Monay saving stratigies.

Each year, for the past nine years I have been married, we have been able to claim the medical deduction on our taxes. It gets us a few hundred back. But the thing is, we spend a few thousand on medical. Most years, between my son's OT, my hubby's Epilepsy, and my slow decline, we have spend upwards of fifteen percent of our income on medical. The year our second son was born, we spent almost 30% of our income on medical. My hubby makes an alright living, and our insurance is reasonable. It's our copay, deductibles, and everything else adding up. Especially for Ot and PT. I have gotten temp jobs, night jobs, and done sewing for money trying to make ends meet.
Technically my husband's income is too high for us to qualify for any kind of discount or services, but what they don't account for is when a quarter of our net goes to the doctors.

So, I do a few things to save money:

Baby:
Cloth diaper
Nurse
make my own baby food
Make baby clothing (FREE fabric, or out of old clothing)
Ask for hand me downs. I am not shy!

FOOD
Meal plan around Sales.
Freeze foods
Check coupons
Buy Bulk when on sale
Foods in Season
Crock pot
Oven-tips: With Casseroles and things that take a while, I turn down heat or off, for the last 15 min of an hour long cooking time
-Have a master price list: know the best price,
Go generic when it does not matter.
Stretch meat.
When I mix "juice" or punch, I always add a third more water then the recipe states.
Free Food: When the apple tree down the street is dropping apples into road, I ask if i can have some, and make apple sauce. Pick blackberries down by the river and make jam.

Electrical
No TV service.
During the day I keep Lights off, open window blinds, and use sunlight.
Wash in cold, at night, only full loads, with 1/3 detergent recommended.
Run the spin cycle a second time, gets more water out.
Line dry, everything but socks and underwhere.
Wash dishes at night, and never use the "dry cycle" just air dry
Low flow in Toilet, and "share a flush"
Water-heater set to lover temp
Winterize our home, preventing loss of heat.
Dress in layers, at home.
Get free wood, and have fires instead of turning up the heater.
I reuse plastic bags
Where it out, then patch it up.


Do a lot of the fix it myself, Dad's a general contractor, and You-tube
Cloth napkins, not paper towels
Always check clearance
No Vacations
No subscriptions or magazines
No Dry clean
Don't drink Coffee, or alcohol.
No Smoking
No Gym memberships
No landline
No hairdryer
Don't use dryer sheets
Walk whenever possible
Print for free at the library .
Sell on Etsy, and Craiglist and hold yard sale.

Any other suggestions?
                                                                                                                   

Blood test: Advances and undermines?

When I was diagnosed, in 2001. They called what I had "gluten-sensitive enteropathy; coeliac disease".
Why the long name? Because the term "Celiac disease" was the name of a category of  "autoimmune digestive disorders"
From the Latin  "koiliakos," which meant "suffering in the bowels."

Under this umbrella were things like "Hirschprung disease" or "Granuloma"  or "Churg-Strauss". Crohn's Disease is part of this group too.
 But somewhere in the last few years it went from being one of the " top 10 most misdiagnosed diseased" (readers digest *2002*) to being "one of the most commonly occurring genetic diseases in the world" (everyday Health Media 2014)
And so since this " immunologically mediated attack of the intestinal lining which occurs in certain people with a genetic predisposition to have their immune systems identify gliadin as a 'foreign' molecule." Is being commonly called "Celiac disease"
Personally I wish we had gone with " Gee's disease" after ; Samuel Gee MD, the first to recognize a change in diet as the main part of treatment.

So some doctors hand out orders for the blood test like candy.
Some doctors refer to the category as a whole as "diseases of the Coeli"
And They might both be right.

But the down side to this readily available blood test is so clear:

"I went to the doctor yesterday to find out why I can't digest a lot of food. He thinks that I might have celiac disease and did the blood work. I can eat gluten without any problems though and told him that. He still thinks that I have it. I think that he is wrong .... "

Or

"My doctor did a blood test and said I have Celiac disease. But I feel fine when I eat gluten so I'm not going to stop"

 

So, back in 2000, I would NEVER have thought it was bread that was making me sick. If anything I thought the sateen crackers, or plain toast helped me feel better. Something like 80% of the people with gluten issues don't see a direct correlations between what they eat, and their gastrointestinal symptoms. It's because of that Immune system getting involved, that it was so imposable to diagnose for like 100 years. But that blood test is super accurate. I would believe what it says, even if you don't want to.
And Just food for thought: People who smoke feel fine most of the time too, that does not mean they are not damaging their lungs with each cigarette...Just saying

Choclate cake, levels and definitions.

