Food Allergies and diet
Replies
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I have a few new food allergies to work around. I also mostly eat out. Help! I am struggling to find food I can eat. I had a BLT sandwich with no mayo for dinner.
I can’t have egg, white potatoes, coconut, palm oil, turkey, lamb, pork, strawberries, fish or nuts. I dislike steak and get tired of chicken.
I liked salad with toppings like egg, or chicken salad which are now a no go.
Anyone have suggestions of what I can eat?
Sympathy. I have a lot of allergies as well and it's a right pain, yeah?
And...I'm gonna pass on some information that is really important to know, for your future decisions re: meals and food choices. So, please bear with me. :-)
Obviously, your body is releasing histamine when you have an allergic reaction, and then you get symptoms, yeah? What it helps to understand is that the body releases histamine all the time for normal bodily functioning. Histamine is used to elevate your heart rate when you are exercising, startled, or stressed, for example. It's also used in digestion and a number of other things.
So basically, your body releases histamine all the time, with no symptoms or problems at all. A simplified explanation is that you can view your body's histamine levels as a bucket. Histamine in the bucket doesn't cause allergy symptoms. But if the histamine level gets high enough to overflow? (hits your threshold) Then you start having allergy symptoms and life sucks.
The reason this matters to you right now is because you CAN have a reaction to food WITHOUT hives or outward symptoms. If the allergic reaction is small, with a little histamine released (but not a lot), it might make the 'bucket' fuller, but it doesn't always have to overflow the bucket and cause symptoms.
However, the fuller your bucket it, the easier it is to 'overflow' and cause more severe symptoms. So even though you may be able to eat food that can be cross-contaminated - like at a restaurant or pre-made food from equipment lines that don't have special anti-cross-contamination cleaning protocols- and you don't notice symptoms? If it HAS your allergens, even if just from cross-contamination, it's likely that your histamine level is elevated as a result. And more histamine in the bucket means it takes less histamine to overflow and cause symptoms.
In other words, the less careful you are to avoid your allergens, the more problems you are likely to have with future allergens later that day, the next day - basically, until your histamine levels drop again. :-(
I understand that your life right now involves a lot of eating out, or people in the office ordering in, and a lot of time working outside the house that doesn't allow for a lot of cooking time at home. Which means, well, life sucks, in terms of allergies. Because with allergies, it's pretty difficult to avoid all of them (cross-contamination included) at any restaurant, or in pre-made foods. Restaurants are just not able to fully avoid many allergens with the set up that they have. Allergens absolutely can remain in food processing equipment after they are cleaned (there are certain protocols to eliminate as much of the proteins from equipment as possible, but this is more expensive than normal cleaning protocols, so it isn't always used.).
And that means - you are either going to have to making more food at home and get used to taking it with you all the time (in coolers, in fridges, in small bento or lunch boxes in restaurants), or you are going to have to accept getting allergic reactions more frequently. :-( Which absolutely, utterly sucks. But that's pretty much the reality. There will be some foods you can find that are pre-made that may be allergen free for you. There will never be a restaurant meal that you can have that will not carry a risk. Sometimes it'll be okay, sometimes it won't, and it depends on the restaurant, the staff that day, and so on.
Some folks feel the convenience far outweighs the risk, some don't. Most people I know make the decision based on how bad their symptoms are if they have a reaction, you know? Especially if a reaction might impact their job, their ability to care for their kids, their ability to drive, or other important parts of their life.
Although good news for eating out, at least in terms of social experience - I have called ahead to restaurants that we are planning to go to, and if you frame it right, they will usually let you bring your own food in. I usually just say, 'my group is planning to eat at your restaurant, but while the rest of the group will be eating off your menu, I have so many food allergies that I am not able to eat the food you prepare. Could I bring a small lunchbox with my own food to eat in your restaurant?' As long as it's clear that there will be numerous paying customers who will be there along with you (who otherwise obviously would not be, as one assumes they would go with you to someplace you CAN bring food into), the restaurant is usually fine with it. Not always, but usually, in my experience.
So as to the question of what you can eat. First, if you are trying to avoid cross-contamination, see if you can find any groups or lists online (from patients, not medical sites) of cross-contamination risks. Because sadly, doctors are pants at knowing what foods are safe. A lot of food processing these days can introduce ingredients derived from our allergens, or cross-contaminated with them, and doctors keep up on medical information, but NOT on current food processing practices.
People who get sick off the allergens tend to be much more up to date. Although for palm oil, there are so many ecological concerns for it that you can find some good lists of what you'll need to be careful of from boycott lists, for that.
as an example of some things doctors might not know...
Depending on your coconut sensitivity, you may need to be cautious of water filters - many of them used to use coconut fibers as a common part of charcoal filters. Most folks don't have a problem, but I know of one child who was so sensitive that she would react - took them years to figure out why she reacted to water so often. Also, almost every single hygiene cleaning soap/shampoo/body wash contains a coconut derivative. If it foams, there are good odds it has coconut. If you ever get soap/shampoo in your mouth during the shower, you'll be wanting to consider this, potentially.
nuts - you may need to be cautious about peanuts, dried fruit, seeds (sunflower, for ex), and potentially wheat. Wheat, nuts, seeds, peanuts, and/or dried fruits are quite frequently processed on the same lines, for some reason. cross-contamination is not uncommon.
As for recipes you could have - rice is a good base for dishes. They DO have some pre-made bowls of rice in some asian sections of the grocery store that you can nuke to prepare. Then you can get (or make) sauces plus a few veggies or meat to add to the rice and have as a meal.
