Every population needs it's yellow canaries, I just don't know why I volunteered for the job.

The black fog is finally starting to lift now. Maybe it's the 100% unsweetened cranberry juice I drank 20 minutes ago, or maybe it's just time. It's been almost 24 hours now, and I can feel the dark black cloud lifting and the sun streaming back in.

Hooray! If you're going to have a disease, it might as well be one with a tangible cause. If you're going to fall into a pit, it ought to be one you can find your way back out of! I'm now SO grateful for the knowledge that makes that dark feeling something I don't have to live with.

I think I'll sleep tonight...finally.

One of the funniest moments for me, at the conference, was Thursday night, when my husband joined me for the evening before going back home to help with my son. The Top of the Rock restaurant at the Buttes is a very nice place with very nice chefs, hosts, and servers. I called ahead to make sure I could survive eating there, and when I arrived they knew me by name and were very thorough to make sure I could eat what I ordered. So I ordered, and my husband ordered some parsnip soup, I asked the server to check on the ingredients on this so I could know if it's safe to take a bite of it (just to compare it to my own parsnip soup). The server was one of the best I've ever had, and carefully checked it over. She also had a very distinctive accent. When she came back she informed me that the broth in the soup had corn or gluten in it so "The soup...is not for you." After she left our table, my husband looked at me, waved his hand in the air and in his best Seinfeld fashion announced "No Soup for you!" I could hardly stop laughing. By the way, he said my soup is a little better Nice husband.

The meal was excellent, they had a wonderful seafood special with shrimp and macadamia crusted scallops, which were pure heaven. It sat atop some frisee and maple glazed sweet potatoes, with a wonderful sort of chile butter sauce. When I went back later in the week, I had the free range chicken, but substituted the same sauce and sweet potatoes, it was also very good, though the lamb chops looked amazing too.

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Last night I didn't feel at all like cooking (or cleaning the kitchen) so we did fast food. We almost survived it. I took my bun-less, sauce-less, cheese-less burgers and decided to make a taco with the gluten-free tortillas I had bought. I found out later in the night this was a bad idea. I knew better; I had read that vegetable gums often comes from corn, and these have xanthan and cellulose gum in them. I ended up itching during the night and having trouble sleeping. From now on, I'll just make my own amaranth wraps, they are better anyway.

I had two revelations at Costco today...the first was how few things there I could now eat. Now that I have to cut out all corn derivatives, that cuts out most of the canned foods, except pineapple. I ended up getting mostly produce. (and was very pleased to see their tomatoes on the vine were grown without pesticides). The second revelation was as I waited to check out and surveyed other shopper's carts...they looked healthier than they usually do. The Japanese family in front of me had mostly rice, fish, and some sushi rolls. To the side, I saw more produce than usual, and no junky snacks like pop tarts and twinkies. A little bread here and there, a box of cereal, but no cakes or doughnuts. This survey usually leaves me depressed, but today it was a bit uplifting. Maybe it's just the time of day, or maybe times are starting to change just a little bit.

I totally forgot to mention an important point to Dr. Bland's presentation... even though our genes overall don't change (we have to keep the cards we're dealt), our expression of these genes can change due to environmental and nutrition factors. Many bummer genes only express themselves under certain circumstances, but given adequate nutrition, such as Folic acid B12 and other B vitamins, you can decrease the expression of bummer genes, and increase the expression of "bliss genes".

This is why folic acid and others are so vital before conception and 1st trimester, when so much depends on gene expression, when much of what is written in ink becomes written in stone.

It's also why it's important to avoid contaminates and toxins in your food supply. Eat only a reasonable amount of wild (AKA alaskan) salmon, and don't even look at farmed, atlantic, Scottish or any other sort of salmon. Only buy organic butter, and be sure you buy organic especially of the top 12 pesticide-ridden fruits and vegetables.

• Apples

• Bell Peppers

• Celery

• Cherries

• Imported Grapes

• Nectarines

• Peaches

• Pears

• Potatoes

• Red Raspberries

• Spinach

• Strawberries

From http://www.foodnews.org/reportcard.php

He also taught us that within 2 generations, after billions more medical costs, our children's children will have shorter lifespans than we do...it's been improving up to now, but the trend is now turning downward--unless something changes. Let's change it, for our own children and for each other, we have the knowledge, make it happen!

