Gluten-Free Noodle Recipe Round-Up

It's the end of March- and that means it's time for the Gluten-Free Noodle Recipe Round-Up. A few weeks back, certain individuals saucily tossed out an invitation to fellow gluten-free bloggers: Show off your gluten-free noodle love!

So grab a fork, some chopsticks, and a good sized spoon. These recipes are not only gluten-free, they're twirl and slurp worthy.

Read more + get the recipe >>

Purple Potato & Carrot Quiche

A gluten-free flourless quiche with purple potatoes.

Purple Potato and Carrot Quiche Recipe

A small brown bunny hopped by the casita early this morning. Fruit trees by the Chama River are blooming, laced with soft pinks and cream. Spring is arriving in tiny steps. I found some young purple potatoes at the market in town this week. Slim crisp carrots. Organic eggs. Perfect ingredients for an easy spring supper.

After five years of making flourless quiche recipes, I no longer miss the pie crust I used to love. This surprises me, but I'm not unhappy about it. Quiches filled with roasted vegetables are beautiful. Every slice reveals its own mosaic of edible jewels embedded in a creamy custard. Purple, yellow, green and orange. The colors of spring.

Ingredients:

First, roast your veggies:

3 baby or smallish purple or blue potatoes, sliced into wedges/slices

2 small gold potatoes, sliced into wedges

1 medium carrot, peeled, cut into thin sticks

A handful of small broccoli florets

Half a medium zucchini, chopped

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

Toss the veggies and garlic in a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil, and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper; roast in a 375 degree F oven until fork tender, about 40 minutes or so. Remove and set aside. Keep the oven on.

Prepare the custard:

5 large organic free-range eggs

1/2 cup Half and Half, sour cream, or milk

Pinch of fresh grated nutmeg

Whip the custard ingredients with a whisk till frothy.

Instructions:

Grate your favorite cheese: Swiss, cheddar, Gruyère - it's all good. You'll need about a cup of grated cheese.

Lightly oil or butter a 9-inch pie plate.

Spoon the roasted veggies into the plate and arrange them evenly. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top. Pour the custard over the veggies and cheese, allowing it to seep in and around all the vegetables.

Options:

Add a half cup chopped sweet onion to the roasted vegetable mix.

Add some chopped chives or spring onions to the custard.

Add a tablespoon of fresh chopped herbs to the custard - parsley, marjoram, or basil.

Bake the quiche in the center of the oven till set and golden, about 25 to 35 minutes. Test doneness with the wiggle method [jiggle the pie plate a bit to see if the center shimmies; if it does, cook for five more minutes] or if it's very close to done, insert a small thin knife into the center - if it emerges clean, you're good to go.

Set the hot quiche on a wire rack to cool a bit before slicing and serving (this allows for a more precise slice).

Serve with a salad of baby spring greens and glasses of crisp white wine. Raise your glass and toast spring.

Serves 6.

Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

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Sour Cream Apple Cake

A moist and sweet gluten-free apple cake with sour cream.

Tis the season for flourless cakes, so I thought I might reprise one of my first gluten-free recipes, based on a traditional Jewish apple cake recipe I had used for years. Using nut meal instead of flour is a baking tradition in Eastern Europe and a favorite way to make a cake during the season of Passover. Almond meal makes this cake a dense, chewy and delicious dessert or a perfect snack with tea.

Karina's Jewish Apple Cake Recipe with Sour Cream

Almond meal gives this gluten-free wheat-free apple cake a satisfying chewy texture. Both blanched and regular almond meal works. Blanched almonds produce a slightly softer flour.

Ingredients:

5 medium apples, room temperature, peeled, cored (I use a mix of both tart and sweet apples)

A little lemon juice for spritzing the apples

Wet ingredients:

3 large organic free-range eggs

1 cup packed organic light brown sugar

1/2 cup organic cane sugar

2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla extract [or use Kosher vanilla powder, to taste]

3 tablespoons extra light olive oil

1/4 cup sour cream

Dry ingredients:

2 cups almond flour aka almond meal

1/4 cup rice or sorghum flour

1/2 cup potato starch or tapioca starch

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder* see notes

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon McCormick Apple Pie Spice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or cardamom

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

To assemble:

Organic light brown sugar

1/2 cup pecan or walnut halves

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 10-inch Springform pan with greased parchment paper. Springform pans are deeper than average cake pans.

