On Wednesday I may have eaten a peanut butter sandwich for the last time. I’m tempted to write an ode to that delightful food of my childhood up through my twenties. Before I gave away the peanut butter in my fridge along with other foods I needed to retire, I almost thought to hold a little funeral, maybe with a pyre. But no, the picture is of a gorgeous sunset a few weeks ago I saw while walking, not a fire I started in my neighborhood.
Here lies the convenient and delicious and healthy (or so I thought for me) lunch of choice on busy days….
Anyway, I had food allergy testing done and was quite surprised about some of the foods that came back as positive and high enough to consider avoiding entirely. Peanuts was at the top, and I had 19 others on the list. You may just see more about that here later, but maybe it’s a bit too fresh and honestly overwhelming to share yet. I can say that what I will be eating on a daily basis will be quite different than before. I did expect to have some allergies (doesn’t everyone lately have some?) but I was not prepared for several of the foods on the list or for the number that gave cause for change.
Yet the goal is to have better health and feel better generally so I’m looking forward to seeing what happens through avoiding these foods and finding new ones to enjoy instead. Really I always wanted an excuse to try new foods and create my own strange recipes….but gosh, socially this may be a bit of a challenge. A friend jokingly said when I listed just a few of the allergies, “Um…can you eat anything besides air?!”
While I think withdrawals and cravings and the psychological part of missing what I used to eat will be the hardest, this could be a pretty fun challenge and adventure that will take some creativity. And you know what? I love things that encourage or even require creativity.
After initial elimination of all of the foods on the list, I may experiment adding back in some of them a tiny bit one at a time to check the reaction and whether it’s acceptable for me or not. I definitely haven’t had the level of severity to trigger deep concern, but passing itchiness of skin, eyes and ears, occasional abdominal pain, and feeling a little more weak than seems normal may be due to these foods. It will be fascinating to see how different I feel in a few weeks.
Just like I may have had some of these allergies for a long time but was unaware, I’ve been creative for a long time but just recently have tried to share this with a broader sphere, so be on the lookout for some food poems perhaps!
One last note. I’m not sure exactly why, but I secretly love break up songs. I’ve shared from this duo before because they’re one of my favorites. This song taken in new context of say, the guy being peanuts, and the singer being me is quite funny. Wow, this song takes a different turn in that light! If my craving for peanuts comes knocking, I’ll just remember what Carissa sings here and know I’m too good for that. And maybe I’d just tweak the words a little…”It’s just so hard to say goodbye when you’re so delicious” maybe. Ha. My silly sense of humor. I just had to have the goodbye here before I go on to the hello.
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