Eat Freely: A Food Allergy Struggle

Hey all! I decided to start a new blog. This one has A LOT of spam (I get like 15 emails a day!). I also wanted to try healthier foods too. And I decided to switch over to wordpress.
So you can now find me at:
http://cookingallergyfreewitheoe.wordpress.com

You can also find a summary of the APFED Conference - EOS Connection 2012 on there!

Thanks for reading!

-Michelle

I know, I know, I suck at updating. I promise this post will make up for it!
On the plus side, my early summer class is over. Now I'm in a practicum. So far I have worked quite a few VERY early shifts at my school's bakery. I am learning quite a few skills to aid in my baking. For instance, I successfully iced my first cake today! I can't wait to show you guys my skills!

I have a few things I want to tell you before I get started on the recipe posting.

First of all, I've started a natural allergy elimination program called NAET. It's quite hard to explain but it involves kinesiology, muscle testing, and energy pathways. I'm only a few sessions in so it's tough to know if it's working. But I definitely feel something. I will keep you guys updated on it.

Second of all, MTV's True Life did an episode called "I'm Allergic To Everything." In the episode, the boy Zeke had my condition, Eosinophilic Esophagitis. I love that MTV is spreading the word on allergic conditions. It's already raised so much awareness. The girl, Raelyn, has idiopathic anaphylaxis, which is when reactions aren't triggered by specific foods. She actually participates in the same treatment I am, NAET. To watch the full episode, read a summary, or watch a recap, check out this website.

Third of all, my blog is now launched in a mobile version! Check it out on your cellphones and tell me what you think!

Fourth of all, if any of you are pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant, I stumbled upon a little information in the Vitamin Shoppe's magazine, Amazing Wellness. If you have allergies and are trying to prevent your baby from having them as well, I have a few tips for you. I read that to strengthen your baby's immune system during childhood and adulthood, breast feed exclusively for 6 months. It protects a baby for at least 12 months. It also says that digestive problems, allergies, and infections are common. I also read that taking Vitamin D while pregnant decreases infections and allergies in babies. So try out that Vitamin D and take some prenatal supplements such as DHA and a multivitamin.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.
After wandering the cooking isle at Hobby Lobby (did you know they had one!?), I discovered a donut pan. I decided to hold off and make sure I wanted it. Well, I sure did. I went back for the pan and got to baking all types of donuts. I tried glazed, chocolate, and cinnamon sugar. They were AWESOME! So here is the recipe. Feel free to bake them if you have a donut pan, but personally, I think frying tastes better!

This recipe comes from Babycakes Covers the Classics by Erin McKenna. It's pretty awesome.


Donuts: Dairy, egg, soy, nut, fish, and wheat/gluten free.

Makes 12.

• 1/3 cup melted refined coconut oil or canola oil
• 1 cup vegan sugar
• 3/4 cup white or brown rice flour
• 1/3 cup garbanzo and fava bean flour
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1/4 cup arrowroot (or tapioca if you don't have any)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce (about one applesauce cup)
• 1/4 cup vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup hot water



Glazed and Chocolate


1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Brush 2 six-mold donut trays with coconut/canola oil and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flours, potato starch, arrowroot, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, and baking soda.
3. Add the coconut oil, applesauce, vanilla, and hot water and continue mixing with a rubber spatula just until the ingredients are combined.
4. Using a melon-baller or tablespoon, drop 2 1/2 teablespoons of batter into each donut mold. Using a toothpick, spread the batter evently around the mold.
5. Bake for 8 minutes, rotate, and continue to bake until the donuts are golden brown, about 7 minutes more. Let cool in the molds for 5 minutes if sprinkling with toppings such as cinnamon sugar, or 15 minutes if using glaze or icing. Run a knife around the donuts in the molds, lift them out, and place them on a baking sheet. Coat them in your choice of topping.

Hello! I am THE worst at updating this blog!
I kept starting this post but something kept coming up.
AND I got a nasty stomach bug that kept me close to the toilet for a few days. It was not fun!

