Let Me Vent . . .

. . . just a little here on my blog.  Until about 3 years ago, our family did not have any food allergies, and for this I was very thankful!  I could not imagine how other families lived with basic food allergies to dairy and such, let alone more life threatening allergies to nuts or eggs.  It seemed like a fairly difficult cross to bear and I wanted no part of it, thank you Lord.

Then 3 years ago we discovered our Special K had a sensitivity to artificial ingredients present in many foods that contributed to emotional and behavioral problems she was having.  This wasn't too much of a big deal, as I enjoy cooking and had a natural desire to make more homemade foods for our family to enjoy.  Not too many weeks later, while potty training Lil' Wingnut, we came to realize he had a fairly serious allergy to dairy.  Ok, this was a bit more problematic and took some researching and experimenting in the kitchen.  We found goat's milk was an adequate replacement in baking, several types of goat's and sheep's milk cheeses replace many cheeses in other recipes, and goat's and/or sheep's yogurt could replace regular yogurt nicely.  We adapted to our new cooking and dieting needs fairly quickly and with little grumbling and complaining.

About 6 months ago, Wingnut had an epiphany regarding his constant feeling of bloating.  He cut out cow dairy and lost 20 pounds and several inches around his gut in about 2 weeks, no joke.  He also was feeling much healthier and more energetic.  Apparently he is also allergic to dairy.  As we'd already adapted most everything to accommodate Lil' Wingnut's allergy it was fairly simple for Wingnut to cut the remaining culprits from his diet (cheese, milk in his coffee, and ice cream).

I felt it was no real biggie and no real sacrifice, until Lil' Lamb was born.  After several weeks suffering from a severe yeast diaper rash, my mother-in-law suggested I cut dairy from my diet.  And indeed, Lil' Lamb is also allergic to milk.  His rash cleared very quickly once I had the dairy out of my system.  Having to give up the same things as Wingnut, I have decided having a milk allergy really, really sucks.  I miss cheese the most, and while there are some substitutes, there are absolutely no palatable substitutes for cheddar or mozzarella.  I'm coping and at least, for me, this is only temporary, until Lil' Lamb is weaned.

Now here comes the vent.  When Wingnut cut dairy from his diet he began eating steel cut oatmeal for breakfast.  It was really pretty delicious too with lots of butter, brown sugar and pecans.  About the time he began eating so many oats, he developed an eczema rash on his forearms.  We just recently put the two things together in our minds and we've had to cut oats from his diet now.  The rash nearly cleared, but it has become increasingly obvious there is yet something in his diet that is disrupting his system and we are nearly convinced it is gluten.  Really? Gluten?  Ugh!  Talk about having to abstain from complete cultures of cuisine--Italian most glaringly.

I did vent one evening to him, "Not to sound selfish or anything, but if you really are allergic to gluten it will pretty much ruin the one creative passion I have.  Cooking will absolutely suck!"

Thankfully he is loving and understanding enough to just nod his head and listen.  He also knows, in the end, I will buckle down and get as creative as I can in my attempt to cook around his new allergy, and I will try my best to not complain about it.  Dear Lord give me the grace to accept this new challenge without whining!