Gut Healing Gummies!

Oh my goodness!!!   My goal is to post a blog post at least once a week & over a month has now passed!

Life has been just too crazy busy lately.  I'm hopefully back on track now, although we do have a big birthday party coming up for my son & we are wrapping up the end of 1st grade for my son.  We are a homeschooling family & we follow our own school schedule--we should be done with first grade around the end of April.  But then we'll be starting "summer school" in May.  Hopefully the busy-ness involved won't keep me from the blog!

One of my most requested blog posts is for the gut-healing gummies that I make for my son.  They are super easy & so fun!!  You can find a wide variety of molds (you want silicone molds) on Amazon.  I have a gummy bear mold, since my son adores teddy bears (he calls them Buddies & he calls gummy bears Cubby Buddies).  And I also got some dinosaur ones too since he also adores dinosaurs.  But you can find a huge variety & choose what you think you're child will like best.

So here's the basic recipe:

1/2 Cup juice
6-10 teaspoons gelatin (I use & highly recommend Vital Proteins brand-I've blogged about it before)
Sweetener, if desired
Supplements, etc if desired

So my son LOVES lemonade & lemon-flavored everything.  So for his gummies I use Lemonade as the juice.   But you can use any juice or combination of juice that you prefer.  You can even use elderberry syrup, although you may want to thin it out a little, depending on how thick it is.

I usually use 8 teaspoons of gelatin, but you can adjust the amount depending on what texture you prefer, softer or firmer.

Sweetener depends on how sweet the juice you're using is & how sweet you want your gummy to be. You can use any sweetener you like--honey, brown rice syrup, agave, or even cane sugar, etc.

Supplements are the most exciting part of making gummies IMHO.  You can customize it to contain whatever you or your family needs most.  I frequently include fish oil, essential oils, probiotics, vitamin D3, the options are truly endless.  For many you will want to let it cool down before adding the supplements.  And then you put it into the molds & finish it off.

So here's the run down of HOW to make these:

*In a saucepan combine the juice & gelatin.  Whisk together as you heat it until the gelatin melts completely into the juice.

*Take off the heat & whisk in sweetener, if using.
*Allow to cool & add in supplements, if using.
*Fill the molds. (I like to put the mixture into a squeeze bottle so I can squeeze into molds neatly & not waste or make a mess)

*Place the molds in the freezer for 10 minutes.
*Remove from freezer, pop out of molds, store in refrigerator.

Note: If you don't eat these up quickly enough they will start to mold, but this has only happened to us once.  You can also cut this recipe in half if you're concerned that you might not finish them up within a couple of weeks.

Hot Chocolate

Life has been crazy busy lately, but I wanted to share this quick & easy recipe.

I am unable to drink coffee at all.  Aside from the caffeine, it's just too acidic for my body.  I really do miss it.  I was one of those rare people who drank it for the taste, rather than the caffeine.  I almost always drank decaf anyways due to my heart murmur & it's caffeine sensitivity.

I do drink a lot of herbal teas & other caffeine free teas, but sometimes I want a rich & hearty hot drink, more like coffee.  And I sure do love chocolate........

I've been searching for a quick & easy home made hot chocolate recipe that I actually like.  It seems like it would be easy enough to find, but I kept trying different recipes & wasn't satisfied with any of them.

Granted, we probably all have a different opinion on what we're looking for in our hot chocolate.  I wanted it to be rich & more chocolatey than sweet.  After giving up searching for recipes I just started playing around on my own & managed to come up with this!  It really does fit the bill for me.

8 oz (1 Cup) milk (I use whole milk, but any milk of your choice should work)
1/4 Cup chocolate chips (I use Rice Dream brand, they are gluten & dairy free)
1 Tablespoon Vanilla extract (I make my own-so easy to do & I know it's gluten free)
1-2 teaspoons gelatin (I use Vital Proteins brand)

I own a Vitamix blender so I like to put all of this into the blender jar & set it on the "Soup" setting & let it go.  The gelatin gives it such a great frothy, creamy texture & is a great protein boost as well.

If you don't own a Vitamix you can certainly put this into a pan on the stove & melt the chocolate that way.

Enjoy!!  :)

Another Way to Make Bone Broth!!

This is an addendum to my original post on bone broth, which can be found here

Y'all know how much I love bone broth!!

