Creamy Caramel Sauce

8 oz of Neuchatel (Light Cream Cheese)

1/4 Sweet Cream Butter

Milk (I used Skim)

2 or more cups of Brown Sugar

This recipe was inspired by my friend and former roommate, Caitlin Cameron.  She made the best frosting from cream cheese, using brown sugar so that I could also enjoy. 

On that note, start by heating the cream cheese in a saucepan.  Add the butter and stir until thoroughy blended.  Add milk until it is a runny yet creamy mixture.  Finally, stir in brown sugar until it thickens into a caramel consistency that you would put on a sundae.  Ta-da!  Pour warm over anything!  It comliments cake, cinnamon rolls, and almost anything.  I refrigerated my leftovers in a jar and dipped tart green apples in the caramel.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 Cup *Evaporated Cane Juice Crystals

1 Cup Brown Sugar

2/3 Cup Margarine/ Butter

2/3 Cup Shortening

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Soda

2 tsp Vanilla

2 Eggs

3 Cups Soy Flour
Chocolate Chips (White Chocolate Chips in picture at right)

*Can use white sugar.
In a large bowl, cream the sugars, margarine, and shortening.  Add everything but the flour, stirring well.  Finally, add the flour and then the chocolate chips.  Be sure not to mix too well or the cookies become too cakey.  Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 6-10 minutes until golden brown around the edges.  May be a bit crumbly due to the lack of gluten in the flour.

Additional Information: 1/4 cup of soy flour has almost 15% of your daily need of iron.  Soy flour is a great source of protein and fiber without having very much fat.  I decided to try this recipe in honor of my friends and their children that may have gluten intolerances.  My roommates that don't care for whole wheat variety treats loved these cookies.  Enjoy!

Cheesy Whole Wheat Drop Biscuits

2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

1 1/2 Tsp. Baking Powder

1 Tsp. Salt

1/2 Tsp. Garlic Powder

1 Cup Shredded Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese

 1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

2/3 Cup *Milk mixed with 2Tsp. Lemon Juice

1/3 Cup Canola Oil

*Can use Buttermilk if desired.

Combine dry ingredients and shredded cheeses in one bowl.  In another bowl, combine the liquid ingredients.  Pour the liquids over the dry, stirring.  When completely moistened, drop onto a cookie sheet a couple of inches apart.  You may have to add milk if the mixture still seems dry after adding all of the dry ingredients.  bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit until golden brown.

Pumpkin Challenge!

I started out making pumpkin bread.  It was one of those great evenings where I believed that the time was finally mine to bake something fun and relax.  I opened up the 30oz can of pumpkin, dumped it into the bowl.  "Hmm, maybe I should actually find a pumpkin bread recipe," I thought.  After a brief search, I just opened up one online.  Well, it only called for 15oz of pumpkin, so I began doubling.  As I was mixing, I decided that the bread recipe called for too much water.  I have a sense about these things nowadays.  Have you ever tried making something that would never seem to bake all of the way?  Yeah, my pumpkin bread was not going to do that.  The mass of ingredients grew to an enormous lump of goo.  What is this?  I glanced back at the recipe. The original made three loaves of pumpkin bread!  I had the beginnings of six loaves.  It was time to bail on the bread recipe as if from a sinking ship.  Quickly adding more sugar, a bit of this, and bit of that, I made pumpkin cookies!

This was about the time that I suddenly recognized I had a group meeting.  It started a half an hour ago.  Without a second look, I ran out the door with my laptop under my arm to the group meeting.  When I finished the meeting, I returned to the giant bowl full of pumpkin stuff. I baked I had baked pumpkin goods exploding from every surface in the kitchen.

The funny thing is, that as great as everything turned out, I have no idea what was in those cookies except that I started out with a 30oz can of pumpkin.  Our favorite was the pumpkin chocolate chip muffins from the cupcake maker.  This is the great challenge of cooking: be daring!  Try something new!  Be adventurous!

Creamy Alfredo Sauce

2 TBS Butter
1/4 Cup Skim Milk
1/2 Cup Ricotta Cheese
1/4 Cup Shredded Extra Sharp Cheddar
2 TBS Parmesan cheese
1 TBS Dry Garlic
1 tsp Onion Salt
2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
2 TBS Flour or 1 TBS Cornstarch (I use whole wheat flour)

Melt the butter in a sauce pan on medium heat.  When melted, add milk and Ricotta cheese and stir until very smooth.  Add spices, onion salt, and Parmesan cheese.  Add the flour or cornstarch to thicken.  Finally, add in the cheddar and stir it in. I added broccoli and whole wheat spaghetti noodles to the sauce.

