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1 medium onion,chopped Method Sauté onion,garlic in a little oil Serve on jasmine (or basmati) rice 2 Tins Pink Salmon Soak bread in juice of 1 tin only. Discard juice of 2nd tin. Mash bread well with fork and add to all of the above in mixing bowl. Should be fairly firm consistency. Make into round balls,with wet hands. Roll in plate of crumbs. 1/2 cup of cooked white rice (perfect for left over rice) Grease muffin pan Bake for 25-30 mins. Mielie (maize) Rice Optional mielie rice base/ rice/corn base. Make rice and cover base of casserole dish with rice. Preheat oven to 180C 4-5 Big potatoes boiled and sliced. Fry all the veggies in some oil,add spices,then add lentils,quinoa and chickpeas,then add tinned tomatoes,and stock and simmer for 20 minutes. Pour mixture over base. Top with sliced potatoes,drizzle with olive oil and paprika. Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes until golden brown Did you know that a huge percentage of people with a thyroid problem have Celiac Disease? Well I didn’t. Hashimotos thyroid disease and Celiac disease are both auto immune diseases. That is the body attacks its own cells and organs,leading to diseases notoriously difficult to treat. There is very often a genetic connection as well. Once again another medical link,that is so easily overlooked. I was diagnosed with an under-active thyroid at 18 and it took me another 10 years to get a Celiac diagnosis,with no-one ever suggesting the possibility. So how does having an under-active thyroid affect me? If you read articles on having an underactive thyroid,it will tell you that,it causes “tiredness”. That little word alone cannot begin to explain the bone weary exhaustion that it causes. The fatigue is so overwhelming,that sometimes it is impossible to function. Sometimes even going to the shops,or making something to eat causes you to feel so tired you need to go sleep. The problem is you want to sleep all the time,even when you wake up,you are still tired and need to sleep more. I had my non functioning thyroid in addition to low iron levels as well as poor absorption. Little wonder I felt as terrible as I did. One of the strangest problems I’ve had with my thyroid has been getting my Eltroxin (replacement synthetic throxine) levels correct. The only way to measure thyroid levels is with a blood test. Your TSH ( thyroid stimulating hormone) is the hormone produced by the Pituitary gland. When the thyroid is not pumping out sufficient thyroid hormone,the pituitary gland pumps out more TSH,so if those levels are high,the thyroid function is low. Most people I know seem to get the right dosage and then their function remains constant,mine however seems to swing from one extreme to the other. Its very low,then its too high,then its non functioning,than its overactive. I also react to the Eltroxin. Does anyone else have this strange reaction? My blood levels show I am underactive,but when I take Eltroxin,I have heart palpitations,lightheadedness and dizziness as if my thyroid is overactive. For this I am now taking a beta blocker,inderol to control those effects,while at the same time remaining on the medication. It is interesting to me that there is also some discussion and interest in the idea that gluten itself might be responsible for Auto immune diseases. No one knows what is the trigger for the body’s own immune system to begin mistakes its own cells as foreign material. As more and more people eat a highly processed diet made of mainly of white flour and sugar,surely somehow we are changing our bodies own DNA and enabling cancers and other genetic abnormalities to appear thus causing even more auto immune diseases? I have just had lots of fun making some Gluten Free/ Dairy Free Banana Muffins. I had tried to make some carrot and banana ones a few weeks ago and it was a total disaster as I mixed up the quantities of flour on the recipe and it was way too dry but these have been my own experiment with a combination of a few different recipes. The oven is going at the moment and they smell so good. I have been trying so hard to eat well and healthily as I am trying to lose some of the added kilos I now can’t budge ? so am eating healthy protein rich meals and healthy protein rich snacks all day. With my thyroid as underactive as it is and now with a gluten free diet,I actually absorb nutrients so as good as it was to gain those kilos at first,I now am struggling with a the extra few I have put on. So now I can add it into baked goods and it raises the protein content,which in turn lowers the glycaemic index of the food which means there is less of an insulin response and blood sugar doesn’t spike. Well I’m happy to report that they taste really yummy! I think that it’s really hit and miss with gluten free baking but these are really delicious. These banana muffins are perfect for that afternoon snack with a cup of tea. The muffins provide a serving of fruit,carbohydrates and protein all in one. Here is my recipe:
Cream together Add 3 mashed bananas Sieve together: Fold all together What recipes have you tried? Please comment and let me know.
