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So You Have to Share Your Kitchen…

Posted on by katiebiddle4317
There may be some of you out there who are lucky enough to have your own kitchen…in which case, allergy-proofing is a bit easier. Once all allergen sources have been eliminated, you’ve purchased a new toaster, a new cutting board, a few new utensils (gluten likes to hide in crevices of wooden ones), and of course a new sponge- you’re pretty much all set.
However, I would predict that for the majority of us, it’s not so easy. Whether for financial reasons or friendship, you may have a roommate and as fantastic as that person is, you can’t really say “Hey, you know I can’t eat bread or cereal or ice cream so I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t either”. I mean I guess you could but I don’t think the friendship will last much longer.
Maybe you’re married…remember those promises you made to love one another “in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, food allergies or no food allergies” (I know, I know, it probably falls under the sickness and health category…but I personally don’t like to think of it as a sickness). That means you and your spouse will have to find a way to safely co-exist in the kitchen. Again, you could try the whole “I can’t eat this so you shouldn’t in solidarity” approach…but I personally don’t think that’s the best route to take. I’d suggest the path of compromise. From what I hear it’s the key to a happy marriage. Well, that and an inordinate amount of patience. And now with a food allergy, so are toothpaste and mouthwash…but trust me, that’s a different post for a different time 🙂
So if one of these is your reality, you’re in luck because I’ve been in the same boat. And by that, I mean the roommate boat…not the marriage one. (By all means, if you know of any kind, upstanding young men, please feel free to let me know:-) So, based on my past 2 years of life in a shared apartment, here are my tips for safely co-existing in a shared kitchen:
1)   Label, Label, Label!: As careful as everyone in your house may be, the last thing you want is someone stumbling down early in the morning, bleary-eyed and half-asleep, inadvertently placing a piece of regular flour-filled toast into your new gluten-free toaster. How can you prevent this? BRIGHT stickers. I went right out and bought neon orange. In our kitchen, that’s the code for “Katie-safe”. It’s on the toaster, my blender, my utensils, my spices, and literally every jar in the fridge that belongs to me. It sounds extreme but think about it: you’re making a peanut butter sandwich on regular bread; how many times will you stick that knife back in the peanut butter jar? Probably at least once. Then I come along and use it…crumbs are in there AKA I’ll be sick in about an hour. So yes, we have 2 jars of peanut butter, 2 tubs of butter (of course now one is dairy-free anyway), labeled bottles of salad dressing. It just makes life easier and keeps everyone from being confused.
In our kitchen, ORANGE means “Katie-Safe”!
I even found orange measuring spoons. Score!



















2)   Have your own pots and frying pan: This may seem extreme but I’m telling you, it was the best investment I made. I went to HomeGoods and bought a nice, new frying pan and 3 different size pots. It makes me feel much better to know that no allergen has ever touched those surfaces and then my roommate doesn’t have to worry about scrubbing the other ones like crazy every time she makes pasta. Speaking of which, if you have a gluten allergy, buy your own colander. Make it a different color and voila: you’re all set.
3)   You need your own sponge!!: Think about it: you went to all this work getting your own pots and pans and cooking utensils…but then you wash them with the same sponge as your non-allergy kitchenmate. Suddenly your immaculate tools could be covered in allergens. Buy your own sponges and keep them in a separate place! (As you can see in our kitchen, mine are always pink and hers are always yellow/green). This way, you can ensure that everything stays clean and safe.
Separate sponges = Happy Dishes
4)   Pyrex. It’s Amazing: My college roommates and I still get together every year for our annual Black Friday Shopping tradition and this year I made what is probably my best purchase yet: a 10-piece Pyrex set. 50% off plus a $10 mail-in rebate. (Thank you Kohl’s for making the 5 AM wake-up so worth it!) Not only does it look different than the old Tupperware that my roommate always uses, but it keeps things safe in the freezer so I can make larger batches of Katie-safe foods and save them for later. It also makes traveling with food a breeze. Not to mention, I’ve been hearing for years that microwaving plastic/Tupperware will slowly kill me…so at least now I’m reheating things in glass. Do yourself a favor: if you don’t already have a Pyrex set, go treat yourself. You deserve it 🙂


5)   Do You Remember Your New Best Friend??: 

This drawer has become critical to my life…

That’s right, aluminum foil. You’re good. Well, and parchment paper. Both can be used as a safety layer on baking sheets or on the grill. Because of size constraints in our little kitchen, we only have one set of baking sheets so I just layer some foil or parchment paper when I use them. And I wrap my pork chops in foil before putting them on the shared George Forman grill. Takes a little longer for sure, but it’s worth it to know I can enjoy them with peace of mind.

