Day 4

Today was the fourth straight day of Kate being 100% dairy-free, and if the past four days are any indication that things are on the upswing, then I'm totally optimistic! In those 4 short days, I have seen an amazing transformation in her behavior alone. She's not as agitated or uptight, and doesn't constantly pick fights with Preston- a blessing in it's own right! She's easier to get along with, and it's so nice. If you've ever read Doris Rapp, MD's book, "Is This Your Child" you know how food allergies don't always take the "normal" path in terms of reactions, and can often cause behavior problems.

Food wise, she's also doing well and adjusting to not having her dairy products. I make sure to pack her lunch very full so that there's lots to choose from to fill her up- she's also eating like a horse just because she's 10. I think she's realizing that most of the foods she already ate were dairy-free, so this hasn't been that big of a change. Breakfast is the hardest because she always had French toast sticks or Eggos, but she's been happy with toast and Pop-Tarts. The rest of the meals are all dairy-free anyway so they're no different.

I still worry that this may not be dairy related, and may be something GI and not even allergy related at all, but I find it kind of odd that it always happened after she had eaten dairy. Our plan now is to stay dairy-free. Once Christmas break rolls around and she's out of school, if she's still doing well, I'm making an appt. with her ped. so see what she thinks the next step should be. I don't know if she'll want us to try Lactaid and re-introduce dairy or see an allergist. We'll see.

Going dairy-free is not easy

Being dairy-free for Preston has always been pretty easy. He's never really had dairy, except for accidental exposures, so he doesn't know what he's missing. Kate on the other hand, is not doing so well on her dairy-free regime. She desperately wants milk. DESPERATELY. I feel bad for her! She went to a Girl Scout even yesterday. I packed her lunch and a snack (thankfully everyone had to pack a lunch) to make sure she was covered. Well, this was a cooking event, and apparently they had to try what they made. They made omelets, sandwiches, and smoothies. Guess which one she tried... The smoothie. And guess what happened... She woke up in the middle of the night throwing up. Again...

So we had a little talk today about how important it is to stay away from dairy until we figure this all out. Tomorrow is nacho day at school, and I stressed that she is NOT to pawn any of her friends' nachos at lunch. I also added a little ultimatum in there as well... if she comes home throwing up because she ate their nachos, she's doing all the clean-up herself!

Please pray that we survive this! I am SO sick of throw-up!

I love Preston's school!

Just a few short months ago, before Preston went off to Kindergarten, I was a basket-case. I was terrified of sending him off to be in someone else's care all day, every day. And it wasn't just because I'd had him home with me for just short of six years, but sending an allergic child off to school is a whole other story! Christopher insisted he would go to public school, like Kate, and that he'd be fine. I on the other hand, had some serious fears. I feared he'd be stuck at a table all by himself at lunch and be cast as the loner. I had fears of life-threatening reactions and so many teachers, unaware of his allergies. I had registration forms to the private schools, all ready to be filled out the second I found something wrong.

But, the day came and I had to send him off. As worried as I was, I felt peace. I had done all I possibly could to prepare him, his teacher, and the school staff. He had his medic alert necklace, the school had his Benadryl and Epipen on hand. His teacher knew that he was not to eat or touch any food that I didn't send in. The school nurse informed me that every teacher in the school would be notified of his allergies, and all knew what to do in the event of an emergency.

Early in the morning on the first full day of school, his teacher called and asked about a food project they were doing, and wanted to know how she could make it safe for him. It was a jello painting project, and they were using a safe brand, so I gave the go-ahead. This wasn't the only time his teacher called with similar inquiries. When his birthday rolled around, I was given permission to bake my own treats and bring them in for him, instead of them being store-bought. I got a call today that one of the children in Preston's class was having a birthday, and they asked if I could bring in a treat for Pres.

All my worries were for nothing. There's always going to be that nagging little fear that something could happen, but I don't worry like I used to. He's in a great school, with great staff. I love how there's always a teacher by the front doors each morning, opening them for the children and greeting them by name. I love how they're always so friendly after school when I pick him up, and when we see them outside of school. It's great to feel comfortable. It's great that he loves school.

Another one bites the dust

Maybe that's not exactly the best way to phrase it, but it looks like Kate will now be going completely dairy-free, at least for the time being.

