Thread: Newest Allergies

Just got back from seeing my naturopath and he tested me for a bunch of new allergies... On top of what I already have allergies to, now I can add wheat/gluten, milk and corn (this one seems weird to me) to the list. Crap.
Oh well, I guess on the up side of things, I'm bound to lose weight... because I won't be able to eat anything.

Don't think of it as being limited, think of it as an opportunity to explore new foods and new ways of cooking. I cannot have gluten and choose not to have milk and I have eaten better since removing these items from my diet then I ever did before. Almost 10 years ago when I changed my diet there were few alternative options on the market but nowadays with more and more people developing food allergies (or possibly because we are just getting better at diagnosing them) there are many options on the market. I'm not sure what your current allergies are, but here are some of my suggestions. Cows milk is easy to replace since there are many excellent brands now producing soy, almond, rice, and coconut milks. I personally really enjoy Silk and So Delicious brands. For ice cream I think that coconut milk ice cream made by Coconut Bliss and So Delicious/Purely Decadent are the best on the market, but there are several brands (So Delicious again as well as Tofutti) making delicious soy ice cream as well. Gluten allergies take some experimenting to master but the best place to start if with a gluten free cookbook. I really like the Flying Apron's baking book which also has some dinner recipes. To get GF flours a good place to start is Bob's Red Mill. For cookie cravings I suggest the Cherrybrook baking mixes. I do eat corn though, so I can't be very helpful with that one, sorry. I hope this helps though!

Mintaka, do you (or anyone else reading this) have any good recipes for gluten free bread? I make all our own bread (well, I used to I guess) and I'd like to make some I can eat too. Not too easy to find gluten free breads in stores, and the one attempt I made at making a loaf produced something so hard it was probably heavier than dark matter.

I don't know any bread recipes but I just want to say there are so many incredibly yummy desserts out there without those ingredients. The So Delicious ice creams Mintaka mentioned are to die for and I make a Hawaiian style butter mochi that is divine and incredibly fattening. You may not lose as much weight as you think if you aren't careful. ;)

When my kids turned out to have dairy allergies one of my standard fall backs was stirfry. You can buy wheat free soy sauces and it's so easy to make. Rice noodles in soups are divine. I also would make jambalaya out of whatever I have available in my cupboard, chicken broth, and diced tomatoes. Sooo good. You can even do a fried breading using alternate flours.

Try picking up some Korean, Japanese, or Chinese cookbooks for new idea's. Cajun food is another great source. Any region that cooks without much dairy and eats a lot of rice will be a great help to you and won't require much if any tweaking of their recipes.


PS. I found this on google if it will help: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.co...ree-bread.html

Just went to Gluten Free Fridays at Whole Foods in NY and tried more products by Joan's, which I find delicious. Unfortunately they only ship within US, but I am mentioning it for anybody in the US. http://www.gfgreatbakes.com/
After 6 months on a GF diet I feel wonderful, and yes the weight comes off ..... but just remember that your intestines are now able to absorb more calories. I also like Udi's and Pamela's http://www.pamelasproducts.com/, Udisglutenfree.com, livingwithout.com, foodshouldtastegood.com, celiacchicks.com, glutenfreegirl.com. Betty Crocker has brownie and cake mixes, & Bisquick GF. The bread makers are expensive but do require experimentation and a mixture of flours - remember to keep contamination issues in mind (even in your pots for boiling rice pasta). If you stick to "real" foods as opposed to packaged and processed foods it just makes life easier. The cravings for carbs and sweets goes away. I consider knowledge of a healthier diet to be a blessing and appreciate the wisdom from a naturopathic doc. Good Luck!!

Thanks Ariadne, I'll take a look at that webpage you suggested. And I just had my first piece of gluten free poppy seed loaf at a local coffee shop. But I have to find healthy foods, I don't think I can make my hubby eat cookie sandwiches (though I'm sure my girls would love it).

Lizzie, Thanks for the advice and words of support. I know I can find Udi's here in Victoria, but it's not consistently available. We eat whole foods already, so I'm loathe to get into the packaged stuff now that I'm GF. But I am looking forward to feeling healthy again...
I'm just a few days in and I already am feeling less dead on my feet. Here's hoping I get my energy back now that dairy and gluten are no longer irritating my system.

Supportive thoughts sent. It does get easier and the joy of life returns. Watch out world!

Check out www.elanaspantry.com. She has amazing GF recipes! I'm low carb, not necessarily gluten free, but often the two intersect. I don't know if you have nut allergies, but her recipes are often almond-flour based. She does have a bread recipe, although I haven't tried it. Also check out http://blog.yourlighterside.com. She has a number of GF recipes as well.

I bulk order bread from a bakery in Florida. They are absolutely incredible and my friends and boyfriend (who can have gluten) confirm that their bread is very similar to wheat bread. I tried making my own for a while but it was too much work and I really can't stand the rice bread that is sold in most stores. I can't recommend these people enough: http://www.delandbakery.com/index.htm.
Although the Flying Apron's book has several bread recipes as well. http://www.amazon.com/Flying-Aprons-...7004936&sr=8-1

I'm sorry to hear that! It must be very inconvenient. However, try to look at it as a challenge to expand your horizons: a lot of people think that my veganism is very restricting because there's a good few things I don't eat anymore. It's not restricting to me, it forces me to think about food in new ways and makes me creative.

Now, I only really have vegan resources to offer (never bothered with real cooking before turning veg), but I don't think that's a problem, seeing that you'll be avoiding milk now anyway?

The Post Punk Kitchen has 20 yummy gluten-free recipes. Their cookbooks also have small icons on each recipe that say if it's gluten-free, and a lot of them are. Also, I've recently sent my Australian host mum (who's a celiac) a copy of "Appetite for Reduction" - it's not specifically gluten-free, but has lots and lots of GF recipes.

Otherwise, a few more links I found googling:
http://glutenfreesoyfreevegan.wordpress.com/
http://glutenfreevegan.wordpress.com/
http://www.fatfreevegan.com/gluten-free/index.shtml (huge amount of recipes!)

And if for some reason you don't want to eat vegan food, you can just take these recipes and add some egg or whatever if you want to.

I'm wishing you all the best with your food adventure! You'll be fine, I'm sure