Outlook on life

Really liked this entry from my Onion Allergy Yahoo group. Now, this is the way you have to look at life!

So, not being able to eat onions/garlic/etc. really sucks, all of us can agree to that. I think we are all also in that unique position to really and truly realize the extent to which it affects your life, unlike many of our friends and acquaintances--like my friend (who knows very well I can't eat anything in the onion family) who told me she'd give me a great recipe for a leek tart. Because it so totally rules MY life I become dismayed when the whole world doesn't realize leeks are related to onions, that all soup will have onion or garlic powder in it etc. I also grow tired of discussions with people as they slowly come to realize that I really can't eat very much that I haven't prepared myself.
However, I had this little flash today that made me thin about this all in a different way. I was making portobello mushroom burgers (because I can't eat any commercially prepared veggie-burgers) and thinking about how they are really the best veggie burgers I've ever had and I should really give the recipe to one of my friends. Then I realized that if I wasn't allergic to all commercially prepared veggie burgers I would never go through the effort to make them myself (and neither would my friend). Anyway it led to this little flash of realization about how much I've really gotten into cooking since I discovered my onion/garlic intolerence. I've discovered that I really love to cook as a way to relax and I've made a lot of complicated recipes I never would have tried if I didn't have to do a lot of cooking from scratch anyway. I also have learned so much about how flavors work together and how to manipulate recipes out of sheer necessity. All of my friends compliment me on my cooking skills and are always amazed that i take the time to make the food I do (of course they don't realize I really have to).
I just had never looked at the positive side of my allergy that way--I've learned so much, developed a new hobby, and eat much healthier (no preservatives and a controlled amount of sugars salts and fat) than I did before. When I went to the doctor recently she asked me what the hell I ate because my bloodwork had come back as a perfect textbook example.
I also get to feel a little superior when my yoga teacher tells us we shouldn't eat meat, caffine, onions or garlic because they are all rajasic (overstimulating, arousing animal passions, bringing a restless state of mind, create overactivity, and destroy mind/body balance). So maybe my allergy also makes me a little more chilled out and calm--though I still have to work on that caffine addiction.
SO it is a pain to always have to think about how I'm going to eat, make sure I have enough leftovers to bring for lunch, worry about going out to eat with friends, explain myself constantly, and forego delicous looking food at friends dinner parties BUT at least there are some positive gains, right?
And hey, there's always dessert!

Sarah