Achoo, Sniffle, Sniffle

The snow is gone, the day time temperatures are above fifty, grass is growing, flowers, blooming, trees pollinating, and weeds emerging; it's Spring!  At our house nose's are sniffling, eyes are itchy, fatigue, skin itching, and headaches are in full bloom.  Usually we can keep these reactions in check by staying in air conditioned buildings and over the counter medications.  

Last fall I forgot to give my son some allergy medicine  before he went on a cub scout hike with his den.  We had recently moved and this was one of his first activities with this den.  He was so excited because they were going to explore a cave.  

I sent him on his way and left for my daughters soccer game.  Later when I came home his eyes were almost swollen shut and his nose was a leaky faucet.  He was also having a hard time breathing.  The poor leader was having a panic attack because she couldn't find me and she thought she had killed him on there first activity together.  

It took a couple of days for his eyes to come down in size and his nose finally stopped running.  His breathing returned to normal after some help with an inhaler and a shower to get the pollen off.  So,  today I am having flashbacks as I look on the calendar and notice that today is another cub scout hike with his den and he hasn't taken is allergy medicine today.  Here are a few ideas on dealing with allergy symptoms.

Eyes

• Cool wash rag on eyes
• Eye drops -- there are many over the counter that work well.  I recently used Clear View and found much needed relief.
• Shower

Nose

• Netti Pot (Not my favorite but my husband swears by it.)
• Warm rag across the sinus
• Steam from a hot shower can also help
• Decongestant (You can find this behind the counter at the pharmacy.  You do not need a prescription to get it)  I have found taking a 24 hour Zyrtec and then a 12 decongestant in the morning works best for me and is cheaper.  Decongestants keep me awake so I do not like taking them at night.
• Prescription Nasal Spray (Like Flonase) works wonders.
• Box of tissues

Cough/ Breathing

• Go to the emergency room or call 911 if they can't breathe
• Go to the doctor and get an inhaler
• Humidifier
• Vapor rub on chest

All

• Change filter on air conditioner/ heater often
• Take a shower at the end of the day to wash off pollen
• Change pillowcases and sheet every couple of days to get any residual pollen out
• Live in an air conditioned home/ apartment (swamp coolers are not good for people with allergies)
• Hardwood, tile, linoleum floors help eliminate places for pollen to collect in your home as well.

What's For Dinner

Pan Seared Chicken Breast

Today what's for dinner is whatever a ten year old can easily be tutored from the couch.  It has been seven days since my foot surgery and I am slowly getting better.  I still can not stand for very long hence the ten year old making dinner.  Unfortunately for him he is the oldest one home and mom is hungry.

After looking in the fridge he decided chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans and maybe strawberries.  He has NEVER cooked meat or poultry of any kind.  There is a first for everything.  A method that works well for cooking chicken breast is pan searing the meat then baking.

Pan Seared Chicken Breast

Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry.  Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.  If I have any garlic powder that I made from my garlic in my garden I will also sprinkle each chicken breast with that.  In a cast iron skillet heat (or a skillet that can be put in the oven) 1 to 2 TBSP of olive oil on high heat.  Brown or sear each side of the chicken.   Add low sodium chicken broth so it covers the bottom of the pan.  Put the lid on the pan and put in a preheated 400 degree oven and bake for 25 min.  Check internal temp to make sure that meat is cooked.  Let the meat rest in the pan for 10 min before serving.


The chicken was very moist and the ten year old is feeling pretty competent with his first foray into cooking poultry.  The rest of the dinner was pretty simple.   Idahoan instant mashed potatoes, turkey gravy from a package, and a bottle of green beans that we canned last summer.

I caution using prepackaged mixes if you have allergies.  To often they have filler items to prevent caking or aging or just for bulk.  I also noticed that they generally refer to spices and do not always list exactly what they are.  READ the LABEL.  I remember when I was first diagnosed with allergies that it was so discouraging to read the labels and see that most mixes did not work for me.  So, now when I find one that works I will buy several to have on hand for days that we need a quick meal.  In the next couple of months I am going to take a class on making my own mixes to have on hand.

Laying Around

Faux Oatmeal Cookies

Laying around is not all that it is cracked up to be. Today is day six after surgery for a Morton's neuroma and plantar fascitis in my right foot.  The key to my pain is taking ibuprofen before the pain even starts and elevating my foot.  I am grateful for my mom, husband and kids helping me around the house.  Standing on my foot for very long is uncomfortable and sometimes painful.  So,  cooking has not been a possibility.

Over the past week I have had a craving for oatmeal cookies as I have been laying around.  I am allergic to oats and have been searching for a product similar to oats that was not outrageously priced.  I recently found rolled wheat, rolled kamut, and rolled spelt.  I found the rolled wheat at Macey's and the kamut and spelt at Natural Grocers.  I am excited to have Natural Grocers in town.

I had the product but never got to making the faux oatmeal cookies.  My husband was awesome and made the cookies for me (twice) with the aid of "Cookies Country".  He tweaked the recipe to work with what I could eat and made a fabulous cookie.  He used Ener G egg replacer instead of eggs, and replaced the 3 cups of oats with 1 cup rolled kamut, 1 cup rolled wheat, and1 cup roll spelt.  Additionally he reduced the flour to compensate for how dry the dough usually is with the egg replacer.      Although he found with this recipe that reducing the flour made the cookies to runny and ended adding it back to the original amount.  He also, by my request, added 1/2 tsp. cinnamon to the mixture.  They ended up cooking best at about 12 - 15 min.  They ended up having a crisp exterior and a soft center.  I thought they were a success and are something that I will make in the future.

Big and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
16 TBSP unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups raisins (optional)

Faux Oatmeal Cookies

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground sea salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
16 TBSP unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tsp Ener G egg replacer
4 TBSP water
1 cup rolled kamut
1 cup rolled wheat
1 cup rolled spelt
1/2 cup raisins, or chocolate chips (optional)


1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2.  Mix the first four ingredients together and set aside.
3.  Cream together the butter and sugars together.  Whisk the water and egg replacer together.  Add egg mixture to the creamed butter and  sugar and blend until incorporated.
4.  Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture.  Add rolled kamut, rolled wheat and the rolled spelt and mix.  Then add the raisins if using.
5.  Place 1 TBSP size balls on cookie sheet a couple of inches apart.    Cook until golden brown around the edges about 15 minutes.  Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

I think you could use any rolled grain in  this recipe.  I have also seen rolled barley in addition to the others I put in.  Although I have not tried this, if you are also looking to be diary free you could possibly replace the butter with coconut oil.