Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

Tried making stuffed mushrooms for the first time tonight and I must say it wasn't bad for a first try! Here's what I did...makes 2 stuffed portabella mushrooms...about 500 calories each. I couldn't finish mine it was so filling!

2 portabella mushrooms, stems removed and chopped, gills discarded
6-8 shrimp
3/4 stick butter
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup panko (non seasoned)
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ginger
pinch cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. 


2. Remove stems from mushroom caps and dice stems, set aside. 


3. Carefully scrape away the dark gills from the bottoms of the mushroom caps and discard. 


4. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. 


5. Add shrimp, onion, and chopped stems to skillet, sauteing until shrimp is pink and other ingredients are softened, being careful not to overcook the shrimp (shrimp will get rubbery if overcooked). If shrimp is pre-cooked (already pink) put it in last and just heat until warm.


6. Remove mixture from heat and place in a large mixing bowl (do not drain liquid). 


7. Add cream cheese to mixture and stir well. 


8. Add all other ingredients, except mushroom caps and one half cup shredded cheddar cheese, and mix well. 


9. Spray an 8x8 glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. 


10. Carefully stuff the mushroom caps with stuffing mixture and place into baking dish. 


11. Evenly spread remaining half cup of cheddar cheese over stuffed caps. 


12. Place dish into preheated oven, and bake for 20 minutes. Turn heat up to 425 and cook for 10 minutes more.



Recipe adapted from here.

Comfort Food

Had a wonderful, quick, comforting dinner tonight. Using some of my vegetable broth that I had frozen, I threw together a quick chicken noodle soup. I had to go visit my new niece in the hospital so I needed something that I could prepare before the hubby got home. I thawed out the broth, added a bit of water, and used that to cook two chicken thighs. I picked the meat off, put it back in and added leek, carrots, and noodles. For spices I added thyme, salt, and pepper. Turned out quite yummy!

Sesame Pork Kebabs

Last night we fixed a wonderful dinner. The idea was a joint effort between the hubby and I. Here's what we did if you would like to try. I highly recommend it! Recipe after the pics!

Sesame Pork Kebabs

Ingredients:

1 zucchini, sliced thick
1 summer squash, sliced thick
5-8 baby bella mushrooms, sliced in half
1 onion, diced large and layers separated
1 lb pork tenderloin chops, sliced into quarters
5 strips bacon, sliced into thirds
2 Tbsp sesame oil
1/2 c soy sauce
dash ginger
dash garlic powder

1. Slice the pork chops and put into a marinade of 1 Tbsp sesame oil and 1/4 c soy sauce. Let marinade as desired...I did about a half hour.

2. Prepare veggies and bacon for skewers. If using bamboo skewers, soak in water and then coat with oil before using.

3. Assemble! I folded the pork pieces in half, then wrapped them in bacon. Everything else I just put on the skewers.

4. Combine remaining 1 Tbsp sesame oil, 1/4 c soy sauce, ginger, and garlic powder in town to brush over kebabs while grilling. Grill until pork is cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.

It's been one week.

So, today marks the one week milestone of avoiding the nightshade family. Here's some things I've noticed so far about myself and my body.

• I'm no longer thirsty all of the time. I used to always want water and sometimes something more...generally something I cured with either gatorade or tea. 
• I sleep better at night. I actually have an iPhone app that I use to monitor my sleeping habits. My cycles are more regular and I wake up less often. I also seem to require less sleep overall. Eight or nine hours feels like plenty, whereas before I was sleeping sometimes as much as 10-12 hours straight and still feeling like I needed a nap in the afternoon.
• My concentration is much better. I still feel like I'm in a fog, but it's not nearly as dense as it was. I at least can have a decent conversation without being overwhelmed. 
• My digestion is completely different. I won't go into much detail, but things are way more pleasant than before and since I'm not drinking as often, I also don't have to go to the bathroom as often, which is a plus.
• My face is clearer and less oily at the end of the day. I'm still using exactly the same products as before, but my face isn't nearly as oily at the end of the day and I also am noticing a decrease in blemishes.
• My upper chest no longer turns bright red in the shower. I think I may have had mild skin reaction to the foods I was eating, but it only was noticeable in the shower. Again, my habits in showering haven't changed since last week, but for some reason the area below my neck doesn't get splotchy red despite hot water.
• My tongue isn't as gunky. Gross, I know, but I notice a lot less gunk coming off when I scrape my tongue. Not something I expected. 

So, needless to say, things are much better now that I know what to avoid. I'm still overwhelmed at times trying to figure out what to eat, particularly when I'm home alone. I know this will get easier with time. For now I just remind myself that it is worth it not to be nauseated all the time.

A Few Dinner Ideas

Today I had the day off, so I spent quite a while perusing allrecipes.com for some good nightshade-free recipes. When the husband and I were at the grocery, we picked up a turnip and a parsnip so when I saw a promising recipe for caramelized turnips, I was in. Here's what was for dinner tonight.

Chicken breast marinated in olive oil, vermouth, with a bit of garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, cumin, and savory. This was then grilled.

Thinly sliced zucchini and summer squash grilled in foil with olive oil.

Four baby bella mushrooms, grilled.

Caramelized turnip (recipe HERE).

Brown rice.

I enjoyed the combination of flavors. I grilled the chicken on high for 8 min/side since it was thicker. The grilled veggies I put on after I had flipped the chicken. Other than the marinading it took about 20 minutes to cook everything. Quick, simple, healthy, and nightshade-free.