All in all, I’ve been surprised to see how possible it is to co-exist in a kitchen with a non-allergenic housemate. Now granted it helps if this person truly cares about you and is willing to bend over backwards to keep you safe. If you’re in that situation, you’re in luck. If not, you may want to consider a new living situation…or at least have a serious chat.

Now have fun reorganizing and labeling the kitchen. Not only will it keep you healthy and safe, it really makes for a great conversation starter when guests come over…
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On the Road Again…

Posted on by katiebiddle4317
I know what you’re thinking: I wrote two entries, exhausted all my wisdom, and abandoned you to figure out the allergy world on your own. Have no fear: I just went to Rhode Island to chaperone a weeklong service camp. I’m back and ready to share.
Now I know this post is a little out of order but since it’s more timely, I’m going to share some tips about venturing out into the world of vacations and road trips. If you’re anything like me, it takes awhile to even feel safe in your own kitchen again as you navigate the inevitable pitfalls of allergy-proofing (Did you buy a new toaster? Cutting board? Replace those ancient scratched-up pots and pans??). Then just when you’re feeling good and confident in your own kitchen, someone says the word that brings those butterflies back to the pit of your stomach: VACATION. Days and days away from the kitchen where you finally feel safe, surrounded by unfamiliar restaurants where servers may not know the difference between gluten and bread crumbs. The plus side: you finally realize that living with an allergy in your own home suddenly seems doable; the downside: that “it’s not fair…now I can’t even go on vacation anymore” feeling starts to sneak in. Take it from me: no need to panic. Yes, you can go on vacation. Yes, it will take a lot more planning than it used to or than it does for your other non-allergy friends and family members…but trust me, in the end it’s worth it. You’ll be healthy, happy…and honestly, you’ll probably end up saving yourself some money in the long run 🙂
Planning for the Road:
1)   Make a List of Meals You Need: I knew I was leaving bright and early on a Sunday morning and coming home late on Friday night. That meant all 3 meals for 6 days. Here’s my loot from my grocery store run before the cooking marathon began!
Lots of delicious/safe food for the week ahead!
2)   Be Redundant: No need to stress yourself out by trying to plan/cook/pack 6 different creative dinners. I bought 1 box of Rice Chex and 2 boxes of blueberries to cover all my breakfasts for the week. Lunch was salad everyday so I just seasoned some chicken, threw it on the grill pan, and within minutes, I had everything I needed to make a delicious, hearty chicken salad for each day of camp. I also sautéed an absurd amount of spinach and red peppers to ensure I had a vegetable side that would last the whole week for dinners.
3)   Food Spoils…Plan Accordingly: For dinners, I decided to make a few different things to liven up the monotony of my breakfast and lunch routine. I decided on easy to make/easy to pack/easy to reheat entrees: salmon cakes, hamburgers, tilapia tacos, and coconut shrimp. Now of these 4, hamburgers have the longest fridge-life so I saved that for Thursday night dinner. The shrimp had to go first and the salmon and tilapia filled in the middle.
4)   Do some research: This one is especially important if your child is the one with the allergies. Imagine you’re sitting at camp and everyone is diving into delicious ice cream sundaes…while you’re sitting with your dessert of the day: a bland rice cake. Chances are you’ll feel pretty disappointed. But what if instead, you were diving into your own gluten-free brownie sundae with dairy-free coconut milk ice cream! Suddenly you feel like one of the crowd: none of those “Poor me, I’m different from everyone else” feelings. For example, at the camp I was going to, Tuesday is famously known as Taco Tuesday. Not wanting to feel left out of the festivities, I planned to have my tilapia tacos (wrapped in lettuce of course) on Tuesday night. Call ahead, whether it’s a camp, a cruise, or just a family meal plan, try to find out what might be served so you can prepare something close for you…or especially for your child!
There’s even a Taco Tuesday hat…what would I have done if I didn’t make tacos for my Tuesday dinner??
5)   Don’t Skimp on Dessert!: It may seem like one more thing to do before you leave but trust me, don’t listen to that voice that says “Oh, it’s just a week. You can live without dessert”. Well, sure, you can. But WHY?? I baked one batch of almond flour chocolate chip cookies for the week and enjoyed one every single night. This made it much easier to sit amongst the teenagers devouring cookies, brownies, carrot cake, etc. each night…some of them were even eyeing my cookies. Especially on carrot cake night. Always pack some extra too. I brought 9 cookies for a 6-day trip. I’m telling you right now if I didn’t have that leftover cookie to comfort me on our 10+ hour drive home, the traffic would have made me far more ornery 🙂

