I will call it cilantro lime chicken

Last night I got home much later than expected, had nothing prepared for dinner and was hungry. I had chicken and a few other random things so I started in on it.

Put coconut oil (or your preferred oil) in a pan to coat

• add the following
• chicken breasts
• some lime juice (I probably used about a 1/2 tbls)
• garlic (2 cloves chopped up)
• cilantro
• basil
• mushrooms
• I let that all cook up until chicken was no longer pink
• Add a little of your favorite shredded cheese (I used a vegan mozzarella) and let melt
• Add spinach at the end and only cook just until it wilts. 

This would be good with rice or potatoes and took me less than 30 minutes. The lime added a nice flavor, especially with the mushrooms. This meal is void of the top 8 allergies, and could easily be modified to fit food allergy or picky eater needs. I think I will try a small amount of onions next time too. 

I hope you can use this when you are in a bind and need dinner quick. Please comment and let me know what modifications you make and how it turns out!

Enjoy!

Grandma Griffin's sticky buns...Christmas tradition

This is a family recipe that is so good I just can't keep it to myself. I never met my Great-grandmother but I know all about her because of one Christmas recipe- Sticky buns. These are not your traditional cinnamon rolls with frosting. These are made with a syrup sauce and they melt in your mouth. 

My Dad said when he was little, his grandmother would make tons of these on Christmas morning and his whole family would just gobble them up. He has carried on the tradition and I think my sisters and I would riot if we didn't have them on Christmas morning. This year my Dad and I made them together and on accident used whole wheat flour. We decided to experiment and do one batch with regular flour and one with whole wheat to see how the new version measured up.We made each dough the night before and put them in the garage (it was cold enough and there was no room in the fridge). The next morning we woke up before my sisters and my mom and got started on breakfast. Dad made the sauce while I worked on the dough.

Once you pull them out of the oven, flip them onto a plate before they cool and let the sauce drip down the rolls so they are all sticky and gooey.

Grandma Griffin’s Sticky Buns

Ice box roll dough
1\2 cup sugar
1 Tbls. Shortening, or butter
2 cups of boiling water
1 Tbls salt
2 eggs
1 pkg yeast (in1\4 cup hot water with a pinch of sugar)
5-6 cups of flour ( more if needed)

Pour boiling water over sugar and shortening and salt. Cool to lukewarm.
Lightly beat eggs and add to above. Add yeast, mix lightly. Add flour and knead until the dough
is stiff but not dry. Cover and put in refrigerator overnight.

In the morning:
Preheat oven to 325

Topping
1\4 lb. butter
3\4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbls. Syrup
1 tsp cinnamon

Melt all of the above together. Pour into the bottom of 2 baking dishes, a cake or pie
dish works well. Roll out the dough thin. Brush with butter, sprinkle
with sugar, cinnamon and raisins. Cut in strips about one inch wide. Roll up and
place in topping. Bake for approx. 30 min. Remove and turn upside down on a plate.
Makes 2 plates.

Let cool slightly and enjoy!!! My Dad would probably suggest to enjoy them with some strong, hot coffee.

We decided that it doesn't actually matter which flour you use. Both tasted great and if it had been a blind taste test I wouldn't have known the difference. I plan to make these again with more allergy friendly ingredients so look forward to that in the next few months.

Till next time...

New Years Resolutions

I normally don't have New Years resolutions. I typically just pick one area of my life to focus on and improve as an overall goal. Needless to say there is never any benchmarks or control. This year I have a plan...to plan! I am putting all my New Year's Resolutions on the blog so that all of you can hold me accountable. I have 4 overall topics and then various "benchmarks" that I want to accomplish. A few of them may be limited by if I'm able to run again soon without upsetting my stomach. Here they are and feel free to ask me whenever how I'm doing with each of them.

