Recent Posts by Leah

Topic: Allergy Support Group / Food additives

My daughter is the same way. She was maybe 6yo when we realized food colorings made her stop breathing while sleeping. Now she’s 21 and headed for Africa. I have a feeling food colorings won’t be a problem in the bush! While away at college there were many things she couldn’t eat in the cafeteria.
This doesn’t really help, but just know I DO understand.

Topic: Looking for Recipe / Where to get unbuffered vitamin c crystals?

Unbuffered won’t work because it will react with things like baking soda in the recipe to creat a rising action. Must be unbuffered.
I can get it at the local health food store. Just tell them you want the bad, sour tasting stuff. :-)

Topic: Looking for Recipe / Tomatoes/Yeast

Yeast/mold is a big problem for me, too, and I have only recently been able to handle dried herbs/spices every once in awhile. Can you handle those? If so, cumin, etc., will give a ‘taste’ of Mexico. I remember seeing the huge listing of what you can’t eat. Can you eat wheat tortillas? I know you’re at college. Is there a kitchen where you can make your own from other flour, if needed? (I can’t eat those already made, because of the mold in them, unless very fresh and then freeze them.)
Dried beans were the staple of my diet when I first started. Maybe canned ones without ‘extras’ would be okay for you, depending on how sensitive you are. Easy crockpot beans are listed on this site, if it’s of help.
We tend to eat lots of what we’re allergic to. The ‘irony’ of it all is based in FACT!
Hope you’re doing okay.

Topic: New Allergy Requests / candida allergy

I’ve been thinking about Vit. C crystals.
(above… non-vitamin C citric acid? isn’t Vitamin C the same as citric acid? maybe there’s a difference is pharm. grade and food grade?)
Anyway, I just wanted to say something in defense of vit. c crystals—
When I first started this journey, I was so allergic to mold/yeast, that I couldn’t eat canned veg and had to scrub/bleach EVERYTHING, couldn’t have anything processed.
BUT I could usually eat canned tomatoes, which contain citric acid. Well, I didn’t get sick MOST of the time eating canned tomatoes, which means the citric acid wasn’t bothering me, but the mold in the tomatoes.
Also, vit. C crystals are in every ‘yeast’ cookbook I own.
So, my advice to those who are allergic to mold/yeast is…
IF YOUR ALLERGY ISN’T LIFE THREATENING, don’t assume you can’t try vit. C crystals.
Many people do okay with them.

Topic: Allergy Support Group / Overweight due to allergies

Weight gain! :-( I’m right there with ya.
I have found out, though, that uncontrolled yeast overgrowth (systemic candida) makes it (almost) impossible to loose weight. I say ‘almost’ because I don’t want to be depressing, in case somebody out there is the exception, which is very possible!
So, I’ve discovered that if I really stick to my diet, I might loose a little weight. If I cheat, I actually usually end up gaining weight.

Topic: Allergy Support Group / Food intolerances

Most of my intollerances developed relatively suddenly. I have a feeling that if I tested for them, they wouldn’t show up. I don’t have an immune (chemical) reaction to these foods, just a physical reaction because of injury to my intestines. Am I making sense? (I’m really tired and can’t express myself very well.)
When I stopped eating those foods, it’s like a fire which burned down. I could SOMETIMES eat those foods without problem. Now that this has been my life for about 4 yrs, I can actually eat whatever I want for a whole day without any problems, IF I return to my diet the following day. I’m getting better, which means I don’t have a TRUE allergy.

Topic: Looking for Recipe / vegetarian? vegan?

Lots of allergic people look specifically for bread recipes. A catagory for that one might work well.

Topic: Allergy Support Group / Nutritional Yeast

Things that ‘shouldn’t hurt’ someone often do.
I’m sensitive to baker’s yeast and nutritional yeast bothers me, too. Maybe some people are okay with one but not the other. Not me.
Depending on how badly a person reacts to one should determine whether they try the other.

