Good afternoon!
I am chuggin along in the bakery! Today is another very busy day as I prepare for the launch of the new gluten-free and raw Glo bar tonight at 9pm. It is going to be fun! This bar has been a very long time in the making (I tested over 23 trials!), and I am so excited to share it with you. Because the bars are so time intensive, there will be a limited amount available for pre-order tonight. At 9pm EST I will be linking to the bars from OSG.
Last night I heard back from the race director of the Toronto Women’s Half Marathon + 5k! I was surprised at how quickly she got back to me as well as how serious she took the matter. She said that they will be investigating this with the Toronto Police with whom they work closely on all safety and security issues. She is going to get back to me in the near future. I hope that next year’s race will be improved upon regarding the safety of all female runners! No one should have to feel scared or violated during a race.
After several hours of work this morning, it was 2pm before I knew it and I still hadn’t had lunch yet! I threw together the quickest lunch I could with the ingredients I had on hand.
I took some leftover Navy Beans and mix 2 tablespoons of sweet BBQ sauce for a mock ‘baked bean’ effect.
Then I defrosted about 2 cups of mixed veggies…
And I threw together a super quick dried cherry and sunflower seed spinach salad topped with my better than bottled balsamic vinaigrette. We are all out of veggies so it was all I had, but it was quite fun!
I am currently suffering from food baby syndrome. Beans + high-fibre veggies = :ermm:
I discovered that Navy Beans are probably one of my least favourite beans. They just don’t have the flavour that other beans do like black beans or kidney beans! That is why I have been eating them with BBQ sauce.
The Dairy Question
I am always asked what prompted me to go off dairy and decide to become a vegan. While there are many factors that went into the decision (see here for the latest segment in my road to health), one of the reasons that I experimented without dairy was because I have sensitivity to dairy (this is different from an actual allergy to dairy, which I don’t have).
Ever since I was a baby I could not have dairy. It would upset my stomach so much and I would cry and cry and cry when I had milk. As a child and teenager I suffered from really bad stomach pains whenever I ate dairy- especially ice cream, that one was the worst for me!- I would be doubled over in pain when I ate ice cream. I finally decided to see how I fared without dairy. Lactose free dairy products did not seem to help much. Lo and behold, my stomach problems were greatly reduced when I stopped eating dairy.
My stomach is also sensitive to other things like soy (which is why you don’t see me eating tofu much), beans (although I still eat them because I love them!), and high-fibre foods.
What about you, do you have problems digesting certain foods or certain combinations of food? Any intolerances or allergies? How did you adapt to it?
Oh wow. I just made the choc covered raisins . . . amazing! I didn’t have any coconut oil, but they still turned out delish. Also, I melted the choc over the stove, because I read an interesting post on kimberlysnyder.net about the dangers of the microwave! It’s definitely worth a read if you rely on the microwave. :) Thanks again for sharing
I noticed that my stomachaches went away when I started to limit my dairy and gluten intake. I didn’t do this on purpose, but almond milk just tasted better than regular milk, and many of my recipes don’t include a lot of cheese. As soon as I went home and had to drink milk my stomachaches came back.
Hello there!
I have celiac disease so am gluten intolerant, and am also dairy intolerant and have been since I was a child. I also have IBS so have trouble digesting fruits, soy and nuts (but continue to eat them!). Gosh, that seems alot but it’s really not a problem :)
I was “diagnosed” with a slight wheat/dairy intolerance as well as IBS when I was in college and for a couple years afterwards. The doctor told me it was stress and to find ways to reduce the excess stress in my life. I started doing yoga and my “issues” are nonexistent at the moment. I’m convinced it will come in spurts in my life. I credit not only yoga, but also a cleaner diet. No more beer binges and processed foods. But it’s taken a couple years to get my body back on track. I’m able to eat wheat, but often icecream gives me gas! But it doesn’t make me throw up like it used to!
I don’t really have any food allergies or sensitivities but I am suspicious that dairy makes me break out. But I love my yogurt oh so much..
I believe I’m dairy intolerant. It seems to give me sinus infections and headaches. I’ve cut way back on my dairy consumption and it has really helped. But I can’t seem to kick it completely and anytime I eat some dairy I wake up the next day with a stuffy head.
Just last summer, at the age of 21, I developed a lactose intolerance. I loved yogurt, cheese, milk, ice cream and the list goes on. It definitely has been a challenge not having these items in my diet anymore, but it’s worth it to not feel bloated and get sick to my stomach. Another item I’ve noticed a serious sensitivity to is artificial sweeteners like splenda. With how bad these sweeteners are for you, it’s probably for the best that my body rejects them!
i have some minor ones (bananas, avocados and such), but they would never keep me away from the foods. my husband, on the other hand, has a dairy and whey allergy. this means epi-pens in hand, at all times. he also, as we found out the other night, has an extreme fish allergy…that only happens some times and not others….we found this out in the ER after a bite of fish. ;)
I am so glad you posed this question! I can totally relate to the food baby syndrome and have suffered from that for years after eating high fiber foods (beans, cabbage, broccoli, etc.). And then? In December 2009, I was diagnosed with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). Honestly, it has changed my life b/c I have learned what to eat (specifically eat soluble fiber like bread, pasta or oats) and when (before any raw veggies, or high insoluble fiber foods like cabbage, beans, etc.). I can honestly say that I rarely have the lovely bloated stomach! I am sensitive to beef, dairy and insoluble fiber foods (beans, cabbage, broccoli, etc.) but now that I am learning how/when to eat them…I feel like I am on the path to healthy (and no more food baby stomach!)
