Making Peanut Butter Thins

Happy Bank Holiday Monday!

When I was diagnosed, I had already guessed that gluten was going to be off the table. To say I was less prepared to find out about my dairy and egg allergies was an understatement.

What was the first thing I thought of? Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

How did I react? Horrifically. I tried to argue my way out of it, but I had no such luck; I can't believe I was screwed over by a phial of my own blood! Denial, panic and anger followed.

Just over a month later, I'm in a better headspace than I was then. Don't get me wrong, I have moments where I can't/won't deal with my situation very well, and I wallow in my room whilst watching Netflix. Then there are other times where I realise I'm a grown-ass woman, and I move myself from the bedroom to the kitchen eager to make something tasty whilst watching Netflix.

I was in the kitchen the other day after a trip to the shop, where I was tipped over the edge by the hipster guy with a beanie and a beard paying for a Reese's Nutrageous bar next to me at self-service. I ransacked my cupboards and fridge and pulled out the following:

peanut butter, non-dairy spread, sugar, vanilla, icing sugar, vegan chocolate

Having spent a good fortnight coming to terms with my new lifestyle with the help of Pinterest, I looked at a few recipes and mixed a few bits up to make something that fitted within my personal allergen filter. My main concern was that I was going to make something using up the last of my peanut butter and that it would taste shit. I'm pleased to say that this was not the case, and these gorgeous things are beyond edible.

Firstly I mixed everything but the chocolate together in a bowl, it becomes almost like plasticine in the way that you can press and mould it. When I got to that kind of consistency, I pressed it all out into a baking tin.

Then I melted a few bars of the vegan chocolate and spread it evenly over the top.

I popped them in the fridge for about 25 minutes, before cutting them into squares. After a little longer in the fridge, they were ready to eat!

Eating Out With Food Allergies

It didn't hit me until after I'd been diagnosed, but eating outside of the comfort of your own kitchen is hard.

You're off on a day trip, and you've been stuck in traffic, so decide to make a pitstop for a snack. The majority of services offer fruit of some description, but aside from that there's generally choice of one packet of crisps (if none), a fizzy drink and a pack of gum. You get to where you're going and it comes to lunch time. There are three places to eat and once again you can have either the fruit plate or a dressing-less salad. When the day is over, you're dreading a long drive home, so you decide to stop at a restaurant. Once again you're coming face to face with a multitude of no-go zones on the menu.

The list goes on.

With difficulty comes nerves; nobody likes worrying about what's safe to eat each time they step out the front door, but it happens, even more so when you're newly-diagnosed. Here's just one of a few of my horror stories:

I went to Nando's with one of my friends. I ordered a meal that I knew was completely safe for me, and I made the manager aware of my condition and allergies. When our meals turned up, my friend had just finished her starter of the amazing red pepper dip (which is served with pitta). I went to top up our drinks - we were both drinking Coke Zero - and somewhere along the way mixed up the two glasses. Needless to say, I ended up sipping from a straw that my friend had used after eating her pitta bread, and before we'd even left, I looked eight months pregnant and was in the bathroom.

It's important to remember that cross-contamination is just as dangerous as eating something directly, but I'm not here to put you off eating out forever. A few tips for eating out in future:

• If you know where you're going beforehand, check online for a menu. Generally if you type '[restaurant name] allergen information', most large franchises will offer you some information so you can be somewhat prepared.

Five Guys offers a bun-less burger to help those with coeliac or gluten intolerances

• When you get to the restaurant, ask if there are any specialised menus available that cater to your needs. Just some of the restaurants that offer gluten-free menus are TGI Fridays, Chiquito and Prezzo. If they don't make sure that staff are well aware of your condition and ask for their advice when it comes to picking something from the menu.

Turkish restaurants offer great gluten-free and dairy-free options; everything is grilled and served with lots of salad

• Don't be afraid to ask questions. Of course you don't want to be that annoying customer, but remember that you're only playing 21 Questions with the waiter because your health is priority. Maybe the chef can offer you an alternative.

Some restaurants offer alternatives for special requests; for example, these goujons were made using a gluten-free flour

• Make sure that the people you eat with completely understand your situation, there's nothing worse than having someone pick from your plate when they've eaten something that can accidentally contaminate you.

The bottom line is eating out can still be possible, and it can still be fun. In the words of Theodore Roosevelt:

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

... and if that just so happens to be Nando's, then order yourself some peri-peri and dine allergen-free. 

