Living on the Specific Carbohydrate diet (scd). It is launching us into a total health transformation. We will triumph over Crohn's disease.

I have told several people lately that I am thankful for my youngest daughters disease. She is 11 and has Crohn's disease.  Why in the world should I be thankful for this? It has opened my eyes and brought me to the truth. It is so wonderful to know the truth and be aware. As I have said before, I have always been aware of food and what we should eat but I was kinda like on auto pilot..knowing the truth sorta and implementing it mostly. I always shopped at whole foods and only bought organics. BUT doing that is NOT ENOUGH... shopping in the middle aisles is not good. Cereals, chips, crackers, granola bars are not good. To have optimum health you have to start from scratch(with regards to what you think is healthy to eat) and research. and research. and educate. I found this particular diet because it is geared specifically for crohn's disease and  intestinal health.  The author has done 50 years of research and is very thorough. I am very thankful for Elaine Gottschall. The book "Breaking the vicious cycle" is excellent in explaining what foods you must eat or not eat. It basically goes back to the beginning of time and what God intended for us to eat. I know for a fact he did not intend for us to eat toxics, chemicals, hormones, etc. Health should be a priority. If you get into a jam and need something quick, stop at whole foods and go to the hot food bar.. They now have a paleo line full of really great choices. Pack your kids nuts & sliced fruit for the ballfields.

So here are some new choices Meg and I have discovered and I am truly in awe of her cooking skills..she has advanced to turning on a gas stove and putting things in the oven. (this may be late for some kids but I admit I am a bit overprotective when it comes to fire and such:)
We are still experimenting and scouring the net for new recipes which is fun and Meg still makes grocery lists for me.

We made homemade tortillas for tacos the other night and they were delicious.  Here is the recipe

AUTHOR: Danielle Walker - AgainstAllGrain.com

SERVES: 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

Tortillas

• 6 egg whites or about ¾ cup
• 3½ tablespoons coconut flour
• 4 tablespoons almond milk
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon garlic salt

Mix all ingredients and pour onto a skillet!! Yummy!

We now eat this pancake recipe most days because it is filling and delicious.

Fluffy coconut pancakes

3 large eggs

1 tsp of oil(ghee, coconut oil or olive oil)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

2 tablespoons coconut flour

Mix all wet ingredients and then add dry ingredients..Let the coconut flour absorb for 2 minutes. Pour about 1 tablespoon of batter for each pancake 

Lately we have been getting obsessed with cauliflower...

http://theclothesmakethegirl.com/2014/03/25/roasted-cauliflower-rice/ 

http://www.firstyum.com/2014/04/the-best-cauliflower-crust-pizza.html

Both of the above recipes are delicious and we ate just about every bite!

Meg got a donut hole maker for her birthday so we love making these...These are done in about 2 min 30 sec! (sidenote..I couldn't find the recipe so I looked on meg's ipad and she had it on Notes...along with everything she has eaten in the last 30 days!! Love this girl.)

Donuts

*1 cup of almond flour

*4 eggs

*1/4 tsp salt

*1/4 tsp baking soda

*1 tsp vanilla extract

*2 tablespons of honey

Whisk together all ingredients well.

Pour into donut hole maker

done in about 2 min 30 sec

We are also loving Larabars. We can't eat all of them, because some have chocolate, but we love the lemon and the coconut cream pie.. They are sweetened with dates and they are really good.

Another delicious goody to have on hand...snickerdoodles...yummo!!

http://courtneyscraftinandcookin.com/2013/02/27/paleo-snickerdoodles/

Till next time, please read this article on how REAL FOOD can HEAL your body.

http://www.greenthickies.com/real-food-can-heal-almost-health-issue/

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moving through life with no sugar.

My Meg is 10 just about to turn 11 and she has endured a radical change in her diet. Why? Diagnosed with Crohn's. Before this happened she was a finicky eater, barely finishing her dinner and not a tryer of new foods. It was frustrating to say the least. My husband is a finicky eater and he told me many times that he survived on cereal growing up. So sometimes I would just serve her cereal for dinner. 

