About Sarah Renee

Sarah Renee has been married to her best friend for 8 wonderful years and is a stay-at-home mom to their 3 adorable boys.

In 2009 her kitchen was all shook up when her husband was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Now Sarah imagines she is the gluten free version of America's Test Kitchen as she experiments with gluten free recipes. She posts all the success stories at Rise Above Gluten.

How to Make Homemade Laundry Soap

October 16, 2011 By Sarah Renee

Several years ago my husband introduced a 5 gallon bucket of slime as our new laundry soap. I skeptically said, “Fine- if you make it than I’ll use it, but I don’t have time to make my own soap!”

Today I made yet another batch of this detergent, because long ago I was convinced and took over the job. As I got out my supplies I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to pass on the fun and savings to you!

I did a quick search on amazon today and prices ranged between $0.12-0.34 per load of liquid detergents compared to about $0.02 for the homemade soap. The Simple Dollar did a side by side mustard test using homemade soap and Tide with bleach alternative- the results: both detergents cleaned the same. With a house full of 3 boys we do a LOT of laundry around here, and our pockets appreciate the yearly savings.

Ingredients and Supplies:
1 bar Castile Soap, grated
1 cup Washing Soda (not the same as baking soda)
1/2 cup Borax
5 gallon bucket
Funnel
Empty vinegar jugs (my favorite because they’re tall, slender and fit nicely up in my cupboard.)

You can buy Kirk’s Castile Soap at amazon.com or Lucky Vitamin. You can use Ivory or Fels-Naptha too, I just recommend using something fragrance free.

Grate a bar of soap into a pot and add 4 cups of water.

Melt the soap over medium-high heat, but don’t let the water boil.

Pour the soapy water into a 5 gallon bucket. Add 3 gallons of hot water. Mix in the washing soda and borax. After you stir everything thoroughly then line up your empty bottles. It’s helpful to have someone hold the funnel as you fill each jug 3/4 full. You need to leave room because it must be shaken before each use. We use 1 cup per load in our top load machine. I hope you have fun making your own laundry soap!! It is so easy and saves a lot of money! It took a little convincing from my hubby, but now I won’t ever go back!

Blessings, Sarah Renee

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13 Comments | Filed Under: Homemaking

Do you have Celiac Disease?

September 11, 2011 By Sarah Renee

I first heard of Celiac Disease in the recovery room following my husband’s endoscopy.

He had been complaining that his face and hands tingled, his upper right quadrant hurt, and he had been losing weight that he couldn’t afford to lose. When a person with celiac disease eats gluten, it triggers an autoimmune response. The body attacks itself and destroys normal tissues, in particular the villi in the small intestine. This is what the doctor saw, and what he explained to us in the recovery room.

The more we learn about the disease the more grateful we are that he was diagnosed quickly. A decade ago they thought 1 out of 10,000 Americans had celiac disease, but a new study says the number is really 1 out of 133.

So why does it take an average of 10 years for a person to be diagnosed with celiac disease?

There are over 300 symptoms! Many have severe digestion problems, but others may have no gastrointestinal discomfort at all. Some are even asymptomatic… but here are some possible symptoms one might have:

Abdominal cramps, gas and bloating
Anemia
Autoimmune Thyroid Disease
Dental and bone disorders (such as osteoporosis)
Depression
Diarrhea
General weakness and fatigue
Headaches
Infertility
Insulin-dependent diabetes (juvenile-onset or type 1 diabetes)
Irritability
Joint pain
Mouth sores
Muscle cramps
Rheumatoid arthritis
Skin rash
Stunted growth (in children)
Systemic lupus
Tingling (neuropathy)
Upset Stomach
Weight loss

To make it more difficult for doctors and patients, celiac symptoms can also mimic symptoms of other conditions! Such as Anemia, Crohns disease, gastric ulcers, irritable bowel, parasitic infection, various skin disorders and some nervous conditions.

Celiac disease is not isolated to one gender or age group. It can begin as early as 6 months old (whenever the child is exposed to gluten). The most common symptoms in children are diarrhea, poor appetite, a bloated or painful belly, weight loss or difficulty gaining weight. Other symptoms could be stunted growth, iron deficiency anemia, a skin rash, or tooth changes. Children with this disease may experience spontaneous remissions and later in adulthood it is reactivated by stress such as pregnancy or surgery.

For Chicago area residents, The University of Chicago has a free blood screening October 15, 2011 8:30 AM until Noon (Advanced registration required; open Aug 15th). http://www.celiacdisease.net/ check their website for more information. They say 97% of celiacs are undiagnosed.

If you’re related to someone with celiac disease or recognize the symptoms in yourself or your children than ask your doctor about a blood test. Doctors recommend you get tested before you experiment with a gluten free diet because going off gluten will alter your test results. If celiac disease remains untreated, it increases the risk of developing other autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, thyroid disease, cancer, and other complications from malabsorption. Even if there is no immediate reaction the body is being damaged.

One simple blood test could change your life or the life of your child!!

4 Comments | Filed Under: Cancer, Gluten Free Tagged With: Celiac Disease, Gluten Free, infertility

The Gluten Free Kitchen

August 28, 2011 By Sarah Renee

I was making tacos the night we received the call confirming my husband’s celiac disease.

The only cure for this disease is a gluten free diet. He read the taco seasoning label and said, “I can’t have this.” I said no problem– I’ll make it from scratch. I browned more meat and was mixing my spices when out of the corner of my eye I saw him reading more labels. I cringed as he said, “I can’t have this either.” I began to panic. What could I make that he could eat??

Suddenly “gluten free” felt overwhelming, and suddenly I had 2lbs of taco meat to eat by myself!

The next day we emptied the pantry and created a pile of food to give away. We scrubbed down the shelves and starting doing our research. We contacted every company that didn’t write “gluten free” on the product, because foods can be processed in a contaminated facility, or they may not disclose gluten on the label. Once we got the pantry restocked it felt like a fresh start and I started Googling recipes.

The grieving process took me by surprise. I was shocked to find out it only takes 20 parts per million (smaller than a crumb) to contaminate a Celiac. We couldn’t go to our favorite restaurants, or grab convenient food on the run. The first time I tried to kiss his lips he quickly turned and gave me his cheek… and I found even my lips can be contaminated. All these things caught me off guard emotionally and sent me to tears.

During this time he went on an elimination diet in order to heal his body from the intestinal damage, which cut out almost every ingredient in my kitchen comfort zone. I was angry at my husband for making my life harder. I threw myself pity parties everyday because I had babies crying at my feet for attention while I was altering recipes and trying to make food that would be appetizing. Unfortunately for everyone, that took a LONG time! Through my husband’s illness God revealed some of my character flaws that weren’t pretty, but we have the hope of change because of what Christ did for us on the cross.

As I began changing my attitude towards our situation I realized I couldn’t do this on my own. Finding the local gluten free support group was a very helpful resource. No matter what your struggle, finding people that have been down the same path will provide comfort and guidance. So if you’re just starting your gluten free journey take a deep breath. Start your gluten free kitchen, be aware of the grieving process and find people who’ve been living with food allergies who can help. Then just Try, Try and Try Again! It can be done, and with God’s help it can be done well!

Every kitchen has it’s own issues… whether it’s dealing with a picky eater, a family member with a food allergy, or cooking healthy meals on a budget. Whatever your struggle, realize that by supporting your family you’re reflecting God’s love and that is your highest goal!