safe to consume for those avoiding gluten or grains, but again you want to ensure you know where it was grown, how it was processed and if it doesn't come organic, I would avoid it. 

This site offers a more in-depth look at which flours are actually grain free and safe to use, but I would caution anyone from going crazy and buying up everything marked gf and not assuming each of these flours are actually safe for your own body. I'll be writing a post about my own mistake regarding a purchase of a gf flour that turned out to be a bad choice, soon. Always remember, the product itself may not contain gluten, but it was probably processed and packaged in a plant that does. 

You must go on your own diet journey, and take it slow. Listen to your body, it will tell you whether something is good, needed and beneficial. Our bodies do betray us and crave things that are easier to burn as calories but offer nothing to the rest of the organs. Be careful not to let just one part of your body run the show.

As a side note, I avoid Soy whenever possible, as it's full of estrogen and who needs more of THAT in their system? (Not me, no thank you.) Very rarely do products made with soy use non GMO plants as well.

So if you are in the market for a product like pancake mix, use this recipe:

Ingredients

500ml Canned Coconut Milk, make sure there's no guar gum added (or your choice of milk)

1 Banana or 1 Cup Apple Sauce

1 Cup Almond Flour or 1 cup buckwheat flour

2 tablespoons ground golden flaxmeal

1/2 cup chickpea flour or 1/3 Cup Coconut flour

2 tablespoons arrowroot

2 teaspoons baking powder*

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

Method
Blend banana, egg and vanilla together in a blender until smooth. Add milk and blend until mixed. Add dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
Add batter in small amounts to a pre heated frypan, on low to moderate heat, and cook on both sides until light golden in colour.

Top with fruit, yogurt, dates or nuts.


Always here to promote good health, and encourage you to be the best you can be.

Cake For Breakfast

Because my family is on a grain free diet, we're limited to what 'breakfast food' we can have. A household of 7 people and two dogs is busy to say the least, and we like quick and easy meals so we can tackle what lays ahead in our schedules.

I'm usually tired even after a good nights sleep. I think this has much to do with my Celiac, and I do struggle with damaged adrenals from years of not knowing I had Celiac Disease and consuming the wrong food. (Whole grains is good for you don't you know?)

Just thinking about the day ahead exhausts me.

But I digress.

We are big bacon and egg eaters, but even though I serve them scrambled, or poached, or fried, baked or boiled, my kids get fussy about having the same thing over and over and over. (I do too quite frankly.) We are very thankful for what we have, but we do have the resources to do other nutritious breakfasts that taste good, fill us up and take no time at all to make. We tend to have grab and go shakes often.

I didn't like Vega's old recipe, it tasted like grass mixed with gritty sand, but they heard their consumer's complaints and the new formula is actually quite tasty. I will do two scoops and add a few bananas for the kids, and sometimes I'll even add Almond milk to give them a bit more calories.

I've also made my own recipe using Pumpkin Protein Powder, an Avocado, a few Dates and Kale. I also add Coconut oil to my own, I've noticed a huge difference in upping my healthy fat intake that I process information better, I burn more calories in a day, and I have great digestion, which is important for weight management. 

It's very true what they say, "A good start to the day keeps the fray at bay."  I've noticed since increasing my children's protein and fat intake they are less hungry in between meals, and will eat everything I give them at our meals through the day.

Today we had something a little different.

My eight year old son has discovered the love of baking, and he's becoming quite the adventurous chef. He found a "Classic Chocolate Cake" recipe in my Coconut Flour Cookie, Muffin and Cake Recipes Book., by Sara Winlet.

"Coconut flour is made from pure, white, fresh coconut meat. It is high in dietary fibre, low in digestible carbohydrates, a good source of protein and free of gluten. A versatile and flavorful ingredient, you can use coconut flour in a variety of snacks, baked goods, desserts and main dishes. When added to your baking it lends a wonderfully rich texture and natural sweetness. It can also be used as a thickener for soups and sauces. A delicious, healthy alternative to wheat and other grain flours."

It tastes so so good!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup coconut flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut oil
8 eggs
1 1/2 cups cane sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

My wee chef made his own changes to the recipe, mostly because I don't like the kids to consume a lot of sugar and also that we were missing some of the ingredients. (whoopsie) He added a half a cup of Nutella instead of cocoa powder, baking soda instead of powder since most are either mixed with corn or potato and we have a few who are allergic to those, and we used dates to sweeten, about 1/2 cup softened into paste on the stove top.