Fast forward to the now. She eats a solid 3 meals a day with 3 healthy snacks in between. It is unreal how much food she is eating. I am truly amazed at the amount of new things she has tried and surprised at some of the things she has eaten just because she knows its good for her.  How do you break your sugar habit for your kids? We went cold turkey because I felt we had to, based on the research I did. I only want her to eat healing foods to make the inflammation go down in her stomach. This means no gluten, no dairy, no sugar, no grains. I will say this is very time consuming and I have had to put my art business on the back burner for a bit, but it is so worth it when you see your child thriving and putting on weight!  I recommend if you are planning to kick the sugar habit to set aside an entire weekend to bake and cook.  Our favorite place to find recipes are in the links…Book mark them and scour them for yummy recipes. I will post more good ones as we find and eat them.  Also my very favorite place to find very useful information on why you should kick the gluten and the sugar is pinterest. Follow my healing foods board or smoothie board to see what I am talking about. I also think it is important to involve your kids on why you are eliminating things from their diet and have them get in the kitchen. Meg has loved baking and now says she is going to be a chef when she grows up!! 

So what in the world do we eat? I am keeping a food journal so we can keep track. Here is an example:

breakfast-

4 coconut flour crepes with homemade blueberry sauce( I make this by simmering on the stove with some water and honey)

3 scrambled eggs 

6 slices of Havarti cheese

2 cups of almond milk

snack- 

cup of cashews, slice of homemade banana bread.

lunch- 

homemade cheese pizza bread with side of guacamole to dip it in.

apple slices

1 cup of almond milk

snack- 

bowl of yogurt with strawberries cut up

dinner- 

pork chop with cup of applesauce

6 asparagus

salad 

1 cup of orange juice

snack-

vanilla cupcake

handful of cashews

1 cup of almond milk

She is not complaining about this diet and if we get a sweet tooth( cause I am following the exact same diet) we will whip something up…Last night we made coconut pudding! We ate the entire pan.

Until next time…

My life was busy…and then my daughter got diagnosed with Crohn's disease. a new journey.

Nothing will change your life faster than your child getting sick. Telltale signs may present themselves to you but you really don't think those signs are a disease…you have them in the back of your mind but aren't overly worried.

some signs to pay attention to… I'm no doctor (this is my personal experience) and pay more attention if all these signs present themselves at the same time.

-Diarrhea ( ask and tell your children diarrhea is not normal on a everyday basis) people don't necessarily talk about this, but it is VERY important to know this!

-energy levels- If your child is getting tired on a regular basis and it's out of character, take them to get their blood checked for iron levels and a poop sample to check for blood or parasites

-weight loss or overall skinny minnie- doctors can chart their weight and if they are off the charts their could be something wrong…key word "MIGHT"

My daughter is 10 almost 11 and she had a colonoscopy and was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and ulcerative Colitis. I can't tell you how many tears I shed, but that is over..It's time to whip this girl back into vibrant health and take a fast course in food.

This is a new journey. Let's back up just a bit..I have been buying organic food exclusively for at least 5 years, meaning no cheetos, goldfish, fast food, sodas, etc…I did however buy "organic" processed food and well I am learning those are no good either. Look at the sugar content!! It's unbelievable!

I've decided to follow the SCD diet…and let's say it is challenging and time consuming but as most mothers, I am up to the challenge for my child. And to be honest Meg is up to the challenge as well! She has taken to copying and pasting recipes, making grocery lists and helping make most of the food. Right now she is downstairs making her own pizza crust..AMAZING!!

I highly recommend you to take a look at this bookhttp://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info

and this sitehttp://comfybelly.com

I will start regularly posting recipes we have made together and have liked or loved. This picky eater is becoming a great eater in less than a week… She missed desserts the most so we have baked several. I love the fact that the ingredients are super foods (think coconut, almonds and honey)

A delicious apple piehttp://comfybelly.com/2008/12/apple-pie/#.VOIp-97fvHg


Vanilla cupcakes http://comfybelly.com/2011/06/very-vanilla-cupcakes-using-coconut-flour/#.VOIqud7fvH- the vanilla frosting was way too sweet(too much honey) so we are experimenting with that.


More to come…but until then please post comments with great foods/desserts that use no sugar, dairy or wheat! Or let me know about your journey…