Personal note

     Yesterday, my Mom just got out of the hospital. She's ok now, but it was a 2 week ordeal. What sent her there in the first place were pains in her stomach and diarrhea. She of course feared the worse. The CT scan showed a good bit of colitis. I asked my Mom what she had been eating lately. She said that she had been having a lot of corn on the cob; delicious and in season. Can't blame her. This may have started it. They also found a kidney stone which may have caused some of the pain. Then they told her that she had a bladder infection and started her on antibiotics. She also had a colonoscopy and endoscopy. After she had been in there a few days with the diarrhea, they started giving her glucerna to get her calorie intake up. This made the symptoms even worse. The hospital then began testing her for c diff, a very nasty bacteria that you can catch in the hospital while on antibiotics. It causes extreme dirarhea and is very hard to stop. First they said she had it, then they said she didn't, then did... Back and forth for a week. Finally they concluded that she never did have it; it was colitis all along.

     Now I'm sure that there may be a genetic link here. My Mom is going to work with her diet and see which foods she has a sensitivity to. This thing does seem to run in families. I'm not sure if I can get my Mom to change her diet too much, but we'll see. She's 74 years old, it's going to be difficult. She's going to start by eliminating corn products and see if that helps. Thank goodness she is home now and recovering from her ordeal.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to write:
lynne1408@earthlink.net

Corn free, gluten free bread

     This is a recipe for corn free and gluten free bread. Bread is the one thing that you may miss the most on this diet. There are some gluten free breads in the health food stores, but they don't compare to this one. Even my daughters like this one, and they don't need to eat corn or gluten free. This bread tastes almost like corn bread and is slightly sweet with a course texture.

*3 whole eggs plus 1 egg white
*1 tbs apple cider vinegar (white vinegar is a corn derivative)
*3/4 cup milk or milk substitute
*2 tbs oil (canola)
*2 tbs sugar
*3/4 tsp salt
*1/2 tsp baking powder (featherweight; other baking powders contain cornstarch)
*1 tbs ground flax
*1 and 1/2 cup rice flour
*1/4 cup oat flour
*1/4 cup almond flour
*1 and 1/2 tbs baker yeast
*2 tbs gluten free oats

     DIRECTIONS:

      *in large bowl mix wet ingredients
      *in separate bowl mix dry ingredients and yeast
      *slowly incorporate the dry into the wet ingredients
      *grease 1 bread pan with canola oil
      *pour batter into pan (Note: it will not be doughy)
      *sprinkle top with gluten free oats

This makes one loaf.

No need to have it rise. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.

     This won't be a super high bread, but it is really really good and really full of fiber. I ate mine with peanut butter. It was quite satisfying. You can also try other flours in this and see how it comes out. I sometimes use soy flour, but limit it to no more than a 1/4th cup.

   

Mushroom broccoli soup

     This soup is great for using broccoli in your garden. Most commercial soups contain starches to thicken them up. Most starches are corn, wheat or derivatives. Make sure to use the Imagine brand mushroom soup for this base. The color of this soup is a little weird, but the taste is really good. Don't be put off by the looks.

*1 quart Imagine brand mushroom soup
*3 potatoes, peeled and sliced
*1 pint fresh mushrooms
*1 head fresh broccoli
*2 cups milk



---Cut broccoli and steam in microwave
---boil potatoes till soft
---in large pot, empty soup base and cook on low heat
---add steamed broccoli, cooked potatoes and fresh mushrooms
---continue to cook on low for about 20 minutes, stirring once in a while
---put soup and fresh milk in blender, a cup at a time, then add back to pot
---continue to process the soup with the milk until almost all of it is smooth. I like to leave some chunks in the soup and have some whole mushrooms floating on top.

Pepsi Throwback

     I was very happy yesterday when I found Pepsi throwback in the store. It had been out last year for a limited time. It is made with sugar, instead of corn syrup. This is a real treat for me. If you can only make one change in your diet, this may be a good place to start, especially if you drink a lot of soda pop. Enjoy! (: