Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas, and a continued Happy Chanukah, as well. Best wishes for a Happy and Healthy 2009! Back with all allergy-related content in the New Year!

Seasons Greetings,

Your Allergic Diner

To my Jewish readers, wishing you a very Happy Chanukah (the fabulous holiday you can spell more than one way).

Best wishes,

Allergic Diner

An honest response is always appreciated!

They answered. They answered in a reasonable amount of time, and even better, THE ANSWER MAKES SENSE. Please read on, and thank you, Continental Airlines, for a prompt reply!

Thank you for your interest in our services. Your business is very important to Continental, and we look forward to seeing you on a Continental flight in the very near future.

Please be assured, the safety of our passengers and crew is always our first priority. The challenge we face is that even if we discontinue allowing pets onboard we cannot guarantee that the aircraft will be 100 percent free of animals. Because we allow service animals onboard it is impossible for us to ensure the cabin will be animal free, or any safer for passengers with pet allergies. For these reasons, we do not offer pet free flights.

We truly appreciate your concerns and take this issue seriously. We limit the number of pets allowed per flight and pets are required to stay inside approved kennels that fit completely under the seat in front of the customer for the entire duration of the flight.

Our primary concern is the safety of our customers. We want you to know that we cannot provide an "animal-free" flight. We continue to encourage you and all customers with pet allergies to take whatever medical precautions deemed necessary to prepare for the possibility of exposure.

Thank you, again, for taking the time to communicate with us. We value your business and look forward to serving your travel needs in the near future.
Regards, Customer Care Manager

Most interesting. Most honest.
~Your Allergic Diner

allergies, ears, earrings, and a discovery....

My whole life I've been allergic to silver. I can wear it on my wrist (not a watch, too close to my skin, and I've been able to wear silver rings before by simply painting the inside with clear nail polish - allergic dad was SO smart with that one!). I'm not writing to lament the fact that I miss out on jewelry, because I don't. NAH has been very good to me over the years, and I have some beautiful pieces of jewelry, I just wear less jewelry than most people, and certainly less often. Every once in a while it would be fun to put in a pair of dangly earrings, or buy a pair at a craft show. This isn't dire, and it was never worth the pain and the subsequent reaction. I did this once when I was fourteen (wore a pair of earrings with silver posts), and had blowfish-of-the-ear syndrome. I tried again in college and had an even more severe reaction, not only blowfish-of-the-ear syndrome, but purple-blowfish-of-the-ear syndrome. I'd learned my lesson.

Except...the other day I was in Kohl's finishing up my Holiday shopping. I was waiting for NAH to pick me up, and I started browsing in their fashion jewelry department. I spied a pair of earrings, "Axcess - Liz Claiborne" (in case any of you have similar jewelry allergies). What interested me was the bottom piece of the card that said "surgical steel earwire." With the sale, they would cost $7. Eternal allergy hopeful that I am, I purchased them.

I waited a full week to try them, and did so the weekend after Thanksgiving. I wanted to make sure I was at home, near the Benadryl and rubbing alcohol and Neosporin. My rationale behind this purchase was simple, I had a med-alert bracelet that was surgical steel, and my online research confirmed that yes, in fact, surgical steel is the same material that knives, scalpels, etc are made out of. In other words, it's not silver, and there's no nickel involved (Even the nickel-free silver earrings gave me problems, by the way, and I've read plenty of stories on the Internet about other women who had the same problem). So last Saturday, I put a delightful pair of silver-toned teardrop earrings made of surgical steel earwire in my ears. I left them in for 2 hours, and took them out. Sunday I wore them all day, and Monday I was able to confidently wear them to work! I have discovered something new, and inexpensive, that I like a lot! One more stride towards 'normalcy,' no?

I went on Amazon.com yesterday to see what they sold in terms of surgical steel earrings. Gone were the fun colors and funky shapes I had seen in Kohl's, and what was available was silver, small, and very cold looking (not to mention pretty ugly).

The moral of the story? After the holidays, I'm going back to Kohl's to get some more dangly earrings (they have turquoise and other stones in some of them!). Hopefully they'll be even cheaper than $7.
One small step for your allergic diner, one giant danger for my credit card (because at $7 I can LOAD UP!)

Yours in allergies,
The Allergic Diner

Turkey days and stuffing dreams....

2 posts in one day is pretty darn good, if I do say so myself, and I do.

I just wanted to wish all of my readers a VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING. If you're new to the blog from Wellsphere, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving as well.

I am thankful for a wonderful husband (NAH - that's you!) and two loving and supportive families. I am thankful for the opportunity to share my thoughts with you, my allergy-support group of sorts, and grateful that my thoughts seem to interest you. I am thankful for a good job, a roof over my head, and a hot meal every night. I may be young, but I'm quite content with my life in a way that I never could have dreamed. I wish the same for all of you. Enjoy your turkey and football, and take a moment to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you (attention my loved ones: A LOT!)