• Wedding
• NO STRESS planning
• Have vendors secured and set by end of August- little details don't need to be complete
• Komen Race for the Cure
• Establish twitter account (already done!!!)
• Establish Linkedin
• Optimize Social Media
• Tweet live from each event
• Market each event @ least 5 weeks prior
• Have equally successful Race numbers or better as 2010
• Fitness
• Pink Bikini Stoll- End of Spring- Actually wear (confidently) a pink bikini!
• Run entire Muddy Buddy running sections
• Aerial= be able to perform 1 apparatus by Dec 2011 (probably hoop)
• Blog
• 1-2 recipes per week
• review products 1/month
• turn blog into something video

So there they are. Feel free to ask me how they are going throughout the year! I hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday weekend!

TIll next time...

Major Update: Hospital stay, new foods, and no diagnosis

I was hospitalized for 5 days the week after Thanksgiving. I had been holding off on posting this on my blog because I was waiting for a diagnosis of what landed me there, but since that hasn't happened (and may not for a while) I figured I would share with you all. So here is an overview.


Stomach pains and headache began Thanksgiving night but figured I ate too much (even though I was really good and didn't stuff myself). Friday morning I was supposed to go wedding dress shopping with my future Mother-in-law and one of my bridesmaids. I was just too sick to even get out of bed. Later that day I was convinced to go to the urgent care where I was given antibiotics and told to go to the ER if anything got worse or I spiked a fever.


Long story short, after 2 ER trips, a fever of 103 for more than 2 days, 2 types of CT scans and an ultrasound I was admitted (with no diagnosis). The pain was severe and sharp at the top of my abdomen, and if I moved it was worse. Then 5 days later, after a lot of pain and nausea medicine, tons of antibiotics, no food, a scope down my throat test (Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) ), and a ton of blood work I was allowed to go home.
Results showed that I have a stomach full of ulcers, a lazy stomach (gastroparesis- my stomach doesn't empty properly) and a lot of inflammation in my stomach, duodenum, and intestines. The bigger problem is "what is causing all this"? 


While I wait for diagnosis (which I'm sure will include more testing) I am on a ton of pills each day to help my stomach heal the ulcers and "re-train" it to pass food normally. I am feeling so much better but can tell I'm not back to my normal self. 


There is a huge silver lining....I am not allergic to wheat, dairy or corn!!!!!!!!! So my food options have opened up enormously! I am still avoiding all nuts, seeds, oats and rice until further testing can occur. The doctors are thinking that I was never really allergic but rather all the stomach pain after eating was actually from the gastroparesis. It's good because I can eat more foods and eat out easier but not great because I need to know why I have gastroparesis. 


I want to thank each of you for sending emails, facebook notes, texts, phone calls, and tweets while I was bored. A big thanks to my parents and future in-laws for my pretty flowers and all their support, my 2 girlfriends who came to visit while I was all drugged up, my friend who sent me music to keep me occupied, my nurse friend who always checked on my status (even while she was on vacation with her man), and my 2 DU girls who sent tons of texts and emails. A huge thank you goes out to my fiancée who was by my side as often as I let him and who continues to take care of me. 


As this "saga" continues I hope I will get good news and it will be very short lived. In the mean time I hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing holiday season.


Till next time...

Tropical Tradition's Coconut oil in my Grandma's sugar cookies

My first "official" review. Also my first experience with coconut oil. Here was my initial thoughts that I wrote in an email to a friend who wanted the recipe:


This is my grandmother's cookie recipe that I modified. My changes are in red. Coconut oil was different than working with butter but I really liked it. Must be melted first but if it's too hot it cooks the egg.

1 C. butter- used 1 cup of melted coconut oil
1 1/2 C. sugar
2 eggs beaten
2 tsp. vanilla
4 C. sifted flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
8 tsps. milk- vanilla soy milk


Cream sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients in a seperate bowl. Add milk and stir. Combine with sugar mixture. Chill dough. Roll out until 1/4" thick. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.


Frosting:
1 lb. powdered suger
1/2 C. melted butter- 1/2 cup of coconut oil
capful of coconut extract- didn't actually use this
water to make spreadable.

