The Super Allergy Girl Blog

Tales from the Crypt: Gluten Free and Allergen Free Baking Disasters

The biggest topic that I get private e-mails about is kitchen failures when it comes to gluten-free and allergy free baking. So, now it is time to tell a whopper on myself! Today I had a baking disaster! I mean a total and complete gluten-free and allergen free baking bummer. Of course, I can think of other adjectives to use here, but I don't want to be overly melodramatic. I share this with you to bring comfort to the beginners - even those of us with 12 plus years of gluten-free and allergy-free baking experience bomb in the kitchen now and then! Even those of us who have published a celiac and allergy cookbook have failures now and then! So what was the problem? Yes, I really want to share that with you as well as the total experience! The problem today was the fat that I used to grease the mini-baking muffin tins. Say what?

Yes, in the gluten-free and allergy-free baking arena the fat that you use to grease a pan matters. Let me tell you what does not work - at least not of late - one non-dairy margarine and one non-dairy margarine substitutes (brand names excluded for legal liability reasons)! I ran out of the normal baking spray that I use to grease the mini-muffin tins, so I used some non-dairy and mostly allergen free margarine (contains some soy) and the brownie bites that I was making would not come out of the pan. Let me say, even with a knife going gently around the edge of the pan, these brownie bites could not be saved! If a picture is worth a thousand words, here is a picture to show my gluten-free and allergen-free baking disaster of the day.

 

Let's take one more look at this:

These brownie bites were literally in pieces! Now, here is the upshot - they will be eaten. How they will be used up eventually is in ice cream sundae's. Non-dairy, gluten-free, allergen-free ice cream sundae's that is. They will also be used in our "pretend" DQ™ Blizzards - the ones that we make at home with non-dairy (and gluten-free) ice cream and candy or cookies. Yes, these bits and pieces of brownies will definitely be eaten over time. For now, they have been lovingly thrown (LOL) into the deep freeze. Another use for these could be dried out a bit and crumbled for a dessert pie crust.

Going back to greasing the pans. Did anyone notice in the last few months to a year that the baking sprays have changed? I noticed the label and the ingredient change a while back, but I didn't think much of it...it seems to me that the brownie bites that we have been making for years just don't slide out of the pan like they used to. Where else does the non-dairy (allergen free) margarine substitute not work out as well? Two recipes come to mind immediately - one is frosting and the other is rice crispy treats (made with a gluten-free cereal of course). The frosting with some non-dairy margarine substitutes will be too runny for my tastes and not very creamy or soft. One of the non-dairy margarine substitutes we use makes the rice crispy treats seem stale. It is definitely the margarine substitute and not the cereal.

I hope that this will make some of the beginners feel a tad bit better. I recommend that beginners stick to a few helpful guidelines to avoid failures in the beginning:

1. Use a proven recipe (just any old recipe from the internet may or may not work)

2. Don't make any substitutions in a recipe until you have had success

3. Make sure you understand how the flour is measured (I use the method invented and supported by my friend and mentor, Bette Hagman, may she rest in peace)

4. Use an oven thermometer

5. Turn OFF Convection Bake if you are using my recipes

I hope you have many, many successes in the gluten-free and allergen-free baking area! Let me know how I can support and empower you in the kitchen!

Love,

Lisa 

 

Specialized Dental Testing: Preventing Reactions to Dental Work

Mercury is so toxic to human beings that most colleges and universities as well as hospitals and other institutions have removed the old glass thermometers even though they have the masks, gloves and equipment to clean up a broken one. Given that, I had some concerns back in 2005 when I was having some dental work on a filling that contained mercury - also known as an amalgam filling. In the process of researching a dentist that would use the proper care and caution in removing the mercury containing dental filling, I became aware of dental compatibility testing. I was very interested because I had a very ill child at the time and I simply could not afford to get sick - from anything.

I had the testing done in short order. I really had no expectations on the testing because I did not know anyone who had used this type of testing. I was pleased to get the report - all 32 pages of it, but I did not have enough real knowledge to know if this was a worthwhile venture. Just to share with you, the dental compatibility testing cover things like...

