Healing

I'm slowly but surely getting better. I was so frustrated with the limited food options of a fructose free diet and the thought of having to deal with it for the rest of my life that I took my mom's advice and saw an acupuncturist. And guess what? Mom was right. I was really skeptical at the beginning, it didn't help that the acupuncturist had never heard of Fructose Malabsorption and we didn't seem to be on the same page. But I thought what could it hurt? It wont make things worse. On top of fructose malabsorption I am also allergic to raw fruits and vegetables, and I had a feeling I was a bit lactose intolerant. So there was no way that a few needles could make my eating situation worse. Those few needles have made me healthier though.

My acupuncturist is using Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Techniques (NAET) to get rid of my allergies, and it's working! I feel so much better than before, I have more energy, and my body is finally getting healthy. So far we've done treatments for fructose, vitamine C, fruits, tomatoes, soybeans, nuts, wheat, milk, and a few others. I still have a few more treatments before I'm allergy free but it's so encouraging to see improvements! I'll be able to eat cake at my wedding and not regret it!!! Seriously, acupuncture is amazing. Throughout this whole allergy-fructose ordeal I've realized just how important it is to eat healthy, organic food. I'm really looking forward to the health food community in San Francisco!

Gluten Free-Fructose Free Pumpkin Cheesecake

Oh, how I love pumpkin pie. And cheesecake is heavenly. What is created when the two are combined? Pumpkin Cheesecake!

I made these when I was having a sweets craving. They hit the spot! They taste like a creamy pumpkin pie rather than a cheesecake. So if you want more of a cheesecake flavor up the amount of cream cheese (which I'll do next time). Because I was testing out a recipe I made a small batch (1/3 of a normal recipe) and I put the batter into cupcake pans.

I made cookies the other night that had an interesting texture (I think from the flour) so I didn't add the flour that the recipe called for. So the cheesecake cups sank a little in the middle, but not as much as I was expecting them too. If I made an entire cheesecake I bet the sinking in the middle would be more noticeable. Even with the (minimal) sinking in the middle they were amazing! The recipe called for a cinnamon graham cracker crust... which I didn't make. If you want the real recipe go here.


Filling:
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups dextrose (depending on how sweet you want it. I used 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons sorghum flour (I omitted the flour)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, dextrose, the spices, and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.

Pour into pie pan or cupcake pans. Spread out evenly and place in oven for 1 hour (I cooked the pumpkin cups for about 40min). Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Top with homemade whipped cream (made with dextrose, of course!) and you have yourself one delicious dessert that even the fructose-eaters in your life will love!

Fructose Free Barley Brownies

Fructose free brownies that taste great!!!!! I am SO happy to find gooey-chocolatey brownies and LOVE them! I adapted the recipe from Bob's Red Mill Barley Brownies. Don't let the word "barley" scare you. It intimated me until I tasted the batter and I could hardly tell a difference! I'm waiting for the fiance to come home from work to try them to see if he'll be able to taste any difference. I doubt it :) I also added a handful of extra dark chocolate chips to the batter (I love chocolate). The brownies are more of a darker chocolate because they aren't super sweet, I'm fine with that, but you can add more dextrose to make them more "milk chocolate". I'll take a picture next time I make them.

Barley Brownies:

3/4 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 cup Barley Flour
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Canola
1 cup Dextrose Powder
6 Tb Cocoa Powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly oil an 8" x 8" x 2"glass baking pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, vanilla, oil, dextrose, and cocoa powder.

In another bowl blend together the barley flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to carob mixture; stir well.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25-35 minutes (do not overbake). Makes 16 brownies.

I added Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting :D

Ingredients:

8 oz Cream Cheese, room temperature
1/8 cup Butter, room temperature
2 cups Dextrose (you can increase this amount if you don't want really dark frosting, the more dextrose the sweeter)
1/2 cup Cocoa Powder

Directions:
Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy.

Mix in powdered sugar, one cup at a time.

Mix in cocoa powder.

Gluten Free Bread

Here is a Gluten Free bread by Steph over at Life With Fructose Malabsorption. Its a great recipe and tastes good for being fructose free. It does have 3 tablespoons of sugar but I didn't have any problem with that amount distributed throughout a whole loaf.


Dry Ingredients:
2 1/8 cups GF Mix (recipe below)
3 tbsp sugar (this is a bit more then I’d like to see in bread, you can reduce it, but we find the bread is drier then)
1 tbsp xanthan gum
1 tbsp instant yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 egg white
1 cup water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp white vinegar

Instructions:

In a large bowl mix together the dry ingredients.  Stir well to make sure the xanthan gum has been well distributed.  Set aside.

In another bowl with an electric mixer mix together the wet ingredients with a paddle and not a bread hook as you would with wheat bread.

