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?
i would be seriously upset if i was allergic to dairy…i’m so thankful to not have any food issues (other than mental stuff) and the ability to eat whatever I want. although sometimes that can be a blessing and a curse!
I am slightly lactose intolerant. I can handle dairy, but only in very small doses.
My body also doesn’t like to artificial sweetener Sorbital. When I went off it, suspecting it was what was making me sick, my symptoms cleared up literally in about 24 hours. Crazy!
I used to have a lot of stomach trouble with cheese, milk, and fried foods- I cut back on those things and it made a huge difference. I’ve only recently stopped almost completely eating dairy, and it’s been great so far!
I don’t have any food allergies, but now that I’ve been vegan for a few years I am super sensitive to dairy if I eat it accidentally (which very rarely happens). I’m also pretty sensitive to refined sugar since I don’t have much of that in my diet either.
Excited for the new Glo bars!! Congrats, I know you worked really hard to get those right!
I have no problem digesting anything… thank goodness!
Timely post for me! I just finished a month with almost no dairy (only eating one serving of hard cheese a day, which is a DRASTIC decrease for me). And I’m surprised to discover that I noticed no change. I don’t know what I was expecting! :P I think I’ll still keep the dairy to a minimum, as giant bowl of cottage cheese and yogurt did make me feel kinda puffed out and slow, but it was a valuable experiment for me.
Oddly enough, I can’t digest pineapple AT ALL. My body violently rejects it. I also have a mild intolerance to avocado and kiwi. I also can’t handle certain raw veggies like broccoli and cauliflower. I’ve had allergy tests, blood tests and an ultrasound done and there isn’t anything we can pinpoint it to. It’s not IBS because it doesn’t affect my bowel, it makes me vomit. Aaaaanyways, so now I just avoid those foods.
Hi Susan,
I have recently been diagnosed with a condition called Fructose Malabsorption, which means my body does not have the enzyme to digest Fructose and Fructans. Amongst the foods I cannot eat are onion, apple, pears, wheat (this isn’t the same as gluten intolerance as i can still have oats just not products containing wheat), most tropical fruits, cabbage, cauliflower, large quantities of broccoli, garlic (amongst other things). I am not allergic to dairy however cannot eat most yoghurts because of the fruit syrup content or inulin. Also I’m from Australia and we use cane sugar as our primary sweetener where as in the US and Canada High Fructose Corn Syrup is used in a lot of processed foods and soft drinks, and is a definite problem.
Given the information you have given it might be worth reading a bit more to see if you feel like you fit the symptoms. I’m not a dietician but feel the pain of anyone suffering frustrating digestive, mood and energy problems as i did for many years.
Please find below the Wikipedia link for Fructose Mal,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose_malabsorption
I hope this helps.
after dealing with stomach issues for AGES and my doctor saying it was just IBS and to live with it..I went to a Naturopath and we discovered by body lacks the digestive enzymes for DAIRY and REFINED sugar. I feel your pain!
Do you find eating a lot of raw veggies bothers you?
Interesting! I have personally been struggling with stomach issues – it seems that almost everything upsets my stomach/digestive system. I also did the allergy testing, blood tests, ultrasound…. nothing. Doctors keep telling me “it’s just stress” – maybe I should see a Naturopath too!! Thanks for mentioning that!
Try it for sure! That’s what they were telling me for years, and when my symptoms worsened slightly it went from “you have anxiety, deal with it” to “you have IBS, deal with it.” I really have faith in Naturopaths now! I have eliminated dairy/sugar for about 2-3 weeks already my symptoms are improving muchly :)
Oh that is awesome! I am definitely going to check it out. :)
Thank you!!
What type of test did the natropath do for that? Sounds interesting!
Eating lots of raw veggies does bother my stomach at times
She just pricked my ear lobe and sent the blood to a lab for testing! I got the results in about 3 weeks
I do not have any food allergies, but I’ve always had an aversion to milk & most dairy products.
No food issues, thankfully. I try to keep my dairy intake to a minimum though. I’ve also cut soda out of my life and have noticed huge improvements in how I feel and how my skin looks.
