Asides

January 18, 2017 / wendyrichards

(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!

August 12, 2016 / wendyrichards

So I was talking with the groomers the other day about what a challenge it is to get Chaz to eat his food.

But Mom…

Picture an adorable two year old, batting their baby blues at you as they shake their head ‘no’ at the food put before them. You know they need to eat, and yet you just can’t make them do it.

Now add into that picture a dog who refuses to eat to the point that it makes him sick. I’m not one for feeding my dog human food so something had to be done. That has been my life with Chaz since the detergent incident of 2016.

Back story: After a long field and track trip, we got home and our pet sitter dropped the dog off. Hubby started on laundry while I sat on the couch with my feet elevated trying to relax a bit when I heard hubby say, “Chaz just licked up some detergent” but it didn’t register just how bad of a situation it was.

Come 3am and the realization of the situation hit, the disgusting smelly reality, hit.

A vet visit, and 10 days of enticing a dog at high risk of ulcers to take his meds and eat, and our lives have never been the same.

The here and now: Chaz is on a low fat GI diet (known as a prescription diet), something easy for him to digest. He refused to eat the generic vet brand so I sprung for the good, Royal Canine, stuff.

And still he wasn’t eating even half of his daily caloric quota. I was at a loss. Bribing won’t work, tuna only works sometimes, even coconut oil (his favorite at tooth brushing time) wasn’t enticing him enough to get the food down his throat.

So when the groomer suggested cottage cheese, my jaw hit the floor. I don’t eat a lot of dairy because of my anaphylaxis, it just exasperates an all ready intense reaction, so I never even considered dairy as a viable option.

She said that she had a boarder who wouldn’t eat if the parent was gone, just wouldn’t do it. So a vet she works closely with suggested a dollop of cottage cheese on the food. It helps calm the digestive tract down so the food is more palatable.

I went out and bought a small thing of low fat cottage cheese as soon as I got the dog home. And do you know what? It worked! While his evening feedings can still be a bit testy, his morning meals go much smoother. At least I know he is getting some nourishment every day. It’s no longer a hit or miss situation.

The one downside is that his breed is known to be hyper. And while I thought he was hyper when he was barely eating… He is definitely more hyper now that he’s eating more regularly. There is an up side to everything right?

August 8, 2016 / wendyrichards

In my quest to be as yeast free and dairy free as possible, I have found one flaw…Hatch green chile grilled cheese. (No I didn’t misspell chile.)

Oh. My. Word.

If you love the flavor of hatch green chile, and you love grilled cheese…this is the combo for you!

I am originally from New Mexico, and there is nothing that marks the end of summer and the beginning of fall more distinctly than the smell of roasting green chiles. If they could put that smell into a candle I would be one happy woman.

And while I can find them in Colorado (they are nice enough to truck them up here), in New Mexico every Walmart, grocery store chain, and even some of the auto parts stores, have a station set up to sell and roast Hatch green chile.

However, if you love chile, and have never tried Hatch green chile, click the link above and look at their products. If you like a lot of heat with your chile, don’t get your hopes up where this cheese is concerned. However, this cheese is packed with the most flavorful – if heat lacking – chile ever.

When we first found the Hatch green chile cheese at Whole Foods we couldn’t help but buy it. From there it was a small jump to grilled cheese. Perfectly golden brown bread and melted cheddar cheese infused with real hatch green chile… It is an ooey gooey bite straight out of what I imagine food will be like in heaven.

They are so good, and so worth the side effects…stuffy nose from the dairy, which means I have to be uber conscious of my surrounds for a few days since it makes my anaphylaxis reactions more severe; and the possible stomach upset from the yeast.

As for the yeast, I’m so glad I found organic sourdough bread (I prefer Rudi’s or 365 brands). The basic reason as to why I can have sourdough over, say, white bread is simple; as far as I’m able to deduce.

Dry yeast vs. Yeast culture.

While I’m still working through the whole dry yeast theory, I’ve found that when it comes to yeast cultures I do a lot better when I eat breads made from the cultures as opposed to most dry yeast products. It’s a work in progress because sometimes I can eat breads made from dry yeast without a problem. From what I’ve experienced thus far, organic is the key word for dry yeast.

Though I still have more testing to do before I can claim this theory, something I’m not working to hard to disprove, I’m sticking with eating what I don’t react to right now.

So when it comes to my yearly vice, yearly because the cheese is only available late summer – till its gone – I feel no guilt. (I’ve only ever found it at Whole Foods Market – FYI.)

I’ll take a Sudafed for the stuffy nose, and be more vigilant where my anaphylaxis is concerned. Believe me if you love chile, and grilled cheese, this is the best of both worlds.

The morale of this story is…sometimes it’s OK to eat what isn’t good for you so long as you are smart about it.

Cheers!!!