Let me get right to it.
When I realized I couldn't tolerate wheat, dairy and sugar it wasn't because I had a blood test done or anything, it was by quitting cold turkey. After removing them from my diet, all my ailments went away. My skin cleared up, I had more energy, the stomach upsets were gone. I was a new girl. And oh-my-agave was I ever grateful.
Soon after this realization, not only did I stop eating wheat, dairy and sugar--I got really nit-picky about everything I ate and obsessed with digestion and overall health. The good news is that I learned a lot about nutrition and used the knowledge while creating my recipes for the bakery.The bad news was that I got all koo-koo crazy about every little thing I ate. My list of requirements read like the Odyssey. Is it organic? Are there preservatives? Hormones? Omega 3's? If I combine my rice with beans would it give me more energy then eating rice with nuts? When out to dinner, I was one of those girls. You know the one that's like, "What kind of oil do you use? Are your vegetables organic? Is your soy non-GMO? How do you make your tempeh?". I was real obnoxious and a total buzz kill for any dinner companion. Luckily, I've learned how to loosen up since then. I love food too much to agonize over the tiny things that I can't control and I have to say much happier with simply avoiding dairy, wheat, and sugar.
Now to the real talk. Last week I met my sisters for breakfast when I was in San Diego. They decided to meet at a bagel shop because that's what they and many normal people eat for breakfast. Now, I blame this partially on the fact that I was jet lagged, another partially on wanting to do what my sisters were doing and a final partially cause after all this time there's still a little voice in me that doesn't believe I can't digest wheat. So...I. Ate. A. Bagel. I know, gasp! gasp! I totally did it. And I was fine. For an hour. And then the pain began and let's just say I was not comfortable for the rest of the day. Why did I do this to myself? Was I insane? I guess I must have been temporarily but I learned my lesson. Wheat's sword is swift indeed. I guess I need to open a bagel shop next.
So instead of keeping this just my little secret, I thought I'd share my experience with y'all. Have any of you had a similar experience? Any war stories to share? You're in a safe place here!
I read the label on a Halloween candy bar. No wheat or whey listed. I ate. I was sick. I knew it must contain SOMETHING. Investigated. Different size candy bar had ingredients listed differently. Turns out those tiny candies made for trick-or treat sometimes have wrong wrappers and wrong ingredients. This is the season for the little culprits so beware of the scary things inside wrappers. I travel from the Bahamas to get babycakes. Yes I have the cookbook. yours are better than mine.
I've been there.
I am just learning about all of my food intolerances and they are many. Like you mention, there is still a part of me that is not convinced that I can't just eat whatever I want. Especially when I have avoided those foods for a while, I never remember the consequences as vividly as they are.
I have the toughest time dining out with folks. I want to be free and easy around food. (I hate when what I am/am not eating and why becomes the focus of the conversation.) So I usually let myself eat ONE of the many things I try to avoid.
This always ends up in a downward spiral... so I am learning to be both rigid and gracious at the same time. Not an easy combination.
I've just discovered your recipes through GOOP and can't wait to get my hands on the cookbook!
Love the clip art lady! ahaha And I'm going to have to steal oh-my-agave from ya.
In the early days (13 years ago) I did the same thing. Some quack doc said he could cure me with some weird machine. I wanted to believe. So, anyhoo, went crazy after he had "cured" me. Then the nasties happened. With the dermatitis herpetiformis sores on my face from gluten, and now due to more research having been done, I know not to play around with gluten foods. Blech! And really, why? Especially with places around like Babycakes!!! [smooch]
Over the summer I ate some nachos from this taco truck at the corner of 14th & 8th Ave. For most of their other dishes they use corn tortillas so I didn't think to ask about the nachos. Boy did I make a mistake!
Like you Erin, the first hour I was fine and then not long after I got that familiar pain, burning and discomfort that travels from near my belly button up to my throat and I was NAUSEOUS.