I have always made it in my slow cooker, but I recently decided to try it out in my pressure cooker.  While making it in the slow cooker is usually convenient--I either start early in the morning or late at night to accommodate that 12 hours of cooking--there are times when it's a hassle for me.  So I decided to try it out in my pressure cooker.

Now my large slow cooker is 6 quarts.  And my large pressure cooker is 8 quarts.  So I found I'm able to make even more broth in my pressure cooker than I can in my slow cooker--that's an added bonus! But of course that will vary depending on what size YOUR slow cooker & pressure cooker might be.  (I actually have 2 of each--my slow cookers are 3 quart & 6 quart & my pressure cookers are 4 quart & 8 quart)

*Place the chicken bones/parts, water, & vinegar in the pressure cooker & let it sit for about 30 minutes.
*Add the rest of the ingredients, with the exception of the parsley.
*Seal it up & heat over high heat until it comes up to pressure.
*Cook for 60-90 minutes, depending on how strong you like your bone broth.
*Turn it off & let the pressure drop down.
*Open, add the parsley, close it up, let it sit for 30 minutes.
*Then strain & store.

One added benefit I found--in addition to being able to make MORE broth--was that I found the fat rose to the top of the jars of broth when I placed them in the refrigerator.  So then I was able to easily remove the fat (you can save it & use it for cooking if you like).  When I've made broth in my slow cooker I've never seen the fat separate from the rest of the broth.

Holiday time: keeping it fun AND healthy!!

The holidays can really pack on a lot of calories.  I do love to bake but this year I decided to try to keep things healthier, while still keeping it fun for the holidays.

Thanksgiving was our usual--turkey, stuffing (we used Glutino brand), mashed potatoes, Hawaiian yams, & gravy.

But for Christmas, when my family came over, I came up with a plan to keep it both fun & healthy!

We smoked a whole chicken & made a gluten free version of Jack Daniel's sauce for it.  We also served a green salad & steamed potatoes with it.

But I chose to have this as an appetizer table set up for snacking.  I bought it all & washed & chopped it all, but my wonderful husband actually set this up for me & I think he did a fabulous job!

Not to mention, this is also really fun for kids.  My son adores trains (what child doesn't??)
so I was hoping it would encourage him to try some healthy foods.  And I am excited to report that he did try jicama for the very first time!!  That was a big moment for us.

My niece & nephew were visiting also, but I can't remember if they tried anything new or exciting simply because it was a train!

I did also make deserts (a spice cake, which was Jesus' birthday cake, & bolitas dulces--a Peruvian desert), but I think we all had a very modest portion & mostly snacked on these healthy appetizers.  And I certainly didn't mind all the healthy leftovers I had in the house afterwards!

So I encourage you to be willing to think outside the box for holidays & find ways to make food fun & healthy at the same time!!

Happy Anniversary!!

My intention is to write a blog at least once a week.  I apologize for falling behind due to the busy-ness of Christmas and New Years!!

But I'm back & I'm here to talk about a celebration of sorts.  You see, I am celebrating my 3rd anniversary.  As some of you know, I've been married to my wonderful husband for over 10 years now, but I'm referring to my gluten-free anniversary.  I will forever remember this anniversary, as it has affected my life in a huge, huge way.

For anyone reading this that might be fairly new to the gluten free diet or considering embarking upon a gluten free diet: please know that the first year will be filled with mistakes, but with those mistakes comes learning & growing & most importantly learning how to minimize repeating those mistakes.  In the future I hope to post some blogs to help with learning these things.  

Before I embarked upon a gluten free diet, I was convinced that I was dying a slow & painful death.  And in all certainty, I am sure that would have indeed been the case had I not launched myself into a gluten free diet.  

I really wouldn't have cared, except that I had a very young son that needed me.  I couldn't bear the thought of dying & not being there for him.  That was the fuel that kept me fighting even though my body grew weaker & frailer with each passing day it seemed.

In all honesty I did not believe that I had an issue with gluten.  And neither did my husband.  But I was struggling with Interstitial Cystitis horribly & my health was, in general, declining severely & rapidly.  My doctors had no answer for me.  Being a nurse, I am very good at medical research & I was searching & searching for some sort of hope.  It seemed that no matter where I began my search I kept coming to the same point in the search were I would quit that search & start a new one.  That same point that I kept coming to was gluten.  