After adding the broccoli and noodles, I had about three 1 Cup servings of noodles, broccoli, and sauce.

Vegetarian Lasagna (bread pan size)

You can see the broccoli in the layers.

10-12 whole wheat lasagna noodles (or other noodle type like rice noodles...)
2 TBS canola oil
1 TBS evaporated cane juice crystals (sugar)

1 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce
8 oz ground-sausage-style soy protein
1 cup of frozen chopped broccoli
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 tsp. onion salt
1 tsp. dry garlic
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
2 TBS shredded extra sharp cheddar 

You can see whole wheat noodles and pale ricotta cheese.

Precook the lasagna noodles in a pot.  In a separate frying pan, add oil and sugar to the sausage, stirring and breaking the soy protein sausage apart.  When cooked, add spaghetti sauce, garlic, onion salt, and broccoli.  Drain the lasagna noodles when cooked to desired tenderness. In a bread pan, spread a layer of the sauce mixture. Place a single layer of precooked noodles on top of it.  Next, add a thin layer of ricotta cheese.build the layers until the lasagna is the desired height.  Spread a thin layer of sauce and top the final layer with the shredded cheeses.  Cover the top of the pan in foil and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.   Remove the foil and bake until the cheese on top is melted and crisped to the desired texture.

Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread

2 cups of peeled shredded zuchini
1/2 cup of evaporated cane juice crystals (can use brown sugar instead)
1 1/2 cups of brown sugar
3 eggs
1 cup canola oil
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 TBS of vanilla
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3-4 cups of whole wheat flour

Mix everything but the flour in a large mixing bowl.  Be sure to mix the eggs enough to make the bread rise more.  Once this is thoroughly mixed, add the flour until the batter is thicker than cake batter but not as tough as cookie dough.  Seperate the dough into two standard bread pans (9x5 will work well or slightly smaller).  I used shortening to grease the pans so the bread would slide out easily.  Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 45minutes to an hour until a fork or toothpick comes out clean.  (The bread pictured above was baked for fifty minutes.)  When the bread is baked, remove from the bread pan and melt butter over the top.  Sprinkle sugar over the loaves. 

Why this bread is great:  The whole wheat and brown sugar combination make the zucchini less noticeable than typical zucchini breads! 

Get Some...

Here is a picture of my latest loaf of whole wheat bread.  I made this using the previous recipe on the blog.  Instead of honey or brown sugar though, I used organic evaporated cane juice crystals.  Costco was selling them, and I can't have white sugar, so I bought the bag!  The bread has turned out great and I find that some recipes are better with the crystals instead of brown sugar, but some are not.  Brownies are definitely better with brown sugar (consensus in my apartment.)

Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet Potatoes offer a better spectrum of nutrition than other common types of potatoes.  Sweet Potatoes even have Vitamin A!

First, wash or peel the sweet potatoes.  To make sweet potato fries, thinly slice the sweet potato with or without the peels.  (Mine have peels.)  Next, pour an even layer of oil across the cooking surface.  You can use a cookie sheet in the oven, a sauce pan, or a griddle... Fry the potatoes in the oil until very tender.  Add salt as they are cooking if desired.  Sometimes I add onion or garlic salt for a little extra flavor.  These fries are simple to make and absolutely delicious!

Taco Seasoning

The time has come (well a while ago now) that I have given up on taco seasoning.  It just has too much white sugar in it.  After avoiding it for long enough, I have come up with a pretty satisfying alternative.

I use a blend of garlic, cumin, and oregano.  Lighter on the oregano than the garlic and cumin.  You may recognize these spices from the white chili recipe.  Mixing in a few other taco-like spices doesn't hurt.  Little green chilies often make the spices hotter and flavorful.

