Goooooood Morning!

Breakfasts are quickly becoming my favorite meal of the day. So many options and so quick to put together! Today's breakfast was a kale/lemon/ginger smoothie (I added some lemon) with two pieces of cracker bread with home made humous spread and cherry tomatoes. All made in seconds (humous was made before) and all so delicious! Obviously the cracker bread is glutenfree ;-)! I'll be attempting to make my own one day, but for now the store bought one will do ;-)!!

Good luck!

-Josefine 

Cauliflower and Broccoli Rice

So I'm sure plenty of you have discovered cauliflower rice by now. But for me it was new. After one taste the whole family was hooked! Both Nick and Ellie are not too fond of normal rice, so on this journey I am discovering other substitutes, that are better for us and also in many ways taste better! Win win!!

So my daughter Ellie is not a huge fan of cauliflower. She LOVES broccoli however(I know... odd child). So when she saw me shedding it into the cauliflower she was ecstatic. she stood by my side almost the whole time I was making the food wondering every other second whether dinner was ready... yeah... it was ever so slightly annoying ;-)... I don't know who was more excited that dinner was ready!!! She then proceeded to eat the lot! Loved it! 

This is a good way of getting more of your sulfur rich vegetables into your diet as well (according to the Terry Wahls protocol. It is is good in every way! Maybe ever so slightly more expensive than buying rice, but I recon on par with using quinoa for example.

Cauliflower and Broccoli Rice

- 1 Cauliflower head (shredded)
- 1 Broccoli head (shredded)
- splash of Olive oil
- Lemon or Lime juice 
- 1-2 colves of Garlic
- Parsley
- Salt

So if you are not avoiding saturated fat and heated unstable oils then you can heat this on the stove on high heat, browning it slightly before serving it immediately. But if you are like me and all other OMSers out there having to avoid saturated fat and not being allowed to heat our oils to high, I recommend mixing all these ingredients together(making sure they are evenly dispersed) in a baking dish and heating in the oven on 220 Celcius. Cooking times vary, but I had it in for about 20 min. Serve immediately and eat with desired sauce.

I recently got a veeeery nice ceramic frying pan that does not require any fat. So I made this on the stove with no fat and it tasted great! Just do what you would usually do, browning the garlic then adding the "rice" browning that, then adding the lemon/lime, salt, pepper and Parsley.

While making dinner today I wanted something simple so I just added a can of chickpeas, a can of artichoke hearts, zucchini, shrimps and a liiittle bit of sambal oelek. and it tasked great. You can add anything really and get your own version of Paella ;-)! 


 
Good Luck!
-Josefine

Gluten/Dairy Free Carrot and Zucchini Muffins

Yay for amazing days! 

This morning the girls slept in so I called Ellie's daycare and told them today was a home day. with BEAUTIFUL weather it was meant to be.

Out we go!

But before we go I wanted to try making up my first muffin recipe.
I know what needs to be in a cupcake/muffin recipe in general as I have made so many in my days, but I have never made a Gluten/dairy/fat free one!?!? I have read many suggestions on Pinterest about each area (gluten, dairy, vegan, fat free) but never combined them all into one muffin before. so this is a total experiment and I am currently waiting for them to come out of the oven..... 

 

...........And the result is in...... quite AMAZING!!! I can hardly believe it! Super moist, soft and bouncy, sweet but not tooo sweet and with a nice kick of cinnamon. The fact that the kids had one at the park and have been beeeeeeeeegging me for more is good enough of a review for me! Plus my neighbor stopped by and I stuffed one down her throat as well, And she approved big time!!!  

These shall be made again... probably often! And at 0.5 g of saturated fat per muffin I'd say that's a winner! I did decrease the oil I normally would have intended on using, by replacing half of it with Applesauce, and it worked a treat! As you will see later on in the recipe I used a sugar replacer called Eritrytol which can be found in all swedish Health food shops and now also in our grocery shops. It's the natural sugar that comes from pears, melons and mushrooms. And what is so amazing about it is that it doesn't affect your blood sugar at all.  So Yeah, give it a whirl. Here it's called "Sukrin".

Muffins at the play park!!!

