Okay, I actually did post last week, but something went wrong and it didn’t save. And I was too tired to type it all out again, so I just left it. So here goes. Sorry it took so long.

Someone had suggested to me I make a comment on Lent (since we’re about a week and a bit into it) and having such a restricted diet. What does one give up when already having given up so much in the diet? Well, let’s just put it this way, my Lent commitment has nothing to do with food. That being said, having to make so much from scratch is sort of a penance in itself. Not always, but sometimes. Sometimes it gives me great satisfaction to know I have made something from scratch, but on the days when I don’t feel like cooking, I wish meals were easier. It’s certainly taken some organization and a bit more planning on my part. Anyway, it’s a bit off topic, but if you’re curious, I’m reading a book by Henri Nouwen for Lent, called “The Return of the Prodigal Son.” It is speaking to me.

That being said, the great part about not having any food related fastings for Lent, there are brownies that just came out of my oven J Here’s the recipe:

Wet Ingredients

½ cup unsweetened apple sauce

1 cup maple syrup

2 eggs

4 squares Baker’s unsweetened chocolate, melted in glass bowl over boiling water

1 tsp vanilla extract

Dry ingredients

½ cup whole wheat non-enriched flour

¼ tsp Bob’s all Natural Sea Salt

½ cup chopped walnuts

Mix wet, dry separately, and then together, bake at 350F for about 20 – 25 mins.

I also tried making Thai Chicken Balls this week, based on this recipe. These were a fair amount of work for the result, and I wasn’t sure if it was worth it. They were a little dry, but tasty. I am trying to figure out how to make my own Sweet Thai Chili Sauce. The store bought stuff is tasty but full of junk. Basically in this recipe I just used a Thai chili pepper and honey. It had the reminiscence of Sweet Thai Chili taste, but not quite. Nonetheless, it wasn’t bad, but I need to do some experimenting. I had a small chicken in my freezer, so I took it and made ~ 4 litres of chicken broth, then I took the chicken, de-boned it, and pulsed it in the food processor. I also must say, I bought some fresh cilantro herb from the store for this recipe. Yum. I want to grow some this year so I can have it whenever I want to plop it into a recipe. It gives a really fresh flavor. Anyway, check out the link and cut out the sauce.

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I had my ND appointment today. There’s a mild to moderate improvement in the appearance of my eczema, but nothing to write home about. However, with the information that I gave her today, she tells me we’re on the right track. The fact that my eczema is not weeping anymore is significant. If I could remember why, I’d tell you. But I trust that my ND is right. I have also noticed some differences in my son’s skin and in his bowels. This too, is encouraging. I am debating having him tested for intolerances. The greater chance is that he likely has the same intolerances as me. But I am scared to get him tested, lest we discover he has other intolerances, and then I am not sure how we would eat/cook at all in our household.

Unfortunately, the next treatment she wants to give me has to wait until I am finished breastfeeding my son. I am guessing then, that we won’t be able to proceed as planned for another 5 months at least. My ND wants to give me amino acids to clear up my “leaky gut.” This means that I still have some toxins that are not being processed properly, and my intestinal tract is releasing them into the body instead, resulting in eczema. But, she did give me a Human Microflora powder, which is supposed to help protect my gut for the time being.

This is somewhat unfortunate, as I would like to get moving on this, but I still want to breastfeed my son until he’s about a year. That said, we have started Baby Led Weaning, which totally relates to my food experiences right now, so I’ll chat about that in another post.