Better than that, they both had a whale of a time. And slept better than they do at home. Grandmamin did a sterling job and followed my Gremlin food instructions to the letter. Gremlin did as Grandma asked. I have booked them in again in a few weeks for our wedding anniversary!
Also, not strictly PKU food related, but a pat on the back for Gremlin. Her phenylalanine levels have been in range since early May 2010. That is nearly 4 months and I am pleased as punch!
Monday 30 August 2010
Friday 27 August 2010
Mixed Feelings
Moomin and Gremlin are going for a sleepover with my parents tomorrow night. I am so looking forward to a night off. Moomin went to stay with them now and again from about 6 months (but has always been a better sleeper than Gremlin) and I think it did us all good.
Tomorrow will be Gremlin's first night away at 10 and a half months and I am absolutely petrified. It is a good thing to do for many reasons but control of her diet has been down to me (and Daddymin a bit, but mostly me) and tomorrow I will be handing it over for 24 hours. I have spent the last couple of hours sorting things and writing detailed lists of what and how much she should eat and when and I do trust my parents totally, but I am still petrified. As Daddymin reminds me, Gremlin will be fine as even if she eats something she shouldn't, as a one off it will not hurt her (it is long term sustained high levels which cause the damage) but that doesn't really relax me. I never want her levels to be out of range.
My return to work is approaching fast, and Grandmamin will be looking after Gremlin for 3 days a week. So this is very good practice, as I keep telling myself again and again. Grandmamin knows and understands the PKU diet, and has done her best with weighing tests I have given her! Grandadmin will do as he is told and is very good at maths (very helpful for weighing and recalculating). I have done all the preparation and planning, and need to learn to control from a distance.
Tomorrow will be Gremlin's first night away at 10 and a half months and I am absolutely petrified. It is a good thing to do for many reasons but control of her diet has been down to me (and Daddymin a bit, but mostly me) and tomorrow I will be handing it over for 24 hours. I have spent the last couple of hours sorting things and writing detailed lists of what and how much she should eat and when and I do trust my parents totally, but I am still petrified. As Daddymin reminds me, Gremlin will be fine as even if she eats something she shouldn't, as a one off it will not hurt her (it is long term sustained high levels which cause the damage) but that doesn't really relax me. I never want her levels to be out of range.
My return to work is approaching fast, and Grandmamin will be looking after Gremlin for 3 days a week. So this is very good practice, as I keep telling myself again and again. Grandmamin knows and understands the PKU diet, and has done her best with weighing tests I have given her! Grandadmin will do as he is told and is very good at maths (very helpful for weighing and recalculating). I have done all the preparation and planning, and need to learn to control from a distance.
Monday 23 August 2010
Fairy Cakes
A bored Moomin asked to make cakes this afternoon. I found the prescription 'Fate Cake Mix' in Gremlin's cavernous PKU cupboard and thought we should have a go at something she could enjoy too. They were very easy to make- just the mix, warm water, butter and a dash of vanilla essence whizzed up together in a bowl.
They weren't very pretty, so I'm not sharing a photo with you, but me, Moomin and Grandmamin all found them to be perfectly acceptable. The star of the show hasn't had one yet, as we ran out of time and I was worried it would fill her up before dinner so she wouldn't eat her necessary protein element, but I am absolutely confident they will be very well received.
They weren't very pretty, so I'm not sharing a photo with you, but me, Moomin and Grandmamin all found them to be perfectly acceptable. The star of the show hasn't had one yet, as we ran out of time and I was worried it would fill her up before dinner so she wouldn't eat her necessary protein element, but I am absolutely confident they will be very well received.
Monday 16 August 2010
Non Exact Butternut Squash and Red Pepper Stew
Carraway Seeds contain some protein (see earlier post! 19g per 100g = 5g per exchange) but the amount in this means it is negligable per serving. These rough amounts made 4 10 month old portions!
Ingredients
Glug of olive oil
150g ish butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and cubed
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 small red chilli, de-seeded and roughly chopped (or small pinch of chilli powder)
1g carraway seeds
1/2 red onion, roughly chopped
Small bit of fennel, cored and roughly diced (optional)
1/2 red pepper, de-seeded amd diced
1 carrot, cut on the diagonal
1/4-1/2 pint of veg stock
Small pinch of chopped coriander
Method
Heat oil in large saucepan. Add squash, garlic, chilli and carraway seeds. Turn in the oil for a few minutes. Add remaining vegetables, cover and cook over a low heat for a 5-8 minutes until starting to soften.
Add stock, cover again and simmer for 20-30 mins until vegtables are soft but holding their shape. Remove lid, season and reduce some of the liquid. Serve with coriander.
I whizzed the stew up a little bit with the blender to diffuse the coriander and added 30g peas to one baby portion to create a 1 exchange meal.
Ingredients
Glug of olive oil
150g ish butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and cubed
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 small red chilli, de-seeded and roughly chopped (or small pinch of chilli powder)
1g carraway seeds
1/2 red onion, roughly chopped
Small bit of fennel, cored and roughly diced (optional)
1/2 red pepper, de-seeded amd diced
1 carrot, cut on the diagonal
1/4-1/2 pint of veg stock
Small pinch of chopped coriander
Method
Heat oil in large saucepan. Add squash, garlic, chilli and carraway seeds. Turn in the oil for a few minutes. Add remaining vegetables, cover and cook over a low heat for a 5-8 minutes until starting to soften.
Add stock, cover again and simmer for 20-30 mins until vegtables are soft but holding their shape. Remove lid, season and reduce some of the liquid. Serve with coriander.
