Potluck dinners

Going to a potluck is the WORST when you have no idea what kind of food will be served. People tend to bring their best dish, or their easiest cop out. There are so many potluck friendly dishes, how would I know what I could and couldn't eat? Let's be honest, it is rare to have someone invite you to a party and that they provide all the food/snacks. To bypass, I always volunteer to bring a main portion of the meal so that I know that I will have something to eat. I love to cook so I enjoy challenging myself in the kitchen. But I don't always have time. In that case it is important to educate yourself with the ingredients in day to day grocery foods. By knowing the ingredients and learn what product brands you can eat, it will just make it easier. As an example, I can have the no name whipped topping, but not the "Cool Whip" so if there are strawberries and whipped cream, just ask what kind or oreos need to be the original and not the no name brand kind. I'm going to keep saying it over and over. Know the food you are putting in your mouth and you will remain healthy if you make the right decisions.

Eating Vegan

It's been 4 days :( It has been a little busy. So eating vegan... It's not a goal of mine to start eating vegan but when I go to restaurants, it's the easiest thing to do. Most restaurants/chefs understand what being vegan, but don't always know the limitations.

For those who don't know what eating vegan means, essentially no intake of any animal bi-products. Here are a few examples:
- Any meat
- Eggs
- Whey proteins
- Honey
- Milk
... etc.

Most some restaurants have an allergy binder (such as Boston Pizza and Moxies) which makes it easier to pick out what I want to eat. When I explain my intolerancies to the waiters, I have to explain every single thing I can't eat. At certain restaurants it is a pain; Either there is a language barrier or they don't get the chef involved. In asking for a vegan meal, there is no chances I will feel ill after having eaten at the restaurant as there will definitely be no chance of any lactose infested products.

P.S. I'll be adding spotlights on restaurants as I was mentioning. If you are or know a vegan, vegetarian or lactose-intolerant friendly restaurant owner who would like to have a spotlight, contact me.

Tea

A good tea will help make your body feel refreshed and cleansed. Lemon juice or honey added for an additional zing, maybe, but there are so many different kinds of tea nowadays that you will be able to find one that you will love without altering its state. The mixture of flavours from the floral hints to the added coconut (as an example) will fulfill your tastebuds needs, which would normally lead to adding milk, cream or sugar to that BLAH traditional tea.

The tea pictured above is a flowering tea that can be found at Kettlemans in Ottawa (will have a full length article, or several, that have to do with Kettlemans). It was a perfect start to a beautiful day.

Caesar dressing

Something very cool. Funny back story. I picked up some caesar dressing for my boyfriend on the Monday and then decided not to have salad with supper. Two days later, he wants salad so goes and buys this, Renees 1/2 fat caesar dressing. I get a little miffed because I just bought him some, and then for the heck of it I decide to look at the contents. Right on the side I see DAIRY-FREE! Awesome. Some other ones that are dairy-free are: cucumber & dill and 1/2 fat poppy seed.

Staple in my kitchen.

Thimblecakes

One of the cupcakeries in Ottawa that will serve Vegan desserts! Thimblecakes is located on Bank Street in Ottawa beside one of the bigger health food stores in Ottawa: Herb & Spice. Although they are not affiliated, it is the perfect place for a one stop shop for healthy food if you don't live in the area!

You walk in and it's a refreshing environment with blue walls and crisp white trim accents. In the back there is a display counter of the special occasions cakes the cake team is working on and also a seating area with antique-like furniture. Such cute decor. Now to get back to why I come here...

Thimblecakes are the masters of allergies. They cook peanut-free and can make Gluten-Free, Vegan or regular cupcakes. But this isn't where they end it! During the summer they have ice creams and lemonades. During the cooler months, they have lattes, hot chocolate and coffee.

The icing they use is one of a kind. It is in between the sugary grainy icing and the whipped; Perfect combination. But not only can you walk in and grab large cupcakes, they also make mini cupcakes. I tend to grab a dozen mini cupcakes because there are so many flavor choices that I just can't choose one of each. On a daily basis, Thimblecakes can have up to 15 different flavors available!

This is the piece de resistance:

Label reading - Ingredients

It is quite the art. Always search the "contains" and "may contain" sections first. You will know quickly if you can't have the product in your hand and it will help you find what you can have faster. Breaking it down.

"Contain" section: If it says milk, cream, dairy/dairy products = avoid. Plain and simple.

"May contain" section: If it says may contain milk, cream, dairy = avoid. You want to avoid getting sick, even if it is a chance. It may seem a little extreme, but I think about it this way... If Health Cda recalls bad meat, are you going to eat it? No. I don't know about you, but I don't like being sick. It's just not a good feeling. Dependant on how severe your symptoms are when you eat dairy, do you seriously want to take the chance that you may be out somewhere enjoying yourself and... urgh! You don't feel well. Let's just leave it at I'm happy I have a wonderful boyfriend who is understanding because I have pulled this card for what seems to me like for the length of our relationship.

P.S. Happy Mother's Day to all!

It doesn't say either of the above Sweet, I can eat it! Not so fast...

Some manufacturers will not include a "contains" section on their label if within the list of ingredients, milk, cream, or lactose are clearly indicated. Ingredients to watch out for in the description: butter, buttermilk, buttermilk powder, casein, cheddar cheese, cheese, condensed milk, cream, cream cheese, lactose, milk, milk solids, modified milk ingredients, parmesan cheese, skim milk powder, sodium caseinate, sour cream, whey, yoghurt. For a full list, you can google it, but a handy thing to have is an allergy card. Superstore drug stores have little business card sized handouts that detail all ingredients that are a no-no. Perfect for untrainable friends and family members for having meals prepared for you.

