Yesterday Emmaline went into the allergist for another milk challenge. You may recall that we did this test last year and she passed, and then three days later she failed.
So back we went this year to try again. She did really great again. On the final round though, she got kind of red around the mouth and was coughing. However, it never turned into anything and her allergist listened to her lungs and everything sounded fine. So we are unsure if she really had a reaction or not. So for the moment we are approved to give her 1/4 cup of milk everyday and just watch and see what happens!
Hopefully we are moving in the right direction!
Showing posts with label Allergies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Allergies. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Official 12 months Stats
Lincoln's original 12 month well child check got delayed and he didn't get to have it until yesterday, he also had a urology appointment in the last week. So here are updates on all of that!
Urology first.
His kidneys are still improving. Still slightly enlarged but the doctor said it was nothing to stress over. He said he likes to see things through until they are resolved, so wants us to come back in a year for another kidney ultrasound. As far as his surgery went, everything has healed well and he is doing great!
Now for the pediatrician!
The first thing that happened was the nurse weighed Lincoln and declared him to be 19 lbs. At his urology appointment a few days earlier, he weighed 16 lbs 12 oz - so obviously I knew someone had his weight wrong! We ended up weighing him on three different scales, and he really is 16 lbs. 12 oz. He is a little peanut, just like Emmaline was at that age. She weighed even less - 15lbs 14 oz at one year.
His official stats are:
Weight - 16 lbs. 12 oz (less than 3%)
Height - 28 3/4 inches (12 %)
Head - 47 cm (65%)
I have tried to start Lincoln on whole milk twice now, and each time after a few days he has started having icky bowel problems (I'll spare my reading audience the details!). The first time I thought maybe he was ill. I took him off the milk and waited for everything to resolve, and then tried again, but the same thing happened. He has always had problems with milk since he was born - spitting up every time *I* ate a lot of it. I'm not prepared to say he is allergic, but there is definitely an intolerance there. The issue of course is that the alternatives - soy and rice milk - are very low in fat and Lincoln could benefit from a bit of bulking up! The pediatrician sent us home with some Pediasure - which is both soy and milk based. It doesn't have lactose though and does have as much milk protein in its as milk does of course. So we are trying that for a few days to see what happens. The other option is a soy based toddler formula or I keep nursing him indefinitely. So we'll see what happens!
Other than that issue, Lincoln is looking great. He still isn't walking - I was sure he would be by now, but instead he seems to be working on other skills. He is babbling a ton and saying several words we recognize, and a quite a few more that we haven't identified yet. He points, waves, and signs "milk", and sometimes he will try to blow a kiss. He is quick to laugh, loves to observe everyone, and is very snugly and VERY much a Mama's boy.
Our favorite part of the day with him is the evening right before I tuck him into bed. I'll be nursing him, and he will pop of and crawl away. AJ will say to him, "are you ready to go to bed" And Lincoln starts to laugh and crawl away from AJ as fast as he can, and then dive bombs into me to nurse some more. He does this repeatedly. He knows as long as he is nursing, he doesn't have to go to bed. When he sleeps he snuggles with "Nanook" a beanie baby Husky that he got for Christmas, as well as his blankie - a little 2'x2' blanket, perfect size for snuggling with and carrying around.
Urology first.
His kidneys are still improving. Still slightly enlarged but the doctor said it was nothing to stress over. He said he likes to see things through until they are resolved, so wants us to come back in a year for another kidney ultrasound. As far as his surgery went, everything has healed well and he is doing great!
Now for the pediatrician!
The first thing that happened was the nurse weighed Lincoln and declared him to be 19 lbs. At his urology appointment a few days earlier, he weighed 16 lbs 12 oz - so obviously I knew someone had his weight wrong! We ended up weighing him on three different scales, and he really is 16 lbs. 12 oz. He is a little peanut, just like Emmaline was at that age. She weighed even less - 15lbs 14 oz at one year.