Kate has always been my picky one. Long before Preston came around, she was hooked on cheese. She LOVED it, lived for it. Since cheese served as a big caloric intake for her, as well as fat since she didn't eat much meat, we really couldn't take it away from her. So she was allowed to eat cheese and yogurt, mainly at school, but I would let her have cheese at lunch if she ate it with a fork (no milk on her hands).

Lately, Kate has been having some "digestive" issues, and having them on a fairly regular basis. These episodes tended to pop up on Monday mornings after she had eaten cheese bread at my grandmas on Sunday night. Maybe "eaten" isn't the most accurate term, either- more like gorged herself. Yeah... Then last night we went to Pizza Hut to use a free coupon Preston had earned at school. Ironic, yes. Pres had his Burger King, and Kate ate free off the buffet, and after a long day of Christmas shopping and Girl Scouts, I wasn't about to cook.

Lo and behold, Kate woke up today with stomach pain. She whined and tried to get out of school, but she only has one more day before she reaches her 6-days a semester limit for being absent, so off she went. The school called around 10:00 to say that Kate was in the office with a stomach ache and no temp. I told them she'd eaten too much cheese and that she was just fine. She made it through the day, but just minutes ago, I had to go upstairs for the second time to clean up puke.

So starting immediately, Kate is completely dairy-free as well. I'm pretty confident that this will solve her issues. The child that once tolerated dairy so well, seemingly overnight about a month ago, started having issues with it. Now it's taking less and less for her to feel bad. I can't say it's an allergy, but with Preston, it's a very real possibility. I'm thinking lactose intolerance due to only GI symptoms, but we'll see. Won't this make packing school lunches for Miss Pick so much fun?

Chocolate

Finding good, dairy/peanut/tree nut-free chocolate is hard to do. Preston knows about chocolate, and he knows it's good! Cherrybrook Farms makes a great (albeit pricey) chocolate chip cookie mix that is completely safe, and Preston loves them! When he was writing his letter to Santa the other day, he asked for "chocolate that doesn't have any milk or other stuff that I can't have in it." Not only did it break my heart, knowing that I can't just drive to the store and pick up a Hershey bar for him, but it also set me into super Santa mode to make sure that my boy did have chocolate that he could eat in his stocking.

That's when I found Amanda's Own Confections. Not only do they have chocolate bars that are safe, they also have chocolate Santas! They also have lots of other holidays that they do as well. I can guarantee that I will be placing an order, and will have a VERY happy little boy come Christmas morning!

Beans beans the musical fruit- Part 2

Let's do it again, just for fun!



The more you eat, the more you toot.

The more you toot, the better you feel,

So why not eat beans every meal?



One of my favorite ways to prepare beans is to make ham and beans. On a cold rainy or snowy day, they make great comfort food. Pair it with fried potatoes and corn bread, and you have a very satisfying meal. In fact, that's exactly what we had for dinner tonight, and it was yummy! Smother it with yellow mustard and it's absolute perfection!



Ham and beans



Leftover ham and broth from previously cooked ham- see post on crock pot cooking

Great Northern beans, soaked- or any white bean



Soak beans in a bowl of water overnight. Rinse and empty into the crock pot. Add broth and if necessary, enough water to cover the beans thouroughly. Cook on low for about 5 hours. Add in chunked ham and cook for 2 more hours on low.

Beans beans the musical fruit- Part 1

Come on, you know the rest-
The more you eat, the more you toot
The more you toot, the better you feel,
So why not eat beans every meal?

Ok, we got that off our chests and had a little fun. Now, let's talk beans. Seriously. I LOVE beans. L-O-V-E them! I could eat them every day! They're not only super-nutritious, but they're also so versatile and can be used in countless ways.

Have you ever looked at what goes into canned beans? Corn syrup and salt. Lots of it, too. That makes those nutritious beans not quite as healthy as they should be. Yeah, you can rinse and drain them, but they've soaked up some of that corn syrup and salt. Plus, if the can was lined with BPA, guess what, the beans absorb that too. Some canned beans also have allergy warnings, so that's another thing to look out for.

