Chocolates and Sweets.....OR Not.

On a holiday immersed in chocolate and sweets, I find myself getting teary-eyed in the candy isle. My challenge, find something with no milk or peanut content.  I could go with the dark chocolate but it's just not what I want! I want the lucious Milk Chocolate covered Peanuts and Truffles! My sweet tooth is disappointed.   Dinner is usually customary with this holiday as well. Forget about going out for dinner! Where would I eat?!?!?

This is forcing me to get a little creative.

Today was my first day at work with my new "diet". It took me a little longer than normal to make lunch today so breakfast was 2 cups of coffee. One of the girls at work brought in candy conversation hearts as a special treat, and it turns out, I can eat those pure sugar lumps of sweet-talk. By lunch I was headed for a small sugar crash :).

Lunch went well.
I had my corn noodles with a nice serving size of chicken in a tomato based sauce.
I also brought a grapefruit and a salad that had onions, avacado, cucumber, and mushrooms.
I made a dressing with squeezed lemon juice, light evoo, and a little lemon pepper spice blend that I found at Homegoods.
Not too bad! I was so very full that I couldn't finish my salad. I'm sure it was because I just bring way too much food. 

Work seemed a little different than normal. I felt really good all day. I'm not sure if I can completely give credit to the new lifestyle but it sure does seem to make a difference.  I woke up feeling a strange sensation in my nose.  I think it's because air is flowing to an area in my nose that has never been opened up before. My sinuses are clearing. I also dont feel fatigue (and i usually do after a full busy day). I'm liking this.  I'll be interesed to see how this evolves.

Dinner tonight! I wanted Thai but am currently a little scared to try to break the language barrier and discuss allergies with the staff. I dont mean that to sounds crule in any way. It just seems like a big hassel on a very busy dining night. No thanks. Thai is known for using rice noodles, but also known for using deadly amounts of peanut oil. I have to be careful. I read my labels carefully and founds this:

It does contain fish and soy. Tonight it works for me! It's just noodles in a sause that you add your own items to. This is nice and all but I still want chocolate! Allergy friendly chocolate is few and far between. This is where I decided to make a little magic.

I found in the baking isle. A replacement chocolate made for.. well baking. The ingredients are cane juice, chocolate liquor, and milk free coco-butter. I melted this and dipped slices of apple in it. Just enough to kill the craving. Im glad this worked. I wasnt pleased watching my previous roommate eat a whole candy bar in front of me!  I'm still in chocolate recovery, and it wasn't nice of him.



He made everything ok by purchasing me flowers.

If i can survive a holiday based around one of my greatest vices, I'll be able to do this!  I'm gaining ground. Happy Valentines Day to me.

"For every ill, there's a pill"

Picture from: bayazidt.wordpress.com

A popular concept in today's medical industry is that all can be cured or treated by a magical pill.

Reoccurring infections?? Anti-biotics.
High cholesterol? Lipitor,   and so on.

So what happens when your body has finally gotten used to these drugs and your still have this sickness. The pills are just treating the symptoms and not the main cause.

An autoimmune sickness is what let my doctor to start looking at my food allergies. Your body literally attacks itself, and unfortunately it's quite common.

Today I focused on my "options".  I think I'm going to be rotating my diet so that my body doesn't start attacking other foods that I eat. I am also starting on a Vitamin C regimen.

"Vitamin C is a general anti-allergy supplement. We experience allergic symptoms when an allergen-antibody complex causes mast cells to release histamine and other allergy-mediating chemicals. Vitamin C helps stabilize mast cells so they are less likely to release these substances." http://www.food-allergy.org/

I reccomend the Adrenal C offered by Eastern States Compounding Pharmacy located in Littleton NH. Visit them at www.easternstatescompounding.com.

I've read over my paperwork that the doctor gave me.  More bad news. Potato starch is a no-no. My beloved pretzels are now officially off limits.  Boooo.  

I needed food. So Breakfast. My coffee with my french vanilla almond creamer.

Breakfast was a 50/50 mix of the crunchy rice and flax cereal with a half cup of vanilla flavored almond milk, and a banana to cover up any unpleasant flavor.  The nutritional benefits are surprisingly amazing. Total outcome= 10% of my daily calories. 7% of my daily fat. No cholesterol and no saturated fat. 8% of my daily sodium. 26% of my daily fiber. 7 and 1/2 grams of protein!  Plus its loaded with tons of vitamins and minerals.

This inspired me to do a little online menu browsing. I had to go to the health food store to find what we had avaiable.  I went to the Healthy Rhino in Littleton, NH.  They have bulk grains and strange things.  I asked a few questions and found a few tasty things.

Sunbutter!!!  Like Peanut butter but made of sunflowers.  Yummy. It's still a nut so it has all the fats and oils but its natural so its good for you!

The other thing is quinoa grain. It isn't related to my allergies at all. It's also easy to cook and has a light flavor that you can mix with almost anything. It's good warm or cold. either in soup, salad, as a side dish with veggies. Not quite crunchy. Oh and it's packed with protein. It's worth trying. 

