Guest Corner!

Last week I had the most amazing discovery. I was reading an interview with Jason Ferrugia that Craig Ballantyne had put up (I'm a fan of Turbulence Training, yeah), and Jason was mentioning some vegan things he recommended. What caught my eye wasn't that he was talking about vegan food (since it seems like just about every fitness expert guy I've heard of has gone through a vegan/vegetarian phase), but rather that all his vegan recommendations were soy-free as well. Soy is usually the main protein replacement for people who don't eat dairy or eggs, so it was unusual to see someone who wasn't allergic actually go vegan and soy free.

SO! The amazing discovery? Jason mentioned a cheese substitute called Daiya. Now, usually cheese substitutes have casein in them (despite their claims of being dairy-free, the liars), and those that don't almost always have soy.

But not Daiya. It has no corn, no soy, no casein, no milk, no egg.

I know! I was shocked too! And then once I recovered I made a gluten/wheat-free egg-free milk/dairy-free soy-free corn-free pizza. And it was GOOD. (But more on that later.)

So today's guest post is from my sister-in-law, Liz Dubon Orwig. She's vegetarian. She's done vegan for a while, and she's totally down with the whole allergy thing, since she also is struggling with avoiding food allergens. She has a huge head start on the wonder that is Daiya, since she found it a while ago, and she doesn't mind rubbing it in just a teeny bit. :)

She's been experimenting with Daiya for a while, and has some good recipes to share. Like these vegan nachos. Mmmmm.

So read all about it on her blog! It'll make you hungry! It'll make you cheesy!

And most of her recipes can be adapted for non-vegan-friendly allergies (like wheat allergy or gluten intolerance), as well. For example, there are a lot of rice breads in grocery stores that can be used to make grilled Daiya sandwiches. And I actually found brown rice tortillas today in a local grocery store (yes, they actually exist), so quesadillas are totally do-able.

So enjoy our ode to the happiness that is Daiya. Just remember, though, that Daiya is definitely NOT nutritionally equivalent to real cheese, and is more of a fat source than anything else. So if you're on a weight loss diet, make sure to take the calories, fat, and carb content into consideration, and enjoy responsibly!

Memorial Day Stuffs

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, and to celebrate, my parents are having a barbeque.

I love barbeque sauce, but I challenge you to find a good one that doesn't have artificial ingredients (like propylene glycol--a common ingredient in hand lotion), or corn syrup, or soy/tamari sauce, or Worchesterchire sauce in it.

Ha! Didn't think you could.

So I'm going for the next best thing: raspberry chipotle.

Bronco Bob's makes some expensive, but tasty sauces. I could probably do just as well by buying raspberry jelly, but that usually has more sugar in it than I really want. So I just buy the sauce.

And then add stuff to it to make it even better.

In my fridge, right now, is some pretty happy chicken. I used the Bob's Raspberry Chipotle Sauce as a marinade, but added some more ground chipotle (found at the local Whole Foods), and a little bit of garlic.

I use chicken thighs because I hate the taste and texture of breasts. Yeah, whatever. A little bit of extra fat in the dark meat isn't enough to make that big of a difference, I promise.

So the chicken thighs are going to marinate overnight, and tomorrow they'll be tossed on the grill for about 10 minutes.

Oooh yeah. Allergy-free protein bliss.

And if raspberry isn't your thing, check out the local sauce section of your higher-end grocery store. Make sure the read the ingredients, pick one that has natural ingredients and you're not allergic to, and use it to marinate your favorite meat (or tofu, if you're vegan or don't eat meat and aren't allergic to soy) overnight before grilling. Good stuff, I'm telling you.

You're Here!

Most of the recipes on here focus on treat foods: cookies, cakes, puddings. Why? Those are usually the foods allergic people crave and miss the most. But what happens in the day-to-day eating for someone who's trying to change their diet and eat healthier?

Here's the deal. After the birth of my third son, I went on a health kick and lost 45 lbs, and I've kept it off for more than 5 years. Yes, my dress size is lower single digits.

"But HOW?" I hear you scream in frustration. I hear ya. No, seriously. I do.

