No-No Corn Ingredients List

This is a list I have been working on for awhile.  There are other lists floating around but I wanted a handy list for my family.  Some of these ingredients are not ALWAYS made from corn but often are so they are not safe ingredients unless they specifically state that they are NOT sourced from corn.  These are ingredients which have been present in products to which L has had a reaction. They could be in foods or medicines.  She has an intolerance so her reaction is mostly intestinal/gastric but eventually shows on her skin as well.  Some with an allergy or intolerance can tolerate certain corn products depending on how they are processed but at this point, most don't know without trying the product to see if there is a reaction.

No-No Corn Ingredients List 

• acetic acid
• alcohol
• artificial flavorings
• artificial sweeteners
• ascorbates
• ascorbic acid
• aspartame
• astaxanthin
• baking powder
• barley malt
• bleached flour
• blended sugar
• brown sugar
• calcium citrate
• calcium fumarate
• calcium gluconate
• calcium lactate
• calcium magnesium acetate
• calcium stearate
• calcium stearoyl lactylate
• caramel
• caramel color
• carbonmethylcellulose sodium
• cellulose microcrystalline
• cellulose, methyl
• cellulose, powdered
• cetearyl glucoside
• choline chloride
• citric acid
• citrus cloud emulsion
• cocoglycerides
• confectioners sugar
• corn
• corn alcohol
• corn gluten
• corn extract
• corn glour
• corn oil
• corn starch
• corn sweetener
• corn sugar
• corn syrup
• corn syrup solids
• cornmeal
• cornstarch, cornflour
• crosscarmellose sodium
• cyclodextrin
• DATUM
• decyl glucoside
• decyl polyglucose
• dextrin
• dextrose
• diglycerides
• distilled white vinegar
• drying agent
• erythritol
• ethanol
• ethylcellulose
• ethylene
• ethyl acetate
• ethyl alcohol
• ethyl lactate
• ethyl maltol
• fibersol
• flavorings
• food starch
• fructose
• fumaric acid
• germ
• gluconate
• gluconic acid
• gluconolactone
• glucosamine
• glucose
• glutamate
• gluten
• glycerides
• glycerin
• glycerol
• golden syrup
• grits
• high fructose corn syrup
• hominy
• honey
• hydrolyzed corn/corn protein
• hydrolyzed vegetable protein
• hydroxypropyl methylcellulose
• inositol
• invert syrup/sugar
• iodized salt
• lactate
• lactic acid
• lauryl glucoside
• lecithin
• linoleic acid
• lysine
• magnesium citrate
• magnesium fumarate
• magnesium stearate
• maize
• malic acid
• malonic acid
• malt
• malt syrup
• malt extract
• malted barley
• maltitol
• maltodextrin
• maltol
• maltose
• mannitol
• methyl gluceth
• methyl glucose
• methyl glucoside
• methylcellulose
• microcrystaline cellulose
• modified cellulose gum
• modified corn starch
• modified food starch
• molasses
• monoglycerides
• Monosodium glutamate
• MSG
• natural flavors
• olestra/olean
• polenta
• polydextrose
• polylactic acid
• polysorbates
• polyvinyl acetate
• potassium citrate
• potassium fumarate
• potassium gluconate
• powdered sugar
• pregelatinized starch
• propionic acid
• propylene glycol
• propylene glycol monostearate
• saccharin
• salt
• semolina (unless from wheat only)
• simethicone
• sodium carboxymethylcellulose
• sodium citrate
• sodium erythorbate
• sodium fumarate
• sodium lactate
• sodium starch glycolate
• sodium stearoyl fumrate
• sorbate
• sorbic acid
• sorbitan
• sorbitol
• sorghum
• splenda
• starch 
• stearic acid
• stearoyls
• sucralose
• sugar
• threonine
• tocopherol
• treacle
• triethyl citrate
• unmodified starch
• vanilla
• vanilla extract
• vanillin
• vegetable anything that isn't specific
• vinegar
• vinyl acetate
• vitamin A palmitate
• vitamin C
• vitamin E
• vitamins
• xanthan gum
• xylitol
• yeast/yeast extract
• zea mays
• zein

Natural All Purpose Cleaner

Vinegar and Citrus Peels: All Purpose Cleaner

Ingredients:
Vinegar
Citrus peels (orange, lemon, lime)

Directions:
In a large jar, pour vinegar over citrus peels.  Allow to soak for a week or so.  Pour into a squirt bottle with a little hot/warm water.