~Allergic Diner

Chili's

Here's what gets me about menu labelling. If I don't see an ingredient in the listing of what comprises a sandwich, and I don't see the ingredient in the picture of the sandwich itself, then I'm going to assume said ingredient is NOT in what I'm ordering. With me so far?

Here's what I ordered last weekend at Chili's. Cut and pasted from their website menu (this is also how it looked in the printed version.

SMOKED TURKEY
Mouth-watering smoked turkey, Swiss cheese, mayo, lettuce & tomato.

We were out with another couple, friends of NAH's from work. Both of them are good people, both completely familiar with my allergies, and both would walk out of a restaurant in a second if I couldn't eat there. That has absolutely nothing to do with this story, but it's a nice thing to be able to say about people, so I'm putting it out there regardless.

Anyway, when I ordered, I was a little nervous because our waitress was not writing things down (order by Jedi mind trick, perhaps?), and she was young. As I've expressed before, I really have a bias about young waiters and allergy-awareness. I know not from where it stems, but its there. So sue me. I showed her my med-alert bracelet and stressed the importance of leaving everything off my sandwich but the turkey and mayo. Both friends said to her, "please be very careful with her order, she's being polite but she has severe allergies." I reinforced this and explained that please, were a tomato to touch my sandwich, if the kitchen picks it off and then sends it out, I will still get sick. She seemed to understand. I was incredibly nervous, and the wife leans over to me and whispers "Would you rather go elsewhere?" I figured we'd give it a shot.

Imagine my surprise when about 15 minutes later our waitress came back to the table with apologies, but that she was resubmitting all our orders b/c mine had come out with the evil tomato, and she wasn't letting the kitchen just remove it from the sandwich. She even resubmitted wife's quesadillas, so they'd be served piping hot. Problem solved, attentive waitress, and it should have made for the perfect meal.

About a half-hour after we ordered, our meals were served. Mine had some sort of weird spice all over it. On the turkey, not just on the outside edges, so that I could not remove it with a knife. Everybody else started eating, but I spent close to 10 minutes scraping the turkey and all the spice off of my sandwich. I ended up with a slightly-mayonnaised roll. Now, it was a tasty mayonnaised roll, but I was really hungry and that simply wasn't going to cut it. After I explained what had happened after dinner, we went to the nearby supermarket and picked me up some snacks for the rest of the evening.

Why didn't I send it back? Well, after remaking it for me once, and having been told nothing about spice (because there was nothing on the menu or in the picture that looked/sounded even remotely like spice), I didn't want it to return to the kitchen a second time. I didn't want my dining companions to have to wait another half-hour for their food, or worse, to have to sit and watch me eat after they were done.

Not a big deal, but I have learned an important new question, "No spice is listed here. Is there any in this item?"

It was a most informative evening.

Sincerely,
Your Allergic Diner

Continental Airlines, I await your response

I'm used to hearing about peanut allergies on airplanes, but I have never seen the issue of pets on airplanes addressed in the allergic community. If there are stories and/or links that I am missing, please let me know.



Recently, as you know, NAH and I went to Vegas. The experience with Continental started badly, and was then fixed by some very competent and congenial customer service representatives. We were originally flying out of Philadelphia, with a connecting flight through Cleveland. Before we left the house for our trip, we checked the flight status only to find out it was delayed close to four hours,and we were going to miss our connection. After about an hour of phone calls with various customer service people, we were in the car on our way out to Newark, to fly direct out of there to Las Vegas. Like I said, bad beginning, good end result.



When we arrived at the terminal, there was a woman travelling with a very small dog in a carrying case. Cute puppy, well behaved (i know this b/c he was walking around our gate at the terminal), but I was quite perplexed. What was I going to do if I ended up next to her? My reaction would be far worse if she kept the case on her lap, but as a plane is pretty much several hours of recycled air, what was I going to do? Take enough Benadryl to knock me unconscious and just pray I didn't get blowfish syndrome?

Luckily, I was not seated next to or in proximity to the woman, the puppy slept the whole flight, and we all made it to Las Vegas safe, sound and blowfish-free.



But I was intrigued. For a peanut allergy, they inform the passengers, so how do they handle pet allergies? Shouldn't I have been notified in advance of boarding the plane that there would be a dog on board? What if I hadn't seen him in the terminal?



So I sent the following letter to Continental this morning,

Flight out of EWR to Las Vegas on Thursday, November 6, 2008. Flight was fine - this is NOT a complaint.

To Whom It May Concern:
I was recently on a flight run by your airline. When I got to the airport, I noticed that there was a passenger traveling with a small dog. I have a severe pet allergy. While I was lucky enough not to be seated next to or in proximity to the passenger with the canine companion, had I been, it would have been problematic.
Does Continental have an allergy policy? I am aware that if there is a peanut-allergic person on board, then your staff will notify the rest of the passengers. Is there a policy in place for when people are allergic to the pets travelling on your airline?
I’m a freelance writer who reviews companies for their allergy policies, and I’d be happy to share Continental’s policy with other allergic consumers. I have read your FAQ on travelling with animals, but it does not address pet allergy concerns. Please contact me at your earliest convenience. I’m sure my readers would be interested to hear how an airline handles pet allergic-patrons.
Sincerely,

So now I wait. I will keep you apprised. But quite frankly, it' s just one more reason to stop travelling! Staycation, here we come!

~Allergic Diner

Joining the sphere of wellness

Good evening, dear readers. You may have noticed the nifty little badges on the side of my blog. I was invited by Wellsphere to become one of their featured bloggers.
I waited to tell you, as I have been invited by some rather shady websites in the past, but this one seems to be quite above-board. I especially like their community features. What better place to get allergy information than from fellow allergy sufferers (and some hand-picked, really smart doctors?). This website exemplifies the benefits of what we can do for each other, simply by sharing information.
I'm proud to be a Wellsphere Health Maven, Featured Blogger, and Patient Expert. Find me here, or find me there, but definitely check them (ME!) out!

WELLSPHERE

Sincerely,
Your Allergic Diner

That Darn Cat....also titled "Why I'm an Idiot"

If I were a character in children's literature, I'm relatively certain I'd be, "The Big-Hearted Idiot." Let me explain why...
All my life I've been allergic to cats and dogs. Never as severe as in the past several years, but allergic all the same. In the past three years my pet allergy has gone through the roof, and the moment my face gets near a dog or cat, presto! Instant blowfish. If it were only as simple as keeping my face away from an animal, I'd be more inclined to visit my friends with pets more often. Other factors that make or break an allergic reaction include, but are not limited to, cleanliness of the house, cleanliness of the pet, friendliness of the pet (a dog that doesn't want to sit in my lap causes a far smaller reaction than one that does), etc.

Now I want to tell you a story. The story of the big-hearted idiot. This is my story, my friends.
About two weeks ago, on Monday evening, NAH came home from work and left the garage open, b/c it was garbage night. As he was in the house collecting the garbage, I heard crying coming from inside my garage. It was growing louder and louder, and increasingly more frantic. If I'd had to place bets, I would've told you there was a small goat being strangled in my garage.
When I opened the garage door, there was a very frightened cat sitting there, asking to come in. Not really asking, so much as trying to dive-bomb herself into my house the moment I opened the door. I quickly shut the door and called NAH (who himself grew up with a cat). Together we got a small bowl of milk and a small plate of tuna and took it outside.

He/She/It (?) Ate hungrily for a while, and we sat on the driveway while it did, trying to figure out what to do. The cat, when finished, jumped right into NAH's lap, purred a thank-you and promptly fell asleep. We noticed immediately that the cat was declawed, and had a perfectly smooth coat, ergo, she was someone's pet. No collar. When she woke up a few minutes later, she ran into our garage and frantically tried to get back into our house. So, we let her in. And yes, allergic parents and non-allergic parents, it was stupid. And I'd do it again (so there!).
See, a coworker of mine told me once that you don't adopt a cat, they adopt you. We spent that first night at the windows, hoping somebody would be outside looking for her. Nope. We knocked on every door on our block, hoping somebody would know to whom she belonged. Nope. So we had a house guest. NAH ran out to Petsmart, picked up food & a litter box, I started on Allegra and my inhaler, and we said a silent prayer that we'd find her owner before we left for Vegas.

Day 2 - Called every animal shelter and vet in a 30-mile radius. She hadn't been reported missing. Not helpful. Posted fliers around the entire neighborhood, at the local polling stations, with vets, animal shelters, etc. Nobody called. Allergies getting worse, breathing getting worse. Your allergic diner was growing increasingly frightened. I couldn't very well take someone else's pet to a shelter, so we were just going to have to keep her(like I said. I'm an idiot. But my heart is in the right place). In the midst of this, allergic mom calls from her vacation to check in and see how things are going (knowing nothing of the cat). "You're wheezing," she says to me. "Must be the connection," I said to her. She didn't buy it. We walked the cat around the block that evening trying to see if she'd go up to one of the houses,or recognize anything. She simply kept running straight up our driveway and back to our house. While I was pleased that she was happy there, I was getting a little worried. Again, asked around the neighborhood, but nobody seemed to know where she belonged. In the meantime, the cat owned our house. It was really quite funny. She took to a chair in NAH's office and would spend HOURS curled up on it, purring and rolling around.