The cookies turned out great and the 4 dozen I have brought to work this week have all disappeared. People who like coconut really liked the flavor. Next time I use coconut oil in baking I will let it cool a tad first, without letting is congeal again, before mixing it with eggs. Sorry I didn't take any picture of them but they are your basic sugar cookies with white frosting. You can put candies or sprinkles on the tops after frosting them. My Grandma used to put red hots and Hersey kisses on top! 

I will definitely use coconut oil on a regular basis. Any recipe suggestions welcome!

See below for some information from Tropical Traditions which is where the coconut oil came from. Thanks to them I was able to try something new in my kitchen that will probably become a regular item. 

To acquire your own complimentary copy of Virgin Coconut Oil book visit the following site: 
http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/referral_program.htm. 
Choose “Referred by a Friend” and enter the User ID: 6711882 on your first online order, the book will be automatically added to your order and you will receive a coupon good for complimentary products for each referral made. 


Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review in return for the free product.

Thanksgiving update: a tad late

Thanksgiving has come and gone and I am late to update the blog due to poor health. I am on the mend and back up and running and here is a quick run through of how my Thanksgiving meal went.

Menu:

• Slow cooker cooked Turkey with carrots, celery and mini red potatoes
• Used whatever spices I had and it turned out delicious
• Used soy butter for dairy allergy
• Cranberry sauce- recipe thanks to @Shockinglydelicious
• Crescent Rolls
• Gravy
• Stove Top stuffing (it's the fiancée's favorite)
• Crust-less pumpkin pie
• I used coconut milk instead to make it dairy free

The only things that were not allergy friendly were the rolls, gravy and stuffing. I am not a huge fan of any of them anyways so it turned out to be easy for me!

Here are some pictures of how it all turned out.

In the slow cooker and ready to cook

All set for dinner! 

Such an easy and yummy recipe!

Uncooked- so good the fiance wants me to make them again!

Hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving!


Till next time...

Ana: my biggest fear

No I'm not afraid of people named Ana... I'm talking about my newly developed and huge fear of "ana"phylactic shock. Which actually then leads to my other new fear...the Epi pen.

I have never had an anaphylactic reaction. I've been close, but was able to control reactions with benadryl. Of course I always have both my Epi pens close (I used to not carry them but the risk is just not worth the cute little purse that doesn't fit the epi). My fiancée, parents and close friends all know how to use the epi. When I go out with friends I just let them know at the beginning of the evening that I have my epi and benadryl and where they are in my purse.

I'm not actually afraid that I won't use the epi but rather the entire experience of ana and the epi combined. I know that the epi will save my life but there is just something about the whole not being able to breathe, "jabbing" a needle into my thigh, hospital observation time thing that I'm just not a fan of.

My epi pens expire and when I get the new prescription filled this week I'm going to test the old ones. I've been told to use an orange because it's the most similar to my leg, and then to test the other on a cardboard box so I can watch how the pen itself works. I'll take a video of all this for you all to see and hopefully it will ease my, and anyone else's, fear of the epi so that Ana is less frightening.

Till next time....

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!! Have a great holiday and eat safe!

Cupcakes!!!

These cupcakes came from Viitals in Tampa and are allergy free and I've only had the vanilla one so far but it was really good. I can't wait to dig into the pumpkin spice and mint ones I got. I'll do a full post on my lunch experience there later.

On a side note, this post was the first that I completed on my phone...kinda neat!

Till next time...

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Pumpkin Short Ribs Recipe!!!

