Travel for me means planning for all of life’s unknown

Tag: food allergies (Page 1 of 2)

A Soy-Free Existence Shattered

A Soy-Free Existence Shattered

There is nothing worse than taking a food allergy hit while traveling; especially when the side effects are on the smelly and messy side, followed by a migraine. Though thankfully the migraine came well after we were home, and I had meds to help with the other side-effects while we were in the car.  It takes the motto of “don’t leave home without it” to a whole new extreme.

Exile Brewing Company is located in Des Moines, Iowa, near their downtown area.  It’s very industrial, and the air is filled with the tang of fermenting barley and wheat as you would expect from a brewery.

I was traveling with a group, and a beer after a long hard day at the track is just what this group (minus myself, beer – bleh) desired, for me being able to eat there is the only requirement.  So, I called ahead and checked it out, turns out if I communicate with my server, they can feed me. Great! I let the group know and we head out.

Typically, it’s the third time that is the charm, in this case it was the first time.  I ordered their chicken plate, and it came with a starter salad.  They brought me their house parmesan dressing, it smelled divine – which typically denotes when I can’t have something – but I had them double check the ingredients.  Turns out I couldn’t have that dressing, but I could have their Italian dressing. Dinner progressed without incident, and the group deemed the beer worthy of their taste buds.

Two nights later, we decided to return to Exile.  This time burgers and fries were the desire, as well as beer, after a very long weekend of field and track.  It was time to enjoy the company, fill our bellies, and then get a goodnights rest for the 11 plus hour drive home the next day.

This time, I wasn’t as fortunate.  It was Saturday night, and they were busy. Though we were seated quickly, getting and keeping our servers attention was not easy.  A member of our party has a very drastic reaction to onions, and requested no onions on his burger.  Sadly, when he received it…there were onions present. Thankfully he could pull them off and carry on with his meal, but the fact that they were there was a bad omen for me.

I did my due diligence and asked the server to verify that I could have my desired menu choice, a lovely steak salad with heirloom tomatoes (heirloom tomatoes are a personal favorite).

Now when I had called they informed me that I needed to let my server know about my soy allergy so that they could inform the kitchen of it, and the kitchen could then take steps to prevent cross contamination and use pure olive oil.

I stressed my allergy and he assured me there was no soy in my entrée of choice. It came with the parmesan dressing, so I asked for the Italian instead, and proceeded to wait patiently.

My salad came, and I ate with gusto. I was starving, and realized quickly that it wasn’t enough to cover the energy I had burned at the track meet, so I also ordered a starter salad.  Honestly, I think I wanted the fresh vegetables, it’s one thing we don’t get enough of when traveling to out of state meets.  Plus, the started salad also had heirloom tomatoes, so it was a no brainer I asked for the Italian dressing, and settled back enjoyed the company.

We got back to our room, and my symptoms started. The only thing I can figure is that they didn’t take proper steps in the kitchen to ensure I only got olive oil when cooking my steak.  All I knew was that I didn’t feel well, and if I didn’t start on my meds soon I would be in trouble.

The moral of this story is, you can never be too careful. Just when I think I can eat somewhere new, which is nice for all involved since we carpool and they are typically stuck going where I can go to eat, so it’s nice when we can change things up a bit, then something like this happens and I just want to run back to my hole and only eat at places I know are safe.  It’s kind of sad, I won’t deny it, but the reality of not eating properly is dangerous. And I will take sad over dangerous any day.

After years of going wherever someone else wanted to go and basically living on salads, no meat or any protein just veggies, after a long grueling day of field events where we can be doing anything from running in fields to spot where a shot put, discus, hammer, weight, or javelin fell, to shuttling said tools back to the athletes just to name two jobs; add into that extreme weather from 100-degree heat to 42 degrees and freezing rain for outdoor venues and all of it requires energy for your body to burn, and contrary to popular some beliefs, only eating vegetables is not the best solution (for me anyway). Even if you want/need to lose weight, not eating properly, regardless of the reason, is not the answer.

Once my doctor threatened me with a hospital stay to get my blood chemistry back to “safe” levels, I realized the error of my ways and put my foot down when it came to eating with groups. Sometimes it means I don’t go with the group. That really sucks, especially for my husband because he chooses to go with me and that means he doesn’t get to socialize (something he thrives on), but there is only one me and I have to take care of me.  That is a hard lesson to learn, for some.  (Pot calling the kettle black…right here!)

Thankfully hubby doesn’t complain, much. After four days of the same restaurant he’s ready to eat anything else, but he’s a trooper. I offer to let him go with the group, and Lord bless him he chooses me every time. Thankfully, with my continued efforts to try new places – it is not easy let me tell you, once you experience a food allergy reaction you are very leery to re-live it – I have found some great places of us to eat when we travel.  And hopefully there will be more travel, for fun not track (though we love our track trips) in our near future.