Unfortunately it doesn't look that appetizing all the time.

I know what it looks like.  It really wasn't that bad though. I mixed it with squash, onions, and mushrooms.

I plan on putting the grain in my salad tomorrow. I'm excited.

The other thing I picked up was Apple butter. I was thinking it would be a spin-off of peanut butter (like sunbutter). However it was just condensed apples... it is like applesause only a little thicker. Just purchase applesause. Sad waste of $3.

Dinner tonight will be a classic steak with a salad side. That requires less effort at this point.  I'm already missing dessert. Tomorrow will focus on finding some sort of sweet or frozen treat.

Welcome to the Jungle

My Journey begins! It'd be easy to cut out just one thing in your diet right??

I've never been so wrong.

Hunting through supermarket turned out to be a nightmare. In a Jungle of food, what can you eat after you get the devastating news of a food allergy? Sometimes finding a replacement for your favorite foods is impossible.  Nothing really tastes like the original that you're used to. It takes the comfort and the mental relaxation out of eating. The items designed to replace allergen-tainted food is almost always disgusting. So whats the point?

Take a little time to read the back of the food labels for 10 items. Almost everything contains peanuts, gluten, milk, eggs, or soy.   From 2008-2010 (With the help of the small gluten free section at our local co-op and Shaw's) I did pretty well staying away from gluten.  That means no bread, no pasta, no crackers, limited snack items, no cake, brownies, some salad dressings, and tons of processed foods. Those were my main food groups that I just cut out.


Things were looking up. I lost 20 pounds easily. Unfortunately only half of my problems were resolved.
It was time to take a food panel allergy test.  So in January of 2011, I went to an ENT and had my blood drawn to get some answers.

I found out my results today.  Feb 11, 2011.  I don't like it.

Sensitivities: Bay leaf, Crab, Dill, Gluten, Sweet Potatoes, Rye, Safflower, Walnut

Allergies: Cheese of all brands in a deadly manor. Cows Milk, Yogurt, Eggs, Haddock, Oats,  White Potatoes, Peas, Peanuts, Sesame, Wheat, and Yeast.

My Jungle Thickens.  Now it really is impossible.  What made to replace Gluten and Wheat is filled with Potatoes and Oils from Peanuts or Sesame. It's certainly a learning experience.

I did some shopping today. It took me almost a hour in the store just reading labels.   All I could keep thinking was- no butter, no mayo, no pizza, no cheese.

I found a few things.  The flavored almond milk is a lifesaver. I don't like almonds,  but I cant live without my coffee creamer, and because this is flavored it doesn't have that nasty neosporin/bean taste.  This has been an acceptable substitution. 

This Earth Balance "butter" however.... tastes fishy!!!  It's oil, and surprise.. its fortified with omega.  No wonder. This needs improvement.

I would like to offer a mixed review about these crunchy cereal-esque products.  I understand the necessity for flax as a nutritional supplement, however I find that it tastes almost identical to a hay/sawdust mixture. My previous roomate thinks it tastes like those little crispy onions on top of casseroles. Either way not the best.  The Rice flavor however is eatable. Tastes like rice crispies but is twice as expensive. Don't waste the cash.

In the salad dressing section there was a small situation. They all contained my new poisons.  If it wasn't gluten, it was sesame, or eggs. After 6 mins or so of looking and reading all the labels. I found this one  to the right -suitable for my purpose. It has a light taste and its not vomit inducing.  This leads me to                     The other Magical thing, Glutino Pretzels!!!!  They are yummy and they are super friendly to allergies.  I would classify them as better than original pretzels. There're two drawback for me.  They contain traces of sesame and they are made from potato starch.  Now my allergy is to white potato so how does potato starch fall on that chart?  I'll have to email my allergy contact to find out!  I'll be sad if I cant eat those.



PASTASSSSS

For those of you who are replacing pasta in your life. I reccomend the Tinkyada bunny pasta. It's a rice  base product that does a good job. It takes some getting used to for sure. I've heard a few bad things about it.  It doesn't reheat well. It's consistancy can be mushy, and if you over cook the pasta it dissolves. The other option is the Mrs Leepers corn pasta. It mimics real pasta a little better but it also takes some getting used to. It is also more expensive but so are most of the allergy replacement foods. (Update 2014- Quinoa pasta is the best, replacement hands down. It doesn't fall apart, is not mushy, and is loaded with nutrients.)

At this point in the grocery store I am exhausted. I just want to be done... and then I hit it.  The cheese isle.  I am devastated. I love cheese. How will I live without it?  There aren't any substitutes that I have found yet for cheese. I'm still searching though.

This makes me feel like a mixed drink.  Of which I can no longer have... but I did make one final purchase. Woodchuck Cider. It's too sweet. Angry Orchard is much better.

I will finish this drink tonight in my sad pouting denile stage. Tomorrow I'll continue on to see what my options are. Boo.