Other good carb bases for meals can be plantains (some nice Cuban dishes that have plantains, black beans, rice, and fruit and veg), celeriac, cauliflower rice (cauliflower shredded small to use as rice), injera bread (Ethiopian teff based flat bread that you wrap around lentil and meat dishes - it's a little like a crepe crossed with sourdough bread), socca (chickpea based French flatbread), other root veggies that are mashed or fried (so not potato, but rutabaga, turnip, sweet potato, etc...), or grains (sorghum, millet, and corn grits make a good base for savory foods).
I'd look at caribbean foods if you are doing the shellfish thing - lots of nice recipes that can have some interesting ingredients with fruit and beans and such. Asian foods may have some nice shellfish or vegetarian protein (soy is still okay, yeah? - fried tofu can be tasty, with the right sauce). Making a bento could be easy to take with you, and potentially nice to eat.
I know that nothing above is listed as foods you can purchase premade - I honestly don't know of many pre-made foods that would qualify for what you need. Life as someone with allergies is simply much more difficult in terms of acquiring food, especially if you require food that has less work. Because most of the food that is pre-made, so would be less work, has allergens that will make you react (the palm oil is going to be one of the big killers for you, honestly). A lot of folks with a lot of allergies, that I know, do that sort of 1 week food prep stuff. Like, you take one day a week and pre-chop, pre-cook the meals for the whole week, so you have no cooking to do the rest of the week. There are a lot of recipes out there for that type of thing.
Again - allergies suck, and it's far more work to cope with them, sigh. :-(
The one thing, if you have the money for it, might be looking for super-organic, eco-conscious brands for pre-made foods. They'll be 2-4 times more expensive than the same food from other brands, but they are less likely to have palm oil, at least. Vegan foods wouldn't have the meat or eggs, either. Peanuts, if you can find some that aren't nut contaminated, can be a good protein source (some folks buy whole, unshelled peanuts, wash with soap and water and shell themselves, but it's a LOT of work just to have peanuts), but I honestly think tofu would be more likely to be tolerable and easier to buy and use, you know?
Some chickpea based Greek foods, like falafel and hummus, might be okay if you find the right brands, but I haven't looked at them lately (I have to make my own to avoid my allergens).
I wish you good luck. I CAN say that it gets easier. You get used to bringing food all the time, pre-making foods a lot, calling restaurants, reading labels, and so on. It never gets as easy as it used to be, but it just becomes part of your regular life, so it doesn't feel as overwhelming anymore, you know? (if it feels overwhelming at all right now, of course).
And one last thing - if you manage to NOT get your allergens for a couple weeks? It is freaking amazing how much BETTER you feel. So many little things can be allergies - like you are suddenly less tired so you have more energy, sleeping better, have less congestions, or less pain because you have less inflammation. It's amazing how many little crappy things in life turn out to be due to small allergic reactions all the time.
Ugh I think I might die of starvation... I know me and we are not good with food work.
It is interesting that you say pain. I have been aching for the last 3-4 years. Like 80 year old pain...
I can’t have peanuts either. I hate tofu.
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It may be harsh, but if you have so many allergies you might just have to be less picky and eat the foods you can eat, even if they are not your favourite things in the world.12
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That’s a lot of allergies. Have you been formerly diagnosed by a medical professional? It’s entirely possible that your allergen list is much shorter. I say this for two reasons-
1. If you were allergic to pork you would not be able to eat bacon either. Bacon is a cut of pork.
2. I thought I had developed multiple allergies and sensitivities after my son was born. I started developing these awful hives that itches but burned and blistered when scratched. It seemed like I ate something different every day and would still get them. After medical testing I found out it was a wheat germ allergy-one thing that is a common additive in almost all convenience foods
I'm mildly allergic to tomatoes, pineapple, walnuts, bananas that aren't green yet, and raw potatoes smell like they would cause the same. Sounds very similar to what TO describes. However, I'm fine if I cook those things (apart from walnuts). Something happens to the structure/allergens that makes them non-allergic to me again.0 -
Strudders67 wrote: »I assume you're not out 12-15 hours EVERY day. Could you make up a big salad that will last for the next few days? Try things like quinoa or couscous, different salad vegetables, beetroot, thinly sliced red cabbage, grated carrot, roasted peppers and antipasti items such as artichoke or grilled courgette in addition to the usual lettuce, cucumber, tomato & radish. You can then take a portion in a salad box and top it with cheese, chicken, crab or prawns/shrimp. I'm intolerant to multiple things and can't have mayo; I quite happily have my salads dry if I've got things like beetroot in it or I add a lemon/oil dressing.
Also consider making a big curry (chicken, beef or prawn), a bolognese, a big macaroni cheese (to which you can add chopped onion, mushroom, tomato, bacon or ham if you can and some herbs) and maybe do a big stirfry. I pad everything out with loads of vegetables. Bag or carton each up into portions for ready-made evening meals that can be frozen. I typically cook enough of each for 4-6 meals and all I need to do when I get home is cook some rice (although I do that in bulk and freeze it in small portions too) or pasta.
Pasta generally has egg. Curry has coconut...
I really dislike salads all the time. I can shovel the lettuce down if mixed with stuff like egg, bacon, chicken salad.. this has really put a huge damper on my eating.
I am very much a burger, fries, any potato type of person. I ate eggs every day until Monday.
Pasta does NOT generally have eggs. Other than egg noodles obviously. I suppose the fancy "substitute" pastas may have egg, but semolina pasta is typically not made with eggs.3 -
Thank you for the item on histamine intolerance. One thing which helped me was DAOsin. Your item reminded me the body needs b6 and vit c to make DAO, this, I suppose enzyme, is supposed to help eliminate or reduce the reactions.