I must say first off that I can not take credit for this recipe, although I was very pleased with my modifications and results. Below is the original recipe (and marked my changes in red) for Pumpkin Short ribs that I found on the In Erika's Kitchen Blog:

Pumpkin short ribs

• 2 Tbsp grapeseed or canola oil (I used canola)
• 4 lbs English-cut short ribs (we found boneless pork ribs to use)
• 3 large onions, sliced (I only used one because onions are not a favorite flavor in our house)
• 6 cups sliced crimini mushrooms (love mushrooms!!!)
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1/2 cup white wine (I used the pinot grigio I had opened the night before)
• 2 cups pumpkin puree (homemade or canned) (grabbed a can of pumpkin)
• 1/2 cup beef broth (used an allergy safe broth- Coconut and Curry Chicken)
• 1 tsp ground cumin (didn't use any because I didn't have any)
• 1 1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder (I used some basil, pepper, ground ginger, whole cloves)
• 2 tsp salt

I used the Crockpot. Threw everything in at 8am, stirred it up, turned it on low for 10 hours and ate dinner relaxed that evening. 

Everyone had seconds that night and my house smelled amazing. The in-laws seemed happy and it was so much less stressful than trying to find a place to go out to eat where I could relax and eat an allergy free meal. I must thank the fiancée for helping me pick out the right pork ribs and getting everything into the Crockpot that morning.


Till next time...

Back off the rice

So while I did post earlier today all about how yummy my rice based pizza was I am now having to avoid rice again. I do test positive for the allergy but after a food challenge I seemed fine. Well stomach problems have returned and based on food intake and stomach upset I am still not reacting well to rice. It's been cut out for the time being to see how I do without it. Some part of my hopes it's not the rice and some part of my hopes it is....


Till next time...

GF and DF Homemade Pizza

I love pizza. I used to love when Mom and Dad would order pizza after skiing because we were all tired. I actually won a pizza eating contest in elementary school (and I was the scrawny kid in the class). Food allergies have prevented me from eating pizza because I didn't know where to find "Katie Safe" options. I have been to one restaurant that had pizza I could eat. Beau Jo's in Colorado made me a very very very happy girl by having Gluten Free dough and Dairy Free cheese. On a side note...Colorado Mountain Pie's are the best pizza's ever!

But anyways back to my pizza making experience. I found Gluten Free Pizza Dough mix at the grocery store and decided that I HAD to try it.

 As the box says it is wheat free, soy free, and nut free. It is also corn and dairy free but not rice free.

The dough was very sticky and gooy but the directions on the box warned of that. I always dreamed of tossing pizza dough like an Italian but wheat allergies just don't work with dough tossing.

We added tomato sauce (improvising because that's what you have to do), mushrooms, onions, spinach (they just dried up?) and rice cheese. This was my first Rice cheese experience and while I was nervous I was optimistic. Well....don't eat it uncooked and you'll be fine :-).

All said and done it had a suspiciously similar taste to the rice pasta I eat but we ate it anyways. Either the fiancée was just being nice and having seconds to make me feel good or it really wasn't bad! I personally was very happy but will look to improve on the cheese for next time.

Till next time...

First Holiday with Food Allergies: HALLOWEEN!

Halloween was my first holiday with such a long list of allergies. I kept telling myself I was just being really good and not eating junk food but secretly despised the idea of all that candy, that I know tastes so yummy, just sitting in my house. As I think about the holiday a week later, I realize that because I was in my own house for a party, and I controlled what I ate, I did really well! There is still a bowl of candy sitting in the kitchen but honestly I have't been tempted! This is a huge deal for such a sweet tooth, although I would imagine this holiday would be much more difficult for children.

I feel like food allergies make events and experiences a battle...Halloween I won!

Next up is Thanksgiving and the fiancée and I are discussing what we think would be easiest for that day. If we decide to stay at our house I'll probably be online searching for safe recipes but I think I could do it. My biggest hurdle will be the green bean casserole (my absolute favorite holiday dish of all times)...I'm not sure how I can modify the cream of mushroom soup or the breaded fried onions but I'll keep everyone posted on what we decide. Luckily for me the fiancées parents, who will be spending the holiday with us, are flexible and understanding so that makes it easier on me!

Till next time...

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...

CousCous in Colorado and more!

"What am I supposed to feed you!?!?" 

