What to do about school lunches?

The litle Divas' gluten free lunch box hasn't been the challenge I thought it would. She's a good eater, so long as she hasn't got tummy troubles, and has a wide variety of favourite foods. Here's what she took in her lunch box today....

An apple, a mandarin, a peeled carrot
2 steamed potatoes with herbed butter in a thermos
Beetroot slices in a sealed container
Pineapple slices in a sealed container
A plain mini bar of chocolate
Home made meringues
Slices of GF Strassbourg luncheon meat
Some poached chicken breast

That sounds like a lot, but I know she'll eat every bit. It's hard for a minute to think past the traditional sandwich and home baked goodies, but we're doing it and reaping the rewards.

Today I'm making some coconut macaroons, her other favourite and I'll be posting the recipe later.

Meanwhile, if there's something in particular you're hankering for and you're GF or Coeliac, let me know and I'll see what I can come up with. I can't promise I can help, but I'll give it a darned good try.

Here's to our (gluten free) health....Mimi...x

Thrifty Thursday....thrifty shopping...

On my Tray of Bliss today are my latest thrift shop bargains.

I love shopping at thrift shops, or op shops as they are called here.

The one I love the most is in an industrial area close to my daughters dance school and I adore scurrying in for a nosey around, late in the afternoons after dropping her at dance class.

It's an Aladdins Cave in there.

Apart from the usual discarded neon tank tops and quasi-designer shoes and bags, they have frequent deliveries of all kinds of vintage ware. I've purchased nearly all of my pretty things there, and totally refurbished my daughters bedroom into a shabby chic heaven for under $250 with recycled bargains.

In doing so, I've also delivered food hampers and flood relief into the hands of people who need it the most. Because of course, that's the idea of thrift shops....they raise money for all kinds of good causes.

If you haven't discovered thrift store shopping, perhaps now is the time. Just be prepared to roll up your sleeves, search and plunder, and sometimes walk away empty handed. But nothing ventured, nothing gained. Here's a guide to successful op-shopping.

1. If musty dusty smells bother you, then I have it on good authority that a damp teabag will ward off the mites and prevent a sneezing attack so tuck one into your bag in a sealed container before you leave. Take a delicate sniff when the dust mites become too much.

2. Wear comfy shoes and old clothes and if you're really sensitive, take some disposable gloves. Pop them on while you're searching, removing them when you're done and disposing of them appropriately.

3. Be prepared to spend some time cleaning up your bargains. Few things at the op-shop are in pristine condition, but respond beautifully to a bit of detergent, soaking, scrubbing or polishing.

4. Try to imagine alternative uses for things. I have a handtowels rolled up in a lustreware vase, bubble bath in several cut glass whisky decanters, cosmetics in a wicker cutlery tray, and pens and pencils in an old plastic chocolate box.

5. If 'what your friends will think' bothers you, don't tell them. Say you inherited them, or were given them, or got them at a garage sale...although I'm yet to comprehend why it's okay to buy things at garage sales, but not op-shops. Go figure.

6. Finally, when you declutter, give something back to your favourite op-shops. You've loved your someone's cast-offs, so perhaps someone else will adore yours.

My photograph today reveals my bargains from yesterday. An enamelware bowl I've repurposed to hold apples, a copper teapot and sugar cube tongs. Total outlay...$14.10. The ten cents was for the sugar cube tongs, found separately to the teapot, and looked at quizzically by the checkout operator as he handled them. Clearly he'd never seen such a thing.

And that's the best thing about op shopping. You'll find all sorts of surprises for not much cash.

And that's Thrifty with a capital 'T'.

What's on your Tray of Bliss today?

Day One.....

About eight months ago, my then 10 year old daughter, had a bad night feeling ill. She had abdominal pain, shivering, clamminess, headache, dry mouth, backache and aching joints. We had no idea what was wrong with her. She climbed into bed with us and eventually slept.

We'd been away at the beach that week so a trip to the Doc on our return was in order. In the meantime, I followed my Maternal Instincts and removed anything in her diet that could have triggered the odd reaction. She'd always been a bit funny, getting hives for no reason we could ascertain, tummy troubles (but nothing severe enough to warrant concern), headachey and so on...all of which we just put down to pre-adolescent hormonal issues, or when she was smaller, simply childhood fussiness.