I use this to clean counters and appliances mostly but I have also used it on the tile floors.  The citrus helps to deter most insects as well.  The only thing it doesn't seem to keep away is ants.  We still have trouble with ants and can't find anything that keeps them gone.  But the citrus works to keep out spiders and other insects.

I don't have a picture of this.  I never think to take one when I make a new jar.  One of these days, I will remember and add a picture.  This method has been shared all over Pinterest and other social media.  It does work, is easy, and is cheap.  We already use citrus.  Now we just keep the peels in a jar for cleaner.

Homemade Lemonade and Lemonade Syrup

Two posts in one day! What?!  Well, it's rainy and yucky outside.  I haven't even been able to open my pool yet.  It's criminal!  Already four days into June and I can't open my pool!  So, I'm on my computer pulling new recipes and watching L play with her toys.  The house is a wreck because she is bored.  She has pulled out toys from the deepest corners of her toy boxes.  This is a child who does not enjoy just sitting and playing video games like other kids.  She is always on the go go go...  She did mention wanting to try lemonade though.  L?  Wants to try something new?  No way!  So I went and bought some lemons.  She, of course, cannot just have the lemonade at the store.  I have to make it from scratch.  But I already learned how to do this long ago.  So, this morning we squeezed lemons.  She thought that was really cool.  She only wanted to juice one though.  She didn't want to touch the "dirty seeds."  My sensory child...  They were slimy from the juice and pulp.  But she did sit and watch.  It was a good experience for her.  So now I will share the experience with you.  :)

And guess what... I remembered pictures this time!!!

Lemonade Syrup

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (I squeezed about 6 medium lemons for this this morning)
1/2 cup water
1 cup raw organic sugar

Directions:
In a small/medium saucepan, bring lemon juice and water to a boil.  Whisk in sugar.  Make sure you are using non reactive cookware.  I used a silicon coated whisk. Pour into a jar and let cool.  Refrigerate syrup in jar for up to one month.

To make this into lemonade, stir 1 Tablespoon (per 8 oz.) of syrup into a cold glass of water.  Adjust to taste of course.  I find that two tablespoons of syrup in one of my larger glasses of ice water is perfect.

This is what my jar of syrup looks like:

Homemade Body Scrub (Oh, and I'm Back... Again...)

Hello again!  I deleted my last 'I'm back' post because (obviously) I wasn't really back.  I fully intended to be, but you know, life happened.  So... Much... Life...  So first, I will update.  I mostly blog for myself, my family, and my friends.  I hope I can help a few others out there too, but it is primarily for us.  This is basically a catalog of information through our crazy journey.  It all started when I had my own medical struggles and then my daughter had hers too.  Now, I see so many others going through similar struggles.  I hope I can help them too.  I thought about just making the blog completely private so it didn't matter when I updated.  However, I have had so many through my daughter's issues ask me to keep going, that I am going to keep it mostly available for others as well.  However, posts may be sporadic and mostly caught up during summer break.  I am on summer break right now.  My summer breaks aren't really breaks.  I spend a lot of time at professional development and meeting with my team to plan our curriculum for next year.  The rest of the time, I spend planning our year of food and health at home for my family.  If you remember, my daughter cannot have corn.  Corn is in everything.  And I mean EVERYTHING!  I have learned much more about all of that since I posted last so I will try to update on that as I go.  We have also learned more about the delays this has caused for my daughter as well as other possible special needs for her academically.  We are still working on those.  It is a work in progress, but so far, we have had very supportive networks and teachers working with us even though we've had a not so supportive history of doctors.  She fits all of the newer research for learning and food needs.  I am thankful for the teachers, therapists, and specialists who have been so supportive and helpful.  Also, since my last post, I have had surgery and my husband has had a few surgeries.  Crazy, I know.  I had to have a hysterectomy.  Apparently, things were much worse than were showing up in blood tests and ultrasounds but I was in so much pain.  We only did a partial so I still have PCOS to deal with.  It was basically choose the hormone problem I'm used to or the opposite hormone problem.  Ugh!  So I am still fighting with hormones and weight.  Luckily, I've just gone back and forth and not gained all of what I lost back.  I am still smaller than I was when I had L by almost 20 pounds.  Hopefully, now that all of that is done, I can get back on track and keep losing.  J has lost a ton of weight though.  Good for him...  (*insert eye roll here*)  So there is a bit of an update for now.  Here is a recipe that won big as Christmas gifts this year: 

