Freedom Friday

This week has been all about food for me. More specifically it has been about what food or foods cannot be eaten. It's not fun!

I just found out that I have high cholesterol. I have been told to avoid red meat, shellfish, eggs, butter, cheese, and ice cream. I also need to change up the way I exercise (I usually walk). I am overweight but I don't over eat. My metabolism has died. I have had tests done and everything is normal. So I now must watch what I eat. Here's the thing: I don't eat very much of the foods I am supposed to avoid. At the most I have red meat and eggs once a week. Same with cheese. I hardly ever eat ice cream anymore and I mostly use olive oil instead of butter. I don't like seafood so that isn't a problem and I only allow myself one cupcake a week. I don't quite understand what the problem is. I go back to the doctor in three months to get my cholesterol checked again. Wish me luck!

I have also been concerned about what foods my one-year-old daughter can and cannot eat. We have thought for a while that she either was lactose intolerant or allergic to the protein in cow's milk. She has been on an amino acid based formula since she was four months old. This past Tuesday we had an appointment with the allergist. She has always had eczema which can go along with food allergies and since she has been unable to successfully eat any dairy our pediatrician suggested we get her tested.

We arrived at the children's hospital with an already cranky little girl. She was scheduled for a consultation and a skin test. Wouldn't you know that minutes before she was supposed to have the skin test her eczema flared out of nowhere. I mean I have never seen it like this before. It was all over her back and forearms - the only two places they can do the skin test. We were given a prescription for an ointment for her and rescheduled to come back at the end of the month. At least they were able to do the blood test portion. We were also given a prescription for an Epi-Pen. According to the allergist, if you even suspect that your child has an allergy you should have one. She also said that this probably is a true dairy protein allergy. Meaning no milk, cheese, ice cream, etc. She is also getting tested for allergies to soy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg whites, fish, shellfish, and wheat. At least I know she isn't allergic to wheat as she has had plenty of it and not a single reaction.

Since the appointment I have been trying to figure out how we would/will handle an allergy to any of these things. The milk allergy is not life threatening so it is just more of an annoyance. But what if she is allergic to peanuts? Or fish? Do we home school her to avoid any possible problems? How do we adjust everything? I know I will feel better after our next appointment. We will have the results and we will be able to form an action plan. I LOVE having a plan! I don't function well without one.

Do you have any suggestions either about my "diet" or allergies? If so I would love to hear from you! Also if you have any dairy-free recipes for any meal please let me know.