*Serum Compatibility Reactivity Levels

*Metals Reactivity

*Etching Materials

*Glass Ionomers

*Composites

*Indirect (Laboratory) Composites

*Liners, Bases & Varnishes

*Bonding Agents

*Precious Crowns and Bridges

*Porcelain and Ceramics

*Porcelain without Aluminum Tested

*Non-Precious Metal Crowns and Bridges

*Non-Metallic Crowns and Bridges

*Impression Materials

*Temporary Materials

*Cements

*Root Canal Materials

*Implant Materials

*Denture Base Materials

*Denture Teeth

*Denture Liner, Repair, Adhesive

*Denture Alloys

Each of the above categories was divided into highly reactive, moderately reactive or least reactive. I was wondering if this dental testing would prove to be worthwhile, and I didn't have to wait long. On my first dental appointment with the new dentist, he indicated that he would have used a "highly reactive" material in my upcoming dental work if it were not for the report. He used the report to find a material that was in the "least reactive" category to replace the materials that he would have used. It was definitely worthwhile in my case.

One company that I used is now called BIOCOMP LABORATORIES, INC. Their website is: www.shslab.com/ Be forewared if you live in New York State, you'll have to go to anther state for this testing and get a lab slip that the blood draw! Don't forget the lab slip that proves that you had the blood drawn in a non-New York state lab or your test may not be processed. With my daughter's serious health issues, this testing provides solid scientific evidence for the dentist to help him pick the least reactive materials. While she had not had to have any involved dental work other than cleanings, I am at least prepared. I know one other parent who had similar dental testing done and found it worthwhile. The total cost for the last testing I had done for one of my children was $275.00 for a 59 page report. I'd consider this an investment in preventive medicine. 

Love,

Lisa

 

Gluten Free and Allergen Free Dressing: Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette

One of the problems with salad dressings is that they often contain either gluten or allergens. In the allergen department the most common offenders in salad dressings are gluten, dairy, soy (soybean oil). Some dressings can contain MSG and other preservatives that some of us try to avoid. We tried a store bought salad dressing that was delightful, but it contained milk! Since my daughter has a life-threatening IgE allergy to milk, it was not something she could even try. After playing around a bit, I came up with this gluten-free and allergen free recipe for a Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette! We love it. To reduce the calories (and sugar), I used a dash of stevia, which makes it more diabetic friendly. If you don't have stevia, then you can use a little sugar to taste. 

Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette

1/2 cup pure water

1/3 cup of acceptable oil

1/2 to 3/4 cup roasted red pepper puree

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Dash of salt

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Dash of black pepper

Dash of xanthan gum

Optional: 1 tablespoon roasted red peppers, finely diced

For the roasted red pepper puree, you can either puree roasted red peppers that you buy at the store, or roast and puree your own red peppers. Blend all ingredients in a blender. This makes about 2 cups of dressing. Here is a picture of the dressing:

The black spec you can see is part of the roasted red pepper. Here is what the dressing looks like on the salad that we ate with the dressing:

It was simply delicious! And everyone in our family can eat this dressing! The irony is that my daughter didn't like it at all! O.K. this was not a big surprise since she really doesn't like red peppers! But my son who loves the roasted red pepper dressing and does not tolerate milk well is quite pleased to have this new recipe in our array of dressing recipes! Enjoy!

Love,

Lisa

Harvest Salsa

It is that time of year when the gardens are ripe with produce. I made salsa a few weeks ago, which we just loved. The recipe is easy and the perfect use for tomatos that are ripe. If you have never made homemade salsa, I highly recommend it. It is by far the best salsa I have ever had and my children agree. Here is the recipe for my Harvest Salsa along with some pictures.

 

 

 

 

Salsa Ingredients are pictured Above

 

 

Harvest Salsa 

 

Harvest Salsa

2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes

1/2 cup finely diced green pepper

1 cup diced onion

1 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons vinegar

3 tablespoons tomato paste

Dash of stevia OR sugar to taste

Dash of cayenne pepper or other hot peppers to taste

Salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a small to medium sized bowl. This makes about 3 cups. Enjoy!

Love,

Lisa

 

Low or Elevated Secretory IgA: Critical Health Testing You Should Know About

With the advent of the internet, consumers and medical researchers like myself have access to a whole host of sound medical literature. This is by far and away one of the most important blog posts I have ever written. The testing I am about to share with you helped to save my daughter’s life. As it would turn out, we would only discover some six years into her health journey that elevated Secretory IgA was the underlying cause of many if not most of her health problems. By finally discovering this fact through diagnostic testing (out-of-network), we were able to avoid cancer, leukemia, cirrhosis of the liver and other horrific health problems.  My special thanks to Dr. Gene Mayer from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine for the information I am about to share. This comes from “Immunology – Chapter Four: Immunoglobulins – Structure and Function. The link to this information is: http://pathmicro.med.sc.edu/mayer/lgStruct2000.htm

First of all, I went looking for information on Secretory IgA after my daughter’s medical diagnostic testing came back with elevated Secretory IgA. This was not a medical term that I was familiar with, and in the last two years I have not found a lot of physicians who are familiar with it either. For the lay reader, IgA is an Immuoglobulin class. If you have severe food allergies of the life-threatening variety, that falls into the IgE (Epsilon heavy chains) class of Immuoglobulins.