An Ingredient By Any Other Name

(While compiling this information I realized just how poorly I was handling my soy allergy. My Soy-Free existence isn’t so soy-free after all. We never stop learning and we must constantly be researching our allergy to stay on top of the name game.)

An ingredient by any other name couldn’t possibly be soy…right?

When I was first told I had food intolerances, though they didn’t know to what, I had no idea where that string would lead me.

My endocrinologist was the first Doctor to suggest I had food intolerance. While I’ve never been a big eater, I am a foodie so trying new things was kind-of my thing. However, when I wanted to really crack down on my symptoms I knew I had to figure out what I was reacting to.

So I off I went, from reading books to reading labels.

I started by omitting wheat and dairy (as suggested by my doctor) for 10 weeks I avoided gluten and dairy as best I could. Nothing changed, or so I thought, so after the 10 weeks I began to slowly reintegrating wheat and dairy into my diet. As suspected…there was no change.

When checking for food allergies the longer you can go without what you think you are intolerant to the better you will be able to see how the allergen in the food affect you.

While reading labels during that 10 week period there was one thing I noticed. Every thing I picked up to eat contained soy. Some research into the NIH and Mayo Clinic websites suggested that soy was the issue as it is on the rise as far as people being allergic.

So began my long and arduous trek to a Soy-free existence.

One thing to think on, if you think you have food intolerances, is that to truly have a life free of your intolerance you have to know everything about the ingredient. And that if you aren’t careful and keep piling on the ingredient you can’t process correctly it can lead to you becoming allergic to the ingredient. So diligence to avoid your ingredient is crucial to living your best life.

A food by any other name…couldn’t possibly be soy…right?

Wrong!

As I have forged my soy-free existence there is one thing that I have come to understand…nothing is as it seems on food labels. And while you might think you are avoiding soy you are in-fact, not avoiding it at all!

My first clue that I was indeed allergic to soy was when I started dropping weight when I avoided it. And by avoiding it I mean, I basically at fresh vegetables with olive oil and vinegar if I wanted a salad, and if I wanted more than a salad (because I’ll admit salad is my favorite food) I would only eat it if I made it myself. Which is always your best bet, but in this fast paced world – when you aren’t eating enough – it simply isn’t feasible to make everything from scratch.

I started out making sure the word soy was nowhere to be found on my food labels. This basically means I stayed away from:

  • Edamame
  • Miso
  • Soy Sauce and shoyu sauce
  • Soy-based fiber, flour, grits, nuts, or sprouts
  • Soy-based milk, yogurt, ice cream, or cheese
  • Soy protein
  • Tamari
  • Tempeh
  • Textured Vegetable protein
  • Tofu

This is the basic list, as I knew it. [3]. Though now on that list is Natto – something I’ve only recently started avoiding. So long as these weren’t named, and the allergen list didn’t say “Contains: soy” I thought I was OK.

Then there’s the obvious. I can’t eat at Asian restaurants, which really sucks since I love Asian Cuisine! It’s just too difficult to ensure that I don’t get any cross contaminations. Though  believe me when it comes to soy and my reactions – a little is far easier to deal with than a lot.

While figuring this all out I accidently got some soy when eating out and figured, “what the heck, I’ve all ready gotten some soy and I want Chinese food so I’m gonna go all out”.

(It’s hard to stick to the diet, believe me especially when you really like something, so this mindset of “I’m gonna eat it anyway” can, and will, kick-in at any time. However, what I’ve come to realize is the amount does matter.)

So off hubby and I went to a local Chinese cuisine restaurant we loved and I proceeded to eat my weight in my favorite foods: fried rice, low-mein, egg rolls, egg drop soup, sweet and sour pork, and anything else that struck my fancy, and it all received a healthy dose of soy sauce. What’s the point of rebelling if you don’t go all out? Am I right?

It was a big bill, but I left with a contented smile on my face. And that smile lasted for about 18 hours.

Thankfully Hubby was traveling for work and left the next day. He was gone for two weeks and it’s a good thing he was, because once the symptoms started there was no turning back. And when the dog decides he’d rather be on a different floor than you are on…you know it’s bad.

While I lost weight initially, it didn’t stay off and I’ve had to re-evaluate my strategy to remain soy-free.

Other foods found in Asian Cuisine that might contain soy you might not have thought of are [1]:

  • Bean Sprouts
  • Kinako
  • Nimame
  • Okara
  • Yuba

From There I made sure I could pronounce the ingredients. If I couldn’t pronounce it, I didn’t eat it. This helped at first, and made me realize my best option for maintaining this was to eat organic and non-gmo foods only. But even this only got me so far.