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F. In a sauce pan melt coconut oil, nutella (Or coco powder) and coconut milk on low heat.  Mix well, set aside. In a large bowl cream eggs, sugar (Or date mixture), salt and vanilla. Stir in Chocolate mixture. Sift together Coconut flour and baking powder (soda) in separate bowl then add to wet ingredients. Mix until lumps are gone. Pour into Cake tin, 1 ten inch or two 8 in, greased with coconut oil. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

This Cake turned out moist, fluffy and tasted incredible. I gave the kids and Spouse huge pieces and there was still enough left over for another piece for each of the kids.

So, they had some for breakfast.

Works for me.

Edible Conundrum

How do we get our child to eat more vegetables? (And fruit)

Most parents keep a ready supply of crackers/pretzels and chips, assorted jello's, puddings, even pop tarts, pizza pockets....something easy and quick that will silence that predictable irritating statement "I'm hungry" which happens at the most inconvenient time, usually while you're racking your brain for ideas on what to make for dinner, while driving home with a car load and a laundry list of must-dos circulating in your brain.

But what if you're a parent to a Celiac?

Sure there are pre-made gluten free options available out there, but the sugar and carb amount would make anyone gag, and as a mom concerned to promote a healthy lifestyle I'm against the mainstream gluten-free trend and the food that is a result of it.

There are cute and simple tips out there in the land of the web, suggestions to get kids eating their veggies. Some written by moms like myself, some written by people who just want humanity to eat better. Things like portion size, cutting cute shapes, adding bacon to everything, the list goes on. I'm here to tell you there's no foolproof way, but here are a few tricks I've learned over the last 13 years I've been a Momma to 5 Celiac children.

1. Buy local.

Nothing will entice a child more to try something new than going to a Farmers Market and purchasing produce they've chosen themselves. If you don't have a Farmers Market nearby, the grocery store will do, but the point is to get kids involved in the process of knowing where their food comes from, and being excited to try what they are curious about.

2. Have pre-cut and easily washable veggies on hand.

I usually have a container of carrots and celery already washed and chopped up ready to eat, they keep great in cold water in the fridge. Grape tomatoes are a favourite treat, and if I sense the kids are feeling munchy I'll even slice up cucumber and set it out, whether they eat it as they pass by or sit and devour the entire plate, the point is they ate their greens. I do not buy those mini-carrots as they are washed in a bleach solution, and it is way cheaper albeit labour intensive, to buy produce and peel them yourself.

3. Dip dip dip!

Make different flavours of dips for the kids to try. Get them involved picking a different Country theme. One of our favourites is Hummus, but they also enjoy a creamy (dairy free) Ranch we make as well. I also sneak into the dips Kale, Spinach and other greens that otherwise would incur wrinkled noses. My food processor is my best friend.*Smile*

This blogger has incredible ideas:5 healthy homemade dips

4. Don't buy pre-packaged snacks.

I know I know...this can't be helped most of the time, but if you're truly serious about changing your lifestyle to include more vegetables and fruit having easy go-to snacks in stock will make the transition more difficult. Your child will always choose the 'cooler' thing. (Apple sauce in a squeezy bag as opposed to eating an actual apple...the fruit bar that has a serving of veggies...V8 is good enough right?) I believe we should devour what grows off of trees and out of the ground; not the stuff modified by scientists, but real organic sustenance grown by the sweat off someone's brow. Call me a purist, but in my experience my children are rarely ill, they heal very fast if they get a scrape, and they are genuinely happy most of the time. (They're not perfect and neither am I, but comparably to other people who suffer with auto-immune disease my children have practically impenetrable immune systems.)


5. Go for a splurge

Ironic statement after my little shpeal above but we all like treats and totally denying a craving leads to binging which is seriously unhealthy over a period of time. 'Everything in moderation' are wise and applicable words. Our family has an Ice Cream night once or twice a month, where the kids choose their gf toppings and we watch them relish the cool deliciousness. The come back of real ice cream parlors has been exciting, and although it's pricier we know what actually goes into the product. It's funny that after a few years my kids crave sugar less and less, and they opt for a sliced cucumber with balsamic vinegar or dried oregano on top of a sliced pepper instead of berries.

Encouraging children to be interested in what they consume and pursuing a culinary adventure together will open the imagination and prepare palettes eager to try new things.

Have fun!