I whizzed the stew up a little bit with the blender to diffuse the coriander and added 30g peas to one baby portion to create a 1 exchange meal.
Friday 13 August 2010
Friday 6 August 2010
Good and Bad
Good- I made my first batch of low protein bread and it was ok! Before now we have tried the ready made loaves, which are minging. I think that is the most appropriate word, and Gremlin would agree. This creation today though, made with the special mix, water, oil and a bit of TLC, was very passable. Gremlin approved and covered the dining room in crumbs to prove it.
Bad- She's playing up with her food again. Yesterday at Grandad's house for lunch, and today with 2 meals at home. I know what it is. She does not want to be spoon fed. She wants to do it all herself and is protesting loudly whenever the spoon comes near. She's also started spitting food out and taking it out of her mouth with her fingers too. It's incredibly stressful for me but she's just not ready to manage feeding herself exchanges (protein) yet. She's still only has 2 teeth! She can play about and feed herself all the protein free finger food she likes, but she's going to have to put up with me feeding her protein first for a little longer yet. It's a horrid battle of wills and I'm back to weighing, re-weighing and re-calculating every meal. Just to make it worse Moomin gets intolerably worse when Gremlin plays up. She's a drama queen at the best of times but when all the attention is on Gremlin she ups her game too. She's gone to bed tonight with hardly any dinner eaten and no pudding as punishment. Humph.
Thursday 5 August 2010
Pea Pesto
Another PKU Mum friend shared a wonderful recipe with me. It is easy to make and can be frozen in 1 exchange portions for a quick fix dinner. Most importantly though, Gremlin absolutely bloomin' loved it. She was getting cross at me because I wasn't shovelling it in quick enough. It is originally taken from the NSPKU magazine 'News and Views'. Thank you so much for sharing Ruth! It also gives non-PKUers a little insight into the complicated maths involved in PKU life (and this is an easy one!).
Pea Pesto
Ingredients
1 x tablespoon garlic infused oil (available in all supermarkets)
150g x frozen peas, weighed after cooking, reserve a little of the cooking water
Squeeze of lemon juice
Handful fresh basil, if you have it
Salt and Pepper to taste
Method
Place all the ingredients in a liquidiser or food processor, adding a little of the reserved cooking water if the mixture seems too dry. You are looking for a moist paste. Taste and add more lemon juice, garlic oil, salt or pepper too if you think it needs it. Now, using a spatula, scrape out the food mixer and weigh the entire mixture. Divide this amount by 6 and this number equals the weight of one exchange of the pesto. For example, your pesto mixture might weigh 180 grams. 180 divided by 6 is 30 so 30g of your mixture would give you one exchange. You divide by 6, because you have used 150g peas in the recipe and 150g of peas equal 6 exchanges. When you get used to this , you might use more or less peas depending on how much pesto you want so adjust your sums accordingly.
End Result: YUM.
Can be served with prescription bread/toast (ie crostini thingy) or pasta. Non- PKUers might like it with regular pasta and parmesan.
Pea Pesto
Ingredients
1 x tablespoon garlic infused oil (available in all supermarkets)
150g x frozen peas, weighed after cooking, reserve a little of the cooking water
Squeeze of lemon juice
Handful fresh basil, if you have it
Salt and Pepper to taste
Method
Place all the ingredients in a liquidiser or food processor, adding a little of the reserved cooking water if the mixture seems too dry. You are looking for a moist paste. Taste and add more lemon juice, garlic oil, salt or pepper too if you think it needs it. Now, using a spatula, scrape out the food mixer and weigh the entire mixture. Divide this amount by 6 and this number equals the weight of one exchange of the pesto. For example, your pesto mixture might weigh 180 grams. 180 divided by 6 is 30 so 30g of your mixture would give you one exchange. You divide by 6, because you have used 150g peas in the recipe and 150g of peas equal 6 exchanges. When you get used to this , you might use more or less peas depending on how much pesto you want so adjust your sums accordingly.
End Result: YUM.
Can be served with prescription bread/toast (ie crostini thingy) or pasta. Non- PKUers might like it with regular pasta and parmesan.
Sunday 1 August 2010
Say Cheese!
Gremlin cannot eat cheese. Well, she could eat some cheese as an exchange but such a teeny weeny amount that it's just not worth it. I calculated it the other day. For 1 exchange she could have 4g of cheese. Have you ever weighed 4g of cheese? I did. It is TINY. A mouse would be disappointed with 4g.
Jacky, one of the GOSH dieticians, had told us about Redwood Foods and their range of 'Cheezly' vegan cheese. It has much lower protein levels than regular cheese and would mean that Gremlin could have more volume. I thought about it then promptly forgot. I'm ashamed to admit that whilst reading a Daily Mail article about Heather Mills and her vegan restaurant I remembered. 30g of Cheezly ("cheddar", "edam", "gouda" and many more) is the equivalent of 1 exchange.
I managed to track some down in Holland and Barrett and today offered Gremlin a full cheese exchange. To me, cheese monster that I am, it did not resemble cheese, but to Gremlin it was very tasty. She ate the whole lot. Moomin tried it and she quite liked it too, which I was not expecting but am very pleased about!
I was also excited to find that my favourite veggie pate (I am vegetarian), which is also purchased from Holland and Barrett, was only 7.5g of protein per 100g so could well be another exchange idea as a sandwich filling. I measured 1 exchange (13g) and spread it on one of her protein free crispbreads with which she is so taken. It was an almost total fail at the first hurdle. She didn't like it at all. Oh well, all the more for me for now and I quickly weighed out an alternative exchange of Sweet Vegetables with Pasta as lovingly prepared by Heinz.
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