Here is a list of soy based ingredients that might not say ‘soy’ [1]:

  • Hydrolyzed soy protein (HSP)
  • Mono- and diglycerides
  • MSG (monosodium glutamate)
  • Soy (albumin, cheese, fiber, grits, mild, nuts, sprouts, yogurt, ice cream, pasta)
  • Soy lecithin
  • Soy protein (concentrate, hydrolyzed, isolate)
  • Soybean oil
  • Teriyaki sauce
  • Textured vegetable protein (TVP)

Then there are the lists of possible Soy Ingredients [1]:

  • Bulking agent
  • Hydrolyzed plant protein (HPP) or hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP)
  • Gum arabic
  • Guar gum
  • Lecithin
  • Mixed Tocopherols
  • Natural flavoring
  • Stabilizer
  • Thickener
  • Vegetable gum, starch, shortening, or oil
  • Vitamin E

Think about those lists for a moment and all the labels you’ve read, seeing those words, and ate anyway thinking they were safe. I know I ate a lot of things that contained those ingredients because they didn’t say “soy”.

Bad on me, I know. But still, the label didn’t say soy anywhere, so it should have been safe. Right?

If you’d like a quick cheat sheet check out [3] and print it out. Though a much more extensive list can be found in [1], though just be ready to have your boat rocked in the realization that what is in your pantry could contain soy.
Compiling this has been an eye opener.  There are so many things I thought were safe, and aren’t. No wonder my reactions have been continuously turning more and more anaphylactic. It started with just gastric upset and has progressed to vomiting and migraines when I consume soy.

Finally I had to do even more research because it was clear, by my continued weight gain and other symptoms, that I was still getting soy somewhere. I realized food manufacturers are very sneaky (in my opinion), and there were other foods to avoid all together if I could because they just might contain soy (this is why an allergy card just isn’t feasible for me).   I’ve even had to drop some of my supplements because they contain hidden soy.

Here are some not so obvious foods that I’ve had to reassess because they might contain soy [1]:

  • Baked goods and baking mixes
  • Bouillon cubes
  • Candy
  • Cereal
  • Chicken (raw or cooked) that is processed with chicken broth
  • Chicken broth
  • Chocolate
  • Deli meat
  • Energy bars, nutrition bars
  • Imitation dairy foods, such as soy milks, vegan cheese, or vegan ice cream
  • Infant formula
  • Margarine
  • Mayonnaise
  • Meat products with fillers, for example, burgers or sausages
  • Nutrition supplements (vitamins)
  • Peanut butter
  • Protein powders
  • Sauces, gravies, and soups (pre-made or sauce packs)
  • Smoothies
  • Vegetable broth
  • Vegetarian meat substitutes: veggie burgers, imitation chicken patties, imitation lunchmeats, imitation bacon bits, etc.

How is that for a list, huh? I mean what is left at this point? That doesn’t include breads, hotdog buns, and hamburger buns.

But wait! It only grows more intensive.

I was sent to the Nation Institutes of Health (NIH) for testing for an environmental allergy and found out that chicken and pork may also cause reactions because they are fed soy. My response was…”Then what the heck am I allowed to eat?” The answer,“Grass-fed beef”. Thanks!

I can also eat wild caught fish, and wild caught sea food.  That’s great, but overall very expensive, so I’m trying to find other ways to eat chicken.

And what do I eat? Organic chicken (so long as there’s no chicken broth used) and pork from a local store that can scale the care given to the animals, while I don’t eat a lot of pork it helps knowing if its local and what it was fed.

All of this to say…  I still have a lot to learn about soy and what I need to avoid.  I do my best to make things from scratch, if you’d like to follow along on that journey follow me on Instagram  I recently made chicken soup with multicolored carrots. It was very interesting…the purple ones turned white while cooking.  I also had my first success at baking a sweet potato.  It was awesome!  Check me out, and follow me for more of my cooking adventures.

[1] A Soy Free Diet Means More Than Just Checking For ‘Soy’. By Jill Castle, MS, RD (2016)

[2] Diseases and Conditions: Soy Allergy. By May Clinic Staff (2014)

[3] Living With A Soy Allergy. Web MD

An Ingredient By Any Other Name…Part 3

Finally I had to do even more research because it was clear, by my continued weight gain and other symptoms, that I was still getting soy somewhere. I realized food manufacturers are very sneaky (in my opinion), and there were other foods to avoid all together if I could because they just might contain soy (this is why an allergy card just isn’t feasible for me).   I’ve even had to drop some of my supplements because they contain hidden soy.

Here are some not so obvious foods that I’ve had to reassess because they might contain soy [1]:

  • Baked goods and baking mixes
  • Bouillon cubes
  • Candy
  • Cereal
  • Chicken (raw or cooked) that is processed with chicken broth
  • Chicken broth
  • Chocolate
  • Deli meat
  • Energy bars, nutrition bars
  • Imitation dairy foods, such as soy milks, vegan cheese, or vegan ice cream
  • Infant formula
  • Margarine
  • Mayonnaise
  • Meat products with fillers, for example, burgers or sausages
  • Nutrition supplements (vitamins)
  • Peanut butter
  • Protein powders
  • Sauces, gravies, and soups (pre-made or sauce packs)
  • Smoothies
  • Vegetable broth
  • Vegetarian meat substitutes: veggie burgers, imitation chicken patties, imitation lunchmeats, imitation bacon bits, etc.

