corn

Corn is interesting. It's used in quite a lot of things and has a whole bunch of other food area's that it opens up for people like me. I recently tested corn and the results are variable. Until I go see the specialist I'm going to say I can eat it - because the reactions are mild if any exist.

So the first thing about corn means that I can eat Mexican!! Nachos, quesidillas (spelling?)and taco's! It's great! But there is a heap of other stuff too. One of the gluten free brands makes a corn only pasta - and while it is supremely and a little disturbingly yellow, it is pretty good and not as expensive as some of the other substitutes that I've tried. A couple of the gluten free brands make a corn based bread too. I haven't tried them yet, but there is a health food store in Bondi Junction that I have seen advertise them. I'll hopefully try those soon and let you know how that goes.

Cornflour can therefore obviously be used in a lot of baking too, which is great. It doesn't have the same effect as wheat flour, but with some of the other agents mentioned in the flour entry, it's actually quite good for cooking with. And it's A LOT cheaper than some of the other substitutes and easy to find. Supplied generously by your local supermarket.

But let's get back to the options. Breakfast options. Up until now I've not had a lot of choice with what to eat for breakfast. Of course there's all the things that are good for you - eggs, fruit salad, soup etc. But these things really take a long time to prepare. And my lifestyle choice is to sleep in. Which means I will either skip breakfast, or have something at work. But it also gets a bit boring. Don't get me wrong, I like yogurt and fruit salad. But two things come from that - I seldom have enough for just one serve - its usually 5 days worth when I assemble it, and I refuse to pay for an individual serving every day from the stores - because I can assemble it myself.

But see now, I can have things like, corn thins (they are a bit like cardboard) with margarine and jam, or some form of toast! TOAST! Well I call it that. But you are right - it's not really bread. Actually some of the bread substitutes really don't taste that bad at all. Not when you put stuff on them. Oh that means I might be able to find myself some nice pizza bases too! Oh melted cheese! For the record it is quite difficult to transport melted cheese on it's own in an efficient way. And people do tend to look at me a little funny when I just have ham and cheese. Nothing supporting or surrounding them. Hehe. Oh and cornflakes! How could I forget those. Although most "regular" cornflake type cereals have some form of other grain in them, be it rice, or barley (barley is pretty common). And I was never really a big fan of cereal to start with. And that's just breakfast!

And this means traveling is a lot easier. So that means I can have potatoes and corn!! Actually does anyone have a good recipe for corn bread?

While I type this I'm getting a little bit of a rash on my face, so perhaps my celebrations are premature. Damn.

flour

It doesn't seem to matter what kind of wheaten flour you use - it still works better than any substitute I have found so far. It's really quite remarkable. I have just baked some banana bread for some work colleagues using homebrand plain flour (see pictures below). I use the same recipe with almond meal, and it really just doesn't work out the same. I've tried a mass of combinations using almond meal with things like tapioca or coconut flour if a varying degree of quantities. It's just not the same. I do miss baking with real flour - but I have gotten quite creative with the alternatives. I will share them along the way.

What's got me really confused is how many things have flour in or on it. I mean I can understand your breads, pastries and pastas, but steak? Hot chips? It's a little crazy! So of course now I have to say to the poor wait staff "I'd like the fish, but could you please check if it has any flour of any kind used in the recipe? Thanks". And of course, back to my previous post they say "Of course. Are you a celiac?" They are just doing their job, and I think it's great they even know what a celiac is! But I wish they wouldn't look at me like some kind of alien when I say "Sorry, no. I just can't have any grains." Their eyes just jump out of their head in complete confusion, their mouth is open with nothing coming out, and then they are running in the other direction as if they don't want to get infected by me some how.

Anyway back to flour. So many good things come from flour that I just can't seem to replicate - pancakes and doughnuts are a great example of that. Pastries and pies - I really miss good pies. And I have to say there is nothing like the smell of fresh bread. Pasta, pizza, and of course biscuits - tim tams, mint slices and actually just cookies! Just about anything that is cooked and tastes good is bound to have some kind of flour on it or in it!

I have tried a few times to make my own bread but that has failed quite miserably. For those looking for a gluten free bread there are quite a few out there and they aren't too bad I don't think. But there is an alternative completely grain free bread made by place called Deeks Bakery, and I have to say - pricey as it is, it is pretty damn good. I buy it i bulk and store it in the freezer and it really does the job well. It doesn't taste like normal bread obviously, but it also doesn't taste like crap. And if you're looking for something to hold your sandwich fillings or burgers in, then I think it's pretty good. Highly recommend it. Honestly I have not found anything better - for me - yet. My husband gets tired of me having to stop there every time we're in Canberra, but it's just so worth it for me.

