When you can't eat dairy, egg, soy, gluten, and garlic (and a lot more! My full list of allergies are at the bottom of this post), pizza is pretty much out of the question. Pizza, with it's egg/gluten filled crust, garlic tomato paste, and dairy filled cheese. But luckily, I've found a way to make my own amazing everything-free pizza over the years that I can safely enjoy. So without further ado...
Hi there! In 2014 I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and have since managed it by avoiding certain foods. My food sensitivities include: All Dairy, Egg, Soy, Nuts, Garlic, Chili Powder, Cayenne Pepper (and basically all other hot pepper things), Flax Seed, Aniseed, Gluten/Wheat, Oat, Barley, Spelt, Strawberry, Apple, Cherry, Radish, and Lime! Holy guacamole- I'm basically allergic to everything! Welcome to the world of Everything-Free!
Saturday, November 21, 2020
Everything-Free Pizza!
Thursday, November 19, 2020
Tortillas and Taco Shells
I don't know about you, but tortillas and taco shells have got to be one of mankind's greatest inventions in the culinary department. They can make a heap of random and completely unrelated ingredients come together in a small little bundle, enter your mouth, and send your tastebuds into frenzied celebration. Whoever invented them must have been pure genius.
Except.
I can't have them.
Since 6 years ago I found out I have food sensitivities to nearly every food on the planet (that might be an exaggeration- but scroll to the bottom of the post to check out my official list of sensitivities), tortillas and taco shells were among the many casualties of allergic war. No gluten = no flour tortillas. And though I'm not technically "allergic" to corn, it never really agrees with me. So corn taco shells were sadly out of the picture as well.
No tacos.
No quesadillas.
Heartbroken.
For a little while I tried to satisfy my Taco Tuesday obsession with taco bowls- a fancy term for ground turkey meat and greasy dairy free cheese microwaved in a bowl for about 30 seconds. Disgusting. I still shiver when I remember my pathetic attempts to clean exploded cheese and meat from the microwave turntable.
Luckily, over the years I've found some alternate-ingredient tortillas and taco shells that I'll share below. R.I.P. microwave taco bowls!
Trader Joe's Brown Rice Tortillas
Food For Life's Brown Rice Tortillas
Coconut Flour Tortillas by The Real Coconut
Siete Grain Free Taco Shells
Sprouts' Grain Free Taco Shell
Sunday, November 1, 2020
Coconut Aminos (Soy-Free Soy Sauce)
Now, I've never been one to eat a lot of Chinese food, or its closest counterpart: the all-important soy sauce. But years ago I discovered this stuff called Coconut Aminos, which I always jokingly call my "soy-free soy sauce."
Does it actually taste like soy sauce? I couldn't tell you, I really have no idea what soy sauce tastes like. But I do use Coconut Aminos on rice, cook meat with it, use it in stir-fries, and pretty much any other dish that could use a little extra hint of flavor. Because I can't have garlic, chili powder, or a lot of other spices that make things more flavorful, these Coconut Aminos have definitely helped make my food a lot more enjoyable!
So what exactly are "Coconut Aminos?" Basically, it's a seasoning sauce made from coconut sap, salt, and water. That's it! Even though there are only a handful of ingredients, definitely don't underestimate the amazing flavor contained in that little bottle.
You can get it at Trader Joes (they have their own brand of it), but you can also get the main brand by Coconut Secret online (Amazon, Thrive Market, etc).
And if you really fall in love, you can get some gigantic bottles too!