One Year Ago (PART I)

One year ago, our lives changed.

I want to say something dramatic to portray the relief of living without food allergies, but I just don't think it's possible - there are no satisfactory words. It's like those moments when you wish there were better words to describe "I love you" to someone. Sometimes those words just don't seem enough to express the emotions, ya know? Same idea with the removal of food allergies.

Weird comparison, I know, but it works. :)

I'd like to remember some of the differences between 2010 and the 2 1/2 years prior (where we lived as a dairy free, egg free, and almost peanut free family).

In no particular order, here are the first things that pop into my head:

• no special ordered allergy-free chocolate for the holidays
• no wondering about what the previous child ate in the grocery buggy
  
• he's going to preschool this year (2 days a week) without a care in the world
  
• no major prep-work for church gatherings (always with food)
  
• ate his first Reese's Peanut Butter Cup (oh yeah! Imagine that day!)
  
• we ate out more as I family and I personally gained 12 pounds this year! UGH!
• Unfortunately, I did not keep up with my allergy recipe blog: Must Follow Recipes.

As this will most likely be my final series of posts on food allergies, I find it will be easiest to list by month the changes we experienced. This will be the first of three posts (each containing a quarter of the year.)

JANUARY

Each month we have a fellowship birthday meal with our church congregation. It was so hard to "not worry" because my brain was accustomed to watching every bit of food that everyone ate, making sure they didn't have dairy on their hands. We usually sat in a corner, keeping Witt away from everyone and I had to bring prepared food (including dessert) from home for him.

Imagine how free this little boy felt when he was allowed to run around the fellowship room with the other children. To run around the food table and grab a cookie when no one was looking and to dip under and hide below the food table (amongst scraps that had surely fallen) so he could eat that cookie (that someone else had made). Imagine how free his mama felt, too! :)

Jeff and I were also able to take a mini-getaway to his parents' lake house for a weekend. The boys stayed with my MIL. Although she, too, had gotten very proficient at reading labels and preparing food for Witt, there were some things she just didn't stock at her house because they'd go bad. For this trip to Gran's, I didn't have to do extra shopping or prepare special food. She didn't have to do any special cleaning in the kitchen or removal of food he couldn't be near.

To be able to just "drop him off" without preparation... wow... again, there are no words.

Of course my brain went through the usual checklist and I had to continually tell myself that I didn't have to worry about that anymore. It was a bit of mental drain, honestly.

FEBRUARY

In our house, Valentine's Day brings it's own fun little tradition of buying a huge box of chocolates and sharing it. This is the one time you are allowed to take a bite of something and put it back for someone else to eat if you don't like it. LOL!

With a dairy free child, this tradition is an expensive one. However, at least it is still a plausible one. There are some great allergy free chocolate makers out there. For Valentine's our favorite was Chocolate Emporium. They have traditional valentine's boxes (during February) and out-of-this-world chocolates! I highly recommend them!

This year, I think we bought 2 huge boxes of chocolates from a local store and bought each of the boys their own small box. The chocolates were, of course, not as good as the gourmet ones and we did go over board on the buying of (cheap) chocolates, but it was just the principal of it all.

The principal being that we could.

Oh, and Witt had his first dairy filled chocolate milkshake!

MARCH

March is Jeff's birthday. Jeff likes a homemade cake, so really the amount of work isn't any different - it's just the ingredients. And sometimes, well let's face it, the texture. Although I have a favorite DFEF chocolate cake recipe, baked goods generally don't have the same texture and strength (non-sinking centers) when made without eggs.

And then there was Easter... and more chocolate. We have used both Amanda's Own Confections and Chocolate Emporium for our dairy free Easter chocolates. We went with standard chocolate this year and no one noticed (I say this to let you know how good allergy free chocolates can be.)

The exciting part of this Easter though was that it was the first time we have colored eggs since Witt was born! His egg allergy warranted plastic eggs every year prior.

