Food Combining: Day Six

Every morning I sit and eat fruit while I reflect on the prior days attempts at food combining... sometimes I'm drinking coffee, which always comes first, but usually I'm eating fresh, seasonal, usually organic, fruit.

Yesterday was Shepherds Pie leftovers for lunch. I browned a bit of whole wheat bread and tossed it on top for some crunch. It was good.

Last night I baked Rainbow Trout with a bit of almond oil, grated hazelnuts and lemon juice. On the table I garnished with more lemon juice and nuts. David and I made large side salads to accompany the fish. It was actually quite delicious. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to get trout that is caught wild. I prefer wild caught, fresh (NOT previously frozen) fish. The selection yesterday wasn't great. The wild caught had all been previously frozen and all the fresh were farm raised. So I went by preference and price. Always good fall backs.

And no pics because we ate it all before I thought about taking a picture. It was actually a pretty plate with the slightly browned edges on the pink fillets and the toasted nuts. We feed our dogs all raw foods (an entirely different topic which would fill an entirely separate blog) and our Bull Mastiff couldn't get enough of the Rainbow Trout before I stuck it in the oven. Of course then he didn't want his chicken later....

Oh and while David did use his cloth towel to prevent food splatter a woman made popcorn in the microwave..... probably not the best day to test theories.

Not Just a FOOD Allergy

Corn. We've call it a "food" allergy. That seems a bit shy of reality. While David would never eat glue or adhesive tape, contact with those items makes him ill. Same with deodorants, soaps, shampoos and so on. Soy is prevalent as well in products such as lip balm and lotion but thankfully, soy seems to truly be just a food allergy. We haven't had any problems with contact reactions that don't involve the actual consumption of soy (products). (We still however, attempt to a avoid products with soy that will come in contact with David.)

David's been having "issues" again at work. Last night as we were drifting to sleep I did my typical 100 questions - or however many he stays awake for.

I've decided that perhaps the problem is his use of paper towels to prevent splatter when using the microwave at work. (I'm hoping *fingers crossed* hoping that he can use the microwave at work because if eliminating the use of paper towels doesn't work he'll have to avoid the microwave completely.) We typically don't use the microwave at home. I prefer to "re-invent" left overs on the stove top or in the oven. At work David doesn't have that option. And it's tough to come up with enough food for him if we don't include left overs from dinner in his lunch kit. Raw fruit and veggies don't cut it out for him. Raw nuts and seeds help but still - not enough. Sandwiches are ok but again, he can eat 4 in a day with out something more filling.

Last night I asked him to take a dish towel to work with him. Specifically a thin 100% cotton towel I like to use for covering dough while it rises. It's light weight, easy to clean and perfect for bread rising, storing, serving as well as laying flat on the counter for air drying hand washed dishes (I detest hand washing but I do still occasionally).

My theory is that microwaving the paper towel some how transfers allergens in a way that simply using it does not. It was the same with plastic food storage containers. While we now avoid use of plastic in the kitchen in any form, he can drink cold beverages from plastic and not have a reaction. When hot beverages, however, go into a plastic thermos, he gets a reaction. When I stored veggies in a plastic container he was fine, but if he reheated in a plastic container he had a reaction....

We shall see. I think I only had 3 of these towels to begin with so it looks as though he didn't take one with him this morning. Hopefully he grabbed another dish towel because I'm pretty sure I was unable to convince him that his pasta tossed with olive oil, Parmesan and cracked black pepper could be eaten cold.

(DAVID JUST TOLD ME I HAD FOUR OF THOSE TOWELS AND HE TOOK THE RED ONE....)

Food Combining: Dinner Two

Grilled chicken & veggies

I think I nailed this one. I had Hubs grill organic chicken breast (protein) with garlic and onion and "Italian Seasoning Mix" from World Market. I steamed carrots. Sauteed green beans in Sweet Almond Oil (only a tad). Mixed raw cucumber with onion and a little vinegar.