There is a site Healing Histamine, hope this helps someone.1 -
I have a few new food allergies to work around. I also mostly eat out. Help! I am struggling to find food I can eat. I had a BLT sandwich with no mayo for dinner.
I can’t have egg, white potatoes, coconut, palm oil, turkey, lamb, pork, strawberries, fish or nuts. I dislike steak and get tired of chicken.
I liked salad with toppings like egg, or chicken salad which are now a no go.
Anyone have suggestions of what I can eat?
I have a feeling with my new limited diet the weight is naturally going to come off me. I already miss potatoes...
I used to eat out almost everyday, until one day my throat closed up and I couldn't swallow anything (even my own saliva) and went to the ER. They thought my throat was just closed up and tried to do a procedure where they stretch it out. When they got in there, they saw that my throat was full of open, bloody sores, and was almost entirely made up of scar tissue.
After a few more Dr. appointments, and seeing an allergist, it was determined that I am allergic to wheat, peanuts, cow's milk, shrimp, scallops and sesame seeds. The Dr. recommended MFP as a way to log all my meals, in case I ever accidentally eat something I shouldn't have, they can go back and see what it was.
As someone that had no idea how to cook anything but frozen chicken nuggets and hot pockets, and ate a lot of pizza, tacos, ice cream and peanut butter cups, I thought I was going to starve to death!
But, learning to make foods at home, and trying new foods that I wouldn't have even looked at before, has opened up my world to new foods and better living. Also, I never realized how much more money I was spending, eating out so often! And, I have since lost 135 lbs by weighing and logging everything.
As someone that came from almost the exact same situation, trust me when I tell you... you can do this!!13 -
Many people in my family have allergies to trees and grasses, but there is a cross reaction that happens during certain seasons where things like squash, bananas, etc. cause tingly tongues, hives, itching, and for some of the family, constantly taking allergy medication is enough to keep these things under control, for the rest of the family, allergy shots are necessary. If you have not seen an allergist about this, please do. These reactions can become life threatening if you don't. The doctor can also give you advise on what you can/cannot eat, what to avoid and when, and what other items could be causing reactions that you don't even know about.1
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Spent 20 minutes in the grocery store today looking for anything baked goods/ sweet without eggs, nuts, palm oil or coconut.
Nothing... any suggestions?vim_n_vigor wrote: »Many people in my family have allergies to trees and grasses, but there is a cross reaction that happens during certain seasons where things like squash, bananas, etc. cause tingly tongues, hives, itching, and for some of the family, constantly taking allergy medication is enough to keep these things under control, for the rest of the family, allergy shots are necessary. If you have not seen an allergist about this, please do. These reactions can become life threatening if you don't. The doctor can also give you advise on what you can/cannot eat, what to avoid and when, and what other items could be causing reactions that you don't even know about.
Saw the allergist on Monday. He said don’t eat potatoes, strawberries, eggs, nuts including almonds and peanuts, turkey and fish.
I ate lettuce with carrots and chickpeas for lunch. Sucks... now I want dessert and can’t find anything.
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When I suggested bagged salad I was referring to all veggies; skip the toppings.
With all your allergies you just won’t be able to trust prepared foods. Which leaves home cooking or starving.
You can save time by prepping your chicken all at once or just get the pre-roasted chicken.
Alternatives to potatoes, and yes I know they aren’t the same thing, include rice and pasta.
And that is the issue. I just don’t like all veggies... and I am picky on top of the allergies.
Pasta is made with eggs. I feel like I am being forced to become vegan... I live in the middle of farm country. Vegan is not our way of life.
Have you tried whole wheat pasta? I have mild allergy to egg and eating lots of enriched pasta would bother me. Eating whole wheat bread and pasta has eliminated that for me.0 -
Spent 20 minutes in the grocery store today looking for anything baked goods/ sweet without eggs, nuts, palm oil or coconut.
Nothing... any suggestions?vim_n_vigor wrote: »Many people in my family have allergies to trees and grasses, but there is a cross reaction that happens during certain seasons where things like squash, bananas, etc. cause tingly tongues, hives, itching, and for some of the family, constantly taking allergy medication is enough to keep these things under control, for the rest of the family, allergy shots are necessary. If you have not seen an allergist about this, please do. These reactions can become life threatening if you don't. The doctor can also give you advise on what you can/cannot eat, what to avoid and when, and what other items could be causing reactions that you don't even know about.
Saw the allergist on Monday. He said don’t eat potatoes, strawberries, eggs, nuts including almonds and peanuts, turkey and fish.
I ate lettuce with carrots and chickpeas for lunch. Sucks... now I want dessert and can’t find anything.
Make some cookies or whatever at home, with ingredients that you can trust. It isn't as hard as it seems.
Also, there are way more things than lettuce and carrots that you can eat. Maybe have a ham sandwich, with lettuce and tomatoes and some vegan mayo, with some apple chips instead of potato chips, and a banana for dessert.
Or, why not try some chicken tenderloins, smothered in BBQ sauce with some white rice?
Or a couple tacos?
Cheerios?
Pancakes?
Sloppy Joes?
Roasted turkey in gravy?5 -
Strudders67 wrote: »I assume you're not out 12-15 hours EVERY day. Could you make up a big salad that will last for the next few days? Try things like quinoa or couscous, different salad vegetables, beetroot, thinly sliced red cabbage, grated carrot, roasted peppers and antipasti items such as artichoke or grilled courgette in addition to the usual lettuce, cucumber, tomato & radish. You can then take a portion in a salad box and top it with cheese, chicken, crab or prawns/shrimp. I'm intolerant to multiple things and can't have mayo; I quite happily have my salads dry if I've got things like beetroot in it or I add a lemon/oil dressing.