So you might be asking what do I use instead of flour. Well my main substitute, as I've mentioned is almond meal. But I also use tapioca flour and coconut flour as well. If you're using a substitute, and you're baking, you might also need a bit of xanthum gum to help your baked goods rise. Hazelnut meal is also supposed to be good - but I haven't tried it because I'm not sure I can have hazelnuts. And for the lucky ones, you can obviously use a lot of corn flour and rice flour. But just be careful with the corn flour that its corn flour, and not wheaten corn flour (I know, what's with that!?). Other flours are like lentil flours, chick pea flours, which again I haven't used yet because they are on my experimentation list of food groups.

celiacs and gluten intolerance

So I thought I’d clarify a something first. I am not a Celiac and I am not Gluten Intolerant – although I can tell you that some days I wish I was – it would certainly make buying food easier! In fact the blood test I took at Australian Biologics tells me that I could have as much gluten as I wanted … if it didn’t come from a grain. I am not able to eat just about all normal grains. So that’s wheat, oats, rye, barley, rice and corn. What’s even more interesting is that someone told me that rice is supposed to be one of the least allergic foods – and yet I can’t eat it – well at least my experiments to date have leaned towards not. What’s with that?!

Also for the record I make no claims to being a professional, I always recommend seeing a specialist and reading the ingredients. This blog is primarily a record of food and how it affects me. But everyone is different and is likely to react differently.

I think the most surprising thing has been how much it affects me. I really didn’t think the food you ate would have that much impact (other than over consumption etc). And what’s more its like a swinging pendulum. Most days you’re high, then you eat something – either on purpose or not, and then off you go down to low. It takes about a week to recover. Most of the symptoms are gone in a few days - but a week to get it all out.

So also interestingly, as Miss Danielle writes in her comments – I have to rotate foods because I find that I get bad reactions to foods that I thought I could eat, and fine (well sort of) with other foods I couldn’t sometimes! It’s completely insane! Actually I’m glad she wrote that because I really thought I was just getting paranoid and becoming a hypochondriac nut job.

So from here on I want to share recipes and thoughts, pictures of food and so on.

introduction to me

Firstly a little bit of context. I am intolerant - I mean food intolerant. I have a lot of food related allergies and intolerances that are ridiculously specific with some very strange effects. The list of things I can eat is much shorter than the list I can't eat. So I decided to create this blog to help explore the world of food, its effects on me, and get some ideas from anyone about what I can do about it, or what I could eat instead! Also I want to create a channel that also shares my good food experiences too!

So what's the difference between a food allergy and a food intolerance? Well, in my language, allergies mean I can't eat them ever because the side effects are super bad. Intolerances mean I could eat them once or twice a week and the side effects are just not great.

What happens to me? Well the side effects of eating bad food really vary depending on what it was, but it will usually be one or more of the following:

• serious bloating
• overnight or rapid weight gain (1-2kilos)
• random red blotches on my face
• itchiness and rashes
• hyper sensitive skin
• constipation and/or diarrhea
  
• lethargy
• headaches and migraines
  
• severe depression
• erratic uncontrollable anger & short tempered-ness
• irrational thought process

Now I know that some of these sound like normal female traits, but there is a notable difference and everything seems a bit not quite right when I eat something bad.

So ever since I found out about this, I have spent every day experimenting with food. I like to think I'm quite diligent about it - but that could just be the scientist in me (or the ocd coming out). I have to try foods individually and as a combination with other things. Let me tell you it’s not a trivial process – but it is definitely consistent and definitely repeatable.

Basically I have to start with a good safe baseline, which basically means eating my staple foods of chicken and potato. Once I’m sure nothing crazy is happening to my body, I pick a specific food, and I try it for a week. On the first day I eat it. On the second day I wait and see if anything happens. If not, I try eating it again. This continues until either something happens, or I get to the end of the week. It’s really exciting celebration when I find something new I can eat. But more often than not I get to about day 2 or 3 and I have to stop eating everything interesting and go back to chicken and potatoes until I’m better again. Tedious I know. I am completely open to any suggestions.