About me
In a span of eight years, two of our three kids and I were diagnosed with food allergies. Our oldest son was diagnosed at age 15 with wheat, corn and soy allergies in 2003. Our daughter, our youngest, was diagnosed at age 15 with dairy, egg and wheat allergies in 2008. I was diagnosed with dairy, egg and wheat allergies in 2011.
Fourteen years ago, in 2003, there was very little information regarding food allergies on the internet. I was a good cook and an accomplished baker, but this was all new territory. I was on my own. Slowly, I tried to figure out how to feed my family a wheat, corn and soy free diet, later also eliminating dairy and egg. We still had bread, eggs, milk, butter and cheese in the house. The kids were old enough to know what they should or shouldn’t eat. Gone were: canned foods and cream soups, flour, cornstarch, box mixes, packaged and frozen foods. As I look back, I know our meals for those first months were pretty rough. However, I can assure you that none of the participants in this cooking phase were harmed in any way. Hungry, yes; but not harmed.
Several months in, I had made some progress; but I knew I had to try harder the day my husband uttered this heartfelt plea that went something like, “I’ve eaten so much fruit in the past month, I feel like a _________ monkey!” (You can fill in the blank; I can’t put it into print.) Obviously, this was a desperate and hungry man. It was time to get serious; time for lots of trial and error.
In this blog I want to pass on things I’ve learned about cooking, baking and living with food allergies. I will tell you about my successes and the many, many failures. I will post recipes, information and websites I have found helpful, little tips or hacks as my kids call them. Maybe I can even save you a little time or money.
I will welcome feedback, suggestions, comments, questions from you also. This is a learning process and fourteen years into it, I’m still learning.
Please join me on this journey!
Brenda