This is one of the first things my Mom said when I booked my flight to go visit my parents in Colorado for the weekend. My Mom has never had to deal with my food allergies (other than peanuts) and being a mother she wanted to make sure I ate healthy and got enough food. I was a tad nervous because I didn't know what I was going to ask my mom to get or cook. 


It turns out it was great! My Mom went to Whole Foods with me and said, "get what you need". I got some soy milk, yummy mango Popsicles (thanks to my friend Sara who was with us and saw them), bananas, and ingredients to make a couscous salad. My Mom was looking for things I could have and trying to help me come up with new recipes. 


My couscous salad was so easy to make and served cold it was very refreshing. Here's what I included:

• multicolored pearl couscous
• vegetable broth (tastes better than cooking with just water)
• fresh mushrooms
• garlic
• basil (fresh from my Mom's garden)
• and a touch of olive oil
• a tiny bit of black pepper

I just cooked it all up and then stuck it in the fridge to cool and BAM! easy summer couscous salad. 

Overall the whole weekend was great. My Dad made me eggs in the morning to go along with my soy milk, and I managed to eat out with friends a bunch.

Two restaurants that were great for me were Racine's in downtown Denver, and Kona Grill in Cherry Creek. Racine's let me modify the heck out of my salad and it was so fresh and tasty. The real kudos go to Kona Grill which not only modified my entire meal, but were very understanding and willing to help me have a great meal. I will definitely be trying out the Kona Grill here in Tampa. 

Overall I am getting the hang of how to modify recipes at home and in restaurants to fit my needs. My parents were great and my Mom helped me come up with a few ways to try new recipes. 

I hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend!

Till next time...

Yummy Chocolate Cake Mix!

Last week I posted a review of a mac and cheese that I did not like. This week I am happy to announce I am posting a good review! This chocolate cake mix is very moist and not too sweet. I am still working on being able to find a frosting I can make for the top but I'll take at least cake for now. The cake required eggs, oil or butter, and milk (can use water to make it dairy free). I used egg white, vegetable oil and vanilla soy milk (this time the vanilla helped the recipe unlike last time :-) * ).


The cake came out really moist, not to heavy, and the perfect amount of sweet and chocolate. Like I said, I'm still looking for a good frosting but what girl can resist chocolate cake?

*This cake can be dairy, egg, and soy free depending on what your allergy needs are

Till next time...

First Food Review- Dairy free Mac & Cheese

Any American child (who is lucky enough to not have food allergies) grew up eating mac & cheese and chicken nuggets. For my sisters and I, mac & cheese nights were the babysitter nights. About a week after I was told I couldn't have dairy it hit me....NO MORE MAC AND CHEESE!!!!!! It was like a small part of my childhood was being taken away. 

But luckily for me, I have a wonderful boyfriend who is getting very good at picking out foods that I can have without compromising the food diet to which I now adhere. Last trip to whole foods I come around to the next aisle and he's holding a box of dairy free Mac & Cheese. We read and re-read the label and I start to get really excited (I really really really love mac & cheese).

Here's the box so you know which brand I'm reviewing. Now for the review.

The noodles themselves were fine, cooked normally without problems. You had to add in milk but we only have vanilla soy in our house so that's what we added. 

I was so excited to try this and the taste was just too far off what I had in mind so I am not going to recommend as a mac and cheese replacement but I will recommend (without vanilla soy) for families with food allergies who are looking for quick and easy dinners. Sorry Road's End but this didn't quite do it for me. 

Till next time... 

Traveling with Allergies= Planning!!!

August is going to be a great month for me because I have a packed calendar! No only do I have multiple trips planned, but I also have a lot of after work/weekend plans.