APRIL

In the 5 years that we have been in Alabama, this was the first year we attended the Chicken & Egg Festival and we were able to eat the vendor food without worry! Granted we spent most of our time on the tractors, but just the name of the festival was enough to keep me away in the past.

We also spent some time at a science center in middle Alabama and had to take this picture when I saw this giant carton of milk! LOL!
April is also my birthday. And it is also proof that baking with eggs does not always bring about a perfect cake... as mine fell apart. LOL!

May - August (coming soon)
Sept - Dec (coming soon)

Scratch Test Day 2008

Well, there's good news and bad news. To begin with, I want to record what he was tested for.

Milk, Egg white, Egg yolk, Peanut, Fish mixture, Shellfish mixture

We'll start with the good: Witt is not allergic to fish or shellfish. I had them add that to the test list just to be on the safe side. We occasionally have shrimp and crab, but we've always avoided him when we have it. He's only eaten fish once (although I've served it several times). So, the good news is that we have some knowledge that we didn't have before.

The bad news is that he is still allergic to milk and eggs (both the white and yolk). In fact, within 30 seconds of his scratch test, I knew he was still allergic to milk. So it is still quite severe.

The extra news is that the peanut test came back positive (last year it was negative). I requested the peanut because I was never satisfied with the testing done last year. We avoided peanut with him this last year as well because I just had a "hunch". If you'd like the details on my dissatisfaction, you can check it out here.

Peanut had a much larger reaction that the eggs, but less than the milk. Here's the picture of his back 15 minutes after the initial scratching which is when they read the results.

We also had blood drawn for the RAST test which will be done for each of the items from the scratch test. These results will be back in about a week.

{Let me just say, Witt could not have done better with the blood being drawn. He cried when she stuck him with the needle, but he calmed down and just watched as she filled 5 viles (not full). She gave him a matchbox car when she was done. Then Witt and I traveled to the health food store for some milk-free, egg-free, peanut-free cookies. :) I also stocked up on Vegan Gourmet "cheeses" (for pizza!) and Veganaise (egg-free mayo). I also bought some rice noodles to try out just for fun.}

ALLERGIST'S COMMENTS

Witt still falls in the percentage of kids that "should" outgrow their allergies - especially the milk and eggs. Only about 20% of people outgrow the peanut allergy; those that do are the ones that acquired the allergy at a very young age. SO... he is also in the category in which he "should" outgrow the peanut allergy as well.

The latest information that I have read about milk allergies is 80% outgrow by age 6. Last year it was 80% by age 4. (I don't remember where I read this, but remembered the age difference).

MY REACTION

I must admit I am disappointed. Of course I am. No matter how much I tried not to get my hopes up, I did. It's natural. I know. I haven't broken down in tears, although I almost did. I have chosen a different attitude though... the attitude that I can do this. I've done it for a year... nothing has changed. I've already been avoiding milk, egg, and peanut. Today is the same as as every other day this past year and we made it through just fine. Better than fine.

It's not like I'm starting over with something new. I don't have to change yet another item in our diet or figure out a new substitution. It's all the same. Sometimes SAME is good. I'll take it! :)

There is still more for me to learn about nutrition and cooking from scratch. I enjoy both of these and I have a reason to continue perusing it beyond a want. (If you know me well, you know that I need some boundaries and a good push to make changes. I'd say food allergies are a good boundary and a good push.) I hope to make more lasting and healthier changes to our diet.

THANK YOU

Two months ago, I posted a request for prayers for Witt. Let me just say that I have been OVERWHELLMED with the response I have gotten. Comments, emails, cards, phone calls. Thank you all so much for you support and prayers. I cannot express how much it has meant to me knowing so many are sending so many prayers on his behalf. Thank you! Thank you!

