Monthly Archives: December 2014

Having to eat gluten…..

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So my son is the only one in my family who was never tested for celiac. We were given some pretty bad advice when Celiac kid was first diagnosed and told that it was highly unlikely to have a second child with Celiac. This is obviously not true. If Celiac is in the family there is a 20% chance (or more) of first degree relatives also having it.

Hubby tested positive, I tested negative but had already been gluten free for some time (and I have pretty obvious reactions to gluten should I try to eat some now), so of course my son needs to be tested! Only, in order to do the test you need to be eating a normal gluten containing diet. By the time we realised son should be tested our house was already totally gluten free. Eating gluten at a friends house once a week is not enough for the test results to be accurate.

We tried a few times to do the gluten challenge, but it just didn’t work and we gave up on the second or third day every time. Now here in Poland he has been eating school lunches provided at school instead of a packed lunch. Its probably not been as high in gluten as he needs but he’s been going for over 2 months (a gluten challenge / gluten force is usually recommended to be 6-8 weeks).

So today is the day, after school off we go for that needle prick! Son himself is convinced he has “it”. I don’t think he does, but I have noticed he has been more restless and very forgetful (more then usual) during his challenge. Says a lot about the gluten / brain connection. Perhaps brain fog is not just something that affects celiacs? I sure as hell cant wait to get him back on my food, and neither can he!

I know many kids with autism, ADD or ADHD do tons better without gluten in their diet. Maybe we would all be better off without gluten? I sure think so.

If it turns out son has celiac then I guess in his case its pretty silent, so wont really make much difference to his life as it is now. I obviously hope he doesn’t have it, but either way it doesn’t really matter. Then its only my genetic test to go! 3 years now Ive had the sample pot and not done it. Im too chicken! Although my Dr is convinced I am a closet celiac and Im pretty sure I have the gene, its almost to final to actually get it on black and white! Some celiac campaigner I am huh? 😛

Son first then me. Nag me, ok?

Linda

Christmas is approaching, FUDGE TIME!

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7 of December, and I was done with ALL my gifts over a week ago. First time ever! Usually Im running around like a headless chicken until hours before getting myself together. But no. This year, I am calm, organised and dare I say a perfect little wife. Tree is up, decorations are up, kids are watching the Elf movie and here we go. Bliss. Or…. boredom…?

I decided today is the day I will make christmas sweets. last time I made Christmas sweets I was probably 16. It was the one thing I always did at Christmas as a kid. Time to revive this tradition. Only obviously now, gluten free. Or maybe they always were? I remember things dipped in chocolate and fudge and ginger biscuits.

I am going easy on myself, starting with fudge 🙂

You will need;

  • 3 dl sugar
  • 2dl heavy (whipping) cream
  • 1/2 dl coco powder (make sure its gluten free as many are not!)
  • 50g butter
  • vanilla sugar or essence, or if you dont have, scrap it!
  • chopped nuts or seeds. (OPTIONAL)

Im going bare, no vanilla essence or nuts in my fudge. I like it plain.

In a pan with a thick bottom, add your sugar and cream and stir. Bring to a boil and lower the heat. You want it to continue to bubble, but not rapidly. The temperature needs to get to 122 degrees apparently, but a meat thermometer will NOT work. I do it the Swedish way and do “kulprovet”. This means you drop a small amount of liquid in a glass of cold water, when the liquid balls together to a lump and you can easily mould it with your fingers, its ready. This took around 15 minutes. Add your coco powder and stir until there are no lumps. Turn your heat off and stir in the butter (this is where you add your vanilla and nuts if using). DO NOT TASTE THE MIXTURE. Its hotter then hot and your tongue will be on fire for the rest of the day. Trust me.

Pour the mix in to your pan of choice that you prepared earlier. I lined mine with parchment paper, but you can use butter or oil if you like. The bigger your dish/pan, the thinner your fudge.

Leave it to cool. You can leave it out or pop in the fridge, up to you. Once its cool, take it out and cut in to squares on a chopping board.

Eat!

Store in fridge and eat within 2 weeks.

Linda

There are many versions of fudge. Some like it grainier, some like it chewier. Cook longer for less chew and more grain. Mess about with it, try adding the chocolate at the start, try it without butter 🙂 Anything goes in chocolatey gooey fudge world 🙂

Check out my pinterest Christmas board for more gf goodies!

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