Also consider making a big curry (chicken, beef or prawn), a bolognese, a big macaroni cheese (to which you can add chopped onion, mushroom, tomato, bacon or ham if you can and some herbs) and maybe do a big stirfry. I pad everything out with loads of vegetables. Bag or carton each up into portions for ready-made evening meals that can be frozen. I typically cook enough of each for 4-6 meals and all I need to do when I get home is cook some rice (although I do that in bulk and freeze it in small portions too) or pasta.
Pasta generally has egg. Curry has coconut...
I really dislike salads all the time. I can shovel the lettuce down if mixed with stuff like egg, bacon, chicken salad.. this has really put a huge damper on my eating.
I am very much a burger, fries, any potato type of person. I ate eggs every day until Monday.
Pasta does NOT generally have eggs. Other than egg noodles obviously. I suppose the fancy "substitute" pastas may have egg, but semolina pasta is typically not made with eggs.
The fancy "substitute" pastas don't have egg, either. At least none of the ones I use (gluten free.) I think egg noodles are the main ones with egg in them. Fresh pasta recipes sometimes use egg, but dry pasta you buy at the store generally does not have egg.
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Strudders67 wrote: »I assume you're not out 12-15 hours EVERY day. Could you make up a big salad that will last for the next few days? Try things like quinoa or couscous, different salad vegetables, beetroot, thinly sliced red cabbage, grated carrot, roasted peppers and antipasti items such as artichoke or grilled courgette in addition to the usual lettuce, cucumber, tomato & radish. You can then take a portion in a salad box and top it with cheese, chicken, crab or prawns/shrimp. I'm intolerant to multiple things and can't have mayo; I quite happily have my salads dry if I've got things like beetroot in it or I add a lemon/oil dressing.
Also consider making a big curry (chicken, beef or prawn), a bolognese, a big macaroni cheese (to which you can add chopped onion, mushroom, tomato, bacon or ham if you can and some herbs) and maybe do a big stirfry. I pad everything out with loads of vegetables. Bag or carton each up into portions for ready-made evening meals that can be frozen. I typically cook enough of each for 4-6 meals and all I need to do when I get home is cook some rice (although I do that in bulk and freeze it in small portions too) or pasta.
Pasta generally has egg. Curry has coconut...
I really dislike salads all the time. I can shovel the lettuce down if mixed with stuff like egg, bacon, chicken salad.. this has really put a huge damper on my eating.
I am very much a burger, fries, any potato type of person. I ate eggs every day until Monday.
Pasta does NOT generally have eggs. Other than egg noodles obviously. I suppose the fancy "substitute" pastas may have egg, but semolina pasta is typically not made with eggs.
The fancy "substitute" pastas don't have egg, either. At least none of the ones I use (gluten free.) I think egg noodles are the main ones with egg in them. Fresh pasta recipes sometimes use egg, but dry pasta you buy at the store generally does not have egg.
I checked because it seemed strange to me, as well. While egg is not listed as an ingredient, Barilla does have "may contain eggs" on the packaging. Same machine as the egg noodles?
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KeithWhiteJr wrote: »I have a few new food allergies to work around. I also mostly eat out. Help! I am struggling to find food I can eat. I had a BLT sandwich with no mayo for dinner.
I can’t have egg, white potatoes, coconut, palm oil, turkey, lamb, pork, strawberries, fish or nuts. I dislike steak and get tired of chicken.
I liked salad with toppings like egg, or chicken salad which are now a no go.
Anyone have suggestions of what I can eat?
I have a feeling with my new limited diet the weight is naturally going to come off me. I already miss potatoes...
I used to eat out almost everyday, until one day my throat closed up and I couldn't swallow anything (even my own saliva) and went to the ER. They thought my throat was just closed up and tried to do a procedure where they stretch it out. When they got in there, they saw that my throat was full of open, bloody sores, and was almost entirely made up of scar tissue.
After a few more Dr. appointments, and seeing an allergist, it was determined that I am allergic to wheat, peanuts, cow's milk, shrimp, scallops and sesame seeds. The Dr. recommended MFP as a way to log all my meals, in case I ever accidentally eat something I shouldn't have, they can go back and see what it was.
As someone that had no idea how to cook anything but frozen chicken nuggets and hot pockets, and ate a lot of pizza, tacos, ice cream and peanut butter cups, I thought I was going to starve to death!
But, learning to make foods at home, and trying new foods that I wouldn't have even looked at before, has opened up my world to new foods and better living. Also, I never realized how much more money I was spending, eating out so often! And, I have since lost 135 lbs by weighing and logging everything.
As someone that came from almost the exact same situation, trust me when I tell you... you can do this!!
That must have been terrifying! Inspiring post, hope it encourages OP.1 -
I see a few people have already commented that pasta doesn't normally contain egg - it's typically made of durum wheat semolina. Pasta gives you load of options.
Curry doesn't (always) contain coconut either. Certainly none I make contains it. Spices, garlic, ginger, onions, tomatoes and whatever else I want to throw in such as vegetables plus chicken, prawns or diced beef.
As you have a list of foods to avoid and then a long list of foods that you don't like, perhaps you should start by making a list of foods that you DO like and see what you can come up with. Sadly, until you get things more sorted with your reactions, I think you need to look at making foods at home instead of buying ready made. I can't eat bread (yeast intolerant) but I put all sorts of things in to my salads (see my earlier response) so they're rarely the same twice. The same is true for my stirfries.
Also, look at wider varieties of foods. You say you don't like pork chops, but how about gammon steaks, diced pork loin, roast pork joint or ribs?