Chop the apples and toss them into a bowl; spritz with a little fresh lemon juice. Toss to coat.

In a separate bowl beat the eggs with the sugar until smooth. Add the vanilla, oil and sour cream; beat to combine.

Stir together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Slowly add them into the wet mixture and combine well.

Drain the apples, if necessary (you don't need any extra lemon juice). Toss them in a light sprinkle of cane sugar.

Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared pan.

Add the drained sugared apples into the batter. Shake the pan a bit.

Add half of the nuts.

Pour the remaining batter on top of the apples; shake the pan again to distribute the batter around the apple pieces.

Add the rest of the nuts to the top and lightly press in.

Bake in the center of a preheated oven. The cake should be done in about 60 to 70 minutes. Test for doneness with a small thin knife. If the cake begins to over-brown before it is done, cover the edges loosely with pieces of foil.

Cool on a rack for ten ten to fifteen minutes. Loosen the cake gently from the sides of the pan with a thin spatula. Release the clasp and remove the pan ring. Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack.

Serve warm or room temperature.

Wrap up leftover cake slices individually in foil; seal in a freezer bag, and freeze. To thaw, unwrap and allow the cake to reach room temperature.

Servings: 8 - 10

Enjoy sugary treats in moderation. Gluten-Free Goddess advises consuming no more than 2 tablespoons of sugar a day.

Recipe Notes: 

As always, make sure the oven is preheated.   

I used large eggs, not extra large. 

Make sure the apples are drained well and not cold. 

If you use a smaller cake pan the cake may stay wet in the center. 

I baked this cake at sea level and it took an hour; but as always, go by your own experiential wisdom. If the cake needs a bit longer to bake, please do so, and keep an eye on it. 

Sometimes I mix it up and use a combo of pears and apples.

Vegetarian Enchiladas Griegos with Spinach + Feta

Rain clouds above the mesa, toward Abiquiu.

Today is our anniversary. It is raining here in the high desert. Cloud cover blankets the mesa in a soft dove gray that is flirting with lavender. We married in this weather twelve years ago, sprinting through Cape Cod wind and mist to reach the antique door of our local Justice of the Peace without getting wet, the four of us stepping over the threshold to become a family.

Me and my three men- my love and my two sons.

I look at the photographs taken by the Justice's husband, our single witness. We are so young, all of us. Arms linking. There is palpable tenderness.

The boys are now men. They stand taller than my five-foot-eight. My husband and I, well. We are wiser. And weathered. And we remain expectant. This has been a year of enormous change.

We have sold most of our belongings (keeping our favorite books and paintings) and moved west. From the eastern shore to the high desert. From what was predictable and safe to what is unknown. What is possible. What might be.

After thirteen years together we are still exploring, still traveling, still on our way to somewhere. We are painting less and writing more. We are listening to each other with deeper affection, having shed many old expectations. We have come through a lot this year, on many levels. And so have our sons. Their own lives have not stood still. They too have faced changes and embraced risk.

I look out the window of my studio and exhale. I say a silent prayer for twelve more years. And twelve more years.

And twelve more years.

Read more + get the recipe >>

Spot the difference

Not much happen today... but I can't believe how fast this college year has gone by, its almost over! So i'm just making sure everything is done and handed in. So i've done lots of work and spent some time playing guitar and being creative.

After that, while being bored and came across a picture on the web from the Wisconsin University Primate study section. The difference is stunning...

One is CR'd and one is not. Both the same age!



As I cut down my porridge to two days a week, I now going to just have it one day a week and then probably less.



As april said before, it doesn't really provide much nutrition and there are far better foods that can contribute to a better CR.

Starvation for long Life

I posed this on the CRS Mainlist. But will post it here too cos I don't have anything to write about today. Basically there was a paper pubhsed which has been posted in the CR Mainlist and it said that there would be extremely little to gain from middle life CR and early CR. Anything from 2 years gained life expectancy if started in middle age, to 9 years if one started in their 20's and done 30% CR... and this what I think.

Starvation for long Life
If you look at the average person by middle-late age they usually suffer from multiple ailments such as pre diabetes or full blown diabetes, overweight, heart disease, high blood pressure, and other chronic debilitating conditions which can be attributed to a lifetime of neglect. The average person has poor food choices, poor micronutrient intake and usually several deficiencies, one being omega 3 which is quite common and under-diagnosed in the west.