I consider chocolate cake to be an umbrella under which the categories of things like Devil's-food, red-velvet, and German-chocolate cake reside.

So, for a few years now, "Red velvet" cake has been a hip, in, and trendy thing. And I have to say, some people , who should know better, Should know better.

So Let me Ed-U-Cate

I have a few old cookbooks:
Between that, and my knowledgeable grandmothers, I give you the definitions of chocolate cake.

Red Velvet:
Red velvet is set apart ingredient wise with buttermilk and a little bit of Choco powder in the batter. Back in the day, before the recipe called for a TON of red food coloring, the color of the cake was NATURALLY occurring. It was before the chocolate was processed in a our modern "Dutch" processing ways. The chocolate would react with the buttermilk, and the reaction would cause the brown coco to look red. And the cream cheese frosting is a must. I would say this is the least chocolaty of the cakes.

Chocolate spoon cake:
This is the chocolate version of the classic pound cake. Also called Dump cake because you only use one bowl, and then dump it in the baking pan. This is the style most often found in cake mixes. Usually Eggs, milk and butter. It is chocolaty in a shallow way.

Devils food cake:
This cake in identified by the methods of using boiling water and coco powder. Sour cream and baking soda makes the cake a deeper brown and also a slightly different flavor. More "complex" flavor, because of the extra fat and acidity in the sour cream.  It has a more "coffee cake" texture from the cream and soda, which often leads to the appearance of coffee in the recipe. Back in the day, this cake was also red in color, and that is there it got the Devil name. But because of the other flavors, it's not that chocolaty.

German chocolate:
Using BROWN sugar, and the boiling water method with chunks of chocolate instead of coco. This makes the cake darker, and a richer flavor. The German part came form the origin of the chocolate; the original recipes called for a specific kind of sweet chocolate brick, that as imported from Germany, that the baker would then chop up and melt with hot water. The arrival of the coconut pecan frosting was closely after, but is still a good way to identify it.

"Brownies"
This cake is characterized by less flour, more coco and more liquid, as melting the butter is a must. Basically if a Brownie recipe calls for a leavening agent, then its actually a cake. Legend says that brownies were invented when someone left out the baking powder out of a chocolate cake by accident.

Gluten free "Dough" to play with

Gluten free Play Dough

Sensory dough

So I found here a fun recipe for A sensory dough made from corn starch and hair conditioner. It looks JUST like Ice cream!

From there I experimented with other finely ground Gluten free flours (of which my kitchen had plenty of)

I make one with coco powder, and Rice flour.

It required an extra squirt of conditioner to get the appearance right. However, the small of the conditioner overwhelmed the chocolate.

So next I tried using Potato starch, and Watermelon kids conditioner/shampoo. And again, more liquid then the original recipe. We liked this one better.

I think I will make a trip tot he dollar store and see what other smells we can find in there conditioner section.

#Update, after just under 4 weeks in a sealed container, they were covered in mold. So I give the shelf life at about one week.

GF HAHA: labels look alike

Hubby was trying to be helpful, by making dinner.
because of how disappointing the frozen pizzas have been I suggested he used the Tub of Pillsbury dough in the fridge.
He accidently used the last of the PIE CRUST DOUGH instead of the PIZZA CRUST DOUGH
Not a good idea. It was eatable, but just barely.

Rant: Gluten free by people who are not paying attention

My biggest problem is people who don't bother.

I have a friend who's son has a life threatening allergy to nuts. She was just telling me how on Halloween she made her son stand in the corner of his karate class, while she cleaned up where someone's kid had left Reece's peanut butter cup wrappers and crumbs. She got funny looks, and comments, from other parents thinking she was cleaning for the sake of cleaning. But for my friend that might as well have been broken glass, or a loaded gun. To her son, they are all a real threat. Would any good parent have left broken class on the floor where children play?
Sure, its' not your child so you don't have to think about it. But can we not go about making other people's life HARDER!?!