Secretory IgA is found in saliva in the mouth, throughout the gastrointestinal tract and in the mucous secretions throughout the body. Here are what Dr. Mayer’s text listed as outcomes (as I read it) for increased Secretory IgA:

1. Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome
2. Cirrhosis of the liver (most cases)
3. Certain stages of collagen and other autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus erythematosus
4. Chronic infections not based on immunologic deficiencies
5. IgA myeloma

Decreased IgA would be potentially related to:

1. Hereditary ataxia telangiectasia
2. Immunologic deficiency states
3. Malabsorption syndromes
4. Lymphoid aplasia
5. IgG meyloma
6. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
7. Chronic lymphoblastic leukemia

 Myeloma is a form of cancer. Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome (WAS) can be pretty serious as well and leads to malignancies in up to one-third of the patients with WAS. Cirrhosis of the liver is the twelfth-leading cause of death in the U.S. according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as referenced by the National Digestive Disorders Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC). Leukemia we pretty much all know is very serious and life-threatening.

All of which says to me that Secretory IgA is pretty important. From a laboratory source (Individual Wellbeing Diagnostic Laboratories), I found that Secretory IgA (SIgA) is our first line of defense against bacteria, food toxins, fungus, parasites and viruses. While I can not assert that this is in fact the case, I do personally believe that from the above information that elevated or low levels of Secretory IgA in and of themselves merit investigation or testing for individuals with chronic health conditions that are not otherwise sourced by some medical fact.

 What does this mean to you the average consumer? It means, like in most instances in health care, that you must be proactive and be your own health advocate. Perhaps this means that you ask your physician or specialist if you have been tested for Secretory IgA. We did my daughter’s SIgA testing by stool. You can also check the diagnostic testing companies’ websites that market such testing for additional support and information. If I had a chronic health condition that was not being resolved to my satisfaction, or if I had any of the above conditions, I would consider ruling out elevated or low SIgA. After all, traditional mainstream medicine is primarily based on ruling out (or in) medical conditions. Let me know your questions and comments on this post!

Love,

Lisa

 

How Nutritional Testing Can Help You Get and Stay Well

It is hard if not impossible for me to talk about health and wellness without mentioning the importance and value of using science and technology - specifically nutritional and other diagnostic testing to get and stay well. We have used a variety of companies as directed by physicians to get nutritional testing done for my daughter. We did one of the first nutritional profiles on Anne back in 2005. The most common question I get on this subject is what items are included in a nutritional profile. Let me answer that by giving you a list of some of the items that have been included in the variety of testing we have used over the last seven years.

Nutritional items that can be tested:

1. Essential Amino Acids: arginine, histidine,isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methioine, phenylalanine, theonine, typtophan, valine.

2. Essential Amino Acid Derivatives (Neuroendocrine metabolism): glycine, serine, taurine, tyrosine.

3. Ammonia/Energy Metabolism: asparagine, aspartic acid, citrulline, glutamic acid, glutamine, ornithine.

4. Homocysteine Plasma: homocysteine.

5. Primarily Intracellular Elements Related to Nutritional status: chromium, copper, magnesium, manganese, potassium, selenium, vanadium, zinc.

6. Primarily Extracellular Element Not Related to Nutritional Status: calcium.

7. Toxic Elements: aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, mercury.

8. CoEnzyme Q10 Plus Vitamin Panel - Serum: coenzyme Q10, vitamin E, vitamin A, beta-carotene.

9. Lipid Peroxides

10. Fatty Acids: polyunsaturated Omega-3, polyunsaturated omega-6, polyunsaturated omega-9, monounsaturated, saturated, odd chain, trans.

11. Nutrient Markers: fatty acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, energy production (citric acid cycle), B-complex vitamin markers, methylation cofactor markers.

12. Cell Regulation Markers: neurotransmitter metabolism markers, oxidative damage and antioxidant markers.

13. Toxicants and Detoxification: detoxification indicators (Arg, NAC, Met, and antioxidants).

14. Compounds of Bacterial or Yeast/Fungal Origin: bacterial (general), L. acidophilus/general bacterial, clostridial species, yeast/fungal.

15. Secretory IgA: the importance of this item merits it's own blog post and I will do that very soon. If you don't know about Secretory IgA, this is one item that you will want to know about. Yes, it is that important.