Day 3 - took her to the local vet to see if she was microchipped. She wasn't. But we learned she was a she, in good health, and relatively getting up there in age. Local vet had no record of having treated her. We both sent frantic emails to everyone we worked with explaining the vacation situation and requesting the possibility of "foster parents" until we could locate her owners? Night of Day 3, it finally happened. Despite my attempts at preventive medication, I woke up with an asthma attack, gasping for air. I think I woke NAH out of a dead sleep by grasping at his arm while choking. It was official, our friend had to go. (Mind you, we weren't letting the cat upstairs or in our bedroom, and I was still having so much difficulty).

Day 4: Just as I resigned myself to the possibility of having to hand her over to our local no-kill animal shelter, I got a phone call from NAH -- "Her name's Delilah." -- Owner found! Yes!
The kicker? They lived four doors down. We'd knocked on their door 5 times over the course of the four days. Never reached them. Put a flier in their door on day 2. Nothing. Trust me when I tell you, this is not a cat who knew what to do outdoors, so she either wandered too far and got lost, or they just didn't care. I love people. Really, I do.

Regardless, Delilah went home, we did a very good thing. I spent the evening before we left for Las Vegas de-catting the entire house (it was very nice to come back from vacation to a spotless home). I know it was stupid, and like I said...I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Interestingly, this seemed to solidify for NAH that we can never get a pet. I still refuse to say NEVER, though I will also never pay the thousands of dollars for the non-allergic cats they are breeding, but that's a story for another post. Have a nice weekend!

Sincerely,
Your Allergic Diner,
The Big-Hearted Idiot

I would never feed these guys to the lions (which is only funny if you read the previous post)

Let's balance out the bad Las Vegas customer service story with a good Las Vegas customer service story, shall we?

The trip to Las Vegas was a birthday present for NAH. We were able to go because we found inexpensive airfare (which in this economy is NOTHING to sneeze at, my friends). We hadn't been out to Vegas in several years, and were looking forward to it. When we were out there years ago, NAH loved the Luxor hotel. It's a gigantic black pyramid, complete with a sphinx, and a host of other Egyptian-themed decor. I found a decent rate there and booked us into it, specifically requesting a non-smoking room.

I'm asthmatic. Not a shock. I have no problem with people who smoke (their body, their right), I simply like to not inhale their smoke. I am intelligent enough to realize that in Las Vegas, I will inhale smoke perpetually, so my attempt is to simply not to inhale smoke in my sleep. I think this is quite fair.

When we arrived in Las Vegas, it was close to 1 a.m.. We were given our room key and told we were in a non-smoking room on the second floor. Here's where it gets interesting. The lower-floored Luxor rooms overlook either a part of the casino, or the busy, heavily-trafficked lobby.
We were given a room that was directly over a bank of slot machines, and across from the elevator. We proceeded to dump our things and go out with the friend for a quick bite to eat, and returned to the hotel at close to 3 a.m. I smelled smoke in the room, figured it was our clothes from the restaurant, took a shower and fell asleep. (Important non-asthma related side note, the Luxor has gotten rid of most of the Egyptian-themed interior in place of a more-modern, less-themed decor)

I woke up gasping at 7 a.m. and quickly got up, got ready, left the room (and a sleeping NAH) and took myself to breakfast. I told NAH NOTHING. It was his birthday, and I had an inhaler, and really, it's Vegas, what could they do? It's sort of a smoking kind of place.

When we met up with friends later that same day, NAH was joking about hearing the Wheel of Fortune machine (which loudly proclaims "Wheel OF Fortune!! when someone hits a bonus spin) as he was waking up. When he walked away, I told our friend about the smoke wafting up from the casino floor.

He looked at both of us incredulously and then marched us over to the concierge. "My friends here have a room on the second floor and need to be moved. Not only can they hear the slot machines, but his wife is asthmatic and there's smoke wafting into the 'smoke-free' room from the casino floor."

The concierge pointed us to a manager, and in LESS THAN 5 MINUTES we'd been moved to a smoke-free room on the 27th floor. No fussing, no treating us as awful whiners, just a smile, an accommodation, and an "is there anything else we can do to make you more comfortable?"

From then on it was a clean-air vacation, no asthma problems. We were so grateful that I sent the Luxor a thank-you note. It's always nice to know that superior customer service still exists! We even got to take the "inclinator," their elevator that ascends the pyramid-shaped floors as opposed to moving straight up and down.

All in all, it was a lovely hotel experience.
Thank you LUXOR!
Sincerely,
Your Allergic (and asthmatic) Diner

I NEVER SAID I WAS ALLERGIC TO PEANUTS!