If it's a while since you tried certain foods, perhaps you should try them again but cooked or prepared in a different way. You may be pleasantly surprised - and it would certainly be better than starving.5 -
concordancia wrote: »Strudders67 wrote: »I assume you're not out 12-15 hours EVERY day. Could you make up a big salad that will last for the next few days? Try things like quinoa or couscous, different salad vegetables, beetroot, thinly sliced red cabbage, grated carrot, roasted peppers and antipasti items such as artichoke or grilled courgette in addition to the usual lettuce, cucumber, tomato & radish. You can then take a portion in a salad box and top it with cheese, chicken, crab or prawns/shrimp. I'm intolerant to multiple things and can't have mayo; I quite happily have my salads dry if I've got things like beetroot in it or I add a lemon/oil dressing.
Also consider making a big curry (chicken, beef or prawn), a bolognese, a big macaroni cheese (to which you can add chopped onion, mushroom, tomato, bacon or ham if you can and some herbs) and maybe do a big stirfry. I pad everything out with loads of vegetables. Bag or carton each up into portions for ready-made evening meals that can be frozen. I typically cook enough of each for 4-6 meals and all I need to do when I get home is cook some rice (although I do that in bulk and freeze it in small portions too) or pasta.
Pasta generally has egg. Curry has coconut...
I really dislike salads all the time. I can shovel the lettuce down if mixed with stuff like egg, bacon, chicken salad.. this has really put a huge damper on my eating.
I am very much a burger, fries, any potato type of person. I ate eggs every day until Monday.
Pasta does NOT generally have eggs. Other than egg noodles obviously. I suppose the fancy "substitute" pastas may have egg, but semolina pasta is typically not made with eggs.
The fancy "substitute" pastas don't have egg, either. At least none of the ones I use (gluten free.) I think egg noodles are the main ones with egg in them. Fresh pasta recipes sometimes use egg, but dry pasta you buy at the store generally does not have egg.
I checked because it seemed strange to me, as well. While egg is not listed as an ingredient, Barilla does have "may contain eggs" on the packaging. Same machine as the egg noodles?
Good catch! That might explain it, and why OP ruled it out.0 -
KeithWhiteJr wrote: »Spent 20 minutes in the grocery store today looking for anything baked goods/ sweet without eggs, nuts, palm oil or coconut.
Nothing... any suggestions?vim_n_vigor wrote: »Many people in my family have allergies to trees and grasses, but there is a cross reaction that happens during certain seasons where things like squash, bananas, etc. cause tingly tongues, hives, itching, and for some of the family, constantly taking allergy medication is enough to keep these things under control, for the rest of the family, allergy shots are necessary. If you have not seen an allergist about this, please do. These reactions can become life threatening if you don't. The doctor can also give you advise on what you can/cannot eat, what to avoid and when, and what other items could be causing reactions that you don't even know about.
Saw the allergist on Monday. He said don’t eat potatoes, strawberries, eggs, nuts including almonds and peanuts, turkey and fish.
I ate lettuce with carrots and chickpeas for lunch. Sucks... now I want dessert and can’t find anything.
Make some cookies or whatever at home, with ingredients that you can trust. It isn't as hard as it seems.
Also, there are way more things than lettuce and carrots that you can eat. Maybe have a ham sandwich, with lettuce and tomatoes and some vegan mayo, with some apple chips instead of potato chips, and a banana for dessert.
Or, why not try some chicken tenderloins, smothered in BBQ sauce with some white rice?
Or a couple tacos?
Cheerios?
Pancakes?
Sloppy Joes?
Roasted turkey in gravy?
Allergic to turkey....
I can’t cook, but I did contact some local bakeries to see if we can get a standing order of something that is allergy proof that will fill the need for my sweet tooth. A banana is fruit and I do sometimes have one for breakfast but it is not a dessert. I want cake, cookies and those yummies.
I never realized how much stuff has eggs. Breakfast with eggs and potatoes have always been my favorite meal.
I go back to the allergist the first week in July. Hopefully he has some solutions to be able to bring these items back into my diet. At least eggs and potatoes. I can live without the rest.
I have tried allergy medicine in the past but it made me deathly ill. Maybe something new has been developed that we can try.4 -
KeithWhiteJr wrote: »Spent 20 minutes in the grocery store today looking for anything baked goods/ sweet without eggs, nuts, palm oil or coconut.
Nothing... any suggestions?vim_n_vigor wrote: »Many people in my family have allergies to trees and grasses, but there is a cross reaction that happens during certain seasons where things like squash, bananas, etc. cause tingly tongues, hives, itching, and for some of the family, constantly taking allergy medication is enough to keep these things under control, for the rest of the family, allergy shots are necessary. If you have not seen an allergist about this, please do. These reactions can become life threatening if you don't. The doctor can also give you advise on what you can/cannot eat, what to avoid and when, and what other items could be causing reactions that you don't even know about.
Saw the allergist on Monday. He said don’t eat potatoes, strawberries, eggs, nuts including almonds and peanuts, turkey and fish.
I ate lettuce with carrots and chickpeas for lunch. Sucks... now I want dessert and can’t find anything.
Make some cookies or whatever at home, with ingredients that you can trust. It isn't as hard as it seems.
Also, there are way more things than lettuce and carrots that you can eat. Maybe have a ham sandwich, with lettuce and tomatoes and some vegan mayo, with some apple chips instead of potato chips, and a banana for dessert.
Or, why not try some chicken tenderloins, smothered in BBQ sauce with some white rice?
Or a couple tacos?
Cheerios?
Pancakes?
Sloppy Joes?
Roasted turkey in gravy?
Allergic to turkey....
I can’t cook, but I did contact some local bakeries to see if we can get a standing order of something that is allergy proof that will fill the need for my sweet tooth. A banana is fruit and I do sometimes have one for breakfast but it is not a dessert. I want cake, cookies and those yummies.