It just makes me want to scream when I ask "do you have a gluten free menu?"  and I get some dismissive answer, where the person obviously does not know and cannot be bothered to find out. Happens all the time

I try to be understand. Having been gluten free since 2001, I use to tell myself it was lack of knowledge. But gluten is not the vague obscure turn it was over a dozen years ago.

I try to remind myself of all the times I have been surprised to find out something has gluten in it. Imitation bacon bits for example. So of course, someone who has never thought about gluten would not think about it. But once you are asked, you need to THINK!
I asked because I want you to FIND OUT! Don't just GUESS!
Your guess could be WRONG! and Someone could DIE. Happens TOO often WAY too often

What Gets me is that these people ASKED about their food. They were told it was safe. And it was NOT.

I'm lucky, gluten will not kill me. But you don't know that.
I spend so much time, money and energy avoiding it, the least you can do it get me a correct answer to my question.

There. Rant over.

Kitchen space rant

I have been gluten free for over a decade. And back when I was diagnosed the only store with a gluten free loaf of bread, in existence was NOT palatable.
its ingredients were rice and water. it was rice paste pressed into a loaf shape and then dried. It was rice jerky, it was not bread.
So if I wanted bread I would have to bake it myself. Same went for cookies, cake, pasta, and just about EVERYTHING. So I needed ALL the kitchen equipment to make everything from scratch. Any all the equipment my mother already owned was contaminated so I had to get my own. So I did.

I got loaf pans, in 3 sizes. and a bread maker. An industrial grade mixer with all the accessories, including pasta. Food grade scales ( also in 3 sizes) food processors. Blenders, immersion blenders. Induction cooktops. Toaster oven. Waffle makers. And every possible sized pan, dish and bakeware.

And then there are ingredients. I got every kind of flour, starch, and gum. There were not a lot of gluten free cookbooks back then, most were from Europe, so I had to order what they used, which was considered exotic and rate. Usually had to get in bulk. And then store them, in my own containers.

I made a HUGE investment in the gluten free life. 

And If I was diagnosed today, I would have not gone to the trouble.

Now I consed, that to make truly wonderful gluten free baked goods at home you probity need these things. Gluten free baking is just as much art as science. The thing is, I can go out today, to my local chain grocery store and spend like $8 and get a loaf of GF bread that tasted BETTER then ANY loaf of bread that I made in over a decade of trying. So I stopped trying.

I remember in college, I would spend an entire Sunday baking bread, in minni loaf pans. I had to use the mini loaf because the big pans would burn the crust before the middle was done. And I would have to cut the minni loaf of bread length wise into strange rectangle slices. It would make  just enough for a week of sandwich lunches. And you had to wrap the bread in plastic. When time to eat, you would pealing it back just a corner of the plastic, to eat little by little, or you got a lap of crumbs.

Seriously, you new guys have NO idea how hard it was.

Oh, the kitchen disasters I experienced...

But my point is, because I had one.

 Sure i will probably never used the pasta maker again, but should I toss it? I kept my wedding dress, and I have less of a chance of using it again...

My point is I already OWN all this stuff. And it doesn't make scene to throw away all this stuff.

 But the average american home does not have the kitchen capacity that my industrial level of stock requires. Even some of the new construction, with "gourmet kitchens" only have like a dozen cupboards. So we bought an older home. with Tons of charm, And 10 cupboards. Sure the shelves go from the floor up to the 8 foot ceiling, and I need a ladder to reach the top shelves. So it's quite a bit of square footage in the kitchen, but I need more. I have filled the kitchen, and most of the hallway linen closet. Yet a stack remains, in the garage, six feet high and 4 feet wide, of boxes labeled "kitchen" waiting for me to find them room. Looming at me. Like homeless kittens they tug at my heart "can't we come inside?" they beg. "It's dark, and there are spiders in the garage" the say. "You promised" they plead. 

