12 Step for Writing?

So, hello. Yes, it's me. I need to slow down on these annual posts, don't you think? Ugh! "THEY" say writers are the worst about actually writing. I guess that makes me a TERRIFIC writer. But, I'm gonna try it again. Another gluten-free compadre on Twitter and Pinterest (@GFDougie) has lectured (I'm sure he'd say ENCOURAGED) me to do more tweeting on my gluten-free Twitter account and sharing. So, since this is the stereotypical day to start anything, I'm giving it another go. If you choose, and are on Twitter, I'm at @MilliNoVilli. I just changed it to that. I have to write it down here and there so I can find it later. Because I KNOW I'll forget it. I was quite tickled at coming up with that but it's way too kitchy for me to remember. Cool, I'm not.

Just a word of warning, I'm not one of those fancy cooks. I love cooking shows on tv, food magazines, cookbooks, cooking blogs, etc. But my own experience has no culinary schooling or even real medical expertise. I can only share what I've learned, what I like and what's going on in my own daily life. And it's not centered around my cooking or blogging. At least, not yet. If you stick with me you'll learn I'm midwestern, simple, cheap and very un-politically correct. You won't read long, lengthy, scientific rants about non-GMO foods, how eating non-organics is appalling or the scourge of red meats, sugar and butter. I grew up eating much like Ree Drummond's "Pioneer Woman" and Paula Deen...without quite so much butter. But, yes, VERY southern roots.

I didn't grow up battling gluten-intolerance or food allergies. I've been told I had some issues when I was an infant but I grew out of them pretty quickly. Fast-forward 47 or 48 yrs and I suddenly had digestive and other problems and couldn't find out why. I'm not one to go to the doctor much and after only about three different doctors not having much clue, I started researching for myself online. I concluded I needed to write down what I was eating and how I felt afterwards and when I experienced problems and what kind of problems they were. I think writing it down was key to finally seeing a pattern emerge. My body seems to take 1 1/2-2 days to fully react, making it a little more difficult to see. I started making a list of foods I seemed to be bothered by and one-by-one would take them out of my diet. With every food I eliminated the degree of being bothered would lessen. I ended up with a list of 6 foods: glutens, dairy, eggs, beans, rice, nuts. And when you consider our usual diets, eating became quite challenging. I learned that my gluten-intolerance was caused my the gluten killing off the villi in our intestines and that probiotics helps keep those healthy and active. Since I couldn't do dairy, yogurt was out. But I found an allergy-free supplement and took double doses for a few weeks to heal my "leaky gut". Once it was healed, I could get to work at improving my diet. In time, one by one, I managed to work some of those foods back into my diet. At least now and then. A little bit. Which REALLY does help when in social settings. And if I CHOOSE. I still have issues with more than just a little rice, nuts and beans. Glutens are still my worst and I really try to stay away from them as much as possible. I stumbled onto some help with dairy after visiting an uncle, who had become lactose-intolerant also. He could have lactose-free milk and said if he had some of it daily, it helped him digest a little bit of cheese or ice cream on occasion. REALLY? You know as soon as I got home I was zooming to the store for lactose-free milk! And I could also tolerate it well! YAY! So just being able to cook with a milk that tasted like milk and cooks well was SO helpful. And I also found I could do the cheeses and ice creams too. A little. Occasionally. And soft cheeses do much better than cheddar. Go figure. I have no idea why.

SO. That's a little about my journey so far. I'm sure I'll fill in some blanks now and then in the future. I will probably also repeat myself. I'm sorry about that. I seem to have come to that point in my life where I do that. I'll try to keep it at a minimum. Blessings.

Cook with Imagination

I've been thinking about what I want to talk about today. I had decided, but just hadn't written yet when my tv was on The Chew and they stole my idea, lol! Well, maybe not. But it can't be said enough, so instead of changing topics, I think I'll continue on the same thought.

I've met and known of so many people these days that don't cook. And after living the past 6 years with multiple food intolerances, I am even more amazed that of this and convinced that those of us with food issues, can't NOT know how. It's not rocket science. Although the chemistry of baking, especially with alternative flours and ingredients certainly leaves me stumped. I CERTAINLY don't profess to be educated or know everything. I simply have lived with it long enough to figure out I WANT to cook again. I have alot of #FAILS and a few really good successes and ALOT that falls in the middle, somewhere. I still struggle with the expense of many of the alternative ingredients and experimenting. I'm too cheap to not be affected by throwing the failures down the garbage disposal. I have been VERY thankful to be able to get eggs and dairy back in the mix. They certainly help tremendously.

