Day 23: Reinvent the wheel

If you're someone who lives with allergies this is something you will find yourself doing frequently.  Change a little of this for that and you have a new version of your favorite dish.  Disclaimer: Don't set your expectations to high because it may not taste exactly how you remember.  I absolutely love coconut oil, but I remember the first time I used it.  My stir fry was a little sweeter than I anticipated; however completely scrumptious.

For my breakfast today I had my usual green smoothie, but I was craving coffee!!  So to "reinvent" my beloved Starbucks drink and have a healthy breakfast; I had some left over black coffee from the day before and added a little to my smoothie. Double yum!!  Not exactly my favorite coffee drink in the world but a very close second. Today for my lunch I have leftovers from last night!  And yes I am super excited about my lunch!!  My hubby made our usual stir fry with a wheat/gluten free soy sauce and used quinoa instead of rice.  It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

With a little effort and creativity you can enjoy similar versions of things you once loved.  I will admit that some of them won't turn out the way you remember or even like, but keep trying because when you find those that rock your socks off; hold on to them!!  As time goes by on your new diet your taste buds will begin to change.  I noticed this right away last year when I started making changes to my diet and my husband pointed out I was a sugar addict.  I quit that cold turkey, gave away my big ole bag of sugar and never looked back.  That has been a little over a year ago and the only sugar you will find on my shelves is coconut palm sugar and grade B maple syrup.  Trust me those don't taste anything like regular sugar and your typical maple syrup because the labels only have one ingredient and are minimally processed. Sweet and simple is something I have learned to appreciate along the way.

Check out my super awesome lunch!!

Day 22: Attitude is everything!

This could not be more true, but it also applies to ALL aspects in your life. For me it makes a huge difference on my outlook for the day. Sometimes all it takes is one little bump in the road and my attitude towards it can make or break my allergen free diet.  On a stressful day I tend to crave those very things that make me so sick.  I'm not sure if its a "comfort food" feeling that I'm craving to help restore some inner peace during a stressful time.  Whatever the reason behind my cravings if my attitude isn't in the right place I cave in every stinking time!

I stumbled upon this blog yesterday and wanted to share it with you.  These are gluten free (GF) people who are sharing how easy it is to go GF.  I do agree once you learn how to read labels it is easy to go GF and dairy free; but its a little more difficult when you are also allergic to the substitutes for the GF diet.  For example, I have been looking for a GF pretzel alternative and so far the ones I have found have rice in them.  Sometimes things like this change my attitude quickly; I mean why does everyone else get to eat pretzels besides me?!  At times it can get overwhelming but I just have to remember to take one day at a time.  You've probably noticed a ton of GF options or labels on products when your shopping now.  Just today I was at the store and found some GF flours that also contained rice; but I'm hopeful that one day I will find rice and corn free products that are also GF.

Ellen Allard is the Gluten Free Diva, and shares her tips for going GF while traveling.  You can also check out others tips on GF living at 30 Days to Easy Gluten-Free Living, hosted by Diane Eblin.  For the entire month of May, Diane has reached out to other fellow GF bloggers who share their tips each day to help others with their transition to a GF diet.  They put a positive light on making this fun and easy!

Day 21: Temptations

We all have them and usually struggle with them. Today I was so excited about my leftover pork and squash. I also made my inflammation tea to help with the Starbucks incident and had a green smoothie for breakfast. I felt prepared for my days meals and was looking forward to them.

When my friend Sandy got back from lunch she told me she "cheated" on her diet today and had Sonic. Hmmmm.....Sonic. I was listening to her describe her little chicken poppers and began imagining myself having some. The weird thing about my food sensitivities is that I have become very good at fantasizing about foods I loved. As I started to become hungry I thought I can go there and just have my usual bunless burger. No harm right? And just like that I had forgotten all about the lunch I was so excited for.

During my lunch break I had to make a choice; give into my temptation or eat my leftovers. Today I chose my leftovers because I'm tired of my tummy hurting and I'm just sick of being sick and tired all the time. It's strange how only eating an allergen twice in 21 days can make you so sick. Not really strange that it made me sick, but the length of time it's taking to recover.

I also wanted to make sure I didn't have any temptations when I got off work. It's usually dinner time and I'm starving. So on my lunch I walked to the grocery store and grabbed some freshly cut berries. Instead of letting my temptations get the best of me I ate my lunch and got some exercise getting a snack for later! This day turned out better than I thought. Sometimes all we need is a little distraction from our temptations and the walk was just what I needed!