MGM Grand is just a neat hotel. They have lions in the hotel. They're behind an enclosure, but it is just a cool thing to see lions in a hotel. That being said, I'd like to feed one of the employees at a sandwich shop called 'wichcraft TO THOSE LIONS.
On our first full day out and about in Vegas, we met up with a friend who wanted to go to MGM. He wanted us to eat lunch at Seablue, a restaurant in the MGM Grand of much acclaim. As is our luck on vacation, it was closed. Next door was this nice little sandwich place, and as he wanted to use his MGM dollars to treat us to lunch, we went there.
I'd like to pause at this point in the story and tell you that the following was entirely my fault. I screwed up, badly. However, the manner in which it was handled by those in the customer service industry? Abominable.
We ordered sandwiches, and I ordered a good old pb&j, figuring that was the safest thing on the menu (who knows what spices are on the outside of the roasted turkey? And really, meatloaf and bacon? why not just charter me a private shuttle to the hospital?). As they're ringing up, I very quietly say to NAH "I've got nothing to worry about, right? I mean, how can they screw up peanut butter so I can't eat it." He VERY intelligently replies, "Really? It's not worth just asking to make sure?"
So I asked. After the fact, and against all the advice I usually offer on this site. I was tired, I was jet lagged, and I was hungry. None of which is an excuse for letting my allergy alert down. Again, this was my fault.
The response to my question of our cashier blew my mind.
Me: "This is just regular peanut butter, right? Nothing fancy?"
Now, at this point our friend makes me feel like some sort of social leper and states emphatically, "BECAUSE IF IT ISN'T, SHE'LL DIE." (I understand the point he was trying to make, but that's not how I handle things.)
Cashier: "Oh, this peanut butter is heavenly, we roast our own peanuts and mix in a ton of whipped butter. It's fabulous."
Me: "Ok, I'm sorry, I can't eat the butter, and I know I should've asked that question ahead of time, I'm going to need to change my order. I'm REALLY sorry (and I was. I also wanted to crawl into a hole and die because at this point everyone in the place, though it was small, was staring at us)."
Here's where it gets handled badly.
Our friend's comp had already been put through. So now we had to get a manager on the phone to reverse the comp and input the order again. As I'm apologizing profusely, the woman next to the cashier very snidely says to her, making sure that I'm in earshot, "Why the f$@* would someone order a peanut butter sandwich that's allergic to peanuts? What kind of f-ing sense does that make?"
Now, our cashier looked at me apologetically, and seemed kind of embarrassed over her coworker's snit. She got the manager on the phone, reversed the comp, and I asked for a completely plain roasted turkey sandwich. Imagine my surprise when her coworker, a minute after my order, serves me a turkey sandwich with roasted peppers and a ton of seasoning. This time, I said, "I'm sorry, but I asked for this plain."

Her: "Plain? As in you want nothing on it?"
Me: "Plain. Just turkey and bread."
Her: "Really? Do you even care if it's heated? (and then yelling) HOT OR COLD?"
Me: "Cold is fine" (Because at this point, I wanted the earth to swallow me up).

So I ate a cold turkey sandwich, after cutting the ends of the turkey (which were heavily seasoned) off. It was not good. And as I said at the beginning, this is all my fault. But it was handled VERY badly.

Off and running again....

Well, NAH and I are leaving for Las Vegas tomorrow for a long weekend and a reunion with friends! I will be back next week with restaurant reviews, allergy info, etc....

Viva Las Vegas!

Your Allergic Diner

Election Day 2008

From time to time I mention my two favorite words on this blog that are NOT allergy related. Civic Duty. Election Day 2008. I don't care for whom you vote, just that you exercise your right to do so.

I'm the Allergic Diner, and I approved this message.

For those of you with egg allergies....

Here's a little known fact. Candy corn contains egg whites...find the ingredients, and other interesting candy corn facts here. Please remember to read the labels on your Halloween candy.

Have a Happy and SAFE Allergy-Free Halloween!

Your Allergic Diner

WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS 2008

I was reading an article the other day about a gentleman who bought the license to the 50-yard line seats for the Jets for close to half a million dollars. In the interview, he says that the true measure of a fan is one who is willing to stand by their team until they win, as opposed to just when they win (I'm paraphrasing, of course, but the idea is there).

Congratulations to the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies!!!!!

We always knew your day would come.

Sincerely,
Your Allergic Diner

Elderberries do not deserve your respect!

NAH and I had the loveliest of weekends, a couple we love dearly (and how often do you like BOTH people in a couple?) was married in a beautiful ceremony in Philadelphia. We attended the rehearsal dinner, and the after-rehearsal dinner party/Phillies game viewing. We went to bed around 2 a.m., and attended the wedding the next day a bit bleary-eyed but quite happy nonetheless. It was a perfect day, and A&J had their ideal night. It was wonderful. We drove home that night from the wedding listening to the final innings of our beloved Phillies (and yes, they won that game, methinks in an homage to our friend's wedding, but it could just be my tiredness speaking). We got home, stayed up to watch the game, and then realized in horror that all of the things we normally do over the course of the weekend hadn't been done, because we weren't home. So we set out making lunches, unloading the dishwasher, getting the coffee ready for the following morning, etc. All's well that ends well and we went to sleep (or rather, fell face first onto the pillow only to groan at the alarm the next morning).