I learned a little trick a few weeks ago that I went a tad crazy with, but I'm glad I did. Once again, it involves my favorite major appliance- the deep freezer! Buy a bag of dry beans at the store. Empty them into a large bowl of water and soak overnight. In the morning, rinse them, and stick them in the crock pot (there it is again) with about 6 cups of water and cook on low until the beans are tender. You can also do this on the stovetop more quickly, but then you have to tend the stove. Once the beans are cooked, rinse them and measure them out into bowls. One and a half cups of cooked beans equals one can. You should be able to get about 5 bowls of beans to freeze- all for just about a $1, so this is a money-saver, too! Stick those beans in the freezer and whenever you need beans, just thaw them out. You get healthy, nutritious beans and you know exactly what is in them (and what isn't)!

Chicken salad

I never cared for chicken salad growing up. I wouldn't touch it. But one day I found a recipe in a magazine for Crunchy Turkey Salad made with leftover Thanksgiving turkey and though, What the heck, I'll try it. With no turkey in sight, I substituted chicken, left out the cranberries, and came up with something so delicious that sometimes I just have to have it! This recipe is dairy and nut free, but I've made it before with almonds when Pres wasn't around, and it's just as tasty!

Crunchy Chicken Salad

2 cooked chicken breasts, cubed
Miracle Whip
1/4 c. sliced green onion
1/4 c. shredded carrot

Stick chicken breasts in the crock pot with a little water and cook 4-5 hours. When cool, cut into bite-sized cubes. In a bowl, combine chicken, carrots, and green onion with enough Miracle Whip to combine everything together. Chill and enjoy!

Apple Salad

Apple salad is a tasty side dish that my grandma often prepares that I absolutely love! Unfortunately, her version contains milk and walnuts to this day, so it's not exactly allergy-friendly. I've transformed it into a dairy and nut-free dish that is so fun to eat. And it's easy enough that your kids can make it (after you chop the apples, of course).

Apple Salad

1 apple cut into small chunks (sugar cube sized)
1/4 c. Miracle Whip
1/4 c. sugar
1 t. vinegar
small marshmallows

Cut apple into small chunks and place in a bowl. In another small bowl, mix the Miracle Whip, sugar and vinegar. Add desired amount of marshmallows to apples, add dressing and mix.

Now, these measurements are just guesses. I don't measure. Neither does my grandma. We just eyeball it and when it looks right, it's right. I made this tonight and my best guestimate is what I listed above. If you're wondering what kind of marshmallows to use, Kraft Jet Puffed marshmallows are safe- and definitely a favorite around our house!

Crock pot cooking

I love my crock pot, and seriously, what mom doesn't? It's used almost weekly, sometimes 2-3 times a week. It's just so simple to stick something in in the morning and it's magically done by dinner time! Easy is good! Plus, it really makes meat nice and tender, a pre-requisite for any meat that my daughter eats. If she has to chew it much, she won't eat it.

I also love it for what it yields- broth! I've discussed this before, but it's worth discussing again. That rich, tasty broth that's leftover after you've cooked the meat shouldn't be tossed! It's liquid gold in cooking terms! Canned broth doesn't match it. Plus, it's free! Tonight we had whole chicken cooked in the CP, and now I have 2 jars of golden broth cooling in the fridge for another day.

So here's the deal. Choose your weapon (chicken, pork, beef...). Stick it in the CP and add water about 1/4 way up the meat. You can salt and pepper your meat, or season it with whatever you like. Cook on low all day. If you're feeling exceptionally chefish (or lazy, whichever suits you), you can throw in some potatoes and carrots a few hours before dinner and you have an instant side dish with no extra work. I'm telling you... EASY! After you've removed the meat and anything else you've added, pour the broth into jars or bowls. I re-use old mayo and applesauce jars with screw-on lids just so that I don't use up all of my glass storage bowls. Once cooled, freeze for up to 6 months. Make sure to label the jars, because once frozen, it's hard to tell beef broth from chicken broth!

When you go to use the broth, bring to a boil before adding anything. Smell it. If it smells like the original broth, it's good. If it stinks, toss it! Homemade broth can go rancid even in the freezer. I've only had it happen to me once, and I think it was probably still good, but after getting salmonella last Christmas Eve from my grandma's special ice cream desert, I tend to err on the side of caution quite obsessively! I don't need to tell you why food poisoning is NO fun!