How is that for a list, huh? I mean what is left at this point? That doesn’t include breads, hotdog buns, and hamburger buns.

 

But wait! It only grows more intensive.

I was sent to the Nation Institutes of Health (NIH) for testing for an environmental allergy and found out that chicken and pork may also cause reactions because they are fed soy. My response was…”Then what the heck am I allowed to eat?” The answer,“Grass-fed beef”. Thanks!

I can also eat wild caught fish, and wild caught sea food.  That’s great, but over all very expensive, so I’m trying to find other ways to eat chicken.

And what do I eat? Organic chicken (so long as there’s no chicken broth used) and pork from a local store that can scale the care given to the animals, while I don’t eat a lot of pork it helps knowing if its local and what it was fed.

All of this to say…  I still have a lot to learn about soy and what I need to avoid.  I do my best to make things from scratch, if you’d like to follow along on that journey follow me on Instagram  I recently made chicken soup with multicolored carrots. It was very interesting…the purple ones turned white while cooking.  I also had my first success at baking a sweet potato.  It was awesome!  Check me out, and follow me for more of my cooking adventures.

 

 

 

[1] A Soy Free Diet Means More Than Just Checking For ‘Soy’. By Jill Castle, MS, RD (2016)

 

[2] Diseases and Conditions: Soy Allergy. By May Clinic Staff (2014)

 

[3] Living With A Soy Allergy. Web MD

An Ingredient By Any Other Name…Part 2

A food by any other name…couldn’t possibly be soy…right?

Wrong!

As I have forged my soy-free existence there is one thing that I have come to understand…nothing is as it seems on food labels. And while you might think you are avoiding soy you are in-fact, not avoiding it at all!

My first clue that I was indeed allergic to soy was when I started dropping weight when I avoided it. And by avoiding it I mean, I basically at fresh vegetables with olive oil and vinegar if I wanted a salad, and if I wanted more than a salad (because I’ll admit salad is my favorite food) I would only eat it if I made it myself. Which is always your best bet, but in this fast paced world – when you aren’t eating enough – it simply isn’t feasible to make everything from scratch.

 

I started out making sure the word soy was nowhere to be found on my food labels. This basically means I stayed away from:

  • Edamame
  • Miso
  • Soy Sauce and shoyu sauce
  • Soy-based fiber, flour, grits, nuts, or sprouts
  • Soy-based milk, yogurt, ice cream, or cheese
  • Soy protein
  • Tamari
  • Tempeh
  • Textured Vegetable protein
  • Tofu

This is the basic list, as I knew it. [3]. Though now on that list is Natto – something I’ve only recently started avoiding. So long as these weren’t named and the allergen list didn’t say “Contains: soy” I thought I was ok.

Then there’s the obvious. I can’t eat at Asian restaurants, which really sucks since I love Asian Cuisine! It’s just too difficult to ensure that I don’t get any cross contaminations. Though  believe me when it comes to soy and my reactions – a little is far easier to deal with than a lot.

While figuring this all out I accidently got some soy when eating out and figured, “what the heck, I’ve all ready gotten some soy and I want Chinese food so I’m gonna go all out”.

(It’s hard to stick to the diet, believe me especially when you really like something, so this mindset can, and will, kick-in at any time. However, what I’ve come to realize is the amount does matter.)

So off hubby and I went to a local Chinese cuisine restaurant we loved and I proceeded to eat my weight in my favorite foods: fried rice, low-mein, egg rolls, egg drop soup, sweet and sour pork, and anything else that struck my fancy, and it all received a healthy dose of soy sauce. What’s the point of rebelling if you don’t go all out?

It was a big bill, but I left with a contented smile on my face. The smile lasted for about 18 hours.

Thankfully Hubby was traveling for work and left the next day. He was gone for two weeks and it’s a good thing he was, because once the symptoms started there was no turning back. And when the dog decides he’d rather be on a different floor than you are on…you know it’s bad.

While I lost weight initially, it didn’t stay off and I’ve had to re-evaluate my strategy to remain soy-free.

Other foods found in Asian Cuisine that might contain soy you might not have thought of are [1]:

  • Bean Sprouts
  • Kinako
  • Nimame
  • Okara
  • Yuba

 

From There I made sure I could pronounce the ingredients. If I couldn’t pronounce it, I didn’t eat it. This helped at first, and made me realize my best option for maintaining this was to eat organic and non-gmo foods only. But even this only got me so far.

