When being "Gluten-Free" isn't just an option

Gluten-free became a necessity at our home about 2 years ago. Our middle daughter, after years of suffering and misdiagnosis, was finally given the answer to her horrible stomach pains. The two specialized pediatricians, the family doctor, and countless in between, could not figure it out. The tests that were ordered, the procedures done, did not give them a clue. The biopsy taken from her intestines did not point to any obvious diseases, according to the doctor. Unfortunately, given that the intestines are (between the small and large intestine) almost 30 feet long, it's all together possible that a biopsy may not capture enough information in one procedure. In our case, nothing was suspect in the endoscope except for some white spots that the doctor dismissed as unknown food particles (huh?) which I have the photos of. These white spots look an awful lot like candida to my untrained eye.  The final point of feeling totally helpless was when the last specialist prescribed our daughter with a powerful anti-depressant (that was not approved for use in children-I did my research) whereby basically telling us that it was all in our daughter's head. Thanks, but no thanks.

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with Mocha Whipped Cream Frosting.
Our most requested recipe. (I will share one of these days!)

So, I pondered and researched, and was at a total loss. Luckily for us, we were due to move a couple of months after that "diagnosis". My husband had switched gears from being a Navy pilot to a Coast Guard pilot. This new job brought us to the Tampa area. My first venture to the closest health food store, brought me into a discussion with it's owner, unbeknown to me at that time. I remember commenting to her that I had had to drive quite a distance and that I was a little discouraged at the small size of the store. Insert foot in mouth. I had asked her about other health food stores in the area, about naturopaths, etc.  I did not have high hopes of finding loads of naturopaths and like-minded thinkers when the owner of this store told me that I had just moved to the "land of the newlywed and the nearly dead". Hmmm, it is true, I guess there is a reason for the golf courses on every corner and slow driving out-of-state licensed drivers. God love them. I figured that meant that all those in between (like us) were in the minority and our holistic way of life would be hard to sustain. This same health food store owner went on to tell me that each month they hosted a "live blood cell analysis" clinic. I had never heard of this before. She explained that it was a simple procedure where a sterile needle would prick my finger tip (like a diabetic would do) and the drop of blood produced by this would be put onto a slide, under a microscope,  and examined immediately, in front of me. All shapes, dots, specks, squiggles, everything that showed up in my blood specimen would be explained to me. My first thought was, my daughter. I had nothing to lose. For $50 and a prick in the finger, what else could it hurt? I made the appointment and returned on the day scheduled, with my daughter. We got right to the point, the naturopath administering the whole thing was very matter of fact, yet witty and congenial. He put my daughter at total ease and never once asked us what her symptoms were. It was as if he would know the instant he saw her blood specimen. It was as though he read our minds. After briefly viewing my daughter's blood, he asked her, "Does your tummy hurt after you eat?" I almost did not believe it. He immediately went on to tell us that she was definitely GLUTEN INTOLERANT and needed to sustain a diet without gluten. He suggested a regime of gut healing foods, probiotics, and vitamins with minerals. At first it seems like a very harsh sentence. No more pizza, pasta, sandwiches, dinner rolls, crackers, noodle soup, etc. I am not going to sugar-coat this, it was difficult. But, so worth it. Our daughter was not diagnosed with Celiac disease. This is different than having a gluten intolerance. The original doctors had tested our daughter for Celiac, but a person with an intolerance will not usually be found so by testing for Celiac. Since entering this new world of gluten intolerance, I, of course, have researched this topic for HOURS. Unfortunately, I have found, time and time again, conflicting information. Some doctors, naturopaths, self-educated individuals, people living with either Celiac or gluten intolerance/sensitivity, will state that they are one in the same. Others will state that Celiac is an auto immune disease where as gluten intolerance is more of an annoyance. Meaning, a gluten intolerant person will exhibit symptoms such as gas, GI pain, diarrhea, etc. (Hmmm, sounds like "IBS", the scapegoat for all that cannot be figured out!) if eating gluten products, but otherwise can survive it's consequences without long term damage. From what I have researched, the Celiac person's immune system starts attacking normal tissue, such as the lining of the intestine (a.k.a. gut), in response to eating gluten. People with Celiac disease are at risk for malabsorption of food, which causes nutritional deficiencies such as iron deficiency anemia, osteopenia, and osteoporosis.  I have to argue with this next phrase though: "Persons with a wheat allergy or gluten-intolerance usually do not have severe intestinal damage, and therefore are not at risk for these nutritional deficiencies.  They also are not at increased risk of developing other autoimmune conditions." I think the jury is still out on that one.

Regardless, we know how to curb the pain and the not-so-nice results that are associated with having gluten intolerance and Celiac. They are pretty much treated the same way. The GREAT news is that I have discovered DELICIOUS ways to substitute for our favorite gluten goodies. Did you see my earlier post for the BEST EVER GLUTEN FREE BROWNIES (best ever brownies period!)? There's more too, just have a look under "Gluten Free" on my blog labels. Gluten free is not a bad way to be, for anyone. What's your favorite gluten free item? Cheers!

The BEST Gluten Free Brownies You Will Ever Eat!

Cadee’s Ultimate GF Brownie Recipe:

1 ½ sticks of real butter (not margarine or Crisco)

2 cups of quality bittersweet/semisweet chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli brand)

¾ cup Gluten Free Flour Mix (click here for my ALL PURPOSE GF Mix)

5 large eggs

2 cups brown sugar

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F.  It’s best to use a mini-muffin pan (non-stick) and liberally grease with spray.  Otherwise, butter/grease a 9x9 or 9x13 baking dish/brownie pan. OR use parchment paper which makes getting brownies out later much easier!  

In a small saucepan, melt butter over low heat, do not let butter get too hot. Add chocolate to melted butter Melt chocolate SLOWLY on low still (it will seize and ruin if you do not heat it on low and slow!) in HEAVY bottom saucepan.  (If you don’t have a heavy bottomed saucepan, you will need to melt butter first, then separately prepare a double boiler to melt the chocolate, then combine the melted butter and chocolate)  Set aside butter/chocolate mixture to cool down, stirring once in awhile.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, brown sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Using a mixer, fitted with a WHISK attachment, beat on HIGH speed until the mixture thickens and becomes pale in color. At this stage the mixture should fall from the beater in a wide ribbon that folds back on itself and slowly dissolves into itself. This entire process takes approx. 5 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula, fold the cooled chocolate into the egg mixture. Add the flour and FOLD it in quickly but gently taking care not to deflate the air that’s been incorporated into the eggs.

For mini-muffins: Fill each one almost to the top with brownie batter.  For brownie squares: Pour the batter into the prepared (8x8 or 9x9 preferably) glass baking dish and smooth the top with the spatula.**** I find it easier to leave the brownie batter in the refrigerator prior to baking. The batter will harden into a cookie dough consistency. It will still bake fine, just add 2-3 minutes onto baking time. If making mini-muffins, a stainless steel mini ice cream/cookie dough scoop works best to scoop and fill muffin pan. Otherwise, make sure each ball of dough is at about the capacity of the muffin cup size when filling the mini muffin pan.

Bake until the top looks slightly cracked and feels soft to the touch. For a larger pan (thinner brownies) bake approx. 25 min.;  for a smaller pan (thicker brownies) bake approx. 40 min. For mini-muffin brownie bites bake approx. 16-17 min.