123 Gluten Free

O. M. G.

123 Gluten Free products on Amazon

Food and Diet

I've made a lot of changes in how I eat over the last year.  I think all of them make me feel a lot better, a lot healthier, and just less sick in general.  Turns out finding out about all of the things that have been making your sick does a lot for your physical well being.  It sucks, but it's worth it.

But... I'm left with very few "vice" or "comfort" foods.  I turn to eating excessive amounts of Old Dutch potato chips and ice cream.  These things are fine in moderation, but once I have a taste, I want the whole bag/pint/etc.

The best I have ever felt would have to be when I was following an extremely low carb diet.  I would love to get back to that.  Bonus: I could lose that last 15-20 pounds I have hanging around before I'm back in the "normal' BMI range.

Using the keto calculator, I can determine what sort of calories, protein, fats, and carbs I should be following.  It gives me the information below (for a 6.5lb loss per month).  Also, I really just like the round numbers.

1400	kcal Net Calories Consumed
25	g Carbohydrates (7%)
100	g Protein (29%)
100	g Fat (64%)

I'll eventually need to tweak this, but I think these are good guidelines for me to follow. 

I may still splurge a bit over the holidays, but it's hard when you can't eat flour, corn starch, or soy...  I might be able to have some treats if I make them myself, but I'm not hopeful.  I did find an awesome recipe I could make keto-friendly.  Maybe I'll try it for the christmas party.  Substitute sugar for sugar-free sweetener, sub cool whip for heavy cream, use dark chocolate/unsweetened cocoa for the chocolate. I think it has great potential!  Heck, I might even make it with normal sugar if I feel up to it.  It only has 1/3 cup as it is... that may or may not be taking into account the sugar from the cool whip, though.  WORTH A SHOT!

Nightshade

So, I was told at the allergy doctor that I am allergic to tomatoes.  Generally, a tomato allergy is a nightshade allergy.  Generally, this type of allergy causes joint pain, inflammation, and/or stomach discomfort.  I've been valiantly avoiding tomatoes since I got the results, but apparently I should also be avoiding:

• eggplant
• potatoes
• bell peppers
• spicy peppers
• cayenne
• paprika
• pimentos
• tomatillos

I haven't had bell peppers or anything for a while, but I have been eating potatoes and bell peppers and spicy things rather heavily.  I can't really be sure if these things are affecting me or not, but it probably can't hurt to cut them out for a while as well.  I know I had a really bad reaction to a meal a while ago that involved a baked potato, possibly undercooked. I should really be avoiding potatoes all together.

Not sure I can live without potato chips - might have to eat lots of pork rinds again.

Alfredo Sauce

Since I can't eat tomatoes or canned alfredo sauce anymore, I need to get good at making alfredo sauce.  Here's an easy recipe I found that I want to try.

• 1 quart heavy cream
• 1/2 pound of butter
• tablespoon of granulated garlic, or really finely minced fresh stuff
• 2 cups grated parmesan cheese (buy it whole, grate it yourself!)
• 1/3 to 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsely

Simmer the heavy cream and butter on low heat.
Add garlic and pepper and keep whisking throughout remainder of ingredients
Add 2 cups of grated parmesan, a little at a time, remembering to whisk/stir throughout
Top with parsley.

Allergen-free Dinners

What can I eat for dinner:

• Classic breakfast: Eggs, bacon/sausage, cheese, spinach omelet
• Spinach with salmon or chicken (+ soy-free mayo or other dressing)
• Zucchini "pasta" with butter and cheese (pesto?) with chicken or steak (beef tbd)
• Cub raw brats (plain or cajun, possibly other flavors), cucumber slices with dip (ranch, etc)
• Shredded pork and cheese (carnitas) on spinach (taco salad, no tomatoes)
• Crab/tuna salad (meat + soy free mayo) on spinach salad
• Sashimi!
• Chicken wings, cucumber slices with dip (ranch, etc)
• Mussels in white wine/cream sauce with zuchchini pasta
• Spam, eggs, cheese 
• Spaghetti Squash with cheese, butter + meat 
• Home-made Alfredo sauce with veggie pastas instead of just cheese and butter
• Grilled shrimp with spinach salad or zucchini/squash pasta

Eating out:

• Sushi/sashimi
•  Buffalo wild wings chicken wings (+ mango habanero sauce)
• Applebees wings, plain.
• Famous Dave's plain chicken

Desserts:

• 3 minute flourless brownie
• Instant coconut ice cream - 3 tbs cream, 1 tbs melted coconut manna
• Dark chocolate
• Dark chocolate + heavy cream cocoa
• Berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries) and cream

Pizza, mama mia!

Now that I can't eat nuts, I need to find a replacement for my go-to almond flour, egg, and cheese pizza crust.

Thinking about trying this one tonight: http://stuffimakemyhusband.blogspot.com/2011/02/hybrid-pizza.html

Once I have added a few more acceptable vegetables in my diet, I'll try it with the vegetable substitution as listed.  Perhaps with spinach or cauliflower.

Another problem is I cannot eat tomatoes...  Thinking of using a white/alfredo sauce, or just going with the crust and cheese.  My sister did it for many years, why can't I?

If only I could get over my love of pizza, I wouldn't have to keep trying...

Food Allergies

I haven't posted anything in a long time, but I feel like I need to get these anxieties off my chest a little bit, so here goes.

After nearly a year of gluten-freedom, I decided to have a standard allergy test. The kind where they poke your back with different allergens and note the results after 15 minutes.

Here's the list of things that I am "allergic to" according to the prick test:

- cats
- grass pollen
- birch pollen
- "Tree mix" (not sure what that is)
- grass
- corn
- oranges
- soy beans
- cabbage
- carrots
- celery
- tomatoes
- peanuts
- almonds
- cashews
- pistachios
- hazelnuts
- pecans
- walnuts

No sign of wheat, milk, or egg allergies, even though they tested for them.

They told me I have "Oral allergy syndrome." This basically means I'm allergic to the things I'm allergic to because of how they get pollinated. Looking at the list from wikipedia, this means I'm allergic to:

Birch pollen: almonds, apples, apricots, avocados, bananas, carrots, celery, cherries, chicory, coriander, fennel, fig, hazel nuts, kiwifruit, nectarines, parsley, parsnips, peaches, pears, peppers, plums, potatoes, prunes, soy, strawberries, wheat; Potential: walnuts

Grass pollen: fig, melons, tomatoes, oranges

Sounds about right. Not sure about the whole CORN thing.  How the hell am I supposed to avoid corn and soy and ALL nuts? Not sure about the whole avoiding gluten thing too. I know that has made me feel better.  I should probably continue that unless they want to run another celiac test on me.  Time to see a nutritionist and in the mean time, eat rice and meat.

Time to be gluten, corn, soy, and nut free.  O_o