Happy Monday!
We have successfully survived week 1 of the "elimination" part of our diet. I am continually coming across hurdles to find substitutes for things that normally are completely simple to pick up at the store or make at home. Tomorrow, my daughter's daycare is having Chicken Salad Sandwiches for lunch. Not only do I have no clue what I will do about bread, but I had no clue where to start finding/making mayo for the chicken salad part. (Every mayo I've come across and recipe I've found has eggs.) Thank goodness for the internet. That's all I have to say. I don't know what we would do if we didn't have recipes at the tips of our fingers! Here is my latest find that I will be attempting tonight:
Dairy + Egg Free Mayonnaise:
(I found this on Gluten Free Day.com but substituted the milk)
Makes about 1/2 cup Mayo
- 1/4 cup Milk (coconut or rice)
- 2 tbls lemon juice
- pinch of salt (to taste)
- 3/4 cup oil (saffron or coconut?)
- Spices (to taste)
Mix everything together first before adding oil. Add oil slowly while mixing until thick.
Sounds simple. Hopefully it will be and will taste good!I have not perfected the art of food photography. I'm not sure if I should continue to take pictures for the blog because so far they all seem pretty unappetizing (but taste so much better than they look!) Like this one.
Throughout the week our biggest struggles seemed that through the Detox process, Gwen was having some terrible diapers accompanied by some terrible moods. I was really hoping it was due to detox and not a long stretch of "terrible twos" about to hit. Her moods seemed to level out by Friday night and was pretty much an angel all weekend. Thankfully! She slept a little bit better so we all were in better moods and sleeping better.
This successful week was followed by an action packed weekend. I took Gwen to her cousins allergy friendly Tea Party where the girls got to dress up fancy and do fancy arts and crafts. She had a blast (and was very well behaved I might add!) then from there we went to her Big Sister class at the hospital. They had snacks at the class but since they were graham crackers she could not participate. This was the first time she's been left completely out of something. I felt terrible but luckily my sister let me pack some food from the tea party, so I just told her that I had a muffin for her in the car when the class was through. She just said "Ok" with a smile and that was that. She did not cry or ask why she couldn't participate. I'm so proud of her.
Yesterday I went to a friend's Baby shower. I had considered cheating a few times during the week and having chocolate or something dairy filled but decided to save all of the cravings for Sunday, since I wouldn't have Gwen with me I could eat a little more free and not feel as sneaky. I felt like a kid in a candy store. It was a long buffet line of everything "naughty". (In reality I was a pregnant lady at a buffet. Enough said.) Homemade mac n cheese, crackers, cheese cubes, cupcakes, quiches, basically eggs, dairy and gluten everywhere. I even had a chocolate peanut butter cupcake to add every allergen onto my plate. I figured if one thing on my plate would make me sick, why not enjoy everything.
Well, I didn't enjoy it for very long. Just a few short minutes after I started my gluttonous feast, my body started protesting. I got a headache and body aches, instantly I felt exhausted and my stomach felt like it was trying to expand outside of my body.
For this whole week I wasn't sure if I had any or all of the allergies my daughter did. I wasn't sure I felt any different being on this diet. Saturday was the first day I felt very happy and had alot of energy but I wasn't sure if it was because the sun was shining and my husband let me be able to sleep in. Now I have my answers. Since I jam packed my plate with everything, I'm not sure which food caused which side effect but I know now that "cheating" is totally not worth it. At our visit a few weeks ago, the doctor likened food allergies to drinking alcohol. People don't have to completely avoid them, but if they chose to eat what they shouldn't they will be fully aware of the consequences shortly after. Like drinking 2 bottles of wine. You learn after the first time of doing it that there are consequences and if you ever chose to drink 2 bottles of wine again, you will know exactly what to expect the next morning. I completely have a dairy/egg/gluten hangover today and feel I've learned my lesson. Now I'm excited to let my body detox again so I can feel as happy and healthy as I did on Saturday.
I was describing the Tea Party to some co-workers and it really struck me at how very well Gwen did. I was going to comment that she seems to be doing so much better with her moods already.
ReplyDelete*laughing* And now you know the secret about how I can be so "good" about our diet. It's totally not worth it!! :)