Since that incident I have been diligent about asking questions when I dine out. I don't make a big deal out of it, I just politely ask - is that made with flour? And if they say yes, I order something different.
Like you, I didn't take any tests to figure out that I was gluten/soy intolerant - I just eliminated it from my diet and with the exception of some eczema I can't get to go away, I'm feeling SO much better!!
Rock on allergen-free warriors!!
Thank you SO much for just existing. A friend of mine gave me your cookbook, and it has created so much happiness in my life.
I am an officially diagnosed Celiac, and I also hate when the conversation becomes all about me and my food. When people tell me "Oh, you're so *good*!" about staying gluten-free as though it's like avoiding extra calories, it drives me crazy. I just explain, though, that one little bite of whatever they're eating causes way too much misery to even make that look appealing. That seems to do it.
I just can't bring myself to knowingly eat gluten, as it's obnoxious enough when it's unintended and in small amounts.
Eating at home is a much safer place for us, I hate being the annoying one who always stands out while ordering and simply because I am going to want to eat what everyone else has...Shortly after eating wheat-gluten, dairy and the rest of our food foes could be summed up like this: walking peacefully along and a sniper shoots you right in the belly..ouch....;( never fails...We are just going to need another Babycake book. love the book so much but still make it a point to stop in the bakery for the real deal...
You should write a book on what you eat, where you shop and products you like this would help many with shopping anxity...
Unfortunately I don't have any such restrictions. My body lets me eat anything and everything. For whatever reason my body relies on my mind to discipline my eating habbits. Not good. I think I would be much healthier if my body was the driver instead of my mind. I take for granted my good health and abuse it.
I appreciate reading about a healthier way to live even if it is by choice.
Dear Ms Babycakes,
Like so many people, I LOVE food. I especially love cupcakes and doughnuts, they make me SO happy. I was blown away when I tried your doughnuts for the very first time about 2 weeks ago and have honestly thought about them every single day since! So my first part of this email is complete gratitude for making such amazingly delicious treats. You are to baked goods what Madonna is to Rock and Roll!
I wanted to write because as much as I love food, I have terrible stomach aches and nausea 85% of my life. Bad stomach aches. I "get sick" 3-4 times a week and often need to stay home while what I really want to be is out having fun with my friends. Ive missed a LOT because of not feeling well enough to go do things. Im not a weakling, or a complainer but I think that I have food allergies, major ones, I just dont even know where to start. Ive been scared to find out because it breaks my heart to think of being told of things that I love that I can no longer have, but Im burned out and Im tired of feeling so crappy all the time. I live in Brooklyn and could really use a recommendation for a doctor in NYC that might be able to help me find out what my issues are...any recommendations would be SO appreciated.
I realize this IS NOT a self help blog ;) but I thought if anyone would know where to turn it would be someone that's been through it.
Recommendation or not, I will be eating at the Babycakes sanctuary forever and ever.
Lyndsay
Hi Erin, I was tested by a doctor using little needles. And I am allergic to wheat,diary,beef , sugar,and other foods.My neck starts to swell or I feel like am getting a cold. I have been baking my own gluten free products. I bake for my sister at times.I started to try spelt but after awhile I started to react to it. I was really happy to come across your bakery.I can order my birthday cake instead of me making it.I love your cookbook I just got it.There are some ingredients I can't have but,I have learned to go around them.It seems like food has been an issue for me.I don't talk to much about it now.I used to and people thought I was Crazy.I do believe that what we eat helps our body keep going.Thankyou for the choices. It's hard for me to find something sweet in health food stores that are baked goods. I can't wait for my next order from Babycakes.I hope you keep using agave. Thankyou,Katherine
A story with a happy ending: I had what I thought were gluten-free nachos on one of the first dates I had with my boyfriend. When I suddenly started to feel ill a short time later, he offered to take me home. He felt so bad, as it had been his choice of restaurants. I told them there wasn't really anything he could do, that I was going to be sick and upset for about the next 12 hours. I asked him to just sit and talk to me, so I could have something else to focus on(as I lay on the couch in a ball). He stayed the entire time and read short stories to me. That was over two years ago, and in September we made sure to stop in to Babycakes during our trip to NYC!
