?s Answered, Well, Sort of...

So, it is not gluten.  It is all things with sugar (i.e. fructose, lactose, cane sugar, honey, etc.)  It is yeast.  Candida to be specific.  Have had a blood test confirmation.  So, anti-fungals and pro-biotics and minimal sugar it is.
Now, to just get on the ball with it.

Gluten and Pasteurized Dairy Free Baking Success

 

LOVE this book!

My mom got me this book for my birthday.  She made Jacob cupcakes so he would have something to eat while I had my birthday cheesecake.  Her cupcakes gave me the courage to make his birthday cake just five short days after receiving this wonderful cookbook.

Then, Saturday came.  Our church rotates through Sunday school classes who will bring breakfast each Sunday.  I mad chocolate chip, banana muffins.  They were a huge success!

Wednesday, Jacob will be having a blood draw to test for 200 food sensitivities.  I'm hoping it shows something conclusive.  Our chiropractor is ordering it.

Gluten

We did it.  We pulled gluten.  Last Wednesday, after a lovely Labor Day weekend in Kansas.
Now, I'm wondering if it is gluten that is causing the remaining problems or the love of all things fruit and veggie.  Only time will tell...

We took the advice from some friends and tried a new chiropractor.
Today, I was telling my oldest what was on your calendar for the rest of the week and mentioned that Bear had an appointment with Alex.  Bear was in the room and shook his head, "Yes."  I asked him if Alex helped him feel better and he said, "Yes."
Alex says that Bear has something in his pelvis that is out in two spots.
Still debating pulling wheat.  Maybe should give it a little more time?
Also, Alex recommended using a pro-biotic with more strands in it than just acidophiles.  So, we purchased the one he recommended.  Thing is, Bear isn't a huge fan of drinking it in his water.  He will drink it in juice, however.
Also, started using raw cow's milk about two weeks ago.  Nothing like a little healthy, childhood nostalgia!

And Now What?

So, after some of the frustration passed.  And with a little push shove from my mom.
We removed ALL dairy from his diet.
I don't know if this weekend was just a fluke, BUT, there was normal looking bowel movements.  Looking forward to diaper changes today.
Debating if we should try pulling grains just to see what happens.  Need to look and see what grains to pull.
The part that frustrates me with pulling grains (I realize this is true with dairy too) is it could be one of many things in relation to the grains.
I am in need of doing some reading to see how we would go about pulling grain.

Biopsy Results Are In...

And, everything looks good.
Keep using flax seed, add more fiber and fats to his diet.  Call with an update in a couple months.  Slowly, go back to your normal family diet.
So, apparently, he will just have diarrhea for life.  It is his normal.  FRUSTRATED!

Sugar and Spice and All Things Not So Nice

Papa visited this weekend. I knew with his arrival there would be somethings consumed that did not fit into the parameters of The List, but, have been wondering if we should not be following The List as the doctor ordered a scope procedure for Wednesday of this week and if the food is not in his system how can they determine if it is the food that is causing the issues? I asked the nurse the above question last week during our phone conference. She never answered the question. Then, yesterday afternoon happened... Yesterday afternoon, there was a super watery bowl movement. Thinking removing most all sugar was a good thing. Still wish I knew if fructose was okay or if lactose was okay. Even though the doctor said that lactose could just be a "red-herring" I am hesitant to allow him to have lactose. Oh well, the pondering continues... He is asking for orange julius. Need to go help him.

Had a play date this a.m. The mama whose house we were meeting at had offered to provide lunch. So, I thought I would take a snack. The snack did not get made in advance, so, I made it when we arrived at the play date. I made apple cinnamon muffins. They were/are good stuff.

I have successfully made a grocery list, which I believe, will only have us visiting two grocery stores tomorrow. SHOCK! & Awe!  And, should be okay to serve our weekend company of grandparents.
Tomorrow is two weeks from the day The List was introduced. So, I have to call and talk to the nurse about, "What now?" Some wonderful mamas I know helped me brainstorm some questions to ask the nurse.
*What made the doctor decide sugar and not the more common allergies should be eliminated first?
*What is our next step?
*Did the blood test show any allergies?
*Could this be caused by a viral or bacterial infection? How would you test for this? Have you tested for this? *Could it be a reaction to fructose?

