Friday

March 2013

Potential Desensitization to Food Allergies?

Today I read an outstanding and in-depth article regarding severe food allergies and the prospect of desensitization. I recommended this reading to everyone, as it’s something we should all know about. A big thanks to my sister for sharing this article with me in the New York Times entitled, “The Allergy Buster, Can a Radical New Treatment Save Children with Severe Allergies?” This article covers everything from desensitization to food allergens to potential causes of the stark rise in food allergies today. Reading this was very personal and close to home for me, as I can totally relate to the stories of these children and the fear aspect of living with intense food allergies. I’m quite lucky to have my most severe allergies as an adult and not as a small child. I’m so glad to see that there’s hope of it getting better for those of us with life threatening cases, especially children, who often cannot handle living with these problems on their own. Here’s an interesting quote from the article regarding some evidence for the recent spike in food allergic youth:

”One focus of Nadeau’s lab is studying whether the toxins found in pollution, pesticides or tobacco smoke damage the genes in ways that make children more likely to have allergies and the intimately related disease of asthma. There is evidence that having a parent or a grandparent who smoked — even if the child was never exposed to smoke — is a risk factor for food allergies, as is living in an urban area with elevated pollution.”

Also the evidence between poor diet during pregnancy and food allergy risk is not surprising to me. What do you all think of this touching article? It really hit home for me as I’m sure it will for others. But it really leaves me hopeful for the future.

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Sunday

June 2012

Living with Food Allergies: Overcoming Challenges

Since going Gluten-free over 3 years ago and being highly allergic to soy, peanuts, and legumes for one year, I’d had my fair share of ups and downs. I know most people dealing with multiple food allergies have probably at one point dealt with many of the following things:

People telling you (directly or indirectly) that they think you’re limited or “damaged goods” due to your strange immune system.
Strangers commenting on your weight or body in a negative light.
Misunderstandings about what you can and can’t eat, and others seeing you as difficult due to your limited diet.
Feeling alone or isolated from people, close and not so close, that don’t fully understand your situation or refuse to acknowledge it.
Struggling with safe food choices and keeping a balanced diet despite numerous restrictions.
Self loathing or feeling inadequate due to being different with food allergies.
Frustration on not being able to eat what everyone else does.
Depression/Anxiety over your permanent situation.
Feeling the need to apologize to others for your special diet or food allergies.

At first, I had a hard time grappling with the changes that had been shoved into my life without my consent. I felt myself asking questions like, “Why me?” or “How am I going to overcome this without losing myself?”. The truth is, all of the above have come to be great and priceless blessings, even if it felt like the absolute opposite at the start.

Using these obstacles as stepping stones to building yourself back up after the fall takes patience and practice, but will ultimately make you stronger and more resilient than anyone or anything aiming these negative energies your way. Some of my best days have been laughing in the face of what seemed to be impossible to live with. I am constantly surrounded by food I cannot eat everywhere I go, but that doesn’t mean my attitude needs to be sour. Let your light shine brighter and learn to love what you do have. Here’s some of the many things I’m thankful for and that have taught me to embrace my radiant self, no matter what’s testing me that day:

Precious and delicious food that I can eat
Learning to be my own gourmet chef and rock it out in the kitchen whenever I have a craving (waaay cheaper, healthier, and more fun than a few rounds at a run of the mill restaurant).
My support system: Family is forever and the ones you can trust to just “be there” truly shine with you through the challenges making you realize your full potential and grace.
The power of nature, nourishing the body, mind, and spirit, and keeping life simple.
A positive outlook changes your life, and no one can take away your own powerful thoughts.
Organic, pure, and real food.
Small steps and victories that reaffirm you are capable of anything you focus on overcoming.
How small and big my life seems at the same time when I look at the sky.
Others negativity ultimately becomes my strength.
Love. Pure and Simple.

That list could go on probably forever, but you get the idea. Overcoming challenges from living with special diets or food allergies can be difficult, there’s no question about that. It’s what you do with the opportunity that’s knocking. Let your little light shine and be authentically you. You don’t ever have to apologize for that. You are strong, beautiful, and you are the one that’s in control. What will you do with your blessings today?

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Wednesday

May 2012

Allergic to the News?

