Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Every time I think I know which foods are not my friends...

I sometimes wonder when it will end...this quest to find the best for me to ingest. Well, I started out googling my symptoms out of frustration, then doctor visit after doctor visit and finally a determination that I have thyroid disease and Hashimoto's disease which changed my life forever...for the better.

I gave up gluten then on and on and on I went...eliminating foods that are not my friends...foods that do not work for my insides.

Bascially I eat vegetables, vegetables, vegetables...but I will eat some fish, and chicken, and meat at times...fruit is still not my friend, I guess, but that's okay.

I was inspired by Joe Cross and his documentary FAT, SICK, AND NEARLY DEAD. I don't know about the juicing, but the empasis on mostly vegetables hit home...I began to realize I worked for years finding gluten free alternatives and less on gluten free choices that are nutritionally beneficial...duh...vegetables! I feel the best when I ingest them.

I am staying away from nuts again...don't seem to agree with me. So what DO I eat??? Vegetables, but not potatoes, tomatoes, or peppers because they can cause inflamation and that excites my Hashimoto's autoimmune disease. I also make my own buckwheat flatbread for my bread eating. I like seeds too.

Well, that's enough for now. I feel good...really!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

When I didn't know I had Hashimoto's Disease...





A challenge was presented at Hashimoto 411 on Facebook. Post a photo of yourself in your teens...a time when you didn't know you had Hashimoto's disease. Well, I am almost fifty-nine years old and have only known about having this autoimmune disease for about a year and a half after a surgeon removed a suspicious nodule and part of my thyroid and told me I have Hashimoto's disease.
The pic is from high school, a time when many teens obsess about dates and blemishes, but when I think back I had always been constipated growing up and had headaches and sometimes migraines. In my twenties I had an infertility problem when my husband and I tried to start a family, and when I finally did get pregnant I had to have c-sections. I also had some problems trying to breast feed too.
In my thirties my itchy blistery rashy face messed with my self esteem, especially when I went back to college for writing. I seemed to be constantly flushed with the stress of going to college full-time and raising kids too.
Weight gain added to my self esteem lowering and my joints ached; weariness plagued my days.
I escaped by writing fiction. Creating characters and dialogue helped me forget about feeling poorly. I loved my family, but my quality of life was problematic. And yet, I didn't know anything else.
It was in my early fifties while my hubby and I were running a mom and pop diner operation that I had to have a kidney stone lithotripsied and my health seemed to go downhill with every passing day. I was so fatigued I was close to fainting. My insides felt like a bunch of those skinny balloons blown up when I ate. One day I said to my husband, "What do you feel when you eat, I mean, inside your body?" He gave me a curious look and said, "I don't feel anything, what are you talking about?"
I googled my symptoms and suspected a gluten intolerance so I began to watch what I ate but didn't eliminate gluten completely for a while. I went to the doctor's and told him how horrible I felt. He did some bloodwork and said I might have Hashimoto's but at that time he did nothing about it and I didn't know what he was talking about, since I had never heard of it. He sent me to a GI doctor and we did the acid reflux meds and I told him I was avoiding gluten to which he shook his head like, "What the...," but after a few months he told me he thought I should go to an endocrinologist and I would have to to be referred by my doctor. My doctor moved away so I began to see another doctor. She referred me to an endocrinologist. There was a long wait but I eventually saw her and she put me on a low dose of Synthroid. Two years later, she relocated and I was seeing her P.A., who was the one who sent me for a sonogram and the nodule was found.
The doctor who first told me I might have Hashimoto's but didn't pursue it at the time is also the doctor who wanted to put me on pills for breaking down proteins but I refused because the side effects were too hard for me to risk taking on. I mean, flapping your arms and wagging your tongue and becoming depressed. No thanks!
I could write a book about these experiences and I might but at this point I prefer to focus on fiction. I gave my eighth novel a main character with Hashimoto's disease; it is with me all the time...all consuming.

So here it is...my teenage photo, a time when I hadn't suffered for years not knowing I could have had help. I have help now...and I am thankful and determined to help others discover their autoimmune situation as early as possible. Life is amazing...especially when you feel better.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Baked buckwheat blueberry pecan flatbread








I did it! I made something that I like that has no sugar, eggs, dairy, gluten, grains...yikes! I am excited!

