I am now on day 7 of the re-introduction phase of my food intolerance test. Apart from getting easier, it's getting harder. Maybe my will power is simply waning, but the more foods I'm allowed to eat, the more foods I want to eat. Also, judging whether or not I've had a reaction to something is proving somewhat difficult. The eggs, were obvious. I felt like I'd been hit by a train. Grand, no problems there. The citrus fruit and corn was more subtle. I could feel symptoms of sinus inflammation creeping back in on those particular days. I also developed an ache in my back and a seriously low mood. The back ache is coming and going now and the mood has picked up since I stopped eating the corn. But to be honest the more foods I introduce, the more I'm slowly beginning to feel like my old pre detox self. Am I just intolerant to everything? I am a very intolerant person. Or am I doing this all wrong? Who knows.
I tried dairy in the last couple of days. The milk seemed to go fine, then I tried yoghurt and the next day cheese and butter. I'm suspicious of my reactions to the yoghurt, cheese and butter with my sinus symptoms persisting and a growing lethargy that had me falling asleep on the couch at 10 o'clock both evenings, it would seem that something might be be amiss.
Or was I just really tired? How much of what I'm feeling should I be attributing to the intolerance or how much is just me loving sleep? To add to the mix I have had serious back and neck ache for the last few days. So that's fun too. No idea if that's diet related. I'm beginning to go back to the 'this is confusing and a waste of time' way of thinking.
The next 3 days I'm due to introduce wholegrain wheat. Three forms have been recommended on the diet sheet - 100% shredded wheat, wholewheat bread such as McCambridges (actually specified on the diet - maybe they're in cahoots) and wholewheat pasta. So far if I had an inkling that something might be contributing to a reaction, I've been cutting it out again once I noticed the reaction. My will power with the dairy though seems to be hampering me this time. A bowl of shredded wheat with milk for breakfast, how else are you supposed to eat them? And now I'm fantasising about a snack of brown toast and butter. I'm so excited about the melted butter and the crisp toast that even though I have an inkling I reacted to the butter previously, I can't seem to stop myself from pushing the button on the toaster. I even have the butter out of the fridge since last night to soften in preperation. I've waited so long for this. What harm? If you don't know you shouldn't do something, is that the same as knowing you should?....I will let you know if it kills me.
In other exciting news, plans are in full flow for Brunch Club on Saturday. Although it's proving incredibly difficult to make tasty treats when you have no idea what they taste like. So far I've made what looks like a tasty granola and some sugar free, gluten free, dairy free date muffins, which it pains me not to be able to try. The muffins disappeared within hours so that's a good sign and I'm assured the granola is as granola should be. There's something decidedly wrong when you make everything free muffins and you're still not allowed eat them. I'll post the recipes for both below as they're winner recipes, especially if you're interested in being a bit healthier with your snacks.
Toasted Muesli
I got the recipe for the toasted muesli from the beautiful cookbook 'What Katie Ate' by Katie Quinn Davies. I highly recommend it. Full of delicious recipes from her blog and so beautifully styled you want to eat everything. Here's her blog.
ingredients
500g rolled oats
75g wheatgerm
60g shredded coconut
150g sunflower seeds
200g pumpkin seeds
160g almonds
140g hazelnuts
3 tbs rapeseed oil
3 tbs honey
3 tbs maple syrup
280g sultanas/currants/raisins/or a mix
70g chopped dried dates or figs
method
preheat the oven to 130c
mix together the oats, wheatgerm, coconut, seeds and nuts. (I chopped the nuts a bit so there was some whole and some pieces)
divide the mixture into two bowls
heat the oil, honey and syrup in a pan until it is thin and runny
pour over one bowl of mixture and stir until everything is well coated
bake for about an hour shaking the trays occasionally to ensure they cook evenly - you want it to be a golden colour when done
remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before adding to the other half of the mixture
add the dried fruit and store in an airtight container
Date Muffins
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| gluten free, dairy free, sugar free date muffins |
The recipe for the date muffins can be found over here and comes from a really interesting blog by Tania Hubbard which is all about eating gluten and grain free but with a really non preachy commonsense approach which is very refreshing. I recommend having a read of some of her stuff if you're interested in exploring more about gluten free living.
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