Ah, gluten-free love.
I am totally jealous that you just stopped eating certain foods and your ailments went away. I have been on this diet for a month and not much has changed.
I always regret when I eat some thing off diet and feel worse especially sugar. Man I always feel awful after I eat sugar. It's like my whole body freaks out. Dont miss it at all. Now bread that's another story.
I agree ahh gluten love
Lyndsay,
concidering ur sick 85% of the time and this is not at all normal or healthy, i think there could be a few things here. perhaps you have anxiety problems or emotional problems or issues. often emotions show up in the stomach :)you might want to think about what is causing these issues. boyfriend? boss? more alone time? did something happen in the past like abuse - verbal or otherwise - that makes you feel a certain way about yourself. you might want to think about talking to a councellor or a mental health therapist. heres the thing, the body will ALWAYS tell you when something is wrong, the body never lies.
now the other option could very well be what we are talking about on this blog. i am a BIG beleiver in the Blood Type Diet. i am a blood type O and because of this i cant eat wheat, dairy etc. many people are blood type A,B or AB and some people can eat whatever they want. we are all different. you have to listen to your body. if you "think" something you ate is making your stomach upset, then you are right. that is your bodys way of telling you "dont feed me this! it makes me feel like crap!"
there is a simple way to do this. cut out 1 thing at a time. for instance wheat. commit to 3 days. on the fourth day have some and see how your body reacts. do the same with dairy, soy etc.
it is your responsibility to be your own doctor, that is what i have learned.
there are soooo many great replacements out there. when people say im really diciplined i think, not really. i just replace wheat paste with brown rice pasta, milk with soy or almond or rice milk, sugar with stavia and so on. its not about cutting things you love to eat out of your diet, its about replacing it. i am very fortunate. where i live you can buy pizza with spelt crust and soy cheese. no its not as good as what we all grew up eating, but its a damn good subtitute.
you should look for a naturopathic doctor, they are the best option. they will not give you a pill to fix your "symptoms". they will get to the root cause of why this is happening. it costs more $ than the regular doctor, but if i could say one thing, save up your change if you have to! it will be the best money you will ever spend because it will help you to live a happier life, to not be chained to your tummy :)
food is here to nurish you, not burden you. have some diciplin and self respect and get on it!
and always read the labels :)
After several months of trying to make it to Babycakes, I finally recently made a trip and just have to say that I was a wee bit disappointed. Maybe I had hyped it up too much in my head, I don't know. I tried to explain my enthusiasm to the girl behind the counter, but she didn't seem to care. I bought several different things to try and, while they were all yummy, I couldn't help but think that some of the cakes were not as fresh as they should be. Granted, I went in the afternoon, but still. Then, when the girl went to package my items, I didn't get a nice Babycakes box or anything of the sort, and she didn't take any extra care to ensure that my products wouldn't get smushed, but instead used a plastic, see-through container, the kind that I find every single day in my office cafeteria! (Isn't using plastic against what Babycakes believes in? Don't they care about the environment? And I was given a plastic I Love New York shopping bag to boot!) Plus (and sorry to mention this), but the little pamphlet located by the cash register, which provides some information on the Babycakes philosophy, is missing some words and needs to be properly copy-edited. Sorry, but I think this is just a real-life example of how a book is always better than the movie.
I am so dissapointed! I have been to the bakery in New york and tried the vanilla cupcake. It was pretty good. I bought the cook book and had very high expectations. I was very carefull that I measured all the ingredients correctly. The end result was so dissapointing. The cupcake is really pretty but when you open it is very mooshy. It is not crumbly like the cupcake I bought at the baby cakes bakery. I went on line and checked the ingredients on the baby cakes web site, I noticed that their cupcakes include sweet potato and pear. not one of those ingredients appear on the cook book recipe. I don't think that the recipe is correct, something was left out.
