Traveling with Food Allergies: homemade sugar scrub

Whew. Just got back from a whirlwind eight-day trip through China! I've never traveled on a tour before, it was good but exhausting since they packed a lot of sightseeing into a limited amount of time -- waaay more than I would have done on my own. I can see now how being a rock star traveling on the road could be so physically taxing, why they would need a personal assistant and why it would be so easy to go off the deep end! :) I am going through my pictures now and will post a few soon to share, I promise.

The most urgent thing I noticed when I got home was how much damage I did to my skin during this trip. Any time I travel my skin goes haywire since I am out of my controlled environment (hypoallergenic organic bed, HEPA filter), and I'm usually forced to eat some non FAQ-friendly food, and can't maintain my hyper-vigilance as usual. On this trip, there was also tons of environmental pollution to contend with as well. But this time when I got home my skin was so dry and damaged it was PAINFUL. It was rough from the minor rashes I got every day, dehydrated from drinking less water (I only drank bottled so was drank much less than I drink at home), and my skin felt like it was so hard and brittle (is that technically possible?) that it was going to crack -- it was painful enough to kept me from sleeping.

What to do? I was too jet-lagged to go shopping for a gluten-free, soy-free body scrub/moisturizing treatment, so looked up a recipe for a homemade sugar scrub on the internet. This recipe has only three functional ingredients available at any health food store (thank goodness for the Whole Foods down the street). If you can't find glycerine, the original recipe author used avocado oil, you could also use grapeseed oil.

I scooped some scrub onto my legs, since that was where there was the most damage (btw, I also bruise my legs every single time I travel just managing the luggage!). This was much easier to do in the bathtub vs. the shower, trust me on this! This scrub worked nicely for a first round of defense, now I just need to keep putting more good food and lots of water into my system, and use tons of lotion.

About the scrub ingredients: sugar is a natural softening agent, and vegetable-based glycerin (which is usually made from palm and/or coconut oil) is a moisturizing agent. (Although the author uses avocado oil, it's more expensive so I went with the glycerin.) The aloe or vitamin C is to promote healing. I didn't have any essential oils or colorings on hand which would have made it nicer, but this worked just fine and I'll add those to a later batch. This recipe is from Care2.com I took a bath to soften my skin, then scooped some scrub, rubbed it in to exfoliate for about 30 seconds. Then I left it on for about 3 minutes before rinsing off. My skin was smoother, softer, and more receptive to lotion -- it was no longer in defense mode! Be sure to have the ingredients handy to make this scrub when you return from traveling.

Homemade Sugar Scrub (gluten-free, soy-free)
from Care 2.com

* 50 percent white cane sugar (note that organic sucanat, while the best choice for food, doesn’t work as well for this recipe)
* 50 percent vegetable glycerin to moisten the sugar (I used avocado oil since I was out of vegetable glycerin and it proved to be a successful substitute)
* Small amounts of aloe vera gel, vitamin C crystals, or anything healing that dissolves in water
* 1 or 2 drops of essential oil if desired (Larry recommends combining orange and lavender)
* Enough ground hibiscus powder for pink color (if desired)

Combine the ingredients in a bowl. Scoop some of the scrub onto your hand and massage gently onto your skin for a minute (the scrub will actually tighten onto your skin like a masque). Leave on for 3 to 4 minutes before rinsing.

The Food Allergy Queen is traveling to China

One of the benefits of being unemployed is that you are suddenly freed up to new opportunities -- I was recently invited to accompany my mom on a 10 day trip to four cities in China and depart this week! Once I said yes (very enthusiastically) the mad preparations began.

International travel requires planning as it is -- but the Food Allergy Queen needs a military-style deployment! Not only am I traveling to the land of rice and soy (two of my major food allergens), there will be language barriers (my Mandarin is minimal, although my mom speaks Cantonese), mystery ingredients, and my other environmental allergies to contend with. (For those with life-threatening food allergies, obviously you would have to be more selective as to where you would travel, not all countries are knowledgeable and/or accommodating about food allergies -- Europe might be a better choice than a less-developed area like Africa. And it helps to familiarize yourself with the cuisines of the country -- peanut oil is used almost universally in China, fish is a staple in Scandinavia. You get the idea.)

Also remember, China is a Communist country, so it also necessitates being overly cautious with how and what I bring. What's a Queen to do? Be uber-prepared and ready for anything!