He took one look at her and asked if we knew anything about Coeliac Disease. She presents as extremely slender for her age and height and all of the symptoms we mentioned were consistent with Coeliac Disease.

She had the initial blood test, and strangely, it came back negative. However, the Doc suggested that as he knew she'd been on a gluten and dairy limited diet (and was feeling considerably better), that it might be wise to consult a dietitian regarding a gluten free diet plan.

Now, I'm pretty savvy about these things, so I swung into action. She wasn't 'coeliac' so didn't require the careful monitoring of foodstuffs that this entails. She was simply 'gluten sensitive', so we'd eliminate ALL the usual suspects, and all would be well. Hey...we'd even reintroduce gluten products over time to see if she could build up a natural resistance.

Nuh-uh...

Any reintroduction of bread or pasta...her favourites...would result in overwhelming fatigue, fuzzy headedness, and tummy and back pain. We kidded ourselves that it was everything else BUT the gluten because it's just so much darned easier.

In the end, after another nasty reaction where she suffered back and abdo pain and was running hot and cold and clammy and faint, we decided enough is enough.

Not only is she going gluten free, but so are her Dad and I. After all, Coeliac Disease is genetic, so maybe he and I are gluten intolerant as well.

Two days of being gluten free and she is bouncing and back to her 'old' self. I feel more energetic and don't have the 3 o'clock fatigue that's always plagued me. I am thinking clearly and more able to concentrate on more than one thing at a time, which as you all know is practically a pre-requisite for Motherhood. And strangely (or perhaps not so), a niggly and sometimes debilitating pain in my right side, which I'd always put down to Gallstones, has all but disappeared. DH is much the same, or so he says...he's such a cynic. Just give it a few days and he'll be singing a different song.

So here's my aim.

Having read copious material on Gluten Free living and eating, I've decided that our plan of attack will not be to try recreating our favourite Gluten laden meals with flours and substances unfamiliar to us...although there's nothing wrong with that, and I may yet declare a defeat with my strategy and revert to that.

Instead, I will try to create meals and treats that don't rely on flour or flour substitutes as much as possible. I'll incorporate more fresh veg and fruit into our diet, which in itself can't hurt, and utilize seasonal produce and imagination to replicate our previous wheat and flour filled menues.

Stay tuned....

Homespun Things...luscious warming Chicken Soup...

On my Tray of Bliss today is a steaming bowl of fragrant chicken soup.

It's the beginning of Winter here in Queensland and our first cold snap hit us this week. Heaters are cranked up and fleecy nightgowns and flannelette sheets have been resurrected for our entire...oh...12 weeks of nippy weather.

We Queenslanders are such a bunch of sooky-lalas, that the minute there's a nip in the air and a breeze in the branches, we're inside shivering under our blankies.

So with the first whisper of Winter, here's my favourite chicken soup recipe.

To a large stockpot, add one whole chicken (or a carcass will do), two stalks of celery, sliced, one large bunch of parsley tied with a ribbon of spring onion (shallot), one peeled head of garlic left whole, two diced carrots, two bay leaves, and 10 peppercorns with enough water to thoroughly cover.

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer over a low temperature, for one and a half to two hours unti the chicken is soft and falling from the bone.

Shred the meat from the bone, and discard the bones. and the skin. Strain the remaining broth through a sieve and discard the contents of the sieve, reserving the broth.

Add the meat to the broth and add 1/4 teaspoon of Cinnamon, and a teaspoon each of ground Cumin, Corander and Ginger.

Add some noodles or pasta now if you like and return to the heat, continuing to simmer until tender, or for a gluten free version, stir through two beaten eggs, creating a ribbon effect.

Season to taste...you might need one to two teaspoons of salt if it's a bit pot of soup, and a bit of pepper. If you're feeling under the weather, the juice of a lime or lemon and a sliced chilli or two will sort things out and make you feel much better.

Enjoy!

...Mimi...