In Search of Vegan, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free Delicious Desserts

“I’m going to recommend, if you still want to breast feed, due to the nature of Ohm’s allergies, that you adapt a total elimination diet so that we can determine the source of his irritation.” “What does an elimination diet entail?”

“No dairy, no eggs, no nuts, no soy and no wheat.”

“What?”

“Absolutely no dairy, eggs, nuts, soy or wheat.”

“What can I eat?”

“Not very much. I suggest you stick to the hypo-allergenic baby formula.”

And there I was, standing beneath the fluorescent bulb of the examination room, my diaper clad infant splayed across my lap, six red raised splotches on his back, confirmation that he was indeed allergic to everything. I had a decision to make. I was being forced pledge ideological mommy allegiance. To breast feed or to formula feed. I was a breast feeder. I believe firmly that a mother’s milk is best. I nursed my son through the early pain and frustration until it became a comfortable part of our daily bonding. But after three and a half months, Ohm began to break out in horrible hives and eczema patches began to take over his soft baby skin. I was referred to a pediatric allergy specialist where I received the devastating news:  no dairy, eggs, nuts, soy or wheat if I were to continue breast-feeding.

I am an eater. I love food. With no allergies or food sensitivities, my system has never let me down; I have never known what it means to do without. Determined not to back down and give in to formula feeding my son, I gathered my list of things I must do without and attempted to move forward, cold turkey.

I’m lucky, to live part-time in New York where I have access to an enormous variety of niche foods and options.

A dessert girl through and through, the most difficult thing for me to give up was my thirst for baked goods and tasty sweet treats. After a little research however, I was able to find several bakeries with delicious alternatives to cater to my vegan, gluten-free, egg free, soy free and nut free needs. To my surprise, not only did I have options, I had a plethora of delicious and alluring desserts to choose from.

If you are faced with a similar plight as mine, or are on a strict diet, or simply want to sample a twist on your baked goods classics, here are some New York (Manhattan and Brooklyn) bakeries sure to satisfy your sweet cravings.

Brooklyn:

 Sun In Bloom: Vegan, Gluten-Free and Raw Kitchen in (Park Slope)

460 Bergen Street, Brooklyn, NY 11217

718-622-4303

My favorite things here are the chocolate-chip whoopee pies and the cupcakes.

Luv Tea Café (Clinton Hill)

14 Putnam Ave, Brooklyn, New York 11238

347-889-7435

You will find gluten-free/vegan snacks amongst the regular snacks. Everything is clearly marked. My favorite is the flourless dark chocolate cookies.

Champs (Williamsburg)

176 Ainslie St, Brooklyn, NY 11211

(718) 599-2743

Yummy cupcakes!!!!

Manhattan:

Babycakes

248 Broome Street (Btwn Orchard & Ludlow)

New York City, NY 10002

212.677.5047

Try the cinnamon buns, they are fabulous! You’ve also got to taste the cookies.

Of course there are other fine establishments, but these are the ones that I frequent. I'd love more tips to update my list if you have any.

* Side note, despite indulging in sweets, clear skin and weight loss are great side effects of the elimination diet!

What's In A Name?

“Sue-jerner?” “No.” “Sigourney? Like the actress from Aliens?” “No.”

“Sojoiner?” ”No.”

“Serjerner?” “No.”

I grew up with a large and inaccurate variety of names. It was inevitable that during the course of a day, I would have to correct its pronunciation at least five times.

As a child I wanted nothing more than to blend in seamlessly. In kindergarten I wore the requisite pigtails tied with pink bows. In first grade I took ballet and tap classes, pirouetting and shuffle ball changing my way to popularity. In second grade I read the  Ramona Quimby books just like my peers and chatted with them endlessly about the indignities of being seven in a world designed for thirteen year olds. My attempts to blend continued for years, yet despite my efforts to glide peacefully through my early life, my name was always there to trip me up.

I cursed my parents for not giving me a good sensible name like Jennifer or Samantha. Jennifer and Samantha were my favorite names. All of my dolls (and I had quite an extensive collection) had Jennifer or Samantha as either a first or middle name. I had no choice but to live vicariously through them.

It’s uncanny how our names, long or short, complicated or easy to pronounce define us. Like mantras repeated several times a day, we become subtly attuned to the vibration of our sound.

My parents decided to name me Sojourner. This was my father’s idea actually and I wonder if he thought it through.

A history professor, I know where he was trying to go with my name. From those who could actually place where my name was derived, I often heard “Sojourner! As in Sojourner Truth? What great shoes you have to fill.” These people almost always pronounced my name correctly and were rewarded almost always with a relieved smile.

Names like people evolve. Somewhere around my sophomore year of high school, I began to appreciate the unique sound of my name and the meaning behind its soft j and staccato o.

Sojourner Truth, was a lovely and accomplished woman, however, I saw myself in my name in a different way. I saw the romance of a canoe trip down the Nile. I saw the brilliance of the sunset across the Serengeti. I was called to the cobblestone narrow streets of Montmartre.

Sojourner, taken from the French word sojourn meaning to travel for a brief period was how I identified with my name. Having volunteered, worked and journeyed my way across 21 countries and counting, I am in every sense of the word Sojourner. My name has grown with me over the years, guiding, me, giving me permission to grow and evolve. My name allowed me to see the beauty in being different.

I chuckle now when I hear the familiar “Honey, where are you going now? Why can’t you just stay put?”

“Dad, you named me Sojourner, now let me sojourn.”

A name is always chosen for you, but you choose which aspect of that name defines you.  I choose to sojourn, to be a sojourner.

Hotel Week NYC

Happy New Year! We made it, it’s January, and January means hotel discounts throughout New York City. After charging exorbitant prices during the peak holiday season from November through December, New York City hotel prices drop to amazing lows in what is called Hotel Week.

Similar to Restaurant Week, where New York’s finest restaurants make way for the common man, offering reasonably priced prix-fix deals, Hotel Week, which runs from January 6^th- 15^th, makes the city’s most exclusive hotels accessible, if only for a little while to the masses. Hotels that are easily well over $500 dollars a night become available for anywhere between $100-$250 per night.

This is the perfect time for New Yorkers and visitors alike to plan a weekend getaway.

Tired of your apartment, your neighborhood, and the dreary predictability of January? Book a night or two at one of the participating Hotel Week hotels and see Manhattan through a new window, a high rise panoramic one offering some of the best views in the city. In fact, let yourself go, order room service, relax in the hot tubs and saunas, and get a massage. You wont have to pay for a flight and you’ll leave feeling refreshed as if you’ve gone away.

For those of you who don’t live in the city, if you can brave the cold, January is one of the best (in terms of price) times to visit New York. Not only are there post-holiday sales in the stores, but you can take full advantage of the winter wonderland that New York can become this time of year, from carriage rides in Central Park, to Ice Skating at Rockefeller Center.

Here are the deals:

$100 a night at the Pod Hotel, Z NYC Hotel, and the Hotel at Times Square

$200 a night for Andaz Wall Street and the Hyatt at 48^th and Lexington

$250 a night at the Hotel Gansevoort

Happy 2012!