That time I cooked a vegetable - Kim's Blog

Kim is a master in her kitchen, and her talent & passion is for vegetarian cuisine. I take her recipes and provide substitutes for the dairy in her recipes (and sometimes add meat! sorry Kim) but she is the creative genius behind some of the meals that I make at home. What I love about her blog is that it is universal in that she has a post that is about breakfast, then about desserts, then about a suppertime meal, and then about camp fire cooking!?!

She is a very busy lady and hasn't posted in a little while but I invite you to follow her blog and hopefully you too can feel inspired through her words and pictures to make tasty meals!

http://veggiesforkim.blogspot.ca/

Whipped Topping

What a healthy way to start off my product spotlight series. This is a way to help cure your craving for whipped cream.

It was a brownie for breakfast this morning and I just can’t get enough of this stuff. It is oil based. Seeing as it is not a dairy product, it also lasts months longer! You can buy this at any of the Loblaw Companies Limited stores: Superstore, Your Independent Grocer, or Loblaws.

You are going to see a trend as to where I shop/where the products are most accessible. I'll be posting about grocery stores within the next two weeks, so keep your eyes peeled.

Salt... not my concern

When I look at the foods that I am eating, I don't always concern myself with how much sodium is in the product. If I see that it's over 15% per serving, then I question whether the rest of the food I am using to prepare my meal will have more sodium and then try and find low-salt substitutes from there. But 15% is a lot in general when you aren't watching the rest of your food intake.

You can buy many salt substitutes but it's still a chemical going into your body so I do not consume it. In using the right spices, you can have tasty foods without all the salt.

If you are trying to cut sodium out of your diet, as an example my Mom was explaining that even from brand to brand, soya sauce can vary in sodium content. So try looking at other brands of products so see whether there is a difference. NOTE: You have to make sure that you are comparing apples to apples. In other words, both Campbells Chicken Noodle vs. Lipton Chicken Noodle must be measured for nutritional value based on a 1/4 cup serving in order for you to see the true differences between the two.

Almost all of my tips and tricks in this blog will take more time that you normally do on reading what's going into your body, but you will start to get to know your products and you will be healthier in no time. I hope I've been successful in explaining that I don't look for ways to offset sodium intake because my diet naturally does it for me.

Self-diagnosis

I used to eat out all teh time and on the way home I would need to stop to use the restroom. Sorry to put it out there like that, but it's that simple. I knew I had a food allergy so I decided to cut food out of my diet. I went online and researched my symptoms, and lactose intolerancy came up. For those who are new to sugars, lactose is the sugar produced in cows milk. Like many sugars, the human body is not capable of digesting lactose.

I really noticed an issue when I had heavy cream so I cut out cream and ice cream. Cheese, milk, yoghurt, and all other dairy products weren't really bothering me... until about 3-4 months later my body got used to not having cream-based foods that all of the other dairy products aforementioned started to. I went to the pharmacy and asked if there was anything I could take to help me eat these foods. There are pills that will allow you to eat food. I took the recommended dose, then started to realize that I needed to take more and more and more until I was finishing 1 pack a week... $20 a week to eat food that my body was telling me that I shouldn't!? I decided to learn more about how to completely cut out dairy from my diet.
I was miserable and it had taken me 5 years to decide that I needed to make a change to be healthier. At this point I was also 190 lbs., so sometimes loving food isn't great (unless you know what you are eating!) I started reading labels (Tuesday's topic) and I realizzed that almost EVERYTHING has dairy in it. I got super discouraged until I spoke to my friend Mairy who is vegan and my boss at the time Nadine. They both were incredibly knowledgeable and have helped me in my food seeking journey. Since then, I have been able to train the untrainable...
I will be posting food spotlights and places to eat that will fill your cravings and your cupboards so keep checking back.

I'm a list kinda gal!

Only the beginning of a list of things that I want to cover throughout my blog. Here goes:

- How I self-diagnosed
- Inspirations: people, books
- Websites: other blogs, vegan or vegetarian websites
- Stores: vegan or lactose free friendly restaurants, bakeries, etc.
- Gardening and eating organic food when possible
- Recipes: from appetizers to dips to salads to main dishes

Good start.

This journey has certainly not been pleasant. I don't wish this upon anyone but the end result has been positive for me. I am not a negative person so I am not surprised that I’ve taken something bad and turned it into good. Hate and negativity... just brings you down.

I have to truly thank all of the people in my life that have tagged along for the 3-year long journey during the “unknown” sickness stage of my life. In times that I needed strength, cooking advice and just down, I knew who I could go to. Not only in the sense of having to deal with me being sick though, but to those who have helped me not be sick. I'll be introducing many of these people throughout my posts.

Now and Then

Why did it happen to me? This is a question that I used to ask myself all the time. I first discovered it when I was 19 years old. Food has always been my world. I no longer had control over what I was and wasn't able to eat. I ended up eating bland, fatty, boring foods and I couldn't enjoy going out to restaurants because of the 20 minutes it took me to get through the menu with the chefs to see what I was able to eat.

Was I frustrated? Did I lose my "joie de vivre"? Had I gained an unbelievable 50 pounds because I didn't care anymore? Yes.

I knew this needed to change. I wanted to be healthy again. With the help of friends and family, I've re-discovered my love of food and passion for preparation through the sharing of recipes, tips & tricks, and the discovery of many foods I didn't even know existed. After watching Julie & Julia, I knew a blog is what I wanted to do. This is my food and life journal. Enjoy!