Since finding out all of my allergies in September, it has been very difficult for me to do what I love to do, which is cook and bake. The drastic change in my diet helped one thing only- stomach pains and vomiting. I still have them once in a while if I eat something I know I shouldnt. But otherwise I have been vomit free. Unfortunately my rashes, constant sneezing, itchy/watery eyes and headaches are still with me. I know that a lot of it is due to the environmental allergies, which I get shots for weekly; however, I cant help but feel like I am continuing to develop food allergies.
I started reading some other blogs about food allergies in order to try new recipes and better understand the ingredients I have been using. Then I saw that most of these blogger are on a rotation diet. Why did my doctor never mention this? I would like to thank the bloggers that continue to post helpful information and recipes. Most of these bloggers are mothers that have had to adjust due to their children's food allergies. I could not imagine how much more difficult this experience would have been if I had to worry about a child's well being. Taking only myself into consideration (as I often do...) has been a lot easier.
Today I started my rotation diet in hopes that I well start to feel better. I also feel that keeping a routine will well eventually make my food choices second nature. I dont really think about most of the foods I am missing out on anymore, this could help take that a step further. I also dont have to worry about Carey because he will try anything.
A rotation diet involves eating the foods that you are not allergic to only once every 4 days. Everything that you eat belongs to a family, even if it's only a family of one. You cannot consume a something from the same family 2 days in a row, but you can have it every other day as long as it is not the same item.
Last week I went through the food families and wrote down the foods that I CAN eat on multi-coloured cue cards:
It was the middle of the week so I decided to wait and start it on a Monday. So today I organized them over a 5 day period. I know you only need to do 4 days but I have a slower digestive system so I didnt want to repeat many of the same foods on the 5th day.
Blue: Fruits and Vegetables
White: Grains/Flours/Starches
Red: Proteins
Yellow: Oils/Spices/Other...
It took me 2 hours but I managed:
I took this picture as an example, but I did some re-arranging afterward. By doing it this way, I was able to only use a card once, so I was never repeating that same food. The food has the food family written in the bottom corner. This allowed me to keep track and make sure that the same family was only appearing every other day.
Dont judge my small breakfasts. That didnt change much cause I usually just eat fruit. As for dinners, it says to try and keep it simple at first, so nothing fancy this week. Also, I dont really eat lunch but I will snack. I didnt want to change that too much so somedays I will have a lunch type food but most I will just snack.
Meal Plan:
MONDAY
Breakfast:
(Smoothie)
Raspberries
Mango
Orange Juice
Lunch/Snack:
Orange
Baby Carrots
Chocolate Soy Milk
Dinner:
Salmon prepared with Garlic, Lemon, Parsley, Earth Balance Butter.
Rice with Braggs Soy Liquid
Carrots
Green and Yellow Beans
Families Present:
Berry
Citrus
Cashew
Grain
Salmon
Legume
Parsley
Lily
TUESDAY
Breakfast:
Honeydew Melon
Lunch/Snack:
Butternut Squash Soup
Honeydew Melon
Dinner:
Prime Rib seasoned with Peppercorns
Sweet Potato Fries
Families Present:
Melon/Gourd
Red Meat- not really a family but I rarely eat it so it shouldn't be a problem
Morning Glory
Peppercorns
WEDNESDAY
Breakfast:
Pears <3
Lunch/Snack: (went a little complex with this one)
(Cookies)
Spelt
Vegan-Corn Free Chocolate Chips
Brown Cane Sugar
Agave
Coconut
Cinnamon
Dinner:
Spelt Pasta
Basil Pesto
Chicken
Onion
Families Present:
Apple
Chocolate
Grain
Pheasant
Lily
Palm
Agave
Laurel
Mint
THURSDAY
Breakfast:
Grapefruit
Lunch/Snack:
(Cranberry Muffins)- making a dozen and freezing them
Quinoa Flour
Tapioca Startch
Walnuts
Walnut Oil
Honey
Cranberries
Citrus
Dinner:
Pork
Spinach Salad with Mandarin Oranges and Almonds
Families Present:
Citrus
Heath
Walnut
Beet
Spurge
Swine
Plum
FRIDAY
Breakfast:
(Smoothie)
Raspberries
Banana
Flaxseeds
Lunch/Snack:
Apples with Peanut Butter
Dinner:
Sliced Turkey on toasted Rye/Flax Bread
Cucumber Salad
Families Present:
Berry
Banana
Flax
Grain
Turkey
Melon/Gourd
SATURDAY (I am working till 10 pm so lunch/dinner it has to be quick and microwaveable)
Breakfast:
Koala Crisp Cereal - puffed rice and cocoa
Rice milk
Lunch/Snack:
Mango
Carrots
Chocolate Soy Milk
Dinner:
Rice with Soy Liquid
Carrots
Green and Yellow Beans
Families Present:
Rice
Cocoa
Cashew
Parsley
Legume
SUNDAY (working till 7pm so need something easy when I get home)
Breakfast:
Oranges
Orange Juice
Lunch/Snack:
(Cookies)
Spelt
Vegan-Corn Free Chocolate Chips
Brown Cane Sugar
Agave
Coconut
Dinner:
Butternut Squash Soup
Families Present:
Citrus
Grain
Chocolate
Palm
Agave
Laurel
Mint
Melon/Gourd
Plum
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From this I made my grocery list. I purchased my fruits and vegetables in Kensington Market at the stand on the corner across the street (south) from Fresh Mart.
Fruits and Vegetables, which I eat a lot of and have to purchase every week, can be very expensive. I used to shop at sobey's in St. Catharines and there is no way I could get this much for this cost.
1 bag of Spinach
1 bag of baby Carrots
1 Large Honeydew Melon
3 Large Oranges
3 Grapefruits
3 Plums
3 Mangoes
3 Pears
2 Giant Cucumbers
2 Large Apples
= $22.00
Monday is almost over and it went pretty well. Tomorrow I am baking and freezing my cookies and muffins- The recipes for these have been tweaked since I posted them.