It Isn't Easy Eating Out!

    I think the hardest part of the entire diet for me was making sure I planned ahead. My boyfriend and I lead VERY busy lives (we both work full time, have hobbies and like to do side work for friends and family), so we often eat take-out, or pre-cooked meals because they are fast.

    Obviously when I started the diet I could no longer have ANYTHING that was fast food. I got pretty desperate a few nights when I got home very late (like 9) and ended up eating nothing, or snacking on nuts because I just didn't have the energy to cook. That will definitely make you a little grumpy!

     I found a few restaurant options that do cater somewhat to allergies, and if you look at your options before going, sometimes you can find good meals that will work for you.

    If you live somewhere that there is a BJ's Brewhouse around, they actually have a gluten free menu that also lists all of their healthier items with check marks under common allergens that they contain. I was able to order a meal of balsamic glazed chicken, atop baby greens, with caramelized onions and brown rice (substituted from the original mashed potatoes that come with it). I cut the chicken up and stirred everything together and it was SO GOOD. I wanted more and finished every bite. It was so nice to get something yummy that *I* didn't have to cook for once!

The balsamic chicken (picture this with brown rice, not mashed potatoes!)

 

   Another restaurant that caters to those with food allergies is Chipotle. They have a section on their website that shows what allergens their foods contain. I was able to make a chicken, brown rice, black bean and lettuce bowl that was yummy, healthy and fit my diet!

   I risked it once and had a chicken salad at a mexican restaurant, I just asked that they hold the tomatoes, salsa, sour cream and cheese. It was good, may possibly have had corn oil on chicken but otherwise fit the bill.

   And yesterday I was able to get the Southwest Chicken Salad at Red Robin minus the dressing, cheese, corn, tomatoes and corn chips and that also fit the diet.

   Lastly, steak houses are your friend! You can get sweet potatoes, plain grilled chicken or fish, and steamed veggies. Just be sure to ask about what type of oil/butter they use and ask that it not be used on yours. Also, specify no dairy or soy products be used.

   As you can see, I was able to find items when I HAD to, but it is VERY time consuming and sometimes frustrating for staff. They were always very helpful and if you aren't sure--ask! It's their job to accomodate you. They ARE in the service industry after all! Just be sure to tip them well for their extra attention:)

Happy Eating (Out!) Y'all!!
~ Tara Lynn

Getting Over It....

The diet plan I followed, as closely as possible.

      For years I've been dealing with a myriad of health issues, from skin problems (itchy, rashes, breaking out) to reocurring infections (both UTIs and yeast), to migraines, debilitating menstrual cycles and stomach issues. I could never quite pinpoint what was causing me to have all of these problems (I mean come on, I'm only 29!). I had multiple blood tests, tested for several types of cancer, I was even checked for HIV (even though I knew from tests years earlier I was negative and had no reason to believe that would have changed) because I was SO tired of feeling terrible all of the time. Much to my surprise (and yes, even a little disappointment) everything came back negative or within normal limits. While normally that would be a happy thing, I still had no concrete answers.

     Traditional doctors kept treating the symptoms, constantly putting me on new rounds of the same old antibiotics, and the cycle kept repeating itself, get rid of one symptom another crops up. A 29 year old woman who is by all standards very average in eating and exercise habits, with no known issues should NOT be on constant antibiotics.

      A co-worked suggested I try going to her naturopath and so I made an appointment (3 months out...apparently this particular naturopath is very popular). The day I met with her I brought a list of my issues along with the results of all of the tests I'd had done prior. She didn't even look at me during the appointment, all we did was talk about all my issues and my frustration at not finding a source to them.

     The Naturopath decided that it might be best for me to do a blood panel to check for food allergies. When she told me insurance didn't cover it, and that it was going to cost a minimum of $350 I balked at the idea. I just didn't have that kind of money to throw down out of pocket. When she mentioned the elimination diet, at first I told her no-way no-how could I do that for a full 30 days. Especially since my boyfriend (whom I live with ) was not likely to participate.

     But when I left her office I started to think about it and decided I really wanted to see if this might be my issue. And so I made the official decision to start the elimination diet.

     If you are not familiar with how an elimination diet works, you must cut out all of the foods that are traditionally thought of as difficult for the human body to process, or likely to cause allergic reactions. I had to cut out all meats but organic chicken, turkey, fish and game meat (also, no shellfish). I had to cut out all grains with the exception of tapioca, brown rice, and quinoa (that means almost every type of bread, breakfast food, cracker etc). I had to cut out all forms of sugar with the exception of maple syrup as a sweetener (that includes honey, agave, stevia, and artificial sweeteners also!). I had to cut out gluten (which by the way was the EASIEST thing to avoid what with it being all the craze).

     I had to cut out all types of dairy (so no cheese, yogurt, milk, ice cream or anything dairy based). I had to cut out eggs, or anything with eggs in it. I also had to cut out corn (so anything with corn meal, corn oil or cooked in any oil that is not specified is out). As far as fruits and veggies go, I could have anything excepting citrus fruits (lemon, lime, grapefruit, orange) and tomatoes (so no pasta type sauces, no chilis, very few soups). And lastly, the most difficult one to avoid, was soy. Soy is in EVERYTHING. Peanut butter. Oils. It is used for a filler in place of corn in most "health" foods. It is in GUM! Just start looking at labels, and you'll get a feel for how REALLY difficult it was to avoid all of these things.

   I also had to cut out anything with caffeine in it. What it came down to was that I could drink water, or water infused with fruits, mint or caffeine free white, herbal or green teas. For a girl who absolutely HATES water, that was pretty rough at first. I'm still drinking more tea than straight water, but I do like it more now than I did when I started!

    The hardest part of the whole thing was learning to read labels. Knowing what different forms of things were called. Sugar and sweeteners could be listed as sucrose, sucralose, honey, fructose, dextrose, glucose, maltodextrin. All kinds of names. Pretty much though, I learned that if it listed anything I wasn't sure of, chances are I couldn't have it.

    This blog will be a tool to detail what I learned during the month of the elimination diet, and some tips and tricks that I learned. While I was doing the diet I did a LOT of research and looking at blogs and recipes and learned how to make changes that would allow me to follow the diet and still have some variety in my diet (because really, who wants plain chicken, veggies and water for an entire month?!) My goal is to get a lot of tips in one place so that others can find this stuff more easily when trying to stick to the elimination diet.

     I will say that I was surprised at my willpower. It got REALLY rough some nights when friends or family weren't very supportive, or I got home late and had to cook a full meal at 9PM. But I stuck it out for the most part. I caved once or twice minorly when I had to go out to eat, or when I was just DYING for a tast of an Arizona Iced tea (which me and the bf LOVE), but I think for the most part I did a REALLY good job learning. I will for sure be carrying through some of what I've learned into my every-day life once the process is done because I found some of the healthier items I replaced my favorites with were actually REALLY good and MUCH better for me in the long-run.

    So happy reading, and I sure hope you all get something out of this!

Peace and (Organic) Chicken Grease! ;)
~Tara Lynn