I’m Allergic to ….

Well, it’s true. Last week, I posted on my Facebook, Instagram and Twitter that I recently took a food allergy test to find out what I am allergic to. I was super hesitant because, let’s face it, we don’t want to find out we are allergic to our favorite foods! It would have been a bummer to find out I was allergic to chocolate, for sure. But I was most nervous about being allergic to garlic, to be honest. I told my husband that if I found out I was allergic to garlic I would eat it anyway! I decided to do the food allergy test after my mom took it and learned that she was allergic to a bunch of stuff back in October. You can read her story here and read about her experience with eliminating those foods from her life.

I really hate needles but I totally did this knowing that the outcome would only be good news. You might be thinking, "How could finding out that you are allergic to a food that you love be a good thing?" Well, eliminating something that is toxic to your body is not a bad thing.

I hope this pic doesn't offend any of you; I covered anything that might make anyone not feel good with my scarf. I cover the needle wth a tissue when I get IV Nutrients, so trust me when I say that I didn't just covere up my hand for you, I also covered it for me, too.

I learned that the food allergy test only checks for the foods that you normally eat. For example: I don’t eat a ton of dairy nor do I drink cow’s milk at all, just a bit of mozzarella and goat and sheeps milk cheese.

I am not allergic to dairy.

I am not allergic to garlic.

I am not allergic to gluten.

I AM, in fact, highly allergic to SUGAR CANE.

I AM, in fact, mildly allergic to YEAST.

I AM, in fact, slightly allergic to CRANBERRIES.

I was actually pleasantly surprised with my food allergy results at first… I still am, but it’s been a little more difficult than I thought it would be.

Sadly, many of the amazing food products that I have written about on my blog I can no longer eat because of these food allergies. What is a bit more upsetting than the fact that I just cannot eat sugar or yeast. Three of my favorite companies: Namaste Foods, Enjoy Life Foods and Food For Life are companies that I absolutely love and have built wonderful relationships with through social media and email. I will ALWAYS support them and even post about them because I truly believe they have wonderful products. However, for right now, I can no longer enjoy them myself as I detox my body from any and all sugar cane and yeast.

I still 100% encourage you to enjoy those products, though! You will LOVE them as much as I still do! Someday I hope to be able to reintroduce those foods back into my routine... or at least once in a great while for my birthday, or a special occasion.

For now, I have decided to listen to my doctor (which is really a wonderful thing) and eliminate YEAST and SUGAR CANE (and cranberries - I love them but I don’t eat a ton of them, anyway) from my life. I have found a new bread which I REALLY LOVE and even some alternative to sweets that don’t use SUGAR CANE.

I can only be grateful that I now know what foods that my body is negatively reacting to. Some people have said “Oh Krysten! I could NEVER give up ________” which really is a sad thought process. I mean, I really could never give up garlic, BUT if it was causing harm to my body I would have to! When you learn that something you are enjoying is doing harm to your body, why wouldn’t you give it up?

To be honest, I really haven’t had much white processed sugar in the last 7 years. I just haven’t. We haven’t kept it in the house, nor have we bought any. I have in fact enjoyed my wedding cake (4 years ago), which was filled with sugar, and random desserts at birthday parties, weddings or holidays. But as a whole, it’s really been already eliminated from my life. In some of the foods that I had been eating there was a minor amount of evaporated cane sugar or traces of some kind of cane sugar in a mix or vegan chocolate chips, but it was never near even half of the daily recommendation of sugar for an adult in America or close to what normal Americans eat. Even though it’s already been, for the most part, eliminated from my life, I can’t splurge now on special occasions because I am allergic, and I am okay with that.

I am so glad we live in a world of PINTEREST, food blogs, websites that are all about these different types food allergies. How cool is it that we live in a world where these types of foods already exist at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Mother’s Markets, Sprouts, etc? Thinking about that truly makes it all better.

Have you ever though about getting a food allergy test? What are you afraid of? Are you really afraid of finding out that you can’t have a certain food that is harming your body? Are you afraid of giving up some type of food that you know is bad for you, but you just can’t imagine your life with out it? Are you really afraid of living a healthier life?