Topic: Looking for Recipe / allergic to cows milk and eggs

A thought to replace ice cream—puree frozen unsweetened fruit. Ones like peaches and strawberries probably wouldn’t need any sugar added. And if sugar is needed, you can add how much YOU want them to have. I bet the whole family would enjoy it!
I think I saw a recipe which used a little honey in frozen fruit. Maybe it helps the texture.

Topic: Looking for Recipe / allergic to cows milk and eggs

If their ONLY problem is dairy and eggs, things are much better than you realize!
There’s a list of egg substitutes on this site (look in the left bar on the recipe page—somebody just posted a flax seed egg sub., and people are always using 1/4 cup applesauce in place of 1 egg) and milk can always be replaced with water, except in ice cream! Milk can also be replaced with nut milks, too. (Blend blanched almonds with water in a blender until it’s milky mush, strain, then use as you would milk. Don’t remember the amounts, MAYBE 1 part nuts to 2 parts water? I’ll try to find out.) And wheat flour rises better than most alternative flours, so things aren’t as bad as you think!
Just start substituting.
Found a recipe quickly!
http://homecooking.about.com/cs/atozfoodindex/ht/almond_milk.htm

Topic: Looking for Recipe / vegetarian? vegan?

I’m trying to get this straight, so recipes can be placed where needed.
Does vegetarian mean animal by-products are used, like dairy and eggs, but not the actual animal? Does vegan mean NO animal products at all?

Topic: Looking for Recipe / Soybean Oil Free Mayonaise

I like the idea of making a mayo-type product without raw egg. (But, we have chickens, so I know our eggs are fresh. Mold is my problem, and eggs which aren’t fresh cause me problems.)
Stevia is a VERY sweet herb which you can grow or purchase in powder form. It’s in the composite (lettuce) family. Every health food store will have it.

Topic: New Allergy Requests / candida allergy

I’ve seen ‘somewhere’ that vit. C crystals are generlly contaminated with yeast. That’s why they say not to eat canned tomatoes (which contain citric acid). But, you know, almost EVERYTHING contains mold/yeast. I really have to scrub my veg. before eating them, but I don’t say I’m allergic to sweet potatoes because of the mold on them. :-)
All this to say, I don’t think you’ll be able to list EVERYTHING which contains mold/yeast.

Topic: New Allergy Requests / Quinoa

The following food families are from The Allergy Self Help Cookbook.

GOOSEFOOT or BEET: Amaranth, beet, chard, lamb’s quarters, spinach, sugar beet, quinoa

GRAIN (cereal or grass): bamboo shoots, barley, corn, Kamut brand grain, lemongrass, millet, oats, rice, rye, sorghum/milo, spelt, sugarcane/molasses, teff, wheat, wild rice

LEGUME: alfalfa, (all the beans, I guess), peanut, etc

NIGHTSHADE or POTATO: eggplant, potato, tomato, peppers, etc

Just because you can’t eat wheat or quinoa, there’s lots of other options, IF YOU TOLLERATE THEM. If your allergy isn’t life-threatening, you could figure out which of these you can eat. If it IS life-threatening, you need to talk to your dr.

There’s probably some in the grain or goosefoot families that you can eat. The recipes for Quick Skillet Bread and Country Bread on this site came from the above book.
Also, Allergy Cooking with Ease is an excellent source for using these other grains and flours.
I can’t eat wheat, but gluten isn’t my problem, so I can eat all the others in the grain family. You’ll need to see what YOU can eat.
Hope this gives you a start.

Topic: Allergy Support Group / wheat and almond allergy

I’m glad things are better than I thought. When you described your situation, I pictured a family I know which has awful, selfish kids and LOTS of problems! I have no doubt your family will be fine. Things WILL become easier, even ‘old hat’. ;-)

Topic: Allergy Support Group / wheat and almond allergy

I’m sorry you’re having such a hard time.
I only have one comment. Your other children are old enough to understand how serious this is for their little sister. They’re at a great age to learn that the world doesn’t revolve around them! I’ve read too many stories of families trying to provide two different diets in the same household. I’ve yet to see one in which it worked, at least at first! I do know ONE family personally where it’s working, but only after years of the children learning to consider others before themselves.
This may sound impossible to you (and everybody else), but your older children learning this valuable lesson NOW will make them better human beings later on.
My advise…provide only one diet in your home, the one which fits your 2 yr old and let everybody else grow up.

