Tofutti

There are so many things my Mikey has had to live without in his life. His allergy to milk, or whey, has deprived him of so much. Only in the two years we've been together has he tasted the likes of chocolate (dark chocolate) and mashed potatoes (sans milk). Now, he has tasted even more with the invention of tofu-based products. A trip to Whole Foods Market gave us the discovery of a product called "Tofutti." This brand makes sour cream and cream cheese without dairy. They even have flavored cream cheeses. I've tasted it myself and other than a small difference in consistency, the taste is identical to the real thing. Now my honey can enjoy baked potato with sour cream and eat bagels with cream cheese in the morning. Who knows, maybe I'll attempt a cheesecake with Tofutti cream cheese. Oh the possibilities! Thank you Tofutti!

Diverticulitis

A friend of mine at work saw me order my salad without tomatoes the other day and asked if I had this disease: Diverticulitis. Well, I guess it's not a food allergy but a condition where little pockets are formed in the intestines and things can get caught in them and become inflamed. Mainly small things like seeds. But, its serious enough that my friend can't eat any foods that have seeds. No tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, strawberries, and much much more. I thought my tomato allergy was bad. Makes me wonder if maybe some food allergies are the result of some kind of disease or inability to digest something. Is that what food allergies really are? Interesting and worth further research.

Moon Dough

I saw a commercial recently for a children's toy called, "moon dough." Basically, it's play dough, but the new and improved version. It doesn't dry out and its just as safe. In fact, the ad's big selling point was that Moon Dough is "hypoallergenic, wheat free, gluten-free." Wow, gluten-free? Really? I guess in this day and age we need to think about kids putting their toys in their mouths, but to go a step further and boast about a toy catering to food allergies; I never thought I'd see the day. In a way its a big breakthrough, yet in another what has this world come to that we have to invent something like Moon Dough?

Crema Cafe

An unfortunate letter I was forced to write. I believe it says it all:

"To the Owners of Crema Cafe:

My fiancee and I moved to Seal Beach at the beginning of the year. We have heard so many wonderful things about Crema Cafe, it is even highly rated on Yelp. We could not wait to walk down Main Street and taste test for ourselves. Finally, we were able to visit your establishment yesterday, August 4. The experience was not only
undesirable, but downright dangerous. My fiancee ordered an iced chai with soy milk, because he is extremely allergic to milk. He took a sip and thought it tasted funny. I tasted it and could tell right away that it was not made with soy milk. We asked the young man who made it, and he admitted to using non-fat milk. He remade the drink but showed no remorse, even after we informed him of his allergy. We tried
to stay and eat a meal but my fiancee was feeling quite ill. He had trouble walking home, and when we finally reached our house he had already gone into anaphylactic shock. His throat closed up, his lungs tightened, and he was unable to breathe. Luckily, I had sufficient medication at the house to treat him because a trip to the emergency room would have been too late. I should have called 911 right at your
store, though I doubt you would want that kind of attention. Please, please, please advise your employees to be more careful! This could have been a fatal visit, people ask for soy milk for a reason, not just to be picky. We are extremely disappointed and are wary for my fiancees health. Needless to say, we will not be returning to Crema Cafe, nor will we be recommending it to any of our friends. I am not asking for any compensation, but I would greatly appreciate it if you advise your employees to be more careful so as this incident will not happen again (or a much worse fate)."


I'm never one to complain nor do I like confrontation, but it had to be made aware so that others can benefit and escape a similar incident.

The OC Fair

One of the best parts of summer: the OC Fair! Fun, food, and friends. It's pretty easy to navigate through the fair with food allergies; the food is very straight forward. BBQed, frozen, or deep fried. Nothing fancy, but oh so good! My only real problem with food at the fair is eating far too much, and far too much junk. You think fair, and the concept of restraint just flies out the window. What exactly do we eat? Corn dogs, bratwursts, giant turkey legs, deep fried potatoes, chocolate covered bacon, deep fried oreos, BBQ corn, ice cream, and often many sodas and even beer or margaritas. No allergy symptoms, but lots of heartburn and upset stomachs. And you know what? I'm going again next week! I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment. But when you have to watch your diet all year long and battle with your own health, a summer fair is a welcome punishment. :)

Hollandaise Sauce

So creamy, without any milk and oh so yummy! I use "Challenge" butter for this recipe, and my dairy-allergic boyfriend is able to enjoy it symptom free.