I never realized how much stuff has eggs. Breakfast with eggs and potatoes have always been my favorite meal.
I go back to the allergist the first week in July. Hopefully he has some solutions to be able to bring these items back into my diet. At least eggs and potatoes. I can live without the rest.
I have tried allergy medicine in the past but it made me deathly ill. Maybe something new has been developed that we can try.
Ok, turkey is only one of the things suggested lol.
I couldn't cook either. Learn. It isn't as hard as it seems. Find easy recipes online and follow them. I promise, you will be surprised how easy and delicious it can be. With all the allergies you have, you may not have many other choices. Better to spend the extra time making sure it is what you need it to be, than taking a chance and ending up in the ER.
I'm confused why a banana cant be a dessert, but regardless, even if you want cookies and cakes, make them yourself. Again, it isn't anywhere near as hard as are telling yourself it is. The internet is full of delicious and really easy to make recipes.11 -
I have intolerances to chicken eggs, yeast and milk and am allergy to tree nuts. My partner cannot eat wheat, orange or dairy - his are intolerances.
For anyone saying that intolerances arent as 'bad' as allergies, the reactions can be pretty violent on the digestive front and can do damage to your microbiom and wider gut - not life threatening, but certainly life impacting in the longer term as well as sometimes distressing in the short term.
OP - As others have said, I think your best bet as above is to learn to construct your food from scratch (buy salad loose and pull it together yourself, make your own dressings etc). Looks like bread is still ok for you ? You can do an awful lot for lunches with wraps - chickpeas, roasted veg, all sorts of nice dressings. I could bake when I met my partner but wheat free is a whole new ballgame.....but basic cake and biccies are really not that difficult and if you are anxious, the good news is that baking responds to being exact, so just follow the instructions exactly and you won't go far wrong !
Something you might want to try is duck eggs - after yeeeeears without chicken eggs, I read an article that highlighted that people who cannot eat chicken eggs can often eat duck eggs, essentially although its an egg, its a different animal (fowl not bird) so a different protein make up. Anyhoo, ate the duck egg, hung around the house for a few hours and its all good. Been eating duck eggs most days ever since and have my own ducks (Can't even think about eating duck now mind....).
Taking control of your food can actually be liberating when you have allergies and intolerances and the anxiety about cross contamination or even just finding something to eat can be vastly reduced.
Wishing you good health OP !5 -
Spent 20 minutes in the grocery store today looking for anything baked goods/ sweet without eggs, nuts, palm oil or coconut.
Nothing... any suggestions?vim_n_vigor wrote: »Many people in my family have allergies to trees and grasses, but there is a cross reaction that happens during certain seasons where things like squash, bananas, etc. cause tingly tongues, hives, itching, and for some of the family, constantly taking allergy medication is enough to keep these things under control, for the rest of the family, allergy shots are necessary. If you have not seen an allergist about this, please do. These reactions can become life threatening if you don't. The doctor can also give you advise on what you can/cannot eat, what to avoid and when, and what other items could be causing reactions that you don't even know about.
Saw the allergist on Monday. He said don’t eat potatoes, strawberries, eggs, nuts including almonds and peanuts, turkey and fish.
I ate lettuce with carrots and chickpeas for lunch. Sucks... now I want dessert and can’t find anything.
Seriously, this will be ever so much more manageable if you bite the bullet and learn to cook.
My Gramma used to say:
14 -
When I was baking for vegans I had good success with Bobs Red Mill Egg Replacer https://smile.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-Egg-Replacer/dp/B01LX2AOMH3
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Strudders67 wrote: »I see a few people have already commented that pasta doesn't normally contain egg - it's typically made of durum wheat semolina. Pasta gives you load of options.
Curry doesn't (always) contain coconut either. Certainly none I make contains it. Spices, garlic, ginger, onions, tomatoes and whatever else I want to throw in such as vegetables plus chicken, prawns or diced beef.
As you have a list of foods to avoid and then a long list of foods that you don't like, perhaps you should start by making a list of foods that you DO like and see what you can come up with. Sadly, until you get things more sorted with your reactions, I think you need to look at making foods at home instead of buying ready made. I can't eat bread (yeast intolerant) but I put all sorts of things in to my salads (see my earlier response) so they're rarely the same twice. The same is true for my stirfries.
Also, look at wider varieties of foods. You say you don't like pork chops, but how about gammon steaks, diced pork loin, roast pork joint or ribs?
If it's a while since you tried certain foods, perhaps you should try them again but cooked or prepared in a different way. You may be pleasantly surprised - and it would certainly be better than starving.
While I do associate coconut with Thai curries anyway, I have a yummy Indian curry recipe that I have successfully made with coconut milk, heavy cream, or half and half. The original recipe calls for half & half, which may not be authentic, but my Indian coworkers loved it.1 -
KeithWhiteJr wrote: »Spent 20 minutes in the grocery store today looking for anything baked goods/ sweet without eggs, nuts, palm oil or coconut.
Nothing... any suggestions?vim_n_vigor wrote: »Many people in my family have allergies to trees and grasses, but there is a cross reaction that happens during certain seasons where things like squash, bananas, etc. cause tingly tongues, hives, itching, and for some of the family, constantly taking allergy medication is enough to keep these things under control, for the rest of the family, allergy shots are necessary. If you have not seen an allergist about this, please do. These reactions can become life threatening if you don't. The doctor can also give you advise on what you can/cannot eat, what to avoid and when, and what other items could be causing reactions that you don't even know about.
Saw the allergist on Monday. He said don’t eat potatoes, strawberries, eggs, nuts including almonds and peanuts, turkey and fish.
