I'm not fussy- I have an allergy!

Well, actually, it could be said I am a bit of a fussy eater, or at least my family of origin would say so. I grew up on a farm where we had our own fresh cow's milk and I absolutely hated the cream on the top of the milk. I would always strain it through a tissue or piece of muslin because it would make me sick if I drank it otherwise. Back in those days ( Yikes! I sound so old!) we used to have milk delivered to our primary school and each term my mother would write a note to excuse me from drinking it.
One day we had a fill-in teacher as our teacher was off sick. This fill-in teacher was determined to do things by the book and because she hadn't actually seen the letter from my mother (it was probably just a formality each term and looked at once and thrown out) so she stood over me and waited for me to drink the lukewarm milk. I was so upset and so SICK!  I actually vomited at her feet. The poor teacher felt awful and may well have given up doing relief teaching after that!

I'm not actually lactose intolerant as I can have dairy food without any problem, but I still don't like full cream milk and yet I love cream on apple pie or scones. Gosh, I'm making myself hungry! But last year I discovered I had an adult onset gluten intolerance so it was goodbye to the scones and apple pie.

 I actually went through a period of grieving. I found it so hard to accept I would not be able to eat a squishy white bread roll fresh from the bakery or anything from the bakery when it came to that. And get this-not even Vegemite. Did you know there is gluten in Australia's favourite spread? I missed vegemite toast the most. Oh, and cereal like oats and muesli. GF stuff is not the same and way too sweet.
The simple act of going out for coffee or dinner became a nightmare even though most places cater for gluten and nut and other allergies.
But it gave me a new insight into allergies and the difficulty it is to live with them. Even with all the awareness about allergies we have today, it is still common to run across someone who thinks you're just an attention seeking fussy eater.

But there is a happy ending to this story or at least there is for me. Just before Christmas I ate a mince pie and didn't react to the gluten. I tested my system the next day with wait for it-Vegemite toast and no reaction. I kept testing with other foods, all the glorious foods I hadn't been able to eat for the past year and not one of them upset my stomach....well, that's not entirely true. I still get a bit of bloating if I overdo it but nothing like the stabs of pain and days of fatigue and feeling off colour that I had before. My specialist has told me to enjoy it ( in small doses) while it lasts as it is sure to switch back on again as it is an autoimmune thing.

Do you have a food intolerance or allergy? Do you have any survival tips? I have a copy of my new release The Temporary Mrs Marchetti for a reader who leaves a comment. Kind of appropriate title given my allergy was temporary. 😃 Let's hope it stays that way!

Best wishes,
Melanie