Fears of daily living

Look,

it’s a fact

life is full of things that can

and

do happen

you know:

“Why do bad things happen to good people”

no…autism/aspergers is not bad but it is  a huge change

a change in how you think about actions and reactions

an everyday, uphill battle at times not just for the one diagnosed but for the whole family

I digress….

When bad things happen to good people

 you buck up

you learn to deal

and you go on with the daily task at hand

…living…

but once that diagnosis comes through the door

on top of multiple other medical problems and issues for that child.

and you need to start researching

and then doing

and following through

and constant checking and rechecking

there is an unending indescribable level of anxiety

am I doing enough

am I teaching enough

will my actions lead to my child being able to live on his own???

only time will tell.

until then…

carry on.

1st Day of School….new schools new challenges

My oldest will be in highschool this year

Before now

I

or

a teacher

was responsible for making sure

Epi Pens

and Inhalers were with him

ALWAYS

and they were kept in the school office

not this year

this year

they are with him.

when he remembers to grab them

I sigh

I worry

I lecture

I throw the epipen trainer at him

and

I scream

“emergency emergency

your throat is closing up

you didn’t realize something you ate had nuts in it

quick quick what do you do?”

and then he groans or yells back depending on his mood

and demonstrates his skills for me

ending with…

eyerolling

and saying…

call 911

I anguish

Have I prepared him well enough?

he’s been reading food labels for several years now

Have I remembered to tell him everything he needs to think of?

I know, I know

Let go and let God.

but I’m mom

and if anything ever happened to him because of something I failed to prepare him for…

please pray…

for both of us

Yes …..even this busy mom finds time to read

I recently read ( and reviewed) a book titled “Jewel” by Bret Lott.

and if you are at all into reading (it’s an Oprah’s book club book) I highly recommend you pick it up at your local book store or library.

If you are now or have ever dealt with an ill child that required all your time and devotion  whether that illness was acute or chronic  this book will fill your heart with all the words and emotions you think but have never quite been able to put words to.

read my review here

 

This book especially spoke volumes to me as I have 3 children,

2 of them have food allergies one to dairy, eggs, tree-nuts, and peanuts(and one just eggs, tree-nuts and peanuts)

the one with slightly fewer allergies also fights asthma and eosinophilic esophagitus.

its been a long 11 years some times

and I wouldn’t trade any of them

 

but again

 

this book gets to the heart of a mom

the sacrifices she makes in regards to her marriage, and her other children

all to help the one child get the best help possible

 

If you are a parent/mom/grandparent   or even just human

you will find yourself feeling what Jewel is feeling…..

empathizing with her

despising her

loving her

and in the end

respecting her.

 

do yourself a favor….read the book!

 

when making plans….expect the unexpected

My oldest child has EOE Eosinophilic E)sophagitus

(found this image online: my sons eoe looked like the middle image)

this means that without his medication, a flovent inhaler that is swallowed…and supplement drinks….he is underweight…

thats the short story

the second is that there is a bug going around

and we are do for a follow up

so of course…hubby gets sick

then the eoe kid gets it….which has flared his asthma

so now we need to call the children’s hosp

to find out if he can keep his apt that took 4-6 months to get and that’s after the doctor had to have us reschedule the original apt as she was going to be out of town for the first one….mind you these are follow ups for weight/height

so here we sit….plans in force down the drain….becoming a status quo

ok enough complaining/venting

in general his health has improved greatly over the last 2 years and he is taller than me!

but I’m mom…and I worry

that I am doing all I can

and sometimes

when they get sick its scary

but

through prayer and persistence

we make it through

and everything is going to be ok

just not according to MY plans….

Tandoori Chicken….allergen friendly

A while back I saw this in the grocery store, and as I was often curious about the flavor I bought it.

and we tried the recipe on the tin.   YUM!  a bit spicy but also a depth that cannot adequately be put into words.

