We had a busy weekend, as ever. Our son was here on Saturday to help out with some outside jobs, so I had a baking session (which I always enjoy: baking is "me".) I made the top recipe using Blueberries and then some Raspberries from the freezer (home grown ones from last year). I didn't have a Passionfruit, so omitted that. This was scrummy, but sadly I got a "hit" (as in they affected my breathing) from the Raspberries, as on an Elimination Diet at the moment and hadn't had any for a year anyway. Danny went home with half of this and half of the Blueberry & Lemon Clafoutis (below), which was also very tasty and made using some lovely Duck eggs from our friend and neighbour Nikki. The colour of the yolk was almost orange from them being pasture-fed and it made the batter a beautiful Primrose colour.
For our lunch I made a pizza - just white pizza dough, sprinkled with 1/3 pack of Spicy Chicken pieces, and then sprinkled with Cheddar. Oh My - it was GOOD. I'll make that again. Sorry - no photos of that - we ate it too quickly!
No snazzy dishes for me - I just use my favourite battered old 50p (car boot sale) enamel dishes.
LOOK - this has NEVER been seen before. An empty bookcase. It used to hold my books on Edward Thomas and my poetry books. I had a cull of my Literary bookcase in the blue bedroom yesterday and emptied two shelves - enough to take all the books from this bookcase which I was keeping, but this was culled too and we took four big boxes of books to the Red Cross Book Shop in Llandeilo, to be rehomed (and to make them lots of money I hope). I even began a cull of my cookery books, and ruthlessly got 15 or so out and took most to the Charity table in Tesco to find new homes. Some are more valuable and I will list those on eBay.
I just hope that the Universe has cottoned on to my Downsizing Intentions and will send us a buyer SOON, especially as Danny persuaded me that yes, we could radically downsize to the cottage I liked the best (which Keith considered hopelessly small because we have too much furniture). Danny said we needed very little furniture and that 9/10 of it SHOULD be sold. They didn't want to inherit that problem when we shuffle off this mortal coil . . . That was SO liberating to hear. That said, some of our furniture is very beloved and it will be hard to choose which bits to keep for storage/use. If it's a piece that Keith has restored, he feels a deeper affinity than I do.
I had to go to the Doctor's yesterday - well, I saw the nurse-practitioner (new one on me), who was very helpful. We discussed my problems and the way my asthma is affected far more by what I am eating now, although the pollen on top at this time of year makes it so very much worse of course, and is the reason I've had to take a longer course of steroids - coming off them now, thank heavens, a week later than I wanted to be. I am booked in to see my very good respiratory nurse in 3 weeks' time, and I need to be referred onwards to see an Immunologist at Cardiff to try and sort out the gut problems regarding histamine intolerence/DAO levels etc, but meanwhile I am having to radically change what I am eating, and all dairy has to be sidelined for the moment as I had such a bad reaction last Sunday. So basically I am eating lots of vegan meals only with meat on the side, so to speak! Low-histamine fruit and veg only, and anti-inflammatory foods as well.
Breakfast this morning was an oaty pancake with blueberries. It was very . . . solid! You grind down your oats to make the flour, mix with - in my case - coconut milk. I omitted the two small bananas as they affect DAO in the gut, and then I fried up in a little coconut oil. The recipe said to pour the mixture into the pan - well it lumped in and the photo of little pancake looking things bore no resemblance to my lumpen effort with blueberries on the top. It felt like I had eaten a lead balloon afterwards and I think if I make it again it will be half the oats and more coconut milk!
Right, now I'm off down to make some Spicy Carrot Soup for lunches this week, with lots of anti-inflammatory ingredients.
