Ranch Mix

I have no idea where Andy found this recipe but we almost always have it on hand.

1 cup dried minced onions

7 Tbsp Parsley flakes

4 Tbsp sea salt

1 Tbsp garlic powder

Optional - dill

We keep the mix in our pantry. 

Mix 1 Tbsp of the ranch mix with 1 cup of Greek yogurt or you can do 1/2 sour cream and 1/2 greek yogurt.

Great as a thick ranch salad dressing, veggie dip or chip dip.

Potato Chips

When you realize everything you snack on is just not going to work, a sense of panic starts to set in.  Andy is a snacker.  He likes his chips, crackers, cereal bars, etc.

At the doctor's office there was a bag of olive oil chips.  After some searching we decided we liked the Good Health Natural Foods brand the best.  It is kettle style and comes in different flavors.  We prefer the Sea Salt flavor.

They are really good with Andy's chip dip.

We haven't found them locally in any of our stores so we usually order a case of them each month through Amazon.

A sandwich

The kids have really been great through our diet transformation.  We are talking through many of our choices but it is still hard for a 5 and 7 year old to make sense of it all.

Will was pretty bummed on Friday.  All he wanted was to be able to have an ordinary PB&J sandwich for lunch or maybe even a turkey sandwich.  Well, that is pretty much impossible to do as we are gluten free, nut free, poultry free, and the list goes on...  We don't make a big deal if the kids are at a friend's house or if they are out somewhere it is difficult to find good choices.  They are catching on though.  Liz (5) is starting to ask which foods are gluten free and ask first before eating something.  It is hard enough as an adult to sift through it all.  

Back to the sandwich challenge...  

I've seen where people have used cream cheese on waffles in children's lunches so I thought we could see if that would solve Will's sandwich dilemma.  Cream cheese and a waffle was a no go but jam was a hit.  His ultimate favorite waffle sandwich is cream cheese and pepperoni.  He claims it tastes like a pizza.  

I used King Arthur Flour Gluten free pancake mix to make the waffles.  I decided to double the recipe as I always like to make as much as I can and freeze for easy morning meals.  I doubled the ingredients but forgot to open two boxes. Oops.  I just couldn't figure out why the mix was so runny.  Thank goodness I finally figured it out.  We also use this mix to make pancakes.  

This summer I stocked up on Lynd's Homemade Jams.  They are delicious! Excellent for a jelly waffle sandwich or a pancake topping.

Salad Dressing

After reading LOTS of salad dressing labels I bought this nifty salad dressing mixer from Pampered Chef.  I thought for sure I'd have to make my own salad dressing.  I haven't tried just yet but it's on my to do list.



Until I get organized enough to make my own I found the Hendrickson's brand of dressing at Meijer.  I love it on a spinach, feta and strawberry salad.

Exciting test results

Two of the test results I have been curious about have been my TSH reading and my ANA count.

My TSH on February 13th was around a 3.6.   The tests this week put it at 2.1.  I'm anxious to discuss this more at my follow-up appointment.

This winter I've been experience Raynaud's symptoms and my family physician ran autoimmune bloodwork to see if anything else was going on.  It turned out I tested positive of ANAs and he since referred my to the Arthritis Center.  After 6 weeks of being gluten free, my ANAs actually came be negative.

If there was one thing I would suggest to my friends and family it would be to eliminate the gluten.

Some of my other tests weren't ideal either but I will share more after my follow up appointment.

Waiting...

I had my initial appointment with Dr. Glen Aukerman at OSU.  I didn't have many questions.  My husband has already been working with Dr. Aukerman and we are very familiar with his book.

I think there were 9 vials of blood drawn... Now to wait for the results.

The second round of Andy's bloodwork has shown great improvement.  I have hopes for my own once the process begins.  

Deviled Eggs

Hard boil a dozen eggs.

Peel. Cut in half.

Scoop out the yolks and add the following:

1/2 c. of plain greek yogurt (we use 2% Fage)
2 t. of vinegar
2 t. yellow mustard
1 t. salt
dash of pepper

I use a hand mixer to blend.

The consistency will be different if you usually make your mix with mayonnaise.  The flavor will be very similar.

Mac & Cheese

For Easter we are having Mac and Cheese.  Some people refer to this recipe as the Hoggy's mac & cheese.  

1 1/2 cups of cottage cheese

1 1/2 cups of sour cream

2 eggs

24 oz. sharp cheddar cheese shredded

2 cups of cooked macaroni (rice pasta)

2 cups of cooked other tube pasta (rice pasta)

salt and pepper

Combine and transfer to 13x9 pan.

Bake 40 minutes at 375 degrees. 

A couple of shopping notes:

Use sour cream and cottage cheese with the least amount of ingredients.  You will notice that the low fat/non fat versions have undesirable ingredients.  We have been using the Daisy brand lately.

Meijer carries rice macaroni pasta in the gluten free section.  Both Meijer and Kroger have rice penne.  Check for it in the organic or gluten free sections.