Coconut Body Scrub

Ingredients: 
3/4 cup raw organic sugar

1/2 cup coconut oil

preferred essential oil (optional)

Directions:

There are a few ways you can do this.  On my lower legs and arms, I use the sugar as is.  If I make one for my face and upper legs though, I put the sugar in my Ninja (food processor or blender) to make it a finer grain.  This is a preference though.  First I went ahead and softened the coconut oil just a bit. 10-15 seconds in the microwave is plenty.  You don't want it all liquid.  Mix it with the sugar. I used my hands and a good spatula to do this.  Then, if you want, you can add a few drops of an essential oil.  You can leave it just coconut.  I like this sometimes during the summer because coconut oil on it's own provides some UV protection.  But lavender oil (for relaxation) or lime (to wake you up) is sometimes nice too!  I mix it up.  I love to play with my oils.  Easy peasy!  

I didn't get any pictures of this when I did it at Christmas.  Silly me!  I will try to remember next time.  When I fixed these up for gifts, I just put some in little red ramekins with ribbons around them.  

Homemade Bug Spray

I am very allergic to mosquitoes!  They can make an entire limb swell up.  Then that will leave a bruise underneath for weeks.  It's painful rather than itchy.  BUT, I have never been able to wear bug spray either.  They all give me severe headaches and make my eyes swell up.  I spent a lot of very hot summer days and nights in long sleeves, long pants and boots because of this.  After my daughter was born, I didn't want to risk any of it so I started experimenting with natural, homemade bug sprays.  I've tried many but one worked better than any others.  That is this one.  Some put lavender instead of eucalyptus.  I tried that and still had several bites.  I tried tea tree oil as well.  Tea tree seems to work for ticks but I still had mosquito bites.  After using this spray, my daughter and I had zero, yes I said ZERO bites.  If you follow my blog, you have seen my carpet treatment for fleas.  It uses eucalyptus oil as well.  I believe eucalyptus is just a great bug deterrent.  (FYI, it's also good for clearing sinuses.  Just put a few drops in each corner of your shower before taking a hot, steamy shower.)  I didn't make a fancy bottle for this or anything.  I just bought a little spray bottle from Walmart or Target.

Natural Bug Spray Recipe:

Ingredients:
3.5 ounces Witch Hazel
Equal parts:
       -Lemongrass Oil
       -Eucalyptus Oil
       -Citronella Oil

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a 4 ounce spray bottle.  Shake well before each use.  Spray just like any other bug spray.  Repeat as needed.



I hope it works as well for you as it did for my family!

Canned Green Beans

As my previous post mentioned, I've been canning and freezing several fresh vegetables this summer.  The last post was instructions for canning diced tomatoes.  This one is for canning green beans.  My picky family will almost always eat green beans.  There are so many ways you can season green beans to make them work with your meal flavors.  We like to experiment with them.

Just a note:  You will need a pressure canner for green beans.  I have a pressure canner which doubles and does water bath as well.  If you are truly interested in canning and preserving at home, then it is worth buying one.  They aren't very expensive anymore but they are big so you have to have a decent place to store them.  Now, on to the good stuff.

Ingredients:
Green beans
Water
Salt

Directions:
Break the ends off of the green beans and snap the beans into 1-2 inch pieces.  Rinse the beans.  I have a wonderful large, wire strainer that sits on the sink top.  I set it on the counter and snapped the bean pieces directly into it so it would be easier to rinse them after.
Now it is time to sanitize the jars and lids.  Boil water in a pot to sanitize the bottles and boil water in the canner to sanitize the lids.  Just pour the boiling water into the jars to sanitize and pour it back out when you are ready to put green beans in the jars.  Toss the lids into the canner when the water is boiling to sanitize them.  Remove them after they are in for a few minutes.
In the large pot, boil water to add to the jars after the green beans have been added.
Use the directions for your pressure canner to add the correct amount of water to the canner.  Mine calls for 3 quarts and has a fill line inside the pot.  Bring the water to a boil.
Add green beans to the sanitized jars.  Be sure to leave at least a 1/2 inch of head space.  I usually just fill them up to the threaded part at the top of the jar.  Add 1 tsp. of salt to each jar.  Add boiling water to each jar.  Again, only filling up to the threads.
Use a small rubber spatula to remove the air bubbles from the jars.
Wipe the jar rim of any water and salt.  Any of this left on the rim could prevent a proper seal.  Place a lid on each jar and tighten.  Do not tighten too much at this point but tighten enough so that no water can seep through.
Place the jars into the pressure canner.  Place the lid on the pressure canner and lock down.  Use the 10 pound pressure weight for canning green beans unless you live in a high altitude.  Once the weight starts to jiggle, cook for 25 minutes.
I won't give you complete directions on what to do for pressure canning because it is easier and safer to use the directions from your canner.  The time and pressure weight is the information you need for green beans.  For pressure canning, use the instructions from your canner.