Some of the companies marketing these types of diagnostic tests will include a percentile ranking by quintile so you know where your results fall as well as a 95% reference interval. In some instances, these types of nutritional profiles will include a summary of what is low, high or out of range and the body systems that will be impacted by the results. What does this mean to you the average consumer? What this means is that we have the medical technology to tell what you have in your body and what you don't have in your body.

I have used a car analogy for as many years, so I'll use it here. If your car does not have oil, antifreeze, transmission fluid, brake fluid, or spark plugs it will most likely not operate properly. You can drive for a while with low oil before you encounter a problem, but if you don't eventually add and/or change the oil in your car - you will definitely have a major car problem. Likewise, your body requires certain vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids, and essential fatty acids. If you don't have enough of what your body requires, or if you have too many toxins in your body or if the ratios are out of balance, likewise you will end up with a health problem.

The negative component to this type of advanced testing is that it is sometimes or often not covered by health insurance. That is a shame since most health insurance programs will cover much more expensive testing that yields less conclusive or less helpful results. The types of physicians who even know about this type of technology - yes this is scientific technology - are often referred to as integrative, natural or holistic physicians. These practitioners attend medical conferences where they are trained in nutrition. How does YOUR body run? Whether you like it or not what fuels your body is nutrition. With nutrition you can recover and get well from a variety of medical conditions. Without nutrition, you are sentenced (eventually) to a host of illnesses, physical symptoms and likely a drain in your energy and well being.

Just because a test is not covered by your health insurance program does not mean that it is not scientifically sound, helpful or in some cases life-changing. Doing the nutritional testing that we began in 2005 has helped us get our daughter to full health. Not something that was likely or predictable in 2003. Upcoming posts will be on Secretory IgA and even dental testing and how that can help you avoid health issues in dental work. I hope that this is helpful information to you. Let me know what questions you have about this and how this type of testing can begin to help you get well and stay well!

Love,

Lisa

The Inside Scoop on Buying Organic Produce

Yesterday was Thursday. Just a regular day of the week for most people! For us Thursday for much of the year represents the day that we pick up or organic produce. This post is inside scoop on buying organic produce at the best price - if you are not growing your own. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and if you Google the term CSA, you will be able to find farmers in your community that you can support. This is the best way that I know of short of growing your own fruits and vegetables to save money on organic produce. Typically how it works is that you, the consumer, purchases either a full share, a small share, or an individual share of the farmers produce for the season. You pay XX dollars for this portion and then you get a share in the results that the farmer produces. We have a family of five and have a full share all year round. Our farm, Native Offerings, has different seasons that you can purchase: Winter, Summer, and Fruit.

You get different vegetables during the different seasons. In the winter we receive mostly root vegetables. In the summer we receive greens, lettuce, zucchini, leeks, scallions, peppers, cabbage, beans, carrots, herbs, spinach, tomatoes, etc. So each Thursday, we go about 2 miles from our house to a pick up point where our farmer drops off produce to be picked up. My children groan - and I do mean groan - on Thursdays. Not because they don't like the fresh produce, but because they don't like the produce prep that follows the pick up. And, yes I do make them help! I am trying to raise thoughtful children who are not waited on hand and foot so they help in the kitchen whether they like it or not.

This picture is the vegetable and fruit share for one week with Native Offerings. Pictured below are peaches, apples, plums, red peppers, scallions, green beans, spinach, carrots, and kale.

 

 
The Bounty: The fruit and vegetable share from our Native Offerings Coop

 

We have washed our organic produce many different ways over the last six or so years that we have had a share. We used to wash the greens and lettuce outside in tubs with a filter on the hose. That was expedient and we did that for a long time. Now we have been using a combination of large bowls filled with filtered water and the clean (operative word is CLEAN) kitchen sink filled with filtered water. Below spinach is pictured soaking in the sink.

 

Organic Spinach in the Sink for washing

If you wash any produce in your kitchen skin be sure to wipe it down with something so that the dirt does not go down your drain! You can see from the above picture that spinach will generate a good amount of dirt! This is the dirt on the first wash. We wash spinach two or three times - generally until you can feel that it is super clean with no grains of dirt or sand. The thing that can be a shock with organic produce is that you will find bugs, slugs and other living bugs in and on the produce. Below is a little minature lady bug that I found in the spinach. Actually two of these. When I first found a slug years ago I was repulsed. This is the thought process that we must alter. You want to be eating fruits and vegetables that are organic. Organic produce will often have little bugs and such because no pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals have been used! Bring on the bugs!

 

 

Yes, we took the two little bugs outside and gave them a new outdoor home!

