Things are nutty

Posted by chickiepea on January 31, 2010 · 8 Comments 

Things have been nutty in my household for quite sometime now. My oldest daughter, Goose, has been all over the map with her emotions and actions the past couple of years and we have been to doctor after doctor trying to get to the bottom of what is going on and why. After every diagnosis in the book, and some doctors simply writing us off, we received a diagnosis of PANDAS for her in late August of 2009.

Tonight though, the house is quiet and the promise of spring is just around the corner, as we creep into February and up to Valentine’s Day. We have even seen a little snow melt lately as the temperature rises just above freezing and reminds us that YES! there is grass under all that frozen stuff! Spring brings with it, usually, it’s own set of problems however. It’s the time of year that Goose runs a long unexplained fever. They seem to assault her in September and March, from out of the blue, and wreak havoc with her moods and demeanor, causing no pain other than neurological, and no symptoms like sore throat, etc. Just a wave that washes over her, and us, and wipes us out again. I’m hoping that that won’t be the case this year, since learning all we have about diet, and supplements, using chiropractic care and her having had the IVIG treatment. I can only hope and try to keep her as healthy as possible. There are still so many variables and so much we don’t know and can’t yet understand about her disease.

Speaking of nuts and Valentine’s Day, though… I have been trying to come up with treats for the occasion and am pretty limited in the no sugar/low glycemic department, but I had such success with these last week that I made them again today and thought they would be a cute little treat with quite a lot of protein. Unfortunately, I have to still come up with something else since nut allergies are rampant at Goose’s school and not allowed. We may do coconut ice-cream; I’m still thinking…

Your choice nut-butter balls:

2 big spoonfuls of nut butter (your choice, any combo- I used peanut butter and hazelnut butter)
1-2 tsp coconut flour
about 1 tbs ground nuts (I used hazelnut meal)
medjool dates (1-2, pitted and diced small)

shredded coconut
cocoa or carob
toasted sesame seeds or more ground nuts

optional- date sugar

Mix together in a bowl your nut butter(s), coconut flour, ground nuts.
You want the consistency of play-dough, so stir well and add more dry ingredients if needed. Spoon teaspoons into your palm and put a date in the middle and then roll into a ball with your palms. Lay on cutting board or parchment paper. In smaller bowls, put the items you want to roll the dates in: sesame seeds or ground nuts, shredded coconut, cocoa or carob, etc. Roll each ball in coating and then layer in glass bowl that is able to be covered. (With the cocoa, I noticed that they did not look very appetizing, so I sprinkled them with some coconut flour for contrast.) You can add a little date sugar for sweetness if you want (I sprinkled just a bit over the top of mine.) Store, covered, in the refrigerator. They are much better eaten cold, by the way.

Also, very important: These are EXTREMELY sticky to eat. Make sure you have a drink handy and please do not give these to young children.

Here are some things I have learned about nuts:

-I am definitely one of them.
-Almonds: There is some dispute about whether these are bad for your eyesight. I grew up hearing that they were. They are my favorite nut in the world. Yum. They are also the highest salicylate nut, so they make aggravate ADD/ADHD, behavioral issues, and joint pain. They are also the most commonly used “nut flour” when looking for flours in GF diets.
-Peanuts: We know, we know. Not a nut, a legume. But still, okay? Harbors mold, so beware.
-Hazelnuts: I don’t know anything about these, but need to learn. They’re yummy and were my great-grandmother’s favorite. She called them Filberts.
-Pistachios: Also harbor mold
-Cashews: Also harbor mold AND they don’t come to us completely raw. They apparently go through a lot of processing even before you can find them “raw” on the shelves of your grocery store. However, they can be used in a lot of cool ways if you soak them first- like for whipped “cream” if you are dairy free. Google for recipes. Another thing about cashews is that if you are on a low-salicylate diet and you eat cashews, they can help detox you of a high-salicylate or “trigger” food.

That’s all I have on nuts at the moment.

—-

On to today’s meals:

Breakfast was leftover paper-thin potatoes and onions, fried with bacon lardons and topped with an egg over-easy and frozen chives (that we grew, snipped, and froze ourselves!)

Action shot of my breakfast being eaten

Lunch was leftovers for everyone. I had some leftover short-ribs. Another action-shot:

Slowcooker short-ribs and veggies

Dinner was roast chicken with veggies and dilled zucchini pancakes, this time with leek also:

Roast chicken w/lemon and marjoram, carrots, and dilled zucchini pancakes with leek

And last, but not least, nut-butter balls:

Nut-butter balls with coconut, cocoa, and sesame seeds

About these ads

Filed under chickiepea, how to, PANDAS, recipes · Tagged with Coconut, doctors, fever, nut butter, nutbutter balls, Nuts, PANDAS, peanuts, pistachios, walnuts