A light at the end of the tunnel

After nearly 5 years of unidentified stomach pain, (gotta love terms like functional disorders) I finally have a specific reason to blame! Food allergies! Can I just tell you what a relief it is to find out I'm not crazy? Or undefinably abnormal?

Instead of just telling you what I can't eat, I thought I would write a few haikus:

Juicy, dripping, pink.
Gandalf's Elvish word for friend.
Spit out the black seeds.

Nebraska's cash crop.
Steamed, creamed, grilled, boiled, cobbled, and shucked.
Fields of golden maize.

It's the poor man's steak.
I like it Kentucky-fried.
Bawk bawk bawk bawk bawk.

The only green nut.
Nutella's glorious nut.
These nuts grow on trees.

'Loping melons.
No more of these in a pod.
Pink freshwater fish.

There. Those are the big ones. I have also have a slightly smaller allergy to bananas, string beans, carrots, coconut, mushrooms, oats, potatoes, rice, rye, sunflower seeds, peanuts, walnuts and chicken.

I have gone through what I call the stages of allergy acceptance:

1. Acceptance. (OK, so this is what's going on!)
2. Excitement. (Finally, I know what's wrong with me!) 
3. Sadness. (I can't eat. Or that. Or that.)
4. Anger. (Stupid body. Why would you be allergic to all of those things?)
5. Second acceptance. (Sorry about that, body. I know it's not your fault.)
6. Hope. (Yes, substituting turkey for chicken could work. So could substituting quinoa for rice! This could be OK)

In the end, I believe that it's better to know why I'm feeling pain. I'm very grateful for modern day medicine that can me what's going on with my body.

In other news, I made this tasty cookies for choir today:

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Ingredients

1 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. vegetable oil

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c. confectioners' sugar

Directions

Mix together the cocoa powder, sugar, and vegetable oil in a large bowl. Beat eggs into the cocoa mixture, one at a time. Stir in the vanilla extract.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Stir this mixture into the cocoa mixture.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a baking sheet.

Fill a shall bowl with confectioners' sugar. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in the confectioners' sugar and place on the baking sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from  the oven and allow to sit on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Thank goodness I can still eat these. Mmhm.