beanpip

I have wanted to do a food sensitivity test for a long time but usually they are so expensive I just couldn’t justify the cost.  But the other day I found and promptly ordered this Food Detective Test.  It tests for 46 different foods and you can do it all at home and have the results within an hour.  The hardest part was pricking my own finger for a bit of blood - what a wimp!  The instructions were really easy to follow and in the end you have a little tray chart with various shades of blue telling you which foods you have major, medium or minor sensitivities towards.  My results are as follows:

Major sensitivities

• none!  There were no bright blue spots on my chart.

Medium sensitivities

• Rye
• Almond
• Carrot
• Rice
• Corn
• Cashew
• Cow’s milk
• Legume mix (pea, lentil & haricot)
• Melon mix (cantaloupe & watermelon)
• Yeast

Minor sensitivities:

• Wheat
• Gluten
• Brazil nut
• Broccoli
• Grapefruit
• Peanut
• Soya bean
• Cocoa bean
• Olive
• Tomato
• Durum Wheat

So - that’s interesting!  I was really pleased with the results - although it would have been much easier if one or two major sensitivities only had shown up and I could just have avoided those foods and gotten better.  I suppose there are no huge surprises there and it was good to have some confirmation of things I suspected such as melon, which I haven’t eaten in over a year because my stomach absolutely cannot handle the stuff.  I just thought it was because it digested too quickly but it is interesting that a sensitivity showed up.

I was not at all surprised to see cow’s milk, wheat, soya bean, yeast and gluten on the list.  I am quite perturbed, however, to see legume mix, almond, cashew, brazil nut, carrot and rice!  So now it seems not only can I not have cow’s or soya milk now I also can’t have rice milk!  And those things are not very good news for a veg*n either!  The test booklet says you can have the medium and mild sensitivity foods every 4 days or so, so I don’t have to cut them out completely.

So - there you go!  I was so pleased with the test I urged my mother-in-law to order one too.  If anyone is thinking of getting one I really would recommend it!

Day 17

I’m so confused - I feel awful and there are just too many questions of what food is making me ill - so I am going to get tested.  I ordered an IGG home-test called The Food Detective and it is supposed to show up an immune/antibody response to foods your body is sensitive to.  In order to get an accurate reading I have to eat ‘normally’ before the test and not exclude any foods.  So today I have had toast and yogurt and plenty of IBS medication.  I really hope this puts an end to it all once and for all!

Day 15

Oh boy what a bad bad day.  I did something soooo stupid.  I somehow got it into my head that wheat/gluten definitely has nothing to do with my health problems and it was OK to eat a bit.  So I had 2 little Iced Buns before my lunch.  Seemed fine at the time, although my glands did have an immediate reaction - they got immediately sore and swollen but calmed down quickly enough.  But around 5pm my tummy started to ache and soon after I got THAT tummy ache.  I spent the rest of the evening on and off the toilet in absolute agony and hating myself for being so stupid.  Oh well, atleast I have a good idea that gluten is indeed one of my sensitivities!

• Breakfast: Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, rice milk, tea
• Lunch: Poached egg, GF bread, 2 iced buns
• Dinner: not much of anything

Day 16

Still feeling fragile from yesterday.  Have had to take more Buscopan but my tummy still feels sore and very tender.  I feel tired and sickly - ugh.  Forgot to take my Fybogel this morning - stupid.

• Breakfast: Peeled apple, tea
• Lunch: Salad, walnuts, hempseed oil
• Dinner: Mashed potato & sweet potato, GF cookie

Day 12

Feeling a bit better today but still quite tired.  My skin doesn’t look so good today.  My glands haven’t been swollen so that’s great!

• Breakfast: Blueberry pancakes, tea
• Lunch: Carrots & hummus
• Snack: Chocolate cupcake, 1/2 an apple
• Dinner: Spinach & chickpea curry (awful!)

Day 13

Feeling quite good today but skin doesn’t look good at all.  It is tempting to change shampoo & conditioner as some Lush products I have used in the past have caused skin irritation but I must stick with it for the 30 days to see if this makes any difference or I’ll never know!

• Breakfast: Crunchy Nut Cornflakes & ricemilk, tea
• Lunch: Chocolate cupcake, apple
• Dinner: Boiled egg, piece of gluten free toast, tiny bit of mashed potatoes
• Snack: Lemon cookie (GF of course)

Day 14

Feeling quite good today but skin still not looking too great, although not as bad under my chin as it was before I started this.  Mega stressed in the evening cos the bluddy government sent us a letter saying they overpaid us £800 in tax credits and we have to pay it back!  Bastards!!!  Good news is that I had two bowel movements (funny what you get excited about).

• Breakfast: Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, rice milk, tea
• Lunch: Giant salad with pumpkin seeds, hempseed oil dressing
• Snack: Rice milk Chai Latte, Chocolate Cupcake (last one!)
• Dinner: Cheeseless Nachos

These gorgeous pancakes are Rice and Potato Pancakes from my new cookbook Best Ever Wheat & Gluten Free Baking.  My whole family loved them and ate the whole lot!  My god, I just can’t believe gluten-free food can be this good!