But I wanted to do this post last week.
The week of May 15-21 was:
National Eosinophil Awareness Week!

Hey all!
As promised, I'm here to tell you about my allergy test results. I was tested for a number of fish, shellfish, tree nuts, seeds, citrus fruits, beans, spices, and vegetables. I'm happy (and sad) to say that I didn't react to ANY of them! Which is good and bad. Good because I don't have to eliminate any more foods. On the bad side, I am still having reactions and we're not sure why. It could be slightly due to my seasonal allergies or some other hidden food allergy. I've noticed that I hurt after chips and salsa, but I'm not sure what I could be allergic to in them (I've been tested for corn, tomatoes, and onions already). So I'm just gonna stay away from that and see how I feel.

So as some of you know, this coming week is Food Allergy Awareness Week. Even less of you know that the week after is National Eosinophilic Awareness Week aka NAEW.
If you have read my introduction and Attack of the Peas post, then you'll know that I suffer from Eosinophilic Esophagitis. Now what the heck is that? It is an immune disorder similar to an allergy. When I eat foods I'm allergic to, eosinophils, a type of white blood cell, build up in my esophagus. They cause it to become inflamed which causes a lot of pain. Then it becomes too inflamed and I have a muscle spasm. But for other people with EE, this is the least of their problems. A lot of kids are allergic to almost every food and some kids have such severe dysphagia, which means their esophagus is so rigid and tight, that they can't even swallow anything. Many kids with EE survive on purely a feeding tube. This disease is so new that doctors don't understand it yet. They don't know what causes it, why only some people get it, or how to fix it. There is no cure or even a treatment. Most kids like me are on an inhaled corticosteriod for ASTHMA that they have to somehow "swallow." It's incredibly stressful and upsetting. So during NEAW I'm going to be spreading awareness and I hope you will too. I'm going to be updating what I'm doing and sharing some stories of other people with EE. I hope you will all better understand EE and be more sympatheic for children with disorders such as ours.

Has anyone heard of or tried NAET (an allergy elimination technique)? My coworker has a number of food allergies and has participated in NAET and is pretty much cured. I am wondering if anyone else has tried it or even if it would work in people with EE. I'd love to have your feedback on this or any other technique!  Because I can't imagine living my whole life in pain every day while still having to avoid all these delicious foods.

Last but not least, I made an alternative to Recess peanut butter cups! I was at Hobby Lobby and stumbled upon the best cooking aisle ever! I found peanut butter cup candy molds and was ecstatic! They're easy and super delicious.
I tried two different versions. One was with almond butter and the other was with sunflower seed butter. I've gotta admit that the sunflower seed butter was better but they were both delicious.

Butter cups: Dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, fish, and gluten/wheat free.
 It can be tree nut free too depending on the filling used.

Ingredients:

• Enjoy Life semi-sweet chocolate chips (or the rice milk chocolate bars) - about a cup depending on how many you want to make
• Almond Butter - about 1/3 cupOR
• Sunbutter or other sunflower seed butter - about 1/3 cupOR
• another "butter" of your choice - about 1/3 cup

Left: before filling. Right: after filling

1. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave using a microwave safe bowl.
2. Transfer some chocolate into the mold. I used a brush/glazer and a spoon. Coat the bottom of the mold about 1/4 cm thick. Make sure to get the sides too.
3. Freeze for 3-5 minutes to allow the chocolate to harden. If the sides are too thin still, they will fall apart when you're removing the chocolates. So coat the sides again and freeze them again.
4. Spoon a small amount of the "butter" into the center of the molds. Make sure you leave enough room for the chocolate topping, about 3 mm from the top.
5. Transfer melted chocolate to fill the cups to the top.
6. Freeze for about 15 minutes.
7. Remove from molds and eat!

Hey all!!

Once again, another year of school is coming to an end. I apologize once more for not updating regularly. I am a full time college student and I have a job and boyfriend on the side so I don't have much free time. BUT... this year is almost over! I have a few finals and papers due this week and next week is finals week. Then I have summer classes through mid-June and a practicum/internship all summer along with my job. But I will have much more free time this summer!

I don't exactly have time right now to post a recipe but I just wanted to update you guys!

I have an appointment with my gastroenterologist tomorrow and an appointment with an allergist Tuesday. I am still having slight reactions so I'm going to have another allergy test. I mean, what allergist doesn't test for fish, shellfish, and tree nuts!? Those are three of the top eight allergens! Anyways, I will be on in a few days to let you know how it goes!

Also, has anyone tried Namaste foods? They're amazing! All of their products are gluten, wheat, soy, potato, corn, dairy, casein, tree nuts, and peanut free. They're also Kosher, have no genetically modified foods, and are made in a dedicated allergy free facility. I've had the pleasure of tasting all their pastas and they are awesome! I haven't tried any of their baked goods yet though because they require eggs, but I am going to try them with an egg replacer. I'll let you guys know how those are too.

Also, check out Cybele Pascal's website. I love love love the two books she's published and she periodically posts recipes. I am also featured on one of her posts (4/22/11)!

Hey everyone!

Guess what!?? When you Google "flourless chicken tenders" my blog is the #1 top link out of 31,900 results! It totally made my day. So THANK YOU to every reader. And please please please give me feedback!

So this is my first ever recipe modification! What I did was I took a normal recipe and adapted it for food allergies.



Ming's Cupcake

• 1 cup mashed bananas (I think it's about 3 bananas)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (I used a tablespoon of maple syrup instead)
• 1 1/2 cup flour (I used the mix that I always use: 6 cups = 2 cups brown rice flour, 1 1/3 cup potato starch, 2/3 cup tapioca flour/starch or you could use arrowroot powder if you can't have tapioca. Because it's gluten free you'll need about 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 stick butter (I used Earth Balance Soy-Free Buttery Spread)
• 1 cup sugar (I used cane sugar)
• 1 jumbo egg (I used 1 1/2 teaspoons of Ener-G's Egg Replacer mixed with 2 tablespoons of rice milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup buttermilk (just used 3/4 cup rice milk)
• (I decided to add in some nutmeg and cinnamon too. I just added it until I liked how it tasted. Probably about 1/2 teaspoon each... possibly close to 1 teaspoon each)

• 1 stick butter (I used 1/2 cup of Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery Spread)
• 3 cups confectioner's sugar (I used powdered cane sugar)
• 1/4 cup milk (I used rice milk)
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup (make sure it's the real stuff!)
• (I also added in some nutmeg and cinnamon to the icing. The nutmeg was a must!)

1. (It doesn't include it in the directions, but PREHEAT!)
2. In a small bowl, combine bananas and lemon juice (or in my case the maple syrup).
3. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. In another bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Beat in egg (or egg replacer mixture) and vanilla.
6. Add flour mixture and buttermilk (I just used rice milk) alternately while mixing.
7. Beat in bananas and mix until well blended.
8. Bake at 275 degrees F for one hour or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
9. After removing from oven, place in freezer for a half hour (not necessary).

1. In a saucepan, melt butter at medium temperature until golden-brown (or you could just do this in a microwave).
2. In a bowl, add butter to sugar, then add milk and syrup. Beat until smooth.
3. Top with bananas and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Hey everyone!

Once again, I know it's been awhile. But once you hear why I'm sure you'll forgive me.

I had a freaking allergy attack!
Not just slight pain, but a full blown reaction.

If you didn't read my first post about my disease, I'll give you a little background. I was diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitis, which means that I have an overabundance of eosinophils, a type of white blood cells, in my esophagus. When I eat something I am allergic to, they see that food being harmful and swarm my esophagus to fight it off. My esophagus becomes inflamed (part of an immune response. Have you noticed that when you have cuts, they become inflamed?). Then when it becomes too inflamed, I have an esophagus spasm (I only recently learned this).
So Wednesday night rolls around and I'm starting to get that dreaded "heartburn" sensation. I thought that I'd be able to sleep off the pain, but it got too bad. Then I had an "allergy attack" which I call my muscle spasms. I feel an incredible pain in my upper abdomenal region. It feels like my esophagus is tightening and loosening, which I suppose it is. It causes all of my muscles to become tensed to the point where I have trouble breathing and my back aches.
Anyways, this went on for 2 1/2 hours before I decided I couldn't take it anymore. So around 2:30 AM, my two AMAZING roommates drove me to the emergency room. There they asked me a ton of questions for over an hour then finally give me morphine. They ran a bunch of tests to make sure it wasn't something else (Tested for: white and red blood cell count, cardiograph, chest xray, electrolytes, and kidney function). All of those came back with normal. Then around 5:30 AM we finally got to leave, me all hopped up on two doses of morphine with a bag of Percocet in my pocket and my roommates falling asleep (Did I mention how much I love my roommates!?)

THEN.... I HAD ANOTHER SPASM!
Later that day on Thursday, I decided I could make it to my noon class after having missed my first three classes. As I was headed to school, I started getting that "heartburn" and tightness feeling. It started getting worse so I left right before class started. I got home and had another freaking attack. My boyfriend rushed over and helped me figure out what to do. I took the Percocet for pain but it didn't kick in for over an hour. Ryan and I called my doctor and my parents and considered taking me back to the ER. Fortunately, I started feeling better. I made an appointment with my gastroenterologist for the following day, which was great. Anyways, so my pain died down, though it just felt numbed. My pain was gone but I couldn't eat anything or hold anything down. I was so nauseous and my esophagus was so tight I could barely even swallow my pills. But it all worked out.

So that Friday I went to my gastroenterologist who informed me that I was having muscle spasms. He gave me GI tract muscle relaxers for me to take if/when (which is hopefully never) I have another spasm. He also put me on a corticosteroid, which is pretty much an asthma inhaler in which I have to "swallow" the air. Seems sketchy to me but it works, though it makes my voice hoarse.

So what now?
Who knows... My disease is so new that they don't know very much about it. I think my next step is to make an appointment with my allergist to be tested for the things I wasn't tested for before (such as tree nuts, fish, and shellfish which are 3 of the top 8 most common food allergies). Then we'll see where I go from there.




Now, on a lighter note, my world was changed a few weeks ago.
I picked up a copy of Living Without, which is a food allergy magazine, and opened up to an article all about EE (Eosinophilic Esophagitis)! It talked all about it and about the people that have it. There are children that have so much trouble swallowing that they have to have feeding tubes! I'm so lucky that I don't have to deal with that. My case seems to be pretty unique in that I have the severe pains and muscle spasms. The most common symptom is trouble swallowing, which I don't have that huge of a problem with. Anyways, my life changed because I found out that there is a program right here in Colorado for EE! In Denver, only an hour from where I live. I also found out that they are doing research for it at University of Colorado in Denver! I decided right then and there that that's what I want to do in my future. Previously, I devoted my life to those with food allergies, but now I'd like to specialize in EE. I feel that I'd probably have to go to medical school for gastroenterology so we'll see what happens. Either way, I still want to deal with food allergies or the immune system. I actually emailed the program coordinator to see if there was anything I could do, including volunteer or intern. My hopes are set high but I can imagine it would be tough to get into.


Anyways, so that's what I've been up to.

Also, I was thinking about having a blogging buddy! My friend Val has been very interested in allergy free foods and always runs up to me telling me she made something without SOME PP (The acronym they came up with for my allergies: Soy Oats Milk Eggs Peanuts Peas). I brought up the idea that she could share the blog with me. She loves cooking and I love baking, so it would work out well. It may or may not happen, but I just wanted to give a heads up!

I'm going to try to post a recipe soon. It's a really good one, but I ended up writing more on this post than I thought I would and it's quite late.

But let me know if any of you have any questions or have heard about EE or someone that has it!

-Michelle