Celebrating Our Year Together

Wishing my wonderful boyfriend a happy one year anniversary (11/19)

 - I made us some delicious egg "muffins" with kale and caramelized onions -

 

- Made a chocolate cake from King Arthur's Gluten free chocolate cake mix (Soy free, nut free) -

 

- Cute gift from Y -

 

- Anniversary cards, both made and bought -

We spent the night frolicking around town after going to a movie date. It seemed every pub or swanky martini bar we approached was overcapacity with either football fans from Nebraska in town for the game or students taking a celebratory drink. We finally settled down with some Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay at cozy Old Town Tavern. We're now enjoying a productive Sunday at the university library.

How do you enjoy celebrating occasions and living it up without food allergens?

FDA Allergen Labeling: A cruel joke?

 

                                                   (Photo Credit: Dreamstime.com Free)

I'd like to give a huge thank you and major props to all food companies in the U.S. that choose to label "May Contain" on their products that may have cross contamination from the top 8 allergens (wheat, soy, eggs, milk, fish, shellfish, peanuts and tree nuts).

The FDA currently does not require that companies label products as "May contain" if there is a chance that the product will come into contact with allergens. What is the point of labeling allergens at all if there is still an unlabeled chance that your product could cause a life threatening allergic reaction?  There have definitely been some reaction issues in my life caused by this gaping hole in allergen labeling procedures. To see how the FDA currently labels food, check out the Allergy Free Table's quick online guide to reading food labels.

When this hole clearly poses a threat, my only question seems obvious and I feel ridiculous for even having to ask it. Why is this labeling only optional instead of required? I'm definitely looking further into pushing for more complete and safe labeling laws.

What are your thoughts?

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't."  ~Henry Ward Beecher

Gluten-free Irish Soda Bread

I love a good quick bread, especially since I am avoiding most active yeast at the moment. The basic recipe I used can be found here, but I did some tweaking of my own to make it more allergy friendly. For the flour, I used King Arthur Gluten-Free multi-purpose flour blend, soy free eggs from Tropical Traditions (Grassfed Traditions), dairy free SO Delicious coconut milk instead of buttermilk, and Olivio Coconut spread instead of butter.

Since I'm part Irish, I felt putting in an old Celtic blessing was called for...

May the blessing of light be on you—
light without and light within.
May the blessed sunlight shine on you
and warm your heart
till it glows like a great peat fire.

What goes on the skin, can sink in!

[caption id="attachment_358" align="aligncenter" width="468"] (Photo Credit: Dreamstime.com Free)[/caption]

Remember this truth: What goes on the skin, can sink in!

It's best to make sure you are catering your beauty and personal care products to whatever allergy you may have. Researchers once thought that the skin acted as a type of barrier against foreign invaders. It's actually quite the opposite. Your skin is your body's largest organ and will absorb everything you put on it (lotions, cosmetics, chemicals, etc). See a new great article on how gluten in cosmetics affect those with celiac disease and gluten intolerance.

If you have other allergies like I do, it's best to go as natural as possible. But be wary also of soy and wheat proteins in the natural organic products as well. Often Vitamin E (often labeled tocopheryl acetate) is derived from soy. Contact the manufacturer to find the source if it is unlabeled.

For some gluten free, soy free cosmetic choices, see my previous posts on safe brands here and here for starters. Good luck and stay vigilant! I love when I see articles on media like Yahoo about this sort of thing.

Badger Balm

After receiving an email regarding the soy free/gluten free status of most Badger Balm Organic products, I am happy to say I will be trying many of them soon! The only ones to note and watch out for were the Vitamin E used in the sunscreen and after sun lotions and due to production matters, the lip balms in sticks. (Anything labeled with the Vitamin E will be stated clearly and should be avoided for soy). The balms in the actual tins and all other products are considered safe since they are packaged and filled separately. I am most excited to try the aromatherapy balms and sprays.

I love the idea of aromatherapy balms, body sprays, and massage oils.