My motto was "to leave no stone unturned" in my quest to save my life.  So I felt I had to rule out this gluten issue before moving forward. I truly thought it was a waste of my time & so did my husband.  It was somewhere in the first week of December 2012 I started my trial gluten free diet.  I was planning to remain gluten free for a couple of months & then reintroduce gluten & note my body's response.  In the last week of that same month we went out to eat at a restaurant.  I remember it well, as it was my very first time trying to eat gluten free in a restaurant.  The waiter even offered me couscous, which I was well aware was NOT gluten free.  I did well, though, up until desert time.  Then my husband had these creme brûlée mini tarts.  I adore creme brûlée & my husband told me to eat it, just to leave the crust behind & only eat the filling.  I knew nothing about cross contamination at that time & I went for it.  And I was very soon in so much pain I couldn't believe it.  I knew in that moment that I could never ever again eat gluten.  

In January or February I removed gluten from my son's diet as well, since he had been struggling with digestive issues since he was a baby & he had stopped growing.  He has been strong & healthy & thriving ever since.

In the past 3 years I sometimes can't believe how much I've learned about gluten, celiac disease, cross contamination, etc.  I am forever learning about these things.  I have also come to believe that my father had it as well.  He died of pancreatic cancer at a fairly young age.  I've learned that this is a common ending for undiagnosed (or diagnosed but non-compliant) celiacs.  And I do recall him having chronic digestive issues & migraines when I was a child.  

So if you're new to the gluten free diet or contemplating it--just do it, just go for it.  Stay gluten free for a month or two & then reintroduce gluten & monitor how you feel.  That is the basis of any elimination diet.  It takes longer for gluten to get fully out of our system than some other foods though, so you do need to commit to a month or two at minimum.  

And if you have any questions, feel free to contact me--here on the blog, or on Instagram, or you can email me at TheOilyNurse@gmail.com

Have a blessed 2016 my friends!!

The Bone Collector

I've since written an addendum to this post, which can be found here

In my home I am jokingly referred to as "The Bone Collector".  

You see, a while back we stopped buying boneless skinless chicken breast for our meals, which is what we almost always ate.  We used to buy our organic chicken in bulk at Costco, which was almost always boneless skinless chicken breasts.  Then they switched to carrying Foster Farms as their brand of organic chicken.  And it was a unanimous decision in our home that we needed to find a new source for our organic chicken.  

We went to the health food stores near us--we have 3 large ones to choose from.  But the organic boneless skinless chicken breasts were outrageously expensive at these stores.  So we made the decision to start using other chicken parts.......this was a struggle for me at first, but I've gotten used to it & I have to say that it's so much better!  As they say, "hindsight is 20/20", & it's so true!!  Boneless skinless chicken breasts are so lacking flavor & they dry out so easily.  Now I do wish I could sometimes buy organic chicken breasts with bone in & skin on, but no one near me sells that, so I mostly buy bone in skin on chicken thighs or whole chickens.  And about once a week we eat a whole cornish hen as well.  

Not long after we started buying chicken with bones I realized I should be saving the bones.....for making broth.  So I started saving them in a bag in the freezer & when I get 1.5 pounds of bones I make broth.  It does seem to take us a while to get 1.5 pounds saved up......in early November I was sitting on a stool at the kitchen counter, contemplating how I could get more bones.....and then it hit me that Thanksgiving was going to yield me a whole bunch of bones!!!  I was so excited when that revelation hit me!

It's now almost Christmas & I have just finished off the last of the turkey broth that I was able to make with turkey bones from Thanksgiving.  When I have bone broth on hand I drink a cup of it in the morning & I mix my Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides in it.  (When I don't have any bone broth on hand I drink a hot cup of tea instead, mixing the collagen into it.)  

There are so many health benefits from consuming home made bone broth--I could go on all day.  But the primary benefit I am most interested in is gut healing & wellness.  Like I said previously, if you have any issues with gluten you most likely have some gut damage that does need to be healed. 

So here's my recipe that I've devised for making bone broth.  I prefer to make it in my slow cooker.

BONE BROTH RECIPE

6-8 Cups filtered water 

1.5 pounds bones

1 Tablespoon vinegar

1/2 onion, halved

2 carrots, cut into thirds

3 cloves garlic, smashed

2 stalks celery, cut into thirds

1 bay leaf

2 teaspoons sea salt or himalayan pink salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 bunch fresh parsley

*Place the water & vinegar & bones in the slower cooker & let it sit for 30 minutes or so (this step allows for more collagen to be pulled out, making for healthier broth)

*Turn the slow cooker on to "HIGH" for 2 hours

*Then add all the rest of the ingredients at this time, except for the parsley

*Cook on LOW for 12 hours OR on HIGH for 6 hours

*Turn off, add the parsley, cover, & let sit for 30 minutes

*Then strain well--I always pick out the veggies & bones with tongs & slotted spoon & then strain twice--a rough strain & then a fine strain.