Here is a list of soy based ingredients that might not say ‘soy’ [1]:

  • Hydrolyzed soy protein (HSP)
  • Mono- and diglycerides
  • MSG (monosodium glutamate)
  • Soy (albumin, cheese, fiber, grits, mild, nuts, sprouts, yogurt, ice cream, pasta)
  • Soy lecithin
  • Soy protein (concentrate, hydrolyzed, isolate)
  • Soybean oil
  • Teriyaki sauce
  • Textured vegetable protein (TVP)

Then there are the lists of possible Soy Ingredients [1]:

  • Bulking agent
  • Hydrolyzed plant protein (HPP) or hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP)
  • Gum arabic
  • Guar gum
  • Lecithin
  • Mixed Tocopherols
  • Natural flavoring
  • Stabilizer
  • Thickener
  • Vegetable gum, starch, shortening, or oil
  • Vitamin E

Think about those lists for a moment and all the labels you’ve read, seeing those words, and ate anyway thinking they were safe. I know I ate a lot of things that contained those ingredients and ate them anyway because they didn’t say “soy”.

Bad on me, I know. But still, the label didn’t say soy anywhere, so it should have been safe. Right?

If you’d like a quick cheat sheet check out [3] and print it out. Though a much more extensive list can be found in [1], though just be ready to have your boat rocked and just what is in your pantry that could contain soy.
Compiling this has been an eye opener.  There are so many things I thought were safe, and aren’t. No wonder my reactions have been continuously turning more and more anaphylactic. It started with just gastric upset and has progressed to vomiting and migraines when I consume too much soy.   Keep checking back I have more to share.

 

[1] A Soy Free Diet Means More Than Just Checking For ‘Soy’. By Jill Castle, MS, RD (2016)

 

[2] Diseases and Conditions: Soy Allergy. By May Clinic Staff (2014)

 

[3] Living With A Soy Allergy. Web MD

 

(While compiling this information I realized just how poorly I was handling my soy allergy.  We never stop learning and we must constantly be researching our allergy to stay on top of the name game.)

An ingredient by any other name couldn’t possibly be soy…right?

When I was first told I had food intolerances, though they didn’t know to what, I had no idea where that string would lead me.

My endocrinologist was the first Doctor to suggest I had food intolerance. While I’ve never been a big eater, I am a foodie so trying new things was kind-of my thing. However, when I wanted to really crack down on my symptoms I knew I had to figure out what I was reacting to.

So I off I went, from reading books to reading labels.  

I started by omitting wheat and dairy (as suggested by my doctor) for 10 weeks I avoided gluten and dairy as best I could. Nothing changed, or so I thought, so after the 10 weeks I began to slowly reintegrating wheat and dairy into my diet. As suspected…there was no change.

When checking for food allergies the longer you can go without what you think you are intolerant to, the better you will be able to see how the allergen in the food affect you.

While reading labels during that 10 week period there was one thing I noticed. Every thing I picked up to eat contained soy. Some research into the NIH and Mayo Clinic websites suggested that soy was the issue as it is on the rise as far as people being allergic.

So began my long and arduous trek to a Soy-free existence.

One thing to think on, if you think you have food intolerances, is that to truly have a life free of your intolerance you have to know everything about the ingredient. And that if you aren’t careful and keep piling on the ingredient you can’t process correctly it can lead to you becoming allergic to the ingredient. So diligence to avoid your ingredient is crucial to living your best life.

I wasn’t going to break this post up, but I’m only half-way through and it’s already almost four pages long.  So breaking it up makes it easier for you all to keep up with the posts and not want to rip your eyes out for all the reading and technical terms.  Keep an eye out, I have lists of ingredients that are called something else, but are really soy.  It’s scary!

2016: The Year In Review

A lot has happened in this twelve-month period. We put our home on the market, after a mad rush to get it all painted and pretty – inside and out.

I started selling photos this year, it’s been a very slow climb but I think I’m gaining traction. I just pray that it continues growing in 2017 (and I hope for a new lens for my landscapes, just saying).

I also started blogging, and that means trying to find ways to monetize it. I’m finding that my health issues combined with my food and environmental allergies have a foot hold in the blogosphere I just need to learn more about how to grow it into a business which means reading more about it.

I can’t help but marvel at how most of my goals are centered on reading more. I often feel like I waste a lot of time reading, when in reality it is the center to my success. It’s official! I can be paid to read! #GOAL

 

2016 the year of stress… Between getting the house ready to sell, and my health issues “stress” is he only word that could apply to 2016.

Mother nature doing her best to keep our expectations in check… we had a huge hail storm in Southern Colorado and that left me unable to get a contractor out to paint our house until the last minute because so many homes were still unlivable that my house wasn’t a priority.

I had over a month wait with most contractors to get an estimate to get the house payment. And even then they couldn’t guarantee that they could get the house painted within the time frame I needed it done if we sold the house before 1 Nov. I was told this in August. We closed early October.
Thankfully I found a contractor who was able to fit me in, the outside of the house looked great when they were done, before we closed.

Every time we had weather move through I prayed it wouldn’t cause more damage anywhere in the city. I never realized just how stressful selling a house could be. I’ve watched HGTV you don’t see them freaking out on the shows about selling houses, but man! I sure did.