If you look at Seventh Day Adventist their life expectancy is much greater than that of the average American by just engaging in a healthy lifestyle and NOT being CR'd at all. As reported before their average BMI seems to be in the upper end of normal around BMI 23-25. With vegetarians being leaner and gaining slightly increased life expectancy over non vegetarian Seventh Day Adventists. So diet alone.

[1] article states "Researchers discovered that the life expectancy of a 30-year-old vegetarian Adventist woman was 85.7 years, and 83.3 years for a vegetarian Adventist man. This exceeds the life expectancies of other Californians by 6.1 years for women and 9.5 years for men. Non-vegetarian Adventist women in the group had a life expectancy of 84 years, and non-vegetarian men, 81 years"

Their reduction in heart disease in Calorie Restrictors will be more significant. Looking at the data gathered in the study at WUSTL the risk for CRONies is extremely low. This spans across all age ranges from anecdotal reports. This effects isn't unexpected as it has already been observed in many other species. Human are more prone to heart disease and is right up there as the biggest killer... and CRON virtually eliminates it, our risk is almost 0. Not to forget an improvement in heart function from 15-20 years younger than a CRers actual age [5]. Sure, you can argue that we were going against some fat middle aged ad libers, but then who the hell do you think we compare to? These people are still part of the population with an average BMI of close to 25 than still manage to survive into their late 70's despite complete ignorance and neglect of nutrition and health.

There is also NO CHANCE unless you have some extreme predisposition to it for getting type two diabetes.

With low cholesterol, combined with low blood pressure our risk of both ischemic and cerebral hemorrhage will be quite low. At least from the evidence being gathered at the moment.... Those with extremely low lipids <150mg/dl combined with high blood pressure, be careful one of your arteries don't pop as you get older. Risk is usually after the age of 60. Although your risk would still be lower than that of a person who has high cholesterol which results in an ischemic stroke. CRON works wonders against both.

Survival to old age

In a study spanned over many years a report came out in JAMA showing that men with no risk factors had a probability of survival to oldest age as high as 69%. And the probability of reaching 85 years was 55% with no risk factors (which almost CRONers typically meet all Criteria) and fell to 9% with 6 or more risk factors, which most of the people in the U.S have by the time they reach 50. [4].

So the study above indicates that CRONers, just by disease reduction alone can expect much greater chance of survival into their late 80's without the help of Calorie Restriction to actually slow down *AGING* itself.

Aubrey De Grey

Good smart guy, but his theory of an absolute maximum of 2 year extension will be proven wrong in the rhesus monkey studies soon. Obesity avoidance studies at a university which I can't remember the name of right now showed that the average monkey on a CR'd diet lived to around 32 years (equivalent of 96 human years?) and was 30% longer than ad lib with 30% CR. Survival curves on the study from Wisconsin are still too early to tell, but they look like they are doing quite a good study here. NIA studies IMO are just messed up, way too low in fat also.

In the grand scheme of things what can we expect?

If you take a step back a minute and realise that CALORIE RESTRICTION is the only known consistent way to extend maximal lifespan in many species, then it becomes clear that your best bet, by a long shot is to CRON your way to 100+.

Think of the differences in human longevity, from person to person. One person can live decades than another. Isn't that AMAZING?! Calment lived DECADES longer than the average person... Her aging was much slower than the average person. There are centenarians that live to old age and centenarians that survive to old age. Calment lived and survived to old age with luck, genetics and possibly lifestyle factors. But it shows you just how much of a degree there can be between how much longer one can possibly live.

CR can be compared to having good genes. No actually, I'd go further than that... I'd say that CRON is BETTER in some cases than just having good genes. CRON = a genetic shift towards extreme longevity.

The question remains whether we can equal someone like Calments longevity, or can we surpass it easily. My bet would be that through CRON the person with good enough genes will come very close because the rate of aging will be slowed to an equivalent or better than a person who reaches extreme longevity 110+ years. And the extreme reduction in disease, combined with advanced medical care will enable most of us here to become centenarians. Especially for those that started young.

Was Walford being realistic with his numbers?