I'm in shock now that I realized I've been buying organic apples for my son, but giving him regular old apple juice. It never occured to me before! It will be expensive, but it's gonna change. The fuel and oil you put in a car the first 10,000 miles determine so much about how the car for the rest of its lifespan, afterall.

I was a bit surprised when I took the quiz in the cancer book and it came up as low risk. It does admit to it's own incompleteness, by stating that there are so many factors involved that it can be difficult to predict. This weekend I learned that I do have other risk factors, besides my family history, h.pylori and celiac disease.

If you want to run some searches in pubmed on scientific fingerprinting, it can be quite surprising to see how much science there is to it. It's mostly based on associations, but they are strong associations. We learned some of this at the conference. You may laugh, but hey, until genetic tests are cheaper, we do what we can. According to my understanding, the fingerprints are more influenced by in utero development than by genes (though it's all interrelated, of course), and you can tell more from fingerprints than you'd know. For instance I have 7 whorls...more than 6 indicates breast cancer risk and celiac disease risk. However, more interesting than that for celiac disease is the association between intestinal wall damage and low ridge height. If you have low ridges your fingerprints will be faint and will develop small wrinkles across them which show up as white lines on paper (high ridges strenghten the skin, so the wrinkles don't develop). Low, stunted villi result in low, stunted ridges...so you can use the fingers as a way of monitoring your intestinal health and the presence and current state of celiac disease. I have quite a few wrinkles, my ring finger has almost 10 of them, though they seem to be fading on my index finger and middle finger. I recall noticing that the ridges were worn smooth in the middle of my patterns a while back, but didn't know to observe anything about it or the wrinkles. Always just thought it was from dry skin.

So, I now have a way to monitor my healing, and screen others, especially family members. I also have come to the realization that I am a high-estrogen person, even in utero, and I've had many symptoms of estrogen dominance throughout my life. So, bring on the natural aromatase inhibitors! The good thing about most natural 'medicines' is your body has a choice of whether or not to use them, and your liver doesn't have to detoxify them, unlike prescription meds. Cherry juice and sprouted foods, onions, garlic, I believe these are all highly beneficial for me.

I think I'm having a girl, because it feels like I have more estrogen. My boy gave me some testosterone (which helped my joints, but also made me grow funny hairs in various places, overall I like testosterone), this time, my hair is normal if not finer, and my joints are not receiving so much benefit. It's hard to tell, of course, and I couldn't guess this soon with my first, though once I did venture a guess, I was right. I predict a type O girl*, who likes to eat more than play... pretty much opposite of my first. *I had originally typed "girls", hope that's not a truthful slip because I really just want one baby at a time!

I'll post up some fingerprint links in a bit.

We often do things primarily because the good doctor recommends it, it's so nice to ask and get an understandable answer as to why we do it. What are the underlying reasons? Hopefully my answers will spur yours.

When a gluten (or a lectin) binds to a cell in the intestines, it triggers a cascade of inflammation. This cascade continues throughout the immune system in all parts of your body...liver, brain, connective tissue, etc. etc. etc. That immune activation (which Os are so prone to anyhow, hmmmm) can cause all sorts of damage to your cells and organs.

Then you consider that this very damage to the cells in the intestines can open them up, causing a leaky gut, which allows the lectin into the inside, and heightens the body's state of alert. Also leading to more of that insulin mimicry - thus, insulin resistance, which along with the inflammation, even increase cardiovascular risk...

No doubt a person listeneing to this information would need to go back to the beginning...the nature of a lectin. How do we know that lectins bind in this way to the cells in the intestines...

First consider that of all the environmental concerns many of us have, which are for good reason, the closest, most intimate relationship we have with the environment is our food. 50 tons of food pass through each of us in our lifetime, and the small intestine is not just built like a hose, it's built like a terrycloth towel, with a huge amount of absorptive surface area, not only are there little fingerlike projections covering the surface, but each of these villi are covered with yet smaller projections, microvilli, increasing the absorptive surface area to something quite astounding. The first order of business: to absorb everything that's anything. That's their marching orders, they don't know how to distinguish so well between good and bad until they've already latched onto it and started the process.

