MSPI/Food Allergy Check-in 2/9/15

[mooncharm]

Hi ladies. I'm kicking things off here again for the week with our check-in. I've seen some other food allergy/intolerance mamas on the site recently, so I hope you'll join if you want!

Here are our questions:

1. Brief intro/re-intro of yourself and the foods you are avoiding for LO.

2. What are your favorite snacks these days?

3. Any tips or stories to share about eating out while on a restricted diet? 

4. Non BF question of the week: Any good Valentines Day Plans?

[mooncharm]

1. Brief intro/re-intro of yourself and the foods you are avoiding for LO.
I have a 12 month old boy who is allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts. Allergies were diagnosed around 5 mos of age, after 2 months of elimination craziness!

2. What are your favorite snacks these days?
I've been making bread almost daily in my breadmaker. I've been toasting it and eating it with earth balance. AAAAHMAZING! I made orange cranberry bread this morning, and it's delicious! I just ate some right now.

3. Any tips or stories to share about eating out while on a restricted diet?
I'm finding it really challenging to eat out these days. I'm getting more and more nervous about eating in restaurants now that my son is eating his own food directly, so I keep worrying about him having a reaction. I've found a pizza place that is pretty allergy friendly, and they make a great cheese-free pizza that's loaded with tons of other toppings. It's about $20 for a large pizza, but it's really good!

4. Non BF question of the week: Any good Valentines Day Plans?
I'm not so sure. I've been thinking that going out to a restaurant like we usually do isn't a great idea, since I'm guessing the fixed price menus are not so allergy friendly...

[spacedew]

1. Brief intro/re-intro of yourself and the foods you are avoiding for LO. 18 month old daughter who can't have dairy.

2. What are your favorite snacks these days? Sugar coated almonds. Still bad for me but better than cookie dough or chocolate!

3. Any tips or stories to share about eating out while on a restricted diet? Don't trust the servers. Ask for an allergen menu or to speak with the manager. I can't tell you how may times I have to remind them that butter is dairy.

4. Non BF question of the week: Any good Valentines Day Plans? Not yet. We will probably cook a nice dinner at home. We don't have a sitter so our options are limited.

[Deleted]

Thanks for posting this!
1. Hi ladies! I'm prematurely participating as I expecting my second LO. The first 6-8 wks with DS were rough until we figured out his bloody stools were related to my milk/soy consumption. I eliminated soy until he was 12 mos. and after a failed reintroduction of dairy, continued to avoid that until he weaned just shy of 18 mos.
I'm planning to eliminate dairy and soy again as I get closer to my due date. I'd rather get nursing established and then see how DD handles small amounts in my diet than go through everything we did last time. Not sure if that's the best plan, but I've read that it can be common for subsequent babies to have the same issue...

2. Larabars were my go-to last time and muffins that I'd make dairy free. Also a mid morning PBJ when I was pumping at work bc I needed the extra calories! Our grocery store has started carrying Earth Balance butter substitute in stick form, which makes dairy free baking even easier. DS still only tolerates small amounts of dairy, so we are still semi dairy free. I can't believe how hard it seemed at the beginning and it's just a way of life now!

3. Eating out- I just got good at scoping out allergen menus beforehand (Buffalo Wild Wings, Noodles & Co, and Papa Johns were a few of our best chain options in the area. Our Bonefish Grill doesn't have posted allergen information, but the chef was great about coming out to visit with me and I never had any issues with them.

4. I'm taking a class all day Valentine's Day and we don't usually celebrate it anyway. We may go out Friday night though to avoid the Saturday crowds!