Moist Applesauce Treats

1/2 Cup of Butter

3 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 Cups of Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup of Fat Free Milk

1 Tsp. of Salt
1 Tbs. Vanilla
1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda
2 Eggs
1/2 Tsp. Cloves
1 Tsp. Cinnamon

Thoroughly cream the butter and Brown Sugar.  Next, mix in applesauce, eggs, and milk with the salt, baking soda, spices, and vanilla.  Finally, mix in enough flour that the consistency becomes like thick cake batter.  Pour and spread evenly in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-25 minutes until a fork comes out clean.  Option: you can make these into cookies by using half as much milk and dropping the dough into balls on a greased cookie sheet.

Oven Roasted Cauliflower

1 Head of Cauliflower

1/4 Cup of Canola/ Olive Oil

Taco Seasoning

Powdered Garlic

Cut cauliflower into bit-size or slightly larger pieces.  Cover in oil.  You may not need the entire quarter cup, it will depend on how large the head of cauliflower is.  Next, use enough of the spices to get an even coat of spices on the cauliflower.  You may choose to use only garlic or substitute the taco seasoning for Italian seasoning.  The spices are up to you!  Bake at 350 degrees until tender.  The time will depend on your oven, but it takes about ten to fifteen minutes in my oven.

Quick Whole Wheat Pancakes

2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 TBS Gluten Flour
2 TBS Brown Sugar or Honey
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 TBS Canola Oil
1 Cup of cold Water

Gather dry ingredients into a bowl. Pour oil and some of the cold water.  Continue adding water until you have a suitable pancake batter.  Lightly grease a skillet.  These pancakes will not bubble like ones from a mix, so flip them when the edges look done.  Keep temperature low enough to cook the middle of the pancakes.  When cooking, the outside will become paler and paler just before turning golden brown on the outside.  I usually put honey and a little butter on my pancakes instead of cheap corn syrup (what "syrup" usually is.)  This recipe makes 8-10 small pancakes. 

Wonderful Whole Wheat Brownies

1/2 Cup Shortening

1 Cup of Softened Butter

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

2 tsps of Vanilla

1 tsp of Salt

3 Cups Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

1 Cup Cocoa Powder

2 2/3Cups of Whole Wheat Flour

Cream the sugar, shortening, and butter with the salt, baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla.  When well creamed, add the two eggs.  Evenly mix in the cocoa powder.  Add the flour in parts, stirring in evenly.  The brownie batter will be much denser than a mix from a box.  Makes one 9X13 pan.  Bake 20-40 minutes at 350 degrees until a fork comes out clean.  Cooking time varies a lot between ovens, pans, and depth of the batter.

Simply Sweet Tuna Salad

One serving of Whole Wheat Noodles

Can of Tuna (drained)
1/4 cup of Broccoli
Handful of sliced carrots
Dash of Salt
Dash of Pepper
2 tsps of Honey

Cook the noodles.  Strain and set aside.  Use cooking spray (I use a canola or olive oil-based spray.) to grease the sauce pan/skillet.  I used the same one that I cooked the noodles in.  Heat the broccoli and carrots until tender.  Add tuna and noodles.  Now, add salt, pepper, and honey.  Add other seasonings to taste.  This can be adapted to feed more people.  I did not use the entire can of tuna for the single serving.

Homemade Seasoned Fries (Baked!)

Seasoning:

*Whole Wheat Flour

Taco Seasoning

Garlic

Garlic Salt

Brown Sugar

*can substitute gluten-free flours

Instructions: Slice potatoes thinly.  These will be broiled, so the potato needs to bake quickly, before the seasoning burns.  Mix the seasoning mix to the desired strength.  The more brown sugar, the sweeter.  The more flour, the more mild... Add any spices that you think will taste great.  Shake potatoes in a baggie with oil or stir in oil in a bowl.  I use canola oil or better yet olive oil when I have it.  After there is an even coat of oil on the potatoes, drain off any excess.  Next, shake or stir in powdered seasoning mix.  When there is a fairly even coat as pictured, broil on high to desired crispiness.  It doesn't take long, so don't forget about them (learned from experience.)  Mine are done in as little as five minutes.

Left: Unbaked fries coated and spread out, ready to bake.
Right: powdered mix (this one is pretty heavy on the taco seasoning.)  I add garlic and garlic salt to get enough garlic with less salt.  Regular garlic and salt could be used instead.  Lots of choices.  