So, why is a lectin a bad guy, at this point? You've seen fighter pilot movies and the like where somebody is being shot at by another aircraft or a missile and they always shout out "I can't shake him!" before they blow up and die… Well your cells can't shake a lectin. Since a lectin is defined by its ability to attach to specific markers on cells (specific sugars in the case of blood type specific lectins), that is what a lectin does best. Gluten does it particularly well, on account of its innate and observable to the naked eye stickiness. And when anything attaches to a cell wall, it sends signals, it has the secret handshake so to speak. In the case of celiac disease the immune response is explosive, like swallowing microscopic sticks of dynamite. Think photos of a modern city before bombing or a natural disaster, then after, that's basically what happens to the villi. This makes a person extremely lectin sensitive, because it destroys the barriers to entry. What happens in a city at that point (though usually this happens long before the destruction!!)…it becomes a police state. That's the only way to defend itself. What happens in a police state? Innocent citizens inevitably do get hurt. That my friends, is autoimmunity, so very common in Os who eat wheat. It can damage all organs, including the brain.

Other soundbite reasons why wheat is bad.

1. The lectin in wheat mimics insulin, causing your body to go into energy storing mode, whether you have energy or not. This results in fatigue and weight gain.

2. You often hear studies trying to figure out why Asian countries are so much healthier than Americans. Green Tea, Soy? This or that in the diet. Maybe, just maybe it's something they don't eat…they eat rice rather than wheat. Wheat is not a part of their traditional culture.

3. Wheat is very allergenic

4. Wheat is no longer a 'natural' food. The protein content of wheat has been bred so high over thousands of years both to improve it's rising ability in breads and to provide protein to populations who are deficient in it. Problem is, the protein in the wheat is rich in lectins and allergens.

Hope that helps you, and those who ask you about it!

My cogs in my brain won't stop turning, so on the ride home I jotted some thoughts down. This should probably be a few blogs, but hey, ya take what you can get I'll post more details about the conference and a few pics over the next few days...

Thoughts on Non-secretors

I like to think that in the world of X-Men, it's the non-secretors who are the mutants*(see new note below), or conversely, the superheroes. Dr. D'Adamo says we're just plain weird, and that is true. We're a bit harder to pin down. What are the advantages to being a non-secretor, beyond resistance to one or two rare illnesses? I know there are some, but they remain to be illuminated by experience.

For one, we do have this internal enforcer, this force inside us that does its best to make us perfect in our compliance. However, secretors can be highly lectin sensitive under certain circumstances, as well.

I don't know, but I suspect I would not have found and tried the diet yet, if I had not been faced with the challenges of being a non-secretor. We are by most definitions, less perfect than secretors biologically, yet in a perfect state one can no longer learn. Without pain, we do not learn. I suppose as a population, if there were not these often problematic adaptations, the species would not learn either. Both genetically, and as a culture, non-secretors have something to share with the population at large; we have a lot to teach, because we learn it more quickly due to the power of dietary influence in our lives. I feel that I did some of that teaching over this weekend, as I got to help Steve Shapiro with the client panel, and just meeting and talking with everybody, but I did a whole lot more learning. It's so cool to sit down next to somebody you've never met during a break, introduce yourselves, and within seconds, start learning amazing things from them.

A sampling of what I learned

There were many "ah-ha" moments when I realized, "Oh, that's why I've been doing this…I was just doing it to follow the instructions" I re-read the books now and things jump out at me that I never noticed before.

List of things I'm grateful I've done, and will continue, especially now that I've learned why they're so important:

-Following the diet for many months before conceiving a child.

-Taking Folic Acid and B12, and good quality vitamins for many months before conceiving.

-Avoiding farmed salmon at all times

-Eating, and feeding my family organic whole foods

-Avoiding Lectins – the mechanisms of the damage they can do have been illustrated to me, and I'd rather keep all my organs in good working order for a long time to come.

-Avoiding Gluten (the super-lectin in my book)

-Using Organic Butter

-Setting goals, and living a long productive life

I'll go into more detail in coming blogs.

Setting Goals

However, regarding setting goals…I'd forgotten how much I love to learn. I was sick of school, but now I'm thinking of going back on a very part time basis. One thing at a time of course, and my top priority is raising my children, but I'm going to take some continuing education to keep sharp for the day when eventually I will go back to school.

Before I finished university, went to work, and had children, I thought of becoming a genetic counselor (this was before discovering Bland and D'Adamo). University of Utah medical school has a good program, and the combination of one-on-one counseling sessions, combined with the fascinating subject of genetics really appeals to me. I could aim for Naturopathic school, but I think by the time I get there, this science of nutrigenomics will be advanced enough that I won't step on too many toes in conventional medicine (and if I do, oh well!) Maybe preventative genetic tests will have become affordable by then as well, making genetic counseling something within reach for everyone as a powerful preventative tool.

