I’m sorry for the disappointment, but perhaps, since you’ve been doing this for 3 months, your next A1c may drop further as you get your diet figured out? And it did drop!
Did I know you were allergic to tomatoes?? I haven’t been able to tolerate tomatoes (except for small amounts of ketchup, ha) due to acid reflux issues, and it’s miserable for me. I didn’t realize how much I relied on tomatoes…
But on the dip front - have you had any success making a dairy free ranch? Honey mustard is another popular fry dip, I think, though I don’t enjoy the taste myself.
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before or not. Tomato has always made my throat feel a bit funny, and an allergist once mentioned that it’s closely related to potato, so could cause a cross-reaction. Then one day at work I had a salad with tomatoes and had a relatively mild but nonetheless full-blown allergic reaction and had to take a Benadryl. Then one evening I was eating something with tomato sauce and my mouth felt tingly and I broke out in hives. So I stopped eating it and got allergy tested, and sure enough it was positive. My allergist said it may only be raw, but a couple weeks ago I had quite a bad reaction to tomato sauce, so I think it’s raw and cooked. I’m allergic to banana, and that developed in almost an identical way. I have a colleague who also can’t eat tomato due to acid reflux, and he said his wife once made a “nomato” ketchup that tasted exactly like the real thing, so I’m going to look into that.
I haven’t treid ranch, though I have seen some commercial ones (whether they are safe for me, I have no idea, probably not). I would like to tackle a safe low-carb Caesar salad one of these days. I really miss those!!! Used to be my favourite type of salad when growing up.
I ate all the turnip fires without any dip as I’d cooked them with some salt and black pepper. They seemed so close to potato fires to me that it freaked me out a little eating them. I would have liked some of them to be crispier, but I have a cheap-o air fryer, so I think that’s why some seemed undercooked. They did make my mouth and throat feel weird, but I think that’s just the black pepper. I think sometimes I don’t like spices because it makes my mouth and throat feel similar to the start of a reaction. Definitely a recipe I will be trying again.
You probably have, and my memory is just that bad.
Do you have a latex allergy? Bananas, potatoes, and tomatoes are all on the cross reactive list. You’ve probably already talked to your doc about all this - just a random though as I was cross reactive to bananas at one point because of my ragweed allergy. Fun times.
I am waiting (very impatiently) for my favorite dairy free ranch to be back in stock (they had a production issue). All the recipes I’ve found for DF ranch either use coconut milk (which I can’t have) or mayo as a base, and for some reason, mayo based sauces/dressings make me feel sick (but I can eat chicken salad or potato salad just fine? My gut is weird). I loved salads growing up (I still do, though not lately with dressing issues I’ve been having). Any time my stomach was not happy, or if I was recovering from an illness, all I’d want to eat was salad, all day, for days.
I should probably try turnip fries one of these days…maybe when I actually get an air fryer. I love potato fries; they just don’t love me back (BG wise) if I’m not careful and eat too many.
I really do wonder what role hormones play in all of this being unable to hit an A1c of 5% thing (though I’d be happy with below 6.5% forever, I think). I mean, I have had massive highs over the past two days (most of the day out of range, and spikes to the high teens for hours) due to my basal rates needing to be raised by about 35%. I feel like most people who hit a really low A1c just do not have to deal with that sort of crazy shift two or three or four times a month. And certainly, those kinds of highs happening on a regular basis have to be pushing my A1c up over the long term. The frustrating part is there isn’t anything I can really do about keeping on top of hormones beyond what I am doing.
I asked to be tested for this and it was negative, thankfully.
What brand do you use?
Have you tried egg-free mayo? Even when I could eat eggs, I found mayo gross. But egg-free mayo is great.
I have major stomach issues, too. In my case, it’s been diagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome (which basically means, “we don’t know, but it’s nothing serious”). I haven’t been able to identify any food triggers. It’s been quite a bit better since starting a new medication, but I don’t really like taking medication for an unknown problem (though it’s better than daily stomach issues, so…).
I quite liked them. Of course, I have no idea how they taste or what the texture is like in comparison to potato fries. But they looked very similar to me. I havea really cheap air fryer, and would like to upgrade, but I have a teeny tiny kitchen, and all the high-quality air fryers I can find are enormous.
Zucchini chips were a big success. I inhaled them. A colleague tried them and she really liked them, too. Suggested I bring them to the next work potluck.
One zucchini made quite a few chips. I have three more zucchinis at home, so I’ll definitely be making more. I kind of wish I had a bigger dehydrator!!
