Elmo soup...yes, that's right...

OK - so before Alena was two I was sure that she would not watch TV, not be exposed to Disney, or any other item marketed specifically towards kids. Ha, ha, ha...What world did I live in?! She does watch TV, and just loves all the Disney princess movies :) Earlier this week I was very surprised to realize that she knows all the names of the princesses...

What does this have to do with Elmo soup? - Let me explain. When shopping have seen Dora the Explorer soups, and canned pasta, etc. All of that stuff always has some kind of milk sugar in it and of course are not OK. Mia Rose and I went shopping on Monday. Guess what she saw? Yup, Elmo soup. Of course she was all excited about it...and for once I did not have to say "no" as the soup does NOT contain any milk sugar (FYI - if you exclude tomatoes and other veggies this soup is not for you). Very, very exciting...here is the scoop

- Earth's Best, Organic Elmo Vegetable Soup
- Earth's Best, Organic Elmo Noodlemania Soup
- Earth's Best, Organic Elmo Tomato Soup

Comes in 14.5 oz. can - girls have not yet tried them :)

What was our dessert on New Years Eve; the answer is...

Three people voted. Three different answers. One for Tofutti Cuties, one for Cherry Pie, and another person had no idea. So, are you all ready to hear the answer? Are you really ready...OK is this a little lame :). We had the rest of the Cherry Pie from Trader Joe's topped with Whipped Topping from Soya Too! It was fantastic :)

Perspective...

The diet is easy, isn't it Ron said to me a couple of days ago. What do you mean, I responded, it's easy here in PDX, but our trip to Chicago showed that it can be challenging. His response...think back five years ago when Alena was in the hospital...

Going back five years, Alena was readmitted to the hospital less than a week after she was born. We were given the strange diagnosis of Classic Galactosemia and were told that she may develop E. Coli Mengengitis. Less than 24 hours later she did develop E. Coli Mengengitis and had sepsis. She needed blood transfusions, she had a PIK line, she had a catheter and infusions, she weighed no more than 5-1/2 lbs. We did not know whether she would survive, and if so whether there was any damage to her brain. I was on my hands and knees in the hospital chapel begging for my baby to survive. Ron and I decided that if our baby suvives, managing a special diet will be a piece of cake. Here we are five years later. Alena IS completely health, she is thriving, and when thinking back to her first few weeks of life, managing the diet IS a piece of cake. Ron is right, the diet IS easy.

What's for dinner?

When Alena was a young toddler I was so overwhelmed and wondering WHAT I was going to cook, let alone make something a toddler would like. Alena is 5 now and it is so much easier than I ever thought. Actually it is no different than before. Well, there is one major adjustment I needed to make. It is simple, I try to plan the meals for the entire week ahead of time. This is probably something I would have made anyway going from two adults to a family with small children. But I probably would use more convenience food, and include a lot of cheese. To plan ahead I look through my cook books, recepies I cut out from the newspaper, etc. I do not discount anything just b/c it has a milk product in it. If something sounds good and it has milk/cheese/butter in it I try to figure out a way to get around it. This is not possible for some recepies, but for a lot it works and still tastes great. I swap items milk = soy/rice milk, creamer/half&half = Silk creamer, breadcrumbs = Panko breadcrumbs, buter = margarine, etc.

I admit that there are weeks when I do not plan, and those are the weeks I am more crabby :) This week so I planned, and everybody is happy at least so far....So what do we eat. Yesterday we had Veggie Stew. Great way to add all the veggies to the diet and the girls actually loved it.

Today we had oven baked Tilapia, mashed potatos, and sauteed greens w/garlic (kale). Alena loved the fish, and kale. Mia Rosie on the other hand was more of a mashed person today...

The fish really was yummy I adopted it from a recepie I found at www.makedinnereasy.com

Baked Tilapia
- Panko bread crumbs
- Paprika, pepper, salt, italian seasoning
- Olive Oil
- Tilapia filet (we had two)
* Preheat oven to 400F
* Mix Panko bread crumbs w/spices - and put on a large shallow plate
* Brush fish with olive oil (I actually poured some on a plate and put the fish through it)
* Place fish in Panko crumbs and cover each side with crumbs
* Line a baking dish with aluminum foil add a little olive oil to it so entire surface is coated
* Put coated fish in baking dish and bake at 400 for 15 - 20 minutes

Alena LOVED it. I served it with Trader Joe's Tarter Sauce

Mashed Potato
- Cook potatoes
- Mash w/masher
- Add silk creamer, salt, bit of olive oil

Kale
- Garlic
- Olive Oil
- Salt
- 1 bunch of Kale

* Chop garlic coarsely
* Heat Olive Oil in pan
* Add garlic and a pinch of salt
* Chop Kale (I used Lacinato Kale)
* Add Kale to garlic/Oil mixture. I start from the bottom up - once they get lighter green I add
the rest of the kale. Put lid on kale
--> It is done when it is lighter in color. We still like it a little crunchy...


Tomorrow it'll be chicken with yams...I will let you know if it turns out good...

Metabolic Clinic...

We just got back from clinic at OHSU. Both girls are doing fantastic, that is always good to hear :)

I am so happy with our physician and dietitian. Our dietitian is really interested in Galactosemia and it is empowering to work with a professional who really cares. Our doc of course is outstanding. Incidentally he is the same doc who tracked us down when Alena's Newbornscreen came back positive for CG. We credit him and our pediatrician for saving her life. He has been such a great advocate for us and empowering us in every way. We are raising the girls bi-lingual and never once did he raise any concern about that. Today he was impressed with the speech of both girls, and also that there is no fuss about items they cannot eat. Makes me happy...

Happy Tuesday...

Another pancake recipe, this one can be sweet, or savory - Its a German recipe

Its Sunday and I have not been to the store so there is no ready-to-eat food in the house. What to do? - I do have eggs, flour, and soy milk. We also have a few apples left so I made pancakes with apples in them. This is a German recipe and it does not go very well with maple syrup (which is a good thing because we are out :) ), we top it with a cinamon-sugar mixture. Here is the recipe:-

2 cups flour
2 cups soy milk (for the sweet version I use vanilla, for the savory I use plain)
3 eggs
1 pinch salt
4 Tbsp Oil (Safflower, or Canola works well - do not use Olive Oil here)

• Mix the first 4 ingredients together and blend well
• --> If you want savory pancakes you can also mix in some chopped herbs
• Let rest for about 30 minutes
• Add the oil, mix in well
• Heat some oil in a pan and laddle some batter into the pan
• Swirl the batter around the pan so it is entirely covered
• Once the batter starts to firm a little add the sliced apples (if you make them sweet)
• --> The savory pancakes can be "filled" with chopped ham
• Turn when the lower side is completely baked and bake the top

We top the sweet apple pancakes with cinnamon and sugar.

The savory ones are good for dinner when served with a salad its a complete meal.

Happy Sunday to all :)

Deschutes Brewery Pub & Restaurant in PDX

OK - we really do not go out that much but it's a Friday night...We picked up Ron from work today and had dinner at Deschutes Brewery Pub & Restaurant. I wrote about this place before and its really a very good option. For the kids there are burgers (be sure to ask for it on either a Hoagie roll, or Ciabata as the regular Hamburger bun is NOT OK), BBQ Chicken, Pizza (pepperoni of course cheeseless), for the adults there are salads, Wings (also OK just not the dipping sauce), and again GREAT beer....The waitstaff is really helpful and they do know the ingredients of their food. When in downtown PDX be sure to give it a try. http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/brewery/brew-pubs/portland-pub/default.aspx

Happy 2nd day of 2009 everyone...

Roasted Vegetable Pizza - frozen - from Trader Joe's

The girls had frozen pizza for lunch - yup I admit that I did not get around to make something from scratch...:)

If you have not had this pizza, try it. It is fantastic. It is available in the frozen pizza aisle at Trader Joe's and I think it is as good if not better as Amy's frozen pizza. And it is also more economical than Amy's :)

One caveat, the pizza does contain tomatoes which we allow.

Happy New Year to all!

Happy New Year, and Dungeness Crab...

Happy New Year to all. We had a great start into the New Year. Our traditional dinner has been fresh Dungeness Crab and we were lucky to get them this year :) The girls, as both of us, love crab. I am of course the person cracking, and getting all the meat out for everyone. We serve the crab with small potatoes, lemon, and melted Earth Balance. Very delicious. As for dessert I will have you guess...please see the new poll. You won't need to register to vote, its just for fun. Will you please vote?

Fruit Pie at Trader Joe's

We just went shopping at Trader Joe's and what did I see in the middle of the isle? Yup, fruit pie. I am not generally one for pie, but out of habit I just checked the label anyways. You may have guessed it, the pies do NOT have any milk products in them. Based upon that great discovery (I would have bet they have milk products in them) I of course had to buy one, and again I am really not crazy about pie. In any case I bought a Cherry Pie, other types I saw were Blueberry, Mixed Fruit, and Apple there may be more. The box is still closed and nobody has tried it yet so I cannot speak to taste yet. I will let you know.

Happy pie eating to all :)