His official stats are:
Weight - 16 lbs. 12 oz (less than 3%)
Height - 28 3/4 inches (12 %)
Head - 47 cm (65%)
I have tried to start Lincoln on whole milk twice now, and each time after a few days he has started having icky bowel problems (I'll spare my reading audience the details!). The first time I thought maybe he was ill. I took him off the milk and waited for everything to resolve, and then tried again, but the same thing happened. He has always had problems with milk since he was born - spitting up every time *I* ate a lot of it. I'm not prepared to say he is allergic, but there is definitely an intolerance there. The issue of course is that the alternatives - soy and rice milk - are very low in fat and Lincoln could benefit from a bit of bulking up! The pediatrician sent us home with some Pediasure - which is both soy and milk based. It doesn't have lactose though and does have as much milk protein in its as milk does of course. So we are trying that for a few days to see what happens. The other option is a soy based toddler formula or I keep nursing him indefinitely. So we'll see what happens!
Other than that issue, Lincoln is looking great. He still isn't walking - I was sure he would be by now, but instead he seems to be working on other skills. He is babbling a ton and saying several words we recognize, and a quite a few more that we haven't identified yet. He points, waves, and signs "milk", and sometimes he will try to blow a kiss. He is quick to laugh, loves to observe everyone, and is very snugly and VERY much a Mama's boy.
Our favorite part of the day with him is the evening right before I tuck him into bed. I'll be nursing him, and he will pop of and crawl away. AJ will say to him, "are you ready to go to bed" And Lincoln starts to laugh and crawl away from AJ as fast as he can, and then dive bombs into me to nurse some more. He does this repeatedly. He knows as long as he is nursing, he doesn't have to go to bed. When he sleeps he snuggles with "Nanook" a beanie baby Husky that he got for Christmas, as well as his blankie - a little 2'x2' blanket, perfect size for snuggling with and carrying around.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Homemade Frozen Pizzas
We are going through big changes in our house. AJ has been put on a project at work that will involve him traveling about 2/3 of the month. That leaves me on my own. I decided to try and head off difficult days that I am sure will be coming, and start by making meal times easier.
With Emmaline's allergies, it makes it difficult to do things like ordering pizza on a whim. I came across instructions the other day on how to make homemade frozen pizzas and had to try it! I ended up making ones with and without cheese.
1) Make pizza dough. I was able to get 2 - 12" pizzas out of each batch of that recipe. Roll the dough out into crusts and bake at 500* for 4-5 minutes. Allow them to cool. I did a smaller oval shape for my daughter's safe pizzas so they'd be easy to identify in the freezer.
2) Put the toppings on. For a 12" pizza I used about 1/2 cup sauce, 1/3 lb of cheese, and 12 pieces of pepperoni.
3) Wrap the pizzas in saran wrap. I used two layers of saran wrap to make sure it was good and sealed. Then put them in the freezer:
4) When it comes time to bake, remove the plastic wrap, place on a pizza pan or baking sheet, and bake in a preheated 425* oven for approximately 15 minutes. ENJOY!
With Emmaline's allergies, it makes it difficult to do things like ordering pizza on a whim. I came across instructions the other day on how to make homemade frozen pizzas and had to try it! I ended up making ones with and without cheese.
1) Make pizza dough. I was able to get 2 - 12" pizzas out of each batch of that recipe. Roll the dough out into crusts and bake at 500* for 4-5 minutes. Allow them to cool. I did a smaller oval shape for my daughter's safe pizzas so they'd be easy to identify in the freezer.
2) Put the toppings on. For a 12" pizza I used about 1/2 cup sauce, 1/3 lb of cheese, and 12 pieces of pepperoni.
3) Wrap the pizzas in saran wrap. I used two layers of saran wrap to make sure it was good and sealed. Then put them in the freezer:
4) When it comes time to bake, remove the plastic wrap, place on a pizza pan or baking sheet, and bake in a preheated 425* oven for approximately 15 minutes. ENJOY!
