A Slice of Life

Drum roll please. The day I have been waiting for since April finally arrived … the day I could eat pizza! And I didn’t choose just any pizza (thank goodness I was in Chicago for the holidays). I feasted on Lou Malnati's pepperoni deep-dish pizza, with buttercrust. When that medium-sized take-out box was placed into my eager little hands, I thought my insides would burst out of my body. The drive home felt longer than it ever had before. To add a little bit of drama to the journey, we got stopped by a train — the food gods clearly needed one more laugh. But when I sat at the kitchen table and opened the box, I could hear a chorus of angels singing “Ahhhhhh” in the background. It was magical. The pizza was, obviously, amazing. The best part about it was that I had no reaction to eating tomato — no bloating … no hives … nothing. If there was one thing that I wanted to be able to eat with ease, it was tomato. This was also the final item on my food challenge list, so I am now in the clear to eat the allergens of my choice in moderation.

My plan going forward is to eat lemon, lime, and tomato (no more than three times a week, per my allergist, so that I can avoid any issues). I will completely avoid orange and strawberry because of the strong reaction that they caused. I will also completely avoid the preservative form of citric acid because I truly believe its elimination is one of the primary reasons why my way of life has improved in these last eight months. Things are definitely looking up, everyone!