Here's how I do it...presenting "The FAQ Travel Checklist for food allergies, chemical and environmental allergies"

1. Ordered a customized Allergy Translation card with up to 10 specific allergens in Simplified Chinese. This only took only a few minutes, I got to print as many cards as I wanted, and was only $8. You have a choice to note whether your allergies are life-threatening or not. Great deal. I've attached a screenshot of the card I ordered.

2. Kept all prescription medication in the original containers with the prescription on them.

3. Updated my prescription Epi-Pen and made a copy to keep with it in my purse (it was two years overdue. Oops).

4. Packed all my natural remedies for any possible tummy troubles: papaya enzymes for digestion after every meal, activated charcoal for upset stomach, and Digestive Advantage for IBS (free 30 day trial!) probiotics every day.

5. Packed my Imodium, just in case the items in #4 fail to work!

6. A friend reminded me about the super-polluted air quality in Beijing (totally forgot that was an issue during the Olympics)! It will be worse in the winter because a lot of Chinese heat their homes with coal! Eeek. Because I also have asthma, I went to my allergist and got a new emergency inhaler and allergy meds (Singulair).

6a. I got a personal air purifier for the plane as well as for the pollution. I've never tried one, but am giving it a try! It works by producing negative ions that help repel particulates from your face. But it produces ozone, so may not work for those sensitive to ozone. A review to come later!

7. Also for the pollution, I'm bringing my one-two punch of Ocean nasal saline and Nasalcrom, which I usually use religiously during hay fever season. I use the saline first to rinse everything out, then the Nasalcrom to put a protective coating in the nose so that you don't react to the allergens in the first place. Both are over the counter at any drugstore, about $15 total for both.

8. For both the pollution and potential exposure to H1N1 (swine flu), we are also bringing disposable face masks. Asians have been doing this since SARS broke out a few years ago so it won't look THAT weird there! Plus no one will recognize us in a sea of Chinese people anyway, ha ha.

9. Just in case we do get sick while traveling, I'm packing natural cold and flu remedies Airborne and Oscillococcinum.

10. Bringing alcohol-free hand sanitizer (don't forget that all liquids in carry-on luggage need to be 4 oz. or less!) and a roll of toilet paper and baby wipes since you never can be sure of the state of toilets in developing countries.

11. Since I also have some chemical allergies (of course), I also bring along some detergent I'm familiar with to wash out undies on long trips so that I don't have to rely on strange hotel laundry detergents. Tide makes these handy little travel packs.

12. On a side note, my stress-related IBS symptoms were almost 100% conquered by my wonderful acupuncturist, Jill Harrison. The cramping, bloating, nausea and anxiety were fixed with one treatment because I certainly didn't want travel on a rigorous tour looking for a bathroom every 10 feet! I ate gingerly the next day or so and seemed to be in good shape. I tried a trigger food (red meat) and had a little trouble, but after having some papaya enzymes was feeling pretty good. For those of you with IBS, I highly recommend trying acupuncture to alleviate symptoms. It may not totally cure you, but the relief was immense and immediate -- this after having chronic symptoms for over a month!

13. I always pack a dust-mite pillow cover and put them on my pillow in every hotel. The hard part is remembering to take them off again!

14. FAQ friendly foods going in the suitcase:

- Dried fruit and nut mix as a portable meal replacement in case I can't eat somewhere (I bring one big bag and little baggies to redistribute along the way)
- Fritos corn chips in a canister
- Dark chocolate bars for quick energy
- Peppermint tea
- Candied ginger for nausea

I'm still adding items to this list as I go along -- obviously for other humans, the list won't need to be as extensive unless you're a Queen (or King) like me. But some of these are my tried and true tips to make traveling doable, and to help cut down on allergy misery where ever you can so that you can enjoy the wonders of other parts of the world.

Gluten-free oatmeal. Or is it?

I finally got a chance to try gluten-free oatmeal to try and add different soluble fibers back into my menu. This was from Bob's Red Mill who is usually pretty reliable with quality and accuracy. These oats have been ELISA tested. Interestingly, they had to put on a disclaimer on the package that it "Some celiacs react to even the purest of oats"...why? Because there is still SOME gluten in it! Wha? Why not call it "gluten-reduced" instead? I tried the steel cut version out, and even thought I'm not a celiac I still had a gluten reaction to it after one bowl. I guess it's sorta the same situation as decaffeinated coffee -- it's not TRULY caffeine free, there are still small amounts. *sigh*. I had hoped for better from Bob's.