(No pics and no recipes - we created this on our own and didn't take pics b/c we had company... it'd be a tad odd to tell them "Sorry folks if you could wait a few mins while we take pics of din-din...")

The meal was protein and veggies. A very happy combination.

Food Combining: Dinner One

Minestrone Soup

Had I followed the recipe perfectly I would have been fine. But alas I am used to using recipes as "ideas" and adding/subtracting ingredients as I see fit.

This soup is from "The Food Combining Bible". It's basically carrots, celery, potatoes, veggie broth, a little oil, some basil and oregano. I think that is it. So starch and veggies. A good combination. With out thinking I added KIDNEY BEANS. A protein. So I totally screwed up my first attempt. I was thinking I could have bread or beans.... yea well potatoes are a starch which eliminated the protein option... Gag. Also the soup wasn't filling enough for Hubs. He was super hungry after only 2 hours. So we had oatmeal. At 8pm. Something we wouldn't typically do. But a starch. Does that make up for the beans? I keep reading the book. I've probably read all of the sections several times now. Today the part that said something along the lines of picking one or two bad combination's and avoiding them stuck out. I really wanted to jump in with both feet. I'm still trying but it's going to take time for it to become habit.

Next time I make the soup I'll add pasta - a starch - and serve it with whole wheat bread - also a starch.

Food Combining

Starting today, I am going to attempt to Food Combine. I've read several books. The two I own: "You Are What You Eat" by Dr.Gillian McKeith (this was actually a gift I requested at Christmas) and "The Food Combining Bible" by Jan & Inge Dries. I picked this one up in a used book store prior to corn allergy discovery (PCAD). McKeith's book doesn't go into detail about the use of food combining but she does write about food allergies and sensitives and the use of ones pulse to help determine them. She also talks frankly about BM's and itchy bottoms. It's quite interesting actually. The Dries book goes into detail (um - hence the name of the book) about food combining. They reference Dr. Hay and Dr. Shelton quite a bit in this book. Both of the good Dr's did extensive research/work on food combining.

Both books discuss the benefits of food combining to aid in digestion and possibly help eliminate or alleviate food allergies. The basic physiological explanation is that when foods are eaten in specific orders they are digested properly and there are no "back ups" in one's digestive track.

"Although allergy is a disorder of the immune system, food combining removes the factors that induce the reaction. Eating different foods, mixed together, disrupts the digestion: gases and toxins are formed, and protein residues remain in the intestines. These are absorbed through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream, causing an allergic reaction. Food combining results in perfect digestion, improving the metabolism and making allergic reactions less likely." The Food Combining Bible Dries (pg 79)

This does not mean I am going to re-introduce corn into our diet. That would be ludicrous. My hope is that by food combining we can avoid situations such as the one we are in now - huge reactions, NO idea what from.

PCAD I'd occasionally call David and ask him to pick up dinner on the way home. I didn't typically care what he picked up just so I didn't have to cook and do dishes. While I miss the ease of an occasional to go dinner, both of us have a healthier lifestyle as a result of our meals being home prepared with out preservatives or additives.

Visiting

David and I went to CT in early August to visit my family. Mom read the blog called me and did loads of research and was able to provide David with some FABULOUS food - allergen free. It was great. Even all the little details about "dextrose" and unspecified vinegars, spice mixes and so on. She was able to make substitutions like ground oats rather than bread crumbs and other such things. It was so nice to relax and let mom do the cooking and not worry about David being sick for hours after eating. We had offered to bring food for David because we know what an inconvenience (and expense) it can be to purchase and prepare food for him but mom did beautifully (thanks, Mom!). She had homemade bread waiting for David and cookies and meatballs and on and on and on. We ate our way through our visit. We had dinner with other family members that also went out of their way to ensure that David was able to eat without concerns about label reading and it was humbling and gracious and so very much appreciated! This is the first extended trip we have taken since finding out about David's food allergies and it was so nice to travel and eat without worrying.