A Dinner Out

After working for a decent portion of the day then coming home and cleaning house, I wasn't up to cooking. After much thought and debate, the husband and I decided that The Cheesecake Factory would be a great place to start. When I was on a gluten-free diet they were very careful about how they prepared my food.

I waited to ask for a manager until our waitress asked what we wanted to drink. The manager who spoke with me was very understanding and asked what I cooked at home even. I explained that I am just starting to deal with my allergies and explained my worries in the dish I was considering, the Chicken Bellagio. I didn't know if it had any peppers in the sauce or perhaps potato starch in the sauce or pasta. He thought very carefully (he knew a lot about the menu items from what I gathered) and went back just to double check the ingredients with the kitchen staff.  I got the go ahead that the dish would be safe which made me happy because I had the same dish the last time I ate there.

The whole experience was great and Jordan, the manager I worked with, was great. I didn't feel judged or burdened because of my dietary restrictions. I will definitely be returning again to expand my collection of approved dishes.

Looking back on the previous time I went to The Cheesecake Factory, I realized I felt great afterwards. I remember walking around the mall for quite some time after eating and not feeling nauseated or just awful. I think I found somewhere outside of my home that I feel I can eat without having bad reactions to the food.

Nightshade-Free Steak Stir-Fry

Cooking for yourself without nightshades isn't as overwhelming as you would expect. Here is a simple stir-fry that has no nightshades.

Ingredients:

1 large T-bone steak, grilled medium then cut into strips (I did this with leftovers from a cookout...easy way to use those steak leftovers)

1/2 large yellow onion, diced

1/2 medium zucchini, cut into strips

1/2 medium summer squash, cut into strips

5 baby bella mushrooms, sliced

1 Tbsp canola oil

Directions:

1. Add oil to medium frying pan. Over medium-high heat, cook steak and onions until onions start to turn translucent.

2. Add other ingredients to pan and heat for about 30 seconds. Add about 1/4 cup water to skillet and simmer on medium heat until most of the excess liquid is gone, about 10 minutes or so.

3. Remove from heat, serve with rice or asian rice noodles.

Solving my Mysterious Health Problems....

For many years, my health has plagued me in various, though non-life threatening ways. It seems things really started when I turned 21. No, it wasn't drinking related because I really never really cared much for alcohol. Sometime around this time period I gained a significant amount of weight in only a few months, I felt more fatigued, and started to feel nauseated after eating. I attributed the change to hormonal changes or perhaps just a change in my metabolism. So life moved on despite not feeling well.

A few years ago, I decided I wanted to try and figure out what may have been causing problems, as things had gotten worse gradually over time. At this point, I wondered about milk and dairy. I loved cheese and milk, but took them out of my diet and took lactase pills when I did have a small amount. I experienced no change. Then, I read about Celiac's disease and many of the symptoms that I had acquired were very similar so I decided to try going without gluten. It was very tough at first, since gluten is in many things you wouldn't expect like soy sauce. I stayed on the gluten-free diet for over a year. I felt slightly better, but my problems were not completely solved. I experimented with cheating and noticed no change so I went back to eating normally.

The worst month of mysterious problems was in February of this year. I had severe diarrhea and had no explanation for why I was having problems. Desperate, I went to my family doctor and she ran lots of tests to see if I had parasites, celiac's, and any deficiencies which may have been causing me problems. Everything came back negative. She referred me to an allergist as I suspected I may have some type of food allergy that I hadn't thought of yet. My husband noticed that when I ate spaghetti I complained of nausea and bad digestive problems. I mentioned this when I was at the allergist.

When speaking with the student doctor, I went into detail about my experiences. I mentioned things I had tried that didn't work as well as things I had theories about, like something in spaghetti. When the allergist talked with me she didn't think I had food allergies, but was willing to test me if I wanted. I insisted upon it because I knew something was up. She explained to me about the "big 8" and said she would also test for tomatoes, since that is one of the missing things in spaghetti. I was also tested for environmental allergens, as I knew I was allergic to something, probably ragweed.

When the results came back, I tested positive for several environmental allergens (mostly weeds and one grass) as well as, you guessed it, tomato. She advised me to try cutting tomatoes out of my diet to see if I experienced any improvement.

I got on the computer as soon as I got home to find other people who are allergic to tomatoes and while they exist on the internet, there isn't vast amounts of personal accounts. I also read that many people who are allergic to tomatoes are also sensitive or allergic to other members of the same plant family (nightshades). These plants include the pepper family (not black or white pepper spices, just chiles, bells, etc.), potatoes, eggplant, and tobacco. Common spices with nightshades would include chile pepper, cayenne or red pepper, paprika, and Tobasco sauce.

The same day I went to the allergist I went to Chipotle to see if I was sensitive to peppers. I didn't have any nightshades that day and I knew what symptoms to look for. I ordered the chile corn salsa, which has peppers in it. As I was eating, my mouth was tingling, my chest tightened as if someone was stepping on my sternum, and I felt nauseated when I left. I also didn't digest it well. Same reaction the next day when I had a Frontega Chicken made especially for me without any tomato contact. The staff members were even nice enough to change their gloves and used different utensils. I still reacted the same way due to the chipotle mayo on the sandwich.

So, I want to keep a blog not only for my own documentation, but also to help others like me. Feel free to comment and ask questions. I'm more than happy to try and answer and if I don't know, I will try to help out as much as possible.