Background story:  I love curly fries.  Unfortunately, the seasoning mix uses bleached flour.  I have decided to try to start making my own.  These are pretty great!  I do Bountiful Baskets, so I get a lot of great quality produce.  If you live in the western United States, you should check it out.  http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/  This week I got 2lbs or more of Gold Yukon Potatoes, an entire head of cauliflower, three broccoli stem things, three cucumbers, five tomatoes, apples, bananas, a cantiloupe, a head of romaine lettuce, apricots, and a pineapple for only fifteen dollars!

Potato Bread

3 Itty Bitty mashed potatoes or the equivalent (no extra water or milk)

1/2 cup of the potato cooking fluid

1 cup of milk

3/8 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons of yeast
1/4 cup oil
Make sure this mixture is warm, between 110 and 115 degrees Fahrenheit
Pour into dry ingredients, mixing.
Dry ingredients:
4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup gluten flour
2 teaspoons of salt
Add additional whole wheat flour until firm.
Knead 6-8 minutes
Let rise until doubled in size.  To keep the bread moist, spray 2 large Ziplocs with cooking spray.  Put half of the dough into each bag and seal.  Let air out of the bag as needed.  (This also works with pizza dough!)
When risen, shape into 2 loaves and bake.  Any size bread pan will do.  They are smaller than a 9x5x3, but they will cook nicely in a pan that size. 
Bake at 325 degrees for about 35 minutes.
Crust will be firm like some old-fashioned recipes.

Lick-your-lips Lemon Bread

1/3 cup shortening (generous)
1 cup brown sugar (also generous)
Cream sugar and shortening together
Add one egg and mix well
Add a second egg and mix well
2 tsps (generous) Lemon Juice (original recipe calls for lemon peel)
In a separate bowl, combine:
1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour (skimping)
2 TBS gluten flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsps Baking Powder
In a liquid measuring cup:
1/2 cup of milk
Alternately stir in milk and the dry from the separate bowl.  Don't be afraid of over-stirring because this recipe needs to be lighter and fluffier.
Bake 40-50 minutes at 350 or until a toothpick comes out clean
Background Story:
This is a major variation on a bread recipe in my cookbook.  The original recipe called for things that I A. didn’t have or B. are on my avoidance list.  So I loosely followed it and yum-yum happened!  This is a very sweet bread- almost cake but not quite.  I had to have a whole wheat to gluten flour ratio.  Also, I didn't want pecans and I didn't have lemon peel.  I don't use all purpose flour or white sugar and I wanted more salt.  So basically I used the same amount of baking powder and eggs as the original and similar fat-to-sugar ratios.

Whole Wheat Bread

2 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

1/3 cup Gluten Flour

1 TBS yeast

1 TBS brown sugar

mix and then add 2 cups of warm water

After it is thoroughly mixed, allow to rest 10 minutes

1/3 cup oil

1/3 cup sugar
1/2 TBS salt
1 TBS Lemon Juice
1 1/2 cups or more whole wheat flour as needed
Mix for 5-10 minutes (this kneads the dough)
Rise in the oven for 15 minutes at 150-180 degrees

Don't take the bread out, but turn up to 350 degrees and then set a timer for 30 minutes

Bread should be done when timer rings
Special thanks to Holly!  She shared this recipe with my family.

The Truth

Back in March I went to an allergy specialist.  The verdict was that I have a chlorine allergy.  I was sensitive enough the trace amounts of chlorine in tap water had been causing my flu/cold-like symptoms.  After having filters on the shower so that I don't breathe steam and a filter on the sink in the kitchen so I don't drink it, I have been "cold" free for two months.  It's the longest I've ever been without those symptoms.  Doctors used to tell me it was all viral.  After the whole thing in my sinuses getting worse and worse despite having no tonsils or adenoids, I was sent to a specialist. 

It has been difficult to avoid everything the specialist told me to and I've now given up some of my favorite things.  The only artificial sweeteners that I can have are xylitol, stevia, and saccharin.  No sucralose, aka Splenda ®, aspartame, or other common sweeteners.  This has meant no more gum, a lot of "light" or "no sugar added" foods have these in them. Between the white sugar and artificial sweeteners, there's a lot of "no-no" foods at the store.  I also found out that I need to stay away from Red 40.  It's in everything it seems.  So I make a lot from scratch!

