Friendly Foods for Fletcher Revisited!

Well after a very long break from blogging I'm back... ready to share my recipes with you again!

Why the long break? Well, a few reasons really.. life got in the way, my interests changed and my priorities slipped. And there's nothing like on horrific, awful, disastrous week where your whole world starts to implode to put you back on track, right?! But I'll go into that later...

Right now I wanted to let you know that I'm back... and I'm going to be a little bit different.
Why? Because I'm different and so is the knowledge and experiences I bring with me.
Because Fletcher is now 5 and a half... and in school... and therefore VERY different, and unfortunately so are his allergies and sensitivities.
Because the world we live in is different and people are looking for a holistic approach to their lifestyles, not just their kitchen!

So sit back.. relax... and come on the journey with me... searching for health, well-being, contentment and good, simple, healthy food! xx

Enlightenment

I've been off work for nearly 4 weeks now, and while in the beginning there was lots of appointments I got to the stage where no-one wanted to see me until my ankle had started to heal. And so I've had lots of time at home, alone and feeling sorry for myself. My mother told me there was a message for me in this experience, I just had to find it. And that's exactly what I've been doing. I've spent the past 3wks using my time alone to find myself - because through knowing me and reassessing my life, I've been able to work out what my message is.

Having time to contemplate means I now realise my work-life balance has been out of whack all year and impacting on my family. I have worked hard at my job (collaborative teaching a Year 4/5 class of 34 students), I have worked hard to help my school community (LIFE, Multicultural Festival, Staff Well-being Committee) and I've worked hard to help my students (challenge themselves, discover themselves). Now - all of this is part of my job as a primary school teacher. I know this, my husband knows this, my family knows this. But it's about the extra effort, the extra thought, the extra concern, the extra time that I've put in had this year... this is the part that's worn me down, or taken me away from my family. Not that I noticed it at the time (I just thought my husband was being picky!). Life is funny you know because all of this stuff that I've been working hard for this year, all of the late meetings, the long days, the stress, the concern.. it's all been leading up to Term 3 - to school camp, to the festival, to presentations and professional development, to great units of work. And guess what - I managed to seriously injure myself just before all of my hard work came to fruition. I have missed every. single. event. All of it!

So what's my lesson? Is it that a job is a job, it's not your life? Is it that family should always come first? Is it not to expect too much of people because you only ended up disappointed? Is it not to expect too much of myself? Is it all of the above?

Honestly, I think it's all of the above. And now that I've got the message I need to ...

"Fireman Sam" Green Smoothie

Yep, FJ is still obsessed with Fireman Sam! Last night it was "naughty Norman is stuck in the tree and it's on fire!", Chris under his breath said "good leave him there!".

And so this morning I made a Fireman Sam Smoothie - it's bright, it's healthy and it's a hit!!

Fireman Sam Smoothie





2tbs protein powder
1tsp Maca powder
1 banana
1 handful spinach leaves
1/2 pineapple
2 cups frozen berries
350ml coconut water

Blitz in thermomix (or blender) sp10 for 2min

Asian Salad

So my first night in the kitchen in over 3wks HAD to be simple... but tasty!! So here it is; it was simple because the salad was a packaged salad and it was tasty 'cuz I added lots of yummy (and weird) ingredients that all just happened to work together!

No recipe to guide me... just love!!

Asian Salad
1pkt crunchy Asian salad mix
2ckn breasts, diced
Splash tamari
Splash dark agave syrup
1tbs coconut oil
1 cup sultanas
1 cup coconut flakes

1. Melt oil
2. Cook chicken, add sauces and cook on medium heat for 10min
3. Add sultantas and cook for 3-5min
4. Make salad as per packet
5. Serve chicken over salad, sprinkle coconut flakes on top.

Yum!!!

One step forward... ten steps back!

Well the best laid plans (of mice and men).... one step forward (two steps backwards).... all of these sayings are running through my head at the moment, because while we thought we were on one path, God and life in general has steered us onto a completely different one!!

A week ago while on a school excursion to the local library I hit some uneven ground, rolled my ankle and fell over. Yep - that simple! Yet, it's not just a roll, it's a fracture. A chunk of bone came off my ankle as I pulled the tendons. Oh wait, but not just that. I pulled the tendons (and ligaments) on the inside of my ankle, the outside of my ankle and the big and important one that sits between the foot and the leg bones. I did a REALLY GOOD JOB of it! Oh yes, I also hurt my left arm, back, neck and shoulders in the process as I literally went straight down (tiiimmm-berrrrrr!).

