An extra post this week, as my brain edges toward imploding from the logistics of feeding multiple people, all with different food allergies. In my opinion, health maintenance, as with all things in life, needs to be attended to in moderation (with the exception of NEVER forgetting to take along an EpiPen set). So when I have food allergy skin testing to confirm some possible triggers of an immune condition diagnosed last year that causes my esophagus to swell shut, I'm prepared for some answers that I can live with and some that I can sort-of adapt to my current life. After all, my family has made it through huge health challenges already: changing our entirely dairy-based diet, learning to remake every baked good without eggs, finding protein sources that don't include nuts or many legumes. And then revising our diets yet again for low-salt, low-cholesterol options as an extra protection against family genes and repeat open-heart surgeries. And that's just us. We live in a more urban setting than I ever grew up in, and we've met people who struggle with so much bigger problems, health and otherwise. It's easy for me to get frustrated about how health dictates much of our choices, but it's easier for me to get a grip and remember how lucky we are, too, pretty much every day. But I'm struggling with that frustration again today. On top of so many other things, I'm now adding chicken---in any form---to my don't eat list. Really, chicken? Yeast was already there, halfheartedly, and my skin test reaction confirmed that I should really do better to avoid that, too. But chicken caught me off guard. It's such a basic and malleable source of protein, especially when we are limited with soy and stuck without so many other good high-protein foods. This is not as huge as our past changes, I know...but it does mean rethinking my family's meals AGAIN. And sometimes I just wish that I could have a meal plan, make it, and keep it, no changes needed except for preferences. On the plus side, I do have a wonderful allergist who takes extra time to make plans, not just diagnoses, and he really makes an effort to understand how food changes affect the rest of our lives. I might seriously consider moving into the office with my girls this summer, as we cluster-start their allergy shots, and bringing the team chocolate treats for a thank you---because chocolate is still on the safe list, and that is a huge positive!
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Hi, I'm Nicole. ABOUT THE BLOG An apothecary is a person or a place. Either one implies healing and relates to pharmacy in its truest sense, as a source of treatment and advice. This blog is my way of uniting my pharmacy training with my efforts to provide a healthy and safe lifestyle for my family. In true apothecary form, I research and prescribe alternative ingredients that work just right in each specific recipe, and I would like to share the results with anyone who needs help making their own family’s kitchen allergy safe and heart healthy. Categories
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I made the 2017 Top-40 Food Allergy blogs!
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