Allergic reaction or not - tough to know

Sometimes you just know when a food you or your child has eaten becomes a call for concern for a possible food allergy.  Other times, you just have to wonder...

I am at the wondering stage right now with my youngest.  While he is eating baby food, he is still a nurse-on-demand baby (most of the time).  I am 100% okay with nursing and enjoy it.

That said . . . 

The last couple of weeks he has had a break out of sorts on his arms, neck, and face.  It is the same break out that my older boys get artificial food coloring.

I did mention it to the doctor at his one-year well check-up.  He said that there are a number of reasons why - one of which is elevated levels of yeast still in his body, especially since he is still nursing.  He said the break out is normal and unless it goes all over his body; everything is fine.

It could be too much yeast in his little system.  But that got me wondering and thinking back to the last three of my boys when they were this age...

Since he is still eating baby food and nothing else, that means he is most likely reacting to something that I am eating.  I have made sure that he did not get a new food until after it had been three days to check for an allergic reaction.  He is my fourth.

While it could be a number of things if it is something I am eating, it feels like it will be super difficult to determine.  I have been eating the same foods while pregnant and nursing him.  I have not changed foods, added new foods, or anything of the sort.

When looking for triggers for food and other allergies, that is where you tend to begin:  What have you added to your diet and environment lately?  Well, in my case...I have no idea.

Until the break out goes away and stays away for at least a week, I am holding off on trying any more of the baby foods or other fun 'foods' for youngsters his age. 

I welcome your thoughts and suggestions.  I am trying to limit the variety of what I am eating to see if I can weed out the possible culprit(s) 

~Adrienne

Pantry inventory

Over the years we have done a "pantry inventory" off and on.  Sometimes we kept track of our food for a few weeks or just a few days before the list was lost.  Or perhaps we made a large meal and did not write down all of the items used - by the time we were done with the meal and it was the next day...we did not remember what we did and did not take out of the cupboards.

Back in October, we did a full pantry inventory with all of the family (minus the baby) helping with the project.  I wrote down the items and quantities while the three oldest boys brought items from the shelves and storage room.  Jonathan organized the food on the shelves after it was accounted for and made sure the oldest expiration dates were placed in front.

"Eat what you store and store what you eat."  If you have done any emergency preparedness planning at all, I am sure you have heard this quote often.  It bears remembering as it is the best way to make sure you buy what you eat, eat what you buy, and use it before it goes bad.

What system do you use to keep track of your pantry's inventory?  I would love to hear how you manage it for your family.

~Adrienne

Read The Labels

I have heard some people ask how important is it to read labels?  All I have to say to that is IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!!!!!  Even so much as the words ‘may contain’ or ‘trace amounts’ can spell disaster.

I myself over the last few years have developed an allergy to two of my most favorite things - walnuts and pineapple.  At first, walnuts just made sores in my mouth and for pineapple the same happened.  I tried all forms of pineapple:  Juice, cooked, dried, fresh, etc. and all of them caused sores it just didn’t matter.  

You would be surprised how many things have pineapple juice in them!  For example, Kool-Aid Tropical Punch, some Dole fruit pops like Strawberry, as well as other citrus juice mixes, all contain pineapple in some form.

Recently my mother in law gave us some granola that she bought as tropical but it looked like the original she had bought previously.  She got it from an organic retailer, it had dried fruit in it and she added coconut, papaya, and mango to it - all dried fruit.  I was snacking on it one day and after eating on it for several hours I started to have sores in my mouth.  I called to ask her if there was pineapple in it and she told me she didn’t think so but there was listed on the label, “may contain trace amounts of pineapple juice."  I took the chance that it didn’t and paid the price of sores in my mouth for three days.

On a separate occasion, I bought a can of mixed nuts.  The front of the can said that it did not contain walnuts, but I didn’t read the back label.  I ate from it all day at work; eight hours of munching only to find at the end of my shift that I did not feel well. My face, neck, and upper body was flush. My tongue felt like it was swelling and I drove home in a hazy fog.  

