Almond Muffins

I have created a fun piece of art to bring everyone some brightness & to cheer up my kitchen.  This is part of the "When Artists Cook" Series.  I have had an interesting couple of months around my food intake causing me to be even more creative in the kitchen with limited ingredients.  I found out that I have very high cholesterol, even if the only foods I am eating with lots of cholesterol are butter & eggs.  I am the last person I would think of who would need to be watchful for this elevation.  Since Thanksgiving I have cut out butter from my recipes.  

Last month I had a severe reaction to fructose that created a lot of havoc in my system.  Thank goodness the medical staff in the ER were able to get my reaction & severe stomach/ intestinal spasms under control.  This has left me only being able to eat chicken broth, white rice, and rice noodles for the past several weeks.  I’m slowly adding chicken, fish, potatoes, and this muffin… back into my diet.  One day soon I hope to find a way for my body to accept more foods.  If anyone has any suggestions for food intolerances & food allergies, please email me.  After an eventful start of the year, I am ready to play in the kitchen again.

This piece of art is on Yupo paper, which is made of plastic.  I love color and whimsical themes and since Yupo paper has its own character, it is fun to see what emerges.  I used Twinkling H2O’s and ink on the surface.  The colors and shine pop.   

This is my version of a muffin loaded with joy.  I have had this image in my mind for years to paint, but it wasn’t until I started playing on Yupo that I knew this was the time to paint it. 

I found this muffin on Dianne’s blog www.deliciousasitlooks.com  & adapted it a titch since I am not able to have canola oil or lemon.  Thanks Dianne!  They are gluten free, fructose free friendly, dairy and soy free and easy to digest.  They stay nice and moist too.  The sauce is great for these muffins, waffles, tarts, and more.  I pretend it’s my jelly by thickening it a bit more.  

Almond Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups almond flour

½ cup dextrose

2 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

4 large eggs

¼ cup olive oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

• Preheat oven to 300° F.
• Grease muffin pan with olive oil spray or other non-stick spray
• Mix ingredients together.
• Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 cup full with batter.
• Bake 15-18 minutes, or until center of tops of muffins are set.
• Makes 32 tiny muffins or 12 regular size muffins.

Sauce

Ingredients

1/8 cup dextrose

1 ½ tsp. corn starch

Sprinkle of Celtic Sea Salt

¼ cup unsweetened rice milk

¾ tsp. vanilla

1/8 tsp. caramel unsweetened LorAnn Flavor Fountain

1/8 tsp. pomegranate unsweetened LorAnn Flavor Fountain

Directions

• Mix dextrose, corn starch and salt together in a pan.  Add rice milk & vanilla and stir together.
• Slowly bring mixture to a boil stirring constantly until thickened beautifully.
• Cool slightly and add pomegranate and caramel flavoring.

Enjoy!

For more information on Colleáyn, please visit:

Website: www.qigong.ckgalleria.com

Etsy shop: www.ckgalleria.etsy.com 

Fructose Intolerance: www.qigong.ckgalleria.com/Fructose-Intolerance.html

For more information on the "When Artists Cook" Series, please visit:

http://www.diondior.com/search/label/WAC 

Living with Celiac Disease & Fructose Intolerance

"Faery Dance" (c)2003

Acrylic on Panel, 12"x16"

(c) All Rights Reserved

I decided to write down a bit of my life story because I get a lot of questions from people going through similar experiences wondering what I eat, how I was diagnosed, etc. In 2003 I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease (No gluten- wheat, barley, rye & oats) after living a life of digestive distress. Then in 2006 I was diagnosed with fructose intolerance (no fruit across the board, and very limited veggies in my diet). Even though my diet is very restricted, I am the healthiest I have ever been and feel good for the first time in many, many years. My life back. It is wonderful!

My story in a nutshell: (Well, it is longer than I thought.. You might want to sit back with a cup of tea)
I have always had problems with my digestion; starting as an infant where part of my intestines were removed. Problems remained throughout time. (I can tell you where most bathrooms are in any place I have been- true story!) I always knew it was caused from food, even when doctors told me that there was no such thing as food allergies or problems (this is when I was a child). But to feel well, I kept trying to figure it out by eliminating foods that I “thought” made me sick. For the longest time I blamed everything on meat- so I thought being a vegetarian (14 years) would answer all my problems. It didn’t. I kept getting worse and remained a medical mystery. Because I was misdiagnosed for most of my life, Gluten & Fructose took a toll on my system and caused other health problems. Finally, in my mid-30’s a medical abstract came across my desk on Celiac Disease. I thought someone wrote a book on me. Thankfully, I found a good doctor who tested me for it, and sure enough, this is the problem. Within weeks, I began seeing improvement. But I didn’t fully get better. Then after another Mayo Clinic quest, I was tested & diagnosed with fructose intolerance. I am feeling so much better following these diets- better than I have ever felt. With diet, Spring Forest Qigong, Psych-K, traditional & complementary medicine, etc. I have found much improvement. So now I am basically a meat & potatoes girl, which is kind of funny after being a vegetarian for so many years. Family & friends still take a double look at me when I am eating meat. So even though my life has been a rollercoaster; I can thank prayer & insight/intuition, great doctors & healers, determination & persistence, etc. as helping me live each day creating wellness for myself & helping others. I am a testimony that life can improve and can become full again.

So, in future Blog entries, I’ll share more tips, food ideas & recipes, & things that helped in my healing process. I want to share this information so that no one else has to suffer for decades with a disease that is very treatable with diet. It might not be fun, but it is so worth it to feel good again! One of my doctors said “You can do this” as I stared back at her with wide eyes. And she was right. It can be done.