And Then I Made This...

So life these days continues to be filled with doctors visits, blood tests, ultrasounds, and a ton of food experiments.  We are now going on seven months of medical tests that have yielded no definite  diagnosis.  And while a whole bunch of nothing continues to be discovered, I wobble my way through new recipes and foods, with lots of trials and some errors. 

One of my first adventures in true gluten free baking yielded these...



 



sweet potato coconut cookies.  Aren't they pretty?  They were pretty and they tasted yummy...if you throw away the word cookie and replace it with "cake patty."  The thing about some gluten free flours is that they, well, don't rise.  So what you put on the pan is what you get.  And since I am now toying with the absence of dairy, these cookies have no butter.  No crunch. They are a soft, delicate blob that you have to pick up ever so gingerly so that it doesn't crumble in your hands.  Because you know what else gluten free flours don't do, they don't bind.  I would advise you not to dip these babies in milk.  Or they will dissolve and float away.  Cookies are for milk. Cake patties are for milk chasers. But I have to say these cookies got the approval of four children who asked for more and more and more so the taste factor is obviously still there. Plus veggies and oats and coconut milk.  They're practically a salad.

So each week we add a few more new foods to our repertoire. Some are keepers, and some we just don't ever have to try again. And I have to once again give major props to my awesome esposo who came home with corn masa last week and busted out homemade corn tortillas! Keeper!  It really is an adventure.  But the bottom line is it is our new reality and we are rising to the challenge.  And among this all a miracle took place....Isis discovered almond milk.  And loves it. She asks for it for supper and that stuff is packed with nutrients so mega points there.

And. Then. I. Made. This.

Do you want some? No, it isn't Chris's brain.  It isn't fish eggs. It is a gelatinous concoction of anti-inflammatory antioxidants.  And when you put it in your mouth, it feels exactly like it looks.  I ate it three times and then decided it can be a sometimes dish.  Or maybe a hardly ever dish.  Or perhaps a think of how good this is for your body dish.

It's Chia Seed Pudding.  Basically you soak chia seeds in almond milk and after a few hours it turns into something very similar to tapioca pudding.  Okay, tapioca.  I don't know if I would call this pudding.  Let's call it what it is... a blob of snot like particles that taste earthy and nutty.  But please, not pudding.  This is however my first attempt, and while it was, ahem, edible, I would like to pursue this in a chocolate flavor.  I am a firm believer that presentation is key and well, this guy really doesn't present.  At all. Maybe it needs some fruity goodness or extra vanilla extract.  Something. It needs something.  Or a lot of things. Help me out Alyssa, you told me your kids eat this?!?!?!

But welcome to my world.  Daily attempts at new recipes and anything that might potentially take away the lingering symptoms I feel.  There was a time long ago when I could sit down and dip hard bread into warm cheese.  Mmmmmmmmm. But maybe my life had gotten a little complacent and God said, You need to use your brain more. Your body will no longer digest food normally. Then He went back to heaven and ate fondue.  OK God.  That's cool. I'm game.