Thank goodness I saved some of these for our 10+ hour drive home 🙂
6)   You Have a New Best Friend…Named Aluminum Foil: Now as much preparation as you can do at home, do it. However, there will be things (such as slicing up a red pepper or celery for a daily snack) that you may want to do later in the week to prevent spoilage. However, remember you will be in a foreign kitchen where the cutting board can have decades of crumbs/allergens hiding in it. Now of course you can bring your own…but I have found that aluminum foil provides just the perfect shield. I lay a piece down on a regular old cutting board, pull out my own knife (yes I packed my own…you just never know what a foreign kitchen will have), and safely chop away. Granted, I know this is not an environmentally-friendly option. I can assure you for shorter trips I would bring my own cutting board…but no one wants to be the girl who shows up to service camp with 2 extra bags filled with cooking supplies.
7)   Accept it- You’re a Little High Maintenance: Prior to 3 years ago, I was never a picky eater. I consider myself to be rather low-maintenance in pretty much every aspect of life. So imagine my discomfort when I’m suddenly forced to be “that girl” at every party, barbecue, dinner, etc. Yes, it’s been humbling to say the least. One of the hardest things for me to do was to accept that suddenly I was going to have to be high-maintenance..at least as far as food preparation is concerned. No, it’s not easy…but it is your health after all. It’s OK to be a little high maintenance, provided you go about it in the right way. Call ahead. Ask if you can have a small corner of the refrigerator and freezer for the week. Make sure there will be a place to reheat food safely. Ask to see a box to verify ingredients. Offer to cook your own meals, provide your own foil, ask if you can watch them grill your burger on said foil to ensure it’s safe. Just do all these things with a smile, an explanation…and if you’re like me: excessive amounts of thank yous. You’d be surprised how accommodating people will be when you’re kind about it…and they realize you’re not being a pain by choice- it’s your life on the line.
8)   Try EVERYTHING before you leave home: Nothing will spoil your vacation like realizing that your carefully-scheduled food plan will no longer work. Somehow you reacted to a new spice in the salmon cakes or the sautee in the spinach. You’re far away from the comfort of your own bed, your own bathroom, and (in the worst case-scenario) your own doctors/hospital, and you find yourself glutened, caseined, soy-ed, corn-ed, etc. Not good. Again, don’t worry…this is easy to avoid. Just make sure to sample every single thing you’re making (and yes I mean EVERYTHING) before you pack it. That way you’ll know without a shadow of a doubt that all of it is safe. Now this is a little more difficult than it sounds. You can’t just sample everything in one day or you’ll never know which food you reacted to…and then you’re left with nothing to pack! Make a schedule for that too. The week before I left, I tried my lemon coconut flour muffins one morning, the chicken for lunch, a salmon cake for dinner, then the remaining dinners throughout the course of the following day. You know how long it takes you to react (for me it’s about 90 minutes-2 hours) so spread out your tastings accordingly. Then once everything is cooked and tasted, pack it up, grab a cooler and you’re off for a week of fun!

Delicious Lemon/Coconut Flour Muffins. I even left a few in my freezer at home so I’d have breakfast waiting when I got back! BEST. IDEA. EVER.
Now I know this seems a bit overwhelming….especially because I haven’t even mentioned packing clothes, toiletries, etc. but that you’ve had down to a science for years now I bet. Before you know it, your food-packing plan will be the same. And don’t forget: unless you’re vacationing to the deep woods or maybe the Arctic Circle, there will be grocery stores nearby. If you run short on snacks, just go shopping. Let yourself eat ice cream for dinner. It is vacation after all 🙂
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It’s Time to Empty Those Cabinets…and Don’t Forget the Fridge! (And Your Desk Drawer at Work…or Wherever Else You Stash Food!)

