Rewriting recipes for allergies, avoiding micro contaminants

Sorry for my silence, I've had a series of surgeries since July. Most recently November 16th I was in surgery for 8 hours. All went well, and I'm healing up nicely. It's more challenging than expected, but I have wonderful support in Patch, Carlie, Jenn, and friends like Milo and Henry stopping by to keep me company and give Patch and Carlie breaks. Doctor Heather Miracle Maven even stopped by for a home visit right after surgery.


Since Jenn helped me type up my allergies to put on the fridge and take to the nutritionist at the surgical center, I have been doing much better about avoiding allergens. Nothing I have intentionally put into my mouth has made me sick. 3 things have given me allergic reactions: Magnesium Citrate used for surgical prep. They gave me Lemon/Lime, and it turns out I had instant hives. Some pain med in the hospital (have to find out which one, Jenn wrote it down) and a roasted almond that crept onto a plate of "ants on a log" I'd made for Thanksgiving appetizers.  


I also was diagnosed as prediabetic, although I have gotten my numbers down over the last couple of months through exercise and dietary changes. Just paying attention to portion sizes and trying to get the omega 3, calcium, fruits and vegetables, fiber and protein seem to be enough of a change for me to really see significant changes. I lost 40 pounds before surgery, making my surgeon VERY happy.


One thing I've been doing since I've been laid up is to read a recipe in a diabetes magazine, or some other health magazine, and rewrite it so that the person cooking for me can make it. The hardest thing to avoid seems to be sugars. I'm not allowed to have AT ALL  the following items until after at least 2 months (I decided on February in order to give myself and those who sometimes cook for me time to get used to avoiding the nono list) and one of them (yeast) did sneak in on Thanksgiving in the form of a roasted almond (why they put yeast in the powder on the almond I do not know) but I think that's OK, because I'll still be allergin free for 2 months. It was scary and itchy with the swelling up of the lips and throat, but I never had a problem breathing, the benedril was enough and the EPI Pen never had to be used. After February I may start adding certain things back SLOWLY into my diet such as corn, beef, and bananas. But that is a whole process of one item a week, so VERY slowly adding them back into the diet and seeing home my body responds. For now, we are being HYPER careful to avoid the things on the Prohibited Foods List:


Here's the Prohibited Foods list for the next 2 months:
Fruit:
Apple, Banana, Grapefruit, Lemon, Lime, Pineapple, Plum, Watermelon
Grain:
Hops, Millet, White Flour
Nuts and Seeds:
Pecan, Sesame
Other:
Baker's Yeast, Black tea, Brewer's Yeast, Cilantro, Ginger, Green Tea, Lavendar, Mustard, Vanilla, Chocolate, drinking Alcohol, Soy
Protein:
Beef, Chicken, Codfish, Salmon, Crab, Eggs, Lamb (shoot, glad I typed this up, was gonna have Carlie cook up some lamb stew in the crock pot for tonight)
Vegetables:
Asparagus, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrot, Cauliflower, Corn, Cucumber, White potatoes, Mushroom, Squash
Sweetener:
Maple Syrup
Agave
Cane Sugar (or ANY Processed sugars)
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Honey


Some of these foods are harder to avoid than others. For example carrots show up in many packaged foods that don't have sugar, apples or bananas are a common replacement for sweetener or eggs when baking, and generally avoiding beef and chicken means it is virtually impossible to eat out. 


Now that i'm getting used to the list tho, we are doing a lot of cooking from whole foods at home which means we know EXACTLY what is in everything, and we are doing a lot of vigilant label reading. I do find it difficult when other people are cooking for me to stand strong on things that in miniscule amounts. For example Carlie made turkey chili, and she always uses the same kind of pinto beans. So she read the ingredients to me and there wasn't anything until the very end when it said ingredients that are in such small amounts we couldn't measure them and included sugar. Now I'm not actually allergic to sugars, but it triggers inflamation and itching in my body. So last night and today I have been incredibly itchy, and the only thing I ate that could have caused it was that chili. Still, I love her turkey chili and that she made it for me. It's an altered recipe already because it's turkey not beef. It is really hard to stand firm and say no, not even a miniscule amount of sugar. If I wasn't laid up postoperatively it would be easier because I could just put pinto beans in the crock pot with some spices and veggie stock and they'd be ready for her when she got home from work to make the turkey chili she wanted to make. Instead, I felt a bit like don't look a gift horse in the mouth. I don't want to make her care taking any more difficult on her than it has to be, and I honestly didn't think it would really cause a difference.