Gluten/Dairy free Carrot and Zucchini Muffins

- 3 dl Gluten Free flour of choice (could use a combination of flours)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla powder
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1 egg (can be replaced with 2 egg whites for less saturated fat)
- 1 egg white
- 1 dl sugar of choice (I used half stevia/eritrytol sugar and half brown sugar)
- 1/2 dl unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 dl extra virgin olive oil

- 1 dl finely grated carrots (slightly heaped)
- 2 dl finely grated zucchini (slightly heaped)


Turn on the oven to 175 Celcius. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and sift back and forth to another bowl a couple of times to make sure they are all properly incorporated. 

Grate the Carrots and Zucchini finely. I used one small to medium carrot and about a third of  a zucchini to make heaped dl measures of both. 

 
Mix egg whites/egg with the sugar for a long time in a separate bowl till quite fluffy. Add the applesauce, EVOO and sift in half of the dry ingredients. Mix on very slow until it's all just incorprated. Then fold in the carrots and zucchini and the rest of the dry mix. Do not over mix as you want as much of the air in there as possible. 

 

Spoon into the muffin cases and bake for 15-20 min in the oven. Keep an eye though as all ovens work different! I checked with a toothpick after a while. This will make just about 12, but I would recommend making a double batch as they are delicious and the whole family will eat them, not just you. I guarantee it!!!  

 

UPDATE!
So for all of you who are in Sweden probably can't get a hold of Xanthan Gum (I bought mine in the UK) So I would recommend using psyllium fiber instead. I have tried this recipe again and used 1/2 tsp instead of 1/4 tsp of XG.

The other thing I tried is using just egg whites instead of the egg, and if anything it was better! Soooo high and fluffy. Loved it! And with less saturated fat, that's nothing but win's all round! So in total I ha 3 egg whites instead of 1 egg and 1 egg white.

Good Luck!!!
-Josefine

Rough Day.

Today was a rough one (So excuse this quite negative post)

One of those days that you just wish you had so much more energy than you do.
.. where you wish everything was perfect and nothing was wrong with you!

SOooooo frustrating.

Silly old me booked an appointment for an iron infusion at the hospital for early this morning forgetting that the night before it was medicine time. And Silly old me thinks that I can get through it anyway. Just pop the kids on the train with you and once you are at the hospital you can just try and keep the kids in check while you've got a needle coming out of your arm...Then after the infusion I'd just jump right back on the train and somehow make it back in my post avonex and infusion state...

I'll be fiiiiiine... that's my motto ;-D!

Sometimes I do have to get a clue... sometimes it's not fine. 
And sometimes you even need help!
SHOCKER!! 

Today was one of those days. 

My dad picked me up and dropped me off at the hospital, where my mom then took over and helped out with the kids. I ended up not getting the infusion, but that wasn't the point.

It wasn't easy, but I got help.
I am still struggling with the idea of needing help.
That I'm vulnerable somehow.

BUT at the same time I feel that I finally have an explanation for the exhaustion and fatigue I have been feeling for such a long time. And somehow that is comforting. 

Had a long chat with my mom today about what I was finding hard, and it was nice to vent! Feel loads better emotionally, and am on the mend after my medication as well. So hopefully I'll be on top tomorrow :-)!

So yeah, I doooo have my bad days... :-)!



On a more positive note... I have the most amazing kids and husband! They fill me with so much love and they are the reason I get up in the morning! I honestly don't know how I would have coped if it wasn't for the motivation to stay strong for them. SO I am ending this post with some pictures of them. 

-Josefine

Gluten Free Blueberry Pancakes

Pancakes, those lovely fluffy little things that just have the perfect texture and the perfect lovely loveliness to them..... yeah, I'm not going crazy really....

So somehow it has to be possible to make pancakes right?! Gluten free, egg whites instead of an egg, that sort of thing. And yeah there is. Of course they aren't the real thing. But they are as close as you're gonna get ;-)!

When I made them the first time, my husband came into the kitchen, saw them and immediately expressed his dismay at the look of them(this was that first pancake that always flops). lol... I am lucky to have a husband who will try anything no matter how gross it looks, so after trying them he totally changed his mind, and ate the lot!

This recipe I got from somewhere and I have just remembered it and can't for the life of me remember where I got it. So I am very sorry to the creator that you don't get the credit! 



