What to do about Thanksgiving...

Y'know...about my milk allergy. Well, maybe you don't know as there are really only a couple of peeps who stop by here.

A few weeks back...I became very ill.
And I'm sure it was my fault.
ok...it was my fault.

What with eating beignets almost every day I was in New Orleans and all...I figured that taking the benies every night would help. It did...for a while.

I was home for a couple weeks...and honestly, I try very hard to pay attention to what I'm eating, reading labels, asking what's in things...etc. Except for the beignets. *blushes* I don't even use "non-dairy" creamers in my coffee anymore due to the casein in them!

Anyway, I made some Betty Crocker peanut butter cookies. It had been well over a year since I've eaten them, but I truly didn't remember reacting to them! So the next morning, I have coffee...with my newly discovered flavored Splenda!...and promptly ate like 6-8 cookies (weren't very big and I like to dunk them).

Within about 1 hr, I knew I was in trouble! Mouth was tingling, tongue and back of throat started to feel thick, itching, GI symptoms ensued. I popped benedryl...and had to keep popping benedryl for 3 days straight!! I missed 3 days of work...which is a week's worth of work for me since I work 12-hr shifts!

Oy...that first night was the worst...perhaps that first time I ever felt I was having respiratory problems. I have family with asthma, and of course have worked with patients with respiratory problems...so I stayed calm...I knew I was getting air even though I was breathing a little off. So I chalked it up to anxiety...which still isn't good because it's our body's way of say "...Hey, dumbass...pay attention!!!"

I was NOT about to go into urgent care...the last time they told me I wasn't having a sinus problems and tried to gave me an allergy med for Hay Fever...which my allergist has clearly stated I'm not allergic too...maybe sensitive...but not allergic. So why go somewhere that believes it's all in my head, right? I couldn't get in to see my allergist, so I had to wait all weekend...hence, taking benies for 3 days...they throw me for a loop. Can imagine me trying to take care of patients??? O.o

So I finally got in to see my Allergist...he promptly scolded me for not going into urgent care or ER. He thinks I some how managed to max my "threshold" and my body just could not take it anymore after just one more cookie. *stupid sweet addiction. ok...beignets* He gave me a new-to-me med called Xyzal which is non-drowsy. Pretty much. And I've graduated to an epipen!! Yay me! *grumbles*

I have yet to pick up the epipen as my pharmacy had to order it...and life has gotten in the way of my picking it up. Needless to say, I've been very careful since. I'm thinking I should call the pharmacy in the am to see if they have it and just drag my procrastinating butt over there. ugh...I LOATHE driving over there unless it's for work.

I'm bound to end up eating something I shouldn't on Thursday. It's a family dinner...with milk to abound I'm sure. Mashed potatoes with milk, pies, goodies...and I'm sure there will be some mexican food with cheese aaalll ovah it!

My auntie said she would cook a bird since I asked...even though we don't need to. I just like the way she cooks for Turkey Day. I LOVE her stuffing! LOVELOVELOVEIT! We now put it in muffin tins so every one gets some crust...tip from Rachel Ray. lol We also do stuffing stuffed mushrooms...our version copped from Sandra Lee. lmao I will miss out on her greenbean casserole. I haven't spent time looking for a mushroom soup substitute. I love greenbean casserole. *pouts*

I'm like what should I do? Make my own meal (ok...help my Tia make me a meal)? Or trust I'll find something to eat and share dinner with all? I guess I could take microwaved potatoes with me so I can make my own mashed potatoes...I love potatoes. Definitely will take my own "butter" (Nucoa margarine). Making pumpkin bread...so I know I'll get one semi-sweet treat. Take my own vegie...since others will end up putting butter on theirs that I won't be able to eat. Rolls/bread...yeesh! Not even sure I should be eating my Stater Bro. brand anymore as I sometimes feel itchy/stuffy after eating it...it's manufactured where milk is used/processed.

I'm so pouting and ranting. Sorry everyone...just got to thinking about this as I was looking up my RSS feeds from foodies.

If I'm going to protect myself...I guess I'll have to take my own food...which so sucks. Thanksgiving is about the gratitude & family time...but it's also about the potluck food everyone brings to share! As much as I need to do it...it gets old asking peeps about every dish present..."Is there any milk or milk products in this? ...yeah...cheese, yogurt, butter, margarine, boxed mixes with milk proteins..." which is where I get glazed or irritated looks. *bone deep sigh*

And by the way...I'm still debating if the beignets were worth it. Well, Cafe du Monde stops were an essential part of my KCon experience after all! lol

I know...will I ever learn? ;p

Very Good Taste Omnivore’s Hundred (meme)

Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten. (Google all the items you’ve never heard of. -S)
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare (maybe as long as it's not horse)
5. Crocodile...no, but I had Alligator recently in New Orleans!
6. Black pudding I don't think so.
7. Cheese fondue*
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho (if meat is well done, I would try it)
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi (meh...maybe if it's not too spicy & hides the cauliflower)
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses (milk allergy)
17. Black truffle (I eat mushrooms...why not?)
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream*
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras ...eeewww liver!
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese (milk allergy)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper ...I'm a wuss when it comes to chilis
27. Dulce de leche*
28. Oysters ...bleh, texture thing.
29. Baklava*
30. Bagna cauda ...meh, not sure about the anchovies, def no cream!
31. Wasabi peas ...again, no pepper-like substances for me!
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (milk allergy)
33. Salted lassi (milk allergy+cayenne)
34. Sauerkraut ...can I say eewwww.
35. Root beer float*
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea (milk allergy)
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat ....i don't know about this one.
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal ...hot,hot,hothot
44. Goat’s milk (milk allergy...not taking any chances)
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu ...can you say Death Wish?
47. Chicken tikka masala ....meh, curry=spicy
48. Eel (bad experience with bro's pet eel & cucumber peels...s'all i'm sayin')
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut*
50. Sea urchin ...raw?! *shudders*
51. Prickly pear...we call these nopales Really only liked it made my Gma.
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone (It’s endangered. -S) ...and it's a snail. o.O
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores*
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (Only if taking Kaopectate counts. -S)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake (Had beignets & benedryl recently in New Orleans...lol)
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill was it a deer? meh...maybe not.
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox (milk allergy)
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Amy's Kitchen

I've found some wonderful blogs, sites, & recipes through some of my searches and following links and reviews at various places, starting usually with Go Dairy Free & their blog.

A wonderful resource for prepared no-dairy foods is a brand called Amy's. I believe the family business goes by Amy's Kitchen. You can see their food products in their Kitchen. I like the drop down menu for selections on allergies that provides a list of the major ones. You can select your allery, and it brings up a list of foods that accomodates that allergy. ssswweet!

Once I saw their site, I had to find where the products. I finally found them at a Clark's Food Market. There was quite a selection there, but, not all of it was vegan/no-dairy. I made 5 selections: Vegetable Pot Pie, Roasted Vegetable Pocket, Vegetable Pocket, Shepherd's Pie, & Roasted Vegetable Pizza.

Shepherd's Pie:

The filling was like a nice vegetable soup. Very tasty. I don't get to eat pot pies and such very much anymore, so it was a nice treat. The potato topper was ok. The mashed potatoes had a texture to them...which I've found is true in many frozen mashed potatoes. So that was not a turn off for me at all...was just nice to have mashed potatoes that I didn't have to make!

I would have liked my potatoes browned. So if I had a toaster oven, I would use it with this dish.


Vegetable Pie in a Pocket Sandwich:

Man...was it nice to have a pocket again! I love Hot Pockets!!
The filling was pretty good. Nice veggies...but I missed the meat. I love chicken and turkey pot pies/pockets. Hmmm...it's been a while since I ate that, but, I think their might have been bits of tofu, which I didn't mind. Not my fave thing in the world, but it'll do in a pinch...and someone actually knows how to cook it!! lol
Also, the dough was...umm...dense, maybe? Definitely not a Hot Pocket type of dough. It was a little more like pizza dough...which isn't a bad thing.

Lastly, a Roasted Vegetable Pie in a Pocket.
I know that it exist...because I ate the same day I had the Veggie pocket at work. However, I can't find it on the Products list.
...but I know that I ate!

O.O no....really! lol

Seriously, I remember biting into it thinking...this isn't what I bought! I thought it said Roast & Vegetable Pie in a Pocket...y'know with MEAT!!!

bah! So tricked me!

Anyway...wasn't too bad...I'm just not a big veggie eater. Also, when it comes to veggies...I like them to flavor my food, especially peppers, not necessarily eat them though! Like fajitas, I love the peppers and onions to flavor my chicken or steak...but I tend to leave the veggies on the plate!

Wha? o.O

*Ouch* Stop making like the V8 commercial!!
*rubs forehead*
^__^

Anyway, I haven't tried the other two items at they need to be put in the oven...and as I said...I'm not a kitchen person.
I'm learning.

Snacks for the Milk Allergy afflicted

Here are a couple of treats I found at Trader Joe's.

Trader Joe's Gluten Free Ginger Snaps:

These are crunchy little cookies with a nice kick of ginger in them!
You get 5 cookies per serving at 140 calories (50 calories fat).
Ingredients: Gluten free flour, sugar, canola oil, molasses, ginger, soy lecithin, eggs, baking soda, sea salt, natural flavors.

Allergy warning: made on equipment shared with milk, peanuts, & tree nuts.

I can eat these and do not seem to have a problem with them. I like to dunk them in my coffee!

My only problem is...I tried their Triple Ginger Snaps first. Big mistake!!! I liked them better...but they had some sort of milk product in them.

Now...I still buy them...for my aunite who loves them! So wrong!

Here's a review I found at Snack Lounge.


Next up...
Trader Joe's Soy Creamy Mini Chocolate Sandwiches
I have tried a soy vanilla ice cream before, but it was just ok. However, I was craving ice cream. When you haven't had it in so long...ya try ANYTHING! So I gave these a try...figured it would hit 2 cravings at once...ice cream and chocolate.