IMO I think the answer is yes, to a certain extent. I really believe that CR will put us on a survival curve that is ends much beyond what the average person is on. Maybe he was being a tad optimistic but I don't think he was that far off.

From what I've seen, our cohort attracts young looking people for their age, or long term CRON has dramatically slowed down how old they appear to be. Especially long term CRONers.... I wont mention names though, I love you all and don't want anyone to feel bad if I miss them out :p lol.

I believe by starting in ones 20's they will extend their own lifespan by 20-30 years at least. Optimistic ??? I don't care, I hear optimistic people live longer

I don't have the page reference. But DR Roy Walford mentions in his book, and its true.

In order to do LIFE LONG CALORIE RESTRICTION you have to maintain a conviction, a strong belief that Calorie Restriction will result in significant gains in life extension otherwise you probably wont stick to it all your life and gain those many extra years or decades.

The huge difference between when the average person dies, and when the oldest human ever documented lived is huge, spanning over 40 years? That’s a remarkable reduction in the rate of aging. Aging must have been slowed in her, and damn right, CRON will slow the aging for us. To what degree is up for debate. But I would bet that our average life expectancies will be up their with those lucky few who survived to extreme old age without the help of calorie restriction.

If anything is going to work, its CR for sure.


Matt



[1] Study Links Adventist Lifestyle With Longevity http://news.adventist.org/data/2001/06/0995375716/index.html.en

[2] Body mass index and patterns of mortality among Seventh-day Adventist men. Lindsted K, Tonstad S, Kuzma JW.
PMID: 1885263

[3] Fraser GE. Associations between diet and cancer, ischemic heart disease, and all-cause mortality in non-Hispanic white California Seventh-day Adventists. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 Sep;70(3 Suppl):532S-538S.

[4] Midlife Risk Factors and Healthy Survival in Men http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/296/19/2343

[5] Long-term calorie restriction is highly effective in reducing the risk for atherosclerosis in humans http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/101/17/6659

[6] Caloric restriction appears to prevent primary aging in the heart http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-01/wuso-cra011206.php

[7] http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/guide/20061101/optimism-may-help-you-live-longer

Yay!

Not long got back from college but found out that I got good marks in two tests I did recently.

Physics 92%
Human Physiology (nutrition) 95%

The only reason I never got 100% is because I misunderstood one of the questions, as did everyone else. Although I still got the highest mark in the class lol :)

Now the bad news.

I looked around BUPA website and consultation costs anywhere from £100-250. thats upto almost $500 for you americans. Then operations and scans typically run in to the thousands. So unless I win the lottery, I guess i'll wait in line with all the others on our lovely free national health service =/

Oh yeah, and I have a bone splinter sticking through my gum near the tooth extraction site. I assume it will just make its way out of the gum, eventually.

Quick Update

I've updated a bit of my website and blog, but have lots to do which will now have to wait until next week when I have some more time. My updated results page can be found on the right side on this page somewhere in the middle of this page "my lab test results". I've sort of colour coded them so its much easier to read. Anyone that would like their CR blog link up please let me know.

Also the peripheral neuropathy and twitching that resulted from the metronidazole has completely resolved as far as I can tell.

Gotta finish off some college stuff now :0

Office work weight gain

Wow! What a difference when I walked into work this evening. People seemed to have just gotten, erm, huge! Like not just gaining a pound or two but many, and it shows. Almost all looked VERY different after only around 4 weeks of not seeing them. I guess most of them can't actually see it themselves... I noticed that it was a little difficult to the weight dropping from myself while I was doing CR, but others noticed especially when they did not see me for a while. Obviously i'm not going to say anything to those that seem to be getting quite fat. Most of them are actually more new recruits into the centre. I guess call centre work is a great place to gain weight. Ahwell, at least there are about 3 other skinny people like me there lol.

I wish I could be at April and Michaels CR gathering thing... but distance is huge and money is little. So see you at the conference :) Whoever is going on 24th March, have a nice time.

Off to do some Yoga now :)

Gluten-Free Gypsy Soda Bread

Gluten-free soda bread, gypsy style.

By the time I attended art school and launched into life on my own I had moved ten times and attended nine different schools in four different states. Not all that unusual, I imagine, for many Americans. And for those of us with nomadic ancestry it simply feels natural to do so, to gather up and move in sync with the wheel of the seasons, aligned with winged migrations and turning stars.

