I am still feeling miserable today and am home with a horrible head cold, fever and headache. It is a beautiful day outside (sunny/73 degrees) and I am feeling sorry for myself (making macaroni and cheese).
Baked potato with sauteed onions, zucchini and green pepper with fresh bartlett pears.
I would describe the last two weeks as a roller coaster. I have days when I am high on energy and feel great, and days when I am barely functional and sick. The LEAP program is a challenge and infinitely more difficult than any gluten or dairy free diet. But, despite the difficulty, I am optimistic that this is absolutely worth it. In the end, if I can identify all of my food sensitivities and mitigate reactions, I will ultimately be able to live a healthy, happy lifestyle without fear of eating.
This CNN article explores the many challenges in diagnosing food allergies and intolerance. While I am pleased that awareness of diet-related symptoms is increasing, I can’t help but continue to feel frustrated by the lack of medical solutions to these problems.
I, too, have had a “skin-prick” allergy test for approximately forty different types of allergens and the results were all negative. The allergists’ advice to me was inconclusive and unhelpful at best: see an IBS specialist. I asked whether an IBS specialist would be able to help me identify causes of other symptoms such as skin irritation, migraines, fatigue, etc. The allergists’ response was that I am absolutely not allergic to any foods (or, I can assume, just the forty allergens he actually tested me for…), but that if I really believe I have diet-related symptoms then I need to practice a limited diet. I asked how I could medically determine which foods I should avoid if the allergy test was inconclusive. He didn’t have any answer for me other than, “avoid what makes you sick.”
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
This is a super-fast, super-easy recipe guaranteed to put a smile on everyone’s faces. Fantastic when frosted and decorated for Halloween, these muffins are delicious any time of year! (We call them “muffins” so we can eat them for breakfast, but really they should be called “cupcakes!”)
It is unseasonably cold in Iowa this month and I am feeling it! I managed to pick up one of the many bugs going around and am home sick with a cold and sore throat. Fortunately, I have a go-to recipe for mulled apple cider that I think is the perfect warm up beverage.
I made a huge batch of this on Saturday and took it to my friends who were dancing at the World Food Festival downtown. Considering the temperature was hovering between 35-45 degrees, the hot cider was a huge hit!
I decided to challenge myself this summer by coming up with the best chicken wing sauce recipe….ever.
I’d never made wing sauce until this week, but I’ve always been a huge hot wing girl! As I was in the middle of my first attempt at wing saucing, my scattered brain went in a million different directions as it usually does halfway through a new recipe. What if I added spicy mustard? Does this need honey? Chili pepper? Cayenne pepper? Lemonjuicebrownsugarketchuphabaneropeppervinegar? I decided that my challenge will be to invent a number of amazingly awesome different kinds of wing sauces. And with that, I give you… the first wing sauce of 2009!
You may have noticed, dear readers, that I like to stuff a lot of things with spinach. Besides the fact that I think spinach is DELICIOUS it is also a “dark leafy green” which means it contains all kinds of healthy nutrients that are important for body function. Therefore, if I can stuff anything with a nutrient-rich tasty vegetable I’m SO going to do it.
Having said that, why not throw some garlic and goat cheese in with the aforementioned good-for-you vegetable. You know, just for kicks. 
Arrabbiatta or “Angry” style sauce is a traditional Italian tomato sauce full of fiesty flavor. The “angry” comes from the addition of red chilies which add a fiery heat to an otherwise basic tomato sauce.
