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Babysitting.

Today is the first time since he was diagnosed with food allergies that Gabe is gonna go to the babysitters. Normally IF we have to get a babysitter they come here and I give them the whole run down or where safe food is etc. Today hubs and I are going to a wedding and the boys are gonna be watched by my very very brave friend. She has 2 little boys of her own so I know that they will have a blast, but I worry about the foods. Even more worried is my poor friend! LOL! She's terrified of him having a bad reaction to something. :( Poor lady. So I've packed bananas and sunbutter and jelly sandwiches for Gabe. It's his favorite so I'm hoping he won't mind being around others who are eating different things. I dunno. It's hard for everyone involved. But hopefully thanks to a little planning on my part it will be fine. :)

hrm....

Okay so I thought Gabe might be allergic to Duck eggs, now I'm wondering if it could be raspberries or perhaps the pectin I use to make jam? He had a big of a red spot (not as bad as the last time though) last night after having oatmeal with raspberry jam and he may have had the jam the same days he had the duck eggs, so I need to do a test on him. :( Also today he's got little red spots all over his face. I have to check his belly too. :(

Grrrr. I think that's the hardest part of this. Not always knowing will drive you freaking nuts. It could be technically anything, even the oats that I made. Grrrr!

I wish there was a way to test for every food and additive and such that is out there, but there just isn't. Maybe someday we will figure out a better method of testing that is more accurate. Sigh. They have done more research on boobjobs, viagra etc, than they have for real diseases. That's so sad. I know that food allergies have had a lot of research done, but it's just not enough. We need to know more! And fast! The numbers are growing too quickly! Our children's lives are in danger! We need to know what is causing this!

I had a dream last night that it was Gabe's first day of school and he was being picked up at the corner, but there was a parade on our street. They were throwing candy and food and just before the bus came I realized I didn't have his emergency kit on me and that his face was swelling shut! I had to run up 6 flights of stairs (don't ask me why, but we suddenly lived on the 6th floor of a very tall building) and find his kit and then run back down to get it to him before he got on the bus (my neighbor watched him while I ran) It was scary. I worry that someday some of that will happen. :(

The Allergy Mom Prayer by Niccie Jackel
Please let my child outgrow this
Please let my child be able to be a normal kid
Please let my child outgrow this
Please let him be able to enjoy his food.
Please let my child outgrow this
Please don't make me ever need the epi pen
Please let my child outgrow this
Please don't let this get any worse
Please let my child outgrow this
please God don't let him develop anymore allergies.
Please let my child outgrow this

Namaste Cake Review.

So today my little Lincoln is turning two! Wow time flies! So for his bday I made the chocolate namaste cake mix with chocolate fudge frosting. MMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! That's my review for you. Easy to make and Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

neat.

Today was really cool. I met a dietician who is corn intolerant and I made her smile by telling her I had a corn free recipe for marshmallows. :) I have to admit that is one cool thing that has come from all of Gabe's allergies. The things I have learned about what we eat, the things I've been able to share with people AND the people I've met and the conversations that we have about allergies or intollerances. It's so nice to know we are not alone. :) And it's always great to be able to share recipes or things we have learned.

Anywho that is my allergy related thought for the day. :)

Mmm

Close your eyes and imagine....

Chicken that has been marinading in lime juice, fresh garlic, fresh ginger, and a touch of honey for 20 hours.

With potatoes slow cooked in olive oil and fresh garlic for about 3 hours.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm! And guess what? It's totally Gabe ok! How cool is that?!

I can not wait to eat this. It smells sooo good.

I forgot

I forgot to post that Gabe did NOT have a reaction to the plain grilled chicken at KFC! Woot!!!! So now we have a fast food snack he can have other than McDonald's Apples and applejuice. BurgerKing apples too. Other than that we reallly haven't tried eating out at fast food places. When we go out to eat (very rare) I get Gabe a hamburger with no bread and I ask for extra lettuce and tomatoes. Or I get him a salad no dressing (or plain yogurt if they have it) and plain grilled chicken. Also fruit (no strawberries) or any plain veggies they have. It's not much but it's something. :)

Sorry no post lately.

