Miracle Cure and a rice sweetened condensed milk.

So...I finally bit the bullet and bought some McArthur Complete Skincare cream while not cheap at $49.95AUD it has been promoted on current affair programmes in Australia and receiving glowing testimonial after glowing testimonial. My son's eczema gives him so much grief that hubby and I have finally decided to bite the bullet and fight this battle head on.

While my gorgeous boy has never once complained about his eczema and takes it in his stride it breaks my heart to see complete strangers give him concerned looks when his face is covered in red marks. We have invested in a quality vacuum cleaner, bought a cotton dust mite mattress cover which completely encompasses the mattress and given him weekly diluted bleach baths to fight staph. infection. If his eczema doesn't show some improvement after all of that I'm not sure where to turn next.

My next step is to note the progress his eczema shows here on this blog. Today was day one and I will keep it going for 2 weeks to give it ample opportunity to make a positive difference on his skin. For those interested here is a list of the ingredients: Carica papaya, Aqua (Water), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Simmondsia chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Coco-Caprylate, Magnesium Aluminium Silicate, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Lavender officinalis, Lavendula angustifola x latifolia, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Gluconolactone, Xanthan Gum, Glyceryl Caprylate, Beeswax (Cera Alba), Sodium Citrate, Sodium Benzoate, Carrageenan, Citric Acid.
Contains natural ingredients and preservatives. Contains no added parabens or added sulphates.

What appealed to me about this particular product was the fact that it is made on a different line from McArthur's other products, one of which contains olive oil and the other a nut oil, neither of which we can use on my son's skin due to his allergies. So wish us luck on this journey and keep your fingers crossed we see some improvements!



Rice sweetened condensed milk

3 cups rice milk
2 cups sugar, white (I used brown)
3 tablespoons pure cornflour
1 teaspoon vanilla
Simmer milk, vanilla and sugar in saucepan, stir constantly for 20 minutes.
Combine cornflour and a little cold water and mix into the milk mixture, stir slowly until mixture returns to boil.
Simmer for 5 minutes.
Place in sterilised jars in fridge and use as required.

If it doesn't thicken after 5 minutes reduce the heat leave it in the pan and reduced it down until it becomes more syrupy.

I will post a lollycake recipe in my next blog.

There but for the grace of God go I

I heard some dreadful news today and I can honestly say that stories like these cut close to the bone these days. A young girl died at her school from an allergic reaction, feel free to read more here. My heart goes out to her family and friends as no child should ever die at school. Actually, if I had my way no child would ever die, I personally feel that reaching adulthood should be a given. To quote inaccurately from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy "No parent should ever have to bury their child."

I suppose in my case I feel this twice over as my parents had a daughter before I who they lost before she reached one year of age and the grief that stayed with my mother for the rest of her days was immeasurable. She never said a word to us about it but she would take herself into her room on my sister's birthday every year and just have some time to herself. She blamed herself for the loss of her daughter for the rest of her life and I find this devastating. No one should have to go through that.

What makes me even sadder about the loss of this little girl is that the blame game has already started. Naturally the parents have questions about what went wrong, but instead of getting those answers there is a undercurrent of blame being placed at the parent's feet. I don't know all the ins and outs, I don't even live in the same country as this little girl, but the one thing I know in my heart of hearts, something I can say unequivocally is that my husband and I take better care of our children than anyone else. I can say this because I am also a teacher and while I cared about those students in my care, the feelings I had for them are completely over shadowed by the love and care I display for my own children. So don't go blaming the parents of this child because I can guarantee you nobody and nothing can make them feel any worse than they already do. What ifs will be thought about from dawn til dawn and wounds will run deeper than any that have been before. Instead show them support, love and empathy. Walk a mile in their shoes.

Also learn from this devastating situation. Talk about it openly with others, share strategies with parents whose children don't have food allergies. WE as the adults are advocates for our children and no matter how many eyes are rolled, faces are pulled behind our backs or battles we have to face there will be people who are there to support us, who want to learn more and who will champion our cause as well. Please speak up and out for the little people who so often don't have the words to say it themselves. And last but not least hug your wee ones a bit closer to you tonight because there but for the grace of God...

Facebook

I can't believe I was saying it was hot in my last blog. Just two days ago we were almost hitting 40 degrees. I'm not complaining though, although it is nice to have a far cooler day today with a lovely breeze.

Christmas and New years have been and gone and I have been completely preoccupied so the blogging has taken a back seat. I must get back into it though as I have a couple of great ideas up my sleeve and some recipes that have been very successful so am busting to share them with you.

I am completely addicted to Facebook. So that will also have to take some of the blame for why I have been so slack with the blogging. I managed to break my addiction there for a while but I have met some great people on there and the support group for allergies is second to none. They have helped me stay relatively sane during this whole allergy journey and there are a great number of knowledgeable people on there who share their ideas, opinions and experiences with a sense of humour and a concern for all involved. It is through Facebook (and my local library) that I have managed to gather a great variety of recipe ideas and names of companies who cater for those of us with allergies.

I won't lie, not all of my trials with recipes are a success but if you don't try you never know. My first Gingerbread house experience was one such failure. I took it into my head that making a gingerbread house would be a great idea for the kids so went out and invested in a gingerbread cutter kit. I'm not a great one for following instructions and in this case I should have as I made the walls using the roof cutter and by the time I realised my mistake I was well and truly over making ginger bread anything ( the 4 batches of gingerbread men probably didn't help in this circumstance). So the house was doomed to failure. The kids didn't care, they decorated away and ate to their hearts galore. In fact I think it was great fun for them and I have committed myself to doing it all over again next year. Stupidly threatening to compete with some friends whose houses are all architectural extravaganzas compared to mine damn my competitive nature!

I'm disappointed I didn't make brandy snaps this Christmas with coconut cream (with a touch of vanilla) but I may make them for a special dessert and surprise the family. The brandy snap recipe is in fact very similar to the gingerbread recipe, perhaps that's why I lacked the desire. If you would like to give it a go check out the recipe.


Gluten Free, egg free and dairy free brandy snaps

70g rice bran oil
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup golden syrup
1/2 cup Orgran Multipurpose gluten free flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger

Directions

Make the brandy snap dough the day before you need it. Store in the fridge.
Place butter, syrup and sugar in pan over low/medium heat until butter is melted. Stir.
Add flour and ginger.

Preheat oven to 180°C.
Line baking trays with nonstick paper.
Place 3 teaspoon scoops on each tray leave space between as they do spread out.
Bake 5 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from oven; let stand for 1 minute.
Wrap around large wooden spoon handle till set.
Store in an air-tight container with layers of baking paper between.

Serve with coconut/vanilla whipped cream. Divine!!!