I have always kept a gypsy heart, even when it wasn't easy. Even when I let her out only in my deepest dreams, inside a brushstroke, or as I stirred a makeshift dough with one of my young sons, improvising ingredients on a budget so small every dollar bill mattered.

Read more + get the recipe >>

A Simple Bowl of Rice

Simple rice bliss.

A simple bowl of brown rice and veggies. Not even a recipe. Just bliss.

Inside this humble gluten-free goddess is an on-again off-again vegan/vegetarian. For almost forty years I politely declined meat- though I did eat eggs and cheese, and during my pregnancies, I ate fish. During the prickly years of peri-menopause I added small amounts of chicken or turkey into my weekly menu.

Celiac is an interesting twist in all this life-long veggie love. It has deepened my gratitude for simple joys, like sitting outside in the warm spring sun, holding a bowl of short grain brown rice topped with roasted vegetables. On a day like this I cannot help but feel so damn lucky.

So today, as the warm sun lingers longer than it did yesterday on our small casita tucked into the junipered hill by the mesa, I thought I might celebrate a simple bowl. 

A bowl of chewy, earthy gluten-free goodness, satisfying and fabulous.

A Simple Bowl of Rice

Leftovers make this hot lunch super fast and easy. So plan ahead and cook a little extra rice for dinner.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup cooked short grain brown rice, per person
1 cup of assorted stir-fried fresh veggies, per person
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt

Instructions:

Heat a splash of extra virgin olive in a skillet and add the cooked brown rice and veggies. Season with sea salt. Stir with a wooden spoon until heated through and sizzling.

Spoon into your favorite bowl and sit outside, if you can, breathing in the spring. Or find a spot by a window, and sit in the sun.

Hold your bowl. Smile. Eat!

[GF] Goddess Cookie Bars on BBC Slink? Cool.

Today's BBC - Slink featured an upbeat-offbeat [and often tongue-in-cheek] article on food allergies and intolerances titled, A-List Allergies, and linked to this [GF] Goddess recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Squares, listing said delights as reason numero uno to look on the "Bright Side" of having a food allergy, cuz, and I quote: "Tons of people have them - You immediately belong to a secret club full of people coming up with kickass special recipes. So next time your mates are stuffing their faces with junk you can bust out some tastier and healthier gluten-free cookies.

Very cool.

Omega 3 , Chocolate and Red Wine

Two stories today in the news

Chocolate can keep cancer, heart disease and strokes at bay

Supplement 'boosts' brain power

First I will give you a quick story of something I noticed when I began taking omega 3 a few years ago.

I'm not sure beneficial changes are ONLY seen in children... When I started to take Omega 3 (cod liver oil / Fish oil) a few years ago I noticed a dramatic improvement in my ability to remember things and concentrate. I went from not reading a full book to reading 50+ books in one summer. I hated school and then loved it. My 'desire' to learn increased and everything seemed more interesting while things like football seemed much less interesting, watching it became boring and watching science documentary became interesting!. My confidence also improved a lot. I also noticed the supplement took around 3 months for it to really kick in. I think this was the point when my curiosity really began. Family also noticed the difference after I had started to take this supplement.

Now on the chocolate. What I really don't like is the word "cheating". People use the term when they have a snack on a 'diet' that says not to eat this kind of food. It seems silly in my opinion. There are just good choices and bad choices, and you should never feel guilty from indulging in having some chocolate or your favourite treat. Sure you have to think about calories and getting nutrition first but there is usually room just to have things in extreme moderation. I typically enjoy 1 square of Lindt Dark chocolate 85% everyday.



Remember those little christmas calander things with the doors you opened for each day? Its like that for me. I enjoy this little treat and it helps. Anything that helps you accomplish your CR is good. As long as your diet is well balanced with many foods that will provide all essential nutrients.

Some people may enjoy the daily glass of Red Wine, which I question whether there will be any benefit whatsoever for CRers who already have really low disease risk. As the amount of resveratrol in Red Wine will probably not act via increasing SIRT1 (longevity gene) and being a CR mimmetic as a much higher dose is needed.



So because of the VERY LOW risk of things like diabetes, heart disease and a big reduction in the risk of cancer while doing CR I am not yet convinced in why drinking red wine would be additive, same goes for chocolate... in fact, MR reckons chocolate has some dark sides to it.