I'm just hugely pregnant and slacking off on news worthy baking stuff. LOL!

So I sat down and did all my math conversions last night to figure out how much applesauce and olive oil I need for my 3 months worth of Namaste supple. 3 jars applesauce, and 2 101 oz tins of olive oil. NOT BAD!

Also I am attempting my hand at gardening somewhat. I got 9 free cherry tomato plants the other day from my sister in law. Soooo I put them in the topsy turvy planter. (I got a rip off at biglots for 7 something) I put 2 plants in each. At first they looked AWFUL, but after I watered them they perked right up and look AWESOME! As of today 1 planter has 21 tomatoes on it already! WOOT! I also received all my canning stuff which is cool because I plan on canning ALL I can from the harvest of these things! (If hubby and the boys don't eat them all on me)

So I know this is supposed to be an allergy blog, but it's also a me blog. I'm now 30 weeks and having some false labor contractions that are making me take it slow, thus why I've not been posting daily like I was. But anyways I have not forgotten about you all and I promise to post as much as I can!

Sale!

If you buy a lot of Namaste foods check this out! www.amazon.com search for Namaste in the grocery section. If you buy in packs of 6 you get a good deal (owner of the company put me onto that!) AND anything over 30 is free shipping :O I just bought litterally over 3 months worth of mixes from them (286.95) but that's 12 pizza mixes, 12 bread mixes, 12 mac & cheeses, 6 brownie mixes, 12 muffin mixes and 6 pancake mixes!!!! WOW! LOL! Should last us for a good while!! Next I get to sit down and figure out how much applesauce and oil and veggies and fruits and meat I need to get at our wholesale club. Blah. That's gonna take forever! LOL! Then I can spend an entire day just baking pizzas, making soups, baking muffins, pancakes, and breads! :O That will be crazy, but will make life sooo much easier!

COOL

So we are waiting to see, BUT we may have found a little bit of fast food for Gabe! Grilled chicken at KFC. The seasoning they add has soy, but they were willing to cook it up with out. (6 min wait, but it's worth it) So we are hoping that he doesn't have any cross contamination. They were really cool about it though, and very helpful. It was great. So fingers crossed and maybe we have a place we can just run to on those nights when I just can't cook anymore! LOL!

Ahhhh

May I just say what a blessing frozen premade food is? Yea I know I made it and so it's not as easy as the store kind, but on a day like today when I don't want to cook anything, it is awesome!

My new technique is everytime I make something like meatloaf, I make 2-3 and freeze the others. :) (preparing for when baby gets here and I'm off my feet for a few days) Also I read some really cool ideas. When you finish dinner take the leftovers and put them on paper plates 1 meal per plate then plastic wrap and Tada! Instant frozen dinners and then at the end of the week on a hectic day you can give your kid a choice between mac and cheese or meatloaf. They get a choice, you actually use leftovers! (because lets be honest after you've reheated them 1 time no one wants to reheat a second or third time :P)

My next great adventure will be batch cooking. I'm actually going to attempt to do the majority of a months worth of cooking in 1 day. I have a babysitter lined up and I plan to play lots of music and hide in my kitchen for over 12 hours :O I'll let you all know when that's going to be so you can tune into my meltdown! LOL!

Anyways just wanted to share my YAY for today. I didn't want to cook for lunch so I knew I wouldn't want to cook for dinner and when i went looking I remembered I had 2 bags of homemade soup frozen screaming out ME ME! LOL!

damn duck eggs?

So the other day Gabe had a reaction. It started as one spot on his face on mother's day. Then for the next 4 days it just spread more on his face. (he didn't complain about it so we didn't give him anything for it. Sounds mean, but I don't like giving him the meds unless it bother's him)

We thought it was just from being outside with all the pollen perhaps. Anyways it went away. So then today I made him duck eggs for breakfast, oranges and chips for lunch. Yup it's back. I think and Dh agrees with me that we had duck eggs for mother's day too. :( Looks like it might be the eggs. Sigh.