So far tho, since I started avoiding the things I'm intolerant of I have noticed that tiny bits of them really do have more severe consequences than before. I wonder why?


Well I will leave you with thought. If you can't have honey, and you want to replace it with something thick and syrupy but have been told maple syrup and agave are also out of the question what do you replace it with? So far most people use apples. I am currently highly intolerant of apple, and it's on the prohibited food list. However peaches, berries, and pear aren't, so I've been using them as sweeteners. I love watching the cooking channel, and remembered learning once that if I cook down pears they create their own sort of carmelization and become a thick honey like substance. So here's my recent attempt at a honey substitute.


1 can pears packed in their own juice and water, blended, cooked on medium until lightly carmelized and thickened to slightly more runny than honey consistency. As it cools it thickens. I am going to put it in an air tight container and try saving some to see how it turns out. I will be using this in an attempt to make my own granola. Will let you know how it turns out. If it's any good, I will share the recipe!

What Do I Do With Those Jack-o-Lanterns Now? Making the Most of Pumpkin Dollars Spent

I love summer squash, but apparently I'm allergic to it. My allergist gave me a list of foods to avoid, and among them were squash, summer squash, butternut squash, and all my favorite kinds of squash. However Pumpkin was not included. So I decided to use some of the leftover pumpkin from Halloween in the place of butternut squash and ended up with some delicious soup that friends are raving about. I still felt it needed something, but wasn't sure what until I realized adding black beans cooked in light salt did the trick. I will share the recipe here for those who are interested in something other than pumpkin pie to do with your leftover pumpkin this season. And by the way, I find mixing in some pumpkin puree from baking pumpkins really boosts the flavor when using fresh jack-o-lantern leftovers.

TIPS AND TRICKS:
Before I give you that recipe, I should share some tips and tricks I learned both from my mother, and the internet about making the most of your jack-o-lanterns. If you carve pumpkins, do so the day before, or the day of Halloween. When they are burning, keep an eye on your pumpkins making sure that they are properly ventilated and the candle isn't eating away at viable resources nor leaving a huge scorch mark on the outside of your masterpiece. Or, you can paint or draw on the skin with non toxic markers or paint. After all, you're going to cut away the skin before turning the leftovers into pumpkin puree anyway. And if you don't cut into the pumpkin for Halloween, it lasts longer. We did some of each.

PUMPKIN SEEDS:
Save your pumpkin seeds of course, they can be baked and saved for a healthy snack. We found soaking them in a large bowl 1/2 filled with water and a tablespoon of whatever flavoring was a great method. Thanks for the suggestion, Logan! I made 3 flavors and one plain since we had 4 jack-o-lanterns and a baking pumpkin giving up their seeds. I then baked them on a baking sheet covered in foil and sprayed with cooking oil at 325 degrees F for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. My favorite flavor is lightly salted with paprika, but sugar and cinnamon turned out good too, and we also made garlic and plain. Get creative!

PROCESSING PUMPKIN LEFTOVERS:
When you are done showing off your gorgeous pumpkin carvings, painted pumpkins, etc. you are ready to start cooking, freezing, composting, and generally using up the leftovers. You can use a potato peeler to peel the skin off the sides. I find cutting off the top and bottom and putting them in the compost bin (or trash if you don't compost) a great way to avoid wax and candle damage. You will want to do this the day after Halloween or put the thing in the fridge to make it last a couple days longer, but the sooner you cut it up, the more usable pumpkin you will have.  Using a sharp knife and remembering our knife safety, we cut the sides of the pumpkin in strips and cut away the inside which had been exposed to the air, the heat of the candle, flies, etc. We then cut the strips into cubes about 1 by 1 by 1 inch or so. Keeping the mass of the pumpkin pieces equivalent makes for more even cooking later.