I went to the emergency room and told them that I thought I was having an allergic reaction.  The doctor confirmed my suspicion and I was put on a steroid treatment for five days.  Thankfully I was not going into an anaphylactic response, where your throat swells and you can’t breathe meaning that the allergy can kill you.  

When I got home, I looked at the can.   and not only were the nuts processed in a plant where walnuts are as well, but it did list walnuts as a trace allergen.

I am now to the point where I ask myself is it really worth the risk to buy things that say ‘may contain’ or ‘trace amounts’?  I would rather spend extra and go somewhere they can assure me that my allergens are not in my food than take the risk that they develop into life threatening allergies.

Have food in pantry, will use

We have been trying to use what is stored in our pantry for meals instead of running to the store all of the time.

How often do you run to the store for a gallon of milk or jar of mayo and come home with $50 or more of food?

Shopping when hungry, in a rush, or right before the "dinner hour" are bad times to be in a grocery store.

Do you have instant milk stored in your pantry?  How often do you use it?

Instant milk can be used in most baking recipes without revealing it was from a box or packet.

We have started using the cultured buttermilk powder for our buttermilk pancakes instead of fresh buttermilk to avoid having it go bad before we remember we have some in the fridge.

We shop sales and stock up on items we know we will use like canned diced tomatoes, tomato paste, canned pears, and canned corn.

Our oldest son has taken over the tracking of our pantry and food storage inventories.  Each time we use a can or box as well as when we bring home groceries, it is all tracked and accounted for on paper and regularly updated on the computer.

I would love to hear your thoughts on how you use the items in your pantry.

Borscht for dinner

My husband and second oldest picked up some beets and red cabbage today while grocery shopping.  My husband offered to make borscht for dinner.  One nice thing about borscht is that since we pick the ingredients we want to add, knowing it can be made gluten free is easy.

When I looked through my recipe binder for the recipe we used last time, it was not there.  I have no idea where it went.  None of us remember which site I found the recipe so I searched for a new one.  I found a lot of recipes that use beef and lamb.  While we enjoy meat in our home, I like eating borscht without meat.  Perhaps it is because I first had borscht without meat and that is how I prefer it. 

I came across Beet and Cabbage Borscht with Dill - Jewish Woman Magazine and we are giving it a try.  It will turn out a little different as we do not have a food processor with a feed tube and a coarse grating blade.  So, Jonathan grated the cabbage on our metal box grater and then sliced the beets fairly thin.

We ended up having larger beets than the recipe called for so all of the beets were added.  Instead of half a head of cabbage we used the entire head.  We do not want it to go to waste and borscht is not on the menu to be cooked again this week.  Since we had the extra cabbage and beets, we used another half of a stick of butter (4 Tablespoons) and used an additional 2 cups of chicken broth.

The chicken broth that we use is Costco's own Kirkland Signature's Chicken Broth that is labeled gluten free.  The containers come six to a case and we use them for a variety of dishes.

The dill that we had planted in our herb planter did not come back this year.  Therefore, no dill was added.  I also realized that we had no dill in the cupboard.  Reminder:  Add to shopping list!

Right before it was done, Jonathan added one can of Costco's own Kirkland Signature's Canned Roast Beef.  While two cans would have added more meat, one can allowed the roast beef to be present but not overwhelm the taste buds.  The beet and cabbage were first and foremost on the tongue.

I have printed out the recipe and it is now in my recipe collection binder.

Gluten free grocery shopping

Tonight we went grocery shopping.  All in all, we managed to stay within our budget.  That is always a bonus!

We went to two stores and did not get as much food as we thought we needed.  We purposely went after dinner so that we were not hungry.  Shopping for food with a growling tummy tends to cost a lot more in food than if full.

Perhaps that is why we did not get as much food.  It did not draw our attention due to lack of hunger pains.

We did pick up a couple of items for our food storage inventory.  One of the items was a canister of powered egg mix which lists "gluten free" on the label and states it was manufactured in a dedicated gluten-free facility.  Kudos to the company for that step toward reducing cross-contamination issues!

