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What a trip!  I am an official blogging conference attendee!  I had a wonderful time at IFBC NOLA and would definitely attend another blogging conference.  I learned about how to market a brand, how to take good food photos, how to incorporate video, how to write a recipe… and more.  I also met some great fellow bloggers… it is so nice to share a common interest and have your eyes opened to new ideas.  I have so many ideas now for the blog… now just have to find the time to use them all!

The conference was of course about food, and I was unique in having wheat and dairy allergies.  But I still ate very well!  Here are some of the highlights…

Our first seafood restaurant, Deanie’s Seafood, served potatoes instead of bread when you sit down!  Perfect for me!

My Cajun breakfast… potatoes, peppers, onions, and sausage with local seasonings!

NOLA, Emeril’s restaurant, was very accommodating to me… they made a special watermelon gazpacho with crabmeat on top!

I wish this photo could look as good as it tasted… beef with corn, tomatoes, and portabello mushrooms.

A salad with shaved brussel sprouts and hazelnuts… SO good.

A potato chip!  Just looked cool.

Barbeque Shrimp is a local favorite.  I think I ate my weight in shrimp this weekend.

We loved Emeril’s NOLA so much that we went back for lunch… beef brisket, white beans with bacon, and I got snap peas instead of mashed potatoes.  Again, so accommodating to me.

So, I would say that my first blogging conference was a total success.  I learned a lot, met really cool people, and ate very well!  My next mission is to try to emulate New Orlean’s cooking in my own kitchen… stay tuned.

That was a lot of letters, wasn’t it?  Well, it is where I will be the next few days… at the International Food Bloggers Conference in New Orleans!  (Click here if you want more details.)  I am so excited to go to my first food blogging conference!  I am not sure what to expect, but the agenda and vendors look amazing.

When we get there on Friday, there are workshops on Blogging your Values and Food Styling and Photography.  Then a wine hour, reception, and cocktail crawl… already off to a good start!  On Saturday, there are a few different options for workshops, including How to Market Your Brand, an Allergy session (yes!), Culture, and Recipe Writing.  Those are followed by a New Orleans lunch, a cooking demonstration, and a wine and food pairing dinner.  Sunday offers How to Use Video, Restaurant Reviews, and Eating on a Budget.  All of these sessions look amazing and I can’t wait to hear what others have to say about the food blogging world!

So, wish me luck.  I will return with many things to write about, I am sure!

I also wanted to share with you one of my favorite birthday gifts that I received from a close friend…an apron that says “Balanced Fork, Healthy Life!”  It even has a fork logo on it.

I should wear it to the conference and market myself! 🙂

Hello again, America!  Well, the past few weeks have been a whirlwind.  I don’t even know where to begin.  I spent 6 days in California and 12 days in Australia.  I saw some amazing views, spent quality time with friends, and ate my way across the globe.  Here is a small sampling of my most interesting meals…

1.  Airline food.  Yep.  I ordered a gluten free meal from Qantas Airlines and boy, did they deliver.  I was so impressed.  On each leg of my trip, I had some sort of gluten free roll/bread, chicken and veggies, and even dairy free butter for the roll and soymilk for my coffee.  I certainly did not expect such white glove service, and didn’t need many of my snacks.  I even got my meal before everyone else!

2.  Pig tail.  Now, this one took some bravery.  My friends and I were at a very nice restaurant in Sydney, and if there were ever a time to try some obscure part of a pig, this was it.  Pork is not my favorite meat, but it was one of those things I just “had” to try.  So I swallowed hard, and took a bite… it tasted like pork, but was very lean and very sweet.  I tried to eat it quickly because its presentation was a little too realistic…

3.  Kangaroo!  We went to Hunter Valley one afternoon, Australian wine country.  The mountains and valley were breathtaking, just as Napa was.  But I have to admit, Australian wine is sooo much better than American wine.  And what really made the experience complete was seeing kangaroos in the wild… just hopping along the valley!  So naturally, we had to grill kangaroo fillets for dinner that night, which of course we found in the local grocery store.  I wish it was available here, because it is my new favorite red meat.  It tasted like venison… smokey and rich in flavor, but very lean.

It was a pretty unbelievable trip… so much that I sometimes don’t believe that I traveled 10,000 miles to such a beautiful and far away land!  Here are some of my favorite sights from Australia…

Kangaroos in the wild!

Sunset

Sydney skyline

The sky feels slanted, like you are on the edge of the earth.

Breathtaking Blue Mountains

Happy Allergy Free Eating… and adventure taking!

What a journey we’ve had so far! I am in awe of all the amazing sights we have seen in California and now Australia. I am trying to soak in every moment and take mental pictures of very scene. From deep fruitful valleys to relaxing beaches to jaw dropping cliffs to busy city life, we have seen it all… and ate it all!