There is a blank corner of the kitchen, where we have put a little table just big enough for 2 adults and a highchair. I suppose we could fill that space with cupboards instead. But then where do we eat?
The kitchen originally had a wood stove, so the current vent is the old stove pipe. We can't put cupboards in that section, perhaps one of the racks, suspended from the ceiling, to hang pots and pans from. That would open up the three shelves filled with pots and pans. I don't think if my pots and pants are attractive enough to be hanging on display.

Searching the internet has yielded images of well organized kitchens, of people who own 1/4 of what I own, so it's not much help.
sigh
I don't know what to do.

Candy Corn Cookies

I was sent this recipe for cookies that look like candy corns by my mother in law.
They are NOT gluten free, but I figured the method is still good for gluten free cookie dough.
It turned out alright, the cookies puddled a little more then the wheat ones would have, but that would be the case regardless of the shape the cookies were put in.

I think they are cute.

Corn truck

So, This is why you should wash your fruit and
vegetables.







I'm just saying...no cover. That corn is blowing in the wind... and it's raining.

Antonina's Bakery Gluten free Blueberry nut mini cupcakes, review

While in Portland I spotted a new label in the gluten free freezer.

 Antonina's bakery

They had two flavors, available in cupcake and Cake. Since the label said it was a dedicated Facility, I trusted it. Perhaps I should not have...

 



 



 

The cakes were yummy. They came frozen but it was over 70f so they did not stay frozen long. Moist, decent amount of nuts and blueberries. Good frosting to cake ratio.

 

Unfortunately, about 12 hours later I noticed the roof of my mouth was raw, and gums swollen. For me that is a sure sign that I have gotten a minor cross contamination.

 

As I brows their webpage, I don't see the product I bought. I doo see other products listed and gluten free. But it appears that the majority of their products are not Gluten free. On the "our history" page the owners focus on their desire to make "all natural and wholesome ingredients" and that "In the future we plan to open a certified Gluten Free bakery."

The copyright is 2011-2012. I'm not sure the current situation at Antonina's right now. But I suspect that since there focus is not primarily the Gluten free community, they might not have the same diligence to cross contamination. Those who are GF because they find it more natural, or wholesome, are not as worried about dedicated facilities as those of us who's health depends on it. Its been three days since the cupcakes, and my mouth is still raw. It might have been an isolated incident, but I'm going to steer clear of this brand, Just in case.

Home grown Carrots

Squeaker and I got some carrots starts at the local plant nursery.

I thought I would be fun and educational to grow our own carrots.

Sadly, this is what we got:

Some kind of Carrot/radish hybrid.

I put them is a slow cooker Roast, with other carrots and potatoes. They taste like carrots.

 

I don't know exactly what went wrong. Week after week, I check them,(well more accurately, Squeaker pulls one out of the pot about every 6 or 7 days) and some were growing UP out of the soil, but none of them grew down.

I researched it, and the only suggestion I could find was that the soil was too hard. But I don't think that was the case here. We had supper fluffy dirt around them. I fluffed it often myself. I never watered directly over them just to keep the soil fluffy.

Carrot Bread

Out sweet little Squeaker has become a picky eater. I know around  his age it's normal for their appetite to slow down, as his growing is also slowing. He is five time the size he was 20 months ago. But he had been sick, and has actually lost some weight. His Pediatrician said to give him cake and ice-cream. So he can put it back on, but I don't want him to eat just junk food.
He knows over 50 words, and cake is one of them.
So his Occupational therapist suggested I make him banana breads, zucchini bread, and stuff like that. He does not have to be GF, but he is observant enough to notice that if I will not eat something, then he will not either. So I cook GF for both of us.
So in the adventure, I found a recipe from Bob's red Mill, for

Carrot Bread 

• 1 cup Freshly Grated Carrots
• 4 Tb Milk
• 1 large Egg
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon,
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 1/4 Cup Bob's All purpose baking flour 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Lightly grease a 4" x 6" baking pan, set aside.
Sift all dry ingredients into a mixing bowl; add egg and milk and mix well.
Stir in grated carrots.
Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake for 40 minutes.
 Allow to cool before slicing.

I put in in loaf pans, and in my mini bunt pans. We call it "Cakebread."

12 years ago...