If you have leftover meat, shred it and freeze it in its own bowl. Shredded meat, leftover broth, and some homemade noodles make a delicious meal! Stay tuned for that tasty recipe!

Iced Sugar Cookies

Kids love cookies! It's hard sometimes going places and seeing all of the really neat iced sugar cookies and having to tell your allergic child that they're not safe to eat. But these tasty little treats are safe, and they're easy to make!

Sugar Cookies

1/2 c. shortening

1/2 t. salt

1 c. sugar

1 egg

2 T. rice milk

2 c. flour

1 t. baking pwder

1/2 t baking soda

1. Blend together shortening, salt, and sugar in mixer. Add in egg and milk, mixing well. Mix in flour baking powder and soda. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

2. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut with cookie cutters. Bake for 6 minutes at 400 degrees.

Frosting

1 c shortening

5 T water

1 t. vanilla

dash salt

1 pound powdered sugar.

1. Mix together water, salt, and vanilla. In mixer, cream shortening. Slowly add powdered sugar, alternating between sugar and water mixture until all is added and blended. Add desired coloring.

I made the above cookies for Preston's school Halloween party last week. They turned out nicely and the kids all enjoyed them!

Mashed potatoes

One of my all-time favorite foods is mashed potatoes with white gravy. White gravy isn't something I get to eat very often unless we're dining sans kids, but I still love mashed potatoes. Making them dairy-free is a little different. I don't use rice milk- it just doesn't come out tasting right. Instead, I use chicken broth. And I'm not talking out-of-a-box instant potatoes, here. It's only the real deal here! Think making homemade mashed potatoes is too time consuming for a busy mom? Try making a double batch on a weekend and freezing half for later. They freeze beautifully and come out tasting just like a fresh batch!

Mashed Potatoes

4-5 medium potatoes
1/2 stick dairy-free margarine
chicken broth*
salt/pepper

Wash potatoes, peel, and cut into 1" chunks. Boil until tender. In a mixing bowl, add margarine, potatoes, salt and pepper. Mix together with mixer. Slowly add chicken broth until potatoes are the thickness or consistency you desire.

*Read the labels carefully on canned broth- some contain milk. You can, of course, make your own, but I stick with canned. I do freeze broth after I cook a whole chicken in the crock pot for chicken and noodles. MUCH better than store-bought! Note that I don't specify a measurement for the broth. I just eyeball it. At most, you'll use 1/4 cup. Don't dump the leftover, though! Freeze it in 1/3 to 1/4 cup portions and the next time you make potatoes, you can just grab a bowl from the freezer to use.

Menu planning

Weekly menu planning is one thing that I've found to be essential in our household. Not just from an allergy point of view, but also just out of sheer convenience! I've been planning weekly menus for years. I was tired of sitting in front of the cabinet almost every night, not knowing what to fix, and then when I finally decided, find out that I was missing an ingredient. Since planning, I've cut my trips to the store by half (sometimes more), and also my grocery budget (I can't go in and just buy one thing). Here's what I do:

Every Wednesday I sit down with my recipe file. I look through and decide what I'll fix. I have a list with each day of the week. You can type it, buy special pads, or just plain write it down like I do. Whatever floats your boat. Once I decide on a recipe, I decide which day to fix it based on how much time I have or if there's an after-school acitivity, and list it by that day. I keep my grocery list right by me and write down any ingredients that I need to buy so that when I shop, I make sure to have everything. When my list is finished, I hang it on the fridge for all to see.

On Thursdays, I sit down with my coupons and plan out what to buy and what coups to use. I do my shopping Friday mornings after I take the kids to school. By taking a day to do each step, it's much easier and less daunting. There have been times when I'm too busy to plan on Wednesday, so I have to do it and coupons together on Thursday, and I find myself rushing through it, and not wanting to fix what I planned the next week. Take your time! Also, if you think of something throughout the week that sounds good, jot it down on your list (I use a separate pad for menu and grocery lists) on the page you'll use for next week so that when you sit down to plan, you already have one day taken care of!

Vegetable beef soup

I apologize in advance for no photo to accompany this recipe. We ate the soup too fast, and well, I was just too lazy to grab the camera and take one- that, and it was in the car. It was a cold fall day, and veggie soup with cornbread muffins sounded absolutely delicious, and it was! The kids weren't too wild about it, but they're never too wild about veggies. That is, unless it's Preston going nuts over frozen corn and peas, hard as a rock as they may be!