Gluten free Blueberry Pancakes

- 2 egg whites
- sprinkle of salt
- 1 dl Almond milk + more
- 2 dl Gluten free Flour mix
- 1 tsp baking powder (gluten free)
- 1  Tbsp chia seeds
- 1 dl frozen blueberries


Put the egg whites and salt in a bowl and whisk add 1 dl of almond milk and mix further. Then add the GF flour and the baking powder and mix until properly incorporated. Add the chia seeds and then some more almond milk till you get the consistency of pancake batter. I then added the blueberries and stirred to incorporate. 

I cooked these on the stove in my nifty cast iron pancake pan. I poured a small amount of organic extra virgin rapeseed oil in the pan, then used a kitchen towel to spread it thinly. Rapeseed oil takes a higher heat than olive oil and if it is a good quality then it is ok to use now and then. And I don't make pancakes very often, so it's ok :-)!

Hope you enjoy these as much as I did!

Good luck
-Josefine

Finishing the day with Colours

So today I've had my kale, I've had my vitamin d, my omega 3's, my sulfurs and of course veeery little saturated fat! The only things missing to make this a perfect OMS day is having my colours. And by colours I of course mean colourful vegetables and berries.

So I was standing in the kitchen wondering what to make for a little evening snack. The kids were in bed, hubby is at his friends house watching the champions league final and I'm peckish... You know the scene ;-)! 

.....And instead of making a gluten free cupcake as was the plan at first, I realise that I'm a few veggies away from a oms/terry Wahls protocol hattrick! So I cut up some carrots made some hummus and made a berry and basil drink that was quite delicious indeed!


I am looooving super healthy food!!! Who would have thought?! 

Berry basil drink

- handful of frozen raspberries

- handful of frozen blueberries

- 1/2 tbsp honey

- 5-7 leaves of fresh basil

- 2-3 dl of cold water (I wanted mine watery like a juice rather than a smoothie) 

Blend and enjoy! :-)

Good luck!

-Josefine

Well that was fun.... NOT!

Avonex... wow... well that was fun! 

I just had my first appointment at the hospital yesterday for them to teach me how to take my first shot of Avonex...

Now something I have to explain about myself is that I have an irrational fear of needles... so much so that when I first met my husband who happens to be diabetic, I would almost faint at the sound of him dialing up his units. Yeah THAT bad! I usually climb the walls when I have had to take bloods or take any form of injection.

With the years it has become better. 2 pregnancies helped. Also this last spout at the hospital when diagnosed with MS was a real needle fest! 

Though it is a whole different thing to have someone take your blood than you yourself putting that needle to your thigh and firing it off... oooo.... getting woozy at the thought. BUT I did it! I DID IT!!!! It took a lot of psyching and a lot of tears and a lot of shaking (my whole body was going nuts).. but I DID IT!!! Anyone who knows me will know what a big deal this is. It's HUGE! And it wasn't too bad either... (don't tell anyone I said so).. The nurse thought it was because I had been holding it to my thigh for so long the area was numb before the needle actually went in.

After a few hours of running on the high of a huge accomplishment I soon realized that this wasn't going to be fun... and it wasn't. It started with the ache in my muscles, then the headache... and last but certainly not least the fever.... Ugh... I was shivering like nobody's business and nothing could warm me up... well of course i was plenty warm according to my husband (smoking in fact) but that's not how I experienced it. 

And that was with Ibuprofen in my system...

So yeah... until next week eh?! 

Ugh...

Let's hope that the side effects only last the first 6 months...

-Josefine

Sugar Cookies OMS style

Those of you who have followed my recipes will know that I am trying to eliminate as much refined sugar as possible. In this recipe I have used icing/powdered sugar which of course is a refined sugar. The main reason I used this was because I used this batch for my kids easter cookies. I needed them to work the first time round. I have eaten one or two, but I haven't gone crazy the way I normally would ;-)... promise! You could replace the icing sugar with coconut sugar or stevia sugar (though you should then reduce the amount slightly as it sweetens more than sugar. But it is Easter after all.. so this time I'm cheating a liiiitle ;-)!

Saturated fat wise though I am NOT cheating! One of these babies has about 0.15 g of saturated fat!!! Yeah, That pretty much rocks!!