If my recent experiences are any indicator…I’m inclined to think you’re on to something. It’s been almost effortless to maintain a low A1c, but I’m not expecting a low one this next check…hormone shifts are kicking my butt of late.
It’s the Just, Inc brand. I should probably try their egg free mayo, like you suggested…maybe even their new just eggs, which apparently can imitate scrambled eggs? I’m skeptical it would taste anything remotely like scrambled eggs. I just miss eggs so much. I can now do them baked in things again, but not straight. I cook my kids eggs almost every morning…sometimes it’s hard to watch them enjoying their eggs.
Hmm, that’s interesting. Out of all of my food related issues, my IBS triggers have been fairly easy to figure out. For me, artificial sweeteners are a huge problem, as are caffeine and stress.
Zucchini chips actually sound really good! We’ve been eating yellow squash and zucchini prepped any which way lately because it’s been on sale every week. Good thing is we all love yellow squash and zucchini.
On, no! I hope you’re able to maintain your A1c. I’ve never had a truly low A1c (not compared to these forums, anyway) and have definitely never found hitting the low 6% range effortless. If I slack off at all, I hit above 7.0% in a heartbeat. I’d be pretty happy if I could get, say, a 6.3% and just stay there forever.
I’ve never tried their products because they have “food starch” listed in their ingredients and never got back to my several emails about whether that was potato starch. I use Earth Island brand mayo, which I’d generally avoid because they produce other products with potatoes, but so far I’ve been okay the times I’ve had it. I have tried their VeganEgg product and it was a pretty close approximation to scrambled eggs to me! But I prefer scrambled tofu, because it seems less risky to me (re: cross-contamination) and is less processed. Ideally I would make my own mayo, but I’ve tried that in the past and it’s tricky getting it right.
I’m lucky that I live alone and that I pretty much treat my eosinophilic esophagitis triggers like my anaphylactic allergens…no allergens in the house at all. Although, I do have tomato sauce sitting here and will probably cautiously try it tonight. I can’t eat raw tomatoes at all, but so far cooked (like tomato sauce) have had intermittent reactions. So if I react tonight, that will mean cooked tomatoes are out. Unless it’s somehow cross-contaminated with raw tomatoes or with potatoes, which I should probably contact the company about. I’ve tried to find a low-carb, tomato-free “nomato” sauce, but all the ones I find use carrots and beets, which don’t seem low-carb to me.
For me it was my allergens that were easy to figure out, because I react immediately after eating them. Eosinophilic esophagiits took a little longer because those reactions are more delayed, but even those were pretty clear…I was just in denail for a long time about eggs. My IBS stuff seems to flare up regardless of whether I’m eating high-carb or low-carb, processed foods or everything from scratch, artificial sweeteners or not (though I’ve figured out erythritol bothers me), and caffeine or none. I was caffeine-free for years at the advice of an allergist, but I do really enjoy coffee, especially as one of the only things I can drink at a coffee shop (I bring my own cream because using the coffee shop cream always freaks me out that it may be milk or may be cross-contaminated with something). So I’ve recently started drinking it and have been fine. But if it causes symptoms (mostly in my esophagus in my case) I will cut it out again.
My latest experiment this weekend has been chocolate-covered hazelnuts (I bought safe baking chocolate and plain hazelnuts). I’m also going to make some more turnip fries. I found out that I can freeze the pizza I mentioned earlier in this thread. So making a batch or two of that and freezing it is also on the agenda. But dinner tonight will be non-low-carb pasta and chicken with tomato sauce. Fingers crossed I don’t have an allergic reaction.
My other upcoming project is making dairy-free cheese. But it requires sprouting quinoa, which I’ve never done before. So I need to get some jars and cheesecloth and do some reading before starting that.
@Pianoplayer7008 (and anyone else following this thread): I just bought this book, Vegan Keto, and it has recipes for waffles, quiches, “sausage” patties, and nut-free bread!!! All things I’ve been looking to make! The Kindle version was only $10. I’ll be trying these recipes out over the next few days.
last night for dinner i skipped my carbs completely. my overnight was a miserable night of endless lows and having to eat many Gtablets. my BG only came up after bfast ( 4% cottage cheese w/ coffee) i should have done a lowered TB. i will remember that for tonight. bc i am testing out if i have any food allergies, i have had to cut out my evening RYE bread. and, just to note, i did FEEL better not having had the bread, but my belly is still so distended that my husband actually asked me if there was any way i could be pregnant (i am 10+ yrs post menapause)
needless to say, carbs can dramatically impact your BGs !!!