So we should all have our own comfort food and NOT feel guilty in anyway when we consume them in moderation. If you are going to enjoy a treat at least try to make it a somewhat healthy one. It really does't hurt to enjoy it on a daily basis either if it only comes to around 50-100k/cal.

And if you screwed up on CR for one day, chill, you have years to refine your diet so just move on and in time you will feel in more control and comfortable. And if you need to you can always average your calories out over the week.

Now i'm off to have a bit of dark chocolate and green tea.

Feeling a bit better

I think the worst is over now and I feel almost back to normal, I think. It's sad that my dog isn't around but I know I just have to move on with things. Moaning and feeling sad isn't productive and will just make me worse. It already has made this Post Nasal Drip thing worse(yuch). More on that later...

I usually deal with death of a relative or animal well, eventually. I've had many grandparents and great grandparents die over the last 10 years (all smoking related lung cancer), and most of them I got over and stopped feeling really sad within a few days to a week. Although as I grow more mature and older it can get a little harder because I understand more. Its weird but it seems my dog, lucky, has been the hardest to get over. Its certainly getting much easier everyday, although it hurts a bit when I come across a picture of him around the house. Because I usually get over deaths of family quite quickly doesn't mean I don't care, it's just thats always been me. Many years I think I was too occupied with other things like football, friends and college so I never had too much time to think about it. I guess all that running around on a daily basis in football probably elevated my mood a lot and helped forget about these things.

Fresh Vegetable Soup with Lime

Here's an easy fresh vegetable soup recipe you'll love.

It's still soup weather here in northern New Mexico, so certain individuals lugged out their Crock Pot this week and pondered the gentle, slow art of vegetarian potage. This new soup recipe is fresh tasting and full of flavor, kicked up with spicy green chiles a generous squeeze of lime.

Read more + get the recipe >>

Easy Mediterranean Tuna (or Salmon) & Artichoke Pasta

Easy comfort food- pasta with tuna or salmon.

The moment I knew my first marriage was failing faster than you could murmur blueberry pancakes on a stick was the minute my moody first husband shoved his untouched plate of tuna noodle casserole across the lemon-waxed bridal table and declared, I'm not eating this crap.

A man who cannot fathom the comfort- albeit guilty pleasure- of a Wednesday night sixties classic is a person who might also belittle your favorite actor in a role so crackling in its own shiver of guilty pleasure that the hair on the back of your neck stands up when you hear Point Break is on HBO again.

In other words, Dear Reader, if a guy mocks your noodles and your Keanu, it might be time to stiffen your spine and rustle up the courage to reconsider your choice of a life partner.

Yup. You gotta go down, Brah. Vaya con Dios.

And, oh, in case you're wondering where Husband #2 stands on Keanu?


Dude. He's a major fan. Definitely.

Read more + get the recipe >>

Gluten-Free Smackdown

Our very own gluten-free blogger Jennifer (of Jennifer Ate) has written a mouthwatering wrap-up and review of the very first Gluten-Free Cooking Spree over at Epicurious.

The New York event was the first of several Iron Chef-style cook-off fundraising events planned and sponsored by the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness. Hustle on over to the NFCA website to find out when and where the next fun and fabulous Cooking Spree will take place. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to snag a ticket (the New York event sold out!).

PS: And if you go, you just might win an original gluten-free apron designed and donated by yours truly. I'm donating two gluten-free themed aprons to each event.

Test results

I went to the doctors to pick up my results today. The receptionists are evil and charge me £10 for them to press print. But my Good Doctor insisted that I have them done for free :)

The stress i've been under don't seemed to have done anything major to most of my health markers. It makes me wonder if people blaming their poor lab results on stress is really valid. I mean sure stress is negative and do have an impact, but I bet you can counter most of the effects from stress with a good diet. Only when people are stressed I suppose they don't feel like making the effort to eat healthily, right?

So lab results are here

Glucose is down to 77mg/dl ! (after switching to ZONE diet)
C-reative Protein < 1mg/L (test doesn't measure below 1mg)
Thyroid fT3 decreased with normal TSH and T4 :)
Liver normal
Kidney function normal

The nurse must have missed the lipids one. Whoops! So will get that done shortly.

