Better late than never?

A few pictures from L's birthday last year...better late than never I suppose.

And what's a birthday party without a face covered with food?

(Photos courtesy of my sister!)

Dairy and Egg Free Life

I very briefly mentioned that L is now on an egg and dairy free diet.  She was diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis (EE) in June and she underwent allergy testing to determine if she had any food allergies that could be contributing to the EE.  What came back was positive for eggs, dairy, wheat, corn, beef, soy, and peanut.  After many doctors consulted, we determined that the two main allergens are eggs and dairy and the others were likely false positives.

We turned our kitchen upside down eliminating all dairy and eggs.  I had always done most of our cooking, but suddenly had to learn new ways of cooking and substituting common things like butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, cheese, mayo, etc.

Since so many people are learning about food allergies, being diagnosed with them, or have friends that visit who have food allergies similar to L's, I'll periodically share some brands, products, and recipes that we use in our house that are dairy and egg free.

5 Basic products we always have in the house:

• Vegenaise.  Seriously, this stuff is the best mayo you will ever have.  I did a taste test for the hubs and made one sandwich with real mayo, and the other with this, and he guessed wrong.  I've even converted people to start using this instead.
• Earth Balance Butter.  We use this in recipes that call for regular butter.  We cook with it, bake with it, and spread it on toast or pancakes for L.  It works really well and while isn't identical, it tastes pretty darn close.
• Silver Hills Little Big Bread.  Have you looked at the ingredients of the bread you buy at your store?  It probably has some form of milk in it, which we were surprised by.  We tried all different kinds and we are sold on this brand.  It's absolutely delicious.  It's not sold many places and is found in the frozen section.  If you see it, try it!  The best healthy bread we've tried.
• Nutiva Coconut Oil.  We use this oil in place of butter in many recipes.
• Avocados.  We always have a handful of avocados in our refrigerator to use instead of slices of cheese on sandwiches, to make salad dressings with, to make dips, etc.  

I'll add some more products periodically, and share some recipes.  Keep an eye out!

L the Nurse

We've joked often that L has a future in the medical field.  Tonight just proves it.  The hubs starting cussing loudly and I knew something was wrong.  He had sliced open his finger while cutting up vegetables for dinner.

He knew to cover it quickly to keep the blood from my squeamish self.  I told L to stay put, thinking she would freak out if she saw the blood or saw that he was hurt.  I went to check on him to see if he needed stitches.  While doing so, L ran to her room to get Muno (one of her stuffed lovies) to give to the hubs to console him, then went into nurse mode.

After determining that he didn't need stitches, and trying to hide the fact that I was feeling squeamish and light headed from seeing the cut, L helped the hubs get patched up.  She got the band aides, put neosporin on the cut, and helped bandage him up.

She's all like, blood, no big deal, I've had worse.  (As I'm in the corner trying not to hurl).  Seriously, this child is tough as nails.

(I so wish I had thought to get my camera out to capture this, but I was too busy trying not to pass out).

Thanksgiving 2014

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and managed to grab a couple quick snaps of our fam.  For some reason, watching L on Thanksgiving gives me such joy, more so than almost any other holiday.  She loves playing with family, eating like a maniac, and it feels so peaceful.