HAWMC Day 4, Why I Write About My Health

Today's challenge topic is; I write about my health because… Reflect on why you write about your health for 15-20 minutes without stopping.

After I found out I was allergic to gluten, dairy, and eggs, just to name the big ones, I found it hard to find information and recipes with all of my allergies combined. I could find what sounded like a great recipe for gluten free muffins, but it was also filled with dairy and eggs. Or I would find a great recipe that was vegan but it was loaded with gluten. I had no idea where to even start with substituting ingredients (let alone even heard of ingredients like xanthan gum). So as I started to do research, learn tips, and experiment with recipes on my own, I thought about others who might be in the same boat as I was. How could I share what I had learned through my allergy journey? I can't count how many failed loafs of bread I have made! And how could I find others so I could learn from what they knew? Wouldn't it be nice if all this information was in one place? From those questions, and with a lot of encouragement from my husband, I was inspired to start my blog. I wanted to share what I had learned in order to help others adapt to living an allergen free life.

I'll be honest, when I first started writing this blog, I had no idea what I was doing; most of the time I still don't! I wasn't comfortable with sharing personal stories so I stuck mostly to the sharing recipes and information. As I have continued along my journey, Ive started to also write a little more about healthy, natural, whole living and why that is important to me. Now it's not as important to me to make that perfect gluten-free loaf of bread (in reality I don't eat it that often anyway and my health is probably better off without it), my focus has branched out beyond mastering a loaf of bread to overall healthy living.

I'm not a master at anything and I am still exploring and learning with cooking and baking allergen free. I still read something new I didn't know about allergies almost everyday. But that's a part of my journey and that is what I hope to share.

We all have different journeys when it comes to our health, but I hope writing my blog has helped others realize they are not alone. We are all in this together.

posted by Allergy Free and Cheap Like Me! at 1:14 PM 2 comments

I had a Bun in the Oven!

Charlotte, 2 months

Hi everyone!  I am sorry for my absence. I've had some exciting life events happening. First and foremost, I am happy to share that my husband and I welcomed our first little bundle of joy into the world in October; our beautiful baby girl, Charlotte Marie. We couldn't be happier or more in love with her. We also decided during our pregnancy to move away from Alaska, back down to Oregon, for a number of reasons, but most importantly so we were able to have the baby near family and friends. So we are now + 1 and living in Oregon! Time has gotten away from me while settling into being a first time mother and I found my priorities temporarily shifting away from Allergy Free and Cheap Like Me. But now as the little one is getting bigger, and I'm getting slightly more sleep, I find myself with more time to begin sharing my experiences and ideas again. So many exciting things have been happening in the allergen free world since I've been absent, from gluten free bread at Subway to a gluten free cupcake winning Cupcake Wars; I'm not sure where to begin! I hope you will check back with me often (now that I'm back) because I've got so much to share in the upcoming months; look for great recipes, tips, and tasty blog entries! 

posted by Allergy Free and Cheap Like Me! at 7:00 AM 0 comments

My Story

My allergy story starts in May 2009 when I found out I was allergic to a number of different foods. I had gone to see my ND (naturopathic doctor) about my seasonal allergies I have suffered from for years.  My doctor suggested we test for food allergies that could be affecting my body’s response to outside allergies. When the test results came back we found out I have a TON of food allergies!  The big ones are gluten, dairy, eggs & soy… and a few in between! :)  I was shocked! I had absolutely no idea!

After recovering from my initial shock I decided to do some research.  I found it to be very daunting and overwhelming looking from site to site, book to book, for tips, tricks and recipes for things I actually wanted to eat - normal things!  Or what about a safe place to eat out when I didn’t feel like cooking? I found some information and help about my allergies separately but when I took into consideration all of them it seemed there was very little to nothing out there to help me. 

This struggle is what inspired me to create Allergy Free and Cheap Like Me. I not only wanted to be able to share things I have learned but also wanted a place for others who may be in the same situation to share what they have learned.  I hope you find Allergy Free and Cheap Like Me useful and please feel free to share your experiences. I also hope to incorporate into Allergy Free and Cheap Like Me the cost of eating on a special diet. If you have recently looked at some of the allergy free products out there you know it can become very expensive very fast.  I hope to share with you some of the cost saving tips my husband and I use to stay within our food budget. 

The newest hurdle in my allergy world has been my husband and my recent move to Fairbanks, Alaska!  Fairbanks has limited places to buy groceries and places to eat out and it’s expensive! It has been a new challenge to figure out how to eat the way I need to and have it fit into our budget.  

***Disclaimer: I am in no means an expert on allergies or any other topic for that matter. :)  Recipes I share although I have found them safe for me may not be safe for another person with the same allergies. All of our bodies react differently to different levels of allergens, so please take caution. None of my allergies cause me an anaphylactic reaction, a trace amount of an allergen found in one product or another may not affect me the way it would affect someone who has a higher sensitivity.  Having said this I really do try very hard to find products that are guaranteed completely safe. But given the current regulations on labeling, labels are not always complete and companies do not have to list trace amounts of allergens, it is not always possible.  Also, although a product may not list an allergen in their ingredients list it may come into contact with an allergen during the production process. So please keep this in mind! 

posted by Allergy Free and Cheap Like Me! at 9:50 PM 0 comments