Tasterie Nut-Free Snack Box

I've heard great things about services like Graze and Crave, but have been very jealous that I can't sign up due to my nut allergy.  I did some searching and came across Tasterie, which caters to customers with food allergies.  I've received two boxes, and I'm still rather indifferent on the service as a whole.  Here's my April box:

• Namaste Foods gluten free cookie mix ($7.49)
• Don't Go Nuts gorilla power bar ($1.79)
• Super Seedz tomato italiano pumpkin seeds ($4.99)
• Mother's Pure Preserves seedless raspberry jam ($6.50)
• Enjoy Life plentils dill and sour cream lentil chips ($1.50)
• ThinkFruit pineapple tidbits ($1.69)
• Indie Candy bunni gummi watermelon candy ($1.99)

The total retail price is $25.95.  The box costs $25.00 plus $4.00 for shipping.  I've enjoyed the snacks, but I'm not sure it's worth the cost to continue this.

This month, I also had a problem with the shipment. The jam arrived and had opened in the shipment.  It was wrapped up in bubble wrap, but the jar lid was loose and unsealed by the time it reached me.  I'm interested to see how they handle customer service who I just contacted today.

Nut-Free Pad Thai

One of the dishes I miss most since I developed a peanut allergy is Pad Thai.  These days, I generally can't eat at Thai restaurants at all due to the cross contamination.  I was really excited to discover that WildTree makes a nut-free Pad Thai sauce.  I tried my hand at making my own.  It's probably closer to a stir fry with Pad Thai sauce than an authentic recipe, but it was still really tasty.

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 pound broccoli
2 eggs
8 oz. rice noodles
1/2 cup WildTree Pad Thai sauce

Directions

1. In a large skillet, sauté chicken in a small amount of olive oil.  Once it is mostly cooked, add in broccoli.  I used frozen, but you could use fresh if you want.

2. Prepare rice noodles and drain.  Set aside.

3. Once chicken and broccoli are cooked through, remove from pan.  Scramble 2 eggs in skillet.

4. Add noodles to skillet.  Mix in sauce and then toss in chicken and broccoli.

Serves 4

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins and a Recipe Blog Recommendation

Today, I got a recommendation for this pumpkin chocolate chip muffin recipe.  It's super easy (so perfect since I don't have a lot of time) and really delicious!  After browsing through the rest of the recipes, I can't wait to try more.  :)

Allergy Testing

I went in for a visit to an allergist today so that I could be allergy tested.  It's been about 8 years since the last one and I thought I had developed new allergies.  5 minutes of torture later, it was clear that I had.

• Grasses: Johnson, Bermuda
• Weeds: ragweed
• Trees: walnut, oak, elm, birch (the worst), maple
• Dust: D. farinae
• Mold: Alternaria, Hormodend, Aspergillus
• Food: soybean, peanut, hazelnut, almonds

Based on the extent of nut allergies, he recommended that I eliminate all nuts and carry an epi-pen all the time.  Fun stuff.

He also recommended the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network website as a good source of info on food allergies.  It's already been helpful!  For example, I learned that most people with peanut allergies can still eat food cooked in peanut oil, which is pretty cool.  That means I can still go to Five Guys and Chickfila!