I'm Allergic to EVERYTHING!! What are some good simple recipes?!
I'm Allergic to EVERYTHING!! What are some good simple recipes?
I recently had an allergy test done and I am allergic to everything... Food wise here are the things I have to avoid:
Soy
Cow's Milk
Wheat
Corn
Tree Nuts
Eggs
I am a college student and working full time, so anything simple/quick is good. For the past couple weeks I have basically been eating a lot of Rice and chicken or fish. So anything with more flavor and variety is great! Thanks for your help!
Answers:
Sounds like you will need to skip most carbs, but you didn't mention potatos, so there's that, as well as rice, rice pasta might be okay, and oatmeal. If you can get around the egg issue, then you can substitute wheat flour with potato, oat, or rice flour and probably some others for your baked goods, and you will probably want to invest in a bread maker so you can make your own. Meats sound okay unless your allergy goes as far as to include the grains that the animal was fed...ugh! In fact, most meat substitutes would be bad because they are made with soy. Other proteins would be things like sunflower seeds, and maybe pistachios, etc. I don't know if that is a tree nut. If peanuts are okay, I would buy my own and pulse them up into my own homemade peanut butter to avoid anything unnecessary. You may be able to eat goat and sheep's cheese, and there are some lovely tasting ones out there.
Lots of fresh fruits and veggies for you. Goat's milk and dairy products. Looks like your food bills just went up, but your restaurant bills went down.
What I would do is check in with the owner of a health food store and introduce yourself as a new customer, and ask for a tour around their shop. Explain your situation. They tend to be very familiar with their inventory, a significant amount of their customers are going to be allergy sufferers like you, and they will be a good resource for you. This is a good place to get specialty flours, dairy items, and whole grain items, as well as supplements if your diet starts to lack certain nutrients due to your limits in choices. But you can shop for produce at the regular store, and it sounds like you will be eating a lot of fresh fruits and veggies. That's not a bad thing.
For what it's worth, I would also consider having your allergy tests redone, even if it is expensive, unless you can tell that by skipping certain foods, you obviously feel better and you know that this is the reason. Why? Because this is a big lifestyle change, and I would hate to stick to this kind of diet based on a doctor's mistake. I would also weigh the pros and cons of sticking to and cheating on. Are your symptoms so severe that you can't just reduce your intake? This would open up some choices that are on your restricted list, if you don't go overboard. Of course, this is up to you based on your allergy symptoms.
If you have severe allergies, get an Epi pen and carry it along with Benadryl everywhere you go.
The best quick items would be pre-made hummus (in the deli section) or instant (in the health-food section) and veggies. Any sort of beans and bean dip or ready made guacamole would work too. My advice is go to a health food store and ask the sales clerk for pre-made or easy mix foods that are free of the allergen ingredients. You'll be surprised how much good stuff is out there!