I'll close with a line from The Princess Bride, "Get used to disappointment."

Has anyone else have better luck with other gluten-free oat products? Or have other celiacs been okay with this product? I'd love to make oatmeal cookies again.

Thanks for sharing.

******

This just in! This post sparked a conversation with Beth, co-president for Cream Hill Estates, a producer of pure GF oats. Apparently all gluten is not the same -- here's her explanation:

The term “gluten” is a catch-all word used to describe the storage proteins found in all cereal grains, including corn, rice, wheat, barley, rye, oats, etc. These storage proteins have many similarities from one variety of grain to another, but each grain variety is also composed of other unique gluten components that distinguish it from the other grains. Wheat, barley and rye (WBR) (plus half a dozen or so other closely-related cereal grains) have similar amino acid sequences (portions of the gluten protein chain, or “peptides”) to which people with CD/DH are intolerant. Oats, and even more-so corn and rice, are more distantly related to these WBR grains and thus do not contain the offending peptides.

Here's link to the entire article for exhaustive detail about pure oats.

So what does this mean? That there is gluten in oatmeal, corn and rice, but just a different type that does not impact most celiacs. However, because the Cream Hill Estates audience is celiacs, Beth was not aware that there are people like yours truly with a true allergy (rashes, respiratory distress, mild anaphylaxis) to the other types of gluten as well. She also agreed that they could be more clear with the labelling. So the answer is: you'll have to try gf oatmeal for yourself to see if it is tolerable for your specific diet.

IBS tummy troubles (and how to get out of them)

I think I posted (or did I tweet? I'm losing my mind so can't remember what I said when!) that I had bad food poisoning earlier this month. (Thanks for the kind words, Mar!) After a week of antibiotics and eating bland food (nothing spicy per the doctor) my stomach has sort of settled into a bit of a delicate balance with occasional veering into IBS territory. Additional stress from getting laid off from my day job last week did not help matters, tummy-wise. Argh! I did some research that indicated that food allergic people are more susceptible to colitis (the official name for the pain from the food poisoning), so it seems reasonable that we're gonna have digestive issues in general. And so it goes.

I keep a lot of natural digestive aids around the house -- dairy-free acidophilus, activated charcoal for an upset stomach, papaya after meals for improved digestion, and peppermint tea to settle things in general. My doctor prescribed a terrific anti-spasmodic called Hyocsyamine to take 30 minutes before meals, and this has helped tremendously to prevent the awful abdominal cramping that I was having. It's prescribed fairly often for IBS, and is inexpensive, I highly recommend it if diet alone isn't helping. Ask your doctor! Personally, I don't want to rely on this heavily but it's nice to have something else in my arsenal if all else fails.

Anyhow, I found that during this month that I've been gravitating towards foods that would make me feel better. I've been much more stringent on the IBS diet -- less fat (including olive oil), more soluble fiber. The cookbook Eating for IBS has been a lifesaver. Lots of fish (sauteed fillets, tuna salad), turkey in all forms, mashed potatoes, grain dishes like polenta and GF cornbread, and less meat for this usually enthusiastic carnivore. I had some al pastor (BBQ pork tacos) that I usually demolish without a thought but this time it took me down BIG time, oy. The interesting thing was that I also seemed to crave different beverages as well. I'm usually satisfied with water or tea (no coffee for IBS!) but wanted something healthier. Luckily for me, the POM Wonderful people shared with me two new flavors of pomegranate juice -- tangerine and my fave, kiwi! These new blends are much lighter than the original (can I call it POM Classsic?), and sweeter. Much more drinkable straight out of the bottle, so they didn't really need dilution. They would be great for mixing regardless! (Any mixologists out there?) I preferred the kiwi which was a nice balance of sweet and tart. The BF preferred tangerine because it was a little more robust and tangy. The bottles have little color-coded lids to let you know they're different from the others. Anyhow, these really helped during the bad tummy time, thanks POM!

