Here we are, here we go

I found a book years ago that put me on this path. I will have to find it now, but is was something along the lines of "control your food supply". Luckily I grew up canning food with my mother and grandmother so the seed was already planted, so to speak. I started doing other things to achieve a sustainable lifestyle, baking my own bread, growing more of my own food, raising chickens etc.

Most recently I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, which is Gluten Intolerance. This translates to no food with wheat, barley, rye and for the most part oats. It gets complicated to buy processed foods at the store or eat at restaurants. Life has given me some hurdles recently that put road bumps in my journey of food control, but after the diagnosis it hit home that now more then ever I need to control my food before it controls me.

There are so many things people can do, even in an urban environment, to achieve control of your food supply, from top to bottom. Do a little or go all the way, I promise all of it will be fulfilling and you will have a better connection with the foods you eat.

The topics near and dear to me, that will be discussed are - local, sustainable agriculture, vermicomposting, composting, growing food, edible gardening (gardens can be pretty), preserving the harvest, baking and cooking Gluten Free foods that taste like food, farmers markets, CSA's (Community Supported Agriculture)......I am sure I will add to this list over time.


Monday, December 24, 2007

Daring to be Dairy Free



Ok, I have avoided saying it out loud, because then it's true, but dairy has been giving me issues lately. Prior to my diagnosis with Celiac I had realized that I was lactose intolerant, which is common in Celiac prior to healing. Many Celiacs can go back to eating dairy 6 months to a year after a strict gluten free diet because the villi in your intestines start to heal and you are again able to breakdown lactose. I felt that I had achieved that, the lactose intolerance symptoms had subsided. I was however experiencing different issues. If I didn't cook almost entirely myself in a entirely gluten free house I would have questioned whether or not I was glutening myself, but i know that wasn't what was happening. A few experiences were hard to ignore. My boyfriend and I went to our local gluten free restaurant, Hawthorne Fish House, and had the fried cheese curds within 30 minutes I had an incredible headache and bloating issues similar to what I experience with gluten.

Well, I have toyed with the idea of dairy free before, I had already switched to Almond milk for as many things as possible. But damn it I really like cream in my coffee. I have finally found a product that will ease my switch to dairy free - MimicCreme. It is incredible, perfect for coffee creamer and has been an incredible substitute for cream in recipes. All is not lost. I had the most incredible creamy mushroom soup the other day. I made it and fed it to two unsuspecting victims without telling them it was 'dairy free". The boyfriend knows it is at least gluten free, but he didn't suspect the rest. It was delicious, no one could tell it wasn't dairy. I am using the left overs for baked chicken and rice.

The great thing about the MimicCreme is it isn't just dairy free( casein free) it is also gluten free and SOY free. It is unheard of for something to be both casein free and soy free. I really have to avoid soy as well, which has always been a stumbling block for going dairy free as most milk alternatives are based on soy. MimicCreme is based on Almonds, Cashews and rice starch. I have no idea how they made it taste like cream but they did. They sell it in unsweetened (which I use in my coffee and cooking) but they also sell a sweetened and a sugar free sweetened. I am anxious to make some ice cream with the sweetened.

Between MimicCreme, and the Better then Sour cream / cream cheese products, I can do this dairy free thing. Cheese however is a challenge, I really like cheese, I really like GOOD cheese. Oh well, if they can make great dairy free creamer then I am sure some one is soon going to come up with a good dairy (casein free) cheese.

Here are some photos of the yummy mushroom soup.

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