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

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream Because We Can't Eat Ice Cream!

One of the disappointments of discovering food allergies and sensitivities later in life, for me, has been that I've been introduced to many delicious foods that have had a negative impact on my health. Yet, the desire for them, still remains. Of course, the best thing about discovering food allergies later in life is that I rid myself of life-long health problems and, so, comparitively, I feel as though I'm getting younger.

But I digress. Back to ICE CREAM! What an integral part of life it is as Memorial Day approaches. I grew up with a local dairy bar which had a miniture golf course. Opening was always Memorial Day weekend. It was a family ritual, sometimes with grandparents, to play a round of golf and indulge in a dip of flavors like Teaberry or Butterscotch.

These types of rituals keep the impact of foods allergies and sensitivities closely tied to happy occasions in life thereby associating postive emotions with negative physical responses. Breaking these connections will vastly contribute to better health in mind, body, and spirit.

Yes, yes, back to ice cream. Now we are presented with an opportunity to repattern responses by having new happy memories associated with foods that keep the immune system from going haywire.

I know, I'm digressing again. But this weekend, there was a demo for the VitaMix 5200 in the grocery store. Wanting that to be my next kitchen appliance, but not having the cash on hand to invest in it, I decided to try an adapted ice cream recipe in my Waring professional-grade food processor. It made sense to me since it has the same horsepower motor.

I peeled an orange with a knife, reserving 1/3 of the peel while trying to retain much of the inner white pith. The pith is high in bioflavonoids and helps aid the absorbtion of vitamin C, a crucial combination for recovering health.

In to the food processor went the orange, the peel, cocoa, agave syrup, vanilla powder, arrow root starch, salt...

...and ice, just like the VitaMix recipes.

Unfortunately, regardless of having the same horsepower engines, all the ice melted. I think there has to be some different blade configuration.

But not to worry, I have an ice cream maker bowl in the freezer now and will attempt to churn it into something yummy tomorrow. If it works, I'll post the measurements. If not, I'll keep trying for summer is just around the corner!

Addendum: read Screaming for Joy! for the tale of the success click here for the recipe of Orange Chocolate Sorbet.

Be well,

Krista