One thing I've always kinda of enjoyed is reworking leftovers. I think its fun to open up the fridge and figure out how I can make a little of this and little of that into something brand new. My family goes in spurts whether they are good about eating leftovers or not. So, if I can remake them, its helpful. You might argue that if you don't cook much, how would you know what goes together, or what spices to use. I also know alot of people that can't cook without using recipes. Personally, I only use most recipes once. If its a keeper, then the next time I start tweeking and using what I may have on-hand instead of something specific the recipe calls for.

But you eat out, don't you? Or watch The Food Network? Say you want something to taste Mexican....what seasonings are known Mexican seasonings? Cilantro, cumin, chili powder, garlic and onion powders. That's not an exclusive list, but its a good start. When you eat out, what GOES on Mexican foods? Beans, Spanish rice, lime, different peppers, corn, tomotoes, etc. Again this isn't an exhaustive list, but you get the idea. You KNOW more than you think you do!! EXPERIMENT! If your diet doesn't include dairy, obviously you avoid the cheeses or "creamies". You CAN experiment with cornstarch, potato starch, arrowroot to thicken. Or any of the many soy cheeses, milks, or nut butters and milks to substitute. I never tried the nut derived products as nuts is one of my no-no's. But I did learn that the soy versions of most of those things are VERY delicate and don't hold up long to the heat of average cooking. So just add them late in your process. I STILL will say that sticking with as many unprocessed foods as possible will still give you the best results. I often simply left out one factor to a recipe than use a processed alternative. I was usually disappointed with the result anyway. But anyway you shake it, I never found ANYTHING that was "as good as the original". It may be GOOD, but different. And the sooner you learn to let go of that expectation the happier you'll be. I know I hung on way too long!

But back to the figuring out what goes with what when cooking. One thing that has changed life as we all know it that would help you when you just HAVE to see something "official" in print, is your computer!! Google it! Ask Ask! : ) But I say give yourself a shot....trust your instincts! Experiment!

Breakfast

When I was first struck with my multiple food intolerances, the meal that was the hardest for me to deal with was breakfast. I don't know about you, but we grew up having "breakfast" for dinner once in awhile. It's a nice break from the usual dinner preparations. Breakfast foods seem easier and faster. And we all just LOVE breakfast foods. So it's a win for everyone. But in the mornings, you NEED eggs, toast, sausage, etc. Or so you think, at least I did. When I couldn't have the breads..toast, waffles, pancakes, etc., and I couldn't have the eggs or the milk, I was kinda lost. I discovered I really need MEAT to feel satisfied for any length of time. And then it dawned on me...I usually always have supper leftovers from the night before! It may seem odd for awhile, but when one is hungry....hey, food is food! So I lived a long time with eating leftover hamburgers or baked chicken and broccoli. My family has never needed, or wanted, a cooked, fresh breakfast. Frozen waffles or cereal has always kept my son happy and hubs would be gone to work before the sun comes up, grabbing a bowl of nuked oatmeal or a piece of fruit. So, dealing with breakfast for myself was always on my own. Just a short sidebar....about oatmeal. I stayed away from it for quite some time as everything I was reading online said those with Celiac and gluten-intolerance should stay away from oatmeal because of cross-contamination possibilities, even stemming back to the fields in which they are grown being used previously for wheat, barley, etc.! In time, I grew too curious and tried some. I found I did well, AS LONG as I stuck with Quaker brand, versus a cheaper, generic brand. And I did well with Irish brands of steel cut oats. But those are much more expensive and I still try to be cheap about some things. I say SOME things so you won't hold me to that about everything I say! I could say so much more. But I just want to stress, today, that if you are finding your diet suddenly diminished due to food allergies or intolerances that you aren't accustomed to, think outside the box. Dinner foods for breakfast isn't normal, but it works. Proteins of any nature, veggies, fruit...think whole foods. I suddenly couldn't have all the things that most people use to casserole things or cream things, combine things with. But I could eat WHOLE foods. Meat, veggies, fruit. Its not always what our American diets are accustomed to meal after meal after meal, but it works! Its healthy and its filling. Think outside the box!

New Focus