Spinach Pekora

This is what I had for dinner tonight. There are only 3 ingredients to these spinach pekoras, but they are really good. I start with a can of chopped spinach and drain it really well. Then I add 2 eggs and rice flour; enough to make a nice mushy batter, not too runny. Drop by tablespoons into hot oil. Not deep frying, just enough oil to keep them from sticking. The oil that I use is canola, those others are also good, but not corn oil, of course. Turn over when the other side becomes golden brown. I take them out and drain them on a paper towel. I sprinkle them with salt. I like mine with a dollop of plain yogurt on top of them. Another variation is to add other veggies also, such as peppers, carrots (chopped or shredded), or mushrooms. You can experiment with different ones. I also sometimes add chic peas. I usually just see what I have in the fridge.

This has truly made my day! Betty Crocker has come out with gluten free mixes! I just tried the cookies (literally) and they were yummy. Checking the ingredients, they do contain vanilla. Vanilla sometimes has corn derivatives, but I think very little. The main flour is rice. Betty Crocker also came out with a cake mix and brownie mix. I did not get the brownie mix because it has xanthan gum in it; which I know I'm sensitive to. I also didn't get the cake mix because I wasn't able to find a suitable icing to go with it. I usually use a jar of Nutella for icing. Anyhow it was nice to have a special treat today!

New note 4-12-11
They have added xanthan gum to this box. I am very disappointed. When I ate just 2 cookies I was fine. But when I ate 6 the next day (yeah, I said 6), I got a mild flare. It seems that quantity does make a difference with certain ingredients.

Please feel free to contact me with comments, questions or suggestions.
Lynne1408@earthlink.net

This is another one of my favorite cereals; Crispy Brown Rice with mixed berries, by Erewhon. They also make it without the berries. It is like rice crispies cereal but it is gluten free. Rice crispies has malt in it, a gluten derivative. This cereal is found at health food stores. Not all gluten free cereals are also corn free. I usually start with the gluten free stuff, and then look for ones that are also corn free.

Please feel free to contact me with questions, comments or suggestions:
Lynne1408@earthlink.net

Chinese Food

Chinese food was one of my favorite foods. Unfortunately, it is full of gluten, from the soy sauce. I have found that I can order steamed chicken and vegetables with no sauce at all. I add Bragg's liquid aminos to it instead. It taste like soy sauce, almost. I also like to add tumeric, fresh pepper and olive oil. Not to mention there's MSG in Chinese food which is an allergen to some people.

Cereal

Cereal

This is one of my favorite cereals. It's gluten and corn free. Stays crispy in milk. I like it with a cut up apple or strawberries. Found also in health food stores.

Steroids

There have been many many times in the past that I have had to be on steroids. The side effects were very unpleasant. For me, I especially get bloated in the face and neck (moon face). This happened right before my wedding, and now I hate a lot of my wedding pictures. But it was a necessity that I couldn't avoid at the time. One interesting thing about steroids is that it contains cornstarch. However the benefits greatly outweigh the negative effects of a little cornstarch. I have been able to avoid steroids for quite a while now, due to this diet.

Mouthwash

Most mouthwashes contain xylitol, sorbitol, or manitol as a sugar free sweetener. All of these are corn derivatives. I use Listerine, regular, which has none of these and does agree with me. Because of these sugar free sweeteners, I have yet to find a chewing gum that agrees with me. Many of them also contain maltodextrin.

Vitamins

These are the supplements that I take right now. They do vary from time to time. I read the labels with a magnifying glass.
GNC acidophilus
CVS cod liver oil
Nature's Way Sippery Elm
Solgar vitamin C (non corn source of ascorbic acid)
CVS prenatal vitamins (I'm not pregnant, but this agrees with me and is a good source for iron)

I am not recommending these to anyone. I am listing the supplements that I take on a regular basis and that agree with me.

This is what I use to season my meats, especially roasts. Other soups by this same brand are also good, but check the labels. I've also used their chicken broth and tomato soup.

Vegenaise

This is what I use for a mayo substitute. I found it at a local health food store in the refridgerated section. The problem with regular mayo is that it is made with vinegar. This is made with apple cider vinegar which agrees with me.

Things I Avoid

The following are corn derivatives that I found myself particularly sensitive to. A complete list can be found at www.cornallergens.com.
malt
caramel and caramel coloring
citric acid
dextrose
white vinegar
xanthan gum
vanilla
modified food starch
malto dextrin
iodized salt
powdered sugar

Because of the limit on vinegar, I eliminated all mayo, ketchup and mustard. I did find a mayo at the healthfood store made from apple cider vinegar, "Veganaise". It's not as good as regular mayo, but not bad. I like it mixed with tuna. I use apple cider vinegar on salads along with olive oil.

Wheat

I had noticed at the time of this first flare that I had been eating a lot of whole wheat muffins, made with wheat germ. They were homemade and delicious and I thought they would be healthy. It was here that I got my first clue that wheat may be a problem for me. I started by eliminating all wheat products from my diet; cereal, pizza, bread, bagels, cake, cookies... This immediately helped me, but not 100%.

Gluten

I then turned my attention to eliminating gluten as well. Gluten is a wheat protein, but also found in other grains such as oats and rye. I eliminated these as well. I could still eat potatoes and rice as well as gluten free noodles for my carbs.

Corn

It wasn't until I eliminated corn and all it's derivatives that I finally found 100% relief. This meant popcorn, corn starch, corn syrup. As well as corn derivatives such as white vinegar, citric acid and xantham gum. There area sites on the web that help list corn sources and derivatives. There are a lot! This was not an easy task for my to do. It also meant giving up soda pop! Now I drink Virgil's Cola, which is made from sugar, found in health food stores.

What I Eat

It seems that I would be very limited in what there is to eat. This is true, but I've learned to make substitutions. My basic diet:

All fruits and veggies (except corn)
chicken, pork, beef, fish (no lunch meats)
tuna and sardines
potatoes, rice and gluten free noodles
spaghetti sauce
peanut butter (Jiff)
jelly (without corn syrup or citric acid, hard to find)
pure maple syrup
plain yogurt
most cheese (not soft)
milk (not chocolate)
butter (in moderation because of fat) (no margerine)
olive oil and canola oil
apple cider vinegar
beans, chic peas
eggs
chocolate (pure, read label)
cream of rice cereal
gluten free waffles

Much more which I will go into in the future.