Ingredients
3 egg yolks
1/2 tblsp fresh lemon juice
4 tblsp unsalted butter, chilled
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
salt to taste
1/2 tsp ground white pepper

1. Add egg yolks to small sauce pan; whisk til lemon yellow and slightly thick, about 1 min. whisk in lemon juice.

2. Add 2 tblsp cold butter and place over very low heat. Whisk constantly while butter is melting until thick. Remove pan from heat and beat in 1 tblsp cold butter. Repeat. Whisk in melted butter a little bit at a time. Season with salt and white pepper to taste.

Bon apetit!

Health and Allergies

I had a conversation with some friends recently about how none of us knew one person who was completely healthy. And by healthy we meant illness or allergies. Everyone has something. What has this world come to? Within my circle of friends alone is a dairy allergy, gluten allergy, lupus, tomato and pea allergy, and countless numbers of deficiencies. I even attended a funeral of a close family friend this weekend; she was 25 years old. And at the buffet were endless dishes with tomato bases, dairy bases, or peas mixed in. I couldn't help but laugh out of sheer lack of knowing what else to do. I guess there's nothing to do but learn to live with it all. And even that is hard enough. Health...we don't even have that anymore.

Soy

Seeing as my Mikey has an allergy to whey, or milk, we drink nothing but soy milk in the house. Tastes pretty similar to me plus I don't want to ever make the mistake of reaching for whole milk while cooking his dinner. But, recently I ordered a pizza with soy cheese thinking it was o.k. Apparently not. We bought some soy cheese from Whole Foods and the ingredients listed that there is added milk fat or casein. Why would they do this? Apparently all soy cheeses have added milk by-products. I thought soy was supposed to be a good alternative to milk for those who are allergic. Beware! Just because it says "soy," doesn't mean its safe.

Health

Ever been in a super rut in your life? Even though allergies are a day to day struggle, I still can't seem to find anything to write about. No new recipe, no fabulous new restaurant to report. Jut some health issues, and a sticky "s" key on my laptop that's making it hard for me to write this.

So, what started this whole thing was a routine trip to the doctor for allergies that turned out to be far from routine. A blood test reported that I have a low white blood cell count, unusual since you develop high counts when you're sick to fight the sickness. Well, this led to recommendations of allergy and hematology specialists. This then led to me realizing my health insurance sucks and I couldn't afford further testing that I needed.

With a, now, pre-existing condition, I had to sign up for CA Major Risk insurance which costs almost half my paycheck every month. Finally, I see the doctor again on the 6th. Scared, but at least maybe now I'll get to the bottom of all this. Wish me luck...

Restaurant Guides

Months ago I was contacted by a site called Allergy Eats that does a great service to those with food allergies by providing a guide to restaurants who are sensitive to our needs. I try to stay active in the community and post responses to their blogs, one of which was about a need for restaurants to post allergy information on their menus. Such a great idea. Well, the other night I ordered take out from Mimi's Cafe. As I was leaving, I noticed a book by the host stand labeled "allergy guide." What a great breakthrough! Maybe its too costly for restaurants to print allergy info on each individual menu, but a simple guide book that is easily accessible really is possible. If Mimi's can do it, all restaurants can.We should suggest this to all our favorites.

Living Without

I recently found a magazine dedicated to food allergy sufferers. It's called Living Without Magazine. So far I have only seen it sold at Whole Foods market. But, they also have a website livingwithout.com. Its a great community with recipes, articles, and even doctor recommendations. The focus is on gluten-free and dairy free living, as most food allergy sites cater to. The only problem I have with any of these site is that my allergies are not common. I have very specific sensitivities to peas and tomatoes, and no one caters or even recognizes those allergens. But, as far as trying to create a community of support and knowledge for the majority of food allergen sufferers, Living Without is a great start.

Roy's Hawaiian Fusion

I've enjoyed a meal at countless gourmet restaurants, one of which was $150 5-course indulgence with a master chef. Roy's blows all these meals out of the water. They have a 3-course prefixed meal on the menu that was by far the best meal I have ever tasted. I started with a sashimi, next a beautifully cooked rack of lamb with a sauce I literally licked off the plate, and ended with a molten chocolate cake. I died and went to heaven! The services is excellent, and they are very conscious and accommodating when you express any food allergies. Even with a prefixed menu, they were more than willing to substitute a pineapple upside down cake for Mike because he couldn't eaten any of the dairy-based desserts. Try Roy's! It is Hawaiian cuisine turned gourmet. I guarantee they will not disappoint you!