BB, what about kefir - sending for the grains and making it yourself. They are finding in the States that people with long term auto immune conditions serious ones at that are actually recovering getting better by using the Kefir. Medication has not been able to help them but they have been receiving sometimes extraordinary results using it. You can get Coconut Milk Kefir too as well as Goats Milk, Sheep Milk Kefir. I am pleased to see that you are using the Coconut oil as it is meant to be an antibacterial. You can buy the Kefir grains off Ebay there are different ones available and Scobys for making Kombucha (a tea which is also meant to assist - you can add fruit etc to the flavourings). There is also something called the GAPS diet which helps in many cases to reset the autoimmune system and helps to combat and calm down many issues. #When I started out with my issues I found an article that registered with me about Doctors believing that most illness stemmed from problems with the gut. That article made senses to me logically and since then I have sought more natural and holistic methods of controlling the condition instead of it controlling me. There is a blog I follow in the States about a family who have become Homesteaders. In the past year the wife has been incredibly ill with the Doctors scratching their heads as she has got worse and worse and worse. She is now on the path to recovery and she has used the GAPS diet in that process and from being curled up in bed with no energy is now bouncing back and starting to beat her condition. Asthma is an auto immune disease (an over active immune disease). Trouble is the Doctors do not really understand the immune system. They treat us all the same wherein reality we are all different and all have different triggers. If you type in GAPS diet on Internet should bring up information about this plus a whole recipe base as well. Looks good. Just trying to help and keep you off those nasty steroids. My Consultant flipped when he found out my condition for arthritis etc. was being treated with steroids especially when they realised that the unnamed condition I had was Scleroderma. The Spicy Carrot Soup sounds good. Take care and lots of hugs Tricia xx
ReplyDeleteThanks for that reply Pattypan - sadly Kefir is the reason I am still on steroids as it is VERY high in histamines and made me so ill, and I just cannot take it at the moment. That was why I was awake 21 hours out of 24 for nearly a week, and with my breathing compromised! That is the problem - what would help my gut, would make my asthma much worse. So I have to be so selective with what I eat. You wouldn't think that raspberries and strawberries could affect asthma, but sadly they are both high in histamine. There are other healthy foods which affect the DAO (enzymes) in gut and others release histamine which is being held in your body. Yeesh. Off to check the GAPS diet.
ReplyDeleteI have done a gut microbiome test and know that my gut health is depleted when it comes to probiotics, so I'm taking those as a supplement. Also eating nuts/seeds which although they are high in histamines, help the DAO levels so worth having a bit of a blip.
Could you give me a link to that blog you mentioned? I won't post it on here if you don't want me to as I can just delete your comment rather than share it.
BB the blog is on You Tube and is Justin Rhodes link here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOSGEokQQcdAVFuL_Aq8dlg
DeleteYou may have to go back to last year to read all the way through - or what they have shared anyway but this year he has put up a lovely post about his wife Rebecca really doing well. Its a shame it is the Kefir that is triggering you. Do you react to acidolphus tablets from the Health Food shop - just a thought as I know some people can tolerate them but cannot tolerate the dairy on its own. I like the Kefir it is slightly sourer than yogurt and have found that the probiotics do help me a lot especially with pain management and the fatigue that goes with it. Re the GAPS diet there are a lot of recipes on the web which sound really good - just a different way of cooking what you would call "clean food" without any nasties. It is useful reading and its nice to see someone doing so well. Hope it helps you. Take care sweetie Tricia xx
Thanks Tricia. Oh dear - I could waste a LOT of time on that site!!
DeleteAt the moment, because of the pollen affecting my histamine levels so much, NOTHING I should be avoiding is tolerated. Now the season is ending I should be able to start introducing Kefir again, but I know my "histamine bucket" is overflowing when just 4 raspberries registers a "hit" in my lungs!!
"eating lots of vegan meals only with meat on the side" That brought a smile to my face. Poor you, notice I didn't say old you. Sadly I am ignorant on histamines, Kefir so am little help. But sending healing thoughts to you. xxx
ReplyDeleteWell, the vegan part is all sorts of food combinations which are not naturally "me", and having to eat veg I really am NOT that keen on (beetroot for starters) because it will help my gut.
DeleteGlad I don't quite qualify for "old" yet - we're as old as we feel I guess. Histamines - well our body produces them, but they are also in foodstuffs - and everything I enjoy eating seems to be high in them, which is a right royal p.i.t.b.! Kefir, because it is fermented, is Not Good as it's VERY high in histamines and my body can't take it right now.
Sending healing thoughts to Paul by return.
I just don't know where you get your energy from BB
ReplyDeletePat - at the moment it's the steroids I'm on, which make me climb the walls! I naturally have a fair bit of energy and try to keep active and stay fit. I can't wait to start walking again - I have missed it so much and hate spending the best of the summer indoors looking out on it! Hopefully I can get this health problem sorted - or under control - and my asthma will improve.
ReplyDeleteI want that berry bake now!
ReplyDeleteVery simple to make, so jump to it young man! I know what you mean though - I've just seen a chocolate confection on a Facebook page and I am drooling for it now . . .
ReplyDeleteClafoutis: I had to look that one up--must say no amount of helpful whatevers could impress me with pitted cherries in the original recipe!
ReplyDeleteI love trying to read the titles in other people's bookcases! I have culled books with each move, rather with regrets, but with the stern rule of whether I'd be apt to read a particular work again or find it useful. Likewise with cookbooks--there was a time when I held onto the most interesting for their style of writing and the photos--now realizing that I seldom try anything really different and most of my cookery is very simple--more a method that a recipe.
BTW: Our two offspring take a dim view of most of our 'kept' possessions!