Life is beautiful.  Springtime without the illness is like being handed a second life.  It is so beautiful and I love filling my lungs that used to be plagued by asthma with fresh air.  Some challenges, such as avoiding chlorine, are definitely worth it.

Delicious Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2 Cups Brown Sugar

2/3 Cup Shortening

2/3 Cup Butter/Margarine

2 Eggs

1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Vanilla
2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup finely blended Oats
As many Raisins as you desire

Stir fats and sugars (sugar, eggs, shortening, and butter) into smooth creamy mixture.  Now, add the vanilla, salt, baking soda, and flour.  Mix until well blended.  Stir in oats and raisins.  I usually use a cookie-dough scoop and plop about a dozen or so on the greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Don't like fruit or chocolate in cookies?  They also make great oatmeal cookies.  These were a hit with my roommates:

Soft Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

1 cup of warm water

2 TBS of Brown Sugar

1 TBS yeast
2or 3 TBS vegetable/canola oil

3 cups of whole wheat flour

1 tsp. Salt

Yield: One baker's half-sheet sized pan
Oven: Bake at 350-400 degrees (softer at lower temperatures) for 10-20 minutes

Directions: Get a cup of bath-temperature water and dissolve brown sugar.  Add yeast to water and set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, add whole wheat flour and salt.  When the yeast mixture begins to foam, add oil.  Pour liquid yeast mixture over flour, stirring.  Stir in the water.  If the dough is too dry, slowly add warm water until the dough is the right consistency.  Whole Wheat dough tends to be tougher than white pizza dough.  Allow to rise until the dough becomes more airy and a finger poke leaves a deep imprint.  Knead the dough with a little bit more flour.  Roll onto cookie sheet.  Top with desired sauce, cheese, and toppings and bake to desired doneness.

Tips: I substitute a little bit of the whole wheat flour for gluten flour.  This flour has not been chemically bleached, and it helps the dough become softer, stickier, and more elastic.

To make breadsticks, add a bit more brown sugar and shape into breadsticks.  Bake for 5-15 minutes.  For the best breadsticks, spread butter on the tops when they first come out of the oven and allow the butter to form a soft, great crust as the breadsticks cool.

Nutritional Information: (Bread alone w/ no butter or toppings) When dough is split into 12 equal portions, it has only 130 calories in each portion and is loaded with protein and fiber while being low in fat!
Pizza Dough Variation:
Preheat desired toppings in a sauce pan with cheese and sauce.
Begin baking thinly rolled pizza dough in a pie pan. 350 degrees
Add hot "topping" filling to pie pan and cover with thinly rolled dough.
Sprinkle cheese over the top of the crust.
Bake until done.
I had enough dough from the pie crust to make a quarter-sheet sized pizza too!  Part of making great things is to never be afraid to try new things.  I had never attempted to make pizza pie.  I just used what I knew from before to make judgments.  The filling had a little less sauce so that I knew the crust would not become soggy.  These pizza-pie and quarter-sheet pizzas were a great addition to our Girl's Night. 

Toppings we used: pizza cheese blend, spaghetti sauce from a jar, turkey Italian sausage from the freezer section, canned olives, frozen broccoli, onions, and mushrooms!

Gluten Free Reduced Fat White Chili

1 lb. small cubed chicken breasts (boneless skinless)
1 medium onion chopped
1-1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 TBS canola/vegetable oil
2 (15.5oz) cans of white, red, or black beans rinsed and drained
14.5 floz of chicken broth
2 (4oz) cans of chopped green chilies
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground oregano
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup fat free sour cream
1/2 cup of skim milk
Optional: crumbled bacon or ham

Yield: 5-6 generous servings

Directions: Prepare onion and chilies, browning the chicken with the onions and chilies.  Prepare chicken broth adding oil and then add chicken, onion, and chilies.  Add spices, salt, and beans (and bacon).  When mixture is heated, add milk and sour cream just before serving.

Tips: This is the lighter fat version.  If you prefer a different milk or sour cream, use them.  You may also use heavy whipping cream instead of milk for a thicker, creamier chili.  Also, our family loves using more beans than the recipe calls for.  We have used red beans, great northern beans, navy beans, and black beans.  Mix or select your favorite beans!  You do not have to use canned beans.  Since we use more beans than it calls for anyway, we usually cook and soak our own.