Easy Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients:
5 lb young hen
2 carrots
2 celery sticks
basil
rosemary
salt and pepper
Bisquick
1/2 cup milk (soy milk, if desired)

Directions:
1. Chop celery and carrots
2. Place hen, celery, carrots, tblsp basil, tblsp rosemary, tblsp salt into pressure cooker and add water 3/4 full. Cook on high til pressure cooker steams and whistles. Turn stove down to low heat and let simmer for 45 min.
3. Take hen out of the broth and cut into small strips (be careful it'll be very hot)
4. Mix 1 cup of Bisquick and 1/2 cup milk til dough forms. Drop by spoonfuls into boiling broth.
5. Serve chicken, broth, and dumplings as desired. Salt and pepper to taste.

This is so yummy! It is a simple way to make soup for days. Add noodles one day or rice another. My boyfriend and I have gotten a good 4 or 5 days worth of meals from this 1 recipe. Bon Apetit!

Vacation

I recently took a little excursion east, visiting Washington D.C., Philadelphia and New York City. I enjoyed it immensely. DC especially had amazing restaurants, and I could find no fault in any of the meals I had there. During vacation, it's so easy to throw caution to the wind and completely ignore allergens (for me anyway). Obviously I've been very reckless and haven't been taking my allergies into account lately. That coupled with the drastic change in weather in all three cities has my allergies soaring off the charts. I have very visible bruises on and around my nose from excessive blowing. I definitely pay the price for my own negligence.

But, now I'm home and back to regulating my allergies and am doing much better. The bruises are still there but not as visible. And incidentally, if you ever visit Washington DC, check out Meskerem in Adams Morgan, Bistrot du Coin in Dupont Circle, and Vermillion on King Street in Old Town Arlington; Ethiopian, French street food, and a romantic bistro that will not disappoint, I promise.

Z Pizza

So, with my tomato allergy and Mike's dairy allergy, pizza (once much beloved) has become sort of off limits at our house. I can't have the tomato sauce and what's pizza without the cheese? Horrible, I know!

Until we discovered a place by our new apartment called Z Pizza. We checked out the website and low and behold it is allergen friendly! You can choose what type of sauce they use for the pizza; exit tomato and enter either pesto, garlic, bbq, or spicy thai sauce. For the cheese. there are soy and vegan alternatives. And I even noticed a gluten-free crust option for those with celiac disease. Wow! Talk about choices.

For our new place in Seal Beach, its close, its cheap, it caters to our allergies, and they even deliver. Everyone must try Z Pizza!

Forgetting

My allergies to tomatoes and peas are new for me; well recently discovered. My whole life I've been able to eat anything and everything I wanted. Because the allergies are not fatal to me, it's easy to cheat (though I pay a price). Because the allergies are newly found, it's easy to forget.

Moving over this past month, my allergies have gone haywire with all the dust and sometimes mold I've had to clean up. My sinuses and headaches have taken a huge toll on me with all the moving and accidental carelessness. I took a bite out of my boyfriend's sandwich not realizing there were raw tomatoes in it; I ate a salad at work and ate around the tomatoes; and even ordered fried rice at Panda Express though I realized the mistake and didn't eat it (it had peas).

This is harder than I thought. Who would've known the most difficult part for me would be remembering not to forget.

Desserts

I've been in the process of moving over the past few weeks, and as such have not been able to cook since all the cookware is in disarray. So, Mike and I have been eating out quite a bit. Now, usually I am a huge dessert person. I love sweets! But I can never finish one on my own. The problem: almost every restaurant we've been to does not have a non-dairy dessert option. Mike's dessert options are very limited due to his milk allergy.

Recently, I've been chiming in on a discussion on AllergyEats.com's blog on whether or not restaurants should be required to post allergens on their menu. It's been a great dialogue and I urge you all to read the article and comments.
http://www.allergyeats.com/blog/?p=182

Now, I must add to this by suggesting that restaurants should include a non-dairy item to their dessert menu. There are very few choices out their for milk-allergic people when it comes to dessert. A simple pie, sorbet or fruit concoction without the a la mode would be nice. I would simply like the option of sitting in a restaurant and share a dessert with my fiancee after a wonderful meal. Anybody else have this problem? It's great we have options in entrees and appetizers that are allergen specific, but what about the dessert? All I'm saying is options would be nice.