We are gonna keep an eye on it and then I think that since it doesn't bother him, once it clears up we will test our theory. Bah. That would make 19 allergies. The list can't just keep growing can it? I mean what are the chances of all this? Doesn't there have to be a limit? Or are we just gonna keep adding things? I mean at what point do we worry that this is more than just allergies? Crohns or something like that? (I don't think it's crohns but you get my point)

To top it all off I think I may have seen blood specks in Link's stool today. I'm calling the doc in the am to have it tested tomorrow. Watch him come up with allergies to milk or one of the few other foods that Gabe can eat. Then I'll have to make 3 dinners everyday. :O One for Gabe one for Link and then one for Jon and me. (he gets home so late from work that the boys are already asleep so I always make us a different dinner rather than let it get cold)

a grocery trip with me.

Today I was talking to someone and they asked me if Dh (dear husband) made a lot at his job. I wish. She then asked how we manage to feed our kids with only his income. Trust me we don't make much money at all. We live VERY frugally.

Things like unplugging appliances when they are not in use (doesn't save a ton, but it's something) Cloth diapering, spending time at home instead of going out, ceiling fans etc.

So I figured today I'll show how I do grocery shopping for the boys with all the allergies.

This is a Gabe ok shopping trip. The only thing on this list that he can't have is my coffee mate. :)

Coffee mate 2.29
butter 1lbs 2.29
whole milk 2.50
whole milk 2.50
plain yogurt .99
white american cheese 1/2 lbs 3.60
10 Polar fruit in a jar 10.00
6 cans fruit 7.98
Oatmeal 3.19
honey ham 3.00
chicken quarters 4.66
Erwhyen (sp?)rice krispy cereal 4.29
Kettle chips 4.00
rice pasta 2.69
baby red potatoes 1 bag 2.99
bananas 4.46
watermelon 7.99
2 oranges 2.97
72.41 Total

Then at the health food store I got a bread mix and a box of sugar cookie mix for 12.30 total after tax.

Well folks that's it. From this alone I can make mac and cheese, sandwiches, dehydrated fruits and fresh fruit snacks, chicken and potatoes, chips, rice krispy treats (I had the marshmallow stuff at home though), yogurt, oatmeal and jam. :)

Anyways I just wanted to show that if you look for the 10 for 10.00 deals in the fruit you can save a fortune. Also compare which grocery stores are cheaper for fruits. (we can't live without a LOT of fruit especially in the summer

The sugar cookies were actually really good. A little more crumbly than I expected, so maybe next time I'll add just a little bit of applesauce, but VERy good and Gabe LOVED them!

New find.

So today we ran out of food so I decided to do a totally allergy free food shopping trip. I'll post my shopping receipt later. But at the health food store they were out of Gabe's fav. Muffins. Soooo I was looking around and I saw Cherrybrook Kitchen's sugar cookie mix. I love namaste, BUT their cookies aren't like sugar cookies, so I decided to look at the ingredients. CORN FREE!!!! WOOT! So we are going to be making them up soon.

I'm doing a massive cooking spree right now. I've got yogurt in my crock pot, bread in the bread machine, blueberries in the dehydrator and soon to be sugar cookies in the oven. :)

Anyways wish me luck! LOL! I'll let you know how they turn out.

Chips.

Well I absolutely love my dehydrator! I made zucchini chips last night! Mmmmm. The boys weren't that impressed, but I really liked them!

My next thing I want to make are dried blueberries. :)

So we are thinking Gabe might have another allergy :( For 4 or 5 days now he's had red spots on his cheeks. Bad red spots and they are starting to get dried out. Weird. He hasn't had any allergy foods. I talked to the doc and they are really pushing for delayed allergy testing. I'm kinda hesitant. As horrible as it sounds I don't want to. I dont' want to add anything else to his can't have list. I know that sounds horrible, but that's how I feel. We will end up doing the testing of course, but I don't want to.

