Looks like we’re going gluten-free. A. is the one who is allergic to wheat, gluten and all the wheat-like grains. She can have oats, though. C. and Jeff are both sensitive to wheat, so my plan for now is to just do other things and cover all their needs. Other big allergies in the family are: dairy (Jeff and A.); eggs (Jeff, A., and C.). We are already dairy-free and egg-free, so that’s not hard.
C. is still really allergic to garlic. He is more sensitive to peanuts than he used to be, so we have to eliminate those from his diet entirely. A. is allergic to peanuts also.
Some surprising reactions — Jeff and I both reacted to cane sugar. Jeff reacts to yeast (another reason not to do yeast breads). And I react highly to blueberries (where did that come from?) and also somewhat to coffee. All the kids are sensitive to citrus fruits, to some degree.
Did you notice that I haven’t mentioned B.? She is only sensitive to citrus. Good for her!
Yesterday I made barley cakes* for our hamburger buns. They were pretty good. I tweaked the original recipe by adding 2 tablespoons olive oil and by using hazelnut milk and water for the liquid. I also added 3/4 teaspoon baking powder, but I don’t think it was enough because they didn’t puff up.
Here they are before frying.
Some I fried in red palm oil.
Some I fried by spraying the cast iron pan lightly with olive oil.
They were good with the hamburgers. This morning, we toasted them and drizzled them with agave. For our other breakfasts we’ve been eating porridges made from amaranth, quinoa, millet and teff (similar to the Genius Breakfast Cereal I posted on Wednesday).The biggest thing I must figure out are the baked goods. A friend on a Yahoo! group uses these grains for her gluten-free flour — sweet brown rice, sorghum, buckwheat and millet. I ordered the sweet brown rice and sorghum from Azure Standard and they’ll arrive on Monday; I already have the others. I’m going to have to do some more research because that’s all I know for now.
Our doctor loaned us a book on going gluten-free. It is one of the “Dummies” books — “Going Gluten-Free for Dummies” The beginning information is really good, but I’m disappointed in the recipes because they include many processed foods and foods that we wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole (like corn syrup). I would like to know if there are any whole-grain, whole-food, gluten-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, egg-free and refined-sugar-free cookbooks? That’s what I need. 😉 The cookbooks I have fit most every category, except for wheat-free and gluten-free.
In spite of the challenges, I feel good about what’s ahead.
*Update: I now have learned that barley has gluten. Interestingly, A. didn’t react to it, but since our doctor advised us to eliminate all the grains with gluten since she reacted to most of them, we won’t be eating barley any more either.
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Wow! You have a lot of allergies to cook around. Here is a link to a blog that does have wheatless, dairyless, and eggless recipes.
http://www.andthesethygifts.com/
Thank you for the link! I am headed there right now…
Dear Wardee, these are big changes! Are you feeling better yet, as you make the changes according to your allergies? Did you all feel very sick before? You all look so healthy I would never have thought of all those allergies! I said a prayer for you. Love, Lucy
Lucy, I think we are pretty healthy because we’ve been concentrating on a healthy diet for a number of years. But the things that were concerning and made us do this testing were some unexplained rashes, fatigue, and curiosity. Since we’ve only been keeping up these changes for three days, we don’t see a difference. The last time we made a big change, we didn’t see a difference for 5 weeks. That was how long it took C.’s eczema to go away. Thank you for your prayer.
Your photos of the barley cakes look good. Did your family prefer the ones in olive oil or red palm oil? Both look delicious.
We liked both alot!
Wardee, what a good attitude you have in the midst of this challenge. Such a blessing to your household!!!
Wardee, I will be praying for you as you modify your way of cooking. I have been in your shoes. I do encourage you though, you will find and make foods that will satisfy the texture cravings and cooking will not be such an unknown. I do recommend some books that I started with: The Gluten-Free Gourmet by Bette Hagman (she also has other cookbooks), Gluten-Free Baking by Rebecca Reilly, The Allergy Free Cookbook by Michelle Berriedale Johnson. There is a lot of others but these will give you start. I also buy a few mixes to keep on hand for those unexpected moments , Namaste and Pamelas are the brand names. Namaste can be purchased through the Azure Standard. Tinkyada Brown Rice noodles are our favorite. Montina Baking Flour Blend or just the Flour is very nutritious it’s from rice grass from Montana. I have been experimenting it in my baking and is really good. Do feel free in calling me if you have questions. Ps: look into the barley flour, I’ve read were it is considered a gluten flour some can tolerate it though. Blessing to you
Christina, I do want to call you to talk about this. Thank you for the book suggestions. I will request them from the library. You’re a dear friend!