I whipped up the flatbread recipe (see below) except I added a generous handful of chopped pecans and some frozen wild blueberries and cinnamon. This time I poured them on parchment paper and baked them on a baking sheet in a 350 deg. oven for fifteen minutes.

They look like big chocolate chip cookies from afar but they are yummy nutritious beauties. I am psyched!

Recipe for flatbread:

1 cup buckwheat flour

2 tab arrowroot starch

1 tab baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

mix

Add

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sunflower seed milk ( or whatever milk you like)

2 tab olive oil (or other kind)

Blend and let sit for 10 minutes

Why I don't do gluten...Hashimoto sufferer...

"Either way, such an immune response is never good for a person with Hashimoto’s or other autoimmune disease. The immune system is already imbalanced and overactive during an active autoimmune condition. A consistent immune reaction to a regular food in the diet only makes the immune system more volatile, further exacerbating the autoimmune condition.
This overall activation of the immune system creates inflammation and explains why symptoms of gluten sensitivity vary. For some the inflammation may target the joints, creating pain and swelling. For others skin rashes and skin disorders ensue. Many others suffer inflammation in the brain, resulting in brain fog, mood and anxiety disorders, or memory loss.
The list of inflammation-induced symptoms brought on by a gluten sensitivity goes on and depends upon the person’s genetic makeup. Needless to say such systemic inflammation also flares up an autoimmune condition.
Experience shows a gluten-free diet is a must
In my experience, most Hashimoto’s patients fall somewhere between gluten sensitivity and celiac disease. Nevertheless, almost all patients with Hashimoto’s improve on a strict gluten-free diet, even if they do not fit the established criteria of celiac disease. By strict I mean you are 100 percent gluten-free. Because the immune reaction to gluten has been shown to last up to six months after exposure, cheat days or occasionally eating gluten will derail the therapeutic benefits of a gluten-free diet."

-taken from www.thyroidbook.com DR K!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

buckwheat flatbread sunbutter and jelly sandwich

I took two buckwheat flatbreads made two days ago and toasted them. Spread them with sunbutter (spread made with crushed sunflower seeds) and jelly. Delicious! looks like a pbj on whole wheat but it isn't...tastes great! A nice variation of the childhood fave.
Recipe for flatbread:
1 cup buckwheat flour
2 tab arrowroot starch
1 tab baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
mix
Add
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sunflower seed milk ( or whatever milk you like)
2 tab olive oil (or other kind)
Blend and let sit for 10 minutes

Cook on lightly oiled griddle. Flip once. Cool on wire rack.

Use for pancakes or flatbread Can bag them up and use them when desired. Enjoy!


Tuesday, February 14, 2012

stripping it down...still tasty




In my daily quest to feel the best I can feel...I tweaked the last recipe I posted. I used all buckwheat flour instead of half corn meal. I also used arrowroot instead of cornstarch. I am not going corn free but trying to strip it all down to what truly works in my insides.

So here it is again.

1 cup buckwheat flour
2 tabs arrowroot
1 tab baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup sunflower seed milk
1/2 cup water
2 tabs pure maple syrup
2 tabs olive oil
1/2 tsp vanilla

Enjoy this grainfree, gluten free, casein free, egg free, refined sugar free yummy pancake/flatbread alternative. PS leave out the syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon for a plain alternative flatbread variety.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

more buckwheat pancake success

Hello! it has been a while. I have been busy meeting my tenth grandchild and helping hubby with his health problems, as he suffered a stroke recently.

I have committed to NO casein for the last few weeks and I will never go back. i was strict about gluten and soy and tried not to ingest too much in the way of dairy but there is so much hidden casein in a variety of products it was hard to know I was ingesting it but no more...I feel so much better all around and my body is functioning better in all ways...so hurray!

I adapted a recipe I found on the Intenet bu Isa Chandra Moskowitz on the Epicurious.com site...

Medium heat griddle, sprayed with oil

Mix
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal or corn flour
2 TAB cornstarch
1 TAB baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
Mix well
Then add
1/2 cup sunflower seed milk
1/2 cup water
2 TAB pure maple syrup
2 TAN olive oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Mix and let rest 10 minutes then ladle on to headted grill flip after bubbles form or before.
Enjoy!

I am benefitting from joining the Hashimoto 411 group on facebook~