I got no absorption problems it seems, high b12, Ferritin increased, potassium increased.

Basophils were dramatically increased but this is likely due to infection or antibiotics.

Doctor also did a anti nuclear antibody test and came back negative. I think it tests for things like Lupus, doubt i'd ever get that.

:(

The last few days i've felt like crap, i'm ok in the morning but by the evening I feel so down. I used to always wake up around 6am in the morning to let the dog out, feed him and whatever. I miss it already. Today we buried my the lucky near the palm trees after we brought him home. The vet said his chance of improving with adding more steroids was slim, but its always 'what if'. I wish that we had given him at least a day or two over the weekend and looked after him to see if he would of got a bit better. Its so sad because otherwise he was fairly healthy for his age. Very alert and had a good appetite. Can't go back now and I feel so sad. For two nights I woke up around 3am crying. Is this stupid? I've never cried or felt sad when human family members have died like grandparents. I mean I cared, sure, but lucky felt more close. Is that bad? Or was I just too young to understand what death is when I was younger.



He is buried about where he was there in that picture. I have no idea how i'm going to get over it. As I type this it feels like my throat is just closing up. I have work at 5pm and maybe it will get my mind off it, so maybe I should go in. I'm 22, lucky was 19... hes always been around and it feels like no dog can EVER replace him.

When I seen him as we burid him just a few hours ago, he was cold, lifeless and hard. At first it was comforting that we brought him home and buried him, I felt a bit better. But now I feel sad again.

I know the proceedure would have been quick, but what if we gave him just another few more days. I don't know, maybe its being selfish, but in a lot of ways he seemed so alive and looked like he had many more weeks or months left in him.

This makes me so much more angry about death. Why the hell do people accept it?

Now i'm left with a few photographs, my memories, a video tape and thats is. With each day I feel my memory of him will fade.

Maybe in time I will get another dog and love it just as much.

Karina's (Easy!) Roasted Vegetables on Broiled Polenta

Roasted veggies on broiled polenta. Yep. Gluten-free delish.

I'm still shaking off the February blahs, so bear with me, intrepid g-free campers. Please accept this super easy recipe as a tiny gift. Make this celiac-friendly dish on a busy weeknight when you're cranky and tired or feeling lazy or simply and utterly couldn't be bothered to crack open a cookbook (never mind, actually venture far afield and shop for groceries) because all you really want to do is kick off your Rocket Dogs and sink down into your favorite viewing chair with a bowl of salted popcorn to watch Downton Abbey.

Read more + get the recipe >>

Sad day

My dog is dead at 19y 3m :(

He was ok this morning and moving fine... then I went upstairs to check my emails and he couldn't get up because his front poor was all floppy. Couldn't use it at all. So he had weak back legs, and weak front leg and this just totally made him unable to do much at all. It sucks, but I just gotta try get on with things now... its just a little weird already as i've grew up always having him around. He had a good personallity and he was quite an intelligent little dog too! He was just getting too old, and we knew that the time for him to go could have been real soon. For at least a year now we were expecting him to not last that much longer. I tried to prepare myself for this buts its quite hard when it actually happens. My father and sister took him to the vets to get put to sleep but didn't watch it happen. I couldn't go, the last time I seen him was at around 3:30pm today. He was in pain as he was barking a lot and wouldn't let anyone touch him, even my father who always have looked after him the most. So it was sad that it ended not quietly but quite a struggle to settle him down as he was going crazy. He didn't want to be touched at all. Now I have this weird phycological thing going when I hear a dog bark or something outside it keeps reminding me of lucky. Hes not in a better place, he doesn't exist anymore :(

Aging sucks! argh!!!

Gluten-Free Beer (and a pizza crust recipe)

After five years of living strictly gluten-free, I can honestly tell you, Dear Reader, there are very few things I still miss from my pre-celiac diagnosis. From melty chocolate brownies to delicious gluten-free bread, I've managed to recreate and reinvent many old favorites.

But there is an archetypal pairing I do, indeed, miss. It's a simple want. Nothing fancy. And it's not some precious, tiny cuisine perched on a plate with a few stingy drips of - insert latest food infusion fad - trying to pass as art. Nope.

It's pizza and beer. A slice with a cold one. That's what I want. That's what I miss.

Read more + get the recipe >>