Back to Basics

Finally able to sit down and blog this week's allergy appointment. I knew going into it that this would not be a fun one. We had so many clues leading up to our annual battery that there would be new allergies. Like increasing chronic tummy pain, seemingly random allergic reactions, and constant eczema. While I knew it wouldn't be good, I was not prepared for the full scope of the news delivered.

I walked in knowing that I needed some conclusive answers to help me to bring relief to my daughter. When the allergist asked what we thought she should test for, I answered, "Anything edible." Why waste space with environmental allergies? We can't avoid them. Only treat them. Food? We can avoid that if we know what it is. Test for anything edible.

Not only did the existing allergies react more strongly than ever before, we added a host of new ones. Yikes. For those of you keeping score, we now avoid: dairy, eggs, peanuts and treenuts, chicken, soy, rice, sesame, chocolate, tomatoes, fish, crab, lobster, and clam.

I do have to scratch my head and ponder some coincidences. Such as the fact that my daughter has NEVER liked chocolate- in any form. She even complains that is smells bad. First time we have ever tested for it, and she is allergic. She used to gobble up spaghetti like any other kiddo, and about a year ago she suddenly decided she no longer liked the sauce. She still ate the pasta plain, but no longer liked the sauce. And very rarely used ketchup. She never liked raw tomatoes until just about a month ago. Things like that make me wonder if my daughter is more in tune with her body than she realizes, and than we give her credit for. Was it truly a dislike, or was it a stronger aversion brought about by a slight allergic reaction? (Although she came up at 4++ for tomatoes. Wow.)

There was some good news. She did not react to beef this time around. I'm not sure how much good this does us though. For those of you who have taken red meat out of your diet, then cheated by indulging in a burger (or other form of red meat) you know how painful it is. Ouch. Doubled over misery and much protest from your entire digestive system. Not sure if I want to try to put that back into our diet. At least, not until she has been without belly pain for awhile, so we can be aware of how it is truly effecting her.

So now I feel like I am relearning how to feed my family. How to balance the needs of non-allergic and allergic. What on earth does a mama make now?

Back to the basics for us. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Beans. Quinoa. Internet searches for creative recipes to try and to adapt.

And hopefully it'll go over better than last night's dinner. Apparently sweet potato soup with black beans is not to be properly appreciated by the under 8 crowd at our house.