Posted on by katiebiddle4317

There are few instances in life where I actually agree with the old adage “Out of sight, out of mind”…but food is one of them. Sure, from time to time there will be moments when you crave something out of the blue: a crisp fall morning with crunching leaves will leave you dreaming of a pumpkin spice latte or a hot summer day may find you imagining some sweet corn…but more often than not I promise you, if you don’t see have the food around, you really won’t miss it. Well, most foods anyway.
For that reason, as hard as it may be, one of the first things you should do when you get home from the doctor (or receive the phone call or however it is that you learned the news) is empty out those cabinets. And by that I mean EMPTY. Pull every single thing out and put it on the counter (now if you’re anything like me, you’ll find things with expiration dates that will make you cringe anyway…so really this is a good idea for anyone to do on occasion). Then go through each item and make 3 piles: 1) Food that is DEFINITELY safe   2) Food that is DEFINITELY NOT safe and 3) Food that I am not quite sure (Most likely this will be your biggest pile). Now I will give you fair warning: this is the time in the acceptance process where I usually shed my tears. You’ll learn things you never knew: your favorite sausages may contain gluten, your favorite crackers may contain milk, your favorite pretzels may have soy, and pretty much your favorite everything will have corn in there somewhere. Ok not everything…but a lot 🙂
Also, NOTE: depending on the severity of your allergy/intolerance, you can’t just read the ingredient list! You also have to read that fine print underneath…you know those sneaky words “PROCESSED ON SHARED EQUIPMENT WITH WHEAT, MILK,/MADE IN THE SAME FACILITY AS…” etc. that you once overlooked as unnecessary words added to the packaging. Trust me, these have become very important to your life. I myself have been burned a few times, particularly in my early gluten-free days. “Oooh…black beans! Still safe, I’ll make myself a delicious black bean burger for dinner.” Delicious, yes. Until an hour later when I could barely walk from my room to the kitchen to investigate. I pulled the can out of the recycle bin: sure enough, “PROCESSED ON EQUIPMENT SHARED WITH WHEAT”. Some people are lucky enough that this level of potential cross-contamination won’t affect them…but unless you know for sure, I say err on the side of caution. Nothing derails your “First Day of the Rest of Your Life mentality” like spending a few days on the couch. Granted, we will all inevitably mess up again…but on the bright side, any time I do get sick, it reminds me just how glad I am that I don’t eat any of those things anymore. Silver lining.

All right, now back to your 3 piles:
1)    Yep, Pile 1 goes right back in the cabinet. BUT WAIT!! Do NOT put anything back on those shelves until you’ve wiped them clean with heavy duty wipes or cleaning spray. Now again, how often does anyone do this so it’s a good idea in general, but moreso because you’ll be surprised how many crumbs and little granules of different flours accumulate on your shelves just waiting to contaminate your newly “Insert Your Name”-safe cabinet!
2)    Pile 2: Here comes decision time. Now if you’re anything like me the first time this happened, I just wanted it all in the trash. I found some small sense of catharsis in throwing every potentially dangerous item into the trash can and carrying it all to the curb come Thursday morning. If that’s what you need to move to the next phase of your healing process, I am by no means here to judge. However, I would like to propose 2 other options: both of which I’ve now done with later cabinet cleanings. One is obvious: put everything in a box and bring it into work, school, a friend’s house…anywhere that you know people who might be able to use what you’re giving away. You’d be surprised how excited people get over the gift of cooking spray or a bag of Doritos. If you know someone with a particular love for something in your box, save it for them. I know it might be hard in the midst of your own sadness to want happiness for someone else, but I promise you it will make your day when you make theirs! And the other option: box everything up and bring it to a food bank, soup kitchen, homeless shelter, etc. If visiting one of those doesn’t make you feel better about the amount of food left on our shelves at home, then nothing will.  One kind of fun idea (if you live in a city): I took all my soy-infested food this spring and kept it in a shoebox in the front seat of my car. Anytime I was stopped at a traffic light and approached by a homeless person, I offered them their choice of treats from my box. Though a few were of course less than grateful, most were beyond thrilled. Not only do they get something to eat, but they also get to do something they rarely do: make a choice. Everyone wins!
3)    Pile 3: This one will take you awhile. The internet is the best place to turn…but make sure to use reliable sites (i.e. the manufacturer or a magazine…not those message boards where people share what works or doesn’t work for them). When in doubt, call the manufacturer yourself. It’s time-consuming…but well worth it. And when really in doubt, just throw it out. Again, always best to err on the side of caution. And don’t feel like you need to conquer all of Pile 3 in one day. Just DON’T put anything back in the cabinet until you know it’s safe.
Now: sit back and take a look at your new, clean, healthy cabinets. Yes, I know they’re probably looking a little sparse and you’re thinking, “How in the world am I going to make a meal out of the random assortment of things left in here??” Fear not: you’ll figure it out. Partially because you’re about to become a super-creative chef…but also because you’re going to head out to the store, research in hand, and come home to fill all those empty spaces with delicious, new healthy-for-you foods! But that’s a job for another day 🙂                                                                   

