Don't forget the sprinkles!

***This is an oldie from the Main Blog. Join us over there!


I'd like to be pregnant again.

Only so I could eat what I wanted - another child right now would snap what thin threads of sanity I have left!

Ok, let me back up a bit. All I could eat during the first trimester with each of the boys was blueberry yogurt, raisin bran cereal, nectarines, apples and toast topped with peanut butter and fresh strawberries. I've been lactose intolerant for most of my adult life, probably my whole life.  One of the surprise changes in my body during pregnancy was the ability to consume dairy products pain-free. And boy oh boy did I enjoy it! Cheesecake - don't mind if I do! No agonizing pain and bloating afterwards. And ice cream ~ I ate a banana split every day for the last 3 months of Felix's pregnancy. So. freaking. good.

Sadly, these changes didn't last. Within 3 months post partum, the lactose intolerance came back. And I also developed an allergy to nickel, giving me itching rashes whenever my skin came into contact with belt buckles, snaps and rivets on jeans, my name tag at work.... so attractive.

Yesterday I got the results back from the Carrol Food Intolerance testing I had done on a whim a few weeks ago. Dairy is my #1 culprit, no surprises there. But what I didn't realize until now is that is apparently not just a "simple" inability to digest the lactose, the sugar in milk. My sensitivity has changed to - or perhaps has always been - an aversion to milk protein. So now I'm not supposed to have any animal dairy at all. Whatsoever. And sugar - well, I knew that one, but now there's a catch.

I picked up the tissue salt supplements today. And discovered they're in a base of lactose, so they'll be going back. Buggers.

Such fun. And guess what? These things are typically passed down and with the boys having such an awful string of lengthy ear infections and lingering colds, they also need to come off of dairy. Post haste. No more grilled cheese. No more mac & cheese (sorry, Elliot). No more Yop (sorry Felix*). No more ice cream...... no, WAIT!!!!! *Felix weaned from breast feeding to Yop yogurt drinks.

A few weeks ago, after a nasty bout of icy rain washed away all of our fluffy snow, I found a blog with a recipe for Snow Ice Cream. It intrigued me and I was antsy as all get out for it to snow again.  I certainly got my wish today! (Yes, ok, I admit it. All the blizzards this week are my fault. Blame me!)

Elliot cleans the slide...

Those poor groundhogs. Can they get frostbite? The good news is our local guy didn't see his shadow, so we're gonna get an early spring! The bad news is that I'm sure a lawn gnome could've popped out of that burrow and no one would have been the wiser, given the amount of white stuff flying around in the air!

Jay waits for Felix to catch up...

So, back to the important stuff. Snow ice cream. I went into the back yard and scooped up a bowlful (don't pack it down, just fluffy, fresh stuff) and crammed it in the freezer while I gathered the rest of the ingredients.

I goofed right off the bat and even though I was following the recipe, I added double the amount of sugar. So I had to double everything else. A bigger bowl would have made it easier. You should only start with about 8 cups of snow, 1/4 cup of milk (I used almond milk, given that we're all now supposed to stay away from traditional dairy), 1/2 cup sugar, and a splash of vanilla. (Just for fun, I put this all into an online calorie counter and came up with about 85 calories per serving!)

Mix and mix and mix, adding more milk if your snow is very dry, like ours is, until it's kinda runny, like porridge. Then add more snow, about 4 cups. Once it's firmed up to your preferred consistency, divide it and add food colouring, if you want. We wanted. Once you've reached your perfect hue, you can eat it right away or put it in the freezer to firm up a bit. Or add a wee bit more snow for some last minute chill before serving. (Something I'll do next time, as ours was a touch watery when it came out of the freezer.)

Don't forget the sprinkles!!

I found this to be very satisfying. It's sweet, so next time I won't add as much sugar. I think we'll make another batch tomorrow - one specifically for me, made with (decaf) coffee-laced milk. Mmmmmmmm. Yes please!