Where, you may ask, am I going with this, and how is it allergy-related?

Well, thank you for asking.

I brought a salad to work with me yesterday, and grabbed the only unopened bottle of dressing in the cabinet, an organic strawberry-balsamic that I serve with an amazing blackberry feta salad I make(if I do say so myself, which I do). I've never tried it, but it gets rave reviews when I serve it. Now, sleep deprived and just bone-weary from two nights with next-to-no sleep, I should've known better than to try something new. I should have, but again, I wasn't functioning properly on NO SLEEP. I'm too old for that kind of schedule (and hell, when I was young enough for it, I couldn't keep it, to be honest).

So we partied, we slept, and now we're back to the salad and the new dressing. As I poured it on the salad, I read the ingredient list. The only ingredient I did not recognize was "elderberry juice extract." Hmm. I was coherent enough to know that the extract would be the strong, pure form of whatever an elderberry was, and as I mostly have good luck with berries, I worked and ate my salad at my desk.

It started as a tingling in my throat/mouth...and then it spread. Not anaphylaxis by any means, but the kind of allergy where the allergic person goes, "damn...I have to take a Benadryl, and I'm going to be sick for quite awhile." Now, my purpose of the above was to explain just how tired I was. NO WAY was I getting behind the wheel on less than 5 hours of sleep having taken allergy medicine. So I rushed home with a folder filled with work, took the Benadryl (at home), waited for the onslaught, and yes, was calm enough to get some work done.

Mid-work (and into my second benadryl, my curiosity got the better of me, and I googled elderberry). I wanted to know what exactly had made me so ill, and what I'd need to avoid in the future.

It's a shrub. I was ill from a shrub extract. I love it. Only me. Did I mention I had company coming for dinner (thankfully my husband's family is used to seeing me in pj's)? Or that the lovely wedded couple was stopping by on their way to New York?

See, here's what I've learned in the last couple of years: allergies get in the way. They interrupt your daily life, but you really only as much as you let them. Sure, it took me four doses of Benadryl and some severely swollen and sore insides to get through the evening, but I did (and all on an incredible lack of sleep). I had company over, saw friends and family, and outside of my not having an unexpressed thought last night (seriously, does anyone else talk incessantly when they take Benadryl? I couldn't stop. I couldn't even get all my thoughts out coherently), nobody knew how sick I'd been. Now of course, they will now because they lovingly read this blog. But that's ok. Dinner was good, the company was nice, and the ball game, well, see the below.

The thing is this. I try new things. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't, but I'm not going to stop trying! I may not love food, but I no longer view it as an obstacle or an enemy. That alone has taken a number of years...So it's a trade-off. Pineapple off the list, elderberry on. I think I'm far more likely to find pineapple on a fruit tray, so this is one I can accept without much fuss.

And did anyone else notice how they didn't call last night's game until they allowed the Rays a chance to tie? Grrr...