It was sometime in early January of 2001 that under the guidance of medical profesionals at Bastyer I began an elimination diet.
I ate only Rice, pear, lamb and little more. Then, one by one we added other foods back into my diet.
It was a cold Monday morning February 19th of 2001, when I sat down and opened a box of whole wheat cereal. I relished the taste of anything not rice. By lunch time my body was in full rebellion, and my back was covered in hives... And that was the last time I ate wheat.

GF ha ha: dusting

2010
Cheese Cake Factory

me: I understand that the Gadiva chocolate cheese cake is flourless?
Waiter: Yes. It is a mousse on top of flourless torte.... Well, except that they dust all of the cheese cake pans with flour...

How can it be "flourless" if there is flour all over the outside?

GF Ha ha: Gelatin

I love my dad. He has learning Disabilities, Just like me. He can't spell, Just like me.
One year he did a bunch of research about Passover, and our Jewish ancestry/heritage. He got a few books.
Since I was diagnosed shortly before moving out, my parents have never had to immerse themselves in the GF community as deeply as I have so there have been some miscommunication.
One day he calls me up, very concerned:
Dad: "You can't have Jell-O."
me: "why whats up?"
Dad: "There is Gluten in it."
me: "Really...where did you hear that."
Dad: "In my book, it said its not kosher, because they use horse hooves and pig skin to make the gluten."

I paused for a moment. horse hooves to make Gluten? No I don't think so...Ooooh I think it's gelatin not gluten. I can see where he got those confused. :)

GF HA ha: Sweet

2003
Lynnwood

me: "Do you flour your beef, in the Beef with broccoli?"
Women Behind Counter: "He?"
me: "Is there wheat flour in this?" *pointing*
WBC:"... It spicy, not sweet."
me: "How do you make it?"
WBC: *waves frying pan at me*

Um, ok. I'll just get the steamed rice.

Gluten free by choice?

A friend of mine, who works with Children asked me how I felt about people going gluten free, who "don't have too"

Well, that depends on what you think makes it required.
I would eat gluten if it did not make me ill.

But I have known people who swore that there child with autism does so much better on a gluten free, no sugar, non dairy diet.

I know diabetics who find Gluten free diets easier to manage with less insulin.

Oprah, Gwyneth Paltro and other Celebrities claim that being gluten free is essential to a good Detox.

I'm behind anything that makes gluten free products more accessible to me.

In 2006 Reader's Digest published a list of the 10 diseases that doctors miss. http://www.rd.com/health/10-diseases-doctors-miss/}  # 7 was "CELIAC DISEASE In adults it takes an average of 11 years to diagnose celiac disease,... An estimated two million Americans have the disease but an astounding 97 percent go undiagnosed."
So, I can imagined that in the 6 years since then, with all the attention that it gets, we have gathered up most of that 97%

On the other hand, When I hear about someone claiming to be gluten free who is obviously not doing it seriously, It makes my teeth clench. Weather it's "My Doctor said, but I still eat cake" or its someone doing "low carb" and calling it gluten free.
For some this is a fad diet. They think that eliminating gluten will help them lose weight, or something superficial like that.

.

In 2010, in Spain they did a study that found that "healthy adults who ate a gluten-free diet for a month had a dramatic drop in protective gut bacteria and immunity-boosting chemicals." SO it's not a good idea to do it if you dob't NEED to.

So I think, if you suspect celiac disease, or gluten intolerance, get tested. If your test is negative, try the "diet". If you don't feel better, then Gluten is NOT your problem. Put your focus somewhere else.

GF Ha ha: Flour

2012
Ruth Chris, Bellevue

Me: Could you find out if there is wheat in this dish? I'm concerned about Gluten.
Waiter leaves, and returns several moments later.
Waiter: It's gluten free. You can have flour right?
Me: Um, if it is Corn flour, or some kind of flour other then wheat flour"
Waiter: Oh, um, it did not say what kind of flour....

So NO, it is not Gluten free if "flour" is an ingredient

GF Ha Ha: Glucose

2008, Fall
Road House Restaurant

Me: Do you have a gluten free menu?
Hostess: Um, no. But I'm sure there is no sugar on our meat.

Um. I said Gluten not Glucose...And ya, you use barbecue sauce, so their is sugar on your meat. Your wrong, twice.