Allergy update

So, Mr. Pickles went and got tested for food allergies. After about a dozen phone calls back and forth between the allergist and the insurance to see whether that test was indeed covered (it was), he went and got poked multiple times to see if he would swell up like a puffer fish.

He came home looking like the product of a top-secret highly experimental military training program.

behold, the bionic arm

For someone who doesn't like needles, I can't imagine it was very fun.  Although the conversation with the nurse who was poking him repeatedly was interesting -- they were talking about large families and budgeting and all that How Do You Do It kind of stuff.

So, the results?  Mr. Pickles is now officially allergic to:

-wheat
-soy (!!)
-corn (!!!)

The wheat we knew about, but the other two were unexpected.  (Although he says he tested positive for a corn allergy when he was younger, but it hadn't bothered him in years.)

So what that means for us (besides no bread, semolina pasta, pies, cookie dough ice cream, or couscous)  is also no edamame, tofu (no great loss there), soybean oil, soy sauce (even the wheat-free kind), soy lecithin, or margarine, as well as corn on the cob, pop corn, tortilla chips, corn starch, corn syrup, corn oil, fructose, or whiskey (WHAT is the point of living then??).  This eliminates almost every boxed food in the grocery store, even many of the gluten-free kinds (since so many of them use corn as their base).  We have to read every single ingredient on every single box.

In some ways, it's simplifying my life, since there are so many things I just don't buy any more.  (btw, anyone want two bottles of soy sauce?)  It's really forcing me to think and plan ahead as far as menus go, since there's so much I can't make for dinner anymore.  (tacos!  cornbread!  enchiladas!  stir fry!  lasagna!)  The gluten-free products are so expensive that I don't like to use them for the whole family.  Guess it's all steak (grass-fed) an' potatoes from here on out. :)  (and gluten-free pizza dough flour.  THAT stuff is good.)

Speaking of nutty foods, I recently started buying cage-free chicken eggs from TJ's as an experiment.  They're only $.50 more per dozen than the caged chicken eggs.  And oh, my, the taste is unbelievable.  I made scrambled eggs for breakfast this morning, and even my confirmed egg-loathing children couldn't get enough.  They are seriously yummy.  With so many of those healthier things, like organic produce, I can't tell the difference, and therefore don't feel obligated to pay twice as much.  (I can taste the difference with farmer's market produce, but I don't think they're organic).  But these eggs are delish, I'm happy to say.  Well worth the eggstra. :)

(sorry, couldn't resist)

P.S.  If anyone has any recommendations for wheat-, corn-, and soy-free recipes that they just love, please send them to me!