Brad's Raw Chips

Last weekend while shopping at Organic Avenue I picked up a bag of Brad's Raw Chips in the Hot Red Bell Pepper flavor. The little bag was pricey but luckily, 30% off. I had the crackers along with a bowl of cauliflower soup and a salad. I really liked the flavor and the spice. I shared the bag with a friend who said they tasted like dried soup mix before you add water. I could kind of taste this but in a good way. Last year I sampled some of Two Mom's In The Raw Garden Herb Crackers which I found to be too flaxy with all the unground flax seeds. Brad's chips offer a better balanced flavor and texture.

During a recent trip to Whole Foods I picked up a bag of the Indian-flavored Brad's Raw Chips. OMG! These were the most delicious chip. I'm a fan of spicy, funky flavors. For example, sour spicy lemon pickle doesn't scare me. I had to close the bag to keep from devouring it in one sitting. I ate the chips straight up but they would be great dipped in guacamole or hummus. According to Brad's website the chips are a meal in a bag. I will definitely be packing these next time I have travel. I find that most processed chips and foods congest me. However raw, whole foods chips and snacks seem not to bother me.

I'll be chowing down on some more this weekend. Happy weekend.

ps: I just saw the Space Shuttle fly by my window at work. Super cool.

Candle Cafe West

I really over did it Sunday night. My husband and I celebrated my one year free of antibiotics and steroids with dinner at Candle Cafe West. We each had two drinks at a nearby bar before dinner. By the time we hit the restaurant, he was starving and so was I. We began with the nachos. I had the seitan and tofu placed on the side. The chips were covered in slightly spicy beans, a tapioca cheese and guacamole. It was so filling that I probably could have called it quits right then. But not me.

Next the Paradise Casserole– layers of sweet potato, millet and black beans over fresh steamed greens. The sweet potatoes were infused with cinnamon. The scent was amazingly fragrant kind of like paradise. I ate the entire dish minus a few greens. My husband had the Grilled Seitan Burger. Messy but yummy. At this point I was definitely full. However that didn't stop me from sharing a slice of the vegan carrot cake with my husband. I had been having a few good sinus days so I felt like I could handle a little gluten. 

The cake didn't disappoint. I'm not sure if the icing is made from coconut but it tasted like classic cream cheese icing. On top of the icing was a carrot glaze swirl. Something you don't see on non-vegan versions. I can't recall the last time I had cake. Since going g-free and eating mainly whole foods, cake rarely comes my way. I tend to rely on a little organic dark chocolate or a raw truffle for a sweet fix. 

My body took the gluten in stride. I find that when I'm feeling well, I can get away with a small amount of certain offending foods as long as get right back to my vegan, g-free, food-sensitivity free diet. 

When we finished dinner we had a nice 15 block walk home in the rain. It was a good way to burn a calorie or two after such a filling meal. I can't wait to go again. 

Happy Anniversary

I wasn't sure it was possible. To go one full year without oral antibiotics or steroids. This is coming from a girl who hadn't gone more than eight weeks before being represcribed drugs for endless sinus infections. Considering all the visits to the otolaryngologist I made over a ten year period, not once did the doctor suggest dietary changes or natural supplements to help give my immune system a boost and prevent future infections.

As of now, I have gone one full year without any of these drugs. The past year has taught me how much doctors and patients over use antibiotics and steroids. Through dietary changes, I've discovered that I can control a lot of my symptoms. Often, when I get sick it's my body telling me I fed it too much dark chocolate or too many fries. When I switch my diet, my symptoms diminish.

My actual anniversary of this event came and went three weeks ago. I've been too busy to mark the occasion. I also got hit with a cold, seasonal allergies and freelance work on top of my full time job.

So, this weekend I'm celebrating with dinner at the new Upper West Side Candle Cafe. Can't wait for a little down time with my husband and to properly toast the occasion. With a shot of echinacea of course.

The Results Are In

Last Thursday I received the results from the ALCAT allergy test I took two weeks ago. I had been really excited to get the results. Not sure why. Well, I want answers. But it wasn't like the test was going to reveal amazingly great news. It was going to reveal and confirm food allergies and sensitivities for 200 foods.

According to the test I had no severe intolerances. Good news there.

For the rest of the list:
MODERATE INTOLERANCE
Banana (WTF?)
Millet
Pear
Barley (also on skin test)
Rye
Malt
Spelt

MILD INTOLERANCE
Oat
Wheat
Acorn Squash
Apricot
Asparagus (also on skin test)
Black-eye Peas
Broccoli (also on skin test)
Butternut Squash
Cabbage
Carrot (ugh)
Chamomile
Chili pepper
Cocoa (WTF!!!)
Cow's milk
Cucumber
Egg white & yolk (also on IgE test)
Fructose
Grape (guess this means raisins are out)
Honeydew
Kiwi
Nectarine
Papaya
Parsley
Psyllium
Rice (Life is truly unfair. What's a g-free girl to do?!!!)
Scallions
Shrimp
Soybean (also on skin test)
Turkey
Walnut
Watercress
White Potato (lovely)

That's some list, right? But that's not it.

According to my skin test I'm also sensitive to:
Blueberry
Cantaloupe
Coconut
Raspberry
Strawberry
Artichoke
Celery
Lettuce
Sweet corn
Buckwheat
String bean
Beef
Chicken
Cinnamon
Sesame

Sick of reading? There's a few more. According to my IgE test I'm also sensitive to:
Peanut
Almond
Gluten

Feel sorry for me? I feel sorry for myself which isn't very empowering.

I got hit with a cold last Tuesday. The good news there is that the real yucky part came and went in four days. That's the shortest cold that's ever lived in my body. I must be doing something right and well something wrong to get sick. When I saw my doctor last Thursday he was concerned about my getting a cold, fearful of it turning into a full blown sinus infection. He asked if I was still taking echinacea and mycoferon. I admitted I had totally forgotten. Back on the regimen now. Eye droppers of elixirs are getting dumped into shots of water, which I'm downing with regularity.

My doctor suggested I avoid all the foods on my various lists for a week and then see if I'm feeling better.

Chocolate is impossible to avoid. Instead of avoiding my goal is to cut back. But eating 2 dark chocolate bars in three days hardly qualifies as a cut back. This morning at Trader Joe's I practiced absolute restraint by purchasing zero dark chocolate.

A feel a little like I'm in an eating conundrum. It's not fun in the conundrum even though the word has drum in it.

So this week I've made big batches of sweet potato and black bean soup with wild rice and curry quinoa. Just realized that I put dried chipotle pepper in the soup. Does this qualify as chili pepper under my sensitivity list?

Breakfast is a real head scratcher. Oatmeal and rice-based cereals are out. I tried to make smoothies without banana yesterday and today. They're just not as tasty.

Any ideas? What would Jesus do?

Feed Me

Wednesday night I was subjected to one my worse dining experiences yet. Well, there was the time about 15 years ago at a Bennigan's when I saw a cockroach scurry past my table. My waitress killed it within a few feet of my plate of food. But back to Wed nite.

All week long I had been looking forward to my meal at Employee's Only. I had recently finished production on three commercials for Frontline Plus. The production company was taking out the entire ad agency team to celebrate a successful production.

Over the past years, I've consumed many ah-mazing cocktails at Employee's Only. I had never eaten one single bite. Who needs food when you have alcohol? After viewing the menu online, I saw some salads and veggie sides. Just to be safe I called the restaurant and asked if I could get a veggie plate for my main.

The response: "No."

Really? Isn't the guest always right? I was just doing the kind thing and giving them the heads up. They already serve veggies. How hard is it to place them all on one plate? I came to discover that this was the impossible mission.

Cut to Wednesday night. Trays of cheeses, patés, and charcuterie were being passed around as I patiently waited for my arugula salad. The waitress appeared midway through the appetizer course to take everyone's main course requests. I re-gave my order for an arugula salad and then the veggie plate as my main. Thirty minutes later plates of sirloin, salmon and pasta were placed in front of each guest.

However, not a single morsel for me. I asked the bus boy if he knew the whereabouts of my salad. Five minutes later it appeared. I dove in to the arugula, fennel and preserved lemon mix. Tasty and just what I needed. Having watched eight others enjoy rounds of apps and main dishes, I was famished and annoyed.

I kept expecting each time the waitress approached for her to place my veggie plate before me. Minutes ticked by. No plate or dish was presented to me. The bus boy appeared again. I asked about my veggie plate. Two minutes later I was brought a small dish of swiss chard. It was either steamed or sautéd. I was hungry and even more annoyed.

Finally, the waitress looked my way. I asked her why it took so long for me to get my appetizer salad and what happened to my veggie plate. She said she thought I wanted them together. Huh? I'm not sure what gave her this impression since I precisely asked for the salad first and the non existent veggie plate second. Needless to say she didn't care. The rest of the party didn't care that they were being happily fed while I wasted away in a state of starvation.

The good part of the meal was that it was free because it wasn't worth paying for.

What A Nut

It's so much easier to spot the villain in an empty room. Over the past week my sinuses have really cleared up. No more mucus draining 24/7, which means some of the inflammation has calmed down. My sinus cavities are like vacancies where fresh air is free to move in. All this clear breathing and good feeling makes it so much easier to tell when a specific food isn't agreeing with me. Before it was like EVERYTHING I ate caused a major upheaval throughout my body but especially my sinuses.

Yesterday morning I played with fire. I reached into the fridge for the jar of almond butter. I spooned a nice wallop into my smoothie. Hit the high button on the Vitamix. Then I sipped. I sipped a bit more and then– choke, cough, choke! Not a typical reaction to a smoothie. Something was bothering me. Since I had consumed the other ingredients without as much drama, I figured it was the almond butter.

Almond is one of my sensitivities. I was hoping I could now handle it. But that's not the case. No wonder I used to be so sick. I love almond. Almond cookies and chocolate covered marzipan used to my two of my favorite treats.

I spent the rest of the day with thick mucus handing out on the back of my throat. Annoying. Hoping to feel better in time for my production wrap dinner at Employee's Only tonight.

Next week I visited Dr. Firshein with the results of my ALCAT test. I'm wondering if he can make desensitizing drops for almond. Fingers crossed that almond and I can mend our broken relationship.

Split Pea Coma

I've been fighting sleep for several days. The weekend was really hard. I ended up giving in by taking a 30 minute nap Saturday and Sunday. I asked myself, "What's wrong with me?!" As I was waking from yesterday's nap I had a flashback to when I used to get the split pea soup from Hale and Hearty for lunch. This was at least five years ago. Whenever I ate the soup, I'd find myself fighting to keep my eyes open as I stared at my computer screen. 

All last week and through the weekend, I had been eating this split pea soup. It is delish. Afternoons can be hard enough to stay alert through. But last week was unusually tough. I'm not sure if I suffer from a food sensitivity to the peas or if they're just sleep-inducing. I found this post on natural sleep aids. Split peas make the list. 

As much as I loved the soup, I think I have to say no to it for awhile. This week it's spicy carrot soup. I hope the orange stuff keeps me amped-up all week long.