I’m glad that you reported the issue of the creepy man. Hopefully it was a very innocent matter, but it’s not right that you have to question your own safety during an event.
I have a dairy intolerance. It makes me break out!
I am lactose intolerant and have spent most of my life not eating dairy so it is no biggie for me. It explains why I never found it that hard to become vegan (although I do eat eggs now and occassionally fish – so I am not anything really – a dairy free pescatarian??? :))
I am also very sensitive to onions, garlic, lettuce, cukes and capsicum (only when it’s raw though). I could never be a raw vegan. I’d be burping all the time ;)
Large quantities of dairy products are rough for me. Sometimes it’s not an immediate stomach ache but I feel like they digest slowly? I’ve avoided dairy in the days preceding my long runs and for this week before I run a marathon. It seems like it’s working, no bad need-to-stop-and-walk-ASAP type of stomach problems lately. I don’t know if I will cut it out entirely (a bit of yogurt or a slice of cheese has a different effect than cream sauce or ice cream!) but definitely reduce it.
I don’t think this an allergy but onions really upset my stomach which is depressing because I love onions especially grilled onions so sometimes (ie last night) I tempt fate and eat them. And then I pay the price (today)…it may or may not been worth it ;) The cherries on your salad are such a fantastic idea!
I’m glad that the lady in charge of the race responded so quickly to you! I agree that no one should feel uncomfortable during a race from spectators.
I’m mildly lactose intolerance, so while I can eat dairy products without fear of severe pain or anything like that, they don’t always agree with my stomach (i.e. I get gassy! lol). I handle yogurt and eggs the best of all dairy. I’ve been trying to reduce my dairy consumption over the past few months, and I do feel better overall. But I will never become a vegan or give up dairy completely. I just love my ice cream and cheese and fro yo way too much for that to ever happen. The most I can do is to reduce consumption, so that’s what I’m doing. I eat dairy in moderation, and that’s what works for me!
My stomach gets really un-happy with me when I eat fried (or otherwise greasy) food. Other than that, I don’t really have food sensitivities, fortunately.
As for navy beans- I am a big fan of them and other white beans (cannellini and great northern, to be specific) because I think they take on the flavors of whatever you cook them with. I particularly like to stew white beans and Kale together and I also like to add diced green chiles, cumin, and cayenne to make white bean chili!
I’m allergic and intollerant to dairy and I’m also sensitive to soy. It was hard when I was younger because the dairy-free products were not very good but thankfully they have greatly improved! While I don’t make these products a staple in my life I do like that I can have things like dairy free butter, cheese and ice cream.
I feel ya on the dairy sensitivity…it was kind of easy for me to cut it out since I’ve never been a super cheese fan. It was just hard to give up greek yogurt since I loved the texture and amount of protein that meant long staying power. I grew up drinking a lot of milk and then in my late teens and early 20’s I felt sick after drinking it or having it in cereal. I don’t miss it all now and can’t imagine drinking a glass since I love almond milk so much!
I eat dairy but I continue to be impressed and thankful to live in the time that we do, where there are so many dairy-free options that are readily available! To find both almond milk and rice milk at the local grocery story is something you wouldn’t find even 10 years.
I’ve had “tummy issues” most of my life…even as a kid. Foods, esp. high fiber ones, really effect me – I am careful not to eat them in excess when I am out and about because more than likely…I will end up miserable, doubled over and feeling self-conscious. Though my tummy has been sensitive – oddly enough dairy has not been a big issue for me.
I have one allergy that I know of, and it’s kiwi. Funny thing is, kiwi was one of the first fruit I started eating as a teenager, when I had no idea what fruit and veggies were ;-)
And a few years later, my allergy broke out unfortunately.
I love dairy but I found that if I eat too much of the stuff it just ruins my bowel’s mood (let’s leave it at this). I cut down dairy to max one serving a day, if at all, and things seem to be a bit better. I also found out that eating dairy at breakfast or lunch is ok, but at dinner it’s a no-go, so I do my best to avoid this.
i don’t have IBS but my bowel is definitely sensitive, I still need to work out what food / food combinations trigger my pains.