With the mixer on low slowly add in the flour mixture.

Continue to mix until it is well combined, if necessary scrap down the sides with a spatula.  It should be the consistency of a thick batter.

Turn your mixer to medium speed and beat the batter for four minutes.

After four minutes the batter should appear smoother and thinner.

Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan. (I usually do a double batch since this bread freezes well).

Now the loaf needs to rise for 30 minutes, or until it reaches the edge of the pan … if you do not use the oven this may take closer to 60-75 minutes.

It can continue to rise on the counter (although at a slower pace) while the oven to preheats.  Since there is no gluten in this bread it can only rise slightly over the top of the loaf pan, if it rises to far it will flop over and start running down the sides as the xanthan gum is not strong enough to hold it together like gluten does.

Preheat the oven to 350F and once it is heated place your bread in oven for 35-45 minutes (this fluctuates from one oven to the next).  Remove the bread from the bread pan as soon as possible.  I do find it does not always shake out right away after taken from the oven, but if I leave it in the pan for about 5-10 minutes it will gather some moisture and loosen up.  Otherwise, carefully scrap a knife along the edges to loosen it.  Cool completely on rack (or eat warm).

We will also slice the loaf and put it in the freezer, that way we can take out slices as we need them.  We do find that bread that comes out of the freezer tastes is drier and better as toast.

GF Mix:

6 cups/parts sorghum flour

2 cups/parts potato starch

1.5 cups/parts tapioca starch

Mix together and store in container.

Use this GF mix to replace wheat-flour in your recipes.  When replacing wheat with a GF mix you will also need to add xanthan gum to the recipe.  Xanthan gum is like your gluten, and replaces the gluten that these flours do not have.  I usually use 1 tsp of xanthan gum per 1 cup of GF Mix.  For those extremely sensitive to corn you may want to be careful with xanthan gum as it is often derived from corn.  If this is the case, you may want to consider using Guar Gum.  Personally I like xanthan gum better as it seems to work a bit better, but that is just my preference, both are commonly used.

What is Fructose Malabsorption? What are the Symptoms?

Fructose Malabsorption (or FM / FructMal) is the inability to absorb fructose and fructans. Sufferers of Fructose Malabsorption have no difficulty tolerating fructose/fructans once they have been absorbed, however, absorption is difficult or impossible for FructMal sufferers. The symptoms are the result of having unabsorbed fructose/fructans in the lower intestine which creates hydrogen gas and sometimes methan.

The most common symptoms include bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, stomach pains, and cramps. Other common symptoms are vomiting, brain fog/fuzzy head/difficulty concentrating, aching eyes, headaches, mood disturbances, depression, trouble sleeping, and joint pains.

Many people go undiagnosed with FM for years trying different medications and diets before they stumble across fructose malabsorption. Getting misdiagnosed with IBS is common for FructMals because the symptoms are similar. A Hydrogen Breath Test will confirm if you have FM (I had to see a gastroenterologist to take one). The HBT measures the amount of hydrogen in your breath, 20 parts-per-billion or more, which is above the average person.
For more info about fructose malabsorption I  found a great website here.

The Beginning

I was recently diagnosed with Fructose Malabsorption. I have been dealing with a multitude of symptoms over the past 3 months and have gone from family doctor to allergist to family doctor to gastroenterologist. I 've read a lot of people are misdiagnosed for years and I have so much respect for them I can't imagine dealing with it for years. The last 3 months have been hell for me. Not only have I suffered from intestinal distress, there have been days that I felt nauseated all day and it took all my concentration to not vomit. I had to work up the energy to study, I was so fatigued I just wanted to sleep all day. I was in a funk. A bad funk.

I was so happy to finally figure out what was wrong but I was so mad that I cried. I didn't want to deal with having fructose malabsorption - needing to read labels and be on a strict diet. After a couple hours of being melodramatic I decided to live like there was no tomorrow and eat all the sweet and sugary things I could. Until the paperwork came in the mail that had dietary guidelines I had the mentality of "diet starts tomorrow" (which was great until I payed for it the next day).  I have been on a very-low/fructose free diet for 3 days and I already feel better! Woohoo!

I even risked it a little last night when Andrew and I went to Red Robin to watch the Oregon game (my family doesn't have cable at home). I ordered a mushroom burger without the bun and hoped that I would be okay with the garlic and butter they sauté the mushrooms in. I didn't see any garlic in the mushrooms and I've read that it's okay as a seasoning as long as it's removed before consumption. So far so good!
I've been taking a probiotic recommended by the gastroenterologist called Align that helps maintain intestinal health and balance, definitely need that! My intestines need to get healthy again so that I can be healthy again.