The Daily Binge

Wafer-y goodness.

Today my bosses and I got a package in the mail from a Canadian work-friend (from a project we worked on last year). With gifts for everybody! Canadians are so nice.

My present was a 10-pack of a Canadian candy called Coffee Crisp. I wasn’t previously aware that such a thing existed, but I was excited because everybody knows that chocolate candies are better outside the United States. (I’ve probably talked about this before.)

Ooh la la.

So even though lactose is literally listed as an ingredient (it’s the same word in French and English), I was like– whatever. Delicacies from other countries are exempt from scrutiny. Right now. Because I said so. (And because I don’t even know if I should bother to worry about these negligible amounts of lactose– I mean, it’s not a GLASS of MILK.) (Incidentally– allergy-wise– these were make in a peanut-free facility… how progressive, Canada.)

At least each bar has no cholesterol and 2% of my daily calcium intake. So I’ve consumed 4% of my daily calcium intake via candy today. Thank, Canada!

I’m a sucker for anything wafer-related and the chocolate-coffee combination was sweet and not too strong. As the package promises, it’s “un gouter léger, délicieux.” Or– for those of you who don’t speak French (including me)– it “makes a nice light snack.”

I’m meeting a new work-friend for our latest project tomorrow, and will offer her a Coffee Crisp. The circle of work-friends! (PS– The old friend and the new friend have names that start with C, making this all very alliterative.)

What are your favorite foreign candies?

xoxo…

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Amber waves of grain.

Came home tonight to find my test results in the mail: Negative for Celiac disease.

So that’s that. For now. I can continue eating wheat without fear.

I guess not eating dairy has been working out fairly well. Maybe I’ll just stick to that for a while.

The letter also said that I should make a follow-up appointment, but it didn’t say when.

It’s 3:15am. That’s all I got.

Oh– and this: Some groundhogs saw their shadow yesterday, and others didn’t. That’s sorta what this whole thing feels like– are there six more weeks of bad stomach, or is it stomach spring? I need to consult a… stomach-hog.

Yeah… I need to go to sleep.

ChicoBags-- I'm a sucker for the pretty stuff.

Just as I advocate buying reusable snack bags (mine are from Snack Taxi and PB Green Bags), I’m also a big fan of bringing my own bag to the grocery store. It’s a pretty common practice in LA (and hopefully where you live)– one of the very few things that makes me feel hopeful that the world is not completely going into the gutter.

There was a period of time when I’d go home to visit my family and my mom would inundate me with new grocery bags, mostly from chain grocery stores. I would try to use them, but often I’d forget my bags in the trunk– or, if I used them, I’d forget to put them BACK in my trunk. And when I walk to the store from my apartment, carrying a bunch of big bags can be quite unwieldy– especially if you don’t end up using all of them. (Or have to walk past an upscale restaurant’s outdoor seating area and don’t want to look 100% dorky.)

And sometimes I just end up randomly at the grocery store, completely on the fly– say, while walking back from the Post Office. (I go to the grocery store almost every day– I’m not really a long-term planner when it comes to my food-shopping.)

Enter a few bags that are so small that you can carry them around in your purse… or your glove compartment… or on your belt loop.

I was first introduced to ChicoBags when I was at Sam’s place and we were headed out to the store to buy ingredients for dinner. “Here,” he said, tossing over a palm-sized little bundle. (Maybe I swooned a little– guys who care about the environment are sexy.) I was so impressed at their portability and function (and adorable designs) that I bought a few online. (Sam’s are just solid colors, for the less flashy set.)

ChicoBags are attached to the little bag that holds them, so you don’t have to worry about losing the container bag. And they come with a carabiner, so you can attach them to anything! The snowman one was a freebie when I ordered the others, and was described as a “gift bag.” Sometimes I worry that sharp things (like box corners) are going to poke holes in it, but the others (yet unused) seem to be made of a slightly sturdier material.

I also think the Valentine’s Day ones would make great gifts. (And I just spoiled a few of my Valentine’s Day gifts… great.)

Probably my favorite bag in rotation right now is my Baggu, a gift from Serious Eats when I pre-ordered their book.

Threw in my sunglasses for scale.

I could just as easily throw a ChicoBag into my purse, but for some reason the Baggu keeps making the cut. Maybe because it folds up really flat. (In February I’ll throw the Valentine’s ChicoBag into rotation.) (Honestly, if I had a bigger purse I’d carry two– I always seem to bring one bag and need two.)