Rating: A LOT of pizza!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Using an Epi-Pen
It's like a movie-palooza around here!
We had a couple of expired Epi-Pens. The best thing to do with those is to get a grapefruit and practice using them. This time we also let Emmaline try it out as well. Here is how it works:
Rating: 1 Grapefruit
We had a couple of expired Epi-Pens. The best thing to do with those is to get a grapefruit and practice using them. This time we also let Emmaline try it out as well. Here is how it works:
Rating: 1 Grapefruit
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Amoxicillin
About a month or so ago, Idgie got an ear infection. She was prescribed antibiotics which helped to clear it up. However, on day 6 of the Amoxicillin, we noticed that her skin was really bumpy. We didn't think much of it until we noticed on day 8, that her whole torso was covered with a red rash and it was starting to spread up onto her face and hands and feet. Research told us that it can be a side effect but we also have a history of 'cillin allergies in our family as well, so it wasn't anything we took lightly! We schedule an appointment at the allergist for her, and due to bad weather, we had to reschedule it a few times before we were finally able to go in today.
The skin test came out negative which is a potentially good thing - but we aren't done yet! In 3 months we have to go back, where they will do another skin test, and also an oral challenge where we give her amoxicillin for 4 days to see what happens. We are of course hoping that it was a side effect and not an allergy!
I also had a great conversation with the allergist about all kinds of allergy topics, and he commented that I know more than most people about the subject and could certainly teach quite a few family practice doctors and pediatricians about the subject. So that was nice to hear. We HAVE been doing this for awhile!
Here is a picture of part of Idgie's stomach:
The skin test came out negative which is a potentially good thing - but we aren't done yet! In 3 months we have to go back, where they will do another skin test, and also an oral challenge where we give her amoxicillin for 4 days to see what happens. We are of course hoping that it was a side effect and not an allergy!
I also had a great conversation with the allergist about all kinds of allergy topics, and he commented that I know more than most people about the subject and could certainly teach quite a few family practice doctors and pediatricians about the subject. So that was nice to hear. We HAVE been doing this for awhile!
Here is a picture of part of Idgie's stomach:
Rating: 1,000,000 Red Hots
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
The Incredible Inedible Egg
Today Emmaline had a challenge for Eggs-in-a-Baked-Good. It went badly. Really badly.
Our test item was a cookie. She started with half of a cookie which contained 1/18 of an egg. That's right - that isn't a typo. That is 1/18. She gobbled up her cookie and ran off to play. A few minutes later she came to sit quietly next to me with a magazine - which I should have taken as a sign right away. In a couple minutes I noticed she was coughing from time to time. A very soft cough - like you have a tickle in your throat. I took a good look at her and saw that maybe her face was a little red - but I rationalized that right before she at the cookie, I had washed her face so maybe it was red from that. Still though, I let the nurse know and she said we would give it a few more minutes and see what happened.
After a few minutes I noticed that she was starting to scratch her throat and cheeks. So I let the nurse know and we were pulled back into an exam room. The doctor listened to her lungs and said she did sound more "wheezy" than she did before we started the challenge. He said we'd wait a bit longer and see what happened next - if anything. So we sat and waited for about 15-20 minutes. She seemed to be doing fine in that time - no change at least. The doctor came back and checked her again, and said we would give it some time again.
As soon as he left, she started to cough. She coughed, and coughed, and coughed, and coughed. Finally I knew that really wasn't right so I ran to get the doctor. He came and listened to her and next thing I know, we were pulled into another room where she was given a shot of Epinephrine (That is what is in an Epi-Pen, but in this case it was a regular shot and not using the emergency Epi-pen). Normally needles don't bother Emmaline at all, but I could tell she was scared and that stressed her out about that shot and she began to cry. Once it was over with though, she calmed down again.