Those diet plans you see on TV? If you have food allergies, there's a 98% chance that the food you're allergic to is in the diet. And just following everything else about a weight loss diet or making simply substitutions with foods you can eat WON'T WORK! Yeah, those "easy to follow" diets are definitely not easy at all. I'm there. I know what that bleak diet landscape is like. I even had to send back the supplement that came with my P90X because it was whey based. And the first time around, I did the diet WRONG.

Most of the replacements I use in my foods are NOT nutritionally equivalent, and most diet plans involve balancing proportions of what we call macronutrients (which is a fancy word to describe protein, carbohydrates, and fat). In fact, many diet plans will start you off with a low carb, high protein diet. So what do you do if you're allergic to a bunch of proteins, especially the ones they recommend? (Sound familiar, maybe?)

Well, you have to get clever. You have to read a lot of labels (but if you have food allergies, you're already doing that, right?) And you have to have tools.

1. First of all: eating foods you're allergic to can keep you from losing weight. Your body is having a hyperactive response to the foods you're allergic to, and if your body is constantly hyped up about the allergens, it ramps up the cortisol and goes into a crisis mode (which usually causes your body to store up more fat). So my first piece of advice is to go to your allergist/doctor/pulmonologist/PCP and find out what foods you're allergic to. Then you need to research and find out what weird additives are derived from the food and cut them ALL out of your diet.

Me? I've been allergic to milk my whole life. I was diagnosed with a pork, peanut, egg, and fish allergy next. Then came the shellfish. And the low blow my body dealt me was an allergy to wheat, corn, and soy.

Holy cow, the last ones have been the hardest to avoid. But let me tell you--it's made a huge difference in how I feel and the way my body works.

Once I'd changed my diet, I tried doing one of those "easy to follow" fitness diets to help lose those last 10-20 lbs. You know, the most stubborn ones. Well, I was just doing the diet according to servings, (you know the kind: one serving of fruits, one serving of meat, blah blah blah) and substituting the usual foods DID NOT WORK. Why? For one thing, plain coconut milk yogurt is VERY nutritionally different from plain cow's milk yogurt.

I had to stop simply substituting what I always had to make things work.

"So what do I use?" You ask? Well, that's what you're here for, right?

2. ONCE YOU'VE ELIMINATED what you're allergic to in your diet, then you have to eliminate a few other things: high fructose corn syrup (no, I'm not kidding), and hydrogenated oils. I'd also say artificial sweeteners, but I haven't quite been able to kick that habit yet myself. I'm working on it, though.

3. THE THIRD STEP is to get thee to a diet journaling website. The #1 thing that people who successfully lose weight do is keep track of what they're eating and how much they're eating. Personally, I'm a big fan of myfitnesspal.com because I can customize it for my current needs. For example, if I need to eat 1800 calories, and it needs to be 40% protein, 40%carbs, and 20% fats, then all I have to do is enter it in, enter in what I'm eating throughout the day, and I can adjust what I'm eating throughout the day to meet that goal. if I'm low on protein, I can eat some more chicken or have a low-carb rice protein shake (Nutribiotic is a lifesaver. Just sayin'.) If I'm low on carbs, I might have a bowl of oatmeal. If I'm low on fat, I get to eat a small piece of chocolate, or have a tablespoon of the evilest food ever invented for food allergic people: Sunbutter. Yummy, addictive, delicious evil.

If you're not keeping track of what you're eating, how will you know what to change?

"So what the heck should I need to set my protein and stuff to?" I hear you ask. That is a good question, and one that doesn't have an easy answer.

So what does that mean? Well, I'm not a dietitian, and you'll probably need to go to one, or your doctor to really determine what you should be eating. But if you have food allergies and you're looking for free advice on to lose weight from someone who's "been there, done that" and struggled the whole way, you've come to the right place. PLEASE don't make the same mistakes I have. Read around this website. Email me, ask me, and I'll try to help you out. BUT! Even if you don't have food allergies and are looking for fun, healthy recipes and free advice on how to lose weight, you've also come to the right place.

A lot of the recipes I'll put up here will still be treat foods, but I'll also be putting in lower-fat, lower-carb, and higher-protein options. So enjoy!

And if you have any requests, let me know. I'm always excited to try new things.