minor health update

[mellowtigger]

I had a foot cramp last night. I'm not sure why. I've been good about avoiding gluten. I haven't had bread in several weeks, and I even switched to tamari (gluten-free soy sauce) from soy sauce. There are still some minor sources I've had recently, stuff that I've always tolerated well before. I hope I'm not growing more sensitive. My neurons don't handle it well, and I don't want to be a teetotaler with gluten.

I know I have arthritis up and down my spine (x-rays have shown it at the top and the bottom), and I know it's very slowly getting worse as the years go by. It still seems like I'm developing arthritis in my hands too. Cracking ice trays is getting a lot harder to do well. And I've started dropping things in the sink when I try to wash them but a sudden pain bites me. I hope it never progresses enough to make typing difficult. I don't have any skills that I could be employed without typing. (And it might affect my game playing! The horror!)

It's an odd-numbered month, so I'm back on low dose aspirin. This alternating schedule seems to have cleared up successfully the earlier issues, so I bleed slightly only every other month.

Comments

[mallorys_camera]

I'm not sure why

Electrolyte imbalance? Magnesium supplements seem to help a lot of people with muscle cramps.

[mellowtigger]

I started taking my multivitamins again, after you mention this. It doesn't seem like gluten is responsible, because I have not had the muscle twitches which are the usual early warning sign... just muscle cramps.

Speaking of gluten

[kathmandu]

I missed whole-wheat bread so much that I eventually developed a recipe for a gluten-free, mostly whole-grain flatbread. It's baking-powder leavened and has flavor and nutritional oomph similar to whole wheat. It lets me have buttered toast, or sandwiches, again.

Let me know if you ever want the recipe.

Re: Speaking of gluten

[house_wren]

omigod please may I have this recipe too?!? I miss buttered toast soooo much!

Re: Speaking of gluten

[mellowtigger]

Yes, I'm interested in the recipe too. Maybe I could have my breakfast mcmuffins again. I haven't had any good source of gluten-free bread since Aldi's left. :(

Gluten-Free Flatbread

[kathmandu]

Flour: I use 1/3 sticky rice flour, 1/3 whole sorghum flour, 1/3 teff flour. Bob's Red Mill is a good source for sorghum and teff. For sticky-rice, the good kind is Erewan, in a clear plastic bag with a green label. But any brand of pure glutinous rice flour is probably okay. Available in Asian groceries or online.

2 cups flour
2 to 3 teaspoons baking powder
2 to 4 eggs
Milk or water to make a good batter consistency.
1 Tbsp oil

Equipment: large mixing bowl, 9x13" baking pan.

Method:
Preheat oven to about 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In the large mixing bowl, combine thoroughly the flours and the baking powder.
Break in the eggs, stir the eggs with a fork to break up the yolks. Pour in the oil, stir that into the eggs.
Begin stirring the flour into the eggs; add some milk or water any time it starts to get too thick.
Once all the flour is incorporated into the batter, pour the batter into the baking pan and put on a middle rack in the oven.
Bake around for usually about 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

To use this like sandwich bread, I cut it into six slices. Then I use a serrated knife (meat knife or bread knife) to cut each slice carefully through the thickness of it, to make two thinner slices. That cut surface should have a texture more like classic bread. Then you can make a sandwich, or toast it and let butter melt into all the little holes on the cut surface, or whatever bread-related things you have missed.

Notes and theory:
The sticky-rice flour and the eggs are what holds this together. Reducing the eggs makes a more fragile bread.
The oil helps it keep good texture: if you leave out the oil, it will turn fragile and crumbly after the first day.
Sticky-rice is the most effective binder, but cornflour will do in a pinch (comes out stiffer).
The sorghum and teff are where the nutrition and flavor come from. If you don't like teff, you can try buckwheat or more sorghum.
When fresh out of the oven, the surface will be relatively hard or leathery. Don't worry, it won't stay like that: a day later, the water will have re-distributed and it will be all evenly yielding but still very smooth.
If you bake in larger pans, it comes out thinner and you may not be able to slice through the middle. In muffin cups, it might rise a bit more; you'd have to adjust the baking time.

Re: Gluten-Free Flatbread

[house_wren]

thank you! thank you! thank you!

[house_wren]

Oh, I can relate. I have osteoarthritis and also the autoimmune, inflammatory type. I avoid gluten because it gives me a rash and also makes me sick to my stomach. Plus gluten is a known cause of inflammation for those who have are susceptible.

I really would like a grilled cheese & tomato sandwich on sourdough bread. None of those things are on my list of safe foods. (whine, whine, whine)

Your phrase "a sudden pain bites me" is exactly right for describing the unpredictable quality of arthritis in my hands. I need to practice better care of my hands but (thanks adhd) I forget to do the exercises or to warm them up before doing anything interesting.