She then was put on a nebulizer for about 10 minutes. When the shot and the nebulizer were both done, then she started to sneeze. She sneezed and sneezed and sneezed. So they gave her some oral medication for that. And in that time she also started to itch. To itch and itch and itch. She was clawing at her stomach and legs. Finally I lifted up her shirt and discovered her torso was covered in hives. I held her hands and tried to help her not to scratch. But then she started using her feet to try and scratch her legs - which led to the discovery of hives on her legs as well. The nurse brought in some cooling anti-itch gel and we rubbed it all over her. It helped for a time - but then the vomit started.
By the time we left the office (6 hours after arriving), she had vomited 5 times in a 4 hour time frame. She napped between vomits but the vomiting was actually a good thing and we were all happy to see it. Vomit meant that the cookies were getting OUT of her system instead of continuing to be absorbed! During one of her vomits, I was holding Lincoln in one hand while holding her barf bucket in the other. While she was throwing up, Lincoln spit up all down my shirt. The nurse and I both busted up laughing - because if you don't laugh at that stuff - then you cry instead.
Her doctor said that most kids if they fail a baked goods challenge, it happens much further along, and he was surprised she failed it on the first test and with only 1/18 of an egg. He was also impressed that she failed in three different body systems.
So basically what we learned today is that without a doubt, eggs will kill her. It is a really scary thought. But As we drove home, I remembered the time we watched a little boy challenging peanuts. He went from tiny cough to ICU within 20 minutes. And you know - Emmaline's reaction was so minor in comparison, which gives us a lot to be thankful for.
Rating: 10 Fireballs
Our test item was a cookie. She started with half of a cookie which contained 1/18 of an egg. That's right - that isn't a typo. That is 1/18. She gobbled up her cookie and ran off to play. A few minutes later she came to sit quietly next to me with a magazine - which I should have taken as a sign right away. In a couple minutes I noticed she was coughing from time to time. A very soft cough - like you have a tickle in your throat. I took a good look at her and saw that maybe her face was a little red - but I rationalized that right before she at the cookie, I had washed her face so maybe it was red from that. Still though, I let the nurse know and she said we would give it a few more minutes and see what happened.
After a few minutes I noticed that she was starting to scratch her throat and cheeks. So I let the nurse know and we were pulled back into an exam room. The doctor listened to her lungs and said she did sound more "wheezy" than she did before we started the challenge. He said we'd wait a bit longer and see what happened next - if anything. So we sat and waited for about 15-20 minutes. She seemed to be doing fine in that time - no change at least. The doctor came back and checked her again, and said we would give it some time again.
As soon as he left, she started to cough. She coughed, and coughed, and coughed, and coughed. Finally I knew that really wasn't right so I ran to get the doctor. He came and listened to her and next thing I know, we were pulled into another room where she was given a shot of Epinephrine (That is what is in an Epi-Pen, but in this case it was a regular shot and not using the emergency Epi-pen). Normally needles don't bother Emmaline at all, but I could tell she was scared and that stressed her out about that shot and she began to cry. Once it was over with though, she calmed down again.
She then was put on a nebulizer for about 10 minutes. When the shot and the nebulizer were both done, then she started to sneeze. She sneezed and sneezed and sneezed. So they gave her some oral medication for that. And in that time she also started to itch. To itch and itch and itch. She was clawing at her stomach and legs. Finally I lifted up her shirt and discovered her torso was covered in hives. I held her hands and tried to help her not to scratch. But then she started using her feet to try and scratch her legs - which led to the discovery of hives on her legs as well. The nurse brought in some cooling anti-itch gel and we rubbed it all over her. It helped for a time - but then the vomit started.
By the time we left the office (6 hours after arriving), she had vomited 5 times in a 4 hour time frame. She napped between vomits but the vomiting was actually a good thing and we were all happy to see it. Vomit meant that the cookies were getting OUT of her system instead of continuing to be absorbed! During one of her vomits, I was holding Lincoln in one hand while holding her barf bucket in the other. While she was throwing up, Lincoln spit up all down my shirt. The nurse and I both busted up laughing - because if you don't laugh at that stuff - then you cry instead.