Your Phillies fan,

an exhausted allergic diner

A milestone for every married woman

Alright, I admit it. I’m 28 years old, I’m married, and up until several weeks ago, I was a turkey virgin. Now, retrieve your mind from the gutter and follow along. I love to cook. I collect cookbooks and read them as part of the hobby. I have two huge shelves in my kitchen (that are starting to buckle under the weight, actually) filled with cookbooks, and have made recipes from every single one of them. I may not do a lot of things very well, but I can cook like a dream. NAH is forever joking that if I left him, he’d starve. He wouldn’t starve, but he might get hooked on some god-awful food like pork and beans in a can. (Ew. Really?)
I had never made a turkey. Every year I have spent Thanksgiving with loved ones, and I will bring dessert, or an appetizer or two, and help with the dishes, but I always stayed far, far away from the turkey. Damn things scared the hell out of me. I would even get the free turkey from the supermarket after I’d accumulated enough bonus points, and I’d donate it to charity. Turkey breasts? Sure, I can cook those. Turkey loaf? You betcha, but not a whole turkey. Can we say intimidated?
Which brings me to Rosh Hashanah. There are many traditional Jewish foods that are made for the New Year and other Jewish holidays. Here’s something most Jewish people won’t admit (and rest assured, I’ll be catching crap from my allergic parents after this post, but I’ll deal with it). Most traditional Jewish foods are…well…icky. Gefilte fish? It’s a last resort over Passover when you simply cannot stomach another piece of matzo. Carp? Herring? Brisket? UGH. I’m not a big fan of noodle kugel (but I’m in the minority on that) – it does not help that I can’t really eat it, which admittedly clouds my judgement. Stewed prunes (tzimmes)? Enough said. There ARE some traditional Jewish foods that are to-die-for good. Matzo ball soup and challah are fantastic. Knishes, when done properly, are yummy, and I love me some lox and bagels.
NAH and I have worked very hard to introduce both of our religions and cultures to each family. With that in mind, I host Rosh Hashanah now, as my allergic mom has gracefully passed on the crown (and still lovingly makes the best matzo ball soup on the planet). My non-allergic inlaws and brother-in-law attend Rosh Hashanah dinner with us. How could I possibly inflict brisket upon them? My mother makes fantastic brisket. It melts in your mouth. I just DO. NOT. LIKE. BRISKET. So Rosh Hashanah was somewhat of a challenge. 1 – I wanted to make something everyone would eat, and 2 – I wanted to make something that was allergy-free.
Enter the turkey. Everyone eats turkey. It’s a big, festive, celebratory bird, so I decreed it perfect for the Jewish New Year. We still had the apples and honey. We had matzo ball soup and challah. We even had apple cake on the table for dessert.
And boy, did we have turkey. I spent an entire day not only basting and seasoning, but frantically calling both moms (and as my mom-in-law was not in synagogue, she caught the brunt of the questions – non-allergic mom, if you’re reading this, THANK YOU!).
Here’s what I’ve learned: Turkeys have two cavities. You have to pull out bags of icky and disgusting things from both. A 22-lb turkey (because, really, why do anything small?) does not take into account the weight of the roasting pan, 5 lbs. of potatoes, 10 portions of stuffing, or the liquid in said pan. You need serious upper body strength to pull the damn thing in and out of the oven. A turkey should be covered for the better part of the cooking. It takes DAYS to properly defrost. I've also learned that it's better to attempt a meal like this with family, because if it had failed, they'd have had to love me anyway, and we'd have had a good laugh (and then ordered pizza).
The end result? While it was heavy, completely gross to touch, clean, and stuff, it was, however, damn good to eat. I was really proud of what I accomplished (and quite full). We had a lovely Rosh Hashanah dinner with quite a few traditional foods, and I believe I’ve started a new tradition of my own. Oh – and food nerd that I am, that’s a picture of my very first turkey.

WAY TO GO PHILLIES!

2008 NL CHAMPIONS!

Blog Action Day Follow-Up: Stretch Those Dollars!

How NAH & I squirrel away a few cents when we can:

We joined Netflix (and with the rate things go to DVD, there really isn’t a time lag of more than two months anymore). If we see a movie in the theaters every couple of months, it’s a big deal. Netflix is approximately $18 for their 3-at-a-time movie subscription. We keep a running list of movies we want to see, and probably watch 5 a month. That’d be 5 x $5 at Blockbuster (with no late fees assumed), which would be $25. A Saturday night movie in the theater is a minimum of $17 and that’s before the popcorn. Insanity! Just say no.

I’ve recently returned to a money-saving technique I employed right after we were married. I use the sale circular for the supermarket to plan my meals ahead of time. I had stopped in the past year, simply purchasing proteins, grains and vegetables and figuring it all out when I got home. I’m now saving $20 a week on average just by sticking to my list.

Use coupons. It doesn’t make you old. It doesn’t make you cheap. It doesn’t mean you’re adhering to any stereotype. It means you’re smart. Case closed.

SEND in your rebates, and when that check comes in, no matter how much it is for, put it straight into your savings account. It was already spent, it was months ago, and it will serve you better earning a small amount of interest.

Make your own damn coffee. Every advice column in every magazine says the first way to save money is to bring your coffee from home. Saving $2 (conservative estimate, I know) a day, 5 days a week, is a monthly savings of $40, and a yearly savings of $480. If more than one member of your household purchases coffee every day, you can double or triple that savings. If you drink one of those Starbucks candy bar concoctions several times a week, you should be ashamed of yourselves for several reasons. 1 – it’s bad for you. 2 – it’s expensive. 3 – THAT’S NOT COFFEE (whip cream, caramel sauce, and flavored syrups are DESSERT) !!!!! Cut these out and save calories and money.

While we’re on the topic of make your own, make your own damn lunch. As a former teacher, I brown bag every day. I always have. NAH does now, too. I’m not saying we never ever go out to lunch, but $5 once or twice a month is FAR better than $5 a day, every day (yes, I know, conservative estimate again). $25 a week, at $100 a month, is $1200 per year! I showed the math on this to a coworker last year. She saved $700 last year by simply bringing her lunch.

Buy generic when you can. NAH has introduced me to this. We both have a list of things we won’t compromise on (admittedly, mine is a bit longer because of my allergies), but I’ve learned that supermarket cotton swabs work just as well as Q-Tips. I can’t taste the difference between supermarket apple juice or pretzels, etc. Suave shampoo works as well as, if not better than, Pantene. It is amazing what you can learn by trial and error.

