hands of love #5...

This week's "hands of love" came in the form of food AND a visit from family! My aunt Sharon, cousin Laura, & cousin Callie all came to visit us for the weekend!


And since my cousin Callie just so happens to be on the same diet as I am (and experiencing lots of her own symptoms improving!), mostly everything we'll be showing you is thanks to her! (when 2 people with food issues/restrictive diets get together, there is nothing more fun than sharing your recipes together in the kitchen! We cooked up a storm!)


She showed us how to make homemade hummus AND homemade crackers! (made of flax & teff flour, I believe...)


We made a beef stew using a TON of different vegetables. (some I'd never even heard of before-- well, "they"'re in there!)


Some gluten free, dairy free, yeast free, egg-less almond bread. (almost more like a cake- it was good!)


And yesterday I (Amy) made some thai beef cooked in coconut milk with spinach & orange peppers over millet. (millet is the rice-looking stuff.) I know- I'd never heard of millet before, either! But it's another gluten-free grain and is pretty good, just like rice. This dish tasted bland to us at first, but as we kept eating it, we both noticed that as we adjusted to it (& didn't expect the tastes of the usual American diet-- lots of salt or sugar), it became better tasting as we ate. Plus we actually felt GOOD after we ate. :)

Interesting tidbit to mention here: in God's providence, Marc's brother was diagnosed with a severe case of celiac a year before this intestinal stuff began happening to Caroline. So thankfully our family was very supportive & understanding when we went gluten free for Caroline. Since having more gluten free meals around our house, Marc is also noticing a HUGE(!) difference in his own digestive symptoms with the removal of gluten. (you wouldn't believe how many people's health-- even those without digestive issues-- could be helped by going gluten-free since wheat/gluten tends to aggravate the immune system, which in turn affects every aspect of our bodies) And since celiac runs high in families, I think Marc might be on the verge of giving it up altogether. (does this mean I'll never get to eat bread or pizza again?!? Please save me!!)


Loved having you here, girls! Come visit us again real soon!