Weekly Meal Plan and an Update
>> Monday, February 27, 2012
If you read this blog with any regularity, you've probably noticed that my daughter, Finley, is sick a lot. Usually it's a cold that leads to ear infections. Big boo! At the end of December, we had an appointment with her ENT doctor and it was recommended that Finley have another set of ear tubes. Well I happened to mention Fin's nearly constant ear infections on Facebook and one of my sorority sisters mentioned that Finley could have a dairy allergy. Say, what? I did a little research online and found that Finley had almost every single respiratory symptom listed! We took Finley off dairy the very next day and she has become a whole new kid! Her nose stopped running (seriously, I have not wiped her nose in 10 days!!!) for the first time ever, she's stopped sneezing and coughing, she's sleeping longer, and she's eating more.
The past two weeks have been eye-opening for me. I had no idea that dairy products were in so many things that I use everyday. Syrup, pancake mix, cake mixes, nonstick spray, goldfish crackers, most store-bought breads, many jarred spaghetti sauces, etc. My grocery store trips take almost twice as long because I have to read the labels on every single item I put in my cart. But it's all a small price to pay to have a healthy child! Finley is going to have allergy testing conducted this week to confirm that she has a dairy allergy and to see if she's allergic to anything else.
So...that means that the focus of this cooking blog will be shifting a little (or a lot!) - away from butter, cream, milk, cheese and most pre-made ingredients, and towards all things dairy-free. Of course, I'll still post a recipe every now and then that has some dairy in it.
Here is this week's menu:
Best Meatloaf; Caramelized Brussel Sprouts; Roasted New Potatoes
Wonton Soup with Mushrooms and Bok Choy; Egg Rolls
Spinach Stuffed Shells; Roasted Broccoli
2 comments:
Erin, we went through the same type of thing with Hannah. She didn't have ear infections, but she had respiratory infections (including pneumonia) regularly. She had horrible eczema that we couldn't get rid of and complained of stomach cramps often - almost daily. We did the dairy elimination diet where we eliminated ALL dairy like you're doing. After two weeks (and a completely new child), we started re-introducing dairy. We started with the least-likely culprits like those that just had dairy in the labels. Then we moved on to bigger things like cheeses, yogurts, etc. You can google the exact method. Anyway, we found that Hannah did not have a true dairy allergy, thank God, but just a sensitivity to milk and too much dairy in other things. But she can even still eat yogurt daily! It's amazing how one tiny change (from cow's milk to soy milk) has changed her life. But we've been able to almost completely avoid breathing treatments, and her eczema and tummy issues are 100% resolved.
Hoping for you that Finley just has a sensitivity and not a true allergy!
Thanks Alicia! I'm definitely hoping that Finley just has a sensitivity to diary rather than a full-blown allergy. But even if it is an allergy, there's always hope that she can outgrow it. We shall see soon with the allergy testing!
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