August turned my kitchen upside down and its taken me longer than I thought to get it straight again. Just before my daughter’s first birthday, she had an allergic reaction to a graham cracker. She took one bite and her face broke out in a rash. It was that quick. Because of our family history, we were planning to have her tested for food allergies at her one-year check-up. I just wasn’t prepared for the results. Wheat. Garlic. Soy. Eggs. Peanuts. Treenuts. Bananas. The only food allergen she shares with my son is eggs (he outgrew his peanut allergy). Since I’m still breastfeeding my daughter, I’ve had to adopt her diet, only not as strictly. For example, I can eat foods with soy or garlic near the end of the ingredient list but not as a primary ingredient. No tofu or roasted garlic for me. So, I’ve been learning to eat – and cook – gluten-free. Its been a hard adjustment; it was when my son was diagnosed, too. I miss bread. Yet, I’ve discovered a few … [Read more...]
Food Allergy Snacks For The Road
I'm guest posting on Traveling Moms, offering a few food allergy snack ideas for your next road trip. We, in fact, enjoyed some of these snacks on our recent road trip to Great Wolf Lodge Williamsburg, which I'll be writing about over on Traveling Moms, too. Come visit me there! What snacks do you pack for your road trips? … [Read more...]
Donut Muffins Made With Love
Today, my son asked if we could make muffins together. We’ve done this before but this was the first time he really helped. Or tried to help, anyway. He insisted on pouring the ingredients in the bowl and then pouring the batter into the muffin tin himself. I had to try really hard not to help him; he was making such a mess and barely filling each cup. But I stepped back and let him do it. And the muffins came out great! Here’s our donut muffin made with love*. I adapted this recipe from AllRecipes.com to accommodate my son’s food allergies. Donut Muffins 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup Earth Balance (or other dairy-free) margarine, melted 1.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice 1 cup soy milk or other alternative 1 tsp baking powder 2 cups flour Enjoy Life chocolate chips Cinnamon sugar Preheat oven to 375F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper baking cups. Mix sugar, margarine and pumpkin pie spice in a bowl. Add soy milk, baking powder, and flour. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into each … [Read more...]
New Enjoy Life Cookies
I realize its ironic to write a post about cookies when I’m dealing with gestational diabetes. Cookies are not on my diet. However, my little guy is quite the cookie monster and was super excited to see these arrive at our doorstep.* We sampled all four the first day but he had a clear preference for the Double Chocolate variety. Chocolate chip came in second. We also received double chocolate crunch granola, which I mix in a trail mix that he loves, and Mega Chunks of chocolate. I haven’t even opened that bag yet. Its too tempting. What I love about Enjoy Life products is that they are free of the top eight allergens and made in a dedicated facility. And what I love about these cookies – even if I can’t indulge in them, too, right now – its that they are lower in sugar than the Oreos my little cookie monster also adores. I bet they go well with a cold glass of your favorite allergy-friendly milk, too. *As an Enjoy Life Brand Ambassador, I received these products for free. I … [Read more...]
Baked Milk Challenge
I thought I’d end Food Allergy Awareness Week by sharing the results of my son’s latest allergy appointment. First a little back story: he was first diagnosed with milk, egg and peanut allergies two years ago via skin test. Since then, only he’s only been retested for peanuts, which came back higher. Last month, we switched allergists and he was retested for milk, eggs and peanuts – this time via blood test – as well as fish, shellfish and treenuts. I am happy to report that the tests for the later all came back negative! Pause for happy dance. He still tested positive for milk, eggs and peanuts, however, his RAST numbers are very low (although, apparently he produces low IgEs to begin with). We're still avoiding direct milk, eggs and peanuts but his allergist recommended that we introduce baked milk and then baked egg at home. And we’ve scheduled a peanut challenge for next year. Pause for happy dance #2. Yet, as promising as this news is, we still have a long road ahead of us. … [Read more...]
