Food Allergies in your 20's

Food allergies in your 20's is not fair. Not that it's ever fair to be told you can't eat something yummy but here is my reason that finding out in your 20's is the worst time. Think about what most people in their 20's are doing: school, starting a career, going out, traveling, living on tight budgets, working late, still learning to cook, starting families, always running here and there, you get the point. Throwing food allergies into all that on the go confusion is just a huge thorn in my side. I'm glad I didn't have to deal with this during college, especially since my diet consisted of a lot of spoonful of peanut butter dinners with ice cream and chicken tenders from the caf.

As I tried to think of a new blog topic this morning it just hit me....this food allergy thing is a total wrench in my daily fun. My schedule from week to week is never the same. I'm working late some nights, starting to plan a wedding, taking dance classes, pretending I'm a runner, on the Komen board, loving girls nights out, traveling to various states to visit family when I can, and I'm on a budget.

Getting home at 9:30 at night after being gone all day, the last thing I want to do is cook myself dinner. I have a cookie obsession but I hate that my cookies cost 3 times as much as normal cookies. Before food allergies I could eat whatever I wanted and it was always easy to eat a balanced diet. Now I'm often wondering, "am I getting too much soy, not enough calcium, am I tired because I forgot my vitamins or because of something else, what can I eat to get more iron?" Going out with the girls I never used to worry about whether my drink had corn syrup in it, or if the beer was gluten free, or if I was going to get sick from the post bar food runs. 

Had I been born with these allergies I wouldn't have grown up knowing just how good real peanut butter is, or had time to develop my love for carbs like bread and pasta. I would have been well adjusted and getting meals would be second nature. I would be used to asking a million questions at restaurants and wouldn't be embarrassed when the chef comes out to talk to me. 

I didn't start this post with the intention of writing out the pity party that goes on in my head when someone makes popcorn at work or I smell pizza. I may find it harder or easier to deal with food allergies as time goes on but I will remain on my stand that food allergies developing in your 20's is just plain not fair.

Till next time...

Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookies Review

I have a sweet tooth....I also have multiple food allergies. If Coconut Milk ice cream could always take care of cravings I would be set. Unfortunately I also love carbs (pasta, bread, cookies, you get the point) so the wheat allergy is very upsetting to me.

Now grocery shopping is typically a very frustrating process. I happened to go to Publix to get a few basics and while wandering the isles and hoping for something yummy and safe this box magically appeared.

I nervously looked at the box...waiting to find one of the banned ingredients...well...it's safe!!!!!!!!! My fiance and I both double and triple checked the box....yup it's safe! I'm pretty sure that my little happy dance was not cute but I don't really care if anyone saw it. 

Bought the mix, took it home and pulled out the mixing bowl. The only change I had to make to keep it safe was to use shortening instead of butter. This made them a tad greasy but I have since then bought vegan butter to use so hopefully that will reduce the greasy factor. *As a side note they were not as greasy once I let them cool off. 

I mixed it all up, ate some dough, and popped them in the oven.

When they came out and finally cooled enough to eat I was such a happy girl!!!! THEY WERE SO GOOD!!

Thank you Betty Crocker for making it easy to have food allergies and a sweet tooth. The cookies are all gone and I think I'll try Betty's Brownies next time. Also thank you Publix for carrying a product like this! 

Till next time....

An overdue update

This overdue update is full of updates on my life and my food allergies. I have to start off with the most exciting piece of news:

We're engaged! 

Jeff proposed on September 25th in Colorado at the top of Mt. Democrat. I couldn't have been more surprised. We took a trip to Colorado with our good friends Andre and Cassie. We went to do some hiking and see the fall colors. The main goal was to climb a 14er. For those of you not from Colorado, a 14er is a mountain that is 14,000 feet tall. There are over 80 in the United States and over 50 of them are in Colorado.

We decided on Mt. Democrat and packed our hiking boots. After a long few hours of us Florida residents huffing up the mountain we made it to the summit. While taking a picture from the top Jeff got down on one knee and presented me with a BEAUTIFUL ring and asked me to marry him.

 For those of you who know Jeff and I, you know how perfect his plan was. In June of 2009 we climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania together. When my friends heard about our engagement, they joked that we would register for camping supplies, to which I thought...not a bad idea. :-)

Not only do we have a great engagement story but we have great pictures and even a video documenting the whole thing (thanks Andre and Cassie).

  We are so excited to be in this phase of our lives and having fun being engaged. No wedding plans yet but it sure is fun looking through wedding magazines.












In other news I have updates on my continually changing food allergies. The list of allergies has been changing each time we do more blood work. The exciting part is that I get to try corn tonight!!! Unfortunately wheat was added to the list but with avoidance I am feeling much better. The current list is as follows:

• Wheat
• Dairy
• Oats
• Peanuts
• Tree Nuts
• Sesame
• Sunflower
• Apples
• Oranges
• carrots
• other assorted raw fruits and veggies
• Rice (although I've been eating rice with no problems so that is good)
• Corn (to be tested this evening)

I hope that as I continue to learn about my food allergies I can also get a little better at cooking good meals that I can eat and doesn't taste horrible for my fiancé (I am still getting used to using that word :-)  )

Till next time...