This week I got some of my baking mojo back and made this super tasty banana bread.
Earlier this year I discovered that I was full-on intolerant to eggs.
Like, I literally can’t break them down.
And oh boy, do I feel it if I have them!
I’ll be honest, I was pretty devastated when I learned about my egg issue because I LOVE to bake and eggs are a pretty essential component of the process.
There are egg substitutes, like flax eggs, other DIY egg replacers, and even an egg replacer powder but nothing quite gives baked goods their structure like a real, honest-to-goodness egg.
So I fell into a bit of a baking rut, feeling sorry for myself.
There’s a very real period of grieving around food we go through when we have to remove something for our health.
I went through the classic 5 stages like clockwork: denial, anger, depression, bargaining, and finally acceptance.
In the midst of it, I thought about just giving up baking for good.
But I realized that was silly.
Because then I would be letting this limitation run my life, living in the extremes of all or nothing.
If there’s one way to make yourself resent your own needs, it’s giving up something you love needlessly because you can’t have it the exact, ideal way you want it.
As a recovering perfectionist, I am a master at doing this very thing to myself and still struggle to modify my response.
It IS totally possible to bake without eggs.
So after staring at a pile of old bananas on the counter for a few days, I started looking for banana bread recipes.
I chose a vegan recipe (guaranteed no eggs!), and modified it by adding A2 butter and milk instead of non-dairy ingredients.
I also added a bunch of spices, chocolate chunks, and chopped walnuts.
YUM.
You know the coolest part about finding out about my egg intolerance?
I mean, besides feeling better on the daily…
I tried gluten again and realized I didn’t have a problem with it (organic, at least).
And I discovered I could handle a certain type of dairy.
So I added both of them back into my regular diet and guess what?
My digestion has been happier for it!
If your body doesn’t have an issue processing a type of food, there’s no reason to eliminate it from your diet.
In fact, eliminating foods that you’re NOT sensitive to can negatively impact the beneficial bacteria in your gut.
Foods that agree with you food your good flora.
Foods that inflame you feed bad flora and can lead to a whole host of issues in your gut and systemically.
These foods that help or hinder your gut are highly individual. Only you (and sometimes a test from your naturopathic doctor or nutritionist) can get to the bottom of what’s truly supportive or disruptive for you.
Sometimes you have to cut foods out to find out if they are an issue for you.
But here’s the step everyone misses…
You also have to add them back in and test them out unless you are 100% certain that particular food is an issue!
Otherwise you’ll never know what’s actually a problem and what’s totally ok to eat!
For more information on how to approach removing and testing out foods, check out my 3 part series or grab the cheatsheet on figuring out your food allergies.
The process of experimenting with and modifying recipes is essential when you’ve got food sensitivities, allergies, or intolerances.
Don’t let your food sensitivities stop your enjoyment of cooking or baking! Make your food choices work for you mentally, emotionally, and physically!
Drop me a line if you’re interested in seeing my version of the recipe up on the blog!
