Rice flour muffins

I Try and  bake 100% Gluten Free ( our 4 year old has Gluten intolerance) and sugar free (for health reasons) when I sweeten bake goods I try to use apple sauce, maple syrup, honey or coconut sugar. 

I made two batches of these muffins, one savory as a dinner biscuit type muffin and one sweet for dessert. Both turned out very well especially taking into account the healthy, basic, clean ingredients. 

Please remember for most GP people a huge percent of their tolerance is based on quantity. One muffin is one serving. Too many will make your fiber content too high and could cause flare ups. 

I had one two days ago when they were hot out of the oven and one yesterday for breakfast, both times they were tolerated well by me.

The recipe calls for 1 cup rice flour and makes 6 muffins- so that is .66g fiber and .33g fat from the rice flour

I used coconut milk, which has a bit more fat but healthy fats. Low fat milk works as well.

Heat oven to 425

Savory: 

1whole egg

3/4 cup low fat milk or coconut milk or almond milk ( I used coconut in sweet version and low fat milk in savory both work)

2tbs coconut oil ( or any kind of healthy oil) can be omitted

1 cup white rice flour

2tsp baking powder

1/2tsp salt

Mix everything in large bowl I used a spatula mixes easily

Let rest 2-5 minutes scoop into 6 lined muffin tin. Bake 17 minutes until top is a bit firm to touch center is moist not wet. 

Sweet

1whole egg

3/4 cup low fat milk or coconut milk or almond milk ( I used coconut in sweet version and low fat milk in savory both work)

2tbs coconut oil ( or any kind of healthy oil) can be omitted

1 cup white rice flour

2tsp baking powder

1/2tsp salt

2tsp vanilla

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips 

Mix everything in large bowl I used a spatula mixes easily

Let rest 2-3 minutes scoop into 6 lined muffin tin. Bake 17 minutes until top is a bit firm to touch center is moist not wet. 

Enjoy 

- JVW

Apple spice cake

I recently purchased Against all Grain's cookbook, it is amazing! It's truely clean, delicious, easy, healthy recipes. Her philosophy and ideas are in sync with my own. I wish more GP'ers would try her style of clean, gluten free eating. Eating fresh, clean and gluten free makes a tremendous difference in my daily life and managing this illness. 

I love baking and playing around with recipes and ideas. Her Apple Spice Cake ( at againstallgrains.com) popped out at me as a wonderful Sunday cake option. Go to her website and check out the original it looks incredible! I edited this recipe to make it GP friendly so I could enjoy it with my family. Thus far it seems to be sitting well with my digestion. I had 1/8 of the cake for mid day snack.

For the cake
2-1/2 cups almond meal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
11/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup honey, melted
2 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup egg whites
4 crispy apples (recipe called for Gala) peeled, cored, sliced

For the cinnamon swirl
1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon coconut sugar

- mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl, in a smaller bowl mix eggs, egg whites, melted honey, vanilla 

Add to dry ingredients  stir until well combined and fold in apples. 

Pour into a non stick round pie pan, I lightly sprayed mine with coconut oil cooking spray.

Mix cinnamon swirl in a small dish and spread out on top, using a toothpick swirl it into batter. 

Bake 350 until toothpick comes out clean, took mine 30 minutes. 

Let cool and enjoy!

Happy Sunday

-JVW

Banana berry oatmeal smoothie

I have been playing around with filling (but not heavy) easy breakfast options. Overnight oats use to be my favorite go to option. But I don't tolerate them well anymore. 

I know oats are not technically GP friendly but when the serving size is cut down and you watch your fiber intake per day they can be! I use fitness pal app or note pad and paper. 

I found pre cooking my oats 1 cup water to 1/2 cup oats for 6 minutes then making overnight oats makes them a lot easy for me to digest.

I pre stew and strain my fruit in batches as part of my meal prep every week or two and freeze them. 

For this smoothie I used 

1 banana ,110 calories 0 fat, 3G fiber 

11/2 cups low fat coconut milk, 45 calories per cup, 4 g fat per cup, 1g fiber per cup.

1 cup stewed fruit berries. Depends on berries. 

11/2 cups cooked oats, 200 calories, 5g fat, 6 g fiber but it's divided by three servings. 

Blend on high for 1.5 minutes seperate into three containers and refrigerate.

They last for three days so it's worth the prep to have three breakfasts or snacks ready to enjoy!  Each under 150 calories! And oh so satisfying 

Enjoy

- JVW

Happy 2014

I can not believe it is a new year! 2013 was filled with wonderful and tough memories. We had great year with the girls, 9, 4, 2 are great ages. I turned 30 and we celebrated our annivesery with our first solo overnight in Saratoga NY without kids. A great family beach camping trip, making our own maple syrup, getting chickens, having a huge garden, list goes on. In all the fun was also months of stomach pain, vomiting, weight loss, ER visits, tests, more tests and more tests followed by stomach surgery in September. Since then I have been discovering and experimenting with what works and doesn't work for me and my stomach. I have also been trying to gain some  strength  and gain weight back. we are also trying to gain some sort of new normalize for me and my family. I hate them seeing me sick. 

Having had made it through the rough four months and out of surgery has made me feel so incredible blessed. I never felt closer, more trusting, more in love with my husband who has been so incredibly strong and loving and an amazing advocate for me. My girls who rallied, and went above and beyond to be helpful, kind, gentle and caring to me during my recovery. My step mother who dropped everything to be here with us when I got released from the hospital and my dear friend Davin who left her life in Boston for a few days to be here for me and take care and love on and spoil my little ladies. 

Family and friends are really what makes my life go round.

It's ironic how having GP can turn your world upside down and seem like the worst when in reality it not. Especially mine in comparison to others suffering. I pray mine stays manageable through out the years and that with more education, medical advancements and strict diet I can manage without further surgery or devices.

I am planning on doing a lot more reading and self discovery on the diet aspect of this disease. 

The basic food information out there seems bit ridiculous  to me, why isn't gluten eliminated, sugar, chemicals, over processed foods? A lot of the pain medicine that is subscribed has the side effect of slowing an already healthy  stomach imagine what it does to our already slow stomachs?! My stomach has always operated better on less processed foods. So why is white bread and jello packs recommended? I have yet to find an excellent source of recipes and research. I find a lot of Paleo recipes could work if altered slightly. They are a lot cleaner then most GP recipes I have found.

I will try and keep up with blogging recipes I find that seem to work well for me.

I hope everyone has a wonderful, healthy, happy and love filled 2014! 

- JVW