Along with this stupid RA, I get to have problems with dairy, sugar, splenda sweetner, pork and too much soy (i can have a little soy sauce but can't have soy milk etc. due to too much).
So, finding food at holiday get togethers is sooooo not easy.
I always make this fruit, marshmallow and whipped cream thing every year that everyone loved. But now i can't have the sugar or dairy.
Luckily for me, coolwhip has a sugar free with equal and no dairy, so it turned out good, just can't eat the marshmallows.
It is so hard to find anything without splenda in it. If i eat a tiny bit of splenda it rips my stomach apart and i pay for it for days.
Pork is in everything from ham (of course) to people puting sausage in the stuffing.
Sugars in pies.
By the time i was done i had corn and a tiny bit of my salad with picked out marshmallows.
I think next time i will offer to bring foods, i never thought it would be that rough finding stuff i can eat at a get together.
Oh, and the worst thing is that i LOVE eggnog, but can't have the dairy.
Yah, i think i will bring my own types of dishes others can eat and try to remind people what i can eat or can't.
I feel bad doing that cuz i feel like I am saying "I don't want your food" lol.
We have lots of sicknesses in our family back home (2,000+ miles from us). They have lots of fun fixing things. My dad (step dad) has a rare form of celiac disease, we have family members with dairy intolerance, my nephew needs select foods for his cystic fibrosis, i have relatives allergic to chemicals so they can't eat pork (like me) due to additives etc.
But there are tons and tons of food each year for all types, my family back home is very very good at getting the right foods and making sure others can eat things.
Down here it's my husband's family, so i will have to chat with them on what i can have.
I totally understand. I can not have bacon bits, I do not know why? I can handle most soy products. Paprika is hard to aviod at these type of gatherings, I can not have aspertain. And i had an allergic reaction i really do think it was a medicine reaction. But the extra pred on top of holidays i nearly ate my self to death yesterday. Something about the Arava and pred mix i was like dangerously hungry and could not stop eating it was beyond wierd. As i really have not been eating much for many months.With my family, the weird food things are not due to medical reasons, just personal preferences.
My dear husband made THREE kinds of stuffing for Thanksgiving: one was semi Stove Top for one daughter, and the other daughter and her husband ate that one, too. Another was for our vegan granddaughter, it had vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, and Nucoa margarine. That's the only margarine without any dairy in it. Then he made the REAL stuffing for himself, my FIL and me. It had mushrooms and walnuts, chicken broth, etc.
For Christmas, he made 3 kinds of chocolate chip cookies. The strangest of the 3 had no chocolate chips
Seriously though, it must be awful to go to a celebration dinner and eat nothing but corn and fruit salad. I agree that you should just let the hostess know that you have dietary restrictions and will bring something for yourself or something you would like to share with everyone.
Hope everyone has a wonderful New Year!
Hugs to all, Nini
Oh, Bubba, I just remembered something! My granddaughter also brought over some egg nog for us to try. NO DAIRY!!
It's made from soy milk and called Silk Nog. It's thinner that regular, but I personally like that
Is there a recipe thread on this site that I just can't find? Anyone got any ideas for treats and meals that I can (try to) tempt her with? She's lost 3lb in 10 days so far, which is worrying as she hasn't got any to lose and I need to feed her up before she has her joint injections on 11th Jan.
Dee
Oh me too. I ended up eating a bit of everything at my daughter's almost in-laws..ate some chips at my sisters ( along with drinking a cocktail!)
I have always had somewhat of a limitation in what I could eat due to food allergies, now I have to add to this mix RA and what I cna eat and what I cannot eat.
Frankly, I live off spagetti, salad and hamburger so it is not a problem.As long as I can have cookies on occassion I am ok.
It is hard sometimes not being able to eat all the variety of goodies at Christmas.
jode
Dee has a great idea - a special diet recipe thread! Just put at the top of each recipe the "criteria" (gluten-free, dairy-free, etc.)
Bubbagump - I don't think you should feel bad at all about bringing your own food. I think it is better/easier than trying to explain to a hostess. What if she attempts to accomodate you, but gets something wrong and you still couldn't eat it? If you bring it, you know it is safe. Just let her know you are having to deal with some food-related health issues, and you are bringing some dishes to share that fit your diet. If she asks about your restrictions, tell her, and if you are lucky she will have other options, too, but you won't have to depend on them.
Hey Bubbagump!
I feel your pain. I found out I was gluten intolerant right before Christmas about four years ago.
This year my son and I are on the specific carbohydrate diet. It is VERY restrictive. Luckily the major restrictions are temporary but it involves lots of food testing. It is supposed to heal many intolerances so my fingers are crossed. I made my son little honey meringue cookies and almond butter brownies and he was happy though.
My family came over but I knew I would not really be able to feed them. So they left for meals and then came back. Not exactly ideal, but it was what we had to do. Don't feel bad about bringing food! Better than getting more sick!
Here's a recipe for a really nice gluten, dairy and egg free pudding... in England we'd call it apple and blueberry crumble... don't know what you'd call it in US apple and blueberry crunch?I keep giving in.
My husband wants to eat everything bread that exists from fajitas, to stuffing (stove top thoughout the year), or nachos etc.
I try to tell him over and over that i don't want to eat bread products, dairy etc. cuz i get horribly sick, don't know why it jumps out of his head.
Sometime he gets moody too and that makes me mad. Reason being is that he won't eat 90% of normal foods like vegies, fruits, stews, soups, roasts etc. he is potato, onion and meat and for 15yrs i have eaten his bad food instead of what i want and now he makes faces when i say i don't want to eat something.
Driving me nuts.
But, i am going shopping at rouses grocery store where there is a big gluten free section and buying stuff for me.
I need a celiac test because the odd rashes by the elbows and knees that it talks about, i had those growing up, just went away when diagnosed with RA. But my 13yr old has the bump rash everywhere and i need us both checked to at least see what it is. She eats lots of bread products, so i worry.
Next months i will hopefully get the tests done when money comes in.
We had a gluten free, dairy free Christmas dinner and it wasn't a big deal.