Language Alert

Ok, so honestly I'm not a big fan of rasberries. My hubby however LOVES them. So I went and got stuff to make rasberry jam the other day and figured, he'd love it and that could be something special for him (and the boys of course).

I made the jam yesterday. I used the liquid pectin, which I was nervous about, because I had never used it before.

Well today I checked on them. When you hold the jar upside down, nothing moves. :) So I figured I'll make a rasberry peanutbutter sandwich while the boys are sleeping. Oh...My...Fucking....God!!!! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOOD! I'm thinking I might hide all 5 jars (little jars) away from the kids and hubby and eat it all myself!

I did 4 cups mushed rasberries, 4 cups sugar, a dash of lemon juice and the liquid pectin 1 pouch.

Mash the berries in the pan after you have cleaned them. Add pectin and lemon juice put on high heat stirring constantly, til you get a rapid boil (it boils even when you stir) then add the sugar and stir very well. Keep stirring until you get a rapid boil again. Then leave it alone for 1 minute. Then pour into jars.

I used little jars so I could just boil them in a regular deep pot. I let them boil for about 6-8 minutes I think. Then I took them out of the hot water and let them sit for 3-4 hours to cool down to about room temp. Then I threw them in the fridge. They were perfect before 12. This gave me a little over 5 cups or so. Fit perfectly in 5 small jars that I get when I buy the fruit in glass jars at stop and shop! (I save them all!)

So you figure 12 bucks for all the berries (YIKES I know) I want to say about 5 bucks for 2 pouches of pectin, but since I only used 1 figure 2.50 and then 4 cups of sugar 2.50 a bag 10 cups a bag .25 a cup= 1 dollar in sugar. 15.5 per batch I spent (jars are free since I buy the fruit in them and then just save them) so 3.10 a jar of rasberry jam. Not too shabby. It would also be cheaper if I bought the liquid pectin in bulk and the fruit at the farmer's market once it starts. Mmmm

Anyways I just wanted to share with you guys!

Bananas!

Banana chips check, apple chips, check, dried pinnapple, check! And just because I can I made rasberry jam! I'm now considering making marshmallows too. I think my nesting may have kicked in LOL.

Jam smells soooooooooooo good! I accidently grabbed the liquid pectin this time though, so I'm a little nervous to see if it turns out the same way. Oh well we shall see!

Allergy Awareness Week

At 3am I unplugged the dehydrator because it was irritating me with the noise. (it wasn't loud but the table it was on was RIGHT above our bed downstairs) And so the chips weren't dry when I woke up. I'm gonna check them again in a few more hours. :) But they look yummy.

Well folks today starts off allergy awareness week. So I'm gonna do my best to post some great info of stuff that I find and think is either interesting or important to know. These are some great facts from http://www.achooallergy.com/allergy-statistics.asp

The Allergy Epidemic Affects 1 out of 4 Americans


Over 50 million Americans suffer from allergies.


Approximately 55 percent of all U.S. citizens test positive to one or more allergens.


Allergies are the 6th leading cause of chronic disease in the United States.


Allergies cost the health care system about $18 billion annually.


Allergic rhinitis, or hay fever, is the reason for over 15 million doctor office visits each year.


In the past year, 18.4 million adults and 6.7 children were diagnosed with hay fever.


Chronic sinusitis is the most commonly reported chronic disease, affecting about 35 million Americans.


People who suffer from sinusitis miss about 4 days of work each year because of their illness.


Food allergy occurs in approximately 6 to 8 percent of children under the age of 4 and approximately 4 percent of adults.


About 150 Americans, mostly children, die from food-induced anaphylaxis each year.


Peanut allergies and tree nut allergies cause the most extreme food allergy symptoms.


The number of children with potentially fatal peanut allergies doubled between 1997 and 2002.


Urticaria (hives) is common and affects 10 to 20 percent of the population at some time in their lives.


Stinging Insect allergy is common, affecting about 3 percent of Americans and 1 percent of children.


Approximately 100 Americans die annually from anaphylaxis induced by stinging insects.


