The allergen-free foodie on the road.

I have traveled throughout Ohio, Kansas and Texas this year, trying to find food options in local side-of-the-road diners, fast food stops and gourmet restaurants all while trying to figure out how to get my GPS to stop avoiding left turns. One of the best ideas I have had, is to know what I can eat at chain restaurants. Though not my favorite places to go - they don't have as much charm as local eateries and cannot tailor meals to my exact needs - there are some places I can depend on.

Chipotle, for example. They have a very clear allergen menu online that lists only the flour tortillas, cheese and sour cream as off-limits for me. My typical meal is a bowl with cilantro-lime rice, no beans, fajita vegetables, chicken, corn salsa, tomato salsa and, my favorite, guacamole. And if I am lucky, they will have fresh lime that I can squeeze on top.

Wendy's has some salad options that are Ellee-friendly too. They have an allergen menu as well as a separate gluten-free menu online. I had to look at the ingredients listed for individual items, which are found at the very bottom of the allergen menu. I usually get a salad with Ultimate Chicken Grill Filet. My two favorite salads are the Apple Pecan Chicken Salad (without cheese, but with the Pomegranate dressing that comes with it, while the pecans come in a small package and are promptly handed off to my husband since they are not Ellee-friendly), and the BLT Cobb Salad (without egg or cheese and with the Italian Vinaigrette dressing instead of the Avocado Ranch). Like most fast food places, their dressings are in separate packages that list the ingredients. And Wendy's new fries are vegan and gluten-free - that day was a good day.

Gas stations sometimes have roasted almonds or pistachios (that are not cooked in peanut oil). As well as granola or protein bars - Larabars are gluten-free and vegan with no refined sugars, but I am lucky if I find them in a convenience store. Instead I get a Nature Valley granola bar (I seem to be able to tolerate oats) or a Cliff brand Builder's protein bar, which is high in protein and doesn't cause blood sugar issues for me. The Cliff Builder's bar has oats and also lists 'natural flavors' which always makes me wonder, but so far I have not had a reaction - the vanilla almond and chocolate mint are delicious. And if I am really honest, I usually find a bag of salty, fatty, allergen-free potato chips to snack on too.

Grocery stores, which can be found in every single town no matter how small and out of the way, will have the same foods as gas stations, plus fresh fruits and vegetables.

More and more chain restaurants are carrying allergen-free menus and adding allergen-free foods to their lists. Subway apparently now had a gluten-free bread (though not dairy-free) as well as vegan, gluten-free brownies (which are delicious and cause my blood sugar to go crazy, but still - delicious). And some Jason's Delis now offer Udi's bread (my favorite packaged gluten-free, dairy-free bread) along with allergen-free menu that also lists gluten. By the way - Udi's contains egg, which I seem to be able to tolerate it when it is in a baked good.

So though it can be overwhelming when it has been four hours since my last meal (too long for my blood sugar) and we are on a highway with an exit only every ten miles, out in the middle of the Kansas plains, with a side-of-the-road diner once every hour where the waitress looks at you sideways when you say the word "gluten" - I am managing. And I can say that it is getting easier. Partly because I am learning and partly because the food industry is learning too.

Inauguration of allergy-free blogging.

While I write my first post I think back on my history of confusion and guilt with food. Realizing that I have finally found a way to live with food (and even enjoy it!) is overwhelming. Discovering my food allergies and intolerances took years, with doctors, tests, diets, trials, and my own intuition.

A lot has changed in our food industry in the last twenty years. In all my research the most compelling information I have come across is how we consume unhealthy food without question. I have the opportunity here to be grateful that I can't have a double bacon cheeseburger and a large Coke or a gas station bag of jalapeno Cheeto's. And I am grateful, but it has taken a while for me to get past the self-pity that I gladly sought out when my doctor read back my results of my last food allergy test. Mourning my loss of entire food groups I said what can I eat? Little did I know how ignorant I was about real food.

The last year has been a challenging year of trial and error as I not only find new recipes that are free of gluten, dairy, egg, peanut and beef, but I have to make sure I have the right mix of fiber, fats, complex carbs and the oh-so-important protein since I am hypoglycemic. I have discovered I can still be a foodie. I have discovered there is more for me in the grocery store than iceberg lettuce and corn tortillas.

Tonight I had rhubarb for the first time. I mashed it with sweet potato and fresh ginger in lentils with rice and had homemade allergen-free moroccan loaf to scoop it all up with. I tossed the leftover rhubarb in some unsweetened apple sauce and baked it with an allergen-free crumble topping (oats, buckwheat flour, raw sugar, agave syrup, oil, cinnamon) over it for a fantastic low-sugar dessert.

Yum.