I have to say, I'm rather surprised! Not too bad. Didn't have a lot of after taste, was chocolatey...chocolate ice cream with a chocolate cookie.

According to Trader Joes, they are listed under their Vegan foods, which means: "Vegan
Products that are free of all animal products and /or by-products, including meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, honey, gelatin, lanolin, confectioner’s glaze and carmine."

So there. I'm good....except I tend to eat 2 at a time.

Serving size is 1 sandwich at 90 calories (20 calories fat). I couldn't find the ingredient list because I threw away my one and only box. *shrugs* Found the calories at The Daily Plate. No reviews or pics there.

Ok...that's it for now.
Coming soon...Amy's Kitchen stuff

Adventures to a Milk-free world

I'm sure I've mentioned it somewhere before, whether here or at my LJ, that I'm allergic to milk....

No...NOT lactose intolerant.

Allergic.

There is a difference.

I can't take a pill and then eat the offending food that will make me sick otherwise. I still get sick! The effects of the offending milk proteins causes anything from GI symptoms to a full-flegded sinus infection...which has led to bronchitis on a couple of occasions. Last fall, it settled in my chest. I had respiratory problems due to the infection for which they had to give me an inhaler.

Thank God I've never had all out respiratory problems, or *horrors!* anaphalactic shock, due to digesting a milk protein...but the feeling of my sinuses, eyes, throat, tongue, or mouth swelling, itching, or tingling...yeah...not so nice!! O.O

*sigh* I must say...I love milk and milk products, but alas, they do not love me. I realized in my early twenties that I could no longer drink milk or eat ice cream...major GI probs there! ack!!

So, I gradually stopped using milk & ice cream. Although, sometimes I just broke down and had to have a bowl of my fave cereal or ice cream at the A&W!! ugh.
I used to work there as a teen...I even have my personalized mug I received from the boss to this day! What's a girl to do?

I continued to have problems with my sinuses throughout my twenties, and eventually asked my doctor in my lil' town-in-the-middle-of-nowhere, Wyoming to check me for allergies because I kept getting sinus infections and they seemed seasonal. She said I had only a mild allergy to Timothy Grass...wha?

So I continued on...thinkin' there were whacked...but hey, who am I to tell a doc they got it wrong??!!

Fast forward to a few years ago, now in my mid-thirties and living in California, I went to my MD again. After so many sinus problems, he sent me to an ENT and an Allergist...God bless him!!

Still...nothing on my radar but a mild allergy to some grass again...but the allergist checked some food allergies this time!!
Double Blessings to Dr. S!!!

MILK!!! ...and yes, I asked the same thing as you may have.

"What? You mean I'm lactose intolerant? Well, I kinda knew that...I don't drink milk or eat ice cream anymore...well, rarely..."

He explained to me the difference.....I have since been in mourning of cheese. *sniffle*

Honestly, I didn't believe him at first. He had me on that diet where I couldn't eat anything but for a few things...and lots of veggies, no bread...blah! But, I did feel better!

After the milk allergy diagnosis, I went back to eating all my foods but tried to cut out milk products. Daaayyum...but it's hard!! See, a year or two before this...I was diagnosed as a diabetic. I was using cottage cheese, cheeses, yogurt, etc, to help control my diet. *facepalm*

And...I LOVELOVELOVE cheese.



I had such a hard time cutting out cheese from my diet. I was still struggling 6 months after I found out about my allergy, and ended up really sick again...sinus infection, bronchitis, antibiotics, lots of missed work days...it was out of control. So, I realized I had to make a real effort to stop eating the cheeses. *deepdeep sigh*

Nowadays, my struggle is with eating out and reading all of the labels to the food I buy. Oh...and coffee creamers!! I love coffee, but I don't always have soy based cream around, so I use the powdered creamers...they have casein in them...even though they say they're "non-dairy"...they so aren't!!!

So I still have flare ups now and then...and I kick myself for it because I can usually pinpoint the cause. (don't ask me about the pumpkin pie filling) O.O And y'know, there seems to be a buildup effect to it as well...like small doses here and there, but too close together causes more severe reactions.

Oh...and worse...since I stopped taking in milk proteins...my reactions seem worse as well. It's like before there was always something in my body...so my body always had elevated inflammatory response, or something, going on. Now that milk proteins in my diet are to a minimum...if I do eat something...OMG!!!

I get soooo sick...and it's multiple reactions...GI right away, with inflammatory responses to my sinus, etc, to linger on afterwards!

GAH!!! That's just so wrong!

Ok...I'm now babbling, and ranting. So, I'm going to end with the fact that I'm still learning and trying to figure my way around foods that are healthier for me....like vegan and gluten-free foods seems to fall into my "no milk" lifestyle.

Except I eat meat, eggs, dislike most veggies, eat some breads...and...yeah.

Anyway...what started this whole post is that I'm planning to post some of the things I find to eat...bought or made. I'll be posting a couple of them later today hopefully...as for now...I need to get some sleep!

The Forboden...

I'm so friggin' hungry and craving cheese!
*facepalm*