escape your food prison

Yummy Stir-Fry

2009-10-29T18:17:00.000-07:00

Hmm...apparently my apartment lights are rather yellow! Apparently I need to work on my lighting when I'm taking pictures :).

Anyhoo, this is a delicious, quick, and even healthy stir-fry. The idea came from my dear friend Molly Reynen when we visited her and her husband. She had us make shish kababs on the grill. She used beef instead of chicken, but it was the same basic concept. What's great about a stir-fry is that it's so easy to fudge and change depending on how many people you're feeding. Because it's usually just me and my husband, this is kinda small. But feel free to experiment! So here goes!

1/2 Red Pepper
1/2 Green Pepper
2 pieces Chicken Breast
1 cup Pineappple
1/2 cup red onion
garlic
pepper
soy sauce

* Cut up your chicken into smaller pieces. Place in baggie and poor enough soy sauce to soak chicken (doesn't need to be full), add some minced garlic and some black pepper and let soak for at least 15 minutes.

* Cut up peppers and onion in mean-time. I usually prefer red onion because I actually can't cut up a regular white onion without having every window open and having to step outside to recover. Red onion isn't quit so potent! But if you can do it without crying, go for it!

* Pour contents of baggie into a frying pan. Include a good portion of extra soy sauce so the chicken stays moist. Also, add onion.

* Once the chicken is cooked then you can add the peppers. Then once their cooked, you can add pineapple.

* Then you can enjoy with some white or brown rice, or even some noodles. It's pretty tasty.

So there. People always wonder what the heck I am able to eat. This is a pretty great example. I eat! And in general I eat pretty well. Stir-fries are just so easy!

Stevia and Agave

2009-10-17T19:33:00.000-07:00

Stevia and Agave are some of those common buzz words used in the world of natural health. They are good natural sweeteners for diabetics or those who are on low-carb diets. They are lower on the Glycemic Index than regular granulated sugar and brown sugar. Here's some websites that might have better explanations:

http://www.allaboutagave.com/agave-vs-granular.php

http://www.stevia.com/

There is a lot of talk about these sweeteners as if they are a fad. One of those amazing new healthy things that will cure what "ails ya". But really, it's still sugar and one should consume with moderation. You'll hear me say that a lot on this blog. There are so many things that are great in moderation. Remember that a few years ago that everyone was talking about how amazing aspartame was in that it's low calorie and still sweet. But there's a lot of debate around it these days.

Personally, I love agave. I use it in place of honey most often, it's a lot more "watery" than honey and sometimes it just works a little better. Stevia has a very distinct flavor and a little bit goes a really long way. The kind of stevia I used on the below recipe is in powdery form but you can also get it in liquid form. If you don't want to use these, you can just use some honey and a couple spoonfuls of sugar. Experimentation is definitely encouraged! Please try it! It's so good!! :)

Addendum to Vegan Hot Chocolate

2009-10-02T15:16:00.000-07:00

So for those of you who might think the cashew thing is a little complicated (and without a super expensive blender it is, my blender struggles with it), I have come up with something different for you. So here's my new picture and recipe

About a half cup of soy milk (I used vanilla Silk, but original would do as well)

2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon of vanilla (I used less because I used vanilla flavored Silk, so yea do as you feel best)

10 drops of stevia

1 tablespoon of agave nectar

Then follow the same basic instructions below. The blender makes the milk mixture all wonderful and frothy :)

In case some of you have no idea what the heck agave nectar and stevia are, my next post shall explain. For now, enjoy this other recipe for cocoa!!

Vegan Hot Chocoate...Yes it IS tasty!!

2009-10-01T17:28:00.000-07:00

So my first real recipe. And it's one I've stolen! Ha! Oh well, that's what other bloggers are for. Elana has been doing this for far longer than I, so I value her expertise. But I did tweak it a bit because I think she skimped on the chocolate and vanilla. You can check out her recipe on her blog: http://www.elanaspantry.com/hot-cocoa/ .

My recipe is as follows...

¼ cup (raw) cashews
1 cup water (room temperature)
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon agave nectar
11 drops stevia

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

2 or 3 dark chocolate chips (this is my major addition..have I mentioned how much I love chocolate?)

Place cashews and (room temperature) water in a blender; puree on high until completely smooth and no lumps of cashew remain

Blend in cocoa, agave, stevia and vanilla

Divide cocoa mixture evenly between 2 mugs

Top off each mug with ½ cup boiling water

Toss the chocolate chips in the mug

Serve

Now when I made this, I was by myself, so I did not split it between 2 mugs. But you should feel free to mess with the concentration of the cocoa/cashew mixture. You might like it a little more thick! I know the cashew milk thing is a little weird, but I think you'll like how frothy it is when blended. Anyway, this is my first recipe on my blog! It's so tasty I hope you try it on some rainy or (God forbid) snowy evening!

Kari is Drug Free!!!

2009-08-28T15:44:00.001-07:00

Once again, haven't written in a while, I kinda suck at this whole blogging thing. Anyway, I apologize for the last post. I get overwhelmed easily. Especially when I can't just eat what I want. But here's a fantastic update. I figured out why I wasn't getting any better! I had a stroke of genius one night when I decided I'd look what's in my brith control. So guess what! Corn starch and lactose are two main filler ingredients!! So it only took 2 days without the pill to feel better. Now I am officially drug free and still feeling great! I haven't actually felt this good without drugs for a couple of years. It's so wonderful!!

So the moral of the story is be your own advocate. Do your research before taking any prescription. Granted, I have been on this pill since being married and that was long before I figured out what I was allergic to. But still, now I need to be careful. I can't even take ibuprofen or tylenol. Oh well, I'm still getting better so hopefully I won't need to use them anyway :).

Anyway, this was just a little update on how I'm doing. I hope this can help other people in my situation! People with autoimmune diseases, NEED to find out what foods or other things they are sensitive to. It WILL help heal you!!

Overwhelmed

2009-07-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

So I haven't written in a long time, and that's usually what I do. Ya know, start something then it gets hard and I end up quitting. Unfortunately, quitting is not an option. If i quit, I go back to drugs and still feeling like crap all the time. I have been getting better, but I'm so overwhelmed by the cost and the difficulty of actually eating ridiculously healthy. If I want to make good edible bread, I have to buy 5 different flours and xanthum gum. I have to use "earth balance" vegan butter and buy Tofutti cream cheese. Ugh. I never thought I'd be buying this stuff. I am a good old fashioned country girl that loves the REAL thing. Unfortunately the real thing has been giving me swollen joints for nearly 8 years now. Too long.

Anyway, I'm working on it. I wish I didn't have to work though. It would be so much easier! When I get home, I don't have the energy to cook, or think of anything remotely creative to make. I think I'm starving my poor husband. Although, he can eat frozen pizzas and easy things like that when I can't. So really I just feel like I'm starving myself. But when the heck do I have time to bake fresh bread with 5 different flours?! Or go to the special store I need to buy the 5 different flours?! Ugh, nothing ever comes easy. Ok sorry about the venting, eventually this will be more of a recipe sight than a venting sight. But for now, while I'm trying to figure it all out, it might contain more venting.

Smoothies!!

2009-06-30T17:52:00.000-07:00

Smoothies are pretty much the best thing ever for me right now. I need to get lots of fruits and veggies (I am still working on the veggie smoothie thing). I am very proud of this particular smoothie I just made. All it I did was put some frozen pineapple, peaches, some orange juice and some wonderful cashew milk (http://www.elanaspantry.com/cashew-milk/) in a blender and voila! A delicious nutritious smoothie. They're so easy, I haven't found a wrong way to make a smoothie. So please feel free to experiment. But I highly recommend using cashew milk. It's delicious and of course non dairy!

Me

2009-06-29T20:13:00.001-07:00

When I was 15, I was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. It was so random, my ankle just swelled up one night. I was in danceline and that night I was supposed to dance at a basketball game. I ended up running the music instead. Never did danceline again...

My orthopedic surgeon was great, but at one point the lab made a mistake. They thought I had a staph infection in my ankle. So I had to wear a boot on my foot for a month. The only time I took it off was in the shower. When my Dr found out it was a contamination in the lab, I think he felt worse than I did, especially when we discovered I didn't have much cartilage left in my ankle and had to wear a brace for the rest of my life.

For the next few years my ankle controlled my life. It hurt so bad all the time, I had difficulty sleeping and getting around in college. The worst night was when my roommate had to carry me back to our dorm on her back because I couldn't walk. That night I felt so awful, I knew something needed to change. My boyfriend (now my husband) told me that God doesn't want me to feel like this. At the time it seemed like a revelation I guess. I didn't really blame God for my problems, I know that is a fruitless anger. But I was thinking that I need to actually do something for myself instead of just waiting for something else to happen. But I was still lost and hopeless and in excruciating pain. I was considering getting my ankle fused actually, but that would have caused other problems. Anyway, that night my boyfriend and my two amazing roommates actually sat with me and prayed for me. The next day, I used crutches to get to my classes. I was in a much better mood and in far less pain. Actually, as I moved around more and more I realized I was not in much pain at all! Since that day, I have not worn that brace.

After that, I got a physical therapist and she helped me stretch and build muscle that had virtually disappeared in my left leg after 2.5 years of wearing an immobilizing brace. I didn't really have many other symptoms at that point. However, that was soon to change. I began having problems with my hands. They would ache so terribly it was hard to write. Not good for a Biblical Studies major, I write all the time. I didn't have a laptop either, so I was stuck taking my own notes by hand. Not long after that, my feet and toes started giving me trouble. When my feet hurt, because of the way I have to walk, my ankles, knees, hips back, you name it, it probably hurt.

So I'm getting pretty sick of pumping my body full of drugs in order to function like a normal person. I've been on so many drugs that made me so sick I lost 25 lbs. I went into anaphylactic shock twice after trying the same drug twice. I'm done. My Grandma told me about her chiropractor and a blood test that could tell me what my body is reacting to. All the info about it sounded too good to be true. But I did some research and it seemed pretty legit, just no "real" Drs ever heard of it. I found a chiropractor in my area covered by my insurance who does the test along with other remedies like acupuncture. He's been fantastic. I got my test and found out I'm sensitive to dairy and corn sugar. So practically every food that has been touched by humans. Ha ok an exaggeration, but still it's a large amount of food. With the help of a couple of fantastic blogs (I have them listed here) I am able to not feel like I'm in a food prison all the time, but can still enjoy some food! It's been a long process but I am finally feeling better. My body seems to be returning to normal. This blog will be some random thoughts along these lines and whatever information I can add to help others in situations similar to mine. It's not hopeless! With the right help and the right food, I truly believe we can heal what ails us!!