Penicillin is the most common culprit in drug allergy. Anaphylactic reactions to penicillin cause approximately 400 deaths a year.


Allergic dermatitis (itchy rash) is the most common skin condition in children younger than 11 years of age. The percentage of children diagnosed with it has increased from 3% in the 1960s to 10% in the 1990s.


Atopic dermatitis is one of the most common skin diseases, particularly in infants and children. The estimated prevalence in the United States is 9%. The prevalence of atopic dermatitis appears to be increasing.


Approximately 220 cases of anaphylaxis and 3 deaths per year are due to latex allergy.


If one parent has allergic disease, the estimated risk of a child to develop allergies is 48%; the child’s estimated risk grows to 70% if both parents have a history of allergies.

Fruit!

I got the COOLEST thing ever for my bday! A dehydrator! So tonight I am making banana chips and apple chips! I figure the one thing I lack most is easy grab and go food. (don't all parents who's kids have allergies?) So I will make up as much dried fruit as I can and bag it all. Snacks for ONLY on the road! Plus I want to try my hand at homemade fruit roll ups!

I also got everything to make rasberry jam tomorrow! I was gonna do it tonight, but forgot to get another bag of sugar. Damn it! LOL! So tomorrow I'll make it. :) Should be yummy! The blueberry jam is already all gone!!!! :O Everyone LOVED it so much that it got put on EVERYTHING! Toast, oatmeal, muffins, donuts, and eaten straight out of the jar. Just need to find my cheese cloth! If worse comes to worse I have a strainer that should do fine, but I want my cheese cloth! I have a sneaking suspicion that hubby threw it away though. :(

So I now have an ice cream maker, can opener, toaster, crock pot, bread maker, magic bullet, microwave, hand mixer, deepfryer/steamer and blender (although I can't find a part to that) Whew. It sounds dumb, but this stuff really does make it all soooo much easier! I don't know how women did it all without all of this stuff!!!!!!!!

Hrm....I'm apparently in a really crazy nesting mood and am now considering making marshmallows since I can't make jam.........Hrm...

duck duck!

So we retried duck eggs again and they are a go! I made scrambled eggs with peas today (weird, but the boys love it) and no reaction at all! So it looks like when he tried them for the first time he must have gotten into something else that day.

So we have another safe food! Woot!

I'm still debating trying to test wheat. It was one of his mild reactions so even if worse comes to worse he'll just end up taking bendryl, but still I don't like risking it.

BTW MAJOR drug recall!!! Children's motrin, benadryl, etc. Please look it up!

Blah.

I need to find something new and have a brand new bag of flour starring at me and nothing I can think of to do with it! How is that possible!!?!?!

Grrr

So we tried sunbutter today (for Gabe not me!) I was nervous because I had a reaction to it, but I know kids don't always get their parents allergies, just the tendency for them. Well it's 1 hour in and his cheeks are red, he looks like he has shiners, and he says he's a little itchy. Bah. I'll update in a few hours to let you know if it got to the point of needing benadryl (and I have to use one of my last perfect doses since the regular no dye one we have was just recalled. (look it up if you have ANY kid meds) It's acting like his soy allergy though which makes me VERY nervous. That's his worst one. And that one is severely delayed. If this is like that then we won't see really bad hives until 5 hours later (after bedtime) and then it will be at it's worst around 12 hours.

This makes me want to stop trying new foods. Ever. It's scary. I would have never thought 6 months ago that feeding my kid would ever make me really really scared.

Food, Inc.

I watched this movie the other night. Deeply disturbing. The only thing I found comforting about it, is that I know my kids aren't getting any of the corn or GMO soy products. Never thought I'd say this, but in a very weird way it kinda makes me happy Gabe has food allergies. Okay so happy isn't the right word. I guess it's just my own silver lining of them? There, that sounds slightly better. I always wanted to be a super crunchy, healthy, cool mom. Now because of the allergies, I'm forced to make the radical food changes that are needed for that. Okay so it doesn't make me cool to anyone but myself, but still. :P