Good news and bad news.
My husband and I recently got diagnosed with a laundry list of food allergies. We arrived at these challenging prognoses while dealing with sudden, persistent disparate medical issues.
I chalked mine up to peri-menopause and the delightful symptoms this phase of life deals a woman. Wrong! That's the good news. And the bad news.
Our blood draws revealed similar, though not identical, food allergies reeking havoc on our immune systems. Similar enough that much of what I'm learning to cook we can both eat. The bad news is I'm learning how to cook. Again. After twenty plus years of marriage and a child diagnosed with a score of food allergies early on, you'd think I had this pretty well in hand.
Not so. I choose to prepare two separate meals much of my son's life. Not such a good idea. Had my husband and I made the adjustment to much of my son's allergies, rotating foods as I did for him, we might not be dealing with such an epic list of food problems.
They include the fab four: gluten, dairy, corn, and eggs. Deviations which make life even interesting: I can do soy but my husband and son can't. My husband can do oats but my son and I can't. My son and I can't do sesame, but my husband can. I can't do yeast. Or cane sugar.
Sugar! I had no idea how many foods contained sugar. I thought living without eggs and dairy were hard. Sugar is a killer. I've been chowing down on dried fruits thinking I was the healthiest creature on earth. They riddled with cane sugar! Sob. I started reading labels. Condiments, salad dressings, tomato sauce, tomato paste. I can understand processed foods and sauces, but tomato paste? Ugh.
Here is a little good news, though: there is so much more information available online then when I first tackled food allergy issues almost ten years ago. The websites and blogs and recipes are endless and wonderful. I owe a small portion of my sanity to several blogs I have already discovered, of the knowledge these ladies have, and the recipes they so generously share.
This blog is as much a homage to these ladies as a log of all the wonderful recipes I will try, track, and recommend.
There are more resources than blogs and websites, but I'm pretty lazy and find it easiest to hop on my computer for a quick fix. That will probably change, but as long as these ladies are out there posting, I will be out there surfing.
Welcome to allergyland.
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