Since my stomach problems seem to be sticking around for a bit, my recipes are going to adjust some to be more IBS-friendly: less fried food, no egg yolks, little to no red meat, more fish, more high soluble fiber, and lots of water and hot peppermint tea. I also read that cranberry juice is beneficial and not too acidic, so will be going for that as well. Will report in later.

Cheers for now.

It's chilly! Time for white turkey chili

All of a sudden it's turned chilly and fall-ish in Los Angeles. Two weeks ago we were sweating in shorts and flip flops and now we are dragging out sweaters and boots. It was time to make something warm and hearty for dinner! I posted earlier that I am always searching out chili recipes without tomatoes (still have to try a Texas Chili recipe submitted by a reader), but in the meanwhile I rely on my white turkey chili, which has become a favorite with friends and family. With lots of hearty taste and texture, you won't even miss the tomatoes! Another reason this has been welcomed is that my stomach is still recovering from my recent battle with food poisoning (the longest duration I've ever had -- one week, requiring antibiotics) and this chili is not spicy yet still satisfying. For you hotheads out there, you can still add hot sauce at the end!

The secret ingredient is the broth. My absolute favorite broth is from Savory Choice -- easy to use individual packets, and rich, hearty flavor that doesn't use garlic, celery or carrots. Hooray! I've seen Savory Choice sold in Whole Foods and Bristol Farms, hopefully they get to regular grocery stores soon, they're AWESOME. Please try to find this brand when you can. You can also use chicken broth, but keep in mind that the quality and saltiness varies greatly from brand to brand and you may have to adjust the seasonings accordingly.

FAQ Famous White Turkey Chili
Four generous servings

2 TBS. olive oil
1 small onion or 1/2 medium onion, diced
1-1/2 lbs. ground turkey (dark meat if possible)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 TBS. ground cumin
1 tsp. onion powder
2 15 oz. cans of cannellini beans (or other white beans)
1 4 oz. can of diced mild green chiles
4 cups turkey broth made from 4 packets of Savory Choice (or chicken broth of your choice)
1 can whole black olives
diced green onions for garnish

Heat the oil in a large pot (6 quarts/dutch oven) over medium heat. Add diced onions and saute until softened and lightly browned.

Add in ground turkey, salt pepper, cumin and onion powder and cook until browned. As turkey is cooking, break up the turkey with a wooden spoon so that the meat is in smallish pieces, it's tough to eat big chunks!

Add in broth, bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes for flavors to meld. Add in olives just before serving to heat through (if you add the olives too early they get mushy). Taste and correct seasoning. This is meant to have a thin broth. If you like it thicker, you can crumble a few tortilla chips into the chili and simmer for a few minutes (this is a good trick to thicken soups without using flour!)

Serve with diced green onions as a garnish. Tastes great served with cornbread. My non-allergic bf likes to top his with sour cream or cottage cheese as well.

Hidden sources of gluten...the game is afoot

I was out having sushi with a friend the other day that I hadn't seen in a while , and discovered during this visit that she was also gluten-free. However, I also discovered (since we were eating sushi at the time) that she did not realize that soy sauce contained gluten. As long-time readers may know, when I have sushi I tweak my order to be rice-free, soy-free and gluten-free by ordering hand rolls with no rice, and dipping my sushi into wasabi mixed with a little water instead of soy. Putting water in my wasabi looks weird, but hey, I live in LA where weird is an art form, so I get the occasional odd look at the most. :)

Anyhow, it moved me to blog a quick reminder about hidden sources of gluten out there. Most people are good with avoiding wheat and wheat products, but there are lots of unlikely places where gluten may be hiding. Remember, gluten is not only in wheat (all kinds -- including spelt, kamut, durum and semolina), but it's also in barley, oats, rye and triticale.