With your activity level, you probably need to find a substitute complex carbohydrate to eat instead - oats, brown rice, sweet potatoes, legumes, etc are all good substitutes (though I’d probably be careful with legumes since you already have GI distention going on). Unfortunately, I have never found a gluten free bread that didn’t have at least some spiky simple carbs.
well, i love sweet potatoes and brown rice. i have a real problem with oats, though; i dont know why, but i spike about an hour & 1/2 whenever i eat them. i dont have the patience to do a dual bolus for them, so i just dont indulge…which is a real shame bc i LOVE them. i have the same problem with yogurts (of ALL kinds)
for some reason, i am able to eat regular English Muffins w/out spiking, so i am wondering if i could eat plain white bread with the same sucess. i’m not talking about Wonder Bread, but some of the good ones out there.
I don’t eat oats, either, but that’s because I’ll spike fast and then drop an hour and a half later - opposite problem. Ha, one of my favorite comfort breakfasts pre-diagnosis was oatmeal slathered on toast.
The English muffins/white bread connection would be worth a try as long as you’re not having to eliminate all gluten. lol having all sorts of old breakfast memories - a (very unhealthy) breakfast indulgence of the past was a broiled open English muffin with velveeta cheese. Sounds disgusting, but in my teen years, it was amazing.
growing up, my grandmother always made me hot cerials. every kind there is in existance. but, and i dont know if this is because she was Russian or not, she would make it with salt and butter…so i grew accustomed to eating it that way. however, my unhealthy love for all things BUTTER became unruly. i would slather on the butter and sprinkle everything with salt. even into my early dx, (pre-pump and careless decisions) i ate this for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. OH!!! i love that meal so much. then i started caring about my health and my A1cs, so i eliminated it from my diet. so sad.
PS: i still have a brand new box of Quaker Oats old fashioned rolled oats and a tin container of McAnnes Steel Cut Rolled Oats in my kitchen cabinette. i am saving them for when they find the cure for D
Hmmm, is that really such a bad thing? I do put plenty of butter in my kids’ oatmeal, but usually not salt.
I had a big container of purity protocol GF oats in my pantry (the only ones safe for someone with celiac like me) and was using the cheaper, not-safe ones for my kids. When I ran out of the regular stuff, I realized I should probably use up the good stuff since it would undoubtedly go bad otherwise, as it was already opened. They’ve been enjoying the muffins I’ve been making with them, at least.
I’m not sure this is super low-carb (I think the apple cider vinegar adds carbs). I’ve recently given up rice because I”m fairly certain it’s triggering allergic reactions and I’ve just been in denial, but it’s meant I’ve had to give up everything with rice, which includes the vegan mayo I’ve been eating (and that’s consistently caused symptoms).
So on the weekend I made this hemp-based “ranch” dip. While I wouldn’t call it amazing and I’m not entirely certain it’s even that similar to ranch, I find it pretty tasty on veggies. I think it would be even better on a salad. (I did double the nutritional yeast for it, as I do for most things…)
I think Oh She Glows has one that’s probably even better.
My partner makes this coconut cream-based ranch that is very tasty, but I know it works best with specific brands of coconut milk (basically ones without any added ingredients/stabilizers, which many of them now contain). I think it may fit your allergy requirements as well, as long as coconut is ok?
Thanks for this! Definitely looks like I can eat it. I will give it a try this weekend! I just need to find the pure coconut cream. (I wonder why they suddenly have more additives than previously…)
I just tried this recipe. I was very skeptical. It does taste like cauliflower to me, but I like cauliflower, so I found it edible. (It would probably help if I’d used fresher cauliflower, rather the frozen stuff I found in my freezer with no memory of actually purchasing…) I’ll try this again with some modifications and fresher cauliflower, I think.
If I slack off at all, I hit above 7.0% in a heartbeat. I’d be pretty happy if I could get, say, a 6.3% and just stay there forever. 
My IBS stuff seems to flare up regardless of whether I’m eating high-carb or low-carb, processed foods or everything from scratch, artificial sweeteners or not (though I’ve figured out erythritol bothers me), and caffeine or none. I was caffeine-free for years at the advice of an allergist, but I do really enjoy coffee, especially as one of the only things I can drink at a coffee shop (I bring my own cream because using the coffee shop cream always freaks me out that it may be milk or may be cross-contaminated with something). So I’ve recently started drinking it and have been fine. But if it causes symptoms (mostly in my esophagus in my case) I will cut it out again.
I do put plenty of butter in my kids’ oatmeal, but usually not salt.