Her doctor said that most kids if they fail a baked goods challenge, it happens much further along, and he was surprised she failed it on the first test and with only 1/18 of an egg. He was also impressed that she failed in three different body systems.
So basically what we learned today is that without a doubt, eggs will kill her. It is a really scary thought. But As we drove home, I remembered the time we watched a little boy challenging peanuts. He went from tiny cough to ICU within 20 minutes. And you know - Emmaline's reaction was so minor in comparison, which gives us a lot to be thankful for.
Rating: 10 Fireballs
Friday, October 15, 2010
Square One
This morning Emmaline got hives around her lips when she drank milk. We were so close!!!! Her allergist said to go back to milk in baked goods and test that at home to make sure that her new exposure to milk won't cause her to regress on that point as well. We'll call after the weekend and figure out where to head next. They are small and hard to see in the photo - but they are there.
*sigh*
Rating: 5 Fireballs
*sigh*
Rating: 5 Fireballs
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Dairy!!!
I can't even begin to express the excitement in our house!
One year ago, Emmaline challenged dairy and failed instantly. Then in January, we challenged milk in a baked good and she passed that!
Well today we challenged milk again and she PASSED! She tolerated 1/2 cup of plain old milk. So for the next week we are approved to give her that amount of milk each day. Then after that, the sky is the limit. Milk, yogurt, cheese, cream cheese, butter, sour cream, etc etc! It's a glorious day. The whole way home Emmaline and I made a list of all the things she could try. The top of her list was Cheese Pizza!
Rating: 10 Milk Duds
One year ago, Emmaline challenged dairy and failed instantly. Then in January, we challenged milk in a baked good and she passed that!
Well today we challenged milk again and she PASSED! She tolerated 1/2 cup of plain old milk. So for the next week we are approved to give her that amount of milk each day. Then after that, the sky is the limit. Milk, yogurt, cheese, cream cheese, butter, sour cream, etc etc! It's a glorious day. The whole way home Emmaline and I made a list of all the things she could try. The top of her list was Cheese Pizza!
Rating: 10 Milk Duds
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
That's how I feel about the allergist sometimes.
Emmaline got a cold about a month ago and we had to cancel her last allergy challenge. So today we went in again with the plan to challenge milk. However, she has had a hacking cough for the last month. We weren't even going to go but they told us to come in anyway. So the allergist listened to her chest and did a few tests and decided to scrap the milk challenge, and do some breathing treatments instead. He said it was likely just "viral induced asthma" and that we'd do treatments for about a month or so and hopefully that should resolve the issue. And THEN we can go back to doing food challenges. Sigh.
Rating: 3 Fireballs
Emmaline got a cold about a month ago and we had to cancel her last allergy challenge. So today we went in again with the plan to challenge milk. However, she has had a hacking cough for the last month. We weren't even going to go but they told us to come in anyway. So the allergist listened to her chest and did a few tests and decided to scrap the milk challenge, and do some breathing treatments instead. He said it was likely just "viral induced asthma" and that we'd do treatments for about a month or so and hopefully that should resolve the issue. And THEN we can go back to doing food challenges. Sigh.
Rating: 3 Fireballs
Monday, July 12, 2010
Allergy Testing
Emmaline had her yearly skin testing for her allergies. I remembered to take the camera along this time so I could show what it looks like!
She tested positive to: Cashew, Pistachio, Egg, Milk, and Salmon
Negative results for: halibut, shrimp, peanut, walnut, almond, pecan, hazelnut
So the next step is to do some bloodwork and then start up another round of challenges. I have high hopes this year of eliminating some of these allergen! I definitely want to do an oral challange on peanuts and fish, and then do milk again as well.
