Category Archives: Food

Cruising with food allergies

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To travel or not to travel?
This is a common question.

Newly diagnosed people may be fearful of trying it out. I would encourage you to be prepared, take snacks and go. Celiacs and those with varying food allergies should experience life, see the world and travel too. My motto is always “celiacs need sunshine” and that doesn’t often happen in the midwest in January.

There are plenty of travel friendly foods that you can pack your suitcase with, just in case. Of course, the fall back is always salad. No, it may not be ideal but it will be sustenance. I can reference plenty of travels I have had that have pleasantly surprised me with not just good but great eats and I have had those that were emotionally and tastefully upsetting. But traveling is worth the chance and in the end you will not starve.

From the overly abundant oceanside of Seattle with fresh and tasteful options for those with allergies to the hills of Tennessee where everything is breaded and fried, I still managed to eat.

You do have to be cautious, be prepared and use cool apps like “Find me GF” as a source of reference (please note, all restaurants listed are not necessarily gluten free). But with proper planning and a whole lot of communication, you will get to experience something new and feel even more accomplished because of the allergies.

Recently, I took my twelfth cruise. I have had varying experiences on ships as this travel seems to be among the most challenging, due to the confinement and lack of resources outside the norm. I must say Norwegian was not my favorite. They were equipped with gluten free options but frankly, unwilling to get creative. On my first day I located a Sous chef that was willing to make fresh and tasty waffles for the whole family. Sadly, thereafter he was told not to make special arrangements for us and sent us to the dining room. There they were unwilling to make anything from scratch.

Alas, I saw more of the world but I ate eggs and bacon every day. Dinners were better as we took the specialty dining option and paid up to try specialty restaurants where they took good care of me but general dining, as well as room service was a disappointment. For the record, my trips on NCL, Regent, and Holland America fared better in the dining department. Six food allergies is a lot to plan and prepare for. But with the creative culinary expertise they have on ships, it seems they would have been far more accommodating.

Regardless of the degree of culinary satisfaction, I encourage everyone to travel. Occasionally you will be overwhelmed with the warm, understanding expertise of a chef that considers it an honor to prepare something with a challenge and you will be delighted you stepped out of that comfort zone and tried something new.

 

Our path, healing.

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Every person, will have a unique story. It’s a part of who we are.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I was terrified. I was excited. I was elated. I anticipated the arrival of one of the most amazing miracles ever. And I was terrified. I kept asking myself how that child going to get out. Not that I didn’t know. I mean, the mechanics of it were obvious but… how would it happen?

Being it that position early on, the last thing you want to hear is that “women have been doing it for thousands of years” and it all works out. What I didn’t know at the time is a detail that I carry with me every day now. A detail that has applied to so many things in life. Simply put, God’s timing is right. It’s good. And it’s intentional.

You see, by the time that I was ready to give birth I was uncomfortable. I was tired of having another human taking up space in my stomach, on my bladder and between my ribs. I was ready. However it was going to happen, it just needed to. I didn’t have the worry because I was focused on where I was at in the process.

It’s a process. Regardless of what “it” is. When I was newly pregnant, not nauseous and housing a peanut size child in my tummy, I was focused on the end of the process. All of which would be completely irrelevant to my situation ten months later.

Most of our situations in life are this way. Thinking back to when I started my gut healing process, like most people, I wanted to be well. I wanted to feel better. I wanted to eat what I was used to eating. But I couldn’t have it all. Jumping forward ten months I was in a brand new situation. First (an most important) I felt better. Whew! Who cares what food I have to give up if I can feel better.

With renewed energy levels, my head clear of the mushy cloud that had engulfed my previous thoughts, I was renewed. Just like when I held that brand new baby in my arms, it was a new chapter I couldn’t previously see. God creates a plan, a process and it is good. We may not understand how we will get from here to there but he does.

Nothin to it, but to do it.

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It sucks. And it’s hard. Quite possibly the hardest thing you have ever done.

Making the choice to eat gluten free for your health is a big change. There’s no doubt that sometimes people opt for stomach pain and vomiting in order to eat the coveted donut. But at some point, you must realize that the pain inflicted upon your body is voluntary. That’s right, you might as well be poking yourself in the eye with a stick. You are doing it to yourself. Stop it already.

I have countless conversations with people who laugh sheepishly and sigh. Only to say, “my doctor told me I should be gluten free”. Just this week I had a conversation with a friend who was in a ton of pain. Joint swelling. Can’t sleep. Miserable pain. Indeed, her doctor told her to go gluten free.

It’s time. Start small and don’t use the many options for gluten free products on the market. Go old school. Start clean. Eat fruit, veggies and lean meats. Your body needs to recoup and cleanse from years of processed food. This will also give you time to read up on the thousands of names for gluten and all the places it’s hidden.