I encourage you to do your research on food alternatives because, boy (or girl!), are you missing out on some amazing companies and their INCREDIBLE foods! You would be surprised to know how many amazing foods there are just waiting for you to indulge in!

If you say you can’t give up eggs because eggs are in everything - I challenge you to step outside of your normal routine and see what alternatives are out there! I promise you can make a KILLER DELICIOUS CAKE that has no eggs in it and you would never know the difference!

If you say you can’t give up sugar cause you love sweets and you need them in your life - I challenge you to step outside of your normal routine and see what alternatives are out there! Did you know that you can sweeten things with honey? How about agave? Stevia? Maple syrup? Xylitol? Beet sugar? Did you know that there are already sweets of all kinds that are on the market that already use these types of sweeteners?

If you say you can’t give up milk because you love it in your coffee and in your protein shakes each morning - I challenge you to step outside of your normal routine and see what alternatives are out there! Have you heard of FLAX MILK? It’s the most wonderful (in our opinion) milk alternative that doesn’t change the flavor of whatever you are putting it in. Did you know that you can get a coconut milk latte at Starbucks, which is a better option than soy milk? Did you know that you can buy the most wonderful chocolate chips from Enjoy Life Foods that taste even better than your name brand chocolate chips at any grocery store?

My goal is not to talk down to you but to do my best to educate you. I have spent hours and hours and so much money and time researching all about this, because if I find out that I can’t eat something, I WILL FIND A HEALTHY ALTERNATIVE!

I, once again, have more research to do on alternatives to some of the wonderful foods that we enjoy that do not use SUGAR CANE or YEAST. I love that I have options now! I encourage you to look around your kitchen and see what you are eating. If you know it’s bad for you and your family, throw it away! Throw it right in the trash, don’t worry about the money that you spent on it because it’s better in the trash than inside your body. Figure out what works for YOU and your family. Do your own research and know that there are so many wonderful people all over INSTAGRAM and Pinterest and social media who have done so much of the work for you with recipes and research.

If you find that you aren’t feeling that great all the time, and you think you might be allergic to something or even if you are just curious, go get a food allergy test from a Naturopathic Doctor. However, remember, your regular MD will test you for allergies that require immediate attention, like peanuts. This is a different type of test… this type of allergy test looks at how your body reacts to food for up to 30 days after you eat it. In my mom’s case, the food she was eating was causing inflammation in her body, which caused arthritis and difficulty breathing. Now that she has adjusted the way that she eats, that inflammation has completely disappeared! I highly recommend finding out what your body reacts negatively to... it might be the very best thing you have ever done!

By the way, here is my new favorite bread:

Food For Life's Yeast Free & Gluten Free Brown Rice Bread!

I honestly was pretty hesitant when I saw it. I almost decided not to buy it, but I remembered that finding new foods that I can have takes time and a little money. It's totally worth it in the end. It almost becomes a game. You buy a bunch of things and hope that just one of them tastes good. Sometimes, none of the options taste good and other times a lot of othem do. In this case, I scored the jackpot!

I love this bread. It's dense because there is no yeast in it. It's flavorful. My husband actually thinks it tastes like an english muffin. I think it tastes like french bread. It almost has a sourdough/french bread taste, in my opinion, and I am super thrilled that I found it.

I was bummed that I couldn't have Ezekial 4:9 anymore because that has been a staple in our house for the last 7 years. But thankfully, Food For Life has this amazing yeast free, corn free, soy free, wheat free and gluten free bread that my family and I can enjoy!

Do you have any recipes that do not contain the following:

SUGAR, CANE SUGAR, YEAST, CORN, WHEAT, WHITE FLOUR, DAIRY, etc?

Please leave a comment with a link to your recipe or one that you have tried that you LOVE! Thank you!

#foodallergies #wholefoods #traderjoes #mothersmarkets #bread #foodforlife #ezekial #ezekielbread #sugar #desserts #sweet