Here is how they do the testing. They use a marker and put a dot on her back where they will put each allergen, There is also a Histamine and Control dot. The Histamine WILL react and the control shouldn't. Emmaline has been scratching her back lately so they put a big circle around that spot so it wouldn't get confused with the results. All the testing is, is a little scratch and a drop of liquid that holds whatever the allergen is. Emmaline says it doesn't hurt but that it itches.
She tested positive to: Cashew, Pistachio, Egg, Milk, and Salmon
Negative results for: halibut, shrimp, peanut, walnut, almond, pecan, hazelnut
So the next step is to do some bloodwork and then start up another round of challenges. I have high hopes this year of eliminating some of these allergen! I definitely want to do an oral challange on peanuts and fish, and then do milk again as well.
Here is how they do the testing. They use a marker and put a dot on her back where they will put each allergen, There is also a Histamine and Control dot. The Histamine WILL react and the control shouldn't. Emmaline has been scratching her back lately so they put a big circle around that spot so it wouldn't get confused with the results. All the testing is, is a little scratch and a drop of liquid that holds whatever the allergen is. Emmaline says it doesn't hurt but that it itches.
This is her back after 15 minutes.
Rating: 3 Lollipops
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Milk-in-Baked-Goods
You may recall that back in September, Emmaline had a milk challenge that she failed instantly. Well today we tried a variation - and tested out what would happen if she had milk that was baked into something and guess what? SHE PASSED!!!!!
She had 1/4 cup of milk baked into 3 muffins. She consumed the muffins in increasing increments over the course of a few hours (starting with just 1/4 of a muffin and eventually ending in eating one whole muffin). This is great news because it means we are on our first baby steps to outgrowing the milk allergy.
She still can't have plain milk, cheese, sour cream, etc, etc. But she is approved to consume up to 1/4 cup of milk per day in baked goods *only* (no other types of foods). So that means we can do cakes, muffins, breads, pancakes, waffles, etc. After a couple months, the allergist said that we can start to push that limit and give her more than that in a day. Then when her next yearly appointment comes up (in July/August) then we will evaluate from there if we can try other forms of dairy like cheese or yogurt.
Rating: 3 milk-filled raspberry muffins!
She had 1/4 cup of milk baked into 3 muffins. She consumed the muffins in increasing increments over the course of a few hours (starting with just 1/4 of a muffin and eventually ending in eating one whole muffin). This is great news because it means we are on our first baby steps to outgrowing the milk allergy.
She still can't have plain milk, cheese, sour cream, etc, etc. But she is approved to consume up to 1/4 cup of milk per day in baked goods *only* (no other types of foods). So that means we can do cakes, muffins, breads, pancakes, waffles, etc. After a couple months, the allergist said that we can start to push that limit and give her more than that in a day. Then when her next yearly appointment comes up (in July/August) then we will evaluate from there if we can try other forms of dairy like cheese or yogurt.
Rating: 3 milk-filled raspberry muffins!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Pumpkin Pancake Party
Today Emmaline had a class party for Halloween. They got to wear their pajamas to school and for the party they got to eat Pumpkin Pancakes! This worried me a great deal actually since pancakes involve eggs and milk, so I volunteered to help out at the party. It was a good thing I did since they were planning on letting the kids actually help make the pancakes and not just eat! They made sure to have Emmaline be in my group to cook and I was able to keep an eye on things and allow her to participate as much as possible while minimizing the chance of contact. She did things like mixing the dry ingredients while the other kids mixed wet ingredients. Last time Emmaline was touched with just a trace of egg residue she looked like this - so I didn't take this party lightly.
Her teacher and all the other parents helping were really great and made every effort to keep things clean and to have the kids to good handwashing and such. I really, really appreciated the effort they all made. Emmaline had a fantastic time at her party and she was thrilled to have me there. Give it another couple of years and she'll be embarrassed to have me, but I'll enjoy it for now!
Rating: 4 Pumpkin Pies
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Soy Challenge
She passed!!!!!!