When the timer goes off, your green beans are done.  Let the pressure vent and take your jars out of the canner.  I let them cool for at least 12 hours hours without moving them anywhere and tighten the lids down every few hours until they are cool and won't tighten any further.

My green beans turned out really well.  My mom and I worked together to can diced tomatoes and green beans.  It is much more fun and much easier with a buddy.

Canned Diced Tomatoes

The farmer's markets are swinging around here.  With all of the unseasonable rain we have had this spring and summer, the crops are huge this year.  It is pretty crazy.  We have never had so much rain here all the way into July.  Usually by this time in July, we are seeing 100* weather and our grass is so dry it has turned brown.  We haven't even been under burn bans this year.  Usually, we are under burn bans through most of June and July.  One day, I will be able to have my own, very large vegetable garden.  Until that day, I will be satisfied with locally grown farmer's market and organic produce.  Last weekend we went to the farmer's market and bought fresh tomatoes, green beans, yellow squash and zucchini.  I will write posts about how I processed/preserved each of them.  For this post, I will give directions for canning diced tomatoes.  This was my first time canning tomatoes.  I am slowly learning to can different things.  The tomatoes turned out really yummy.  I plan on canning many more and making some other flavors of diced tomatoes.

Ingredients:

Fresh ripe tomatoes

Fresh lemons

Directions:

Core the tomatoes and gently score a small X, cutting just through the skin, on the bottom of each tomato.  In a large pot, bring some water to boil.  When the water is boiling, put the tomatoes in until the peel starts to peel up at the edges.  Put the tomatoes in an ice bath to stop the cooking.  

In your canner, start water boiling to sanitize the lids and jars.  I sometimes use a tea kettle to boil water to sanitize the jars.  In order to can, you must plan and multi-task or it will take you FOREVER.  

While water is boiling and pieces are sanitizing, you can peel and dice the tomatoes.  Put the cutting board inside a baking sheet with walls so you don't lose any of the juice while dicing tomatoes.  You need the juice for your cans.  This also makes clean up much easier.  Discard the peels.  I used a hand chopper to help with dicing the tomatoes.  But you have to be careful with a hand chopper.  If you chop too many times, you'll end up with mashed tomatoes or tomato sauce instead of diced tomatoes.  Put your diced tomatoes with their juice in a large pot and bring to a low simmer.  The directions I had said to boil for 30 minutes but I didn't cook it for quite so long.  You can tell when to stop the boiling.  The tomatoes start to foam and get very mushy.  They will cook more during canning so you don't want to overcook them now.  

While the tomatoes are simmering, juice the lemons.  All of the instructions I have said to use citric acid or bottled lemon juice.  But, citric acid that you just buy from the store, is usually made with corn ingredients.  And I don't trust bottled lemon juice anymore either unless I know the source for sure.  So I juiced the lemons myself.  Juice several.  It is better to have too much than not enough.  You can always freeze the leftover lemon juice in ice cube trays to use later for marinades and juices.  

Now, ladle the diced tomatoes into the sanitized jars leaving plenty of head space at the top of the jar.  Add 1 Tbsp. of the fresh squeezed lemon juice to every jar of dice tomatoes.  Use a small rubber spatula or chopstick to clear out the air bubbles and mix in the lemon juice.  Tighten the lids and follow the directions for water bath canning in your canner.  They should be in the canner for around 35 minutes.  

After they are out of the canner, I usually tighten the lids every couple of hours for the rest of the day.  

And here is a picture of my lovely canned diced tomatoes: