Apple Brown Sugar Coffee Cake

Thanks to my clinical schedule I have a couple tuesdays off... so  I took this wonderful gift of time to do something for myself... I filled my day with activities I have put off due to school, clinicals, and homework.

So i got up, watched a little Harry Potter, made a hot pot of hazelnut coffee, and lounged in my room for about an hour, then I bundled up and window shopped (and real life shopped) around my neighborhood, took a trip to target, and baked a delicious fall treat! It was a wonderful day!

Here is the recipe for the Apple brown sugar coffee cake,  This recipe is straight out of Silvana Nardone's cookbook, 'Cooking for Isaiah".  and guess what.... It is gluten AND dairy free!!! Whoo hoo!!!

• Ingredients: 1 cup plus 2 teaspoons gluten-free all-purpose flour, divided

  
   (see previous post for this mixture) 

  2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar, divided

• 1/4 cup dairy free (i used enjoy life) mini chocolate chips (1-1/2 ounces)

• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 2 large , at room temperature

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 2 large apples, cored, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

   (I used Granny smith) 

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Lightly grease a 9-in. round baking or springform pan. In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup flour, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 2 teaspoons flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, chocolate chips, walnuts and cinnamon.
2. In another small bowl, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar and remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the oil and vanilla. Stir into the flour mixture until just combined. Pour half the batter into prepared pan, top with half the apples and half the crumb mixture; repeat with the remaining batter, apples and crumb mixture. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Yield: 8 servings

Another FABULOUS fall tip I must share with you guys....

I learned this easy trick from spending an evening with my good friend Sara.... Take the peels from the apples you are using, or just slice an apple and use the peels.. and take the core and put it in a saucepan about 3/4 full of water. Add about a tablespoon of cinnamon and bring to a boil, turn down to let it simmer and it automatically makes your kitchen/apartment smell AMAZING.... a little taste of fall!

Happy Fall Living!

~M 

Removing Another from the Table

I am officially that person, that person at a restaurant who asks a million questions about what is in the food, not only because I am gluten-free but am now also dairy free.  I hate being that person.

I found out last week I am cross-reactive to all dairy and yeast. So not only is half the food in the world off limits because of my gluten intolerance, but add a dairy problem and my choices become a bit scarce. 

Cross-reactivity is basically foods that cause the same reaction in my body as gluten does. 

The night after I found out I went to my fridge in search of dinner... 

I was greeted with the cheese, milk, yogurt, butter, pasta salad, chocolate chip cookies, ice cream, broccoli with cheese, mac and cheese, GF pizza, the 50 dollars worth of groceries I had purchased the day before, and all things that were now completely off limits.

I just stood there and stared at my full fridge, but with an empty scared feeling of what I was going to eat.

I stood there about 10 minutes.

But then I stopped…. I moved…. I reminded myself that I was in this very position 2 years ago, finding out I was gluten-free, and wondering how I would ever navigate this gluten-filled world. But I did it. And I am just fine.

I also reminded myself that these foods make me so sick I cannot function, and it is a blessing that I can CONTROL what makes me sick. There are many who cannot.

So I had apples and peanut butter for dinner, and hit the Internet for dairy-free alternatives that would now become a part of my daily routine.

But there is still that look, the glare from the waitress when you ask relentlessly about the menu…….or the sneers from the people who think my diet is simply some ‘fad’ or way to lose a couple pounds.

And the feeling of being ‘that person’ at a dinner party who can’t politely eat what is put in front of her.

But I have to accept that this is me. I cannot change the situation, I cannot eat the host at church, and I cannot have ben and Jerry’s’ ice cream any more.

I wont grow out of it, I wont cheat, I cannot take lactaid and be fine. I need to read labels like it is my day job, ask a lot of questions, and plan ahead for dinner parties and social gatherings. 

But that’s ok, I can do it, and I will.

So stay tuned for more gluten AND dairy-free recipes, as I once again re-think my baking skills…..

But for now I’ll just enjoy my dark chocolate almond milk…. Yumminess.

Happy living!

~M

Not Just Kicks and Giggles

This is more of a serious post… a post in which I am completely honest about the effect gluten had on my life, and the scary periods I went through not knowing what was wrong.

I know on here I am very upbeat about my GF lifestyle… but it’s not all fun and games… if I accidentally eat it. It’s hell.

During my freshman year of college I started getting stomach problems and anxiety…. Now I had gotten this before about 2 summers before, and it went away with time, but this time I was away from home and was experiencing emotions I had never really had to deal with in my life… I am a happy, go-lucky person…. why the heck am I suddenly so anxious all of the time. Very VERY scary.  

I was throwing up almost every day, had stomach pains enough to make me want to stay in bed, and anxiety that was almost crippling..... all away from home. When I got home for Christmas break I thought it would all go away… that it was simply home-sickness and the stress of that was making me sick… but there was a big part of me that knew something was wrong, but had no idea what it was… and neither did anyone else.

After 3 weeks at home, and a visit to my doctor and a gastroenterologist who barely listened to what I had to say, none of my symptoms were getting better… they were getting worse.

So I made the impossible decision the night before I was supposed to go back to school. I decided I couldn’t handle it. The toughest decision I have ever made in my life, to leave the school I had worked tirelessly to get into, the amazing nursing program, and the friends I had made down in Omaha.

But I still had no idea what was going on with me, and going back down there was 3 steps in the wrong direction.

So I transferred to the school I am at now, that has a great nursing program, and who would accept me after their J-term had ended.

Two weeks passed with no diagnosis. Celiacs test was negative. I eventually began talking to an aunt who had recently gone gluten free, along with my cousins… She recommended an expert in Georgia who did testing for gluten-intolerance.

So, I sent my saliva hundreds of miles away and a week later got a diagnosis. Severely Gluten intolerant, with instructions to begin the Gluten-free diet immediately.

When I received the news I cried. I was so RELIEVED to have finally gotten a diagnosis, someone who believed it wasn’t just stress-related, and something I could DO to make it better.

Within the next month I was back to myself. No stomach problems. No anxiety, back to the person I knew I was…. Who would have thought a simple food I had been eating my entire life…. Could cause so much pain, and so much damage.

The last two years have been amazing, so many new friends, important events, and blessings beyond belief.

But two weeks ago my own personal hell happened again.

All of the symptoms appeared overnight.

I have never been more scared in my life. I had fought so hard staying away from those dangerous foods to make sure I never felt like that again, and here it was, the crippling symptoms that took away so much 2 years ago.

After talking to the expert in Georgia, it was confirmed that I must have consumed small bits of gluten over the last month, and my stomach reached a point where it was so inflamed that I started getting symptoms again.

~~~~ To note on the anxiety, your stomach is where 90-95 PERCENT of serotonin is produced and processed. This is the neurotransmitter that directly affects your mood. Depression, anxiety, etc. When your stomach is inflamed, these receptors become blocked, lowering the amount of serotonin your body absorbs, which accounts for the sudden onset of anxiety and poor mood. The connection still baffles me.

The best part is I am in my hardest semester of nursing school. Life doesn’t just stop and give you a month to recover. It gives you a half hour.

Homework doesn’t wait, tests don’t wait, and 6am clinicals don’t wait.

So I fought through every day, fought to get things done, fought to keep up, and dealing with the crippling fear that this wouldn’t go away. After about a week things gradually got better, my energy was up, stomach problems more infrequent, and the anxiety slowly disappearing, bringing back my happy demeanor.

During that time I asked God why. Why he needed to do this at this time, when I had so much on my plate. And I came to the conclusion that he didn’t do this to me, but gave me hardships to realize how GREAT I have it the rest of the time. There are people dealing with anxiety that doesn’t go away with the elimination of a food. People who are sick and don’t know why. So I pray for those people. And I live my life every day as a thankful Christian, who doesn’t take anything for granted.

Gluten has a devastating effect on my body, mind, and soul. And I need to be SO careful not to consume it. It’s not a joke. It’s not a game, and it’s not a “fad diet”.

So next time you get annoyed with someone drilling the waitress about whether a food has gluten, or reading the ingredients on EVERYTHING. Please remember that its not something a pill can fix. It destroys your life for weeks.

Another shout out I need to make.

To my amazing family for sticking by me and listening to hours of worried talk

To my amazing nursing friends who helped me stay on track with classes, offered kind words, and who told me to call them at any hour if I needed anything

To my amazing roommate who walked me through numerous panic moments and nights of nausea.

And to God for getting me through this, and allowing me to go back to my life as it was.

Thank you.

Now get out there and enjoy this gorgeous fall weather! More fall recipes to come!

Happy Happy Happy Living!

~M

A side note: If you are dealing with anything I descried above, or any other unexplained symptoms… Please PLEASE get tested for gluten intolerance and/or Celiacs. There are so many symptoms that are connected and going off of it can solve SO many problems. So do it. You have nothing to lose!

Nursing School

Well, I'm officially back into the swing of nursing school.. and to give you an idea of how crazy it is... here's what we deal with.

But first let me add that we are Guinea pigs.. Our nursing department recently created a whole new program that involves 3 complete years of study into the nursing curriculum instead of 2 for generals and 2 for nursing. The new program will be amazing, but with anything new, there has to be the trial run, and we are it.

The teachers are learning right along with us, and when you are struggling to figure out what is going on, it can be a huge challenge.

All of the girls in my program are amazing and are the hardest working people I know, and you get to know each other well simply because when frustration and confusion becomes your life, you need your people.

but anyways back to the schedule...

I have four classes:

Nursing Theory

Nursing Interventions

Pathophysiology

Bio-medical Ethics

now these classes aren't just regular classes..
Nursing Theory Includes not only a Seminar (aka Lecture) but also Clinical 2 days a week (community health and acute care) AND simulation...

Nursing interventions is lecture multiple days a week, AND Lab...

Pathophysiology is Lecture 2x per week AND small group

Bio-med is one class... once a week... thank GOD... but not thank God for the amount of reading that is due on tuesday...and it's 3 hours in the evening after a 6 am clinical... oy...

keep in mind not only do we have to keep this schedule straight but keeping straight which week you have what rotation,
   and at what time
      and what you have to wear
         and what books you need
             and which prep you need to have done
                     and which readings you need to do
                         and which of our 1200 dollars worth of nursing books contains that reading

and it goes on... and on... and on...

It will be worth it right?

So this is it... my toughest year.. and all of us girls are scrambling to stay on top of the readings, assignments, prep, and schedule... add work onto that and time for yourself is virtually non-existant...

Now don't get me wrong, I am extremely blessed to have the resources I do that allow me to pursue my dream career and attend a private college with an outstanding nursing program, it is a HUGE blessing.

It will be worth it... someday... it just seems like that 'someday' is VERY far off...

Thank goodness for all of those other girls in the program who understand completely, to my family who continue to be my rock, and my friends who force me to take a break from the madness...

Thank you all!

Happy Living,
~M

P.s. Did I forget to mention that clinical starts at 6 in the morning.... yep... not even the birds are awake at that ungodly hour.... Pray for me y'all...

New Beginnings

With the new school year beginning tomorrow, I thought I would post about my recent weekend, BIG life moment here y'all!

This past weekend I moved into my first apartment with one of my best friends.. SO fabulous.

This change is accompanied by many different emotions all rolled up into one.. Excitement, nervousness, stress, wonder, but most of all, happiness.

Change is hard, especially when it involves taking steps towards becoming an adult.

But it is also exiting, new, and brings with it new adventures that teach you lessons about life and about growing up.

You’re responsible for yourself now. YOU make the decisions, you deal with the consequences. Its hard, but wonderful.

From the age of 18 to about the age of 25 I think we are all in the confusion stage. The stage where we so desperately want to grow up and make our own decisions, yet want to hold on to our childhood, making letting go a hard life lesson.

We all keep a bit of our childhood with us as we grow up, but there’s a part we have to let go, and moving from our childhood bedroom is one of those moments.

Another challenge of moving to your first apartment is how to fill it. I had a couple pieces of furniture, but not much folks.

The awesome part about this challenge was how much help I received from my family and friends…

Bed from my uncle, which used to be my other uncle’s! 

Lamps from an Uncle

Framed paintings from my Dad’s house

Couch through my Aunt

Numerous kitchen-ware from various aunts and uncles, family members, and neighbors

Coffee table from my 2^nd parents, was their first coffee table in their first apartment in Hoboken, NJ 20 years ago.. WHOA!

Flowers from the Schusters, and both of our Moms!

So blessed!

Someday I will be able to afford all matching pottery barn brand new furniture, and luxurious Williams and Sonoma bath towels and kitchen utensils…. But for now I absolutely love my hodge-podge of furniture… its almost like I have pieces of all my loved ones here with me as I start this new chapter of my life.. it’s comforting.

So as I make GF pancakes on my Grandma’s griddle that she used when my mom was young, sleep in the bed that has been loved by generations of Michels, and I use the beautiful china from England that I received from my wonderful 80 year old neighbor and family friend… I will be reminded of all the blessings in my life, and all of those people who were to support me and will continue to be there as I grow up into this new adult person.

Happy Living,

~M

p.s. a HUGE thank you to all those who helped us move.... you have NO idea how much easer it was with you all helping! So thank you very very much! 

One to Five

This post is simple.

5 Nights

my "4" sisters

4 Families

3 Campfires

2 Noise Complaints

1 House

Numerous Blessings

Thank you God for a week in Ely full of memories, laughter, fresh air, family, and friends

Happy Living, 

~M