Topic: Allergy Support Group / Orange allergy- are Tangerines o.k. ?

http://www.calgaryallergy.ca/Articles/English/botanical.htm#by_Food_Name

The above states that they are both in the citrus family. Something else I saw says the tangerine is more like a manderine orange, but they all must still be citrus.

Topic: Looking for Recipe / Soybean Oil Free Mayonaise

Has anybody tried the above mayo? It should have been 3 T. lemon juice instead of 1/4 cup. (I don’t think it would make much difference.) But, I’ll post the recipe on the site in a minute!

Topic: Allergy Support Group / Orange allergy- are Tangerines o.k. ?

The best listing I’ve seen about food families is in If This is Tuesday, It Must Be Chicken, a cookbook about doing a rotation diet. I don’t have my copy with me, so I don’t know if oranges and tangerines are the same family. I’ve searched the internet and can’t find the answer. Does anybody have this book close by? I’ll keep looking.

Topic: New Allergy Requests / alcohol?

Alcohol is a no-no on non-fermented diets because of the molds/yeasts which they contain.

Topic: Looking for Recipe / Soybean Oil Free Mayonaise

I wish I had my cookbooks with me!
Making your own mayo is VERY easy. It’s something like this…
1 cup oil (choose which you can use)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 egg
All you do is put the juice and egg in a food processor/blender, whirl it around and then add the oil SLOWLY. It will take on a thickened, wonderful mayo consistency! I’m not sure about the amounts, but I think they’re close.
I have several cookbooks with the recipe and they’re all about the same. They say you can store it for a week in the ref. (using a very clean jar) but with my mold allergy, I don’t push it past 2 days. You can also add herbs and use it like a dip or sauce. Add basil and use it on almost anything, or add celery seed, etc.
If this recipe doesn’t work, it’s because my amounts aren’t right, but I think they are!

Topic: Looking for Recipe / frosting w/o powdered sugar

Arrowroot! I really need to look into that. Thanks!

Topic: Looking for Recipe / frosting w/o powdered sugar

I’ve been thinking of this problem since I was here last.
None of my cake decorating books have a recipe for decorator’s icing WITHOUT confectioner’s sugar (which contains corn starch). I think a cooked icing using granualed sugar is all you could do. Even paste colorings for icing contain corn, so…
You could ice the cake with cooked icing and then decorate it with flowers! There are beautiful silk flowers which would look great on a cake (my wedding cake had a silk daisy arrangement on top).
Edible flowers would look GREAT! When you eat flowers, you eat the petals, NOT the pollen-laden center. So, a bouquet of flowers on the top would look great and loose petals could be scattered all around the rest of the cake. Am I making sense?
Example—a small bouquet of whole roses on the top and rose petals scattered all around the rest of the cake.
Edible flowers: rose, any culinary herb flower, anise hyssop, nasturtium, sweet violet… Be sure to check on whichever flower you choose, just to be sure.
Advantage of fresh over silk—you can scatter petals all over the cake and not have problems with people wondering if they can eat them. Well, people may still wonder, but they’d be okay! And these would add color to the cake without using paste icing coloring.
Makes me want to go bake a cake!

Topic: New Allergy Requests / Acidic foods

acidalkalinediet.com has things about alkaline (not acidic) foods.
I’ve heard of this, but haven’t ‘done’ it.

Topic: Looking for Recipe / frosting w/o powdered sugar

I just went to a site a used to love to visit, until my allergies came along!
At allrecipes.com, I did a search of frosting recipes, excluding powdered sugar, etc., and came up with several! Do the search yourself, or just find Caramel cream frosting, caramel frosting II , creamy frosting, or creamy whipped frosting.
Hope this helps. Search that site and tell it which ingredients to exclude it these don’t work. I’ve decorated cakes before and it looks like these would be hard to use for actual ‘decorating’ , but for frosting, they’d be fine.
This site is usually very hard to use when you have allergies, but a simple request like this is much easier.