Vegetable beef soup

Shredded cooked roast beef*
Equal amounts of beef broth and water*
8 oz. can tomato paste
bag of frozen mixed veggies
salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large pot, cook on medium for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

* When I cook a roast, I always cook it in the crock pot with water, which yields a lot of broth. I store the broth in quart jars in the deep freeze for later. I also shred the roast and freeze it separately. I rarely buy store-bought broth as some of it contains milk. This also saves money by not throwing it away and having to buy more! Note that I don't have an exact quantity of broth/water. Sometimes it's a full quart, sometimes it's less, but as long as it's close to a quart, and in equal parts, it should turn out fine.

* My grandma, who gave me this recipe, says that she has substituted ground beef for the roast if she didn't have any roast on hand, with equally good results. I'm not a big ground meat fan, so I stick with roast.

As for the corn muffins, I used the recipe on the back of the Aunt Jemima corn meal can, substituting rice milk for milk. I also add a little honey in mine.

Getting Started

When you first get the diagnosis of a food allergy, your first reaction is, "What is he going to eat?" If you're not used to cooking, this can be a bit intimidating, but if you're a seasoned cook, things really aren't that difficult. Simple substitutions can allow you to continue to use your favorite recipes.
Fleishmann's Unsalted Sticks. These margarin sticks are dairy-free, and work very well as a replacement for regular margarine or butter. You can use them in equal measurements called for in recipes with excellent results. Fleishmann's Light in the tubs also works really well, especially for "buttering" bread. The only thing about the tub margarine, is when you use it in baking, it doesn't perform as well as stick margarine.

Rice milk can be used in place of milk in recipes. I prefer Rice Dream Enriched Original because it has just as much calcium as regular milk, and it has a much milder flavor than soy milk. I use it in everything and it always gives me good results.

Replacing cheese doesn't work so well. Dairy-free cheeses just flat out do not melt. So in our case, we just don't buy it, and steer clear of recipes that require cheese. Dairy-free cheeses aren't always dairy-free either. Most contain caesin or caesinate, which are milk proteins, and therefore can cause an allergic reaction. We have found one brand of completely dairy-free cheese, and I can't recall the name. I drove 45 miles to a store that stocked it, only for it to go bad because my son didn't like it.

These substitutions usually yield great results. Many times people have eaten something and are shocked when I tell them that it's dairy-free! They just assume that dairy-free foods aren't going to be good. Luckily, that doesn't have to be the case!

Welcome!

In March of 2004, the day my son tried rice cereal for the first time, he had his first allergic reaction. Of all things, to rice cereal. Then it was oats, barley, peas and milk, all between the ages of 6 and 10 months. To top it off, he's also allergic to penicillin and prednisone! After a trip to the allergist, we were also told to steer completely away from peanuts, tree nuts, and shellfish as well. We already had an epi-pen from his pediatrician, so at that point, life seemed to be at a standstill. Can we all say FRAZZLED?

To say that it was overwhelming is a grave understatement, but 5 years later, I can tell you that it does get easier. Easier maybe because we're used to it, and family is still getting used to it, so they're not as argumentative as they were in the beginning. We recently cleared the biggest hurdle when we sent Mr. Preston off to kindergarten in August- me, a basketcase, borderline nuerotic mom, terrified of a reaction. He had his Medic Alert necklace, clearly stating his allergens. He had his snacks and lunch box, with strict orders not to eat anything that I didn't send with him. So far, so good! I'm actually very pleased with the school's handling of his restrictions, and have recently begun to relax... as much as you can with an allergic child.

So what will you find here? Hopefully, lots! I love to cook, and since having an allergic child means that I really have to cook a lot from scratch, you'll find lots of recipes that have been adapted to be safe. Most will be dairy, peanut, tree nut, and shellfish-free since those are the items we have to do without. I"ll also share tips on cooking for allergic children that will save you time and money- something we can all appreciate! There will also be quips about life with food allergies. Overall, though, there will be support. When you first get that diagnosis, you seem so lost and isolated, and completely overwhelmed. I know I was! So jump on in, leave me comments on what you would like to see, and we'll make this a fun place to be!