Month: September 2015

Gluten Free Discoveries

Magda Management/thoughts/TIps

Gluuuuuten! Is so very yummy. I could eat it all darn day long. I could literally go on and on about how yummy this starchy starch is. Yet, I know it’s so terribly bad for you. Boo!!!!!

Today was my first day trying gluten free bread. It was interesting! It will take a lot of time to get used to the changes. It was slightly sweet and crumbly in texture even after toasting it. I’m taking the gluten free diet slowly, because for one, I don’t like change and two, it is a new way of life so I should be gentle on myself. I have to admit, before the naturopath suggested I avoid gluten most of my pantry type items were gluten free. Not a huge deal, but once you are told you can’t, you tend to want more of it. Oh the psyche!!

I have been researching gluten free flours and the choices are endless, yet they have to be used in combination of other gluten free flours. I found this site (linked below) to be very helpful. The one thing this site did not account for was obviously diabetes. I read that Xantham Gum lowers your blood sugar and would cause lowered sugars if taking diabetes medications. That was an important tip to account for because Xantham Gum is an important ingredient in replicating wheat dough.

https://glutenfreegirl.com/2007/10/a-guide-to-working-with-gluten-free-flours/?v=3e8d115eb4b3

Gluten Free Brownies

Magda Recipes
Gluten Free Brownies

So, gluten is not helping the functionality of my thyroid and apparently not good for you. How depressing! I thought it would be nice to create gluten free treats, such as these gems!

I took Giada De Laurentiis’s double chocolate brownie recipe and made them gluten free with coconut oil.

Ingredients:

  • 6 Tblsp Coconut Oil
  • 2 Tblsp Vegan butter
  • 2 oz dark chocolate (90% cocoa)
  • 4 oz semi sweet chocolate
  • 2 eggs plus 1 yolk
  • 1/4 cup dark organic cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup almond flour
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 tsp  vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 325F
  2. Put the vegan butter, coconut oil, chopped dark chocolate, and semi sweet chocolate in a heat proof bowl on top of simmering water. Once melted remove and set aside to cool.
  3. Mix dry ingredients and set aside.
  4. Crack your eggs in a separate bowl and then whisk them into the cooled melted chocolate. It will look gelatinous but that is okay.
  5. Mix in  the flour
  6. Mix chocolate chips.
  7. Put in a greased 8 inch square pan with parchment paper

Bake for 30 minutes. When you take it out of the oven it will look oily but that is okay. The oil will settle once they cool.

THYROID!!!!!!!

Magda Endocrine System, Management/thoughts/TIps

Boy I am exhausted! It has been a chronic issue and maybe due to our parenting choice to not sleep train (ie Cry it out method) our daughter. It has been rough to say the least. When conversing with other parents, we found that we were not alone. Yet, I still felt alone. This was due to a change in my body and overall mental well-being. I was not feeling my best and had troubles sleeping. I had heart palpitations, restlessness, exhausted, and I was always hungry. I figured my body was in survival mode but in the back of my mind I thought…THYROID!

Having hypothyroidism for 5 years, I’ve become hypersensitive or attuned to my body and knew it may be related. I ruled out my diabetes because my management is going well (well according to my 3 month A1C’s). I am privileged to have an open lab requisition where I can check my TSH and A1C levels anytime I want. I tend to go every 3 months but if I suspect anything may be wrong I go before the 3 months. My TSH levels were in the normal range, so it wasn’t my thyroid?!

I decided to seek guidance from a Naturopath Doctor. I was obviously skeptical when my acupuncturist recommended I talk to their in house Naturopath Doctor. I guess I am all about modern medicine and the medical model but I was being failed by it in some ways. I had to seek out other opinions. What did I have to lose, anyway?

The Naturopath Doctor (ND) was outstanding and validated my suspicions regarding my thyroid. I always thought I struggled with a low thyroid before my formal diagnosis. The ND expressed that the free T3 and free T4 are important in the overall function of the thyroid gland. In my case, my free T3 and T4 were not functioning properly, hence the hair loss and other symptoms. Due to this, my thyroid fluctuates from hyper and hypo because it is not working properly. So, I am not crazy!!! I was relieved to hear this, yet, a bit saddened by it. The ND also advised that I am creating antibodies that are attacking my thyroid and will result in the destruction of the gland.

Obviously, this is good to know now then later but nonetheless frustrating. I realize that nobody has a perfect genetic makeup and that we are all unique in our dispositions. However, I may be tapping into my left brain logical thinking by making that statement, but my right brain emotional thinking is saying….AGH this sucks!!! Right now, I cannot panic and take in the information and take it one day at a time.