Tyra Creates

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe from:  Gluten-Free Baking Classics by Annalise G. Roberts

1 cup vegetable shortening (not butter or margarine)

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar (I use light brown sugar)

2 large eggs

1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

*2 cups plus 2 tbsp Brown Rice Flour Mix

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp xantham gum

1/2 tsp salt

12 oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Position rack in center of oven. Lightly grease cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Beat shortening and both sugars at medium speed in large bowl of electric mixer. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until fluffy.

Add flour, baking soda, xantham gum and salt; mix at medium speed until well blended. Mix in chocolate chips.

Drop heaping teaspoons of dough onto cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Bake in center of oven for 8-10 minutes until light golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and cool. Store in airtight container.

*Brown Rice Flour Mix

2 cups brown rice flour

2/3 cup potato starch

1/3 cup tapioca flour

These are delicious and you can't tell they are gluten free. Gluten-Free Baking Classics is a great cookbook and helped me cook things for my daughter that I didn't think she would be able to ever have again.

 

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bars

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
• 15oz can pumpkin
• 1 cup rice flour (I used super fine brown rice flour from Authentic Foods)
• 1 teaspoon xantham gum
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. In a seperate bowl, stir together the rice flour, cornstarch, xantham gum, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13x9 baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

Cream Cheese Icing

• 1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 3/4 to 4 cups confectioners sugar

For frosting, in a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Gradually beat in enough confectioners sugar to achieve the desired consistency.

These are super yummy and did not last long in my house!

Let me know if you make them and if you like them as much as we did.

How I'm Managing

It will be 2 years in November when I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Over time I have tried different medications, looking for that magic fix. You know what I mean, like what the Lyrica commercials show. Take this pill and you can garden again. And maybe for some people it does work but in my many conversations with my support group on Twitter, most of us have had side effects that did not make taking it worth it.

I started out on Lyrica and Ultram (tramadol) as well as an antidepressant. After several months and more than several pounds later, I weaned off Lyrica and just stayed with the Ultram. I developed irritable bowel syndrome, actually IBS-C. I became so ill that I had to do a massive clean out if you will (sorry, TMI) and then I started Amitiza. Amitiza worked very well but gave me horrible headaches but I felt the headaches were worth the relief I had.

My pain was progressively getting worse, I tried muscle relaxers along with the Ultram. And they worked on the low pain days which were getting farther and farther apart. I could barely function, I was getting more depressed so back to the doctor I went asking for stronger pain medication.

I was given Vi*co*din and I still take it. I was also given Fe*nt*anyl patches which completely took my pain away but made me zombie like, unable to think, form sentences or stay awake. Then I started having suicidal thoughts. 

One day I was driving home from work, struggling to stay awake and crying. I came to the conclusion that I was taking medicine that was supposed to be helping me but it wasn't. It was hurting me and it was up to me to change that. Once I was home, I ripped off my patch and decided over time I would taper down the pain meds.

That being said, I am not going to suffer needlessly. I have kids, a job, a home and I want to live life to the best of my ability, not just exist. I still take pain meds, just the Vi*co*din. However I have started with some holistic/natural choices as well. And there are two that I swear by.

First is Corvalen which I read about in the book From Fatigued to Fantastic. I use it 3 times a day, I mix it in natural, organic orange juice. It does help my muscles and I can tell now if I've missed a dose. It's relatively inexpensive on Amazon which is where I buy it.

Last but not least is my favorite thing. Ever. I went to my local health food store asking for something to help with my leg cramps and I was told to try this and I swear to you within 3 days no more leg cramps.

I stopped taking it for a time, why I don't know but now I take it faithfully. Every single day and I'm up to 3 teaspoons a day which I break down to 3 times a day. It helps with my back spasms, it helps with my muscle fatigue and aches and it as it's name says, it has a calming affect. It's a fast acting magnesium that you mix with water. 

And it not only helps with my pain, it has completely rid me of constipation. I no longer take Amitiza because I don't need it. Following a gluten free diet and using the magnesium, my IBS symptoms are gone. You have to go slow with this product, start out with a half a teaspoon or 1 teaspoon for several days and build up until you have very loose stools or diarrhea, once you've hit that point you know you've reached the max your body needs and you need to back it down a little.

I'm also taking vitamins C and E, COQ10, ginseng. I'm also on a quest to eat real food, nothing from a box or a mix and I'm slowly making that transition. I'm learning to listen to my body, eating intuitively. I just feel like my body needs love and caring, something I've never shown it before.

Now if you're my friend on Twitter (waving hi) you know that I have my down days for sure. Some days the pain totally wins but my outlook is better. I know I have to have the bad days to appreciate the good. I just have to persevere, put one foot in front of the other and hold on.

Once I get the hang of this blog thing, I will post the books I have read and the ones I'm currently reading. Like we discussed on Twitter last night, I could be 2 months getting through one book, thanks to good ole fibro fog but I promise to pass on what I learn and where you should go to learn it too.

And just so you know, I am not a spokesperson for any of the products I talked about here. I'm just a regular girl trying to get well. Take what you like and leave the rest.