Lent

So, being Catholic, I gave up soda for Lent. I love coke! I drink coke, and soda in general for every meal. I was feending for a coke the first few hours; I wanted one bad. But now that its two weeks into Lent, I'm not really craving soda. Yet, I am still feending for some spaghetti or pizza. Isn't that funny? I gave up soda voluntarily and I don't want it, but giving up tomato because it makes me sick makes me want it even more. At the end of Lent, I'm sure I'll have a coke. But when will I ever stop craving the tomato?

Restaurant

Being a bartender at a restaurant myself, I know what a pain in the butt it is for a customer to make changes to a menu item. But all they have to say is that they are allergic to something, and I will take extra precautions with their order because I can commiserate. I guess I don't share that same degree of care with every server.

Remembering my tomato allergy and Mike's fatal dairy allergy, we have to pay attention to restaurant menus very carefully. The other night, a simple salad was the downfall of our meal. One no tomatoes with ranch, one no cheese with thousand island. It took the server three variations of those instructions to get it right. Neither one of us could afford to pick out the allergens. Restaurants are so tough for us, because its hard to say if the server will adhere to our allergy demands.

Incidentally, I have been aware of a great new website that matches your allergies to a suitable restaurant in your area. Its called Allergy Eats, and I have placed a link to their website under Sites of Interest. Hopefully, we can all enjoy an allergy-free meal sometime.

Pesto

I have to admit that I've cheated recently and ate a plate of spaghetti. And I'm paying for it. But sometimes, I just don't feel like alfredo sauce, too creamy for my taste. Here's a great alternative with no tomato! YUM!

Pesto:

Ingredients

* 3 cups fresh basil leaves
* 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
* 4 cloves garlic, peeled
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 1 cup olive oil
* salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a food processor, blend together basil leaves, nuts, garlic, and cheese. Pour in oil slowly while still mixing. Stir in salt and pepper.

The Pea

I have been so focused on testing my tomato allergy it had slipped my mind that peas were another of my unusual food allergies. I felt it was so easy to abstain since I don't like peas anyhow. However, in many Asian food restaurants, they add peas into their rice. I usually just pick them out. I guess that's not a good idea.

I either accidentally ate one or there's pea residue to take into consideration. Last night the peas allergy rendered such an enormous attack that not only did I heavily blow my nose from the congestion, it also caused a migraine (yet another affliction I suffer from). This migraine literally crippled me, and if you ever get migraines you know what I mean. My eyes start to blur and light itself can blind me; my head pounds as if my heart were beating in my temples; the slightest sound is deafening; and my whole body becomes limp and lifeless from ache and nausea. There is no cure. I must huddle under a blanket in a dark, soundless room alone, to sleep for the an entire day.

God help me to remember I'm allergic to peas!

Benadryl

So as I am venturing to test my tomato allergy, I am also trying out different medicines that may combat it. Now, for severe allergies that pop up when the Santa Ana winds blow through I usually take a pretty high dosage of Claritan and that helps tremendously. Benadryl does not help with the wind.

However, I could not help myself when my Mikey craved some Chris & Pitts BBQ to order a side of their oh so yummy spaghetti. I did not devour it all, as I usually do and really wished I could. But I did take a good 3 or 4 fork-twirls full. I had a medium to mild attack in the morning. (Trust me, it was worth it!) I saw the Benadryl Allergy pills in the bathroom shelf and thought I'd give it a shot. IT WORKED! Now, it may just be because it was only a mild attack, and may not work for severe reactipns, but wow. This could be a breakthrough for me. Here's hoping! Keep you posted...

Birthdays

I turned 31 on the 15th of this month. Oh my goodness. Feels different to finally be in your 30s. But I hear that these are the years I should be well into knowing just who I am and loving it. Well, I've learned to deal with the little tummy pouch I've acquired over the years, and even made peace with the lines and age spots forming on my face, but I have yet to reconcile with my career and my diet. How am I to know who I am when I don't even know what I can eat?