The Baggu sometimes confuses grocery store employees. I think it’s a little shallower than a normal bag? But it holds a lot of volume length-wise, and you can carry it over your shoulder. (I don’t think you can do that with smaller ChicoBags, but they sell bigger ones… the snowmen can do shoulder.)

The one downside of the Baggu is that I’m constantly worried I’ll lose its pouch, because it’s completely detached. If I lose the pouch, I guess I could use a Ziploc bag… but that’s not as fun.

The best thing about using a Baggu or a ChicoBag or a cloth bag or a reusable Ralph’s bag with a kooky Hollywood logo on it (thanks, Mom) is that it makes you feel cool (well, maybe not the kooky Hollywood bag)– hey, I’m doing something for the Earth! And other people will see you and go– that’s a good person. Maybe they’ll give you a validating thumbs-up. Maybe they’ll give you their number! (If you want it.)

And– oh yeah– your apartment won’t be overflowing with little plastic bags. (I try to re-purpose the ones I DO have as trash bags.)

What are your favorite reusable grocery bags?

xoxo…

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Looking pretty legit for a slapdash affair.

As I stated in the aforementioned post (which I literally wrote, like, 5 seconds ago), I’m dealing with the annoying realization that most of the Lean Cuisines I would normally bring to work are currently verboten, as they contain dairy. (And I’m not really PROUD of bringing Lean Cuisines, but I got into a too-lazy-to-cook rut.)

I’m sick of buying expensive commissary lunches and I needed to get back in the cooking groove anyway, so I decided to cook something veggie-full that I could kind of improvise for dinner/tomorrow’s lunch (of course, that involves willpower… can’t eat it all at dinner).

I was reading some gluten-free website about what you can cook for dinner, and there was a lot of talk of whipping up rice-based dishes. Now, I’m not trying to be gluten-free right now because A) I never got my Celiac test results, so they’re probably negative (?) and B) If I cut out gluten and dairy all at once… too many variables. But my mind kept going to a veggie & rice stir-fry… I remember at least one of my former roommates making similar dishes, and it seemed doable.

Since I MIGHT still find out that I AM gluten-sensitive, and since I should probably cut back a bit on the gluten just for kicks, I am trying not to stock up on anything too wheat-y. Another reason for going with rice and veggies, since they will still be viable no matter how my tests come in. (PS– I tried gluten-free corn/quinoa pasta– it’s pretty good!)

So I went to Trader Joe’s and grabbed some good-looking veggies… I wanted to get a pre-cut veggie mix meant for stir-frying, but I couldn’t find one. But a few of the elements were still pre-cut, namely some sort of garlic/onion/shallot mixture.

Quick milk story– while I was putting my groceries away, I emptied my ice cream-making milk cartons (expired anyway) and went to put them in my recycles bag– only to find a big spider. So I THREW an empty milk carton on top of the spider, because that’s how I kill spiders. And I still haven’t moved the carton, because I’m scared of living AND dead spiders. (And not 100% sure I killed it?)

So… there’s a good use for milk, even if you can’t drink it. (And… is anybody interested in coming over and putting a probably-dead spider in the trash?)

Blurry veggie mugshot.

Ingredients: The aforementioned onion/garlic/shallot/leek (?) mix, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, green beans, Soyaki (contains wheat… but that’s okay!), frozen brown rice, egg white. I bought potatoes, but then I realized that with the rice it would be a starch overload (maybe). So… potatoes some other time.

I got the veggies going in the pan with a little olive oil, in basically the order I just listed. After the carrots and before the mushrooms, I added some Soyaki and then added a cup or so of water, realizing that the veggies needed a while to cook without burning. So I chopped the rest of the veggies and threw them in while the water evaporated out. (I never covered it because I don’t have a cover… sigh.)

Come on in, the water's fine.

I have to say, I felt pretty cool because I was mostly improvising and going on my cooking instincts. Which– suddenly I have cooking instincts?

After the water was mostly gone, I added the rice to the pan. At first the frozen brown rice looked like sizzling rice from a Chinese restaurant, but as it cooked it looked much more brown rice-like. (I also bought jasmine rice, for future experiments.) I added another dash of Soyaki, unsure of how strong it would taste… I figured I could add soy sauce if it was weak.

Enter the rice.

Once the rice was hot enough (I literally ascertained this by TOUCHING it– hey, I’m the only one eating it), I cracked two eggs (not at the same time) and dribbled the egg whites over the pan. I always like finding egg in my fried rice, and I figured it was a nice bit of protein (but I wasn’t too concerned– I had chicken at lunch).

This came out really well– the broccoli and cauliflower were cooked to softness, the peas still had some snap, and the Soyaki wasn’t too overbearing. I daresay I’ll be continuing to expand my stir-frying vocabulary in the coming months… and for the rest of my life! (I mean, why limit the timeframe?)

And the best part– I have enough left over for lunch tomorrow!

See the egg?

That’s a new IKEA bowl… it has a pretty little design on the outside that you can’t see. (Sucka!) I recently realized that all my plastic Target bowls that I’ve been microwaving for YEARS aren’t microwave safe. WHOOPS. (And I wonder why I don’t feel well.) So… I’m team ceramic now. If I break the bowls… they were cheap.

Later (after dessert…) when I thought of it, I made myself a salad of simple romaine lettuce with lemon squeezed over it, followed by generous dashes of salt and pepper. A wonderful, healthy dressing– so easy, and so delicious. Makes me feel like a badass to whip it up.

Speaking of deliciousness, tonight I discovered the Sunday Suppers blog… the pictures are divine. Look at these tea sandwiches! I was just starting to lament that I don’t live a fancy life of stylish suppers and gourmet cooking with friends when I realized that the gatherings are CLASSES. If you live in Brooklyn… I’m jealous. Go to a Sunday Supper (unless they’re, like, crazy expensive).

Hmm… maybe I should just try to establish a stylish cooking klatch amongst my own friends. I love klatches. (Though I’m not sure I’m spelling that right… I think there are multiple ways to tackle it.) But I don’t know if mine would be QUITE as fancy or well-lit. (They’d be… un-fancy, let’s be real.)

Tonight I’ll just have to settle for living in the Brooklyn of LA (or is it?) and being able to whip up a pretty tasty improvised dinner for one. Baby steps.

xoxo…

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Dairy-free ice cream. I swear. (Salted Oreo & Chocolate Peanut Butter)

So far, trying to be lactose-free has gone pretty well. There was a little bit of cultured whey (milk) in the Trader Joe’s Yellow Curry Sauce that Sam and I used to make a chicken and veggie curry over the weekend. And there was possibly some dairy in the chicken with mole sauce that I ate for dinner on Saturday when my sister came to visit. But… that was at a restaurant. Oh well.

The hardest thing is realizing that there’s milk product in almost every flavor of frozen dinner and even in my beloved Lipton’s chicken noodle soup (that might be an “oh well, I’ll eat it anyway” situation)– so many things have at least some trace of dairy. Baked goods. Salad dressings. Sauces. I’m trying to be good for evaluative purposes, but once that passes I probably won’t be quite as fanatical. Because it’s kind of impossible.

But for the time being– man, it’s really hard to tell if things have lactose in them, if you’re not privy to the ingredient list. And– unlike gluten– Trader Joe’s doesn’t have a dairy-free items list on its website. I just find it funny because a majority of the population is lactose intolerant to some degree– whether they know it or not. I don’t know how people with severe lactose allergies manage to avoid the minefield. I mean… I guess they make a lot of their own food.

The hardest thing to deal with is desserts. SO many desserts are dairy-based. I went to the grocery store and got myself some nice fruit pops, melon, and a quality dark chocolate bar with almonds. (One side effect of trying to avoid milk and the processed things that contain it– I’m eating more fruits and veggies and doing more cooking… I feel healthier-ish.)

Okay, now that I think of it– there are still a lot of dessert options. But I’m an ice cream lover. So it was definitely a wonderful splurge to get some dairy-free ice cream at Scoops on Sunday– even if it was soy-based, and sorta made my stomach hurt (dairy placebo effect?). I’m glad I live in a hip part of LA where it’s not hard to find vegan ice cream.

This was going to be a post about what I made for dinner, but I guess I’ll write about that separately.

xoxo…

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Exactly.

I went to the gastroenterologist today. He listened to all of my complaints and asked questions about my background. (And pressed on my stomach a bit… I was relieved that it didn’t get any more invasive than that.)

Doctor: Do you have any siblings?

Me: Two sisters… one is lactose intolerant.

Doctor: The other one just hasn’t realized it yet.

He was a font of wry humor.

The basic conclusion– as declared by my mother last year– is that I have a shitty Jewish stomach. And that since most adults eventually become lactose intolerant (and apparently milk is a stupid thing for American adults to drink anyway, since we don’t need it), I’m supposed to stay off lactose/dairy for the next few weeks to see if it helps.