Well I’m back from my lovely two weeks of pure relaxation and rest in Cape Town. It was a really nice break and so good to get back down to the coast and to have a holiday. It was our first holiday in 2 years. Yes I did manage very well to have a Gluten free holiday (vacation). I stayed in a place where I could make my own food,which definitely does make a difference and I would highly recommend doing that,to anyone planning a trip. Staying in a hotel,means that every meal has to be checked for gluten,whereas for me,I made my own breakfast and then if we either ate out for lunch or dinner,I could plan around it. One of the best things about being at the coast,is the plentiful supply of wonderful fresh fish (sadly even this is less due to the dwindling supply of fish in our ocean). So I basically ate fish all the time. If I went out and ordered fish,I was sure to ask if they used flour. Even grilled fish,is actually pan fried with a basting sauce containing flour. Every place I went to was more that happy to oblige with a dry cooking and the fish was still excellent. I even found some gluten free rolls at a place called the Wellness Warehouse (in Cavendish) and it was wonderful to have a sandwich. My first in quite a long time. I unfortunately reacted pretty badly to the rolls. Not sure if there was contamination,or if I am now starting to react to soy flour,which seems to be a common substitute for wheat flour. I am not sure if any other Celiacs react to soy?? So I actually found it easier to just not have any bread while I was away and I only will have at home from the sources I trust (which is currently only O’ Crumbs ). Also it was better for me to avoid bread anyway,with my rapidly expanding waistline! I did have some lovely gluten free cheesecake,covered in a gorgeous berry coulis at Hillcrest Berry orchard,the best kept secret in Cape Town and surrounds. There was absolutely no base used and it was still a lovely baked cheesecake. I did purchase their recipe book while I was there and so will definitely be trying that one out. For lunch although they offered a gluten free pasta option on the menu,the sauce contained gluten!!! So the lovely chef came out and asked me what I would I like and she made it especially for me and it was delicious. So no harm in asking. Another great place I found was Primi Piatti,which made an amazing gluten free pizza (best I’ve had anywhere) and also Harry’s Pancake place,did a lovely gluten free pancake and the best part was,that there was no extra charge for a gluten free option! Both of those are at the V and A Waterfront. I generally found people very open to the whole gluten free,healthier diet option and didn’t get any blank stares to my questions or requests for Gluten Free. So all in all a wonderful time and great food too! When I was first diagnosed with Celiac Disease,I was very underweight. I was very thin. No matter what I did I never gained weight. My clothes didn’t fit me well and I was using belts to keep my pants up. I felt like I was just fading away. No matter what I ate,it made me feel sick. No matter what I ate,it always felt like something didn’t agree with me. I was nervous of everything I ate. I virtually had permanent diarrhea and nausea. My appetite waned from being really hungry to never feeling like eating. I always got sick when I ate out and never felt very well. When I had my Gastroscopy for the Celiac Diagnosis,the doctor told me,once I start cutting out Gluten,I will need to watch my weight,as I may start to put on too much weight! I said to him “May that be my biggest problem”. How funny that of course that ultimately became the truth. But first it took me a long time to start eating properly again and attempting to put on weight. I went to a dietician,who helped me with an eating plan. Every week I would go to her,to be weighed,and the each little bit I put on,I got more and more excited about. Its seems ironic but I had felt so awful being so thin,it was so wonderful to finally be putting some meat on my bones. The thing that was so amazing for me is that for the first time food started to taste really good,really really good. I was eating 2 and 3 helpings of dinner! For the first time now that I knew that gluten was the culprit in making me sick and I was cutting it out of my food,I could freely eat whatever I wanted. Whereas before,never knowing what made me sick,always made me cautious and made me a very picky eater. Now I could eat everything and enjoy it and not get sick afterwards. Things just tasted so good as well. It was almost as if my taste buds were finally alive again. They were experiencing all these wonderful new flavours and tastes and sensations. My weight gradually increased and people kept telling how well I was looking. For the first time in my life and was feeling and looking well. Gluten is a protein that is found in Wheat,Rye,Oats and Barley. In certain people,this protein is seen as an invader by the body and the body’s own defense mechanism attack it. The area under attack is the villi,the small finger like projections in the small intestine,where absorption takes place. This is called Celiac Disease. The only but highly successful solution to Celiac disease,is to follow a completely gluten free diet. The history: About 10000 years ago,mankind moved away from a purely hunter -gatherer society and the began to grow his own grains,thus causing the start what we know today as agriculture. It was the first time crops of wheat and barley appeared. This also coincided with the beginning of what we now know as celiac disease. As we became more advanced farming methods improved. This was especially true during the agricultural