Day 20: Country Fried

Today I was feeling crummy after my last episode with a Starbucks coffee.  It was so bad I carried a barf bag with me on my way to work.  No joke.  The longer I avoid things and accidentally ingest them the worse my reactions are getting.  This is helping me not only to identify problem foods I was unaware of but it's also helping me want to avoid these foods.  I'm not saying I'm happy about not having my most favorite drink in the world, but now I know. 

After yesterday's episode I wanted a little comfort food in my life.  I picked up some yellow squash and some pork at the store.  This meal is one of my most favorite childhood meals!  I remember begging my mom to make pork or deer tenderloins with fried squash. I LOVE THIS STUFF!  This time I had to grind up my own buckwheat flour to replace the flour and switch coconut oil for the Crisco my mom would use.  The squash tasted a little sweet with the buckwheat flour, but it was still amazing and the pork, double yum!  I ate my dinner so fast that when I was finished I realized I didn't have a picture to post.  It was so yummy and it made me miss my mom.


I hope that all of you remember mothers day is this weekend!!  I have already got my moms package ready to mail first thing in the morning. 

Day 19: Speed dating

I've never experienced speed dating but if I was to imagine it, I would assume you would know right away this is not a guy you want to spend more than five minutes with.  That being said I'm starting to notice the longer I avoid an allergen food the sooner my reactions show up.  For example, my hubby and I planned a trip to Ikea, we were both super tired and needed a quick pick me up.  He suggested Starbucks and I didn't even think twice!  Stupid mistake...I'm not even sure if a vanilla iced coffee with soy milk has gluten in it, but I'm sure it has corn.  Not even a quarter of the way through my coffee and I was doubled over in pain!!  This happened shortly after I started drinking it.  Usually my reactions are a good forty-five minutes but this time it was like speed dating.  It didn't take me long to figure out the cause and that it didn't agree with me at all.

So it seems as if I will no longer be a fan of iced coffees and I am very sad about this.  I've tried to make some at home and they just don't taste right.  On the bright side I won't be ingesting a ridiculous amount of vanilla syrup and sugar.  I suppose, I could be a little more thankful for more calories being cut from my diet.  On a happier note, today was my weigh in and I lost another 0.70 pounds! 

Just to recap the past 3 weigh ins I've had while writing this blog; first week(I weigh in every Friday or Saturday) I lost 0.70,  second week 0.40, and today 0.70!  That is a total of 1.8 pounds and I've lost 1 inch around my waist as well.  I must say that I'm very excited about that!!  I'm finally on my last 10 pound stretch and I just know its going to happen if I just keep avoiding the foods that make me inflamed and swollen. 

I made my husband step on the Wii Fit just to see how much he weighed (he hasn't weighed himself in over a year) and he lost 19 pounds!!  He doesn't have the issues with food that I do but he has been following my diet.  Not as strict as I have to but he does eat some wheat and dairy on occasion.  I should also mention that he hasn't been working out or anything to get those kind of results either.  It just goes to show you that moderation is more that just counting calories or measuring portion sizes.  Moderation should mean limiting those foods and only having them as a small treat now and then.  I don't get that luxury unfortunately, but for those of you looking to slim down at least you can have a treat as your reward.  Once you see the results from avoiding wheat and dairy you might think your "treat" is actually the steady weight loss. 

Day 18: We all need a tune up

Just came back from my check up and I'm not doing so hot after my "wheat" day.  My response was up to a nine (ten is perfect) two weeks ago and today I was at a four.  One day wrecked my body.  I can't say that I'm surprised, because I haven't been feeling that great since then.  It just goes to show how toxic it is to my body.  One more reason to keep me from cheating!!

To be honest I haven't been eating that great lately, I've been avoiding my top three allergens, but I've been eating a little more fast food than usual.  We all know whether you have food allergies or not fast food is just bad news.  It's full of fillers and god only knows what else.  So this weekend I'm going to have to be proactive and preplan my meals for the week.  I need to eat better so I can be myself again.

When  I'm looking for new ideas or a quick recipes I usually Google the vegan sites since they are dairy free.  Most of them have a gluten free tab as well.  However I usually have to modify them to omit corn and rice.  Below are several sites that I frequent quite often:

Blender Girl ~ This is where I get most of my smoothie recipes from and just toss in some spinach.
Post Punk Kitchen ~ Robin if your reading they have an awesome Buckwheat Pancake recipe!!
Healthy.Happy.Life. ~ They have some good dessert recipes.