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It’s the First Day of the Rest of Your Life…(Again)

Posted on by katiebiddle4317
It was a familiar scene: me sitting patiently in a chair, pen poised and notepad in hand, while yet another baffled doctor grimaced as he read through my chart…which by the way has now spilled over into two folders. He looked up at me and said the words I knew in my heart were coming, “I think it’s corn.”
Now I know what you’re thinking, allergic to corn?? That’s not so bad. No more popcorn during movies, no more corn syrup-filled beverages, and you can kiss Mexican food good-bye…but that won’t be TOO difficult. And yes, I agree. There are far worse things in life, and really who LOVES corn anyway?? At least this is what I told myself as I gathered my lab slips and nutritionist information, scheduled a follow-up appointment and headed out the door. The sun was shining and the courtyard was filled with patients heading to and from various appointments. I smiled at each person I passed, and even chatted with a few from the older crowd,  before settling on a bench with my “it’s all going to be OK” iced coffee. Thanks to the wonders of technology I no longer had to wait until I got home to see what this diagnosis would mean. I took out my phone, googled “corn intolerance diet”…and it started to sink in. Sure, no popcorn, corn tortillas, high-fructose corn syrup, etc…but the list kept going. Things like baking powder, powdered sugar, xanthan gum, vanilla extract, vinegar, pickles, citric acid, toothpaste(!)…at that point I had to relocate to the shade, convinced that the sun glare on my screen must be at fault for making me misread the page. No, no. I had read correctly: corn is in EVERYTHING. Thank you, corn subsidies. But I did what I knew I had to do: I stood up,  gave myself an internal pep talk (Something along the lines of “Katie, today is the first day of the rest of your life! You’re lucky really! Most people don’t know when a day is the 1stday of the rest of their life until they look back on it…but you know right now and it’s only 9 AM. June 17th…go live it up!”), and then did the only logical thing: headed straight for Whole Foods.
Now the problem is I’ve had this same conversation with myself before. First it was gluten (July 11th), then it was dairy (April 8th), then it was soy/eggs (May 6th), now corn. So you can see why my brain was not convinced by the First Day of the Rest of your life argument. It’s been deceived before.  But still I made my way through Whole Foods, gathering some comfort foods which are still allowed (i.e. BACON!), and headed home, where I would once again have to empty the cabinets- giving away all the foods which had once been so carefully selected for their use of corn instead of wheat.
The thing is I’ve realized as I’ve gone through this routine again and again…and again and again…that although I wouldn’t call it easy, it certainly has gotten easier each time. Granted, the food selection gets smaller and smaller…but I’m comforted by the knowledge that I’ve done this before and that there really will be life post-(insert allergen here). It may not look quite the same, and it may be a bit more complicated, but it will certainly be healthier and happier…so what more do you need?

So today begins my journey into the gluten-free, casein-free, soy-free, corn-free, and sort-of-egg-free chapter of my life. I’ve decided to share the steps of my journey this time, in hopes that it might help someone less fortunate (or really more fortunate I guess if you think about it) who hasn’t had to face this before and is standing where I stood in July 2011: sobbing in my kitchen next to a trash can filled with gluten-filled food, convinced that life as I knew it was over. Well, those of you standing there: cry for a few more minutes, then dry your tears. Because you’re right: life as you know it IS over. No more sickness, no more exhaustion, no more brain fog…life is about to get so much better J