Gluten Free is HARD!

Today was shopping day. After spending all night planning a week's worth of meals, it was off to FOUR shops to get what I needed. yikes. Tomorrow we begin...today I treated the family to a loaf of bread from a different gluten free bakery. Randall said it was worse than cheap store-bought wheat. That's a pretty bad review. Let's hope we can do better than that in our own home kitchen!

Overheard Gems

Says G, "When I grow up, I'm going to be a woodcutter." (lumberjack)
Says M in reply, "M tall....Cinderella!"

:-)

Gluten Free/Dairy Free?

We knew it might be coming...and it has. Our doctor has asked us to try a 6-12 week gluten and dairy elimination diet for our children. Little G has a cough, sniffle and wheeze that just will not quit that has been around for a long time. We've tried everything and nothing makes it better. The young man is miserable. N, too, has allergy symptoms that don't improve with decongestants. Also headaches and muscle twitches. Soooo...apparently they can be linked to food sensitivities.

I've read a ton of books on the subject and it makes sense. What makes even more sense are the dozens and dozens of testimonials I've read of people who feel so much better without eating those substances.

So....beginning Monday our family starts. I've spent the past few weeks reading up on recipes and talking to people for advice. We went dairy free a week and a half ago and that wasn't bad at all. Rice milk works just fine. The hardest thing about no dairy is no cow milk cheese. We've never done a ton of cow milk drinking anyway. But gluten???

Good thing I love to bake, BUT the ingredients are expensive.

Perhaps I'll share some of our favorite snacks and recipes as we do this. On one hand I hope that this is what's causing their problems so that they can feel better. But on the other hand, I sure hope it's not this! Make sense?

After our appointment today, we went to Whole Foods to pick up a few things to try. A great friend brought us a few samples too...like coconut milk yogurt. The kids LOVED it! After Whole Foods we stopped at a special gluten/dairy free bakery in the next town over. N ordered a BEAUTIFUL chocolate cupcake filled with vanilla creme and fresh raspberries. It was topped with chocolate and a fresh berry. He gave it a 9.75 out of all cupcakes ever eaten. 1/4 point was deducted for the frosting consistency which he felt should have been hard instead of soft. :-)
(He's born to be a chef, though...spent all his spare moments staring into the kitchen, just DYING to be mixing in there!)

Apparently, my new best baking friend will be brown rice flour. Who knew?

Who Knew Winnie the Pooh Could Leave You in Tears?

We sure didn't! I'm sure no one else has the "crazy hour" in their house...but in our home, the hour after school where homework is done and dinner is cooked is often challenging. With four kids, there's usually someone who is starving and someone else who needs help on math and someone else who needs to talk, and someone else who needs to have a meltdown. SO, now that the weather is getting chillier, I've pulled out our older VHS tapes for the younger two to watch during that time. N and J are busy doing their homework and M and G are enjoying Richard Scary's Busy People and such...usually.

Today's 30 minute feature presentation....Winnie the Pooh! What could be hard about that?

Did you know Pooh eats too much honey and gets STUCK in Rabbit's doorway? I was busily chopping broccoli only to hear M start SOBBING in the living room. I come in and after failing to calm her realize the problem. Poor Pooh! She continued to sob and sob and sob. She didn't want to leave the room, didn't want to miss the show. We kept promising he would get out...it didn't matter. When the show ended and Pooh was free she finally stopped - for about five minutes until someone mentioned it and she started all over again.

Poor thing!

Happy at the Hoe Down!

Everybody ready for a Hoe Down? Every year on Columbus Day Weekend, my aunt hosts a beautiful gathering at their vacation home in Vermont. The big red barn is filled with music and family and neighbors. As the light fades and the dinner is cleared, the fiddle strikes up and everyone gathers for square dancing.

Each year we enjoy a different theme. Last year was the French countryside. This year, it was colonial New England. Our three littlest were the greeters. How sweet they were!

Miss M LOVED dancing with her baba and Mom enjoyed dancing with G. N and J were kind enough to dance with guests who had no willing partners. Of course, having a heavy-laden dessert table present kept their attention, too!