Food: One day you’re in, the next . . . you’re OUT!*

*with apologies to Heidi Klum 

I may have some food allergies.  I’m going to the allergist as soon as I can find one that will take me, and that will determine some.  Unlike ragweed or mold, however, food allergies are often sensitivities that don’t show up on a traditional scratch test.  The only way to make a true determination is to eliminate potentially allergenic foods for 30 days, then slowly add them back in, one by one, and see if there’s a reaction.

Here is a partial list of foods I cannot have at the moment:

Wheat     Rye     Oats     Dairy     Soy     Meat     Corn     Brown Rice

There ARE things I can eat:

White Rice     Eggs     Seafood     Vegetables     Fruit    

Nuts are a different story.  I have not yet been told to give them up, but I fear this is coming.  Until then, I’m going to eat what I want (on the shrinking approved-foods list).

This is quite an interesting challenge for me, since, not long ago, I went for MORE THAN A YEAR AND A HALF without setting foot in a grocery store.  All of the food I needed to buy to keep in the house was available at Target.  I would buy the occasional fruits and vegetables at Costco, but really, I just ate out or ate at home.  A friend came to visit last summer and said to me “Wow, your cupboards and pantry and fridge are full, but you don’t have any food.”

My response?  “No, I don’t eat food.  I eat chemicals processed to look and taste like food that come out of boxes or cans.”

After that, I did stop almost all processed foods, and started eating healthier.  At that point, however, I had no restrictions on what I could eat.

Now, I have to become a very creative chef.  This type of diet lends itself to Asian cuisine.  Fortunatelly, I love Asian food and could eat it all day, every day.

Since I am always hungry and refuse to give up eating, food preparation and consumption is going to become my new hobby.   It’s becoming fun.  I’ll have to try not to be too obsessive . . .