Food allergy update: what's Shea eating?

Just a reminder; Shea is allergic to Wheat/Gluten, soy, spelt, rye, barley, eggs, dairy/whey, peanuts. When we did the food allergy test we received back a printout that showed low, med and high sensitivity depicted on a bar graph. For example eggs, milk and wheat were literally off the chart. But, I noticed something interesting; because he was allergic to whey, cheeses were showing low reaction due to most of the whey being removed in the cheese making process

Hmm... Interesting and a real blessing for us. Cheese is one of Shea's main protein sources and it was nearly impossible for us to completely exclude it from his diet. So, Shea eats cheese, in all forms, but mainly just by the slice. The same goes for cottage cheese and yogurt which both fallow on the reaction graph.

I expect he is still having some reaction to the dairy but since he seems so much better than before I really don't care. Although, we do need to deal with constipation concerns on occasion because of all the cheese.

We counter it with lots and lots of apple sauce and apple juice. Unfortunately he won't even think of trying any other kind of juice or fruit so that is pretty limiting. We also regularly have Hemp Milk which is really high in fiber, protein and Omega 3 & 6. Shea really likes the chocolate and it really helps.

Lately he has been branching out. Not always and not usually for me. But, Jake can get him to try pretty much anything that is on his plate. He has spent mealtime eyeing it but if I ask him he won't even think about it but if Jake holds the spoon he usually will.

We manage to get him to chow through pretty respectable piles of mashed or baked potatoes. Tonight he had some white rice. He likes corn chips and will eat corn bread. My kingdom for a good gluten free corn bread recipe.

Breakfast is a lot easier. He loves EnviroKidz Organic Koala Crisp and no one would blame him. It is lite and crispy choco-rice cereal. Pretty darn good, I've tried them. He can work through 3 or 4 bowls on a good morning.

And, we found these excellent muffins: Flax4Life Flax Muffins - Chunky Chocolate Chip made here locally in Belling ham, WA. I know, I know, do you see a chocolate theme reoccurring? Well, it is my kid, after all. Not only are these darn good muffins but they are packed with 3200 mg. Omega 3 per muffin and have 10 grams of fiber. They also have 104 mg of Lignen which I have never heard about before but apparently supports both breast and prostate health! These muffins are such a winner that Molly even likes them and I have begun to ration them. But, when I visited the Flax4Life website, I noticed they do mailorder with free shipping! So, I think I may just get that case of 24 and see how long they last.

One of the hardest things was finding a real good pancake recipe. Not just an ok one, he just won't eat it. But, a real good one where he clears his plate, asks for another (with words even) and chows that one down too. Pancakes mean "the weekend" around our house and it was going to be a bummer if I couldn't find one that we all liked.

Well, I found it. Tip of the hat goes to the Naturopath who did the allergy test and delivered the staggering news. While I was still stunned and barely coherent, she pushed a cook book into my hands called The Whole Life Nutrituion Cookbook by Alissa Segersten and Tom Malterre, MS. CN. I know it doesn't sound very appetizing but it is a very good cookbook with over 200 gluten free, dairy free and egg free recipes.

Buckwheat Pancakes

1 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup hemp, rice, almond or soy milk
1 organic egg (we use Ener G egg replacement)
2 Tbls. melted virgin coconut oil, melted
1 Tbls. maple syrup or Agave nectar

Whip it all up and make pancakes. Somehow these cakes are light and fluffy, have a wonderful slight coconut taste but are not too sweet. The texture is the excellent thing. Most gluten free baked goods seem very flat (to me) so the fluffiness of these is a real hit. Add butter and real maple syrup and you got yourself a weekend morning to be proud of.