Obviously God's answer is "No" or "Not now". I'm truly ok with that. I have faith in God's will, even if it doesn't match my own. I trust and believe that He will take care of my family. It's my choice on how I react. I choose to be thankful for thisfaith-building road I've been put on. Not only has my faith grown in Him but also in the people around me. I have a beautiful life and it is filled with loving, warm, caring people. I could not be surrounded by better.

Thank you all for your prayers. Thank you for your support. I ask that you continue to pray for Witt - that he will be allergy free at his next appointment. I know I'll be having a conversation with God everyday for the next 365 days. Maybe if I knock long enough and hard enough, He will grant my request (or maybe He won't), but I'm still going to be persistant... join me?

Pre-Packaged Dairy-free Egg-free Peanut-free Goodness

(Whew... what a title!)

I admit it... I was a big pre-packaged cooker before Witt's allergies hit us. Yes, allergieS. The dairy allergy was obvious and then the egg allergy was confirmed when he ate something with egg in it... I don't remember what it was, but I do remember him scratching terribly about two hours after ingestion. Poor little guy. I have not tried barley again yet as I just haven't had the time to pay close enough attention. So, at least two confirmed allergies... possibly a third.

Now that Witt starting to eat more table food, I must be more careful now than I was before; so, I want to start a log of pre-packaged foods that he has eaten so I can keep a reference. I hope this list will also help others and verify some of the foods that "appear" to be dairy-free egg-free. By appears to be I mean that there are so many milk derivatives that it is sometimes hard to keep them straight. Also, some things have the same labeling, but might not be milk-derived (ie "caramel color" can come from milk or other places - I have to call the manufacturer to find out). It's a very tedious process of reading labels (many, many times) to keep Witt safe.

Some of these might appear obviously dairy-free, but you just never know... we found dairy products in toddler toothpaste!!!

Although I am do a lot more "from scratch" cooking now, here are the prepackaged foods that Witt has already had without reaction (this will be a living list as I will add as we go and is in no particular order):


UPDATE: Dec 2008 - Witt also tested positive to peanuts this year, so this list will also include peanut free foods he has eaten.

For Milk Allergy Mom's list of tried foods: click here.

I Can't Believe It's Vegan also has a huge list of dairy-free egg-free prepackaged foods.

Go Dairy Free has a wonderful list of not dairy free, possibly dairy free, and surprisingly dairy free ingredients.

For other DF Bloggers, check out my Dairy-Free Blogroll.

Cereal/Breakfast

Plain Cheerios
Cinnamon Life
Pop-Tarts: Brown Cinnamon & Sugar with icing
Pop-Tarts: Strawberry (no frosting)
Malt-o-Meal Berry Colossal Crunch
Van’s Wheat Free Mini Waffles
100% Pure Maple Syrup
Lucky Charms
Fiber One Caramel Delight
Kellogg's Frosted MiniWheats (Strawberry Delight)
Kroger Instant Oatmeal Lower-sugar Apples and cinnamon
Malt OMeal Marshmallow Mateys
Bluebird Mini Honey Buns

Cookies/Crackers/Chips

Nabisco Graham Crackers - honey
Cambridge Graham Crackers - honey
Pringles chips- Plain
Best Value Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (Wal*Mart brand)
Kroger Value Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Ritz Original Crackers
Cambridge Ritz style crackers
Clancy's Pretzel Sticks (from Aldi)
Golden OREOs Original
OREOs
Vanilla MoonPies
SuperPretzels (plain)

Canned/Jarred
Bush's Black Eyed Peas
Del Monte Green Beans
Le Sueurs whole carrots
Plain Applesauce
Canned fruits
Fruit bowls (no parfaits, yogurts, ONLY plain)
Mushrooms