Whoever came up with that idea obviously never developed a new food allergy later in their life. My birthday celebrating was low key, just the way I like it. Hair cut, pedicure, dinner, and a play. Lovely. But I chose to celebrate one night with my family at Medievel Times, a dinner and tournament show. First item on their menu: tomato bisque. What can I do? Its a set menu, not a restaurant. Good thing for my Mikey though, there were absolutely no dairy dishes, not even the dessert.

To make matters worse, L.A. has seen an entire week of horrendous storms and I have developed a pretty nasty cold and now must put my tomato experimenting on hold. Se la vie. The last few months have been difficult with my boyfriend injured and unable to walk. I guess its just one less thing I need to worry about...for now.

Unpredictability

Last night I worked til 3AM and came home looking for a snack before bed. I know you're not supposed to eat before bedtime, but I was starving. I noticed Mike had gotten take out Mexican food. I ate probably about 2 ounces of rice and beans, basically whatever his leftovers were.

I woke up twice having to blow my nose for at least 30 min. I had no idea why. Now it hits me: Spanish rice. Having made Spanish rice myself in the past, I now remember that it is made with tomato sauce. It didn't even occur to me. This allergy is so new, and its so difficult to change the way I've eaten for the past 30 years. I'm not used to having to question everything I eat, what it's made of. And I am definitely more sympathetic to Mike for his milk/whey allergy he's had to deal with his whole life.

The hardest part is eating out. Mike and I are novice food critics and have enjoyed dining at gourmet restaurants on occasion. Imagine the horror the chefs go through when I explain that they cannot use any milk or dairy in their signature five-star, five course meal. And now I have to further explain they can't use tomatoes as well. I would hate to cook for a couple like us! God help us...

Frustration

Though I do love the food of my heritage, sometimes you just get sick of the richness of most Filipino foods. Have you ever been so frustrated in not knowing what to eat that you just didn't eat?

I found that today, I was bombarded with things too do; laundry, oil change, cleaning, that I somewhat forgot to stop for a meal. Compound that with how difficult it is to prepare a meal within the criteria of both my tomato allergy and my boyfriend's milk allergy, I was just at a loss. I just didn't feel like eating at all. Can anyone commiserate?

Chicken Adobo

My favorite authentic Filipino dish of all time! Again, blissfully free of both tomatoes and dairy! This is my family's recipe


Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1 (2-3 pound) chicken, cut into pieces (I prefer legs small legs and wings)
* 1 onion, quartered and sliced
* 2 tablespoons minced garlic
* 1/3 cup white vinegar
* 2/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
* 1 tablespoon garlic powder
* Few pieces of peppercorn (most use 2 bay leaves)


1. Marinate chicken in soy sauce and vinegar overnight, or for few hours prior to cooking.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken pieces until golden brown on both sides, then remove. Stir in the onion and garlic; cook until they soften and brown, about 6 minutes.
3. Pour in vinegar and soy sauce mixture, and season with garlic powder, peppercorns (Most use bay leaves and black pepper). Add the browned chicken, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the chicken is tender and cooked through, 35 to 40 minutes.
(Note: if the taste isn't to your liking, you can neutralize the intensity of vinegar,soy sauce using small amounts of white sugar)
4. Serve over white rice!

DELICIOUS!

Testing the Waters

Actually, testing the tomato ;) Since I had different reactions to eating cooked or raw tomatoes, I have started testing different tomato dishes to see if there's a compromise I can make with my diet. My results so far:

I do have an allergic reaction when consuming anything tomato, but the severity differs greatly.

Raw tomatoes: I ate a BLT last night, used to be one of my favorite sandwiches. I've had a pretty bad sinus build-up and did wake up once to blow my nose for a good 30 min. Bad, but not the worse. I had the same reaction when I accidentally ate a raw tomato underneath some cheese in a nacho plate.

Cooked or stewed tomatoes: This was the worse! That soup with the stewed tomatoes rendered the most horrible attack I've had in a long time. I couldn't even sleep; my sinuses were clogged, my head was pounding, and my nose was absolutely raw with the continuous blowing. Yikes!

Sauces containing tomatoes: oddly enough eating spaghetti, pizza, and dipping shrimp in cocktail sauce was not too bad. It gave me minimal symptoms, some sniffling and a few blows on the nose but that's about it. Maybe if the tomatoes are mixed in a sauce with other ingredients lessens the allergic agents in the tomato. Ketchup however, seems to put me into a severe allergic reaction.

Not rocket science, but good to know what things I can play with in my daily diet! Keep you all updated...