 

We finally sold the house, and we had a hiccup in moving into a rental; so we spent a month in a hotel. I can’t say it was a hardship. Having the room cleaned every day was a huge luxury I completely and thoroughly enjoyed. We had moved into a suite that had a small kitchenette so I could cook – somewhat – and so we could carry on as normal as possible.

Finally, as I was settling into a routine at the hotel, we got a rental. So every crazy bit spooled up again as we prepared to move into the house.

Thankfully we were able to space the signing of the papers and the actual move in so that we had time to clean the house, and buy carpets for the living areas that were hardwood. Everything went as smoothly as it could possibly go – well, other than the people who packed up our pods did so in a way that damaged most of our wooden furniture pieces. We are still trying to work out the paperwork for the moving company to fix everything. (See…stress.)

 

Thanksgiving rolled around, we were set up in our new home and all seemed to be calming down.   We had a wonderful Thanksgiving…then we set off on a journey to see my In-Laws. Two day in a car, one way, and then the actual visit. More stress… but this time with good coffee, good food, and a wonderful day with just Hubby, Chaz and I going and visiting the missions in and around San Antonio.

I have shared about the coffee…but I haven’t been able to get to the rest.  

Finally home, we got down to Christmas. Sadly Hubby’s travel schedule, and my poor health, meant that we didn’t get our decorations up. So we carried our Christmas spirit inside our hearts and let our home remain undecorated.

During this trip I started writing reviews for Yelp and TripAdvisor. I’m gaining a following there, so it will be fun to see where that takes me next year.

 

I hadn’t felt well for most of December, but I couldn’t figure out why. I had started Botox injection in the summer for my migraines and received my shots in December and that should have boosted my energy. Sadly it didn’t. My energy continued to be lagging until the week before Christmas when I realized why I felt so badly.

Kidney stones.

The very mention of them often brings people to a halt, with faces twisted in a sympathetic grimace. I had passed a couple without medications, but finally Hubby said no more and insisted I at least call the nurse to see what needed to be done. I called. Hubby was right (I’ve had to repeat that several times so Hubby can bask in the knowledge that he was right) the nurse said a visit to the ER was in order. So, I was taken to the ER and the CAT scan revealed I had three more stones to go. UGH! I left with meds and orders to see my doctor ASAP.

The next day I called my doctor and went into see him for some different meds that work better for me.   It was then that I found out I also had ovarian cysts, something any woman who has dealt with them will sympathize with me over. Since I had both at the same time, hurting is an understatement.
Finally Christmas Eve, I passed the last of them (or so I thought) and I am starting to feel better. I have more sleep that is needed to heal; thankfully my body has no problem in letting me know I’ve done too much.
So I’ve had to basically write off the end of 2016 as healing time, instead of doing a last big push to finish the year strong. I must admit that is a nice aspect to building your own business; you are the only one to suffer if you have to take time off. It’s also a great learning moment.

I’ve heard the saying that, “When you work for yourself, your boss can be a real jerk” Nathan Lowel [1], so this means that I have to remember to take care of my employees (myself) so they are healthy to produce quality work.

Upon writing this I have discovered I have one more stone to go, my right kidney is not happy but hopefully the end is near.

2017 – are you still with me???

I’ve never been one to set outrageous goals for myself. However, since I passed a milestone in 2016 – the age of 35 was given to me as a goal to reach by my allergist, a healthy dose of paranoia got me here and now I’m ready to spread my wings and reach for the stars.

So my plan for 2017 is several things that I have no way of prioritizing.

  • Make money from my blog
  • Make money by writing
  • Make money by editing
  • Make money from selling my photos

Are you sensing a pattern here?

So here the plan… I need to move out of Colorado. When you are allergic to the sun living at high altitude is not a good idea.   In order to move we have to be able to find jobs in the new location, or have a mobile income to take with us. This is where my blogging, writing, editing, and photography come into play. All of these can be done from the road or a new location, so there you have it.

Look for new posts, areas that are allergy friendly, and maybe even recipes…haven’t decided yet.

New health goals…

  • Avoid dairy, and thus kidney stones, at all costs
  • Continue to fight my anaphylaxis
  • Continue avoiding soy at all costs (had to mark a restaurant off my OK list)

Here’s to a brighter and successful new year…2017!!!

To endless horizons in the New Year!

[1] Nathan Lowell (2014) Owner’s Share (Trader’s Tales From The Golden Age Of The Solar Clipper) (Volume 6)

 

 

A Vegan Breakfast?! What?!

Don’t worry; I have not crossed over the vegan bridge.  If you have chosen to adhere to the vegan lifestyle, more power to you I could not do that for the love of bacon, and steak, and turkey. However, on this day of our trip we had a lot packed into the day and I needed sustenance. So off to my apps I went.  After some digging we decided to try Revolucion Coffee & Juice.

