Spice Up Old Favorites!

I am often asked, what do you eat when you're allergic to everything?  First of all, I am not allergic to everything.  I do have challenging food intolerances and so does my daughter (just different ones.)  Our food intolerances are not anaphylactic.  Our food reactions do not come at a rapid pace and are not at a quantity that can cause death, therefore it is not considered an allergy. For Lana, her food allergies aggravate her eczema.  An antihistamine, like Benadryl® is usually a quick fix.  I like the dye-free version of an antihistamine, as my daughter has a reaction to red-dye contained in food or medicinal products. I have only found the dye-free in the liquid children's product.

Back to what do I eat?  Soy and egg intolerances are the main culprits for me.  The nightshade foods (tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers, to name a few) are my daughter's main challenge, and then there is chocolate and dairy.  The chocolate intolerance is the most difficult for her.  At nine years of age, the benefits of a life without chocolate is very difficult to comprehend.  And for me, most chocolates have soy. Soy is used as an emulsifier in chocolate.  Therefore, because these ingredients are in almost everything, the majority of processed foods are ruled out.

I remember, in not the too distant past, I would dread grocery shopping.  I felt crippled, adjusting to the changes I had to make.  I like to cook, but making everything from scratch, I thought, would be time-consuming.  I've mentioned this before... I do not know when soy became a staple ingredient in our food source but it is now.  It is in so many processed foods, from boxed items to soups.  When I was growing up, I don't think companies like Campbell's® Soup contained soy.  My mother used Campbell's® all the time in cooking, and so did I.  Nowadays, I can no longer use this product.

I have truly had to go back  to basics.  In this way, I know what is in my food.  It can be fun being a mad-scientist in the kitchen.  Some you win and some, well not so successful.  However, that is how you learn.  So spicing up favorites like oatmeal can be fun!  (See my soy-free, egg-free and dairy-free recipe page.)