Fork Floosie Flub

Back in 2006 I formed a once-a-month dining club called the Fork Floosies. (Above is a poorly shot pic of the floosies in action) Including myself, it consists of five women who take turns picking a restaurant to dine at each month. I used to look forward to sharing interesting pasta dishes, hand-made sausages, cheese platters, bottles of vino plus sides of brussels sprouts. Other than the sprouts, most of these items have been removed from my diet thanks to the fungus throw-down going on in my body.

These days the dinners are a source of stress for me because food makes me sick. Instead of whole heartedly picking dishes, I have to carefully avoid most. I hate having to say I can't eat this or that. I feel like my friends must think I'm a high maintenance picky eater.

Last night we gathered for dinner at Almond. My friends ordered interesting wines. For me, water. My friends dove into meaty pasta dishes. I ate veggie sides. We kicked things off by sharing a bowl of olives. Around ten olives in, my sinuses began to get clogged. Not as bad as my pre-Fluconazole days, but there was that ugly mucus build up again.

I suddenly remembered something my doctor had said to me. He said if a food has been sitting out, there's a good chance it could have fungus and I need to avoid these foods. Olives always sit out in bins. Darn! Why didn't I think of this before ordering? I ate my butternut squash puree, brussels sprouts and potatoes with a clogged nose. I just didn't feel great and couldn't wait to get home to nasal douche. This was my first set back since I've begun my new regimen of anti-fungal meds and decongestant. It just sucks it had to happen on a night a had social plans.

I imagine over the course of the next few weeks, I'll be discovering more off limit foods, while relishing in the safety of others. Like today I ate a tropical banana Raw Revolution bar. I ate one bite and then waited twenty minutes to see if I had any reactions. I didn't so I ate a few more bites, then finished the bar a bit later. The bar contains hemp and sunflower seeds. It's exciting to think I can eat foods with these used-to-be-known-as-evil seeds.