On the agenda is:

• A weekend in a cabin in the middle of nowhere with friends 
• Bachelorette trip to northern NY 
• A weekend in Colorado (home) to visit my parents 
• A long weekend in Chicago with the bf to see his parents 

I'm getting really excited for all my trips but I was a little worried about the food situation on each of these trips. After a lot of planning and good ideas from others I have my food planned out for the first trip. Luckily the group that is going to the cabin is doing burgers one night and spaghetti the next. This makes my life so much easier. I only need to bring food for breakfasts and lunches. NY will be a bit tricky because we will be in a smaller town and with a large group and going out a lot. Colorado and Chicago will be fairly easy because in both places are parents who care and understand.

For each of the trips I plan on bringing a little food with me but luckily I don't have to bring as much for Colorado and Chicago since family is awesome! Here's what I have packed for this weekend's cabin trip:

• Couscous- just add hot water and it's not bad 
• "peanut" butter- soy butter which tastes REALLY similar 
• a mango- one of the few fruits I can have raw 
• Redbridge beer- it's gluten free which means there's no barley- taste is a little different but not bad 
• some ginger snap cookies- I have a HUGE sweet-tooth 
• pretzel crips 
• homemade guacamole 
• hummus 

For the New York trip I am going to bring less but I know my friend's parents (who we are staying with) have some good options for me at their place.

Like I said not only do I have 4 trips, but the after work schedule is packed. Between 2 running clubs, dance classes, board meetings, and a visit from a certain service puppy in training (I'll post about that sometime) we will be on the go all month.

Lunches are fairly easy because I have found bread, and deli meat that I can make sandwiches with. Hummus and guacamole are great replacements for cheese.

Dinners will be a bit harder being so busy but luckily I have a crockpot, fast cooking couscous and an awesome boyfriend who is very dedicated to me not eating things I shouldn't.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I will be off in the woods hanging out, swimming and relaxing.

Till next time....

I get to try foods!

After this week's allergy test adventure the doctor has said he wants me to begin trying previously "banned" foods! On this list is: (drum roll please)

• OATS
• DAIRY
• CORN

Start the celebration and bring on food I love!!!!

Taking it slow and starting with small amounts will be key here (I already went to far with dairy once this week- not a good idea). I think corn will be the best one to start with due to the fact that it is in almost everything that is not homemade. I'm not going to go crazy and have corn on the cob but maybe something with corn starch in it is a good start.

Any suggestions of what I should try this weekend? 

Allergy Testing

After living in Florida for almost 9 months I decided it was time to get set up with an allergist near my house. Yes Mom I know I should have done it right after I moved. I was still a bit unsure about how to handle all these new and changing allergies so I figured it would be smart to talk to someone who knows what they are talking about. 

After meeting with the doctor and going over my allergy history he decided it would be best to have a full allergy panel skin test done. I hadn't been tested for environmental allergies (pollen, trees, grasses, weeds, etc.) since high school so it seemed like a good idea. For those of you who have had the prick test done before, you know what this entails. But for everyone else, the process is as follows:

• the nurse marks up your back with a pen
• the nurse then pricks you with small needles (today I was lucky enough to have about 60 of those pricks)
• You lay on your stomach for 20 minutes while everything "settles in"
• The doctor then comes in to read your test

While this seems like an easy test (and I'm sure it is compared to some medical tests) it is not comfortable. I knew I was allergic to a lot of nature so I expected to itch a bit. But you know you have bad allergies when the nurse comes into the room after you festering for 20 minutes and says "Oh hunny...Let me go get the doctor now". She then proceeded to get a camera (and the doctor of course) and ask to document the results. These are my results :-)

So this seems really bad but there is really good news in here. See the right side of the picture where there isn't much red....that was some food allergies!!!! I have been told that I can try eating corn and oats again!

I may still have a reaction to either but the doctor isn't worried about me going into Anaphylactic Shock. I was also told that I can have dairy in small amounts. These 3 foods can change the way I eat by not being afraid to eat out. So over the next few weeks I'm going to be trying these in moderation and we'll see where I can get. There is still a lot to get figure out with my allergies but the doctor also wants me to start on allergy shots to try and reduce my reactions. He said it could reduce my food allergies over time so here's hoping!

Till next time....