It seems B might be allergic to nuts. Since the no dairy, no gluten thing we were doing lots of almond stuff: almond milk, things made with almond flour, etc. Last week she started noticing something weird. She'd eat something and her lips would get puffy and her tongue would break out into bumps. This happened several times after she'd eaten either something with almond milk or a salad that had toasted nuts on it, or one time it was definitely a larabar. So the doctor said to refrain from eating anything that possibly could have nuts for a week, and then take a tiny taste of a particular nut and see what happens. However, B was so freaked out from hearing horror stories of people with nut allergies that she is no longer willing to eat nuts. This was very depressing news, though. So some swaps we are making:
Instead of coffee with almond milk she is having English Breakfast tea with a tsp of sugar or a cup of peppermint tea with honey. Luckily she likes both of these.
She did go to Starbucks with friends and bought some kind of fancy coffee drink with coconut milk and she said it tasted good. (60 cents more though!).
She was having a crying fit over things, but I made her sit down and write out a list of all foods she still could eat that she liked so she could come up with enough for a week. Now I can't find the list! So I'll try to remember:
Breakfast: eggs with Applegate sausages, oatmeal with fruit and maple syrup, non=dairy smoothies, banana pancakes, fruit salad with coconut yogurt.
Lunch: hot dogs and beans, deli meat roll ups (with goat cheese inside - this is her most recent favorite lunch/snack), green salad topped with chicken, eating lunch out at CAVA, Chipotle, District Taco, 5 Guys burger bowl/lettuce wrap or occasionally Chick fil a (but lots of plastic in that and it is really junkie food).
Dinners:
Salmon patties + veggies, salad
vegetarian chili + guac
meatloaf (made with spicy sausage) + potatoes, veggies/salad
Brown rice penne with chicken and broccoli
Chicken with quinoa pilaf + salad/veggies
Hamburger hash dish with potatoes + salad/veggies
Dad grills on Sundays (chicken, hamburgers, steaks, salmon, etc)
And I'll add these in the sweets/snacky stuff department:
King Arthur gluten free brownie mix is still acceptable
Ciao Bello or other non dairy brands of sorbet or sorbetto
Popcorn
Tortilla chips with salsa or guacamole
Those Katz or MiKissick donuts that are gf, nut free, soy and dairy free!
Potato chips
Fried plantains with cinnamon sugar
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This was the weekend I was going to start KonMari. I had planned to start Friday evening. However, it turned out that no one was home for dinner on Friday, so R and I went out. We had a lovely time sitting outdoors sipping wine and eating delicious food. However, on the way home I suddenly got hit by a migraine. I think I had eaten too much chocolate last week and there must have been MSG in the broth of my soup. Plus there have been thunderstorms rolling in a lot. All those things combined in some mysterious way, can trigger migraines. It just hit me, wham, on the ride home, which literally was 10 minutes long. I was so sick all night long. Sicker than I've been in a long time. Violently ill. I was miserable. I was so miserable that I didn't even feel better until about 5 o'clock Saturday evening, when I was finally well enough to take a shower. So that was Saturday. Sunday dawned bright and lovely. Actually, I think it was cloudy and a bit rainy but I felt so wonderful after feeling so bad! I think I might have been annoyingly cheerful for much of the day. We went to Mass, I made breakfast, I did laundry, I cleaned the kitchen, I prepared a big dinner of roast lamb and mashed potatoes. I read a lot.
So I didn't attempt KonMari until yesterday, Memorial Day. And then I didn't do it the way you are supposed to. Instead I just cleaned out my dresser where I found 8 zip lock bags each with one or two baby teeth in them! Apparently, I thought it was a good idea, back when my children were loosing their teeth, to stash said teeth in my top drawer. I had not labeled them so I have no idea whose teeth they are actually are. There are three possible candidates. Anyway, I cleaned out a bunch of junk and went through my clothes and put a bunch of clothes into my give away basket. I started on the closet too, but then got distracted, so I still need to work on that.
Agenda for today:
Clean kitchen
Finish up closet clothes and maybe go through coat closet too
Take B to math tutor
Check out Earth Fare in Fairfax for zero waste shopping (I want refills on things like olive oil, vinegar, honey, maple syrup, etc).
Figure out something for dinner
Walk? It's supposed thunderstorm a lot again though
I think B has tool training for workcamp this evening.
V and little D come home today. The house has been rather dull without them.
Update: I decided to list out here what's scheduled for each day this week. That way I have one place to come to for reference.
Tuesday 5/29
Math - 12 - 1:30
Tool Training - 7:00 or 7:30?
Finish clothes from closets
Wednesday 5/30
Holy hour 11:00 a.m. (40 hours)
voice - 2:30-3:15
AHG event - 7:00 (so can't make scripture study)
Cook chicken for Embry Rucker
Also watch D while V is in class
Thursday 7/1
Early a.m. take chicken to St. Mark
11:00 Holy Hour
Must get Aquinas grades in
CSA at Maple Market begins
Friday 7/2
Does S have early a.m. appt with Dr. H?
Do I have 350 meeting at 10:30?
Math - 12:30 - 2:00
Make Up Voice lesson - 2:30?
Saturday 7/3
Must work on KonMari - get give away clothes out of house!
Begin on books
Sunday 7/4
Mass
CSA at PVF begins
Visit Eileen
Faith, Becky is correct - she shouldn't try any nuts, at least not without Benadryl (and preferably an Epipen) handy. But it could be an overexposure issue (as the doctor suggested), in which case you limit exposure to no more frequent than one day on, three days off. ALSO, there could be a seasonal element to an almond allergy. I found this: "There is also a milder form of tree nut allergy which is associated with birch pollen allergy, where symptoms are confined largely to the mouth, causing a condition called 'oral allergy syndrome' (OAS). This condition is triggered by molecules found in tree nuts which are very similar to pollen allergens like the major birch pollen allergen called Bet v 1. These molecules tend to be destroyed by cooking, which can reduce the allergenicity of nuts and seeds for these allergic consumers."
ReplyDeleteBut definitely get some Benadryl in the house! Preferably the kids' chewable, which you can dissolve under the tongue (gets into the bloodstream faster).
I forgot to give you the link! http://research.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/informall/allergenic-food/?FoodId=61
ReplyDeleteThanks! We do have liquid benedryl but I'll get the chewable as well. That is interesting to note about the connection with pollen. B does have allergies there as well.
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