Bushi Japanese and Asian Restaurant, Tucson

My Celiac test results came back negative, and I want to celebrate.  Another reason to celebrate:  My husband and I had our 9th anniversary yesterday!  But, we postponed our date night because it was also my son's 17th birthday.  We were originally going to go to the theater, but the Saturday shows are sold out.  Plan "B":  Dinner date. 

My allergy status has been reduced from "always avoid" to "eat what you can handle."  If that sounds strange, I'll briefly explain:  If you are not severely allergic and you can manage a reasonable level of ingestion of your food allergens, your doctor might (check first) recommend that you continue to eat these foods to maintain your current tolerance level.  If I completely stop eating peanuts, I may have an anaphylactic reaction the next time I eat them.  For now I snack on peanuts in the shell (shelling them slows me down), and when I feel the first hint of an itch, I stop.  You can build up tolerance with allergy shots, but even better is to maintain your tolerance if you can.  What this means for me is that eating at restaurants is much easier now!

Many locales are having summer specials. "This summer Bushi is featuring two specials: Any roll and a bottle of TyKu Sake for $20.11 and any appetizer, any Teriyaki dish and a bottle of Bokbunjajoo for $20.11."  Bushi was also recently featured on the news.  Advertising works really well on me. We're going to give them a try this weekend.

I know that soy, peanuts and gluten (my top three allergens) are common ingredients in Asian food, so why did I choose a Japanese restaurant out of all of my options in Tucson?  With a forecast over 100° I'm also not in the mood for a heavy meal.  Light, cold food sounds pretty good to me. 

I downloaded the menu (which I always do if I know I'm eating out) and I quickly found some delicious choices.  I doubt they can guarantee anything gluten-free, but the rest of the menu seems to have plenty of options to work around other allergens.  I will try to talk to the staff about their stance on food allergies and report back after the weekend.

My preliminary choices:

Appetizer:
Sashimi Salad
Your Choice of Yellowtail, Tuna or Salmon (8 pc) resting upon bed of Spring Mix Greens

~or~

California Roll
Cucumber, crab, avocado, rice, seaweed


Dinner:
Curry Grilled Shrimp
Grilled Shrimp w/ Red Thai Curry sauce and Cilantro
Served with edamame, miso soup, rice and salad
(I can pass on the edamame and miso)

~with~

Sake Martini
Sake, Vodka, garnished w/ Cucumber and Ginger

Dessert:
Fruit Kurimu
Assorted Fruit w/ Coconut Honey White Chocolate Cream sauce topped w/ Almond Granola
(hold the granola for mine)

Official allergy test results

I finally got my blood test results.  I'm thrilled to say that the Celiac test came back negative, and other results indicate that we're no longer worried about eosinophilic esophagitis.  I will remain gluten-free however, with the controversial diagnosis of gluten sensitive/intolerant.  I am also confirmed now to have an allergy to peanuts, soy, and papaya.  The other fruits are just oral allergies and not something my bloodstream is going address.

I can manage a gluten-free diet, but it would be very difficult to prevent cross-contamination in my house.  I still shouldn't share food, but I'm thrilled that I don't have to worry to the extent of banning Playdoh from the house.  My levels for the peanut allergy are in a range that I don't have to worry when making peanut butter sandwiches for my son, and for both peanuts and soy I don't have to exclude it all, but I should avoid them when I can.  Papaya, by my experience, is not very common ingredient.  I have only come across it in the form of facial peels and digestive enzyme supplements.

Hidden Gluten in Health and Beauty Products

My Facebook feed had a great post from Ryza this morning.  Read the full article from Glutino here:  "Hidden Gluten in Health and Beauty Products."

Visit this site for a list of Gluten-containing ingredients commonly used in body products:

naturallydahling.com

Making Larabars at home or, "The Death of Two Blenders."

Everyone loves Larabars.   They're so "clean" and straightforward, they are good snacks for people with allergies.  There aren't any sneaky ingredients, only 2 - 9 real foods miraculously mashed in to a dense bar. I usually get a box of the bite sized bars - just the right size to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Because I can't have gluten or soy, my treat options are limited and expensive.  I prefer to make my own foods when I can.  I scoured the web (a phrase you'll hear a lot from me) and found an array of recipes for home-made Larabars. I also found that no matter what you do, you can't duplicate whatever it is they do to give them shelf-life without preservatives.  The secret, apparently, is in the packaging and the packaging process.

Now, other blogs and websites give you a list of ingredients and tell you to mix them up.  What most don't tell you:  Dates are really, really sticky and if you don't pay attention to the blending process they will muck up your blade, pull it to a halt, and wreck your machine!  I wrecked two.  I'm not upset, in the end I still learned how to make Larabars at home.  I'm happy to be able to share my lesson and save your machine from the same fate.  Admittedly, my machine choices weren't ideal, but we don't all have top of the line food processors in our kitchens, and I assumed anything with a spinning blade would work.

