Say What? We're Eating Mercury in Some Processed Foods???

It just gets worse.  As if we need another huge reason to cut all high fructose corn syrup out of our diets here goes!

This article from the Washington Post claims high fructose corn syrup is often contaminated with mercury.  And of course, mercury is TOXIC!

We are on year two of little to no corn syrup and year one of little processed foods.  It makes such a difference.

Diet matters!

Chicken and Kale Stew

I hosted a girls night out a few days ago and it turned out to be the night of the Kale!  One friend brought a Kale quiche with an almond crust and another brought a kale salad.  I served the Kale and Chicken stew recipe below.  Healthy eating, good friends and fun.  What more could you ask for?  Thought that you might enjoy the stew recipe as the weather is cooling off.  I feel like making it again tonight!  I did add sauteed mushrooms to the recipe which I LOVED!

Kale and Chicken Stew by thekitchn.com

Serves 6-8

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
5 medium mixed potatoes; diced (I used Yukon gold, red and purple)
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
4 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion; chopped
1 large shallot; minced
2 carrots; peeled and diced
6 cups chicken stock
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese; finely grated
5 cups chopped kale
15-ounce can cannellini beans; drained
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan. Rub with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. In a separate sheet pan, toss the potatoes with olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the meat. Cover and set aside.

Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and shallot and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the carrots and cook 15 minutes until softened. Add in chicken stock, thyme, chicken, potatoes, Parmesan, salt and pepper bring to a simmer. Add the kale and beans and simmer for another 20 minutes, until the kale is tender and the beans are hot.

Bippity, Boppity, Boo

I feel as if someone waved a magic wand over my house and said these magic words, "Bippity Boppity Boo!" and just like that relief washed over my kids like a wave.  

As most of you know that my youngest son, 3 of 3, broke out in hives from the day he was introduced to solid food.  This happened almost every time he ate.  As more foods were introduced, more hives appeared.  He also had almost constant ear infections for 6 months.  

I was tired, stressed and in need of answers.  Monthly trips to the doctor are NOT my idea of fun.  I couldn't find any answers other than antibiotics.   And really they weren't working either.   

Out of desperation I removed dairy from 3 of 3's diet and NO more ear infections.  Cured completely with the removal of dairy.  Hey THAT is the kind of help I needed.   And it started changing my thinking.

I turned to a natural doctor for help with the hives.  I knew it was caused by something he was eating.  It seemed EVERYTHING he was eating.  

We started with a simple blood test.  Come to find out my littlest person had a mild gluten allergy.  That was the only allergen that showed up in the blood test results.  And the gluten allergy was so mild it wouldn't even have been considered an allergy by conventional doctors. 

Thinking back, one of the first foods I introduced was oatmeal cereal with dairy based formula.  Gluten and dairy.  And at some point every day he had some form of gluten. Had I found the answer, could it be? 

Now 3 of 3's diet is free of dairy and gluten.  Just think of how many foods in your daily diet contain some form of these ingredients.  Challenging diet but doable.

The hives continued sporadically and my little person seemed much better but still not quite himself.

I took the rest of the family in to get the blood test done.  Again, no major allergies for any of us.  I did find a common mild allergy between a few family members and decided to experiment and take this out of 3 of 3's diet too.

It worked!  No more hives and a REALLY smiling, happy, playful child.  

The culprit...eggs.

So the egg free, dairy free, gluten free diet is the diet of this house.  And it's actually been quite easy to achieve.  I can't wait to share the fabulous finds that we have found so far.