Thank you once again to Isa and Terry for their brilliant book Vegan Cupcakes (Take Over The World) - you totally rule!!!  These were absolutely amazing!  Soft, moist, but held together brilliantly, tasty, and oh my god could they be ever so slightly healthy???!!!  (Quinoa flour - the only way my kids would ever touch quinoa!)

Here are my boys, enjoying the chocolate covered whisk…

and here enjoying the rest of the vegan buttercream icing…

Day 10

Feeling headachey, tired, really sore shoulders and sore around my back ribs.  Still have very little appetite - it’s funny when you have a big appetite and are trying to lose weight you curse it, but now it’s gone I miss it!

• Breakfast: Cornflakes, rice milk, banana
• Lunch: Big salad with almonds, sunflower seeds & hempseed oil, 2 ricecakes with peanut butter
• Snack: Peeled apple, rice milk chai latte
• Dinner: Mashed sweet potato, asparagus, olive oil

Day 11

I was really active all morning and by early evening I felt exhausted!  I made some gluten-free chocolate cupcakes and boy are they delicious!  Shoulders still achey and still have headache.  Peeing a lot too - having to get up in the night to pee which is very unusual.  Still very little appetite.

• Breakfast: Cornflakes, rice milk, banana
• Lunch: Fried potatoes, baked beans
• Snack: Chocolate cupcake
• Dinner: Fried rice

Day 8

Feeling a bit tired and headachey.  Have hardly any appetite.  On the positive side I can see definite improvements in my skin though so that’s great.

• Breakfast: Buckwheat & Corn muffin, tea
• Lunch: Salad with nutritional yeast
• Dinner: Orgran Rice Pasta with tomato & mushroom sauce - hardly ate any of it
• Snacks: Half a peeled apple, a mandarin, a handful of cashews

Day 9

Feeling a bit better today but still have a little headache and feel a bit nauseous.  My body aches a bit all over - especially around my upper back and shoulders.  Finally had a bowel movement today - but still feel bloated and not hungry.  Wish my tummy would allow me to eat more fruit - will try tomorrow morning and have fruit for breakfast.

• Breakfast: Gluten Free toast & honey, tea
• Lunch: Gluten Free toast with tomato, tea
• Dinner: Rice pudding & raisins
• Snack: Handful of blackberries

Feeling quite good today.  Someone at my sons’ playgroup commented that I was looking well and my skin seemed really clear so that’s nice!  Not feeling starving and am still happy to keep going.  Only weird thing is that bowel movements very irregular (like every 3 days or so), even with my fibre supplements.  Must keep an eye on that.

• Breakfast: Buckwheat and Corn muffin, tea, mandarin
• Lunch: Giant salad with seeds and hempseed oil, 2 rice cakes with peanut butter
• Snack: Chai Latte made with rice milk, gluten free lemon cookie
• Dinner: Stiry fried vegies with rice noodles ad peanut sauce (didn’t eat much of this was worried about too much vegie intake in one day and my IBS)

Day 5

Feeling a lot better than Day 4.  Got a better night sleep and it could also be that it’s a weekend and I didn’t have to rush around like a madwoman all morning.  My lovely inlaws looked after the children all afternoon so my husband and I got to have a lovely time all by ourselves!  We took advantage and did lots of things we knew our boys wouldn’t like - such as going to Thai for lunch, then to an art gallery, then shopping!  Could also be feeling better because I made gluten-free pancakes for breakfast and it was just sooo good to eat something cakey and sweet (yet slightly nutritious).  I also bought a great gluten-free baking cookbook which I have studied diligently since the moment I got it.

The only thing I would have done differently today is not eaten such a spicy lunch.  It harrassed my tummy all afternoon and evening.

• Breakfast: Gluten-free pancakes - some with maple syrup and some with peanut butter and sugar-free jam
• Lunch: Tom Yum soup, chili and basil vegetable stir-fry
• Afternoon Tea: Gluten-free chocolate brownie (not vegan!) and a cup of herbal tea
• Dinner: Kichiri (an Indian rice dish with yellow split peas - very nutritious and easy on the digestive system)

Day 6

Feeling pretty good today.  Glands not so swollen, tummy being nice.  I’m really glad I remembered my old IBS training (thank you Heather!) about soluble and insoluble fibre because it has helped so much.  I braved some fruit again today and it seems to have gone well (so far).  Could it be that my skin is just that teeny weeny bit better?  It seems not quite so spotty and not so sore and sensitive.  Today I went to my favourite health-food store and stocked up on some nutritious gluten-free flours like quinoa, gram, maize, buckwheat, rice, brown-rice, and potato and also found Ener-G egg replacer.  I have just taken a batch of Buckwheat and Maize muffins out of the oven - I’ll post a photo when they’ve cooled down a bit and I’ve had a chance to taste them (they look a bit grey but feel nice and spongy).

• Breakfast: Gluten-free pancakes (again - OK I better calm down on these or I’m gonna get fat!)
• Lunch: a peeled apple, a mandarin, 2 amaranth cookies
• Dinner: leftover Kichiri

I just realised another thing - I don’t feel so hungry all the time.  In fact I had to make myself eat lunch.  The pancakes might not be the best food in the world but having them has really helped me calm down about the “Am I ever going to eat anything yummy again” question.  The answer is obviously - yes!