Located in the small shopping center at 7959 Broadway, Ste. 507 (though when we got to that slot they were actually to the left and in the corner though I did not catch the new suite number).  They offered almond milk as a substitute for milk (as well as soy if you are so inclined), but they even have cashew milk for their vegan bowls.

I walked into clean and pristine white coffee house (not something I’m used to seeing).  I waited for the crowd to thin out, so I could talk with the lady at the counter and not feel rushed or that I was keeping someone from their much-needed coffee fix.

I found out I could have their peanut butter and jelly bowl with cashew milk made in house.  Oh my! It was wonderful.  Add into it the Revolucion Latte, a lavender infused honey with espresso and almond milk complete with coffee art, and my breakfast was as satisfying as it was beautiful.

The coffee was good, I wasn’t wowed by the flavor of the coffee, however, I have definitely had worse cups of coffee.

The bowl was very filling, I couldn’t even finish it all. But it stuck with me for the rest of the day, and I didn’t have a night of eating because of all the exercise I’d gotten…a huge deal for me.

It was worth every meatless bite.  The fruit was fresh, ripe, and flavorful, while the granola held up for the duration of the bowl. My last bite had just as much crunch as the first.  Though the PB seemed a little over powering at first, and I was hoping for more Acai flavor since the color was definitely there, still it was a wonderful breakfast.

Hubby deemed the food “too hippy” (a word my family have assigned to food I can eat) for him.  So we left there and went and got him breakfast tacos from a local place.  He checked – I couldn’t eat there but he at least got some sustenance for the day.

Revolucion Latte; honey is lavender infused

The Land of Enchantment

Being from New Mexico I can say this, they have the best red chile sauce anywhere and their sunsets are amazing.

Through our journey to see Hubby’s parents we are taking the longer route through New Mexico to stay with some of my family, and so I can get my sopapilla fix on.

This is a very important thing as they are typically fried in oil I can’t have and they just aren’t ‘right’ in Colorado.  I never get a golden pillow of delight begging me to grab the honey jar and meld them together in the perfect after dinner treat.

Instead, when ordering sopapillas in Colorado, you get one of two things: a rock hard pillow that could possibly chip your tooth if bitten into or a flat and floppy piece of…square dough…at least I think it’s dough. Another downside to Colorado’s sopapillas is that they come with cinnamon and sugar, strawberries and whipped cream. And if you are brave enough to ask for them plain with honey the look you get is one reserved for tourists who “don’t know what a sopapilla is”.

It’s so annoying that I stopped asking for them at the end of a meal at any “Mexican” restaurants in Colorado.

Thus our trecking 4hours (round trip) out of our way so we could stop in Albuquerque at the corner of Lomas and 16th Street where Monroe’s is located.

While I can’t eat any of their meats, their red chile cheese enchiladas and sopapillas are just what a New Mexico girl needs when she’s in the area.

If you are planning a trip to Albuquerque give them a call 505-242-1111 and talk to them about your allergies. If you don’t have allergies and simply want to taste a plate of pure heaven stop in and see the lovely folks at Monroe’s on Lomas.

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A Day In The Life: Chaz’s Tummy Problems Continue

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Chaz has been having a lot of tummy trouble for the last few weeks.  At first we thought it was the stress of selling our house, all the people coming in and out, and the general level of our stress that was throwing his tummy off.  But after having to put him on a boiled chicken and rice diet, I had to start paying more attention.

The Problem

Chaz is a picky eater.  He’ll more often than not walk away from food than eat. I’ve never owned a dog that didn’t inhale anything even remotely resembling food as soon as their nose caught a sniff of it.  So when the vet suggested a boiled chicken and rice diet until his tummy settled down, I doubted he’d eat it.

As is normal when I think I’ve finally figured this dog out, he proved me wrong and ate with gusto.

Yet, when everything seemed to be settling down and I started adding in his canned food again it all went sideways, again.

After several sleepless nights of cleaning up sick puppy poo, I called the vet and set up a consultation.  I know the signs of food allergy and it would appear that my dog is allergic to something in his dog food.

Through the sleepless nights, I decided to put Chaz on probiotics. He had been on them before, after an incident where he had eaten some detergent, and I really liked how his tummy reacted while on them. So when I found some at the health food store, I decided to give it a try.

The Vets Conclusion

Chaz is allergic to something, but it didn’t appear to be food. He had signs of allergy but not the typical food allergy. Go figure, he is my dog after all.

I had wondered if he was allergic to an additive. I know I am, and when I react to his food it does cause one to wonder what is going on with him. However, dogs apparently aren’t as susceptible to the same food allergies as humans are.  Apparently they typically are allergic to pork. Who knew?  So while I was reacting to the additives and soy in his food, apparently he was just reacting to the additives.

The Vet thought it was an additive allergy, not a food allergy, that the dog was reactive to. She said that while we had done well keeping him hydrated, we needed to find him a different food. Since there is no test for additive allergies, the Vet suggested I put him on probiotics (check) and the Vet had another suggestion.