Ooooh, and I wonder if I can replicate that recipe we made as kids - you know, the one for snow taffy?? I remember boiling everything (while supervised, duh) in a large pot on the stove, then pouring it out into a fresh patch of snow to cool. Then pulling the bejeezus out of it to make taffy candy. Ours always turned out hard and glassy instead of soft and chewy. But I think that's because we were impatient and unwilling to pull it long enough.

The metal bowl may have been a bad idea. Or maybe a brilliant one?

Groceries and change

Week of November 13

Yes, that is an awful lot of sugar on the list. But it was on sale and I  was thinking ahead to Christmas baking. Honest! And we realized it's the 3rd time in 2 weeks that we'd made the TexMex bake, so that's being retired from circulation for a while. It's yummy, but overused. Sunday ending up being pizza delivery. And Monday was Swiss Chalet. The pizza we made on Thursday was phenomenal. The crust turned out so light and perfect. Usually it's rather dense and hard to work with. The boys had fun rolling it out!

Week of November 20th

This week is looking good. I'm off of sugar again. YAY me! Today is day 5. Read all about my adventure over on my main blog... but it's going well. This time, I'm not messing around - taking yeast busting tinctures  and extra fiber supplements. Wish me luck!

As of this morning, I'm at 170 lbs. Yipes!!! My arms are going numb at night, every night. It happened a lot when I was pregnant and very heavy. Guess I crossed that line again.

Grocery, Nov 6

I didn't update on the meals from last week, but they were all big hits - especially the leek soup and the honey lentils!

New this week is a hearty vegetarian chili and what looks to be a sinful squash risotto.

Grocery Day, Halloween

New this week:
The steak was another "What's for Supper" meal. Smothered in peppercorn sauce, with some sauteed onions and mushrooms? Delish!!!!
Curried Butternut Squash Soup (Thanks, Michelle!)
Potato Leek Soup
Honey Lentils

And the spaghetti and meatballs are at the request of Elliot.

Let's all keep our fingers crossed that I don't go overboard with Halloween sweet tonight, ok?!

Cauliflower cake?

Last night's cauliflower cake was amazing. Felix ate 3 pieces. Hubby went back for another. Elliot picked at his, but he also ate 2 servings of leafy salad - something he's never done before. This cake has magical powers, everyone!

I didn't have any turmeric, so it's not nicely yellow like in the Smitten Kitchen post. I also used a full carton of egg whites. And a tub of freshly grated Romano cheese. It was like a dense mac & cheese. And so surprisingly good!

From what I can recall, yesterday's foodies went something like this:

-Decaf chai tea latte
-about 6 bread rolls from Julian's French Bakery, some with mozza cheese
-chocolate croissant, also from Julian's
-3 "Sweet & Salty" granola bars
-a blueberry Yop drink
-cauliflower cake with green beans and salad
-glass of white wine
- leftovers in a bag of Doritos chips

October 23rd Groceries

Still on a veggie-heavy kick. Got a few new things to try this week, too...

New this week:
*Tonight we're going to try Cauliflower Cake, as featured on Smitten Kitchen
*Thursday's Asian Chicken is courtesy of What's For Supper? Pre-assembled, frozen, homestyle cooking. We order 6-12 meals from them a couple of times a year. Someday, I'll actually go in and prepare the meals myself - until then, we pay a bit extra and have them ready and waiting for us to pick up.

I'm off of caffeine, have been for over a week now (go me!) so I've been buying tea latte mixes. I'm hooked on a Tazo Chai Latte mix, but it is soooooo high in sugar (plus I'm drinking 3 a day!) I need to find a less sweet alternative. I think I saw a decaf green tea mix last time.  Must investigate.

October 18th Groceries

So, we're trying to go meatless. For a variety of reasons: health, budget, food with faces... it's something we've been leaning towards for a while now. We're not banning meat, but will be consciously trying to eat it less. Got a fantabulous vegetarian dish? I'd love to hear from you!

This week, we'll be having some old favourites, but also sampling a few newbies:
Sweet Potato Chili
Curried Cauliflower Stew

This afternoon, I was inspired by yet another Smitten Kitchen recipe and just had to make her Apple and Cheddar Scones. They turned out very rich... and highly DELICIOUS!

Nom nom nom!