I’m home from my trip and playing catch up today. I took one extra day off work (SO GLAD) so I could do laundry and pick up around the house, hit up the grocery store, and just generally mentally get ready to get back in the groove.
In our house, we’re getting ready to go ALLERGEN FREE for two whole weeks (after which we will be gradually adding some of these major allergens back in a week at a time to see how we both react). That means no gluten, no dairy, no eggs, no soy, no peanuts, no tree nuts, no fish, no shellfish, no corn.
DUDE, THIS IS HARD, even for me who likes to cook.
I’ve been planning menus for two weeks because I know there’s no way we’ll make it through without a detailed plan listing out everything we’re going to eat. I think the hardest part will be subbing something else in my tea and hubby’s coffee (he was NOT PLEASED to hear there is apparently casein in non dairy creamer). I’m not what you call excited about that myself, so dairy will be the first thing we add back in after the two weeks is up.
I expect the first week to be the hardest because of the knee jerk reaction to reach for…all this stuff that’s totally normal that has allergens in it. Y’all, soy and corn are in EVERYTHING (so is gluten, but we’ve already cut that out for hubby, and I’ve just been eating my one loaf of wheat bread for breakfast toast). After that…we’ll see!
I’m kind of afraid of what we might find one or the other of us is allergic. Cutting out fish or shellfish wouldn’t be that bad. And the nuts and peanuts wouldn’t be that hard to avoid. But soy, corn, dairy, and eggs? O.O That would make it virtually impossible to eat out, like, ever. We don’t live in the kind of place where they readily have alternatives (or even AWARENESS of) for allergies to this stuff. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Wish us luck!
10 thoughts on “Preparing To Go Allergen Free”
No coconut milk? I know there are two trains of thought on that, but probably not. Good luck to the both of you. And please feel free to share what you were able to eat during that two weeks. Yeah, I’d have to add dairy back ASAP, too.
I’m actually sensitive to carrots at the moment. Six months ago, I developed a sensitivity to that, coconut, peanuts, onions, garlic, and some other things, and after going cold turkey, I redeveloped my ability to eat everything* but carrot (*I haven’t tested coconut yet). Carrots make my face itch, which is a warning sign.
(Note that I’m entirely allergic or intolerant to strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, rice, pork, egg yolks, almonds, stevia, and…I’m forgetting a few foodstuffs. But one thing that helps a ton is a vertical notecard with each “MUST AVOID” item on a new line, which I hand to the waiter for the chef when I eat out.)
But I also know a family who’s on the GAPS diet, and though they’re still in the first year or so, their sensitivities are actually improving a great deal.
Oh, and another thought: What about flax milk?
I didn’t know there was such a thing. Certainly never seen it in any of our grocery stores.
I hate the taste of flax, myself, but I know some people who like it. If you can’t find it in the store, these kinds of alternative milks are easy to make, mainly needing the item, water, a blender, and a sweetener. (Here’s one recipe I just spotted.)
Found flax milk and hemp milk at the grocery hanging out on the bottom row of the weird milk section. I use ground flax often in my baking. This will be my first experience with hemp outside of rope and hippie jewelry…
Ooo, I’ve not done hemp milk, but I am quite fond of hemp hearts (the seeds used to make the milk). They’re quite good for you.
It’s…interesting. Better than the coconut milk in tea for sure.
Good luck, going allergen free is very hard, but totally worth it in the end if it helps 🙂
Thanks for sharing this all with us, Kait. We’ve had similar issues/needs so I’m interested to see how it all plays out – and hope you find some great recipes to share!