I love following your blog because you’re a vegan runner like me, but never saw any mention of tummy trouble, I’m sorry to hear you’re one of the many women who do! All through my childhood I would get ferocious tummy pains for days on end, which my medical parents said was just trapped wind. I went off food a lot in my teens because of the sore tummies and I took a lot of painkillers for my period pains. I went vegan and ate more, and my tummy hated all that fibre, so I stopped being vegan, and then for a few years I suffered the bloatiness of lactose intolerance (probably). Going dairy free when I discovered dairy was a problem for me was what got me thinking about veganism again. When I realised dairy was making me feel sick and giving me severe constipation, I just quit and didn’t bother getting tested to see if it was an allergy or intolerance. I suspect an allergy because even low lactose dairy made me feel awful. My asthma and eczema got a bit better too but my tummy trouble never completely disappeared. Now I think I might be gluten intolerant, and that may have been why I have trouble with dairy.
I, and a lot of other IBS bloggers out there, find eating large quantities a problem- especially those high in fibre, which are more frequent in a healthy, vegan diet than in the SADiet. How do you manage tummy upsetting foods with the need to eat plenty to fuel your workouts/running? I’ve always been a slow eater, but I do find taking loads of time to really chew my food helps (I learnt this from reading macrobiotic literature).
I do find eating smaller meals more frequently helps rather than large meals!
I do not have any dairy allergies (or other food allergies for that matter), but since I’ve consciously watched my dairy intakes (maybe getting 2-3 servings a week), I’ve noticed how much better I’ve felt. My skin is clear, my digestion has improved, and I rarely suffer from bloating anymore. I just feel more alert and overal healthier. It has definitely been a positive change.
I, too, have a sensitivity to dairy, and it is one of the major contributors for my push toward a vegan diet. Now high-raw and vegan, I have found that many of my stomach issues have subsided. However, I must be careful of onions, tomatoes and black beans. They can be a little rough on my stomach — a sad thing because I love Mexican inspired food. :-P
I have an iron stomach so imagine my surprise when I started getting sharp stomach pains and terrible bloating on a regular basis. Took a little while for me to realize that I’d get them shortly after drinking a green monster. As a vegetarian, I was impressed by this tasty way to sneak iron-rich spinach into my diet. Unfortunately the spinach was the culprit. Since I didn’t eat it much before, I’d never had any issues. When I started having it on a regular basis something must have triggered the sensitivity. Once I eliminated the spinach, all my problems disappeared. I’ve just started throwing some romaine in my smoothies to give it a little nutritional boost since it’s an easy way to get some extra veggies.
I have no problem digesting anything. I limit my dairy, though, and don’t eat meat for ethical reasons only.
Thankfully I do not have any intolerances…except of course the natural effect of eating lots of veggies and beans *heehee, but because I have been vegan for about 5 months now I am sure that if I ate dairy it would have an ill effect…On a different note, my husband has a weird intolerance to milk and milk products, when he consumes them he get extremely hyper (and annoying) especially on soft serve! anyone else experiance this? He still eats cheese and ice cream (drinks soy milk though)
I’m allergic to shellfish! I go through anaphalactic (spelling!) shock when I eat it, which means I don’t go near them, because my throat/lungs will close up (fun stuff!) I have the pleasure of carrying an epi-pen wherever I go:)
My mum, me and all 6 of my siblings are have an intolerance to avocado. All of us LOVE avocado but we each suffer with differing levels of stomach pain and other unpleasantness. My father does not have any sensitivity to avocado. We had an avocado tree in our backyard and my very favorite childhood food memory is waiting for my father to get home from work then we would walk the yard together checking all the fruit trees and the vegetable garden. We always ended at the avocado tree so if one was ripe we would pick it and go inside to make guacamole. Then we would sit on the back lanai and eat fresh, delicious guacamole. It always made me sick but I loved it so much and I especially loved the time with my dad.
So glad they responded to your inquiry and are taking it seriously! That is definitely NOT ok, hope it all works out well :)
I too am sensitive/intolerant to both dairy and soy! After being vegetarian for 15 years and vegan for 4 (excluding this past year), I finally saw a dietitian about my extreme exhaustion, bloating, cramps and gas problems. She had my eliminate soy first and later dairy – and all (seriously, ALL) those issues disappeared within a week. Now I am back on dairy to “test” the theory – and am having those old problems come back :( I guess that proves it!
I also just found out my entire dad’s side of the family is lactose intolerant – go figure! I think I actually gave myself a soy intolerance through overconsumption – I have been consuming tons of soy for years! I don’t have a problem giving up dairy, but I miss tofu and Braggs liquid aminos.
I am a little envious of the people who commented saying they have “iron stomachs and no issues digesting different foods”. I have always had problems with digestion and have seen a huge improvement since becoming vegan 5 months ago. Like you Angela, I still have some problems with high fiber veggies, beans and grains when I eat a lot of them, but I love them all too much to give them up! I can definitely relate to your “food baby” and experience that fairly often.