Thursday, December 10, 2009

Intro

Like many people these days I have celiac disease accompanied by many other food allergies and sensitivities. Virtually all animal products, including dairy and eggs, make me sick. It simply makes sense to be a vegan. Not to mention all the ethical and environmental reasons! As for non-animal food sources, wheat/gluten obviously is out. Gluten is also found in barley, rye, spelt, kamut, and some other sources. I also have issues with corn, which I find odd it's not included on the list of top allergens. Would be nice because it would make shopping a lot easier. Natural flavorings can be made from corn, wheat, or other safe grains. Wheat is now being included in labeling, but it still leaves me guessing. Maybe I'll start a petition about the corn later on. I've had some mild issues with peanuts, more specifically peanut butter, which is the only way I eat peanuts. Is it the peanuts, cross-contamination, or hidden ingredients? It's hard to tell, but that's okay because I prefer cashews anyway! Tree nuts and soy are in the top allergens. I don't have issues with them but many people do! The only issues I have with them is the high protein and fat in nuts. While protein is essential and good for you, and nuts mostly contain a lot of good fats, my body can't handle to many so I try to maintain a low intake of them. Nuts can be so addictive too, can't they? (those of you who can eat them know what I'm talking about!)

What is the hardest part about getting together with friends and family for a "nice" meal? It's never nice for those of us who are allergic and vegan! You have to prepare your own food separately and most won't even try it. You may have a nice friend, or perhaps your sister is kind enough to try something more as a gesture of moral support for your perdicerment than the actuall desire to try something new. What if you could make a meal that looked traditional and tasted fabulous that everybody started gobbling it down without even realizing it's "your food"?
Well I've been experimenting with revamping recipes to be allergen free and vegan! :-) Yeah! Now some of them may have soy or nuts, but hopefully there is something for everyone, eventually! I have had some of those afore mentioned meals and it is wonderful! My goal is not to convince everyone to eat the way I do. As nice as that whould be, it's just not going to happen! It requires an entire shift in conciousness that is part of each persons personal journey. So you won't hear me preching ethics and whatnot about eating vegan. I know a lot of non-vegans look for vegan recipes because they have dairy and egg issues. If you fall into that catagory, welcome, I hope I can be of some help! My goal here is to help us find common ground. I know a lot of vegans don't like meat analogs or mock anything! I'm not a big fan of most, but sunshine burgers are pretty damn good! It's difficult cooking two separate meals all the time and it's emotionally as well as physically draining to constantly be the odd one who can't have anything! So I had a thought one day..."What if I take traditional recipes that everyone (but me) enjoys, and revamp them so they are vegan and allergen free, then we can all enjoy them together!" My sister is my biggest fan! She is the most daring and willing to try new things! My sister has no food issues and she eats everything, so I really value her opinion of things. Her only downfall is she hates hummus! I know! Who hates hummus, right? Whatever! I love it! More for me! :-)

I'm not sure how well I'll keep up with post. I'm a bit of a procrastinator due to my virgo perfectionism, so no promises, but I am going to try to keep this going as I continue to experiment in the kitchen. This is kinda long, so I'll post my first recipe separate, after I take a short brake for some herbal tea.

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