We packed snacks and such for the road (it's a loooong day of traveling to fly from Houston to Bradley) but once we arrived David was totally covered.

Our home, grocery shopping and food preparing has become a bit less challenging which is so nice. David is shouldering about 1/2 the cooking since my having gone back to school limits the amount of time I have to prepare meals. He's planning on making some cashew butter in lieu of the almond butter he's been eating since we discovered his food allergy. While we can purchase almond butter that would be safe for him to eat, it's about $10 for 6 oz and we simply can not justify that expense when we have a food processor and it takes on a few minutes to prepare our own nut butters.

While visiting mom my sister and David had "Pie School" as they termed it. Now that David can make a pie I'm looking forward to him baking one here. ;) My sister made an apple pie, my mom made a peach pie and David made a chocolate-pecan pie concoction that didn't last long. (I'm getting quite skilled at mixing up a batch of semi-sweet chocolate for all sorts of goodies from 100% cocoa).

BASIC SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE
In sauce pan melt 100% cocoa. Add a touch of 1/2 & 1/2 or cream, vanilla and sugar. Whisk all ingredients until thoroughly mixed. I don't really have measurements but I do it to taste.

The pie crusts were made from butter, rather than Crisco or lard. It makes for slightly different measurements but it has to be done by feel.

David has gotten quite good at substituting for baking powder and recently whipped up a great batch of blueberry waffles.

When David sticks to his food changes, he does really well. He can always tell when he's run into something because he typically feels sick for several hours. His energy is back and he's started running in the early morning with Sunshine, our lab mix. All in all, I am happy to report, things are well on the food allergy horizon. = )

Food preparers beware

The difficulty level in preparing foods for David has me a bit spooked. Read a label on any box, container, pasta.... in the pantry and you will see why. Nearly everything includes a variation on corn or soy.
Both are used extensively in items such as:

• sugars (particularly powdered and brown)
• baking powder and other leavening ingredients
• flours
• pastas
• cereals
  
• canned soups
• bullion cubes
  
• canned beans (think Bush's baked)
• canned fruits
• canned veggies
  
• snack food items of all kinds from chips to fruit snacks and flavored yogurts
• foods in foil packages as the packages are often dusted with a corn product to prevent sticking to the packaging
• crackers
• condiments
• juices
• sodas and many other beverages...

the list goes on and on and on and on.

Products that have an ingredient of "citric acid" often have used an acid derived from corn. Corn is hidden in the ingredients listed as:

• modified starches
• vegetable oil(s) (the standard veggie oil is made from soy)
• alcohol
• syrup
• citric acid
• maltodextrin
  

and once again the list continues.

This means I can't use traditional baking powder, I need to find a brand that uses a potato starch or make my own. This means that my vanilla may not be safe and I have to investigate it prior to cooking with it. This means I have to research my oats, nuts (can't be processed in a plant with peanuts) and coconut before I make David some granola. YIKES!!! Same with my powdered sugar, brown sugar, flour, pastas and so on. Thank God I have one less class in the Fall. Food preparation will be a full time job.

Of late we have been attempting to eat more plain veggies and grilled meat. Both of which should be safe. Some waxed fruits/veggies however are also now unsafe. Horizon organic plain yogurt appears to be safe. My neighbor and I had dinner one night and she served a dessert of fresh fruit and plain yogurt. While we were in San Antonio we got smoothies from a Mediterranean place that made smoothies from yogurt, bananas, other fresh fruit and a bit of honey. Combining both concepts, I have been making breakfast smoothies with the yogurt and fresh fruits. They are delicious but only a short lived fulfillment as there isn't much protein or fiber to keep one full until lunch time. David had one this morning. He mixed his with blueberries and the yogurt.

I'm feeling overwhelmed and I have to go shop. David and I made a pasta I think is safe last night and he tossed it with fresh mozzarella balls, garlic and Parmesan with a little olive oil. I'm still not 100% certain that my garlic is corn free. YIKES!