I'm in a world of pain, but worse than that... I'm frustrated!!! I've been working so hard this year on extra curricular activities - a learning management system (LIFE) that I've become Key Teacher for at my school; school camp (happening next week), the school Multicultural Festival (happening in September); wonderful, detailed and exciting units of work.... all completely out the window as I am completely out of action for the rest of the term.

As I'm sure you can image, with a 2.5yo running around the house and a wife laid up in bed and only just able to move from bed to bathroom to couch thanks to a moon boot and crutches, my husband is looking for easy and simple... so our plan to do the Elimination Diet is out the window until we're back on our feet - literally!

Help is at hand!!

Today I made an appointment for Monday to see Sharon Wilford, the naturopath who I saw when my allergies were at their worst a few years ago.

I am looking forward to having her explain a bit more of this to Chris and help the two of us journey with Fletcher towards wellness and understanding!

Sharon Wilford

Back to the Allergist

Fletcher stopped taking his medicated formula in about May as the prescription we had didn't specify vanilla and the new chemist took that to the letter of the law and wouldn't give us vanilla. Despite the allergist, paediatrician and GP all stating it was okay.. he refused. And so Fletcher refused to drink the plain old Elecare LCP - and to be honest, I don't blame him... it's awful!!

So... being 6mths over due for his 2 year check up at Allergy Medical I booked him in to see the Professor. 

Wow - what a whirlwind and amazing visit. The Professor diagnosed Fletcher and I almost on site,but proceeded to complete the skin prick testing to confirm.

Drumroll....

We both have a severe chemical sensitivity.

Now this is upsetting but not at all surprising. What's a severe chemical sensitivity you ask? Well, it's what causes those dark and/or red  circles under your eyes... the blotchiness on fair skin, the tickle in your ears, nose and throat at night (particularly around 8pm). It's having to blow your nose in the morning so that you can speak without sounding like Fran Drescher. It's those strange red marks you get around your mouth after eating pineapple, strawberries and other acidic fruits. It's the reason people do the Elimination Diet and, it's what my Mum was diagnosed with years ago.

What does this mean?

Foods vary greatly in natural chemical composition. The substances most likely to upset sensitive people are salicylates (family of plant chemicals - think bright in colour high in salicylates), amines (proteins found within foods that increase as foods age, mature or ripen) and glutamate (an amino acid building block of all proteins - it enhances the flavour of foods). There's of course also food additives to keep in mind! As severely chemically sensitive people, Fletcher and I need to be careful with our foods and complete the Elimination Diet (either moderate or severe) to work out exactly what chemicals we react to. It might be food or environment based, it might be salycilates, amines, glutamates or all three! Who know, until you get your body back to base line and introduce things slowly and see what you react to.

So this is where we are at in our journey.

I was seeing a wonderful naturopath, Sharon Wilford a few years ago and I am looking forward to asking her advice on how we proceed with this.

I will keep you posted!

Sweet Potato Slice

Fletcher liked this one, but me not so much... if you give it a try, let me know what you think. It may be nice with a good lashing of butter and honey... but that defeats the purpose!!

300 grams sweet potato mash

1/2 cup coconut flour

3 eggs

3 tablespoons of coconut milk

1 teaspoon bicarb soda / baking soda

Juice of half a lemon

pinch of salt

1. Preheat your oven to 180 
2. Grease and line a slice tin with baking paper hanging oven the sides for easy removal. 
3. Put the ingredients into your food processor or blender and pulse until well combined. 
4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, smooth over the top with a spoon. 
5. Bake for 40 minutes. Cover the loaf with foil and bake for a further 20 minutes. 
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before slicing.

Rice Salad

2 cups cooked brown rice
1 medium can of corn kernels
1/2 cup cranberries
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/3 bunch fresh Italian parsley, roughly chopped
1 cup roasted pumpkin
1 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to season
curry powder

Run the rice under cold water in a colander.

Leaving the rice in the colander pour the entire can of corn (liquid and all) over the rice. Mix.

Add the rest of the ingredients and still well.

Season with oil, salt, pepper and curry powder. Toss well.

Refrigerate. Lasts approximately 5 days in the fridge.

Apricot Balls

1 cup dried apricots
2 cups shredded coconut
1 tbs coconut milk

Place ingredients in food processor and process until wet and sticky. Approximately 10min, sometimes longer.

Roll into balls and roll through additional shredded coconut.
Keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Will last approximately 2wks.