The Suggestion

Our Vet suggested I take the dog through the store, armed with a list of brands she recommended, and let Chaz choose his own food and treats.

Basically I was to let him smell the bags of kibble and the one he showed the most interest in was the one I was to get.

While we had talked about a local brand of dog food I had found for our previous dog when he developed health issues, and she didn’t have a problem with Chaz eating it, she still recommended I try one of her suggested brands first. Chaz, however, had other plans.

Actions

I walked through the pet store with Chaz comfortably tucked into my jacket, and we found every brand the Vet listed. At each brand I found the appropriate bag for his size and set it in the basket in front of him and watched to see what he would do. At each brand he gave the cursory sniff, then turned his head in disinterest.

How do I know it was disinterest? Because I left the bag in his sniffing zone while I read the ingredients. All of them contained things I react to, and each one was passed over by himself (aka Chaz).

What To Do Next

Chaz is not a service animal. While I do consider him to be a member of the family, to be taken care of to the best of my abilities, I know that he can’t simply be taken everywhere with me. It isn’t right to the people who rely on their service dogs for me to take my pet to a store that isn’t advertised as being a pet friendly store.

However, I was desperate to find something my dog would gladly eat.

So I walked into a local health food store with Chaz securely zipped into my jacket, and headed straight for the pet food isle. Not stopping near any other isle that contained food or products.

I pulled several of the more expensive bags into the cart for him to sniff, all received the same reaction…a sniff or two and he lost interest.

Finally, after several bags were dismissed I found the bag. The same brand as the canned food I had found that he liked is the brand of dry food he went nuts over.

I placed the bag of kibble in front of him and he went nuts trying to get into the bag.

Here we were feeding him a plant protein diet, low in fat, and he chooses a high (meat) protein and fat diet, and not only that, he’s keeping it down and wanting to eat.
Now he’s still not a voracious eater, I put his food out in the morning and sometimes it sits there till evening, but he is eating most of it every day and we aren’t having any of the nasty side effects we were having.

Conclusion

While I am not the hover pet mom I often feel like (the Vet told me so). I am very thankful for Veterinarians who are willing to think outside the box when it comes to taking care of my dog.

While I very much consider my pet a member of the family, I also do not loose sight that it is still just a pet.

With that in mind, finding a dog food that he would eat was a priority, and I’m very thankful for stores who understand where I was in my attempt to care for my pet.

What I took away from this is that much as a mother would with her children, I have to trust my instincts where Chaz is concerned. I had a feeling it was his food that was making him sick, but at the same time I felt hopeless to do something about it. When in reality I could have saved him a lot of agony if I had of acted on my instincts to change his food sooner.

It amazes me how similar a dog and human are in medical terms. From food allergies, to seasonal allergies they often need the same types of medications and care that we humans do.

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Nemo’s Coffee

If you dislike big brand coffee shops, that can be found in almost every town. Abhore the cookie cutter chains where every coffee shop looks alike. And if you are looking for a quirky, locally owned coffee place…Then I have the perfect place for you when you come to Colorado Springs.

NEMO’S is the place to you want to go for great atmosphere, wonderful food, and coffee that will keep you coming back for more.

The Anderson’s run the place offering organic coffee, substitutes for milk: soy, almond and coconut. More than most other coffee places in town, trust me I’ve checked.

They also offer a plethora of other goodies to stave off the hunger pangs. Sandwiches,salads, biscotti, and Hubby’s favorite…the sausage breakfast burrito with salsa.  If given the option, Hubby will choose to go to Nemo’s to get me coffee so he can have his favorite.

Nemo’s is a coffee house and your favorite lunch spot all rolled into one locally owned pretty package.

When you walk in mismatched table and chairs greet you, along with a couch for relaxing, shelves ladened with books invite you to pull out your favorite and curl up on the couch or easy chair and read to your hearts content.  All while enjoying your favorite cup of coffee, or tea.

If work is your aim, then pick a table, as I’ve done to write this article. Spread out a bit and let the creativity flow.

Nemo’s is the place I prove to myself just how much I enjoy my creature comforts. Though I have options of things to eat and drink I typically get the same thing…a caramel swirl with coconut milk. The only variation being whether it’s iced or hot.  Another favorite is the homemade biscotti (I highly recommend their white chocolate macadamia nut), they even offer gluten free options.

Hubby’s favorite drink is a sweetened iced latte, and of course their sausage burrito.

When in doubt ask about your allergy. Tracey is very knowledgeable about what exactly goes into the food she serves.  Check out their website, she make most of her offerings from scratch, to the point that she even grinds her own wheat.  Talk about attention to detail!

Go get your turtle power and let me know what you thought of the place. You can go inside or drive through, which ever you choose you won’t regret it.

Nemo’s is located at 2114 E Pikes Peak Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80909  719-635-2745

www.nemoscoffee.com

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