Make a budget. Stick to it as best you can. Differentiate between needs and wants. Good luck!

Your Allergic Diner

Blog Action Day and the Blurring Poverty Line

Participating in Blog Action Day is something new for this particular Allergic Diner. Recently, I've read several blogs on the Internet in which the writers participated in the San Francisco Food Bank Challenge. They were to live for an entire week, 3 meals a day, on $1.00 a meal, the approximate amount of the food stamps per person. These bloggers/food writers were working with the S.F. Food Bank to develop tasty/healthy/filling recipes for their patrons. Some of the recipes were extremely creative and looked quite tasty. You can check them out at: Cooking with Amy, The Inadvertent Gardener, and Vanessa Barrington. I admit to finding Vanessa Barrington's the most interesting because she thought a lot about other constraints of those with limited budgets (i.e., transportation, cooking tools,etc). The link I've supplied you with to her blog shows you what a modest donation to the Food Bank gets them (you can see her other articles about the challenge as well).

This got me thinking, however, what happens to a person with food allergies, or a condition such as diabetes? How do they exist on food stamps with special food needs? Could I feed myself for a $1 a meal? The sad, but realistic answer is, probably not. Someone who had to purchase specialty foods, like sugar-free, would probably be even further out of luck. The thing nobody tells you about having allergies, or celiac, or diabetes, or any other condition that affects what you eat is that it's EXPENSIVE.

$1 a meal. I could probably subsist on beans, potatoes, and frozen veggies, but what about protein? How could I vary my already allergy-proof diet so that I might eat well and still adhere to the system? Lactaid milk at last check was $4 for a half-gallon. I spent days thinking about this challenge and it's possible consequences and ramifications for someone like me, and came up with this: I can't keep my allergy-free diet with that cost factor ($1 meal/day = $3 a day). I'd miss out on calcium, among other things a body needs. This makes me feel angry and very lucky all at the same time. You have my word you will never hear me complain here about the high cost of specialty foods again.

See, my family will forever joke around with me about my not being a “food person.” They’re not wrong, I’m not. I’m definitely an “eat to live” person, not one who lives to eat. I don’t have the luxury of being a foodie. I can’t eat without paying attention to every single ingredient every time. When NAH and I were in Florida earlier this year with my non-allergic inlaws, we were out to dinner at a lovely restaurant, the Lighthouse. I took out my Lactaid pills when my food arrived, explaining that there was cheese in the Caesar salad dressing, the possibility of buttermilk in the fresh-baked rolls, etc. My mother-in-law looked at me and said words that were truly magic to my ears. “Every time you eat, you have to stop and think about it, don’t you?” The thing that she understands, and that sometimes people spend their whole lives not understanding, is that food for any allergic person is a process, and a difficult one at that. Now, I couldn’t ask for better families, as both sets of parents keep their homes stocked with “allergic diner safe food.” But what happens to someone without the same resources and support? What happens to someone with my allergies who ends up on food stamps? How can they do this for $3 a day?

Half the recipes I read on those blogs were things I was unable to eat. By tweaking them so that I could eat them (i.e., removing the tomato paste, canned milk, etc) I would either lose a good portion of the nutritional content, or I would’ve been over my budget on that particular day (substitutions of chicken broth are EXPENSIVE).

Blog Action Day 2008 is about poverty. Every night, more children are going to bed hungry. Hardworking, decent people are living paycheck to paycheck, and praying that they will be able to put food on the table and keep their roof over their heads. Animal shelters are bursting at the seams because pets have become a luxury most families can no longer afford. Our economy is in the toilet, and what nobody seems to understand is that this isn’t a “poor” problem. It isn't a Republican problem, or a Democrat problem, or even just a government problem. It’s an everybody problem. The poverty line is blurring. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, "there were 37.3 million people in poverty in 2007, up from 36.5 million in 2006. " That was before the current economic tailspin in which we find ourselves.

Lest I be one of those bloggers who opines, but offers no real solutions about anything, tomorrow I will share with you the ways in which NAH and I work diligently to cut costs wherever possible (tomorrow’s post). When you sit down to dinner with your family tonight, take a moment to think about someone who might not be so lucky. Then DO SOMETHING about it. Donate food, money, and/or time to a charity that works with the poverty-stricken. Nobody judges your donation, the point is to do something, because as trite as it sounds, EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS. The newspapers state that more and more middle class families are reaching out to food banks for assistance. These centers, and others like them, need the most help when it isn't the holiday season, because that’s when most people open up their hearts, wallets, and homes.

You can make a difference without altering your lifestyle. Please know that I am not suggesting you feel guilt or shame about your ability to purchase food, or own a home. That's not who I am or what I'm about.

What I am suggesting is that you teach your children that civic responsibility isn't just a notion, and be thankful for what you have.
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Gandhi

Yours,
Allergic Diner