Last but certainly not least!!  Is my friend Siegren Johnson, she is a Raw Vegan Chef, and her food is ridiculously amazing!  I have the kindle version of her cookbook, Living Food for Real Life, right now my hubby is making her Jalapeno Taco Meat.  I once took this to work and even the meat eaters couldn't tell the difference!!  Next weekend she is doing a digestive slim down class and my house and I can't wait!  She posts some recipes on her website and offers classes.  If you click on her name, you will see how amazing her skin looks on a Raw diet!! She is absolutely stunning!!  Sorry if I'm making you blush Siegren! 

Without the internet and all of these wonderful people who blog and post their recipes I would probably starve!!  This weekend I will be looking for some new easy recipes to get me back on track and away from the fast food.  It will take more effort and time on my end but will be worth it when I start feeling better again.  I truly believe that the way we feel reflects what we are fueling our bodies with.  Kind of like putting garbage in your pipes everything isn't going to flow smoothly and your going to have to clean them up.  Feeding your body the nutrients it needs will help clear out the garbage and restore balance.

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.

- Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Day 17: Bad relationships

We have all had that one relationship that we thought would last forever, but thankfully didn't.  You know the one that made you say, "What was I thinking?!"  While you were in the relationship you didn't listen to your friends warnings or even care to hear what they had to say.  Everyone was wrong, they just had to be....not him he wouldn't do that to me!!


I've been there, done that, have the t-shirt and I know I'm not alone.  Sometimes our relationship with food is very similar to this scenario.  Everyday I see posts on Facebook from friends who have constant headaches, stomach issues, or their kids are.  It's sad to see those posts day after day and read about the doctors not finding explanation for their problems.  What if the answer was just as simple as evaluating our diets?  I've read that most kids who have tubes put in their ears constantly, have issues with dairy.  Headaches, psoriasis, acne, ear aches, canker sores, can all be cause by food sensitivities.  It's crazy the lengths we are able to go to, just to find a cure for these ailments.  Much like a bad relationship we put ourselves through biopsys, scans, scrape tests, shots, pills and don't forget the side effects.  Why not try to eliminate a few of the most common allergens and see if it helps your ailments?  What do you have to lose?  Your headaches??  

For me this had relieved all of those issues and maybe it could help you.  My dear friend Candi told me last April that she was going vegetarian.  First thought..."Are you nuts?"  But I love this girl to death and decided to be supportive of her, so I listened instead of judging.  I thought it wasn't for me but obviously people haven't died from being vegetarian.  She told me about a book she was reading called The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone.  Then she suggested a movie that she just watched called Food Inc.  These two things changed my perspective on a lot of things!  Instead of pushing off my friend's advice for helping with my allergies and headaches, I listened.

Candi told me that she had just found out she is allergic to dairy and possibly had celiac disease.  I never promised I would join her, I just listened.  Like I said it wasn't for me, but it did make me think deeply when Alicia talked about the allergy shots, pills, acne, psoriasis and how they cleared up on her vegetarian diet.  Then in May I became really ill with a middle ear infection.  This sickness forever changed my body with the course of steroids they put me on.  I haven't been the same since and was ill for a few months before I took Candi's advice and cut it out of my diet as a trial.  What could it hurt right?

The plan was to avoid just dairy for a week.  Seven days is not that long I can make it!  Two days in I was having really bad withdrawals but I wasn't sure if I was feeling better.  I thought this is stupid why am I doing this?  My husband said well lets go eat burritos and then get ice cream if you get sick then you know.  So I got a burrito with tons of sour cream, beans with cheese, and had some ice cream to celebrate!  Within forty five minutes I was having a sneeze attach, followed by a stomach ache, and then finally my stomach was so swollen I looked five months pregnant.  All it took was two days rest from dairy to show me what would really happen once I ingested an allergen.  Surprisingly I was thankful I listened to my friend.

I began to cut out dairy without being tested for allergies, I had enough of a reaction to stop my love affair.  It's funny how you change once you realize how bad your relationship truly is.  I'm still suffering from my wheat affair on Sunday.  Seventeen days into this gluten free experience with only one cheat day and four days later I'm still recovering!  That is the last time I will find the need to indulge, even in a situation where it means I watch everyone else eat.  Candi and I were just talking about how refreshing it is to know we aren't the only ones going through this.  It can feel overwhelming at times but you have to put a support system in place.  Just like a bad breakup YOU WILL experience every emotion possible while detoxing from your allergens.  And once you've made it to the other side you will NEVER look back!