School Field Trips

Both kids had field trips at the end of the year on the SAME day. Hayden's class visited a local pizza place, Dion's, and Taryne's class visited Amigo's (local grocery store), a local bank, and the local bus system. Both grades met up at a local park for lunch and to play.

I feel like the above 3 pictures are from the Brady Bunch!

~C

The Milk Allergy

Taryne is also allergic to milk....

For several months she often complained that her tummy hurt and we struggled to determine if she ate too much, was hungry, or just needed to go to the bathroom. We visited the doctor several times and each time we came away with things to try and nothing seemed to work. Finally the doctor suggested we test for this virus that lives in the gut (h. palori or something like that). However, to test for this, they would need to draw blood from her arm instead of a finger prick. Since this is also how they test for food allergies, I asked that potential food allergens be checked as well, especially since Hayden was allergic to a ton of things and I had a few food allergies as a kid. Luckily the virus came back negative (a positive would have meant a month of a few strong antibiotics, yuck!) but the allergens were a different story.

She was allergic to milk and sesame seeds. She was also allergic to about 6 or 7 other things but were pretty minor and only enough to register as an allergen. The milk and sesame seeds were the ones in a higher classification. Since she only experienced tummy pain, we were not prescribed an epi-pen, but if we ever needed one, we have one with Hayden's. 

Luckily, we are pretty much dairy-free in our house with the exception of cheese for those not allergic to milk, so the transition was an easy one. Taryne did better than I expected since she loves cheese. It took her about a week to realize she could no longer have some of the things she enjoyed that was a no-no for Hayden.

The sesame seed allergen is a little different than other nuts/seeds when it comes to the oil. For peanuts and soybeans, the oil is fine for nearly all with an allergen to peanuts or soybeans. A quick search on the internet told me that sesame oil is different in the way it is made and the allergen is still in the oil. Apparently a lot of commercial baked goods have sesame oil in them so we needed to stay away from those...but they usually also contain milk, eggs and soy so we avoid them anyway. The only thing we have come across that she would occasionally eat that has sesame oil is candy corn. I am not sure if it is all brands or the Brach's one, but some other brands contain egg whites so now we have to be extra careful.

As for Hayden, he was retested in August for milk, egg whites and egg yolks and while he is still pretty allergic to all parts of the egg, he is no longer allergic to milk. At the allergy doctor, they did a skin test and it was negative, so we had to schedule a food challenge. This past week, Hayden completed the food challenge and has been cleared to have milk. However, he hates it. He is very specific now when he wants milk: he lets us know that he wants rice milk, in the blue box. He seems hesitant to try some things, but he did eat a little cheese and loved it. At least he can eat it in cooked or baked items provided there is no eggs, soy or nuts.

I think we will continue our limited dairy/dairy-free diet for everyone. We have found that rice milk works as a near perfect substitute for everything we have cooked/baked so far.

Our Food Transformation

Last fall I wrote about Hayden's food allergies (here). Since then, we have come a long way in learning about food and what he can and cannot eat without being sick. It has also given us an opportunity to reevaluate the food we eat and buy.

We have pretty much gone completely organic and we buy non-GMO/Non-GMO Project Verified when available. For years I was okay with GMO crops because when it first came out there was this promise of less pesticides/herbicides which meant "better for us" food, better for the environment, etc. I was also sort of "anti" organic because during my time as a horticulture student I learned that even though some pesticides/herbicides were deemed okay for organic crops (they were organic vs. synthetic produced) they had the potential to be just as dangerous or more so than the typical synthetic ones used in commercial farming.

In recent years, many new studies have been published to show that GMO crops are actually using MORE pesticides and harmful things for our food, bodies and environment. The things I have read about GMO's actually frightens me and makes me wonder if some of the health issues we have encountered are directly related to the foods we are eating.

We actively seek local or chain food restaurants/stores that provide food without GMO's, preservatives, additives, etc and that are organic. We no longer purchase meat from animals fed grain (because it is all full of GMO crops). At one of the farmer's markets, we found a local beef farmer that raises grassfed cattle and is comparatively priced to standard grain-fed beef you find in the grocery store. We are super picky about our eggs, chicken and fish. Thankfully we have a great variety of stores here in Knoxville, but I think Trader Joe's has become our favorite. All of their products and produce are non-GMO, they are reasonably priced and they have lots of fresh items.

Kyle and I love soda, but we are doing our best to completely eliminate it from our diet. However, when we want a soda, we now buy Jones Soda. I am amazed at our changes and how our mindsets have changed over the past 6+ months--all because we had to start reading food labels and realized all the "crap" that is in our food.

I have yet to understand why foods that should only contain a few items actually have 10+ ingredients. Bread, for example, should just have a few things and most bread you buy from the grocery store shelf is riddled with preservatives, artificial ingredients and some type of over processed sugar. Why?

My other big "why?" here lately is why does most every other country ban GMO foods as well as many other ingredients we deem "ok" and "safe" here in the U.S.? I just don't understand it. Is this one of the reasons we are less healthy here in the U.S.? I really feel I could go on and on and on with this and many topics. You probably don't want to hear it and probably don't care.

My goal is for our little family to eat healthier, be healthier and cut the "crap". This past winter without all the normal "crap" we were eating (even things considered "healthy") we had less illness and we made it through a much colder winter than the year before with basically no missed school days. We are still working on transforming our food (because you just can't do it all overnight!) but we are much more aware of every thing we buy and eat.  We cook more, make more food at home and it has been totally worth it.