I am currently at the tail end of an elimination diet.  It's this glamorous thing where you get to eat very limited things while trying to figure out what food allergies you might have.  It's actually pretty cool because I've lost about five pounds since I started nine days ago and although the caffeine withdrawal was a bummer early on in the process...I barely [lying through my teeth] miss a Mini French Silk Pie [no pie crust please] Blizzard from Dairy Queen on the occasional Sunday afternoon when it's hot.  Or cold. Or Tuesday.

This is one of the greatest inventions of the last forty years. 

Here is a list of what I haven't been able to eat since last Monday: corn, peas, beans, bacon, sausage, hot dogs [gross anyway], lunch meat, citrus fruit, dairy [farewell, sweet Blizzard Prince], tea, coffee [sniffle], kool-aid, pop [yes-this is Iowa-it's pop], eggs, peanuts, processed foods, sugar, wheat [I've been gluten free since 2006], chocolate, food colors and dyes, nuts, alcohol [gasp!] AND soy.

Have no fear, I haven't been starving.  It's summer, and that means a lot of delicious produce.  My sister and I went up to my parent's house in rural north-central Iowa this weekend to get our chicken meat from their chickens [this is a normal thing that everyone does, I'm sure] and my mom loaded me up with fresh vegetables from their garden because I think they are petrified that I might have the [whisper] cancer...even though initial doctor's visit blood work came back normal.  Success!  Like tonight, dinner is brown rice and chicken sauteed with fresh green beans and broccoli.  Rock on! I'm pretty sure at the end of the day it is going to be dairy or eggs or both.  Fingers crossed for just dairy :)  RIP Mini Blizzard.  I've gone out to lunch once since I started it, and it was literally the scene in the diner from When Harry Met Sally.  Waitresses love me.

Invite me to your dinner party and I'll bring an amazing dessert! And probably raw carrots...

A friend sent me this graphic when I started and it's basically awesome. This is not a 'I have food allergies, wah wah wah' kind of blog, but this is part of my life, so enjoy some recipes that maybe you get to add cheese to...you jerks :)

So yeah, I'm like Sally, just not as Meg Ryan-y...This is me in a restaurant, except with less pie...