The recipe on the box is good

I use  about half the powder the recipe calls for

To make it allergen friendly I use soy sour cream instead of dairy yogurt(If I was able to get plain non dairy yogurt I would use that)

and instead of melted butter I use olive oil

it also calls for lemon juice

The recipe from the box:

1 pound chicken(make slices across the top of the pieces)

2 tbsp tandoori powder

2 tbsp plain yogurt

 1 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp oil

salt and pepper to taste

mix  the last 5 together and pour over chicken(I do this in a plastic freezer bag)

let marinate a few hours

grill or broil till done!

(not my image  below but that’s about how it looks when done!)

YUM

Recipes from the Dr’s office….

So I was waiting ….in the waiting room(and waiting…and waiting…..)

and found this recipe in a “parents” magazine and snapped a photo with the ipod camera

and will be making it today

Asian Noodle Slurp-up

now I bought boneless/skinless chicken thighs to use…the recipe calls for chicken drumsticks,..but as pull the chicken off the bones for the recipe I don’t think it really matters.

it’s essentially a chicken broth with

snow peas, napa cabbage and brown rice noodles , and of course the shredded chicken meat

the broth is created with ginger, and chicken broth

garnished with green onions,

the noodles, soy sauce and and salt/pepper are added to taste at the end.

Ingredients

•  3 green onions
•  2 pounds  chicken drumsticks, skin removed
•  4 cups  low-sodium chicken broth
•  1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
•  1/2 small head Napa cabbage
•  8 ounces  brown rice pad Thai noodles
•  8 ounces  fresh snow peas, bias sliced into thirds
•  2 tablespoons  reduced-sodium soy sauce
•  Salt and black pepper

and if you don’t add the soy sauce you have a

wheat free

egg free

nut free

tree-nut free

dairy free

shell fish free

my kids don’t really care for soup but given the amount of pasta in this dish

I think they may actually eat it!

From Parents Magazine:

Mexican Bean Dip Pie

Mexican Bean Dip Pie

So simple

So yummy

(although the one who is allergic to dairy can’t eat it…but he says he’s glad cause he thinks it looks gross )

@-@  thats me rolling my eyes!

layer in a pie dish

1 can fat free refried beans(we use old el paso)

1 cup guacamole(use your favorite brand)

1 cup salsa(I used Newmans Ownmild, but if you’re into spicy feel free to substitute)

1 cup shredded cheddar

1 4 oz can sliced olives

and if you have it

put sour cream in a baggie

snip off the corner and drizzle it over the whole thing(I forgot to buy it today but I guarantee its good!)

then

open up your favorite bag of tortilla chips or if you have time (yeah right)

make your own.

and

ENJOY!

 

What’s 100# 5′ 4″ eats all day and never gains weight?

a teenage boy that’s what!

ok so it doesn’t help that he has eosinophillic esophagitis (EoE)

which is a condition in which white blood cells collect in the esophagus(where they should not be)

EOE causes him to not absorb nutrients properly

so after 3 years of puking every other day and then sleeping all day

after being misdiagnosed with

anxiety

stress

abdominal migraines

he finally got a diagnosis and has started putting on weight

{note to all parents advocate for your kids trust your gut and push further if something just doesn’t seem right!}

yay

but …

he is always hungry!

a bottomless pit!

I think the grocery bills have doubled since he became a teen

he eats literally all day

he eats supper and

no less than an hour or so later he is making himself a Dagwood style sandwich!

ok perhaps that is exaggerating just a bit

his is just 3 slices of bread with 4-6 slices of cheese usually!

then a handful of meat

or some crackers

Meals that used to last us 3 days now get us barely through 1

so last night I made a 5 pound boneless pork butt

from a recipe from the paper

I served it with homemade coleslaw

on rolls

with side of mashed potatoes

and guess what

they loved it! and there is enough left for at least 2 more meals

whoot whoot!

tonight will be meatloaf

and then the rest of the week should work out to be left overs!(their choice of course)

until my next post

happy eating

happy living

An Alphabet of Products I Love

So I’ve been thinking

as a mom of

food allergic kids

What are some of our favorite products?