It should be a fun ride. Slow, but steady. I think I could have a long lifespan ahead of me. I am an O after-all, and the BTD is giving me an edge.

I still can't believe that I was able to grasp most of what was taught this weekend, even by Dr. Bland, who can say more in one paragraph than most people learn in a lifetime. It must be my genetics background…it's so nice when things start coming together.

Oh, I met a woman at the conference, named Debbie, who has a Blood Type Friendly health food store with a large selection of gluten-free foods: www.glutenfree4life.com She said foods are labeled on the shelf for what blood types can eat them. Very nice person with an interesting story of her own. It looks like the products aren't organized by Blood type on the website, but I'm sure she could provide you with information. Great resource for other celiacs on BTD.

I have some other very cool links in my notes, that I'll find for you. One with recipes, and some interesting scientific ones that the presenters shared with us.

More to come!

*Note: I'm actually just referring to the mutants in the x-men movie, not to non-secretorism as an actual mutation. There is a tendency to think of any disadvantage as a mutation, yet the term mutation is not used in genetic circles very often, as they have more descriptive terms for these differences, like Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, which nonsecretorism is not.

Yesterday wasn't good food wise. I woke my son up a little early to hopefully get him on an earlier schedule. He was so grumpy that I didn't eat breakfast for a couple hours (I was tired too, so it's not all his fault) I ended up getting morning sickness full blown for the first time, in other words, I vomited, or more of dry heaves since my stomach was empty. I ended up stuffing a banana into my mouth, which seemed that it would be impossible since bananas can make me gag, but it worked like a charm, then I cooked some eggs and got sort of back on track.

I was such a slug the rest of the day though that I didn't cook much, I pulled out a roasted sweet potato from the freezer, heated it with butter and ate it. That was all I ate until late when I finally cooked some rice noodles and meat sauce. The Pomi tomatoes with garlic, oregano, basil, a little thyme, and a lot of salt, made a great sauce with onions and ground beef. Sprinkle some nutritional yeast and pepper on top...yum, tasted just like my mom makes, yet 100% wheat and corn free.

My son still stayed up late, despite waking early. I'm sure he'll have to catch up on sleep somehow...I can't accept that he may need less sleep than I do. It's not fair! At least I can go to bed earlier during the conference.

I can't wait for the conference. I can hardly think about anything else. Unfortunately I have a lot of work to do this time of year so I better go and get something done now.

Here's the pumpkin cookie recipe I made a couple days ago. Deborah posted it to her blog a couple weeks ago, but I made some O-nonnie modifications, so I'll go ahead and put it up, it's originally from the back of Bob's Red Mill Millet Flour

2 cups Millet Flour

1/2 cup amaranth flour (can also use soy or buckwheat flour, but for O nons, amaranth is good in cookies)

3 tsp corn-free baking powder (see recipe in previous post below)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg (fresh grated if possible...yum)

1/4 tsp ginger

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1-2 cups raisins (optional)

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

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1/2 cup grapeseed oil

1/2 cup molasses (not blackstrap unless you're really accustomed to that taste)

1/2 cup veg. glycerine (this amount of sweeteners leaves them a little less sweet than average cookies, that's how I like em)

2 eggs, beaten

1-2 tsp. vanilla (optional, I left this out, as vanilla is an O-non avoid and I can't find any flavor extracts so far that are gluten-free and corn alcohol free)

1 1/2 cups mashed pumpkin, or one small can.

Preheat oven to 400-425 degrees F, Stir dry ingredients into liquid ingredients. This makes a thick pourable batter. (I had to add 1/8 cup water to get right consistency, probably due to reducing the liquid sweeteners) Bake medium-sized cookies for 12-14 minutes.

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Yesterday was one of my first and few certifiable corn-free days. It is much harder to be absolutely corn free than to be gluten-free. Corn and its derivatives are in everything, and unfortunately I react worst to the derivatives (citric acid, ascorbic acid, corn alcohols in natural flavorings, etc.). I slept better last night than I had in a while and didn't wake up itchy. I'm beginning to think that the scalp problems I've had for almost 2 decades may be caused by corn...I've had every scalp problem you can think of, and then some (except baldness, fortunately). Oh, I guess I can't call it certifiably corn free...since Armour thyroid has dextrose from corn in it. I hope I don't have to switch though, we just barely found the right balance, and I don't know if any other types are corn-free and gluten-free anyhow. I suppose I shall have to look into it.