Emmaline passed her soy challenge today. Not a single drop of vomit! (Well I vomited, but that didn't have anything to do with soy)
We need to be careful for a few more days but then after that we can feed her soy! YAY!
Rating: 5 Tofutti Bars!
Emmaline passed her soy challenge today. Not a single drop of vomit! (Well I vomited, but that didn't have anything to do with soy)
We need to be careful for a few more days but then after that we can feed her soy! YAY!
Rating: 5 Tofutti Bars!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Milk Challenge
Emmaline has her allergy testing a while ago, and based on her RAST testing, the doctor determined that we could try a milk challenge. She did one two years ago and failed so I didn't have a lot of hope for this one. We went in and did that today. The nurse put in 5 grams of powdered milk into a tablespoon of water and Emmaline drank it. About 2 minutes later she started to complain of a "sore throat" and had hives around her month. And that was that!
That doctor still thinks she might be able to tolerate the milk in baked goods, so in January we are going to try that instead. Also next month we are going to do a challenge for soy. Last time we did that it was digestive pyrotechnics - so that should be fun.
Rating: 2 Fireballs (bad news I guess, but not exactly unexpected)
That doctor still thinks she might be able to tolerate the milk in baked goods, so in January we are going to try that instead. Also next month we are going to do a challenge for soy. Last time we did that it was digestive pyrotechnics - so that should be fun.
Rating: 2 Fireballs (bad news I guess, but not exactly unexpected)
Monday, July 13, 2009
Allergist
I took Emmaline in for her yearly allergist testing. We are doing it a few months early this year since we knew the allergist wanted to do several challenges this year since she is turning five. Today was just the skin testing. We will go get her blood work done in a few days. Then based on the results of both of those in comparison to past years - will determine what we challenge.
I don't have the wheal sizes for the hives on her skin testing but this is what she tested positive for:
Peanut
Soy
Almond
Pecan
Cashew
Brazil Nut
Hazel Nut
Pistachio
Egg
Milk
Cod
Salmon
Borderline Positive:
Shrimp
Negative:
Halibut
Walnut
What is interesting is that last year she tested positive to halibut!
I do recall that her two biggest hives were cashew and egg, her smallest one was soy and one of the nuts - I forget which ones. Not that it really means anything necessarily.
Rating: 1 Lollipop (maybe she can finally outgrow soy!)
I don't have the wheal sizes for the hives on her skin testing but this is what she tested positive for:
Peanut
Soy
Almond
Pecan
Cashew
Brazil Nut
Hazel Nut
Pistachio
Egg
Milk
Cod
Salmon
Borderline Positive:
Shrimp
Negative:
Halibut
Walnut
What is interesting is that last year she tested positive to halibut!
I do recall that her two biggest hives were cashew and egg, her smallest one was soy and one of the nuts - I forget which ones. Not that it really means anything necessarily.
Rating: 1 Lollipop (maybe she can finally outgrow soy!)
Friday, June 5, 2009
Salad Dressing
This is HUGE people. HUGE.See those salad dressings in the picture??? Emmaline can have them! I was reading the labels randomly last night and was shocked to discover that NONE of them have dairy or any of Emmaline's other allergens!!!
AJ and I couldn't believe our eyes and I even called Kraft to confirm. We gave Emmaline some to try and she hasn't had any reactions and she isn't dead so it must really be true! She has never had anything like ranch dressing before and thought it was really yummy.
On one hand it makes me sad as a general consumer that something that *should* have dairy in it - doesn't. But on the other hand, as the parent of a food allergic child, I am thrilled that she can have some "normal" kid things. I can put this on her sandwiches just like mayo or make coleslaw with it! WOW!
I also checked and the *regular* ranch still has dairy in it - so it is just the cucumber ranch variety of the ranch flavors that is safe - and then the Creamy Italian and Thousand Island too are dairy free.
