Life

I Surrender

February 28, 2012

I surrender to food allergies. 

After 23 years of eating what I want (usually, except dairy) I have decided to wave the white flag and say goodbye to delicious foods for the next little bit.

{Like this homemade Gnocchi (Though, it is made of almost all potato..I’m sure It would be fine..)}

{And these delcious meatballs}

This month of eats has been bland. Very, very bland. As I’ve mentioned before, here and here, I have dealt with random food allergies for the past while. I found out about 7 years ago that I had a dairy allergy, and a peanut allergy, among other random not as important allergies such as raw carrots? Such a thing exists? So, I had been quite good at not eating foods such as eggs since they made me rather nauseous ( a word I have spelt so many times that I now know the correct spelling without auto-correct. It’s the little triumphs ) and as of 2010 I completely gave up milk. Something that was not so hard, as I really did not drink it religiously.

When I was younger, as are most children, I was forced to have Milk at every meal making sure I would drink the entire glass. As I got older I really only drank it with cereal. And, after months of feeling sick after breakfast, I finally gave it it up. I did OK without cereal, not venturing into dairy-alternatives such as rice or soy or almond milk for quite a bit. I switched to my beloved oatmeal and was content. I tried Almond milk for the first time and really quite liked it. It is my go-to for cereal, smoothies and sometimes baking. I don’t really drink a glass on its own, except maybe for dunking cookies.

So, after a while of feeling not-so-great after many of my meals I decided I had better go back to the doctor and figure it out. I waited almost six months to see the specialist and found some answers.

In order to de-bunk my allergies I was put on an ‘Allergy Elimination Diet,’ which, if you follow me on Twitter you will have heard my lamenting about it. When I first saw the list of foods I was ‘allowed’ to eat for the first week my first question was “Where’s the breakfast foods???” Thankfully a friend of mine on twitter messaged me a breakfast idea: Turkey sausages, hash-browns or yams, cranberry sauce. Best breakfast ever. This has become a weekend staple. During the week it’s usually rice krispies with almond milk and a peach cup.

I’ve gotten as creative as I can with the diet so far. My favourite dinners have been a baked yam, cut open like a baked potato with black beans and cranberry sauce, along with turkey breast. My aunt also made me dinner one night, turkey lettuce wraps. So good, and I hadn’t thought about it before.

Some recent eats on the diet:

       

New Allergies so far:

I found out that I have a wheat and corn allergy. Who knew? The doctor said that because my grass allergies are so severe, the highest it can be (and I know, having suffered all my life during spring/summer with hay-fever and severely red and watery eyes) that this affected the wheat and corn allergies, as they come from the same family. After the day of ‘introducing’ this food group I definitely reacted and am now consciously avoiding them. It is so not worth the pain and stomach issues. This one is going to be tough, as wheat and corn are a common filler in many foods.

I also had the blood work done to find out about Celiac Disease. Now, I’m not sure that I do have it, but my doctor said it wouldn’t hurt to find out just to be sure. So I should know the results at the end of the week. **update, i do not have celiac, just a severe wheat and corn allergy, related to my extreme grass allergy (spring/summer is my allergy nemesis) **

So, for now I’m going to try keeping up with the diet and figure out what triggers my stomach issues and which foods I should be avoiding. I gotta say, after the first week and a half of being on the diet I felt better than I had in months. No stomach pain, no complaining to Adam after we eat that “I don’t feel good,” and just feeling overall better.

The whole getting-my-wisdom-teeth-out thing put a damper in the diet, while I consumed too many pudding cups than any human should. Also, more mashed potatoes than normal.

I’m trying to get back on track and ready to introduce the next food group. Hopefully it will be more veggies and fruits.

Now, how might a girl who love to Bake and Cook all the time go about not eating/cooking delicious foods? Well, thankfully I still have this guy.

{Waiting outside the delivery room for our new niece to be born! Adam’s sister gave birth last week!}

I make him foods I can’t eat, Like coffee ice cream. An entire batch of coffee ice cream, all for himself (I might have stolen a tiny spoonful) If’ that’s not true love I don’t know what is.

Adam, unlike myself, is still able to eat everything. So I usually will make two dinners, one for me and one for him. The base is the same, but I’ll add other veggies or carbs etc for his plate. And I also still love cooking and baking for others.

In Happier news, our little niece is one week old! And super fashionable thanks to me! 😉

Tomorrow I am bringing a ‘Baby Meal’ over to Adam’s sister and her husband so they don’t have to worry about dinner, along with dessert of course. After reading Fitnessista’s baby meals (history here) she received after giving birth I was inspired to create one! I’m making this Coconut Shrimp Curry which I have made in the past (when I could eat) which is downright amazing.

I love to cook. Even if I’m not the one eating it. I have a serious addiction when it comes to cooking and baking. So even just preparing and cooking food is fun for me and I get excited planning menus.

So, for now, I surrender to my allergies and will have to suck it up and eat mashed potatoes, yams and peach cups for a little while longer. I’ve eaten about 40 of them so far. No joke. Along with about 5 bags of rice cakes. This from a girl who avidly avoided buying rice and potatoes forever.

Lainey, however, is just fine with my allergy diet. Turkey sausage and ground turkey leftovers? One happy dog.

Have you gone for an allergy test?

Do you have food allergies? Do you find it hard to eat out/cook food around them?

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8 Comments

  • Reply gina (fitnessista) February 28, 2012 at 7:51 PM

    congratulations to your sis-in-law! how exciting to have a niece 🙂 and they will LOVE the baby meal
    xoxo

    • Reply Alicia February 29, 2012 at 3:11 PM

      Thanks Gina!

  • Reply Auntie Heas February 28, 2012 at 8:41 PM

    Poor Baby… I see you made lettuce wraps! and the Onezie is super cute!!

  • Reply Andrea February 28, 2012 at 10:18 PM

    Love It!! and the picture of Poops

  • Reply Carrie Purchase February 29, 2012 at 11:56 AM

    I feel your pain- I am semi-lactose intolerant and Im allergic to avocados and flaxseeds

    • Reply Alicia February 29, 2012 at 3:12 PM

      Carrie: Avocados! I didn’t think such an allergy could exist. I kept telling Adam that “you can’t be allergic to (insert random food here)” for every food I wanted to eat haha. He would say “Yes you can!” I guess it’s true!

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  • Reply Two Ingredient Pancakes – Gluten Free, Dairy Free, 100% Natural » Bakeaholic October 26, 2012 at 12:55 PM

    […] When I found out I had more food allergies I knew I would have to give up a lot of my favourite foods. However, I am truly amazed at how well I feel now. I felt SICK all the time before. Adam would constantly complain that I said “my stomach hurts” after almost every meal. That of course wasn’t helping me in any way, and it put a damper on events or nights out. I had no idea what was going on with my stomach. Throughout high school and the years after, I remember eating a bowl of cereal for breakfast, Special K (a “healthy” option then, now I know of better ones), with Milk (before I realized I had a dairy allergy). I remember feeling uncomfortably bloated, and pain in my abdomen following breakfast. Not a great start to the day. Now, after dealing with and finding out all of my lovely food allergies I know better, and have completely changed my eating habits to reflect a healthier happier life, and belly. […]

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