Pepper becomes stronger as it is boiled.  Those in my family that prefer less kick add pepper at the very end with the milk and sour cream.  Add the pepper at the appropriate time for your family.  I also like to double the cumin... just season to taste. :)

Explanation of Gluten, Bleach, and Such Things

The healthiest flour for you is freshly ground whole grain flour.  Therefore, cooking with whole wheat flour would be pretty healthy.  The problem is that freshly ground flours that we typically use for breads (wheat, oats, and barley to name a couple) are good because they have gluten in them.  Gluten (I have no allergies or intolerance to gluten) is a protein that provides bread with its essential elasticity.  Gluten, however, does not occur in large amounts in freshly ground whole grain flours.  Gluten is a byproduct of aging.  As flour ages, it gains more of this essential gluten, but it also loses many of the nutrients that make it so healthy.  This is why many wheat flours are enriched.  Because these flours have been aged, they now have gluten, but lack the nutrients that the wheat once contained.  These flours also become more pale as they age, turning whitish or grayish yellow.  Well, this process can be sped up through a chemical process.  Like aging, this process strips the flour of nutrients to give it great gluten content.  This is bleaching the flour.  It also makes the flour unnaturally white. 

Sugar becomes whiter as they take molasses out of it.  Brown sugar is light or dark depending on how much molasses is in it.  However, this sugar does not become as white as it is when we buy it until it goes through a chemical process to remove any stray bits of color.  Sugar crystals are naturally white, but there are other impurities that make it have bits of color.

I think we bleach rice because we're weird and like pale food.  Fun fact: if you rinse enriched white rice, you're rinsing off all the nutrients it gets coating with after they chemically strip the nutrients away in the first place.

(Sorry about sounding obviously biased... I guess it's the allergies.)  On an important note: gluten is great (if you're not allergic or intolerant as some people are).  It does great things for my breads and baking!  So, some of my recipes will call for gluten flour to make the bread dough stretchy.  Think cold sticky tack as opposed to cold sticky tack.  Cold sticky tack snaps while the warm stuff stretches really well.  It is also expensive and food can taste great without it, so feel free to add more regular flour instead.

My Story

Creating a blog of the recipes that I have come up with to compensate for my food allergies was one of my co-worker's ideas.  I also have a few past roommates that were hoping to get some recipes.  Here is an easy way to share one of my hobbies.

To begin with, I have an allergy to bleached foods.  This means that things like white rice, white flour, and white sugar have unpleasant consequences when I eat them or handle them too much. 

Growing up, I had an upset stomach ALL THE TIME!  My parents believed that I just got sick when I was stressed.  For many years, this was the answer that I accepted, but I still missed school for vomiting and stomach pains frequently.  In addition, I had red, enflamed hands that looked awful.  Because of the cracking and bleeding, we thought it was dry skin.  However, after years of dealing with the problem and realizing this was no ordinary dry skin, we believed that I was allergic to the cold.

Finally I turned eighteen and was still experiencing these "stress stomach aches".  When I said farewell to my parents and hometown to move to college, I also decided to give up some unhealthy eating.  I tried cooking with whole wheat flour.  Surprisingly, I was sick much less often.  Occasionally, it would flare up and I'd miss a class, but for the most part, the pain had improved.  My hands, however did not.  After one evening, I went out playing night games and returned with a bad rash not just on my hands, but everywhere!  I thought that I had really made myself too cold.  (In hindsight, I had made a white cake that day...)

When I moved back home between semesters, my healthy cooking gave way to the preferences of others in the house.  My stomach problems returned to their previous intensity.  Moving back to school and choosing to be healthy, I noticed the pains disappear.  Now, I was starting to wonder if there was a pattern.  One weekend, I went camping for my roommate's birthday.  We had pizza and store-bought muffins (junk food compared to what I normally eat).  I was sick when we got back.  I freaked out about all the junk food that I had had and began to worry that I was diabetic.

In talking to my mom and sister, I relaxed about the diabetes.  Some things that pointed away from diabetes was the fact that not all carbs made me sick.  I could eat brown sugar and honey without problems.  However, I now knew that the refined flours and grains seemed to cause illness.

After some trial and error, I recognized that unbleached (yet refined) flour did not make me feel sick.  After researching, I found that they actually use chemicals in the refining process to bleach these foods.  These chemicals are what make me sick.