What a sleezy way to make money, to put out a cookbook where the recipes don't turn out the way they are supposed to. Erin, these ingredients aren't cheap. Maybe I'll sit down today and start writting down a bunch of bogus recipes maybe the same people that published this book will publish mine.
hmmm thats strange Mimi because I made the chocolate cupcakes for my birthday from the cookbook and they turned out great! You cant really blame others until you are absolutely sure it wasnt you.
I am in love with frosting...I must be honest about that! When I had a frosting 'shot' in NYC at the bakery, I thought, 'ok, I could survive without sugar!'
At any rate, I have been to a naturopath, and had the food sensitivities test - luckily, no allergies, but a systemic candida infection (so, no gluten, yeast, vinegar, sugar, honey, mushrooms, cheese, etc etc). Most of my favorite food groups are in that list!
So, I bought the cookbook, because I needed something sweet, and even gluten free sweets in most places are made with things I can't have (I can't have spelt at the moment).
I made the chocolate cupcakes. Wow. I have to say that they were even better than the ones I remember at the bakery (I think that is due to not having had ANYTHING sweet for 4 weeks prior, because the ones at the BC bakery ROCK)! The intense chocolatey taste, the richness without the dense 'oh no' feeling of gluttony afterward, oh my!
One tip on the frosting (which I didn't even use on the cupcakes because they are absolutely perfect alone!)...I had liquified the coconut oil and then added it to the food processor, but alas, the mixture in the food processor was cool, and it made the oil return to a solid. I then remelted the whole lot (in a barely warm oven), and refrigerated it, and it became frosting, as if by magic! Next time I will ensure that my processor mixture is warmer than 'room temp' before adding the oil. The results are certainly worth the effort.
Thank you for sharing these life-enhancing recipes, and for your wonderful support over the phone when I called to ask advice about the frosting.
Love from 'Berlin on the Plains' (Lawrence, KS)
Please PLease PLease open up a shop in Berlin Germany :)
Nina
I bought potato salad last week for lunches. Being lazy and dident want to make it from scratch. As is I already spend all day on sundays cooking what i will eat all week. So being lazy I read the lable as hubby stood behind me "what are you doing lets go!". ok no glutens. I had the salad on monday with my lunch and then again on wensday On thursday I was really unsure why my mouth was full of sores. I have never had this reaction befor! I had some jerky that previous weekend and had a horabble migraine after! i was blameing it all on the jerky. Turns out as i sat at lunch on thursday I read the potato salad container. It contained 2% or less of wheat germ. WOW! swelling, mouth sores and my azma was back, i was getting all stuffed up too. I can only wonder why ruin a perfectly wheat free dish by adding it?
erin,
thank you SO much for the cookbook! my friend gave it to me on monday and i made the chocolate cupcakes first, then today made the banana bread (as cupcakes) with carob chips and chocolate frosting. heaven! i have had to eliminate gluten and sugar (they thought i had chronic fatigue) and after a couple of years it's easy to forget how sick it makes you. so thanks to you i now can make treats galore. my only issue is that the garbanzo bean flour does make me fart!
i also think that there might be a misprint on the vanilla frosting recipe, as it has a 1/2 c. more coconut oil than the chocolate frosting recipe and seemed to be a lot thicker than needed. also, a scant 1/4 c. of batter makes very full cupcakes... i didn't get 24 when using 1/3 c. batter. love the cookbook, looking forward to the next one!
I have only been diagnosed with Celiacs desease for a couple of months and I would love to try babycakes. I will be ordering soon!!!!!
I have been so disappointed by several of my favorite restaurants because they make no effort to even do simple things that would make it possible for me to eat my favorite things. How do you ask a restaurant to make simple changes like adding GF soy sauce. I, by the way, did this and got a firm NO from Benihanas in Boulder CO. Is this common?