I like to store mine in mason jars.  

Enjoy :) 

Using Collagen & Gelatin for gut healing

If you have gluten issues, no matter the cause (celiac, gluten sensitivity, allergy, etc), you probably have gut damage.  It can be challenging to heal.  Here is an amazing way to facilitate that healing that I have found.

I have absolutely fallen in <3 LOVE <3 with Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides & Gelatin.

So here's the scoop:  these are both fabulous for healing your gut (& for lots of other things!! but we'll get to that later!  I promise!).  But if you do have gut issues you should really start with the Collagen Peptides first & once you are tolerating this well then you can use Gelatin.

Basically the Collagen Peptides are "cooked" or "predigested" Gelatin.  So it makes it easier to digest & it's gentler on the gut.

Personally I had to start with 1/8 teaspoon of Collagen Peptides each day.  And then I slowly worked my way up to the full scoop in the container, which is one heaping Tablespoon.  The full recommended amount is a scoop once or twice daily.

Once you can tolerate the full scoop of Collagen Peptides then feel free to use the Gelatin.  Personally I didn't have any issues tolerating the Gelatin after I had gradually worked my way into the Collagen Peptides.

These days I personally consume more of the Collagen Peptides, but my son consumes more of the Gelatin.  I have a scoop of Collagen Peptides every morning, in a mug of bone broth (if I have it on hand) or tea (if I don't have any bone broth on hand--note to self, must acquire MORE bones!!).  With lunch I usually take an empty capsule & fill it with Gelatin & take it as a pill, although it's not a full scoop I do still get some into me.  I sometimes get a second scoop of Collagen Peptides later in the day.

The Collagen Peptides dissolve very easily in hot liquids.  It can also be dissolved in cold liquids, but you need to add it slowly & mix it in well if it's cold.  Gelatin gels so it needs to be used a little differently than the Collagen Peptides.  You can put it in a drink, but you need to drink it quickly or else it will gel up.  I personally have some serious texture issues & jello has always been one that I cannot tolerate, so I have to be creative at finding ways to get it into my diet.  I'm still working on this.  And in the meantime I just consume Collagen Peptides instead, which is a fabulous option.

For my son I make home-made gummy bears.  He calls them "cubby buddies".  I also got a heart shaped mold.  So now he eats gummy bears & gummy hearts each morning.  I usually eat one or two of them, but I'm not a big "gummy" fan either.  And often he will go back for more during the day.  He loves them!!  And I love them because I can sneak other healthy stuff into them for him!  But that's a whole other blog post that I will be getting to!!  And as I find other ways to incorporate these great products I will be sharing in future blog posts as well.  :)

Personally I use & recommend Vital Proteins brand for these products.  They are made from pastured, grass fed & grass finished cows in Brazil.  The quality is amazing of these products.

Another bonus for using these as a protein source is that when you eat most other protein sources--namely animal meats--they contain tryptophan & cysteine.  These 2 amino acids can cause an inflammatory response in our bodies.  And inflammation, especially CHRONIC inflammation (even at low levels) can cause all sorts of health issues.  The Collagen Peptides & Gelatin do not contain those amino acids.  There is a full listing of the amino acids they do contain & the amounts they contain of each of them on the label.  I used to use a grass fed whey protein in a shake to get my protein but I honestly find this to be such a better protein source than even whey.  It's also totally fat free & very low calorie.

There are also other benefits--your hair, skin, & nails will love it too!  Not to mention your joints!

So if you have gut health issues or joint pain or are just looking for a good protein source--I highly recommend giving these a try!

I will definitely be sharing more about these wonderful products in future blog posts.


Just a final word to any vegetarians & vegans reading this: there is truly no vegetarian or vegan alternative for this.  Agar does gel like gelatin does, but it does not contain the same health benefits.  I've heard there are some fish collagen options out there, but I honestly don't know the quality of them or how they compare.  (fish is very questionable in my opinion, due to fukushima, pollution, & farmed fish)  I personally was a vegetarian for 10 years in my younger years & I was a vegan for about a year just a few years ago.  I personally did not benefit health-wise from following those diets, BUT we are all different--there isn't ONE perfect diet that works for all of us.