Here are some hidden sources of gluten to avoid that you may not have thought about:

- soy sauce (you can get wheat-free tamari which is like soy sauce, the brand is called San J and you can get it in Whole Foods and other health food stores)
- baking powder (Clabber Girl and Calumet are gf)
- vanilla (McCormicks and Nielsen-Massey are gf)
- cosmetics and toiletries (listed as wheat protein, esp prevalent in lotions and haircare products)
- caramel color (frequently made with barley)
- brown rice syrup (frequently made with barley)
- licorice whip candy (Red Vines used to be my favorite --oy!) and other candies may use wheat as a filler
- some alcoholic beverages: obviously rye and beer, but also vodka and bourbon are usually made from rye and wheat. There are a few vodkas made from potatoes, and a Japanese one made from rice (NOTE: I just did some followup research on the gluten in alcohol question, and apparently alcohol that is distilled should elimnate gluten, so my original statement was wrong. HOWEVER, colorings and flavorings could be added (caramel color, etc.) that could have wheat, which should be called out as an ingredient. So net net, check all alcohol labels, especially darker ones).
- I recently learned that most wines have gluten due to the aging in oak barrels, apparently something in the glue has gluten. However there are apparently now wines available that are aged only in metal barrels. Learned this from a celiac who needs to be the most stringent.
- modified food starch, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, textured vegetable protein
- processed meats (generally try to avoid processed food as much as possible)
- pre-bottled marinades
- canned soups
- some flavored potato chips (bbq esp)

Anyhow, you get the idea. Basically if something has a soft or creamy texture, there's a likelihood that it contains gluten. Be a label detective! I'll add to this list when I think of more. What have been the most surprising places gluten has hidden from you? Please share by adding a comment section (until I get a discussion board up)!

Cool eats in the heat

You may have heard that the Los Angeles area is currently battling some huge brush fires that happen annually here. We thought that we might have successfully avoided a big one this year, but no such luck, this one is currently burning 140,000 acres of land. Huge. I have friends who live in the areas nearer to the fire who are affected by the heat, smoke, weird filtered sunlight, poor air quality, large ashes falling and even electronic interruptions due to the damage to the cell, cable and satellite towers in the area. We're all affected -- the heat and poor air quality makes everyone cranky and feel slightly depressed. Also for those of us with respiratory allergies, we need to hunker down indoors and turn up the HEPA filters on days like these!

At work, I talk on the phone to people from all over the country and have been very touched by complete strangers who ask if we're okay. LA is a large city sprawled out over a very large area, so it's difficult for some people to comprehend the distance between the opposite sides of the county. But it's still very sweet that people are concerned -- it makes me feel good about people again, even when I'm also talking to complete jerks in the same day. :)

Anyhow, we were hot, sticky and hungry when dinnertime rolled around, and I didn't feel like cooking anything that put me too close to the stove for too long. So after a quick look into the fridge and a check into epicurious.com, I pulled together a Mediterranean style antipasto-type combo (also called a mezze). We had cold shrimp cocktail (this is not Mediterranean, but stick with me here), garbanzo bean hummus with cucumber chips (instead of pita), and black Nicoise olives. It would have been more authentic to make a shrimp and tomato salad, but that was nixed since this is a tomato-free zone. This was quick, easy finger food ready in a hurry, and only a few minutes of cooking time to boil the shrimp. (If you had precooked shrimp you'd get away with ZERO cooking!) Plus, an extra bonus is you eat all of this with your hands, so less dishes! Ta da.

Here's my recipe for hummus. This is cheaper, tastier and much fresher-tasting than the pre-made stuff you buy at the store. I always keep a few cans of garbanzos in the pantry (about $1 a can!) and with my trusty Cuisinart can whip this up as a snack for company in 10 minutes. For another gluten-free alternative, serve with tortilla chips.

Quick Hummus (garbanzo bean dip)

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed free of bean starch in the can
1 tsp. finely chopped shallot or garlic
1/4 cup of a fruity olive oil (I'm currently using Spanish olive oil)
2 Tbsp. light vinegar (champagne, white balsamic or white wine) or lemon juice if you can have it
1 Tbsp tahini (sesame paste) optional
salt and pepper to taste

Garnish with parsley if you're serving it to company!

Optional: pomegranate molasses (available in Middle Eastern stores)

Put the garbanzos and shallots/garlic in a food processor, and roughly puree. With the motor running, add the olive oil and vinegar/lemon juice. Add more oil if you like a smoother dip -- I personally like mine a little chunky. Add tahini is you're using it, and salt and pepper to taste. If you can find pomegranate molasses, try drizzling a little on top of the hummus to add a tart/sweet taste. I learned this from Claudia Roden's excellent The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, I believe it's a Lebanese style addition.

Serve with cucumber chips or gluten-free crackers or pita. Delish! And enjoy the fact that you spent less time at the stove.

Thank you to all the firemen out there protecting us. Be careful out there people.