I ate lettuce with carrots and chickpeas for lunch. Sucks... now I want dessert and can’t find anything.
Make some cookies or whatever at home, with ingredients that you can trust. It isn't as hard as it seems.
Also, there are way more things than lettuce and carrots that you can eat. Maybe have a ham sandwich, with lettuce and tomatoes and some vegan mayo, with some apple chips instead of potato chips, and a banana for dessert.
Or, why not try some chicken tenderloins, smothered in BBQ sauce with some white rice?
Or a couple tacos?
Cheerios?
Pancakes?
Sloppy Joes?
Roasted turkey in gravy?
Allergic to turkey....
I can’t cook, but I did contact some local bakeries to see if we can get a standing order of something that is allergy proof that will fill the need for my sweet tooth. A banana is fruit and I do sometimes have one for breakfast but it is not a dessert. I want cake, cookies and those yummies.
I never realized how much stuff has eggs. Breakfast with eggs and potatoes have always been my favorite meal.
I go back to the allergist the first week in July. Hopefully he has some solutions to be able to bring these items back into my diet. At least eggs and potatoes. I can live without the rest.
I have tried allergy medicine in the past but it made me deathly ill. Maybe something new has been developed that we can try.
Yes you can. You need to get that thought out of your head. Everyone can cook and the more you do it the better you will become. Just buy a couple of cookbooks for beginners and go from there. The skill will really be mastering which foods you can substitute to make it allergy friendly for you but a dietician could help with that.
10 -
kshama2001 wrote: »When I was baking for vegans I had good success with Bobs Red Mill Egg Replacer https://smile.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-Egg-Replacer/dp/B01LX2AOMH
This would be great but it has potatoe. I found out today that shredded cheese has potato.2 -
Lillymoo01 wrote: »KeithWhiteJr wrote: »Spent 20 minutes in the grocery store today looking for anything baked goods/ sweet without eggs, nuts, palm oil or coconut.
Nothing... any suggestions?vim_n_vigor wrote: »Many people in my family have allergies to trees and grasses, but there is a cross reaction that happens during certain seasons where things like squash, bananas, etc. cause tingly tongues, hives, itching, and for some of the family, constantly taking allergy medication is enough to keep these things under control, for the rest of the family, allergy shots are necessary. If you have not seen an allergist about this, please do. These reactions can become life threatening if you don't. The doctor can also give you advise on what you can/cannot eat, what to avoid and when, and what other items could be causing reactions that you don't even know about.
Saw the allergist on Monday. He said don’t eat potatoes, strawberries, eggs, nuts including almonds and peanuts, turkey and fish.
I ate lettuce with carrots and chickpeas for lunch. Sucks... now I want dessert and can’t find anything.
Make some cookies or whatever at home, with ingredients that you can trust. It isn't as hard as it seems.
Also, there are way more things than lettuce and carrots that you can eat. Maybe have a ham sandwich, with lettuce and tomatoes and some vegan mayo, with some apple chips instead of potato chips, and a banana for dessert.
Or, why not try some chicken tenderloins, smothered in BBQ sauce with some white rice?
Or a couple tacos?
Cheerios?
Pancakes?
Sloppy Joes?
Roasted turkey in gravy?
Allergic to turkey....
I can’t cook, but I did contact some local bakeries to see if we can get a standing order of something that is allergy proof that will fill the need for my sweet tooth. A banana is fruit and I do sometimes have one for breakfast but it is not a dessert. I want cake, cookies and those yummies.
I never realized how much stuff has eggs. Breakfast with eggs and potatoes have always been my favorite meal.
I go back to the allergist the first week in July. Hopefully he has some solutions to be able to bring these items back into my diet. At least eggs and potatoes. I can live without the rest.
I have tried allergy medicine in the past but it made me deathly ill. Maybe something new has been developed that we can try.
Yes you can. You need to get that thought out of your head. Everyone can cook and the more you do it the better you will become. Just buy a couple of cookbooks for beginners and go from there. The skill will really be mastering which foods you can substitute to make it allergy friendly for you but a dietician could help with that.
I have an entire closet of cookbooks. The younger me used to collect them with the hopes to create a desire and want to cook. I cook less now.
1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »When I was baking for vegans I had good success with Bobs Red Mill Egg Replacer https://smile.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-Egg-Replacer/dp/B01LX2AOMH
This would be great but it has potatoe. I found out today that shredded cheese has potato.
Not all shredded cheese had potato traces. You can also shred your own cheese from a block.11 -
From what I can tell you are waiting for the grocery store to get your memo so you don’t waste twenty minutes wandering the aisles looking for decent replacements to your favourite foods.
You haven’t been terribly clear clarifying between what you can’t eat and won’t eat, what you can’t do and what you won’t do.
I think there is a grief process in here as well, some anger and denial.
There is no industry incentive to develop foods to satisfy highly individual intolerances like yours.
And I am done providing suggestions.
Perhaps your allergist will cave and let you eat eggs and potatoes again.
Best of health to you.19 -
kshama2001 wrote: »When I was baking for vegans I had good success with Bobs Red Mill Egg Replacer https://smile.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-Egg-Replacer/dp/B01LX2AOMH
This would be great but it has potatoe. I found out today that shredded cheese has potato.
Then buy a block of cheese and a cheese shredder.
It isn't as hard as you are making it for yourself. I can promise you that, from experience.
Once you get the hang of it, you wont ever want to go back to the old "fast food" way of eating.17 -
From what I can tell you are waiting for the grocery store to get your memo so you don’t waste twenty minutes wandering the aisles looking for decent replacements to your favourite foods.
You haven’t been terribly clear clarifying between what you can’t eat and won’t eat, what you can’t do and what you won’t do.
