An Unsatisfying Customer Service Experience (Homemade Worcestershire Sauce)

When Tommy was first diagnosed with food allergies, I read a lot of online support forums about kids with food allergies. I don't read those anymore since I feel like I have a good handle on his allergies and the forum posts are very repetitive. One of the things other moms have talked about is calling the 1-800 numbers on food packages and asking for clarification on ingredients. Especially if they contain "spices" or "natural flavorings." Unfortunately in the US only the Top 8 most common food allergens are required to be clearly labeled. Those are fish, shellfish, soy, dairy, wheat, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts. And yes, the list says "wheat" and not "gluten". So that may mean that things can contain barley and rye unless it specifically says gluten free. 

My favorite recipe for beef in the crock pot uses a bunch of Worcestershire Sauce. The ingredients on the label are all things Tommy has now had (even anchovies and tamarind), except for "natural flavorings." I googled recipes for making your own Worcestershire Sauce and about half of them included mustard. So I decided to put on my big girl panties and call Lee and Perrins' customer service.

What a disappointment. The lady that answered the phone said she could not tell me whether or not it contained mustard. She said that even she was not given complete list of ingredients. I understand a company wanting to keep it's recipe a secret, but I hung up the phone feeling very frustrated. Mustard is a relatively common food allergy and is required to be labeled in the European Union and Canada. I bet I'm not the first person who has called asking about mustard. 

So I grumpily decided I'm no longer buying Worcestershire Sauce. Now I'll be making my own from ingredients I already had in the pantry anyway. Lee and Perrin's, you just lost a customer. I read through multiple recipes online and created my own recipe. It doesn't taste exactly like the bottled version, but I sure do like knowing exactly what it's made of. I used some of it the first day I made it, but I bet the flavor will get even better after sitting in the fridge for several days.

Homemade Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp molasses
2 Tbsp coconut aminos (or gluten free soy sauce)
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp fish sauce
Juice from 1 lime
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 tsp granulated onion
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl with a tight fitting lid. Cover and shake until mixed. This can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for several weeks.

You Win Some, You Lose Some (Lighter Baked Potato Soup)

I spend a lot of my time thinking, stressing and worrying about food. I guess that's probably pretty typical for a food allergy parent. 

What is Tommy going to eat today? 
Will other kids be eating at the daycare/park/gym/etc?
What is that crumb?
Will today be the day Tommy goes into anaphylactic shock?

Last week was a pretty big food week for us. I had two food allergy slip ups as a parent. But we also did have two food victories. First, the bad news. I volunteered to watch a friends two girls for the morning, and I thought it'd be fun to invite over a couple other kids for a play date. Things were going well until lunch. I made Tommy safe waffles for everyone, but I gave the other kids glasses of milk when they asked. I should have just given them water. After the kids eat, not all of them had finished their milk. At one point I saw Tommy with one of the cups of milk. I think at the most he had one sip of milk. About 30 minutes later it was time for Tommy's nap and he was itching his face. No hives, but he was itchy. So I gave him some benadryl and watched him for another 30 minutes then put him down for a nap. Fast forward another hour and he was vomiting like crazy. So his milk allergy has no progressed from just eczema to vomiting as well. Looks like he won't be outgrowing that anytime soon...

My other food allergy slip up was at a birthday party for a friend later that week. There were a couple plates of cheese and crackers on her table, and in one movement Tommy grabbed a crostini and took a bite. At least we think he took a bite. He didn't get any hives or have any other sort of reaction, so either he needs to consume more wheat than that, or maybe we actually caught him before he took a bite. Either way, we dodged a bullet. 

On the plus side, we did have two food victories last week. Tommy went to the local daycare for the first time so Ben and I could go skiing together. He successfully made it through snack time and lunch without eating anyone else's food or having a contact reaction. The daycare is aware of all his food allergies and made sure to feed him separately. 

Tommy also had a positive experience at the gym daycare. At the gym they are not allowed to have food or drink in the daycare room, but as I walked in the door one of the volunteers was mixing up a formula bottle for their child. He made it through with no hives or vomiting. 

These may see like minor experiences to you, but to me they represent victories over my food allergy anxieties. It's a big step for me to trust a stranger with keeping Tommy safe so that I can take some much needed time for myself. 

I have been cooking a lot over the last 8 years, but I never used to have this much stress related to food. I've been working on making yummy Tommy safe foods that we'll all enjoy, but I haven't really been focused on healthy lifestyle. Whenever I talk about what Tommy eats, people tend to say, "Oh, I would lose so much weight on that diet." Well, that hasn't been the case. Yes we eat a VERY high fiber diet, but it's not a reduced calorie diet. All of his alternative grains have about the same calories as wheat. 

Since it is January after all, I finally rejoined a gym and am going to make an effort to have a healthier lifestyle. I'm going to try and post calorie info for my recipes this year. In the past, the only way that has worked for me to lose or maintain weight is to track calories. My Fitness Pal has a pretty good free tool for calorie tracking. It's tedious, but effective. So here's to a healthy and happy 2014!

The recipe today is for a lighter version of the Baked Potato Soup I made the other day. I subbed cauliflower for half of the potatoes. This time the soup was much more runny. If you like a really thick soup, you might want to reduce the broth to 6 cups. Don't let Tommy's smile fool you. He refused to eat the soup.

Lighter Baked Potato Soup (10 servings)

3 lbs Russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 cups cauliflower, chopped
12 slices of bacon
1 large onion, diced
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
8 cups chicken broth
1 can full fat coconut milk
1 can lite coconut milk
4 cups roughly chopped spinach and arugula mix

1. Cook the bacon in a large pot over medium heat. Remove bacon when crispy and remove all but 2 Tbsp of the bacon grease. 
2. Add the onion, garlic, salt, pepper and paprika. Cook until the onion is tender.
3. Add the potatoes, cauliflower and broth. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes and cauliflower are very tender (about 15-20 min).
4. Mash the veggies with a potato masher until your desired smoothness. 
5. Stir in the coconut milk and crumbled bacon. Heat until all the coconut milk lumps dissolve.

Nutritional Info (Calculated from My Fitness Pal)
Calories: 287
Fat: 12 g
Fiber: 4 g
Sugar: 6 g
Sodium: 616 mg
Protein: 11 g

The Adventure Continues...

Agh. It's been another bout of confusing allergy symptoms. We re-introduced grass-fed beef recently. It seemed to be going ok, but then the horrible diapers returned. Like the worst smelling thing you could imagine. Poor little guy. He still manages to keep his sunny personality even when it's obvious that his digestive track is in turmoil. 

We were thinking maybe it was the beef, or possibly a reaction to trace amounts of egg protein in the flu shot he got on Friday. It's so tough to pinpoint the cause when it's a delayed reaction like diarrhea. It's much easier to figure out what causes it when he has hives or even vomiting. He seemed to be getting better, but now it's back. So maybe he's developed an allergy to salmon too. 

I hope this won't delay his tonsil surgery. As anxious as I am about his surgery (even though I know it's very routine), I really don't want it to be delayed. 

Oh the joys of food allergies...