Even if you can’t see the results immediately, try it. Stick with it for at least three months (without cheating). This isn’t the latest weight craze, cheating will only recontaminate your body and impede the healing process. I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. However, I do have a smidgen of common sense and I can tell you from personal experience that getting gluten in your body can take up to a week to work itself out.

It’s not for everyone, and I would not suggest everyone go gluten free. It can do more harm than good if you aren’t allergic, intolerant or suffering from Celiac. But if your doctor has told you to try it and you choose to suffer instead, you have one person to blame.

There are amazing resources online, in books and by connecting with people (either online or in your community via support groups) who have Celiac and can lead you through the process. My favorite starter book is the G-Free diet by Elizabeth Hasselbeck. You have a community of people here to support you, we eat like this every day. It is possible and you can do it!

I can’t eat that, no I won’t.

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Back to school is a time when parents around the world buy new character themed backpacks, tennis shoes two sizes larger and pour that first glass of wine while waiting for the familiar rattle of the bus to pass by.

However, parents of kids with food allergies face tougher preparation. Regardless of the age of your child, you must first equip them with personal advocacy. This isn’t so daunting at the age of twelve or fifteen but with a five year old, you are placing a lot of faith in the system.

Kids are taught to listen, follow directions and go with the flow. They need to learn these valuable lessons. Life isn’t about them and their special needs, or is it?

Both of my kids learned in kindergarten that they had allergies that previously didn’t represent themselves. Both children had to learn that I would not be with them at school and they needed to speak up, ask questions and refuse food. Whoa. Do you mean defy the system? Yes, that is exactly what I am saying.

My son was sick three times in kindergarten from being fed things that he wasn’t supposed to eat. The challenge for kids is being able to have a voice in an environment where they are seen as defiant if they do.

People ponder the best way to send kids to school when they have allergies. I say arm them with knowledge and your support. Send them with a lunch filled with yummy alternatives to the normal elementary options, teach them it’s ok to say no when their health is on the line and give them permission to go to the nurse for support.

The more your children know about why they can’t eat it, what it does to their body and how you are their advocate, the more they will be comfortable doing the same in your absence.

Life is like a box of brownies…

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It was like having a little chocolate coated candy angel come from heaven to make yummy treats. Just. For. Me.

It is admirable, not to mention understandable when people start food companies out of necessity for their (or their children’s) allergies. 

What you don’t seem to find is people starting companies to bring phenomenal tasting, quality products to the market when they don’t have a personal need for that product. Shy of the big box companies creating mirror products because they already have millions of users they can tap into for sales, of course.

Let’s be honest, Cheerios did not go gluten free because the board members at General Mills were emoting in the form of food, it was all about market share and returning some of the love to home base. And since my household has consumed about 18 boxes in the last three months… I’m ok with that.

The wow factor is based in companies that have little to no understanding of the need for an allergen free product, who are not looking at the market share, but rather see a group of people that could hugely benefit from their gifts.

When I first sat down with my friend Brooke and began explaining my bizarre eating habits she gave me a crazy look, wrinkled her nose like I’d done something foul and said, “what on earth is gluten”? This lead into a long discussion on what it is, where it comes from, what food it’s hidden in and why some people can’t eat it.

Having the gift of candy making and having started a company of her own, she returned home to do research. Intense research. Amazing research. When we met again, she told me what she had learned, what she was focusing on and what an exciting challenge this was to her.

What? You care? I was so floored. How could someone who can eat anything care so much about what I can’t eat? No one else had.

She began an exhaustive overhaul of what she had been doing and eliminated all gluten containing ingredients from her facility. She revamped some of her recipes to include ingredients that were gluten free. And then… she started mixing. She started creating. A waterfall of tears streamed down my face when she came up with a mix for brownies that was both gluten AND rice free. My allergens.

It was like having a little chocolate coated candy angel come from heaven to make yummy treats. Just. For. Me. (ok, so they weren’t just for me, but it felt like it)

She flew into high gear with her sampling team (her young boys who have no allergies) and before long created a chocolate chip cookie mix, banana bread, carrot cake, white cake, and chocolate cake mix. If it wasn’t good to them, it wasn’t good enough for us. Yes, it was actually important that it tasted good too. Novel thought, and it worked.

Suddenly she was in multiple top retail outlets! Last week she opened a new store front. I’m so excited for Brooke and her family. This venture was truly from the heart and from my heart I say thank you. Brooke’s really does Send the Best.

Visit @brooke.sendthebest http://www.brookescandyco.com pick up one of their mixes (or chocolates! at a local grocer) or go visit them at their new shop in Terre Haute, IN at 10 N. 5th Street.