Let's celebrate Cinco De Mayo! Except ... you're allergic to corn
Inspired by Rae-Beta's post Eat A Mile In My Shoes for food allergy awareness month.
Here are the rules:
Pick a food. This should be a base-level ingredient--"wheat" rather than "cookies" or "bread," for example. If you want a bigger challenge, pick a non-top-eight-allergen (top-eight allergens are peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, wheat, and soy). If you feel that you have something to prove, pick corn.
Congratulations! You are now severely allergic to that food (and, of course, to its derivatives). This means that if you eat even trace amounts, you risk a life-threatening reaction.
Now, I'm not going to be as "mean" as Rae. Let's pretend you don't have a life threatening allergy to even trace amounts. I'll let you be me. One corn tortilla chip will make you feel like somebody has beaten you all over with a stick, will make your joints swell up, and will make you incredibly fatigued. For 24-36 hours.
You can have cornstarch -- but only if it's the very last ingredient on the list of a package, and you can only have one serving/piece per day. (Many things are dusted in cornstarch to prevent them sticking to the wrapper.)
You can have corn syrup -- provided you don't eat more than about a spoon of it a day. (You can have a very small wedge of your beloved Pecan Pie.) You can have up to 2 non-diet HFCS sodas a day.
1) You will have to read the label of every processed food you buy, every time you buy it because like Rae points out, ingredients change. If it says "corn" or "cornmeal" even as the last ingredient, put it back.
2) You cannot pick out the corn kernels -- sorry, but if they are mixed into a food, that protein that you are allergic to has permeated the dish.
ETA: And yes, you will have to tell friends and family "Sorry, I can't eat [special dish] you just made for me. No, I can't just pick out the corn kernels."
3) When you order Chinese food you will have to ask if there is any baby corn in the dish. If something is battered, you will have to ask what is the batter made from. And that sauce/gravy? is it thickened with cornstarch?
4) Getting a sandwich? Forget the "Multi-Grain" bread. Also, you will have to ask if there is cornmeal sprinkled on the top or bottom of the bread or roll.
5) Love pizza? Make sure to ask if there's cornmeal on the crust.
6) Mexican restaurant? You're going to love watching everybody else tear into the chips and salsa! Also, you will have to ask, every single time, "Is that a corn or flour tortilla?" Kiss Tamales good bye and, every single time, you will need to ask about the batter on the Chile Relleno.
ETA
7) You will need to read labels on over the counter drugs because cornstarch is commonly used as a filler ingredient. When you have a prescription filled, you will need to ask the pharmacist if cornstarch is a filler in the tablets. If it is, they will have to find a different formulation. Sometimes this means you don't get the generic. Sometimes this means you have to wait 1-3 days for your special order no-cornstarch pills to come in before you can fill the prescription.
Enjoy your week!
Here are the rules:
Pick a food. This should be a base-level ingredient--"wheat" rather than "cookies" or "bread," for example. If you want a bigger challenge, pick a non-top-eight-allergen (top-eight allergens are peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, wheat, and soy). If you feel that you have something to prove, pick corn.
Congratulations! You are now severely allergic to that food (and, of course, to its derivatives). This means that if you eat even trace amounts, you risk a life-threatening reaction.
Now, I'm not going to be as "mean" as Rae. Let's pretend you don't have a life threatening allergy to even trace amounts. I'll let you be me. One corn tortilla chip will make you feel like somebody has beaten you all over with a stick, will make your joints swell up, and will make you incredibly fatigued. For 24-36 hours.
You can have cornstarch -- but only if it's the very last ingredient on the list of a package, and you can only have one serving/piece per day. (Many things are dusted in cornstarch to prevent them sticking to the wrapper.)
You can have corn syrup -- provided you don't eat more than about a spoon of it a day. (You can have a very small wedge of your beloved Pecan Pie.) You can have up to 2 non-diet HFCS sodas a day.
1) You will have to read the label of every processed food you buy, every time you buy it because like Rae points out, ingredients change. If it says "corn" or "cornmeal" even as the last ingredient, put it back.
2) You cannot pick out the corn kernels -- sorry, but if they are mixed into a food, that protein that you are allergic to has permeated the dish.
ETA: And yes, you will have to tell friends and family "Sorry, I can't eat [special dish] you just made for me. No, I can't just pick out the corn kernels."
3) When you order Chinese food you will have to ask if there is any baby corn in the dish. If something is battered, you will have to ask what is the batter made from. And that sauce/gravy? is it thickened with cornstarch?
4) Getting a sandwich? Forget the "Multi-Grain" bread. Also, you will have to ask if there is cornmeal sprinkled on the top or bottom of the bread or roll.
5) Love pizza? Make sure to ask if there's cornmeal on the crust.
6) Mexican restaurant? You're going to love watching everybody else tear into the chips and salsa! Also, you will have to ask, every single time, "Is that a corn or flour tortilla?" Kiss Tamales good bye and, every single time, you will need to ask about the batter on the Chile Relleno.
ETA
7) You will need to read labels on over the counter drugs because cornstarch is commonly used as a filler ingredient. When you have a prescription filled, you will need to ask the pharmacist if cornstarch is a filler in the tablets. If it is, they will have to find a different formulation. Sometimes this means you don't get the generic. Sometimes this means you have to wait 1-3 days for your special order no-cornstarch pills to come in before you can fill the prescription.
Enjoy your week!