I first tried the food processor attachment for my KitchenAid submersible blender.  The spinning gear in the lid portion stripped and that was that.  Next, I tossed some dates into my KitchenAid blender.  The rubber feet between the top of the blender (pitcher) and the base were completely obliterated under the strain, and now my blender is useless.  I didn't stop there though!  I had just bought two pounds of dates, which are apparently really hard to find at a Safeway this time of year, and I had one more machine under the cabinet.  I tried an actual food processor.  I have a Black and Decker Mini-Pro Plus from my days of blending baby food for my youngest.  It handled the dates just fine.  By the time I got to this third attempt, I also learned this important tip:  stop the machine before the mass looks like paste.  It's pasty long before it looks like it.  When you're approaching a really sticky consistency, carefully use the pulse button to pulse the dates around so you don't stress the machine.  Be patient, it take a while but it's worth it. You'll get the hang of it soon enough.

The basis for any recipe will be about 10 pitted dates.  I tore my dates into a few pieces after pulling the pit out, the smaller bits being easier on the machine. The process:  Just make your basic date paste in a sturdy food processor as described above, and then stir in or mash in with your hands some fruits or nuts.

For the cashew bar recipe, mix in 1/4 cup or so, as desired, of cashews (hand chopped or put through the food processor).
For the cherry bar, add 1/4 cup dried tart cherries to the dates and process together, or fresh pitted cherries if you prefer.
Try dried tropical fruits, shredded coconut, cinnamon, vanilla, cocoa powder, anything you might try in a dessert cookie.
Some recipes also begin with a paste of a fig and date mixture.  Try what you like best.

Shape the mixture into a bar about 1/2" thick and 1 1/2" wide, and however long that stretches. Then, cut it into pieces roughly 1 1/2".  You will end up with 1 1/2" square bites that are 1/2" thick.  The perfect nibble.  I tapped the sides and ends against the cutting board to square them off.

Store these in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks, depending on the mix-ins.  Fresh fruits will not store as long.

Fish Tacos

Food Network:  Fish Tacos - Bobby Flay

I found a great recipe for fish tacos on the Food Network last night.  It's a really easy, healthy dinner that can be adapted to any diet.  The only substitution I had to make was to use corn tortillas instead of flour.  Because I had it on hand, for garnish I used a shredded broccoli, carrots and cabbage mixture available in the bagged salad section at the grocery store.  This was one of the quickest dinners I've made, and I will definitely make it again.

I whipped up the marinade and poured it over fish steaks to marinade for 15 minutes.   At the same time, I started a pot of water (and later added rice to simmer as I finished the tacos).  Out of propane, I turned to the broiler.  I popped the fish in the oven to broil for 10 minutes while I warmed the tortillas in a pan.  Tortillas went from the pan straight to the dinner plates for easy serving.  I smeared a bit of sour cream along the center of each tortilla, topped with a few flaked bits of fish, a handfull of shredded garnish.  Done!  Serve with rice and black beans.

7 stages

I admit, I am having a difficult time accepting my allergies.  Discovering at age 37 that you are allergic to peanuts, soybeans and all the other legumes, that you can't tolerate gluten, that your mouth is going to feel like it's being tortured if you eat fruit, and that stepping outside is going to wreak havoc on your body, is not easy to accept.  When did I go from "normal" to allergic?  How did this happen, and why now?  It didn't seem real.

Step 1: Denial.  If I was fine a couple of months ago, then why can't I just have one bowl of cereal today? I'll be fine, the doctor said I should keep eating the things I'm allergic to, to keep up my tolerance. That must mean I'm not "that bad." 

What I've put together from my doctor's advice and articles online is that the body craves the things we are so allergic to in an effort to maintain some level of tolerance.  This would explain why I literally ate soybeans and peanuts all the time in the six months or more prior to my allergy testing.  My favorite meal had become Huevos Rancheros, I loved the beans we used. I could always eat spaghetti or pizza even when I was full. I had recently added lentil soups to my recipe lineup even though nobody in the house ever liked lentils.

Step 2:  Guilt.  I have a hard time justifying the effort I put into choosing foods.  I feel like I'm just being dramatic when I say, "I can't eat that."  My long-time friend came to visit last week, and brought with him a 6-pack of a nice IPA.  I had to say, "Beer has wheat." I didn't want to say it, I was going to just politely decline for some other reason, but it had been so long since we all had a beer together that I had to explain why.  I felt like as coming off as  pretentious.  I check every label and I say out loud if I can or cannot have something and why, so that everyone can be aware.  I feel sometimes that I'm making an unnecessarily big deal out of ingredients.  I feel like I'm harassing everyone with my food restrictions. More-so, I struggle with the choice of either buying gluten-free and/or soy-free substitutes for foods I like or just skipping them all together.  Should I get gluten-free brownie mix, or just pass on brownies? I feel guilty buying GF foods just because they're labeled GF. I don't need brownies.  When I have to decide,  I just skip the food.  The new problem becomes nutrition.  We do need grains. We need fruits and vegetables.  We need a well rounded diet, even some fat.   It's tough to rationalize buying specialty foods though, when we have so many other options.   I have an especially hard time when I'm out for the day, or when I'm hungry between meals.  I'm tempted to nibble on one of my son's cookies or a granola bar from the checkout lane at the store.  Then, I preemptively feel guilty for the damage one little bite could do and I drop the craving all together.