I think there is a grief process in here as well, some anger and denial.
There is no industry incentive to develop foods to satisfy highly individual intolerances like yours.
And I am done providing suggestions.
Perhaps your allergist will cave and let you eat eggs and potatoes again.
Best of health to you.
I agree.
@Libby283 I was going to work more on egg replacements with you but at this point I'm going to pivot to suggesting you take some Buddhist classes and work on non-attachment and dealing with suffering.13 -
Ugh I think I might die of starvation... I know me and we are not good with food work.
It is interesting that you say pain. I have been aching for the last 3-4 years. Like 80 year old pain...
I can’t have peanuts either. I hate tofu.
Darn - tofu is easy, if you like it. And peanuts - also easy, but only if you can have it.
re: pain - I used to feel like I must be 90 years old, I had pain all over. Know lots of allergic folks who had the same. So...good side, hopefully the pain IS allergies and might go away after a few months. :-)
And also - I am so sorry you are struggling right now. I am NOT a good cook myself. I don't like cooking; I could literally think of anything in the world I would rather do than cook. And I have had to slowly, slowly learn how to cook at least a little bit, just to get food that didn't make me want to choke and die.
And it was not easy, and I still kind of suck as a cook, but every once in a while, I've managed to find a good recipe here and there that helps.
I would just say, as encouragement - you will likely find something you can have that you like, whether that is some random food that has no allergens, or a recipe that finally works. It takes a long while, and a lot of meals with (if it's like me) some crappy, crappy meals where you just wanna look at your food and wish you could numb your mouth just so you don't have to taste it again. But it will get better. Slower than you would like, in all honesty, but truly, it gets better. :-)
When it comes to looking for pre-made foods that are allergen free, I forgot to mention before - check out things online. A lot of foods that are allergen free are not available everywhere so they can be tricky to find anywhere BUt online. Amazon.com has a lot, oddly, and you can do some google searches and sometimes find some other possibilities. Typically cheaper to order in large amounts online, anyway. :-)
re: desserts - oh man, I sympathize. one thing that saved my life - I got an electric ice cream maker. Just take ripe fruit (soft fruit, or cook harder fruit until soft). Blend it up in a blender until really smooth, and then just dump in the ice cream maker and make your own sorbet. You can add seasonings and such to make it better (cooked apple, blended smooth, with things like cinnamon added, seriously tastes like apple pie sorbet. Both weird and awesome). This is very quick and easy, but it's sweet and nice and kind of saves your sanity, if you really like desserts (like I do. ^_^)Lillymoo01 wrote: »...Just buy a couple of cookbooks for beginners and go from there. The skill will really be mastering which foods you can substitute to make it allergy friendly for you but a dietician could help with that.
Just to save you some time - yeah, the above won't work for the most part. Dieticians sometimes have a little knowledge about a few foods (like dairy, for lactose free diets, or gluten free for celiacs) but once you get 2 or more allergens, their ability to help you with recipes or substitutions goes down rapidly. Better to look at which people can't eat that food and check with that.
Like vegans don't use eggs, so they have some good substitutions for that (apple sauce, flaxseed...)
Cookbook for beginners - also sorta helpful, sort of not. Helpful if you know nothing about cooking and are trying to learn basics like, say, how to make pasta. Not helpful in that the majority will end up having ingredients you can't use, sometimes to the point that you literally have almost nothing left in the recipe that you CAN use...not helpful, you know?
But learning about ingredients from basics can really help.2 -
concordancia wrote: »Strudders67 wrote: »I assume you're not out 12-15 hours EVERY day. Could you make up a big salad that will last for the next few days? Try things like quinoa or couscous, different salad vegetables, beetroot, thinly sliced red cabbage, grated carrot, roasted peppers and antipasti items such as artichoke or grilled courgette in addition to the usual lettuce, cucumber, tomato & radish. You can then take a portion in a salad box and top it with cheese, chicken, crab or prawns/shrimp. I'm intolerant to multiple things and can't have mayo; I quite happily have my salads dry if I've got things like beetroot in it or I add a lemon/oil dressing.
Also consider making a big curry (chicken, beef or prawn), a bolognese, a big macaroni cheese (to which you can add chopped onion, mushroom, tomato, bacon or ham if you can and some herbs) and maybe do a big stirfry. I pad everything out with loads of vegetables. Bag or carton each up into portions for ready-made evening meals that can be frozen. I typically cook enough of each for 4-6 meals and all I need to do when I get home is cook some rice (although I do that in bulk and freeze it in small portions too) or pasta.
Pasta generally has egg. Curry has coconut...
I really dislike salads all the time. I can shovel the lettuce down if mixed with stuff like egg, bacon, chicken salad.. this has really put a huge damper on my eating.
I am very much a burger, fries, any potato type of person. I ate eggs every day until Monday.
Pasta does NOT generally have eggs. Other than egg noodles obviously. I suppose the fancy "substitute" pastas may have egg, but semolina pasta is typically not made with eggs.
The fancy "substitute" pastas don't have egg, either. At least none of the ones I use (gluten free.) I think egg noodles are the main ones with egg in them. Fresh pasta recipes sometimes use egg, but dry pasta you buy at the store generally does not have egg.
I checked because it seemed strange to me, as well. While egg is not listed as an ingredient, Barilla does have "may contain eggs" on the packaging. Same machine as the egg noodles?
Good catch! That might explain it, and why OP ruled it out.
I just checked and the Barilla pasta on my shelves all warns it was produced on machinery that also produces foods with egg, as does some Whole Foods 365 brand pasta. But I also have some Wegmans brand pasta, and it doesn't say that. So it's just a matter of checking different brands until you find one that doesn't have a cross-contamination risk.4
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