Sunday, December 19, 2010

Alphabet Soup - E is for Edible

2010 has brought me much healing. I've spoken often about the work I've been doing since The Breakdown, the reawakening of my creativity, and the transformation happening as a result. The healing I want to talk about today though, happened much earlier in the year.

This was the year that I put the final pieces into the puzzle that is my hypersensitive digestive system. I stopped eating out, even when traveling, and realized that corn is hidden everywhere. Even in the Vitamin C added to the pure, unsweetened apple juice I would drink gallons of when my energy was low, because I had reacted to something I had eaten! Healing my digestive system made a huge difference. My energy and mood finally stabilized. And, I truly believe (along with the creation of a comfortable home) that this is what made the breakdown and the transformation possible.

In honour of this healing, I will now share some of the recipes I have come to love - because they create freedom and choice for me, and it would make me so happy if they brought the same to someone else :)

Pancakes!

(I made this recipe myself, adapting a milk free recipe and a gluten free recipe)
**gluten free, dairy free, corn free, soy free, nut free**

In a large bowl mix

2/3 cup rice flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
3 tsp baking powder (allergy safe)
1/4 tsp salt

Add 3/4 cup water to the dry ingredients

In a separate bowl mix
2 eggs
2 tbsp PURE maple syrup
2 tbsp grape seed oil

Add to the other ingredients, and away you go!

*We usually heat up a cup of blueberries and add a tablespoon or two of maple syrup and top them with that, and a sprinkle of hemp seed too


Crepes!

Same as above, except I use 1/4 cup of each of the three flours and 2/3 cup of water.

We like to peel, slice and bake apples, with cinnamon, to fill ours with. You can use them with savoury stuffings too... goat cheese, salmon, spinach... mmm


Chicken Curry

(How long have I been promising this one now?!)

This recipe is adapted from a "Morrocan Chicken" recipe in More From The Gluten-Free Gourmet.

It is adapted by my sweetie, who patiently dictated it to me this morning, even though he usually just wings it and it's different every time :D

  • Skin and rinse 9 chicken thighs. Brown in a heavy pan with grape seed oil. Set aside
  • Add 1 1/2 cups of water to that pan adding 1/2 tsp of salt, 2 tsps of sage and 1 tsp of thyme. Bring it to a boil, making sure you get all the goodness off the bottom of the pan from the chicken :) Set aside.
  • Brown a diced, medium yellow onion in that pan. (Make sure they are cooked right down to get rid of all the acid). Add 4 carrots, roughly chopped, and 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced. Cook for 10-15 minutes.
  • In a heated large, deep pot warm 2 tsps cinnamon, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp coriander for about a minute. Add 1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice and 2 tbsps maple syrup. Add in the broth, vegetables, and chicken. Top up with enough water to cover the chicken, if necessary.
  • Add in a yellow pepper, julienned, 10 brown mushrooms, coarsely chopped, cilantro (stalks about the diameter of a nickel), finely chopped. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to low heat. Simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally.
  • Taste and flavour - more salt, sage, thyme, coriander, cumin? We usually know it's done when the chicken is almost falling off the bone.
  • Serve over rice

Recipe can easily be doubled :)


reverb 19 – Healing
What healed you this year? Was it sudden, or a drip-by-drip evolution?
How would you like to be healed in 2011?

3 comments:

Emily said...

Wow- thanks for the recipes! Now, if I could just find someone to cook for me... ;)

How did you find out about all of your allergies? I know I've been tested for the gluten one, but is there a catch-all test for food allergies, or was it more of an elimination thing? It's so hard to find stuff that's gluten-free (and affordable); I can't imagine what it must be like for you when grocery shopping!

Yvonne said...

Wow! Kuddos to you for taking charge of your stomach! lol And thanks for the recipes, I'm going to try them as soon as the holidays are over!

Creatively Sensitive said...

Thanks Yvonne. I hope they work for you!

Emily - I had the Celiac blood test done and it came back negative. My doctor at that time didn't realize that you have to be eating gluten when you have it done! I was already off of it and feeling amazing. Later in that year I was really badly sick - off for a week in both Dec and Jan and realized that there were minute amounts of gluten in chocolates I had eaten. I went hard core hyper vigilant at that point and then as I got better most of the time, I was able to tune in to the times I wasn't. Eliminating one by one... I think at some point I got frustrated and when down to the bare minimum and I've been adding things in Very slowly.

After the gluten left I got rid of - brain fog, low energy, weepiness, poor circulation, foot and calf cramps, joint pain, weird numbness in my second toe on my right foot, scalp sores. And I started to finally increase my iron stores.

Soy - weird face blemishes
Corn - dizziness, irritability/rage attacks (I'm not kidding!)

Email me creativelysensitive@gmail.com if you want more info darling.