I noticed that there are more and more companies proclaiming that their products are "gluten free" these days.  The trouble is knowing when to trust the statement on the label and when to leave it on the shelf.

We do need to do another pantry inventory again.  Our oldest asked to be the one to keep track of the food being eaten and added when we bought it.  We all got into the habit of keeping the list current as we used items and when we bought.  Between having a lot of company, scout camp, day camp, and family outings, we got out of the habit.  We are working to get back into that habit.

I would love to hear about places you find gluten free foods, troubles you have had with finding certain products, and things you miss eating since adopting the gluten free lifestyle.

Gone fishing

As a family, we are here at Bill's Fishin' Hole so that the two oldest (one is a Star Scout, the other a Cub Scout) could complete requirement #9 for the Fishing Merit Badge for Boy Scouts and the Wolf Elective #19 on fishing respectively.

We got here a little under an hour before closing time.  We are the only visitors...unless you count the chickens, peacocks, ducks, rabbits, and other animals roaming around.

The three different sizes of Rainbow Trout are separated in three ponds.  We choose the largest pond that contains the smallish fish.  The two boys and I all caught one trout each.

Due to the ponds being stocked, getting a fish to strike and keeping it on the hook is fairly simple.

Check them out at facebook.com/billsfishinhole.

Ron Edenholm's Fudge

Growing up, Ron would bring over his fudge for our family at Christmas and other appropriate fudge-giving occassions.

I've had the recipe for years and have made it a few times.

I like that "converting" it to gluten-free is simple.

I also am able to make dye-free fudge for my boys.  (Purchasing commercially-made fudge can be tricky if you avoid artificial food colorings or flavorings.)

Today, I made three batches!

One batch is plain fudge and is mainly for my toddler who doesn't like nuts (at this point).

The next batch I added walnuts.  Jonathan loves walnuts in his fudge.

The third batch I mixed in pecans.  I prefer pecans in fudge.

The three pans are chilling in the fridge.  It took about 15 minutes from start to finish - including adding dishes to the dishwasher.

Recipe:
1 bag gluten-free chocolate chips (12 ounces)
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Microwave the chocolate chips and milk for 3 minutes on high.

Remove from microwave and stir in 1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla.*

Mix well.

Stir in 2 cups of nuts, if desired.

Pour into a greased or wax paper-lined 8" or 9" square pan.  You can use a 9x13 though the fudge will not be as thick as in a square pan.

*I used the Kirkland Signature Pure Vanilla which is labeled gluten free.  Kirkland Signature is Costco Wholesale's in-house brand.

The Gluten-Free Way: My Way is on the Kindle

The Gluten-Free Way:  My Way is now available for the Kindle!  It's been a long time coming to see our book in electronic format. 

The wait is over and it is now on my phone!

I am excited that it is available for the Kindle so that those that would like to have access to our book can have access on their phone or other device.  This is especially helpful for those that live out of the United States and shipping costs may be an issue.

I do know that having my book on Kindle and always loaded on my phone will come in handy.  There have been times when I have wanted to make a recipe that is in my book and then forget the amounts of the different ingredients.  This way, I will be able to grab what I need at the store and will not have to go back out to finish shopping later.

If you have purchased my book for your Kindle or for the Nook, please leave a comment.  I think it would be fun to see the different states (and countries, maybe) that our book has been sold in since it was released. 

If you find a typo (and I'm sure there are still a few even though it's been gone over by me, my coauthor, a couple of friends, and the editor), please note the typo or typos in your comment (page, paragraph, and sentence) and I will keep it for future revisions. 

The Gluten-Free Way: My Way on NOOK

I am happy to announce that the book that I coauthored and published in 2009, The Gluten-Free Way:  My Way is now on the NOOK!

This has been in the works for quite sometime and I'm happy that time is here!

 Check it out at:

http://www.theglutenfreewaymyway.com/2012/01/gluten-free-way-my-way-on-nook.html