This is news to me. According to this article, almost all newspapers printed in the U.S. now use Soy based ink. Luckily, I usually do my news reading online these days. At first I thought it was shocking that one of the top 8 allergens was chosen to base such a large market but quickly realized that it’s all about the money–not the safety of the few million who might die from reading the paper. The only other place I’ve heard this mentioned was from a tour of a newspaper archival company that regularly handled newspapers and thought it was an interesting fact to share.

Beware this label:

I doubt you’ll be biting into the newspaper very often to go along with your morning cup of joe, unless of course you’re a goat or a giraffe. Or my dog. But to be honest, I find myself still fearful of this “soy-ink” as substances you touch or put on your skin are absorbed through your skin into your body.

What do you think?

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Wednesday

April 2012

Healing from a Reaction: Liquid Lunch

Occasionally, one of my allergens slips through the cracks and finds it’s way into my system despite my precautions. Today was one of those days, complete with a lump in the throat and difficult breathing/swallowing. I’m still trying to track down the culprit, but whatever it was, it was certainly of the “Soy” persuasion.

Whenever I have a strong reaction or accidental gluten-ing, I try to clear out my system as fast as possible. I load up on easily digested foods and nutrient heavy smoothies. Today’s reaction called for something easy to swallow, so I opted for a powerful “liquid lunch” with a healing veggie smoothie. It tasted like a delicious bloody mary, sans the alcohol of course.

Healing Smoothie Recipe

1 cucumber
1 roma tomato
1 handful of green leafy lettuce
1 handful of kale
1/2 cup of bell pepper
2 cloves of fresh garlic
Cayenne pepper to taste (I use a lot to cleanse my body)
2 cups cold filtered water
Optional–ice cubes

Mix everything in a high speed blender and enjoy it right after for the most nutrition. You could even add some protein powder to take it a little further.

Trusted Loratadine (Cheaper than Claritin and works just as well when you don’t want to take another Benadryl).

What are your tips and tricks for bouncing back after an Allergic Reaction?

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Tuesday

March 2012

Honey & Cinnamon Almond Biscuits (Gluten-free)

Our afternoon has been productive and this was the perfect way to relax. We founds ourselves having an afternoon tea-time with tasty sweet almond biscuits with cinnamon and honey. There was nothing proper and stuffy about it though, as we gobbled these tasty morsels up and dabbed some extra honey on top.

I was inspired by a recipe posted on Roost blog (which is one of my favorites on the blog roll) but I couldn’t help but tweak the recipe to cater to my own taste buds–which are cinnamon junkies. Not enough to perform the spoonful of cinnamon challenge mind you, but enough to put it in a ridiculous amount of baked goods. Cinnamon makes everything just a little warmer and adds that little spark.

I used my homemade blanched almond flour for this recipe and it worked beautifully. I talk about how to make it in a previous post here, along with unblanched almond flour. For a less dense and lighter biscuit, I recommend using the blanched almond flour (no almond skins).

Biscuit drops before the oven.

Warm and golden after the bake. Ready to devour.

Our afternoon break was perfect. Here’s the recipe I used:

Honey & Cinnamon Almond Biscuits (Free of: Wheat, Gluten, Soy, Yeast, Corn, Peanuts, and Milk {casein}).

2 1/2 cups almond flour (blanched)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon (I probably used more since I love cinnamon).
a sprinkle of fresh lemon juice
2 soy free eggs
1/4 olive oil
1/4 raw local honey (We love Raw Michigan Honey!)

Preheat oven to about 350 degrees (will vary depending on ovens).

Combine dry ingredients together. Separately, combine the wet ingredients and stir well. Incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix well. I contemplated adding some vanilla extract, but decided I would try that another day. Place 8 equal spoonfuls on a baking dish or sheet that has been well greased (some prefer parchment paper, but I’ve never used it myself). Bake for approximately 20 minutes. I baked mine for about 18. Drizzle a little extra honey on top and serve after cooling a bit.

These babies are surprisingly filling–and low carbohydrate. Great for those who are on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet for medical reasons. Once again, thanks to Coco at Roost blog for the inspiration.

What’s your favorite baked good to make gluten free or with almond flour?

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