Thursday, July 28, 2011
Smoothie
This is what we eat almost every morning; what goes in changes with the season. Right now I froze some peaches and blueberries the other day, along with some strawberries, almond milk, and always a scoop of Juice Plus powder.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Daddy's Yum Yum Bars
We call these Daddy's Yum Yum bars. They do not last long ! Thanks Elana . . .
These hearty breakfast bars remind me of a granola bar or an omega-3 packed power bar. They're filling and tasty. Sometimes I don't have all the ingredients so I had dried apricots, so I used those instead of coconut. ( Little Miss is also allergic to coconut, so that worked out well for us) We have used all kinds of different nuts, and whatever the mix they have always been delicious!! I keep it to 3/4 cup fruit and 1 1/4 cup of nuts.
1 ¼ cup blanched almond flour
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup grapeseed oil
¼ cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup shredded coconut
½ cup pumpkin seeds
½ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup almond slivers
¼ cup raisins
- In a small bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda
- In a large bowl, combine grapeseed oil, agave and vanilla
- Stir dry ingredients into wet
- Mix in coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almond slivers and raisins
- Grease an 8x8 baking dish with grapeseed oil
- Press the dough into the baking dish, wetting your hands with water to help pat the dough down evenly
- Bake at 350° for 20 minutes
- Serve
None of the nuts and seeds in this low-maintenance bar are toasted. I wanted to make something quick and easy, that could be whipped up in just a couple of minutes before popping into the oven.
Amazon Monthly Deals July
Ohh My Deliciousness!! I think I could eat a whole jar of this in one sitting! It is so delicious! We love this on apples, rice cakes, and if you really want to be healthy celery sticks.
At Amazon, get Justin’s Nut Butter Natural Chocolate Almond Butter, 16 Ounce Jars (Pack of 3) for just $19.28 ($6.42/ea)
Use Subscribe and Save, plus the code JUSTIN55 to get this price. You can also use this code on other Justin’s Nut Butter spreads on Amazon.
Code expires July 31, 2011.
See the rest of the July Natural & Organic Deals here!
Also, make sure that you’re using Swagbucks (a way to do searches online to earn you points) to help you earn Amazon gift cards;)
Thanks Saving Naturally
Recipes
Paleo Meat Loaf
Thanks Sheridan French for the yummy recipe. I loved this recipe, but my kids not so much. I really wished that they did, because I really liked it.
Paleo Meatloaf
Monday, July 25, 2011
Signs and Symptoms
There are many signs and symptoms that you can look out for. Mayo Clinic lists a few things that are signs of food allergies:
- tingling or itching of the mouth,
- hives
- eczema
- swelling of the lips or other parts of the body
- wheezing
- nasal congestion
- diarrhea
Dr. Sears has a good article on common signs here are his suggestions to look out for:
SKIN | RESPIRATORY PASSAGES | INTESTINES | BEHAVIOR |
---|---|---|---|
hives red, sandpaper-like facial rash dry, scaly, itchy skin (mostly on face) swelling in hands and feet puffy eyelids dark circles under eye slip swelling tongue soreness and cracks | sneezing runny nose stuffy nose wheezing watery eyes rattling chest persistent cough congestion bronchitis recurring ear infections | burnlike rash around anus abdominal discomfort mucousy diarrhea constipation intestinal bleeding poor weight gain bloating, gassiness excessive spitting up constipation vomiting | fatigue migraine headaches hyperactivity crying irritability night-waking anxiety crankiness sore muscles and joint |
Little Miss had many of those signs, and were misdiagnosed as rota virus (she never had a fever, no one else got it, never vomited, and it went on for months). Her eczema was also misdiagnosed as tinea versicolor. Our Dr. had us put on selsen blue, and that was such a mistake! She had open sore on her body for days! She cried and cried. Ohh I felt so bad. I took her to a dermatologist, and they told me that her eczema had gotten so bad that it pushed the pigment out of her skin. What is so hard when you have an infant is that they cannot do allergy testing on infants, so it is such a guessing game. If I would have put two and two together, maybe I could have save myself some trouble. Well, my biggest hope is that I might save you some trouble, heart ache, and maybe a few trips to the Dr.
Where to begin
First we begin by praying and then trusting ourselves as mothers. I knew that there was something else going on with Little Miss. I asked doctors, and the same response was she will grow out of it. To be honest she did stop the endless hours of crying, but she still cried a lot, and just never seemed to be happy. My heart broke as I didn't feel connected to her. She didn't want to be held or cuddled, and it just seemed no matter what I did there was no comforting her. You feel like such a failure as a mother.
Anyways, looking back there would have been many things that I would have done differently. What I would have done it the elimination diet that Dr. Sears recommends. My Dr kept reassuring me that there wasn't anything that I could do, but once I figured out that there was really a change with her diet, I wish I would have just hunkered down and tried it. What is really two weeks? Especially if you have a crying baby that might stop?
I know it is hard, but we ended up having to do this anyways. I wish we would have started earlier. I would have had a happier baby, and therefore a happier mama. Also, you really need to get your spouse on board. This is just so tough anyways, you need someone to support you, help you and encourage you to see success.