Life in our house is usually pretty busy. Lately it's been crazy, because I'm spending so much time trying to learn as much as I can as quickly as I can, since this involves feeding my child!
This morning I poured over recipes - THANK YOU to whomever left those cookbooks on my doorstep for me! Fess up, who are you?? :-) I'm learning about all of the other grains out there: teff, quinoa, flax, sourghum, tapioca, potato starch versus flour, garbanzo bean flour, cracked brown rice, etc. etc. Who heard of these things? I'm learning about complete proteins, since that is the hardest thing to get Bethany to eat. She's not a huge milk drinker, and doesn't eat much meat. She recently swore off my super-yummy beans & rice recipe, which is a shame because it would be perfect. I'm learning about food groups: legumes, different types of grains, etc. etc. I'm learning about different types of yeast, vinegars & egg replacements (tofu, flax, vinegar, bananas). It is overwhelming, because I feel I need to know this NOW in order to get Bethany to eat something other than cereal! And I need to spend an hour in the store, which is extremely difficult with two kiddos.
And then there's the issue of cooking. It takes longer to cook mac & cheese from scratch than from a box. Most recipes with flours have separate recipes for the flour mixture - they all are different mixtures of flours to try to create the best flavor & texture for that recipe. So first you have to make a flour mixture, then the food from scratch. And then after all of this, your child refuses to taste it.
There is the stress of your child not eating.
And then there's the stress of grief. Your child isn't normal. Your child won't have a normal childhood as far as food goes - playgroup snacks, birthday parties, snacks at school...even being conscious of things like playdough! There is a grieving process to go through, an adjustment period. I went through it with the initial egg allergy, but that felt much more manageable than 10 allergies! I am lucky she understands that eggs make her sick, so I can tell her she can't have something because it will make her sick and she is ok with that.
And then you start to think about everything in your house, and I mean everything. What is canola, exactly? Is it related to the grains she is allergic to and could she be allergic to it as well? If she's allergic to legumes like peanuts, peas & soy, does that mean we have to avoid all beans & legume products? Or if those allergies are low do I not have to worry about them? I can't wait until the allergy appointment.
I can do this!
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i have often wondered what the heck canola oil is, too! The label says: "Ingredients: Canola oil." But what IS it? (and, despite not knowing the answer, i made popcorn with it last night. :) )
ReplyDeletei have noticed in some schools that the cafeteria rules now often include, "No trading food." I'm guessing that's because of allergies. I like that across-the-board rule better than the solution i saw the other day - several tables set apart from the others designated as the peanut-free tables. I can understand the practical need for such segregation, but it still makes me sad to think about what that's like for the kids. Or, heck, they're kids - maybe they don't care!
Marie is right on the cafeteria rules. I feel like kids with food allergies today are able to fit into the school environment much easier. The kids quickly learn the no share rule and accept it. Yes things will be hard and different but she's such a trooper and such a sweetheart, I'm sure she'll do great!! I remember in Sarah's first preschool class there was a boy who had a couple allergies - eggs maybe?? He knew to say No to certain foods. He also brought his own "treat" to birthday parties and was just happy to be there having fun with his friends. I think the parents were more curious about it than the kids. Good luck with everything. :)
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