Last night I made some compliant pumpkin millet cookies. They worked out well. I used molasses and glycerine to sweeten them. I had a couple too many, then noticed a reaction.

All I can pin it on is my baking powder. I bought it from an HFS, but it still has cornstarch in it. So, today I bought some cream of tartar and will dump out the old stuff and make some new. Here's a recipe I found online, though I can't remember where it was...

Corn Free Baking Powder

Ingredients:

1/3 cup baking soda

2/3 cup creme of tartar

2/3 cup arrowroot starch

Directions:

Thoroughly blend all ingredients together, and store in airtight container.

Recipe makes 1-2/3-cup of corn free baking powder.

Use in recipes to replace standard baking powder.

I don't bake that often, but this should be helpful. Now I know cornstarch is included in my corn derivative allergy. Maybe one day I'll even slip up and learn if I'm allergic to whole corn...I don't plan to though. Corn is so prevalent, most any food additive is made from it, and if you have to be gluten-free, you run into it even more often.

Back to basics.

Oh, my first prenatal visit went just fine today. Everything is as it should be. Next month I'll get to hear the heartbeat.

If you haven't checked out Tom's article on Atypical Celiac disease, you should pop over and give it a read. I thought it was pretty amazing that non-secretors are 200% more likely to get celiac disease. Also interesting was the IgA antibody information. My blood tests were negative for all but IgG antibodies, though I was mostly gluten-free when I was tested. Perhaps I have a little IgA insufficiency. Man, I wish my sibling's doctors would read up on that. I was so lucky to have a doctor who listened to my symptoms, and combined with the lab results, that was enough for a diagnosis. Hey, 3 doctors have considered it enough now...pretty cool. I am very adament when they review the case though "anything with any gluten in it gives me diarrhea, end of story, if that's not celiac disease, what is?" If a doc had done a biopsy on my, and it had been negative, I would have considered it a false negative anyway, so what was the point. Biopsies are no fun. Of course, gluten didn't give me diarrhea until I started doing elimination/challenge diets with it. I was constipated and overweight, with a slight magnesium deficiency, that was it. Once again, I am atypical.

I hope to get my subtype testing done at the conference, since there are no facilities for it around here. I'll take bets...Here's my bet, I'm probably an MM, and wouldn't be surprised if I'm Lewis Double Negative. I guess I'm a pessimist about it. Maybe most of my early health problems could be blamed on celiac disease, but maybe I'm more genetically challenged than that.

Oh, food discoveries this week: Hollandaise sauce! I made it for the first time. I'll have to keep that to a minimum, but it's soooo good. Just whisk up 3 egg yolks with a teaspoon of lemon juice, then add half a cube of cold hard butter and put it on low low heat. Keep whisking it, and lift the pan off the burner a bit if it looks like it may curdle. Whisk whisk whisk until the butter melts, then add the other half of the cube of butter and keep whisking on low heat until that butter melts and the whole thing thickens. Soooo good.

Also discovered some wheat-free gluten-free tortillas...I think they're corn free too, but not avoid free as they have some binders like xanthan gum and tapioca flour. Secretors could probably get away with these from time to time...I bought some just to support their manufacture...yeah right. anyway, they tear and break fairly easily, but if you spray them with oil and heat them in a skillet for a bit, they work pretty well.

At the potluck on Sunday, the main dish was pulled barbecue beef with buns. Of course I couldn't have the bun, and I couldn't have the beef either because the sauce was commercial who knows what. It looked so good though that I went out and bought a flank steak, then simmered it with a quarted onion and bay leaf for 2-3 hour until tender. Put it in the fridge and shredded it up the next day. Today I made some semi-successful bbq sauce. I put too much cherry juice in it, but it worked out ok. Cherry juice, tomato paste, cherry preserves (compliant, such as St. Dalfour's), a little molasses, some red pepper flakes, sesame oil, thyme and a touch of cloves. I think pineapple juice would have been better for some of that cherry juice. I didn't have the measurements right, or I'd include them, just do it to taste, I did a little bit of everything, but too much cherry. Then I also put some of the beef, sans bbq sauce into one of those thar tortillas, with chopped tomatoes, chopped serrano peppers, pinto beans, and salsa, smothered it in salsa verde and baked up an enchilada...I had come within a millimeter of buying an Amy's frozen enchilada dinner, so this was a slightly better choice There's a brand of salsa in the Mexican foods section, I think it's Ronzon or something like that. It has no vinegar or avoids. Very good too.