Except for aged cheeses… aged cheeses are okay because civilization back in the day figured out how to get lactose out of their foods. Like smarties. (But now we’re stupid again?) (This appointment was a history AND biology lesson… I learned that everybody’s gut-flora is unique. You ARE a special snowflake, after all.)

As I try to figure out what I can and cannot eat, I’m starting to realize that I don’t even know the difference between lactose and dairy. So young and so foolish! (Too bad Wikipedia is dark today…)

Diagnosis-wise, there’s not much else to report at the moment. I may have a gut with flora more prone to making me feel crappy. (Great luck!) (A probiotic may or may not help.) I may also have an acid-y stomach. (I got some Prilosec samples.)

As for the wheat/gluten allergy question– they drew some blood to see if I have any visible allergies. (Allegedly a few years ago it was really popular to diagnose people as Celiacs even if they weren’t FULLY Celiacs, but the doctor is okay with the craze because it has made it easier for real Celiacs to find gluten-free options at their local stores.)

At least the doctor didn’t make me feel like I was an idiot for coming in without major symptoms. That was a relief. It’s nice to feel like I’m not COMPLETELY crazy.

I left the appointment with a continuing-to-feel-crappy stomach, but I’m feeling okay now. Funny thing is– I was bracing to not be able to eat gluten anymore, and I was surprisingly okay with that. Apparently quinoa pasta is quite tasty, and sometimes wheat products just give me a grossed-out feeling. But ice cream… yogurt… Laughing Cow cheese… a lot of things with dairy ingredients… Oh man. (Can I still eat PIRATE’S BOOTY?!)

Well, my sister just pops a funny pill and eats ice cream like there’s no tomorrow. So that’s always a backup plan. But for now I think I should try to be more diligent. As the doctor said– Your stomach only treats you as well as you treat it. (For some reason that struck me as a really deep insight… if that simple logic was a revelation to me, it’s probably time to be even more mindful of what I eat.)

Most importantly– I need to find some good dairy-free recipes for my ice cream maker!

But yeah– nothing is majorly wrong with me. So I can rejoice on that front. Just a shitty Jewish stomach. (Mother knows best.)

Oh– and I should mention that I ACED my blood pressure. I always have excellent blood pressure. What a healthy kid. (120/70… don’t be jealous.)

xoxo…

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Took this photo at a diner on a sad stomach morning in Monterey.

Last time I wrote about my gluten-free follies after the fact. This time (if it even pans out…) I figured I’d blog about it while I’m IN IT. I mean, this is how book deals happen, right? (Just kidding… unless you want to give me a book deal.)

Every couple of months (or less), I seem to be dealing with digestive unpleasantness. About a year and a half ago I gave up bread for a week, with inconclusive results. A few times I drank those gross probiotics… also inconclusive. In Monterey, I got can’t-sleep-might-barf sick from an apparent lack of proper digestion (that’s what Sam gets, trying to take me on a romantic getaway…).

And now– less than a month later– I’m sick again. At first I thought I was dehydrated. Then– maybe it’s a cold. But I began to realize– every time I eat (or even drink chamomile tea), my stomach has this initial “OUCH.” Sam listened to my stomach with fascination, and reported that it sounded like “a dragon.” (The Girl With the Dragon Stomach… coming to a doctor’s office near you.)

I’ve tried all the easy-ish remedies– Activia yogurt, Tums, chamomile tea, Gas-X… but so far, nothing has really solved the problem. Thing is– since I don’t actually know what the problem IS, anything could be hurting. If I’m lactose intolerant, yogurt’s no good. If I’m allergic to gluten, saltine crackers aren’t gonna help.

I’m going to a gastroenterologist on Wednesday (maybe I should be going to an allergist). Perhaps I’m just stressed or ate something funky, but at this point there’s a pretty clear pattern of crappy-ness. I’m guessing that I’m allergic to something– please dear universe don’t let it be tomatoes!

I’ve long suspected that I might have Celiac disease, and some of the symptoms are uncanny. (Particularly– when I was a kid my dentist thought I was suddenly sucking lemons, because the enamel got really thin on my front teeth.) But either way, I’m thinking maybe I ought to try a gluten-free (or something-free) diet again, just because… something is up, here.

The idea of going gluten-free is not a super-exciting one, because… I love food. But I love not feeling like crap, too– and there are increasingly more gluten-free choices in stores and on menus. So… that’s uplifting,