 

Sugar Cookies OMS style
(makes approximately 50 cookies)

-3 dl gluten free flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt

-2 1/2 dl icing sugar/powdered sugar
-2/3 dl Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Organic Extra virgin Rapeseed oil from a reputable source
-2/3 dl almond milk
-1 egg white
-1/2 tsp vanilla powder

-Extra flour for dusting



Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl mix the remaining ingredients till slightly frothy. start sifting the dry mixture into the wet one to eventually make a pliable dough. it should still be sliiightly wet. Then let it rest in the fridge for 20 min till you have prepped the rest of your ingredients. Set your oven to 175 Celsius and bring out your roling pin and desired cookiecutter (the cookies hold their shape beautifully). Once you have rolled them out (rather slightly to thick than to thin... I think I will make them a lot thicker next time) place them on a baking tray and bake for about 7 min. They do not turn golden brown the way normal cookies do so make sure not to wait to long. 7 min was the MAX I waited. then bring out and cool on a cooling rack.

Good luck!
-Josefine

Saag Curry

So I made this with Chicken... now all you OMSers will be like hm... chicken? is that allowed? And no.... technically I don't think it is. But the thing is that we have a freezer FULL of it and I am slowly in need of that space for things I AM allowed, like fish. SO I thought that eating a bit of chicken now and then for a little while will have to do. Financially I can't afford not to. I am sure though that you could make this with quorn chicken or with chickpeas and it would taste JUST as good! 



Chicken Saag Curry

Splash of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
2 onions
4 garlic cloves
1-2 cm of ginger
4 cloves
3 black cardamon pods
1 1/2 tsp of ground coriander
1 tsp of tumeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 
500 - 800 g of chicken chunks (depends on how much you want)
1 tin of crushed tomatoes 
1 cube of bullion (make sure it's gluten free and vegan friendly)
a pinch of bicarbonate of soda
a splash of maple syrup
Spinach, spinach, spinach(I used frozen as that is what I had at home)
Salt
Pepper

Saute the onion in the EVOO for a min or so then add the crushed garlic and ginger and continue to saute for a another min. then add all the spices (cloves, cardamon, coriander, tumeric, garam masala, cumin and cayenne) stir to make sure it's all evenly spread out. Then add the chicken. Cook till the chicken is all cooked through. Add your tin of tomatoes, I used almond milk to clear out all the stuck tomatoes in the tin and poured it in as well (so I guess you can say that there is some almond milk in there). Add the bullion cube, bicarbonate and maple syrup and bring to a boil. Add your Spinach. I used frozen and I didn't have loads at home, so I would recommend using a lot more than I did. Then salt and pepper to taste! 
BISH BASH BOSH! Not to hard in my eyes, you just need to have all the ingredients at home is all ;-)... SO basically don't do like me!

If you have paid attention you will recognize some of the ingredients from Marie's AMAZING Tomato Sauce . This is because the combination works on anything that has tomatoes in it. This ended up tasting Brilliant! Just like a lovely garlicky Saag should! yuuum!

Good Luck!
-Josefine

Marie's AMAZING Tomato Sauce (modified for OMS)

(Pictures to come)

Ok so this is one of the best recipes I know! And it is courtesy of my sister-in-law Marie who is one of the best cooks I know! Only makes sense that this recipe ROCKS! Over the weekend I was in England visiting family and made this for one of my meals. My other sister-in-law had a taste and fell in love so I had to share it with her through this blog. I hope that is ok Marie ;-)!!!!

Also it means I no longer have to keep my little note you wrote me on my fridge. It is still there, front and center as I use this recipe often! I can not stress enough how yummy it is with anything! I recently made olive and spinach ravioli (gluten-free of course) and this sauce was it's perfect match!


Marie's AMAZING Tomato Sauce (Slightly modified for OMS)

Splash of extra virgin olive oil
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
3 tins of crushed tomatoes
2 tsp of bullion or one cube (yeast, gluten and sugarfree)
a small pinch of bicarbonate soda
a splash of maple syrup
a tiiiiiiny bit of Sambal Oelek
Salt
Pepper
Shredded zucchini/kale/celeri or any other green vegetable you would like
Fresh basil


Saute the onion garlic and Sambal oelek in the splash of EVOO. Add everything else except the shredded veggies and the basil. Let it cook for as long as possible but preferably 30 min. Then add the vegetables and let bubble for a while longer. At the last second add the basil and further seasoning if needed. 