One of the benefits of the cooperative share is that we get a variety of foods and even a variety of one plant species. Take kale for example. Pictured below is one variety of kale. But we have gotten purple kale and other kale species from our farmer. If the picture below does not fit your picture of kale - don't worry. You are not alone. Who knew that there were so many varieties of kale!!

 
One type of organic kale - there are many varieties of kale!!!

Our typical pattern for processing our share of produce is to determine what we will eat in the coming week. If we think we will not eat all of a particular food, say for example the greens, spinach or kale, then we will chop and freeze that vegetable. Below is kale chopped up in the food processor. The greens including spinach and kale will freeze well chopped up like this. They can then be used in veggie burgers, soups, stews, sprinkled on pizza, etc. 

Fresh Organic Kale - chopped and ready for use or freezing!

We bag up chopped kale, spinach and greens for use during the winter or for when they are out of season!

Washed and chopped kale goes into the freezer for another day!

Is it all worth it? You bet you! Does it seem like a lot of work? In the beginning, it certainly seemed different and a bit overwhelming. If you are on a budget, this is the thing to consider for sure! Growing your own organic food is the ideal, but it is not an option for everyone because of space and other issues. The better quality food that you put into your body - the better it is for your overall health!! What do you love or dislike about your CSA coop? What aspects of this did I miss covering? Enjoy and eat in good health!

Love,

Lisa 

 

Allergy Testing: My Allergy Test and Other Testing

When it comes to allergies and allergy testing there is no question that it can get confusing for the consumer. I am very excited to share with you a new testing tool for consumers, which I believe will dramatically empower consumers and change the medical testing landscape. The new testing tool is called My Allergy Test®, which is an FDA cleared testing kit for in-vitro diagnostic use. What this means to consumers is that for around $60.00 you can purchase a kit to be IgE tested (you can find the difference between IgE and non-IgE mediated allergies on my website under resources) without having to see a primary care physician or allergist. This is a real tool for consumers.

The company who makes the MyAllergyTest® kit is ImmuneTech, and you can visit their website at: www.ImmuneTech.com for more information. The MyAllergyTest® kit tests for some of the most common allergens including: 4 pollens -Timothy Grass, Bermuda Grass, Mountain Cedar (Juniper), Short Ragweed; 1 mold - Alternaria; 3 foods - Milk, Egg White, Wheat; and 2 others - Cat and House Dust Mite. I was so excited when I found about the existence of this product!! Why? Because it puts some power in the hands of the consumer when it comes to their health. I see several areas where this product will be helpful to consumers.

One is to determine if they have an IgE mediated allergy to the allergens being tested for in the kit. While, yes, the kit is limited to ten allergens - the fact that you can get this testing on your own without seeing a doctor is helpful for those consumers whose primary care doctor will not refer them to an allergist. Now a consumer can take the results into their physician - assuming there are some positive results - and make a request to be referred to an allergist and have real data as the basis for the request. It is also helpful to consumers if their test results are positive to milk, egg whites or wheat to know immediate to avoid these foods. They can then seek the appropriate medical advice from their physician on how to proceed with further testing or avoidance.

This kit also opens up new doors for consumers, in my humble opinion, who do not have health insurance. For the cost, this is valid, scientific testing that can be a tool for consumers with limited or no access to health care to help them sort out what might be causing particular symptoms that are allergy related. The kit is easy to use. Yes, I did use one on myself so I know exactly how easy it is to use. I was most intimidated by the lancet in the kit. You only need a very small amout of blood - this is a finger stick type of test. You mail the contents of the kit back to the company as instructed in their directions, and you will receive an e-mail directing you to go to the company website where you can view, download and print your test results. It really is that simple! 

This is a picture of the front of the MyAllergyTest® Kit.

You can order the MyAllergyTest® kit directly from the company or find out more about the company or the kit through their website: www.ImmuneTech.com. My results showed that I had no IgE allergies to the ten items tested! Whew! What a relief! The most intimidating aspect to me was using the lancet. This is really a finger-stick test, which means you only need a few drops of blood from your finger tip. Once you follow the instructions in the kit and send the sample back to the company, you will then get an e-mail from the company directing you to their website where you can view, download, and print your test results. Or if you request it, you can have your results sent to you by U.S. mail. It is a kit that is well put together and has a great deal of potential to help consumers!!! Yay ImmuneTech! I'd love to hear your comments and results if you used this product!! Have a wonderful day!

Love,
Lisa 

Post Script dated September 28, 2011:

I understand from the company that they have updated their packaging, so I asked for a new image. Here is the new image of the MyAllergyTest® product: