Food adventures

I've sort of been on a food adventure. Apparently I have a bit of a problem with gluten/wheat. So I've had to cut that out of my diet with so far only good results. I've had Keratosis Pilaris (this link contains more info on the link between Keratosis Pilaris and gluten) which I've battled with for a long time and which also went away very quickly after starting my wheat/gluten free diet. I had started to develop breathing issues and throat swelling issues which led me to see an allergist. I found out at that time I had a wheat allergy however it was a low end one which meant it should not have an affect really. However prior to the appt I'd gone without wheat and noticed an improvement. I tried to start eating it again post appt and found all the symptoms that led to me going in the first place came back. I've gone wheat/gluten free ever since. I'd been getting mouth sores that I attributed to my lupus...those stopped entirely. Breathing difficulties mostly stopped (though I have a high allergy to cottonwood and cedar and it comes back during those) my regular allergy symptoms have not been bothering me daily like they used to. I'd had stomach issues those have pretty much stopped though I'm thinking they may take a bit longer as there is likely long term damage there. Hormonal problems have eased (I won't go into that) anxiety has decreased some. So many things. I just feel better in general. The cravings were bad at first but have lessened and I am still feeling my way around this. I can eat some cereals that are gluten free (I braved it with the reeses puffs because they are made with corn but did notice a slight issue with them ...likely due to the fact that they are made where there is wheat present so in the label it does warn "MAY contain traces of wheat") I eat potato chips and tortilla (corn) chips. I've figured out how to make brownies from Nutella by substituting regular flour with gluten free (I used Bob's red mill oat flour)  I'll post that recipe here in a few. When my family eats at Mcdonalds I order a bunless burger or a chicken bacon ranch salad and a parfait (hold the granola) I don't ask anyone to change how they cook or eat just because I am I just work around it. If the family has something say with noodles or something my hubby may cook the meat and leave some aside for me OR I just fix something else for myself. I use a lot of either canned chicken or chicken breast or fajita strips of beef or pork for lunches. Etc. Again I am still learning. 

 1 jar nutella 2 eggs 8-10 TBspns of oat flour (add til thick as desired) mix well (sprinkle nuts on top if desired or mix in) bake at 350 for about 20 minutes done when fork comes out clean. 

This recipe called originally for regular flour so you can make it with that as well. 

Hot day....killing time

 my latest artwork.... To see more you can like my facebook page at Through the Eyes of the Storm 

I am getting the urge to write more and more and I mean actual writing not just FBing or blogging. So we'll see if I ever get brave enough to actually do it. On that note I am off to draw I just wanted to share this here :) 

Too much excitement

In such a short time frame. If you've been following Oklahoma weather at all you know we've had an eventful last few weeks with multiple tornadoes touching down in some of our more populated areas. Two of them being F5's and apparently both vying for the title of the worst tornado on record. The 2nd one won that title at a whopping 2.5 miles wide. One tornado got semi-close to our area (the next town over) and we had a warning for our area one night which ended not with a tornado but with a hail storm and flooding. We've lost two large branches off our cottonwood tree and I really expect it to come down in the next couple of wind storms or so. (don't plan on any of us being in the house) 
Other than that there have been medical issues with my mom going to ER and was not herself. She was angry at me for going for awhile but things have calmed down and we are working out a new routine as she is needing more constant care than she was so working out that as well as taking care of our more immediate family as well. As for me a couple of ER trips (this had better not become the norm I HATE the ER you sit there for hours and only for them to do nothing really....well the 2nd one resulted in a prescription for an ultrasound that I have to do but still) anyway. I have decided that the way they weed out the ones that don't want to sit too long is to freeze them to death (it was cold as a walk in freezer) and play Lifetime movies til they can't stand it anymore. Oh and of course to keep you waiting so long that you wonder if you need to have your mail transferred there. If you survive all that you are taken to a room in which they poke on you for approximately 2 seconds and tell you that you need to see your dr asap (which the whole reason you went there in the first place is your dr is out of the office this week and they told you to go to ER because you needed to be seen otherwise you would not have gone in and sat through all that for hours) Such is the lovely experiences with the health field. 
On another note we saw some poor guy come in with some of his friends and was being pushed a long in a wheel chair but seemed to be in good spirits and was laughing and all. Wasn't til I saw my hubby cringe that I looked as he poked me and saw that it looked like the guys ankle was broken and was sitting at  an odd angle as well as being hugely swollen. Enough so that a lady sitting across from them while talking and laughing with them was trying to get him to cover it up with an ice pack LOL :) When he came out the nurse asked if it was broken and he proclaimed nope torn ligaments. 
In any case I am still awaiting testing but I seemed to have found out on my own that my problem may be extreme allergy related with an infection that occurred secondary to that. (my glands in my throat and along my collar bone swelled up as well as feeling like I was swallowing a large marble that wouldn't go down) anyway. 
They are wanting to test my thyroid though to rule that out. 
This time last year we were desperately wishing for rain as we were going through serious drought. Now we are getting all that rain and then some. Our rivers are over full and are eroding the banks and people have lost houses etc over it. Our two main roads to the next town were closed for a short time (well one of them for sure unsure if they actually closed the other one but they put out a warning about it and said they'd be closing that one shortly) Our lake is once again full though. No one around here has been really wanting to drink the city water because after the lakes turned it tastes and smells like it comes directly out of the lake. The fish in several of our lakes are suspected of being too high in mercury to eat.  Story on mercury Though I still want to get my husband a fishing license (and me one too but mostly him because he's been wanting one for awhile and at least this year it wouldn't be trying to fish in dry mudholes. Well that is just a quick update for now seems like for me I will always have these gaps because things of course get busy. Or rather they stay busy but sometimes they slow down for a short time.