The Adjusted Life {onions}

The bad stuff:
Onions (especially raw), onion powder

The good stuff:
Leeks, scallions, and shallots

I can't tell you how sad I was about this one, but have been surprised at how successful I've been. I use a lot of shallots now. I find that being able to use shallots really does satisfy my love of onion flavor. What a relief!

I do eat onions every now and then when ordering food at a restaurant. I don't worry about that part too much, and it doesn't generally bother me.

The Adjusted Life {nuts}

All nuts (such as pistashios, walnuts, cashews, pecans, almonds, coconut) are potential triggers because they contain tyramine. I should also avoid peanuts and peanut butter  (which are actually legumes and not nuts...who knew).

I don't eat a lot of nuts, but I do love peanuts and peanut butter (especially when the peanut butter is combined with chocolate...oh yum). Bummer.

Seeds, such as pumpkin and sunflower seeds, are fine.

The Adjusted Life {meats}

Processed meats and fish

The bad:
Aged, canned, cured, fermented, marinated, smoked, or tenderized.

The good:
Young and fresh is best.

Nitrates and nitrites are the big triggers here, along with MSG in some cases. Examples of the meats and fish that I need to avoid are: hot dogs, sausage, salami, pepperoni, bologna, lunch meat, beef jerky, certain hams, bacon, and smoked salmon.

Some stores offer meats without nitrates and nitrites (and with less MSG). I guess I would have to be bold and start asking at the deli counter, or start reading labels. I don’t know about you, but I find that those labels can be hard to decipher!

I’m really sad to have to give up sausage and bacon for any length of time, but can live without the others for quite a while. I’m of the mind that you either love bacon or you’re wrong. Honestly, how can you not love bacon?! But I digress. :)

The Adjusted Life {bread}

Fresh Breads

The bad stuff:
Anything less than one day old, including bagels, donuts, and pizza dough.

The good stuff:
Anything two or more days old.

When I first saw fresh bread on the list of triggers, I was worried that I could never eat a sandwich again! I’m not a huge sandwich girl, but I do like to have them on occasion. Having said that, I can see a typical easy lunch for me quickly becoming a turkey sandwich…where I roast a turkey tenderloin and slice it myself, since I can’t have deli meat.

I don’t eat a lot of fresh bread, but I do enjoy it. And I guess I won’t be able to stop for a bagel or donut…or get a pizza on the way home. Pizza is actually a huge no-no anyway, what with all the cheese and pepperoni and onions and more. Again, I don’t eat pizza very often, but I do enjoy having it on occasion.

The Adjusted Life {dairy}

I have already talked about cheese and headaches, but there are other dairy products to discuss. Like with cheese, tyramine is the potential problem compound.

The bad stuff:
Yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk

The good stuff:
Milk, cream, butter, and ice cream

I've cut out yogurt - even the ever yummy Chobani black cheery Greek yogurt that I had come to love. The only time I really used buttermilk was for bake "fried" chicken, so it isn't a big deal to cut that out. I'll miss sour cream the most out of the bad dairy items.

I was thrilled to find out, however, that I can have milk, cream, and butter! I don't eat ice cream that often, so I'm only moderately happy about that one. I was really afraid that all dairy would be banned for me.

The Adjusted Life {cheese}

Cheese – tyramine is the potential problem in cheese

The bad stuff:
Aged cheeses - Blue cheese, brie, cheddar, stilton, feta, gorgonzola, muenster, Parmesan, Swiss, processed cheese

The good stuff:
Young cheeses – cottage cheese, ricotta, cream cheese, and good quality American cheese

The in-between stuff:
Relatively young cheeses – fresh goat cheese and mozzarella

I love cheese.

I love food smothered in melted cheese. I love grilled cheese sandwiches... Yes, I love cheese.

I lessened the amount of cheese I use almost two years ago after joining Weight Watchers. I still enjoy having light string cheese and Laughing Cow Swiss wedges as snacks. They are great little bits of low-fat protein that compliment my Weight Watchers lifestyle.

In the last month, I have almost completely given up cheese. I've had a few small...tiny...minuscule amounts of cheese in the last few weeks.

I'm already looking forward to introducing cheese back into my diet to see if I react to it at all. Silly me. That's still more than a month away! From what I understand, however, aged cheese is one of the major triggers. One of the biggies. Time will tell if it is a biggie for me.

The Adjusted Life {caffeine}

Caffeine - Coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, and certain medications.

I have already given up Diet Coke and will be working on switching to decaf coffee soon. I will also have to stop drinking iced tea when we are out to eat. I guess my main drink while eating out will be water. I like my water, but it can get boring. I’ll have to look forward to have my (decaf) iced tea at home.

When my doctor brought up the caffeine in chocolate, I whined, "Really? Chocolate?!"

He laughed and said, "One step at a time, right?"

Right!

And this is just one of the first steps. It already seems so hard! I have given up caffeine before, however, so I know I can do this. The thought that this has to be pretty permanent is what’s getting to me.

I know, I know…this is just the beginning. Yikes!