{scroll down for a list of our favorite brands}

Apples

Apple Sauce(no sugar added)

Avocados

Asparagus

Bananas

Beef

Bread(we like village hearth)

carrots

cheese(not safe for our dairy allergic but the rest like it)

Chicken(I like white meat the rest like dark)

cheetos(I don’t think that counts as food but certain family members do)

Dr. Pepper(for when a migraine hits)

espresso

elbow macaroni(careful of the brand some are made on equipment that also processes dairy/egg)

fresh fruit(buy organic when possible and regardless wash thoroughly)

frozen juice(100% juice only)

fish(even within brands it can be difficult to find consistency always read labels)

frozen pizza(every busy house needs a few on hand for our dairy allergic we keep pizza sauce and pepperoni and he makes his own bread pizza in the microwave)

fake almond extract(does just as well as the real…and contains no nuts!)

ground meat(I cook up 6 pounds at a time and then freeze in recipe size portions for a fast meal!)

graham crackers(we like honey maid)

grape juice(has to be the dark purple(the kids think white grape juice tastes weird!)

green bananas(so when the ripe ones are gone the green ones will be ready to eat)

hard rolls(more label watching!)

ham

italian dressing(label watch there are some brands that are dairy free)

Jello(we stick with the name brand for best results…however if you need to avoid red dye you can always buy knox and make it with fruit juice)

knox gelatin(some day I’ll share my recipe for old fashioned knox blox here)

ketchup(we like heinz)

kleenex(we like whatever is on sale)

lunch meat(we go for low sodium, and low fat, no msg…when possible make a turkey breast and slice it up)

marshmallows(watch for eggs)

meat sticks(we like klements, no msg)

navel oranges

noodles(we buy rice noodles, soba noodles, and regular wheat noodles, always watching ingredients lists for allergens)

Olive oil(specifically light flavored, as it works in both sweet and savory dishes)

oatmeal

onions(always have onions, and onion powder on hand!)

Pepperoni

pasta

pizza sauce(watching labels for no dairy)

pizza rolls

Parmesan

Q  ??? nothing here

rice milk

ranch dressing(watching labels for no eggs)

string cheese

sunchips

soymilk

sour cream(we like daisy)

turkey

thousand island(no egg or dairy)

U ???

Vegetables(they prefer fresh)

watermelon(in season only)

x??

yogurt both dairy and non dairy(we like greek yogurt and the silk variety for the non dairy folks)

zytec(not a food but our go to allergen fighter!)

some brands we love

Daisy(dairy products, made with few ingredients compared to other brands)

Eden foods

Enjoy life foods

Hodgson Mill

King Arthur Flour

Just Tomatoes, etc.(freeze dried fruits and veggies)

In Case you didn’t notice

our list is comprised of many “whole foods”

and not very many “processed foods”

having multiple individuals

with multiple food allergies in your life will do that to you

the only real way to get as close to completely safe as possible

is to make the food yourself

from scratch

which

really

isn’t that difficult

and

is way healthier

not just for the food allergic individuals

but yourself as well

stay healthy

stay safe

keep reading those labels!

a NEW dish: Baked Sausage and Pepper Ziti

I love cook books

to me they are more than

getting a recipe for supper

or dessert

they are for reading.

perusing

over

and

over

looking at the pictures

analyzing the recipes

so.

like any good

cookbook

connoisseur

I check them out from the library

I salivate over

new recipes

(even the ones I could never make for my kids because of nuts or egg whites or whatever)

but yesterday I saw one from a good housekeeping cookbook

and the recipe is on their website!

and it is ….

tada

Sausage and Pepper Baked Ziti

the house still smells like it!

(it does contain cheese..so I save some out for my dairy allergic child prior to adding the cheese so he can try some!)

I used sweet italian sausage(the recipe says to use either sweet or hot)

and I used penne pasta as that was what I was able to find at the store

but it is super simple and could easily be made in a dutch oven!(a one pot meal is always appreciated)

to make in one pot cook the pasta first then set aside

then follow recipe as written

and …my photo:

YUM!

enjoy…I know what we’ll be having for left overs today…

my oldest says this recipe is a definite MAKE AGAIN!