FREEZING LEFTOVERS:
Once the pumpkin flesh is cubed, you can place it in freezer safe containers, baggies, or best yet, food saver packages so they are frozen in bags with all the air removed. This will make them last longest and avoid freezer burn. The liquid naturally found in the cells of the pumpkin will freeze breaking down the pumpkin flesh and making it turn into a smoother product when made into puree later. It also has the added advantage of intensifying the sweetness and flavor of the pumpkin.

PUMPKIN PUREE:
You can do this in a slow cooker, mine is working on some right now, or on the stove. Place enough water to cover the bottom of the container, place the pumpkin in the container, turn the heat up, cover and let steam. In a slow cooker on low, it will take about 4 to 6 hours but it varies depending if the pumpkin was fresh or frozen, how thick it was, how small you cut the pieces, etc. so keep an eye on it the first time until you sort out how long you need to steam it. I did forget my pumpkin was in the slow cooker one day and left it in 3 hours longer than necessary. Not a pleasant clean up job. If doing this on the stove, it will go faster. When the pumpkin is a darker orange and easily cut with a fork, it is ready. Remove from the heat and let cool. Do not drain, those juices are useful! You can place the container into the refrigerator to speed cooling if you're impatient after smelling all that pumpkin yumness emanating from the pot. When the pumpkin is cool, pour the steamed pumpkin chunks and juices into a blender. Blend on medium speed. You may find that you need to use a spatula or other tool to pres the pumpkin on the top down towards the blades. Now you can store the pumpkin puree in an air tight container. I kept mine in the refrigerator because I was not sure about proper pumpkin puree storage when it is home made. The store bought stuff can be kept in the cupboard, but since I wasn't canning mine, I thought it better to simply toss it in the fridge. Better safe than sorry right?!

Now for the piece de resistance...

SPICED PUMPKIN SOUP

1.5 cups fresh pumpkin 

1 medium sweet potato 

1.5 cups pumpkin puree 

2 cups organic, low sodium french onion soup 

1 cup water 

1/2 cup red onion 

2 cloves garlic 

1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

1/2 tsp sage 

1/4 tsp cumin 

1/4 tsp curry powder 

1 tbsp lime juice 

1 cup almond milk

Mince (or finely chop) 2 cloves garlic and set aside for 10 to 15 minutes in order to best release the immune boosting properties of the garlic.Chop leftover pumpkin into 1/2 inch cubes, approximately 1.5 cups worth. Chop 1 medium sweet potato into 1/2 inch cubes as well and set aside with pumpkin. Chop 1/2 a red onion into small pieces and set aside.

In a medium or large sauce pan, put 2 cups organic, low sodium french onion soup and 1 cup of water on to boil. 

Heat a non stick frying pan to medium. Add onion and 1/2 a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Carmelize and add 2 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 tsp sage, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp curry powder and cook 30 more seconds. Then add the mixture to the boiling soup and turn down to low.

Add 1.5 cups pumpkin puree, fresh pumpkin, and 1 medium chopped sweet potato to soup, stir, and cover partially. Cook for 10 more minutes, or until the pumpkin and sweet potato are soft. 

Let soup cool and add 1/2 to blender. Blend till smooth, then pour back into soup pan through a fine sieve. Stir, and pour the rest into the blender. Blend thuroughly and pour back through sieve. You will need to use a spatula to help smooth the soup through the sieve. The herbs and pieces of onion which didn't blend will be left in the sieve.

Mix 1 cup almond milk and 1 tablespoon lime juice into mixture and serve! You can serve this soup cold or hot. I found it was a perfect lunch with black beans cooked in a light amount of salt, drained, and then added in just before serving.

Makes 7 servings about 1 cup each. 

Let me know how you like it, or if you try it with any substitutions please pass them along to me, I'm always looking for new ideas.