Review: Tefal Actifry (1kg)

I first came across the Tefal Actifry a few years ago when someone was talking about a health fryer that made amazing dishes with very little oil, and the chips were out of this world. Then I saw an advert on TV a few months later. Then, gradually, more and more people were buying them, and more importantly, raving about them. I took to the internet to look into buying one, until I saw that they were retailing at around £200. As a student at the time, I could just about to afford to buy the potatoes, let alone a £200 gadget that turned them into chips. And with that, I just forgot about the Actifry. 

With my diagnosis came a multitude of challenges. One of them was finding a decent portion of chips that hadn't been cooked in a fryer that was used for foods that contained gluten, dairy or egg. Generally speaking, it's not easy, and it started to get me down. I'm generally quite a healthy eater so I'm not one to eat chips every day, but when I fancied them I either had the risk of a reaction, or had to attempt to make half decent ones in the oven (that just tasted like miniature overcooked roast potatoes). When the Actifry made a revival on Instagram and I saw so many people eating amazing chips minus the trip to the chippy, I went back online. And within a matter of days, there was an Actifry delivered to my door.

Using the Actifry was surprisingly easy. Literally open the lid, extend the paddle handle and remove the Tefal spoon and fill the pan with whatever you're cooking, so in my case it was chopped potatoes. The guide that comes with it advices you how much oil to use according to the weight of the food that you're putting in there. I used 500g of potatoes, so I used half a Tefal spoonful of sunflower oil and evenly distributed it across the chips. Then I pressed the timer and set it for 30 minutes, the approximate time advised in the booklet, and turned it on. The Actifry took over and I went about my business. When the timer beeped to let me know the chips were done, they went straight from the Actifry to my plate!

PROS

• Uses very little oil yet still gives the 'deep fried' taste you crave for
• Cooked to perfection - crispy on the outside, soft on the inside
• Easy to clean
• Versatile and can be used for anything from chips to risottos

CONS

• Noisy (expected from an air fryer, but you generally forget about it once you've tasted the chips)
• Price, but I guess that depends on where you stand financially - I think the amount of use you can get from the Actifry makes it a fine investment
• A bit big, though if you've got plenty of storage this isn't a big deal

My advice would be to look at all official stockists; Tefal offer a list of them on their website. The Tefal store offers the 1kg Actifry for £194.99, but its listed Amazon stockist is selling it for £119.99 with free delivery. They offer different models to cater to your needs, so make sure you do your research and buy the one that's right for you.

RATING: ★★★★☆

What are Allergens, and Why Do They Suck?

With more than 17,000,000 people in Europe and 4% of the adult American population suffering from their horrid effects, food allergens are a bit of a big deal.

Over 200,000 visits to A&E are made annually in the States alone, and hospital admissions caused by severe allergic reactions have increased sevenfold in the past ten years. There are 46 recognised allergens that are regularly tested, a handful of those most responsible for 90% of all food reactions are peanuts, wheat, milk, eggs and shellfish.

The risk of developing a food allergy heightens if you have a parent that suffers from an allergy-based disease, such as eczema, asthma or even hay fever.

So what’s what?

A food allergy is generated by your immune system, whereas a food intolerance isn’t. Either way, a reaction can take place within minutes of you eating something that your body doesn’t agree with.

When you eat a food allergen, your intestinal lining becomes inflamed due to irritation. Your ability to absorb nutrients effectively is reduced significantly, and if your nutrients aren’t absorbed properly, your body can’t be nourished properly and as a result your body finds it difficult to heal and repair itself.

Particles of the food that is unable to be digested leaks through the intestinal wall and enters your systemic circulation. When this happens, the real reaction begins. By escaping your digestive tract and invading new territory, your immune fighters (white blood cells, macrophages, lymphocytes) get confused and are incapable of identifying the food particles from the bad bacteria and microbes that the fighters are out to obliterate. As a result, they’re destroyed and a reaction is well and truly headed your way – poor you! :(

If you’re unlucky enough to have been diagnosed with Coeliac disease, it’s a whole new kettle of fish. Coeliac is an autoimmune disease, and those effected must follow a meticulous gluten-free diet, as gluten triggers the production of antibodies, which then attack your own cells rather than the horrid microbes that they should be fighting, and this in turn causes damage to your gut.

With this is mind – whatever your situation – learn about your allergies, because knowledge is power, and that power is on its way to kick those allergens’ arses!

Sources: FARE (Food Allergies Research & Education), Coeliac UK