No turkey for Thanksgiving

Its the beginning of October and I know what I am having for Thanksgiving! Not turkey. while most people were thinking about there last trips to the beach and the joys of summer were coming to a close I was thinking about Thanksgiving. Why? Because it takes 16 weeks to raise a turkey! (Something I never planned to know but I do know now because I have to wait for poultry to be raised in order to eat and enjoy, see below) I am not planning on raising my own turkey I have enough on my plate already. I am talking about a turkey that will be on a soy free diet. My allergy to soy doesn't allow me to have livestock that has been fed soy. So since the introduction of my hives I have had to cut all poultry out of my diet. With the exception of eggs because the good people at Chino Valley Ranchers heard the cries of soy allergy sufferers and found it in their hearts to raise some of their egg laying hens on a soy free diet. Hooray!!! That also means I pay a premium of $5.69 per dozen but that also means my eggs came from chickens who were eating what chickens are supposed to eat. Check out their website for more details www.soyfreeegg.com

Anyway, I have been on the hunt, a virtual hunt, to try and find a soy free gobble gobble for my Pilgrim tradition. After weeks of scouring the web I have faced defeat. I found many farms that do raise soy free poultry and many of them have turkeys available for Thanksgiving. The problem? I live in Southern California. Nobody that I contacted can ship to me. With the exception of one sweet man in Colorado who just put his website up for Cottonwood Creek Farms www.cottonwoodcreekfarms.com. He took his orders for Thanksgiving a while back apparently and I missed the cut off so all his turkeys are spoken for. So my heart is a little broken but not too broken. I can order chicken and next Thanksgiving I get a turkey! Yes thats right while all of you can waddle your behinds to the store to get your poultry fix I have to have my chicken frozen packed with dry ice and air mailed to me. Nice. This has got me thinking about what chicken dish I miss most since I haven't had chicken in 2 months. What to make? What to make? I just need to make sure I reserve at least one chicken I get to make some chicken broth.

Well my Butterball friends while you are slicing your bird this year, think of me, especially when you sit on your couch and unbutton the top of your pants because you ate too much and feel so uncomfortable. Oh wait I take that last part back I feel that way every night but not from eating too much I am already carrying around a turkey everyday...everyday. Is it January yet?

My soy free adventures continue...stay tuned

Welcome to Changing Paces!

My main objective for this blog is for those of us with a soy allergy. I have come across tons of information that I want to share my journey and hopeful get ideas and advice from you about this allergy. Soy is one of the 8 common allergens and yet it is in EVERYTHING. I will be posting about products, restaurants, skin care basically everything that we consume or come in contact with I will be researching because I am finding it in everything. This is a massive change of pace in my life and for my son as he is allergic to soy as well.

My life in a nutshell I am in the middle of my second pregnancy. I have multiple food allergies which has forced me to cook and bake everything from scratch. I still write checks to pay bills, decluttering to make room for a new baby in a two bedroom apartment, pursuing my business venture and practicing yoga while maintaining a healthy happy relationship with my loving husband and beautiful son is nothing short of too much to handle.

I am starting this blog because I am trying to change my life amidst all the chaos. The thing is I am a Virgo and we are ruled by our nervous system and it is my challenge in life to take life as it comes and respond in a Zen manner rather than get uptight and try to hold on to this illusion of control that seems to consume our lives. I want to live a day when I don't worry, have my shoulders up by my ears, raise my voice not because of what is happening but because I am so overwhelmed that that is the response I know. I want to change that.

I became severely allergic to soy about 3 weeks ago although I think I may have always been allergic and didn't know that I was. But as soon as I hit my 4th month of pregnancy I was plagued with massive hives all of my body. Thankful that I quickly found out the culprit, soy, that day will change my life forever especially living in United States where everything that is boxed, packaged store bought, restaurant prepared has soy and that isn't mentioning body and clothing care items.

I am priviledged to be a homemaker, taking care of my 2 year old son and trying to prepare for my second little one to enter the world. I am thankful for my amazing husband in all that he does to support and encourage me as I am try to figure things out and make our lives more peaceful and loving. I am also thankful for my family while we are rowdy and talk loud most of the time and I am sure our neighbors think we hate each other but its nothing but good Armenian/Irish love for one another.

Please join me as I post about all the things that make my life so rich and exciting. Certainly never a dull moment in my life and I want you to join me.