revolution at the end of the 18the century and beginning of the 19th century,as farming methods became more and more technologically advanced,grains became a common part of our diet. As today,it forms the majority of the Western world’s modern diet. Almost every dish or food substance in our fast paced modern convenience lifestyle contains gluten in one form or another. In celiac disease,there is an abnormal immune reaction,known as an auto immune reaction,where the body sees the proteins found in gluten as a foreign invader. The area of the body that is attacked is the viili or finger like protrusions that make up the small intestine. This is the area of the colon where the absorption of all the food we eat is takes place and nutrients are transported to the blood stream for use in the body. In celiac disease,these villi,atrophy and cannot properly work. Therefore no matter how much food is eaten,the body cannot properly absorb it and this leads to malnutrition. Other symptoms include: Digestive complaints abdominal bloating and pain And other symptoms include •weight loss Often there are many incorrect diagnoses until the correct one is made. This is made by blood tests,which determine if there are the anti bodies in the body to gluten and then a gastroscopy,in which a small camera can see into the small intestine and a biopsy is made to confirm diagnosis. Despite the digestive problems and other symptoms,it vital to remain gluten free after diagnosis,as continuing to expose the body to gluten can lead to malignancies of the colon itself. Luckily maintaining a gluten free diet is possible and relatively easy and will lead to improved health and well being. Great to see more and more articles been written and published on Celiac Disease. This one is great;looking forward to see what comes next. Check it here World wide it seems Celiac Disease is being under diagnosed. Despite its relative ease in diagnosis,involving blood tests and a gastro-scope biopsy,it is very commonly overlooked. Doctors often mistakenly believe that it is a rare disorder,even though current statistics show it at 1% of the population (this is for the US and UK;there seems to be little other data available elsewhere). This number is assumed to be even higher amongst the many undiagnosed patients. It can also be a hereditary disease and can run in families. It also is more common in people who already have other autoimmune diseases,such as Hypothyroidism,Rheumatoid Arthritis,Addison’s Disease and Type 1 Diabetes. Another reason for it being overlooked is that there are so many overlapping disorders with common symptoms. There are people who have digestive disorder symptoms,commonly diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS),pain and fatigue,diagnosed with Fibromyalgia,with pain in their joints,diagnosed with Arthritis,yet they all might have Celiac Disease. There are also people who have it without any symptoms besides iron deficiency anemia. People seem to commonly be treated for Arthritis or Osteoporosis or Irritable Bowel Syndrome(IBS) or Anemia and treated for these disorders without finding the root cause of the problem. There is even the controversial idea that because it is a disease without a cure that requires medication,there is no support or funding from the Pharmaceutical industry in supporting its testing. The only treatment for Celiac is to follow a gluten free diet,and when this is done all symptoms clear up. Whereas the Pharmaceutical industry would much rather push for the anti depressants,anti inflammatories,painkillers and other medication that are used to treat the symptoms of Celiac. Either way whatever the reason,we can no longer plead ignorance on the subject,Doctors,especially those in primary care,need to start sending patients for the tests and we need to educate the general population about it and how it is treated. It is not just some rare disorder,it is more common than people realize. The more our diets begin to rely so heavily on the white flour,highly processed,highly refined,convenience food,the more diagnoses will appear. Celiac disease is not an allergy to gluten,like a wheat allergy is. It is in fact an autoimmune disease that is the body mistakenly attacks its own tissues seeing them as a foreign substance. When a person with Celiac Disease eats any food containing gluten,the body reacts to those proteins found in the gluten and attacks the small finger like projections in the small intestine called villi,thus preventing absorption of nutrients. The tests for Celiac disease involve two blood tests for anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTGA) and anti-endomysium antibodies (EMA). These are the markers for the antibodies that are produced in response to gluten in a body with celiac. If these tests are positive,then one will have to undergo a gastroscopy,in which a small tube is inserted down the mouth (you are asleep so are not aware of anything happening) and a small biopsy is taken of the lining of the small intestine to investigate whether there is damage to the villi. Even if blood tests are negative,a biopsy may still come back positive. Then a gluten free diet will have to be maintained for life. It is dangerous to continue eating gluten,not only because of the illnesses one has,but also because left untreated,it can lead to cancer of the colon itself. So it is vital that our primary care physicians more commonly check for Celiac Disease. Great minds think alike. The New York Times just posted an article on the under diagnosis of Celiac. Check it out here | Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef
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