Step 3:  Bargaining, depression.  I need a treat!  I'd settle for a bit of chocolate, it doesn't have to be gluten product (but the soy lecithin bothers my stomach).  When I'm hungry, I rationalize that one bite won't hurt because it didn't hurt before.  In reality it did hurt before, I just didn't realize it was caused by food.  Every time I ate something my stomach bloated and I had stomach pains, I was always lethargic, my face was covered in acne.  My husband had been pushing me to figure out why I was always tired. I wasn't just tired, I was exhausted, drained, beat.  My answer to him was that I've always been tired, as long as I can remember.  I tried everything for my skin and assumed it would never get better.  Now I am irritated with the hassle I have to put other people through if we want to eat out or have some drinks and my anger at the gluten eating world drove me to start this blog.   I wouldn't say I was depressed, but I did feel some "woe-is-me."  I felt left out.  Everyone else is going about their day with donuts, waffles, birthday cakes, hamburgers, pasta, instead of really hearing me when I explain my problem.   People don't understand.  It's tough to get through.

Step 4:  Reflection.  Millions of people have or will have medical problems.  While I'm grateful that my only big problem is food, for which I can actively make safe choices, I realize that this is my new lifestyle. Forever.  I have to be aware of what I'm touching, drinking and eating, my utensils, how foods were prepared, what's meant by "natural flavors" in an ingredient list.  I'm not sure yet how careful I really have to be;  can we still keep bags of flour in the pantry and can I hand breaded chicken nuggets to my son?  I have to embarrass myself and tactfully ask people specific questions about the food they offer me.  Do I have to bring my own food to Thanksgiving dinner?  I can't chance gluten contamination.  I'm going to carefully grow old on a very specific diet, or risk dying of anaphylactic shock or some Celiac related complication.  It's just food, but it's a very dangerous problem.  I don't just sneeze around cats, I have a life-threatening illness.  Worse, my children are at risk too (I'm still back at denial on this topic).

Steps 5 and 6:  The upward turn, reconstruction and working through.  I can do this.  With the internet and a wealth of books, I can figure out how to eat well without having to make a lot of substitutions.  I love to cook.  I can create my own recipes and share them with other people in my situation.  I will continue to scour the web for resources and share what I find.  My dreadful, life altering test results have sparked a new hobby and hopefully it will help others too.  I am grateful that I have the resources, the time, the money, the ability to move forward in a positive way.

Step 7:  Acceptance and hope.  I am relatively healthy.  If I make good choices, I will stay healthy.  If I take my antihistamine every day, the pollens won't bother me.  If I read labels and prepare my own food when possible, I will get proper nutrition.  Even better, my family will learn good eating habits from me.

I feel better now than I've ever felt before. I have consistent energy, I am happy, I have great skin and a new sense of self-confidence.  I can use my learning process to do good for others.  My family supports me and I know this journey will be enlightening.  It's not the proverbial end but the beginning of a new chapter of my life.

Christine Trice - Entrepreneur Extraordinaire

I have a day off today, what a treat.  Unfortunately it's already pretty hot outside and my kids are not cooperating in my effort to get out the door before the temperature peaks.

I multi-tasked in an extreme way this morning (in a fruitless effort to get out early), like any good super-mom would:  I updated my Etsy shop, replied to some emails, uploaded a photo album on Facebook, tweeted some product info and chatted with my husband via Google chat, all over a plate of corn tortillas topped with fried eggs, cheese and salsa.  My 4 year-old son, in the mean time, would not take his pajamas off and was impressively attempting to negotiate his way out of breakfast.  He got away with a whole grain cereal bar, fruit and a cup of milk.   He thought he won.  Speaking of being a super-mom and multitasking, I'm featuring two businesses today from a great woman I've known since high school.

Christine's daughter suffered from terrible eczema, and nothing prescribed or purchased was helping, so she created her own body butter.  On the product website she says, "I became an avid label reader. I learned how to decipher ingredient labels, how to pick out toxic ingredients & irritants that were disguised even in natural & organic products. I learned how manufacturing processes affect the integrity of products & how harmful parabens really are. And finally, I learned that I was beyond disappointed with the lack products that were truly natural & consistently results oriented."  She goes on, "When all else failed, I resorted to using my personal arsenal of lotions & potions to remedy my baby girl’s skin condition. Within only a few days after the first application, her skin began to heal. The eczema that covered most of her body for over six months was finally at bay."   From there, she created a line of natural body products, Brown Bag Botanicals.  Visit her site and friend her on Facebook for updates on products and specials.

Recognizing that many moms have to go above and beyond on a regular basis, Christine jokingly created the Facebook page OMG I So Need A Glass Of Wine Or I'm Gonna Sell My Kids!  Today she has 112,333 fans, not counting non-Facebook followers. She holds events in California, samples and shares wines from all over, and shares hilarious mom-moments via status updates. Grab some of her OMG logo wine glasses and join the rest of us in admitting that it does get hard sometimes to balance real life...


...especially when you're allergic.