A Toast to the Holidays

The holidays can always be a challenging time of year for those with food allergies. There are many tempting foods available which need to be avoided. Having substitutes available can help keep willpower strong. 

Starting in the late autumn, mulled apple cider is a seasonal favorite. Making your own fresh can avoid preservative which can be a hidden source of allergens. Find the recipe here for Mulled Apple Cider.  As autumn turns to winter, and the snow starts falling, nothing this the spot like hot chocolate. Find two recipes here for Hot Chocolate. One with a homemade flavor and another similar to a popular powdered mix.

Holiday parties are just not limited to evenings. This alcohol-free mimosa recipe can help you keep a clear head and enable you to make better food choices. Find the recipe for Faux-mosa here.

Happy Holidays!

Eat well and be well,

Krista

Life’s a Picnic...

Holidays can be hard for those with food allergies and food sensitivities. Everyone seems to be having a good time while you obsess over the unknowns of what you can and cannot eat. Does the salad dressing have soybean oil? Are the meatballs made with breadcrumbs or cheese? Did that hamburger touch the salmon when they were on the grill together?

A good strategy for dealing with picnics and parties is to be informed. If you know the host or hostess well, you can directly address your concerns beforehand while offering to make a side dish and/or a dessert. Making something similar to what will be served is a good tactic. This way, you wont feel deprived since you CAN have what others are having.

From a buffet, choose foods that are basic, such as a salad that has dressing on the side, or a plain baked potato. If you have problems with wheat or gluten, wrap a burger in a lettuce leaf. This is a popular strategy for people on a low-carbohydrate diet. Remember to avoid mayonnaise if you are allergic to soy or eggs. And always take the opportunity to read a label before putting something on your plate.

Are you going to a picnic or party as a guest and feel awkward about being vocal regarding your food allergies or food sensitivities? Then consider eating a large meal at home and taking snacks with you. Avoiding alcohol can keep you focused and enable you to refrain from making bad choices.

If you have a severe allergy to any food, you should avoid it no matter how socially uncomfortable it may be to ask the questions that will protect your health and, possibly, your life. The consequences are not worth the risk.

Someone with food sensitivities may be willing to take such a risk. In the event that you opt to indulge, then make notes of any symptoms experienced. This knowledge may help you be more diligent in the future. It’s also a good idea to take some digestive enzymes as they may shorten the duration of any symptoms that may occur.

Here are a few picnic- and party-friendly dishes:

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Icing (click for recipe)

Hummus (click for recipe)

Italian Potato Salad (click for recipe)

Other suggestions that are not shown are Potato Salad (click for recipe,) Italian Salad Dressing (click for recipe,) and Pomegranate Orange Salad Dressing (click for recipe.)

You never know, you may be providing a nibble for some who didn’t want to speak up about their own food allergies or food sensitivities.

Eat well and be well,

Krista

Hold the Mayo!

Bring out the best hidden source of allergens! For summer-time picnic fare, it seems difficult to steer clear of mayonnaise. It’s glorified as the miraculous ingredient that holds it all together. A basic mayonnaise recipe calls for eggs, egg yolks, olive oil, lemon juice, water, mustard, and salt. So it seems that the only obvious common allergen ingredients are the eggs and egg yolks.

Yet the label on a mayonnaise jar may read more like this:

or this:

The above images are screen captures (sorry for the quality) of label information from two manufacturers websites: one, a popular brand and the other, an organic artisan brand. Both are marketed as containing olive oil; which is not incorrect. At best, it is misleading as they also contains soybean oil. And since ingredients are listed from most to least abundant, there is more soybean than the olive oil. Unfortunately,  as a subsidized crop, soybean oil is very inexpensive so it helps keep costs low and profits high. Always carefully read labels to avoid hidden sources of food allergens or sensitivities.

For those sensitive to corn, not only is modified corn starch a listed ingredient, more than likely, both vinegar and xanthan gum are corn derivatives. And like soybeans, the majority of corn crops are genetically modified. If a product is not labeled as containing no GMO ingredients, you should assume that it does.

Natural flavors can also be a source of hidden allergens. These additives, by law (FDA:21CFR101.22), can contain substances that are fermented and will contain trace amounts of alcohol. They may include substances derived from any of the 8 common food allergens or food sensitivities, as well as be derived from animal matter. So vegans and vegetarians, be diligent. Since the FDA does not require labeling to be more specific than “natural flavor,” call the manufacture if in doubt. Typically they are willing to share this information.

Now, that being said, it is still possible to make a tasty potato salad while holding the mayo.

A mix of olive oil, lemon and mustard are a great substitute for egg-laden (and who knows what else) mayonnaise. Enjoy your picnic!

Find the Potato Salad recipe here. 

Eat well and be well,

Krista

Cold Spring Day Cooking.

Today I made a busy day for myself. I made my Apple Maple Oatmeal (click for recipe) again so that I could take a good picture of it. Not quite sure how I did. Maybe it's time to upgrade my camera.

 Then I also wanted to capture a good image of the Sweet Potato Comfort Food (click for recipe.)  I had some ground meat and onions cooking for another dish so I after I snapped some photos I had a nice lunch on this cold Spring day.

I finally got to quantify and photograph my Babaganoush (click for recipe.)

And since everything can’t always go right, my attempt at adapting Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins was less than perfect. I don’t think they cooked long enough and even though they looked fluffy when I took them out of the oven to cool, they sank quickly.

The taste was good but they are quite heavy. It was the first time that I've used palm kernal shortening in baking. I think this will get adjusted soon and hopefully I will be posting a success!

Eat well and be well,
Krista