Jicama & Cilantro Salad

You will not want to miss this extremely simple, recipe! If you’ve never even heard of Jicama, and wouldn’t know what it was if you saw it… Do not worry, more information here!

Be adventurous. Pick up a jicama on your next grocery trip!

Finding a balance between jobs, school, rehabilitation from injuries and volunteering, all the while still maintaining a healthy lifestyle can prove challenging at times. Even with many things on my plate, I find time to go for a walk, sit on a bench in the inner harbor to watch the float planes take off and land, or do some art. It CAN be done. Even if you think you don’t have the time. Find the time. Often times the reason I am not posting is because I have too much on my plate, and I am taking some much needed down time.

Like many other chronic conditions, allergies and asthma can add a significant time commitment to your already filled schedule. Reading all the food labels at the grocery store; on cosmetics, beauty or cleaning products, can take a fair bit of time, depending on the allergies you have. When I am looking for new products to use, whether it be; shampoo, conditioner, make-up or other soaps, I need to plan for a good hour or two for label reading, going to different stores if needed, and often, calling manufacturers. My most recent challenge has been to find a new shampoo as I have been getting hives from the one I used for years. It is becoming quite the search… A week later I am still looking.

This can often add more anxiety to our lives. Too much anxiety is not good. What do you do to wind down, relax, take a break? Who helps you to let loose and take some time where you are not thinking about the million things you have to get done?

What other recipes would you like to see?

Sitting here at my computer with a huge cup of tea, I ponder the following… how safe is tea? To some this may sound a little silly however the reality is that nowadays you can find soy on the label of teabags. So what does this mean about other allergens. Well, have you ever been to a loose leaf place? If so, have you ever noticed that there are all kinds of tea, some which include nuts!

I’m a little hesitant to have loose leaf teas, and when at a coffee shop I always opt for the tea bags and read the boxes of the tea before I order anything. Most people are shocked when I turn down having tea, it seems so innocent, however nothing is completely safe.

Do you drink loose leaf teas? If so, what brands do you drink. Does that company make any teas with blends that may have shells from nuts? If they do, do they have procedures in place to lessen the cross-contamination factor? I’m on the lookout for some nut-free loose leaf companies… Any ideas?

My personal motto always has been and remains to be: “you can never be too careful”

I will be adding some more recipes soon and am wondering what types of recipes you are all interested. I try to keep them the simplest a possible, so anyone can make them.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. Hopefully you have a little sun wherever you may be. Our weekend here in Victoria, BC is looking wet and grey… Perfect weekend for some website work and to build the french site which will be very similar to this one. Stay tuned, and please share any topic, or recipe suggestions you may have. The more the merrier.

Have you ever tried to find lip gloss that doesn’t contain soy, almonds, other nut oils or castor oil? If you haven’t had to yet, good luck! Unless you are looking at a health food store or special pharmacy, they are fairly tricky to find. Safe ones I mean. I’ve been fortunate to find many different brands out here on the west coast. Most of them have a shea butter as the main ingredient. I have been using Shea Lips which is a Canadian Company, for the last few years.  I recently tried the ones in the above picture and LOVED the products! They have jojoba, avocado and hemp oil in them, and the combination really helps dry lips! I HIGHLY recommend Dr.Bronner’s lip balm and the Shea Lips brand as well. Both are absolutely terrific and organic. What more could one ask for?

What is your favorite allergy friendly brand of lip gloss or chap stick?

My friends and I had a fun time cross-country skiing the other day. An activity where I do not need to worry about my allergies in the least bit. And with controlled asthma I have even less to worry about. Even though I was only able to go for a short ski due to pain from injuries, I had an AMAZING time! That short ski made my day! Often times, it is the small things in life we need to embrace.

