In the beginning: Our first encounter with food allergies.

When I tell people my kids and I have food allergies and then I explain our reactions to certain foods, they usually say, “I had no idea food could do that to someone.”  It’s that statement that makes me feel it may be helpful if I give you some background on my kids’ and my own allergic reactions.  Maybe you or someone you know has had a similar experience and didn’t realize it could be food related.

Today I’ll start with the first kid.  In early 2003 our oldest son, then 14, began having daily stomach pain.  The pain wasn’t horrible but definitely enough to make him miserable whether at home, school, practice or his part-time job.  We had no idea what was making him sick. This continued for months – he turned 15; winter turned to spring, his stomach pain got worse.

Mother’s Day weekend he went on a school service project.  He came home nauseous and in severe pain.  He told us the pain had actually knocked him down to his knees at one point.  We took him to ER and they kept him in the hospital for three days.  Every test came back showing nothing.  They sent him home and we followed up with our primary care doctor.  He was referred to a gastroenterologist who removed his gallbladder, but had no relief from his symptoms.  More than a year passed with still no answers.

The pain continued with some days worse than others; weekends by far the worst. By this point I had reached the end of my rope.  I didn’t know if I wanted to cry because I felt so bad for him or just scream in frustration.  No one could give us any answers!  I found a website that discussed food allergies.  I mentioned the site to my sister and she told me there was an allergist in East Lansing that did blood testing specifically for food allergies.  We made an appointment.  They did the blood work and also had him do the “Caveman Diet” http://www.dividecreekent.com/forms/forms1/CAVEMAN%20DIET.pdf. Basically it’s a 5-7 day diet where you eat only fresh fruits, vegetables and meats.  Generally after 5-7 days you feel better, and then you reintroduce the foods you’ve not been eating to see if you will feel miserable again.  (Sounds fun doesn’t it?)

They diagnosed him as being allergic to wheat, corn and soy.  (He does not have celiac sprue.)  After getting his diagnosis I made the connection.  He liked sandwiches, pasta, baked goods, sports drinks, pizza, corn chips, popcorn and candy – all the foods every teenager loves. I took a look at the lunch he packed every weekend when he worked 6-8 hours on a farm.  It consisted of 3 sandwiches (that’s 6 slices of bread!), a cereal bar, chips, an apple, and a couple cookies.  He also drank one or two sports drinks.  Yes, that’s a lot of food – and no, this is not an exaggeration.  The kid had an amazing metabolism and was super active.  It was crazy to think about the sheer amount of wheat and corn he was eating daily, not to mention the overload on the weekends! He had to cut all wheat, corn and soy from his diet.  This was tough, but I am happy to say that in a short amount of time he started feeling better.  We were thrilled the day he said, “I can’t believe how good I feel.  I just thought everyone had a stomach ache every day.”

I’d decided, when possible, I wanted all 5 of us to eat wheat, corn and soy free.  Making these food changes was not easy.  It meant spending a lot more time in the grocery store reading labels and a lot more money on gluten, corn and soy-free products.  I also spent a lot more of my time in the kitchen.  I can’t tell you how many disastrous meals I prepared for my family. I threw out a lot of food as the result of failed recipes.    Who knew that overcooked rice pasta looks and tastes a lot like the stuff we used for paper mache’ projects in elementary school?  (Not that I… ever actually ate the paper mache’ goop. lol)  Fresh baked gluten-free bread sometimes comes out shaped like and as hard as a rock.  Gluten-free cakes don’t always rise (birthdays were a bit of a downer for a couple years).  Gluten-free cookies will literally crumble as you take them off the cookie sheet, barely making it into your hands. I once baked a brownie mix that seriously looked like it was alive.  It kind of had a heartbeat (or it was breathing).  I baked it until it finally quit moving, which was about an extra hour.  We cut it and realized I had created brownie flavored gum.  We just chewed and chewed and chewed and…. After chewing a while, we threw it out; I was afraid it might damage our digestive systems.  I was getting frustrated.  I wondered if instead of buying anymore gluten-free products, it just might be easier to throw a $20 bill in the wastebasket; saving me time and grief.

Two years later while on summer vacation, I was in a health food store.  They carried the book “Gluten Free 101: Easy, Basic Dishes Without Wheat” by Carol Fenster, Ph. D. https://www.amazon.com/Gluten-Free-101-Basic-Dishes-Without/dp/1889374083

I bought and started reading it as soon as we got back to the cabin.  At 5:00 a.m. the next morning my husband woke to go fishing and found I was still reading; making notes in the book’s margins and in a notebook.  Dr. Fenster made cooking for food allergies seem simple.  She introduced me to xanthan gum – a key ingredient when baking with gluten-free flours.  (A rule of thumb is if you are using 1 tsp baking soda; add 1 tsp. xanthan gum also.) Although her book only addressed gluten-free cooking/baking, I at least had somewhere to start and could make substitutions for corn or soy if needed.  Reading Dr. Fenster’s book not only gave me recipes for gluten-free cooking, but also the confidence to keep trying new recipes and foods.  I still get frustrated.  I still have a fair number of baking fails, but I also make a greater variety of foods and we all enjoy eating again!

I use the following flour blend for baking.  It can be found on pg. 41 of “Gluten-Free 101: Easy, Basic Dishes Without Wheat”. (Find link above.)  All of the ingredients can be found in health food stores & some grocery stores.

Carol’s Gluten-Free Sorghum Flour Blend*

1 ½ cups sorghum flour (I use sweet sorghum flour)

1 cup tapioca flour

1 ½ cups potato starch or cornstarch (I use potato starch)

½ cup corn flour or almond flour or bean flour or chestnut flour

I use almond flour which can be expensive.  As Dr. Fenster suggests, I grind my own almond flour by grinding blanched almond slivers in a small coffee grinder.   Refrigerating the flour blend is recommended because it should be used within two months.  (I freeze mine because I don’t use it very quickly.)

*Makes 4 ½ cups

I’ve kept you here long enough.  Thanks for stopping by!

Brenda

p.s.: Next time I’ll have a cookie recipe using the above flour mixture and I’ll try to have pictures.  Everyone keeps telling me – “People love pictures!”

Disclaimer:                                

These recipes and tips are not guaranteed to work or be safe for everyone. Allergies are extremely complicated and vary for each individual. It is still your responsibility to read labels to ensure your safety. I cannot be held liable for any ill effects from using my tips to avoid your allergies. (Sorry guys, I don’t foresee any problems, but Momma’s gotta cover her backside, ya know? Just read your labels!)