As I sit here admiring this view of Sydney from my friend’s apartment, here are some random food facts we have discovered…
Seafood and wine are so fresh in CA. I swear fish are caught within minutes of serving.
Fresh cherries and strawberries are sold anywhere along the side of the road in CA… and soy plants grow in rows as far as the eye can see.
Everything tastes better when you can eat it along a beach in CA.
Carrots in Australia are as wide as your wrist.
The only chains in Australia are KFC and one Starbucks… so we know we have eaten authentic food.
A latte is called “flat white.” How genius to call coffee by how much milk there is in it!
I have never tasted better lamb in my life. Amazing.
I am still waiting for an opportunity to try kangaroo. I hear it’s actually delicious.
An Australian pub is a place where you order drinks at a bar and meat at a counter… and then have to cook the meat on a grill yourself.
You don’t tip in a restaurant! But everything is much more expensive.
Walking on the left side of the road is a serious challenge (ok not food related, but nonetheless important!)

More to come when I return to the states!
We are off to eat another meal…

This is Goodbye… for just a few weeks.  For three weeks of my summer vacation, I will be traveling to CA and Australia.  To say that I am excited is an understatement!   A friend and I will be visiting LA, San Francisco, Napa, San Diego, and Sydney.  Along with the amazing sights, I also know there will be amazing food.  I will try to update the blog on our travels as best I can.

For now, here are the snacks I will be bringing for our 20 plus hours of flying…

Dairy and gluten free granola bars…

Some trail mix…

Lauren friendly brownies…

And gluten and dairy free chocolate bars.

Forget airplane food!

Can’t wait to tell you about all of our adventures… especially the culinary ones!  Happy summer 🙂

I am just going to admit it…. I am obsessed with sweet potatoes.  The have so many more nutrients than regular white potatoes, and just taste so much better.  Actually… they have complex carbs, unlike the white potato, which make them better at maintaining blood sugar levels which doesn’t make you crave more carbs after eating them.  Sweet potatoes also are rich in fiber, vitamin E, vitamin A, and beta carotene.  They actually have more fiber than oatmeal!  😮  More about sweet potato nutrition here.

Here are my favorite ways to eat sweet potatoes:

1.  Mashed Sweet potatoes, my own recipe.

Peel 6 sweet potatoes, leaving on some skin if desired.

Cut each potato into ½ inch thick rounds.

Spread out sweet potato rounds onto sprayed cookie sheet.

Sprinkle nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and agave nectar on potato rounds.  Drizzle or spray olive oil.

Back at 375 for 60 minutes, until fork tender.

In a food processor, put cooked tender rounds, one can of white kidney beans (drained), and 1 ½ cups chicken broth.

Blend until desired smoothness.

2. Spicy sweet potatoes, a recipe from the New York Times.

This recipe combines the sweetness of sweet potatoes and red onions with paprika and spicy cayenne pepper.

3. Maple sweet potatoes, a recipe from the New York Times.

This recipe adds hearty flavors of maple and pecans to sweet potatoes, with an unexpected dash of lime juice.

4. Roasted sweet potato slices, my own recipe.

Just peel a few sweet potatoes (or leave some skin on for extra nutrients and fiber) and chop into thin slices, either horizontally or vertically.  On a cookie sheet, spray with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.  Bake at 425 degrees until fork tender.  Eat as they are, or dip in ketchup as sweet potato fries!

Happy Allergy Free Eating… and keep your life sa-weeeet!

Last night, a few friends and I ate dinner at Cheesecake factory.  I thought it was a great idea because they are known for their huge menu.  Surely someone with food allergies would be able to find something to eat.  Not so much.

As I read the menu over and over, I kept saying to myself “I could get that, but I would have to ask for it without x, y, and z.  Or I could get that, but I would have to ask how it is made.”  That is usually how my thoughts evolve when I go out to a restaurant, but I really thought it would be easier with this extensive menu.  It got pretty frustrating!  I ended up getting a salad and having to ask for it without cheese, which wasn’t the end of the world.  I also got a greek salad and edamame for my lunch today, again having to ask for it without cheese on the salad.  

These items were off of their “bar” menu, which are small plates of your favorite things.  Very handy when you want to eat a normal sized meal and not a cheesecake factory sized meal.

I started thinking about how limited their choices were when I got home.  I looked again at their menu online and did some math.  There are about 135 menu items for lunch or dinner, not counting side dishes or the 35 different cheesecakes they offer!  Within that count, there are only about 10 items that someone with a dairy and wheat allergy could eat.  And that is assuming I even like or would want to eat those 10 menu items!  I never realized before how much cheese the cheesecake factory used, or how many of their menu items are fried.  Personally, I was a little disappointed, and think that they should offer more low calorie and allergy friendly fare, like other restaurants are doing.  Time to get on the bandwagon, Cheesecake Factory! 

Hello out there!  Welcome to Balanced Fork, Healthy Life!  This site is about allergy free eating for healthy living.  Today starts my daily recorded journey of allergy free eating.  I am hoping that keeping this record will help me to be more mindful of what I eat and how it affects me, as well as learn more about allergy free eating and healthy living.  I hope that you will find useful information, delicious recipes, and insight into healthy living that can work for you.  So, please read!  Subscribe!  Comment!  Balance your fork and lead a healthy life!