When cooking at home, check substitution guides for ingredients you can swap without much effect on flavor or technique – there are more than you'd think! If you are struggling during the fight for reduced allergy attacks, remember the first rule of Wheat-Free Club: We don't talk about the screwups. Focus on the protein- and produce-forward options and you're already in good shape. When you're jogging toward wheat-freedom, it can be easier to whittle down the surprisingly endless "what to eat" options by cuisine. Perhaps most importantly: If I've ever been a jerk about "voluntarily" choosing a gluten-free (easier to explain than wheat-free) diet before my diagnosis, mea culpa. ![]() It's absolutely not all-inclusive, and I am here for your recommendations. So here I am, eight-ish months later, with an assortment of delicious ways to – by choice or necessity – avoid wheat around town and at home. In my ongoing examination of not just what and how I eat but why, I'm grateful to have so many options here in Austin. (Imagine the suffering when combined with our locally infamous cedar fever!) Allergy shots are a viable option for some and an EpiPen is essential for severe cases, but overall, the best remedy is to avoid wheat. (I'm not a doctor or scientist, but essentially: A wheat allergy occurs when your body produces antibodies to attack the invader proteins found in wheat with celiac disease, a specific protein in wheat – gluten – causes an autoimmune reaction.) Even on the spectrum's mild side, an intolerance to wheat and its many derivatives can make an allergic person feel absolutely awful, with symptoms including nasal congestion, digestive issues, bloat, fatigue, etc. Having a wheat allergy is different from celiac disease, but the range of symptoms can be just as severe, including anaphylaxis for some. We’re incredibly lucky to enjoy countless groceries, markets, restaurants, and bakeries in Austin that understand the wheat-free assignment. Could this little lightbulb of mine explain why I felt like a pile of poisoned compost every day? YES. Are you chuckling yet? That was my first reaction – instant gut-busting laughter – then curiosity: Does everyone's tested and "scraped" back look as if they'd been pelted by angry red paintballs on a grid? NO. The reactive list also includes barley, hops, malt, and yeast, plus sensitivities to soy and cow's milk, among other things. In all seriousness: To a known anaphylactic allergy to one tropical fruit and a now-confirmed supersized battery of environmental allergies, I add a not-life-threatening-but-definitely-intense wheat allergy. The test results, you wonder? Well, basically I'm allergic to air and food light and water are fine. ![]() Science offered the sweet relief of validation that I wasn't dramatic or overreacting, and in fact had been underreacting my whole life. Little did I know, about a year after retiring as the Chronicle's Food editor – a role defined by glorious feasts – my renaissance would feature an extensive overhaul of nearly every single morsel in my diet. Fortunate to have insurance that mostly covered the adventure, my first "skin prick" test had been decades in the making. Last summer I decided to finally address my lifelong year-round "seasonal" allergies. Chicken and waffles at Wilder Wood (Photo by John Anderson)
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