There have been several occasions when I cannot attend an event with friends, because the building the play or event is being held in, is old and dusty. There are also occasions I cannot attend a celebration or potluck dinner because the host has pets. However frustrating those instances can be in the moment, when I look at the big picture, there are many things I CAN do with friends where I don’t need to worry about my allergies. A hiking trip, a picnic on the beach (I make my own food), a bike ride or a walk along the inner harbour to watch the float planes take-off and land. Another one I like is; dinner at our place, where guests bring the wine and we make dinner.

Whenever I invite others into my SAFE & controlled home environment, I need to be sure they are not coming in clothes that are covered in pet dander. I also need to inform them not to wear strong perfumes or deodorants as these will trigger me. Most friends understand and are willing to take action. Friends who have pets will bring clothes fresh out of the dryer to change into when they arrive and avoid wearing perfume or strong smelling deodorants. I used to feel bad listing the precautions friends would need to take, to insure that my safe zone is not breached and I quickly learned that close friends will take the measures they need to, to keep me safe. There are occasions when I have felt like a burden, however I quickly learned that I am NOT a burden. And that I should never think that. Friends and family will listen. You just need to communicate with heart and honesty. Whether they understand how serious it is, or how to take precautions, well, that’s a story for another time…

If you have environmental allergies, you will want to make sure your home is a safe place. Minimizing the triggers in your home is of utmost importance, and it is harder to minimize triggers in an office or in public transit. Having a controlled home environment means that you can come home at the end of the day, to a safe place. Where your body gets some down time and is not exposed to as many triggers. Air purifiers are very good at cleaning the air in your home from those smaller particles that could be triggering you.

HEPA filters can be expensive. They usually range between $100.00 and $800.00 and in some cases, for larger houses, you may need two.

The University of Michigan Health System has come up with a short, informative video that demonstrates how you can make your own homemade filtration unit for approximately $25. I fully intend on making one myself to see how it works!
Click here to view their video…

Another post I have written on dust allergies can be found here:
Dust here, there and everywhere

Now I’m not that fond of cosmetics, nor am I one to use perfume much, because most are just filled with preservatives and other allergens one could not even imagine finding in cosmetics. Some cosmetics use refined tree nut and peanut oils!! Isn’t that a little worrisome?

The only perfume I ever use are the natural ones, by Pacifica Perfumes.

“Pacifica skin care is made without: Animal testing, phthalates, parabens, sulfates, propylene glycol, benzene, GMOs, mineral oil, peanut oil, and triclosan (and other ingredients you do not want!)” - http://www.pacificaperfume.com/our-products

When it comes to mascara, I have recently discovered Earthlab Cosmetics Raw Mascara which has no parabens or other preservatives and natural ingredients. http://www.earthlabcosmetics.com/StoreFront.bok

The ingredients are things you will recognize or at least have heard of. Not some crazy long chemical names and other allergens!

What are your thoughts?

In following up to yesterdays’ post…

If you are anything like me, the products at the pharmacy or local grocery store just won’t cut it when it comes to shampoos, conditioners and body washes or bar soap. All the fragrance, perfumes and other scents always make me itchy or give me hives. Have you ever read the ingredients on your shampoo bottle? Or on the bar soap you use? If you haven’t I’d suggest having a read. All I can say is that most conditioners have wheat and/or soy.

Did you know that… another common ingredient you will find in most of the products on the market these days are parabens. Parabens are used as a preservative in many products, beauty products mainly. I’ve gotten hives from them in the past.

My scalp used to be itchy all the time! I switched to these natural products and now, I could never imagine trying a new product. They work great and I never feel itchy. If you are considering switching to a natural soap, be sure to read ingredients VERY diligently as you’ll notice that a lot of the different brands out there use soy or almond. When I first set out to find new hair and body products, I spent a lot of time reading and re-reading labels.

And when I go to the hair salon, I either bring my own products, or go prepared to have an itchy scalp for the next 24 to 48 hrs… Read an earlier post of mine; Time for a Haircut? about trips to the salon.

Tomorrow’s post will be about perfumes and makeup…