Rating: 10 Lollipops (I didn't know I could get so excited over salad dressing)
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Vegan Fried Chicken
So today I had a hankering for making some sort of baked or fried chicken. Most of the really good breading recipes use buttermilk and/or egg in them. So, I did what I always do - I typed "vegan" in front of whatever recipe I want, and see what comes up. Yeah.... whoops. Anyone else see the problem with trying to google Vegan Fried Chicken?
Rating: 2 Lollipops
Rating: 2 Lollipops
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Good News/ Bad News
I alluded to it in another post - but Liliana has been having some issues with her guts. She has been having diarrhea since Thanksgiving. Yes - that read Thanksgiving. She has at least one blow out a day. It's super fun. Anyway, we kept chalking it up to different reasons, but we can't keep explaining it away forever. She seems fine in every other way so I figured we could hold out until her 2 year check up on Friday. On a whim the other day, I called up the allergist to get her some testing done just in case this is food related somehow. I figured it takes at least a month to get in to him, so why not go ahead and make a appointment just in case? Well as luck would have it, they had a cancellation right when I called! So we ended up going to the allergist today.
Well the good news is that she tested negative to everything! The bad news is that means we still don't have any answers. He did say that her diarrhea could be any number of things like a parasite, a long lasting virus of some sort, or even something like lactose intolerance or celiac. We will go over all that with her pediatrician on Friday, but in the meantime at least we have ruled out food allergies!
Rating: 1 Sour Patch Kid
Well the good news is that she tested negative to everything! The bad news is that means we still don't have any answers. He did say that her diarrhea could be any number of things like a parasite, a long lasting virus of some sort, or even something like lactose intolerance or celiac. We will go over all that with her pediatrician on Friday, but in the meantime at least we have ruled out food allergies!
Rating: 1 Sour Patch Kid
Friday, December 12, 2008
Spaghetti-o's
What you see there - are Spaghetti-o's. Not just any spaghetti-o's though. They are homemade and free of allergens! Go me! I ran across the little ring pasta (Anellini) in Safeway a couple months ago and have had a hankering to try and make safe Spaghetti-o's ever since.
1 box (12 oz.) Anellini
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes (you can find this in the bulk bins at health food stores)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes (you can find this in the bulk bins at health food stores)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. dry mustard
1 cup rice milk
1 T. margarine
2 - 8 oz. can tomato sauce
Cook and drain pasta according to box directions.
Mix together dry ingredients in mixing bowl. In a sauce pan, melt margarine. Put in dry ingredients and quickly stir around until the mixture is crumbly. Add in rice milk and mix with whisk to smooth. Cook until thick. Mixture will thicken very quickly once it starts to - so stir frequently. (That is your "cheese" sauce)
Pour "cheese" onto cooked pasta. Pour on tomato sauce. Mix thoroughly.
Mix together dry ingredients in mixing bowl. In a sauce pan, melt margarine. Put in dry ingredients and quickly stir around until the mixture is crumbly. Add in rice milk and mix with whisk to smooth. Cook until thick. Mixture will thicken very quickly once it starts to - so stir frequently. (That is your "cheese" sauce)
Pour "cheese" onto cooked pasta. Pour on tomato sauce. Mix thoroughly.
I thought this turned out surprisingly well. Once it cooled it seemed to thicken even more so I am thinking I might add just a bit of beef broth as well next time (it needed a bit more flavor too). However, the kids liked it! I thinking of trying to make the mini meatballs next time too - I'll have to ponder that one . . .
Rating: 4 Lollipops (It is always nice to be able to recreate what the "other" kids eat)
Friday, November 21, 2008
So what do you do when you can't even trust what the label says?
I ran across this article today:
Children at risk in food roulette
I guess I shouldn't be TOO surprised that this kind of thing happens. I am grateful that so far nothing bad has happened to Emmaline.
Rating: 5 Fireballs
Children at risk in food roulette
I guess I shouldn't be TOO surprised that this kind of thing happens. I am grateful that so far nothing bad has happened to Emmaline.
Rating: 5 Fireballs
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