DelMonte Greenbeans

Sauces/Condiments

Ragu Sauteed Onion & Garlic Pasta Sauce
Parkay Squeeze "butter"
Fleischman's Unsalted margarine
Willow Run Vegan Margarine
Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
Tofutti Sour Supreme / Better Than Sour Cream
Heinz Ketchup
Kraft Creamy Italian dressing & dip
Kikkoman's soy sauce
Red Star Nutritional Yeast
Rachel Ray's Beef Flavored Stock
Heinz Worcestershire Sauce
Kikkoman Soy Sauce
Hormel Real Bacon Bits (50% Less fat)
Chef's Cupboard Onion Soup Mix (from Aldi's)
Private Selection Organic Chicken Broth (Kroger)


"Cheese"
I buy online from The Vegan Store:
Follow Your Heart Vegan Cheese: "Cheddar", "Mozzarella"
Veganaise Mayonaise
Parmazao Imitations Parmesan

Rices/Pasta

Near East Couscous - Wild Mushroom and Herbs
ASIA Specialties Soy Ginger (from Aldi)
Near East Rice Pilaf Mix - Original
Jehling Ramen Noodle Soup - chicken flavor (from Aldi)
10 Minute Success Boil in Bag Rice
Smart Taste Pastas
THAI KITCHEN Spring Onion Instant Rice Noodle Soup

Baby Finger Foods
Gerber Graduates APPLE wagon wheels
Gerber Graduates mini fruits (dried) - banana strawberry
Kroger Brand Little Comforts Puffs – Blueberry, Strawberry Apple
Gerber Graduates Juice Treats

Drinks
Nesquick Chocolate powder
Hershey's Chocolate syrup
100% Juices
Silk Soy Milk
Rice Dream Milk

Meat

Hebrew National Hot Dogs (of course cut up very small with skin removed.)
Great Value fully cooked Homestyle meatballs (frozen at Wal*mart)
Tennessee Pride mild sausage patties
Brookdale Vienna Sausages
Brookdale Potted Meat
Valley Fresh 100% natural while chicken in water
Ian's fish sticks (GF, CF, DF, EF, SF, NF)
Boca Burgers - original vegan
Hormel Real Bacon Bits (50% Less Fat)
Carolina Pride Beef Smoked Sausage
Banquet Chicken Nuggets
Hormel Natural Choice 100% Honey Deli Ham

Bread

Sunbeam King Thin
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
Publix white
L'Oven Fresh white (Aldi)
Sara Lee Soft & Smooth 100% Honey Wheat - see Aimee's comment

Random

Mt. Olive Kosher Mini Dill Pickles (under close supervision/choking hazard... I know.)
Ore-Ida Extra Crispy Tater-tots
Old El Paso Taco Dinner Kit

Desserts

Tofutti Cuties (ice cream sandwiches)
Great Value Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Dairy Free Ice “creams” (DREAM, Purely Decedent)
Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Red Velvet (substitute eggs with a little less than 3/4 c unsweetened applesauce)

Fast Food
McDonald's French Fries - see Melissa's comment

Burger King plain hamburger with bun

Burger King french fries

Chicken MeeFun (rice noodles) from our local Chinese restaurant (not at a buffet)
Terriyaki Chicken on a stick from our local Chinese restaurant (not at a buffet)

Witt's Birthday Party

Where has this year gone?






My new friend, Rachel, and her family came to the party! The kids had a fantastic time playing together! The big boys played in the sandbox. (Although when they left, one of her boys was missing a shoe because he buried it!! LOL!)


The "middle" kids had fun on the slide.


And so did Witt!! Thanks, Grandmother!


The adults enjoyed the beautiful day, too. Copper and Penny were given lots of attention as well! They deserved it; such good dogs!

PRESENT TIME!!!

CAKE TIME!!!

Here is Witt's cake (click here for egg-free dairy-free recipe). The whole thing was his. I made a full cake for everyone else and his equaled 1/8th of a cake. What mathematical fun I had converting the recipe! LOL!


"Happy Birthday to You" and the first bites of cake on video:

And snapshots for the rest of the cake...

Happy Birthday, Wittman! Don't grow up too fast!