Serve this with pasta or use as a pizza sauce! If you are not on the OMS diet then serve with some cheese, but if you are look into making almond cheese! I am, I'm just needing to collect some tools for it first :-)! 
Also I use this structure for any sauce or stew I am making that has tomatoes in it. Like yesterday I made a Saag curry and I thought there was something missing so I added a splash of maple syrup and bicarbonate of soda and BAM! Amazing!

Once again, thank you Marie for this wonderful recipe!

Good Luck!
-Josefine

Healthy Brownie

 So here comes a recipe that has saved me on my journey to figuring all this out. Healthy Brownies. Yes you heard me. HEALTHY! I might go in later and change this recipe further, as I am still figuring out how to best make it. But It is certainly good enough to quench any chocolate craving you might have. The only problem?! you have to limit your intake if you are trying to eat less than 5 g of saturated fat a day. DARN! I figured out that on one batch of these there is a total of 20 g of Saturated fat, so if you divide it into 20 pieces there is 1 g in each piece. Eating one of these now and then to help with that craving is perfect, and it is healthy in many ways.


 You will need a food processor for this one... trust me.. a smoothie maker will not suffice.... not speaking from experience at all... really! Adn since I don't have one, I had to borrow my sister-in-laws (Thank you Linda)! 

You know when you borrow something, something ALWAYS goes wrong?! Well this time was no exception. I was preparing to return it when I realized that a main part was missing. It was gone. Nowhere to be found. spent 2 hours tearing the kitchen apart only to come to the conclusion that it was hopeless. In one of those irrational freakouts I searched online for spare parts and ordered one. Then OF COURSE 5 min later I glance down while packing for our trip to England (yupp this was the night before the flights) and see a white fleck between the couches... and there it was! first thought... those cheeky kids!!!! 

 
Telling my sister-in-law about the incident was probably the best bit though, she laughed her but off as did I. something that was so frustrating and annoying at the time ended up a moment to laugh about :-)!!!

Ok so the recipe...


Healthy Brownies

- 150 g walnuts
- 150 g almonds
- 60 g raw cocoa powder
- Date syrup and agave syrup (will explain further about this in the description)
- Optional instead of the syrups is to use fresh dates this makes them completely raw
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla powder
- 100 g roughly chopped almonds for texture

Add walnuts and almonds in the food processor to make a fine "flour". Add the cocoa powder, salt and vanilla powder/paste and mix again to incorporate.  At this point I used date syrup instead of dates which many raw brownie recipes ask for. Date syrup is perfect to have in your store cupboard as it is 100% boiled and pressed dates. I also used agave syrup because of it's sweetness. Date syrup is great mainly because of it not being so intensely sweet, but with such strong cocoa taste having a little bit of extra sweetness made it perfect in my taste-buds. So I added enough date syrup for it to just come together in the blender, then I used the rest agave syrup. I wish I had a perfect amount for you, but it is completely up to your own taste-buds. Mine require a bit of extra sweetness :-). Then pour into a bowl and add the roughly chopped nuts. I like mine almost whole, but once again this is to what you yourself prefer. Pour into your prepared tins. I used 2 different sizes as I don't have very many tins. But you could also use cupcake molds or one large tray and then cut them into bars. press down firmly, then chill in the fridge for at least an hour. I then sprinkled them with cinnamon. but you could use cocoa or if you aren't on my strict diet you could roll them into balls and then roll them in coconut flakes... yum!

Some other variations:
- using orange extract as well as the vanilla... yuuuuum!
- or almond extract for that extra almondy taste.
- I have also found chocolate essence that I think I am going to try some time as it would reduce the saturated fat content. 
- Lemon extract
- Mint extract, or making little mint pieces somehow... (going to figure out how for you and get abck to you)
- in sweden we have something called "arrak" which is basically a punch extract. this could also be useful in some way... hm.... 
- If you want to make your bars bigger, so that you can eat more of them, you can add things like puffed rice in them. This gives a bit of a different texture as well. 

 

Well the possibilities are endless. If you want to decrease the saturated fat even more you can replace the walnuts with almonds. Walnuts have a little more sat fat that almonds.

Good luck!
-Josefine