It's count your blessings time for me. I find the best way to cheer up, is to think of the good experiences and efforts people do make.

One of the best was a Chinese restaurant in Tokyo. The chef and I didn't even speak the same language, but somehow we communicated our needs. He brought out a chicken fried rice seasoned with sesame oil and salt. It was very good and my son couldn't get enough of it. He ate every part of it, even the little vegetables. That was nice. There were many similar experiences in Japan, and the service everywhere was wonderful. A few places in the US have been good that way too, though I find it most difficult in Utah.

My mother-in-law also makes efforts to make sure there's something I can eat when we go there. Sometimes it's just a chicken breast, if everyone else is having some sort of casserole thing. She always keeps the crutons, cheese and dressing to the side of the salad, so I only have to worry at potlucks if somebody else is doing the salad.

I have a sister-in-law who is also quite conscious of it, and usually makes something my son and I can eat. Her daughter has a classmate who is also a celiac, so she has lots of ideas from what they do for him.

My mom also calls me to discuss every menu ahead of time. This is my favorite approach, though I usually end up feeling pretty demanding when I change everything around as much as I sometimes do. But hey, I shouldn't feel bad about that.

I'm proud of my brother for getting tested and going gluten-free. He loves food more than anyone I know, so it hasn't been easy for him. He said he wouldn't have gotten tested if it weren't for the increased risk of GI Cancer. There's a lot of cancer in my family, so that got his attention. He had plenty of symptoms, but it's the possible complications that he took seriously.

Celiac Ramblings:

Of all unassertive people to get celiac disease, I'm one of the most unassertive. Maybe that's the lesson I'm meant to learn by it. I feel bad for passing on the gene, so I tell myself that I'll just also pass along the knowledge of how to deal with it. Then when I don't even know how to deal with it, I feel worse on both counts. That's the rub, I guess. Now I may be passing it on to another little soul, and it makes me more emotional. On one hand it's really no big deal, but this pregnancy is making me pretty emotional.

Plenty of people out there have celiac disease and don't even know it, they just go about their lives eating normally and getting sick, sometimes seriously ill, from it. Who knows, maybe my son didn't even get the gene from me. Now that I think about it, I remember my husband's cousin talking about how the doctor put her dad on some ridiculous and weird diet, but he didn't even try it. So the gene could be on my husband's side too. They're all so terribly addicted to wheat, that it's not even funny, it's kind of sad actually. There are autoimmune problems, weight problems and osteoporosis. Who knows...but I bet nobody would volunteer to find out. Just the idea of one day without bread, rolls and brownies turns their world upside down. I'm inclined to think that wheat addiction is a symptom of celiac disease, but then every american is addicted to wheat. I sure was, I'd be eating it now if the repurcussions weren't so terrible, but I'm glad to have it's influence out of my body.

Now I'm thinking, why is it more difficult in Utah to be gluten free? Wheat is ingrained in the culture here. It is in all of America: "American as Apple pie" or eating hot dogs at a baseball game, that whole bit. But in Utah it's almost part of the religion. Our dietary code is very much A-like, though I read it more as being against processed food...that's not a very popular opinion I have I'm sure. There's a pretty strong hold that some food manufacturers have around here. Even though we all agree that it's best to cook your own food, for most, cooking involves such ingredients as cool whip, condensed soup, soup mixes, ketchup, crumbled cookies and other such processed foods, you know the recipes you see in ads for processed foods...

I love how international my local church group is, because the potlucks often include real food from other countries, like the French neighbor's bean salads which are simple, yet amazingly good.

Well, my deviled eggs have turned out well. I cheated a little and used storebought canola mayonnaise. I think I can survive that, at least it's corn-free and soy free, and I only used a little bit I prefer my angeled eggs myself though, so I'll reiterate that recipe just slice the boiled eggs in half and drizzle with salt, olive oil and lemon juice, and any other seasoning you like, curry is good. No mixing involved, so they're quite easy, compliant and good.

One last grump

My last grump for the day is that I have to give up my beloved Trocomare, because of my rosemary allergy. At least I'll give it up while I'm pregnant, I'll probably start using it again afterwards. It really bites to be allergic to an herb. Now I have to check on every ingredient label that says "spices" before I can eat anything. If celiac disease and corn derivative allergies didn't stop me from eating processed/prepared foods, this surely will. Time to give away a few jars of spice in the cupboard now.