Quinoa Omelets, Ezekiel Bread, and Brussels Sprouts

Dinner tonight was a TOTAL experiment.
First off, my oldest wanted to try brussels sprouts. So, we tried them. They didn't go over very well, but, my wonderful husband told the boys that even though they didn't taste great they were super good for you. Needless to say, everyone survived the one placed on their plate.
Second, I had found a recipe for omelets I wanted to try. Rick and I enjoyed ours, although, honestly, even with all the physical activity today (we did a 6-mile family fun ride and I did my 12-mile 1/2 marathon prep run walk) three eggs plus quinoa was VERY, almost TO filling. The boys were not super impressed with the omelets. I ended up telling them that there was no other food available till breakfast if they did not eat their dinner. After scraping the cheese off, two of the three ate theirs with no complaints. :-)
Third, I ran out of "regular" bread. So, we all had slices of Ezekiel bread with our omelets. NO ONE complained or asked any questions about it. It was the most successful part of the meal. :-)

Must Have

I have two words for you...ready?...Food Processor.

I bought one at a garage sale last summer and haven't used it much. Then, we got The List. I now use it every other day or so. I made the Raw Brownie Balls with it.

It is great for chopping up all those ingredients, that if could be identified, would be immediately rejected.

This & That

Got test results back today. Everything normal as far as those tests show.
Will talk to the nurse on the phone on Tuesday next week to discuss what's next.
Grocery shopping today was overwhelming. Three grocery stores later and I had the list covered.
Managed to get all five of us to sit down to dinner at the same time tonight with only one option for food and no one left the table hungry, or got up and got something else. YES!
I made Southwest Black Bean Casserole.

I used almond cheese in place of the Monterrey Jack.

Almond does not melt like cheddar, my something new I learned today. So, the top was crunchy. However, if you put it on your plate first and then ladled the bean mixture over the top, the moisture from the beans softened the cheese.

Pondering...

If you are using acidophiles and the child who is the primary concern asks for multiple tablets a day, even though the bottle recommends one a day for his age, do you let him have two in the hopes he knows it is making him feel better and he can sense the first one is wearing off? He, usually, takes one in the a.m. and then asks for a second before bed. As of right now, I only let him have the one. May need to ask my favorite herbal store owner his thoughts...
Also, pondering if I will get a phone call later today about the stool test results?
And, what exactly is suppose to happen on Tuesday? The doc said to give The List two weeks, then, "we will talk." But, they didn't have me make an appointment. I was under the impression it would be on the phone, but, do I call him or wait for him to call me? Need to ask when they call with the stool test results...

We Blew It!

So, The List was not followed well yesterday.
We went to a local health food store and I didn't pay as close attention as I should have to the box of crackers I let the boys buy. When we got to a friends house she read the label and was like, "Um, there is rice in here." Darn!
Then, we went to get haircuts and the hair stylist offered Dum Dum suckers to the boys. And, I said, "Ok," thinking one Dum Dum is not the end of the world. I turned around a few seconds later to discover Little Man with 2 of them sticking out of his mouth. Sigh...
Finally, we were home. And the brothers asked for mac & cheese. I did use goat's milk and I did let Little Man have some. Thankfully, he didn't eat hardly any of it.
I'm not really sure how today went. I know pasta was requested for breakfast and that leftover pasta was had for dinner along with fruit.
I need to start thinking about a grocery list. BUT, it will have to wait for tomorrow.

Did not break any of The List for this breakfast.
Several days ago, I cut up several pears (removed the seeds, not the skin) and stuck them in the freezer. Yesterday, I offered the boys homemade sorbet. I took the frozen pears and put, some of them, in our food processor with some strawberries. The boys thought it was good ice-cream.
There was some leftover, so, I stuck it in a container in the refrigerator. This morning, I had a request for pancakes. I used the same Buckwheat mix I used yesterday. I topped Little Man's with the leftover sorbet. Him and one of his big brothers added some frozen pears to their plates.

Recipes?

It has been suggested that I check out the recipes in this .http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Raw Brownie Balls

Got to church this morning and was handed a little ziplock baggie with this recipe taped to the front.

1 cup walnuts or pecans
6-10 pitted dates, soaked in water
1/2 t. Stevia (1 1/2 t xylitol)
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 t. Ghee or coconut oil
1/8-1/4 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened

Combine all ingredients in food processor. Shape into one inch balls and refrigerate.

Little Man had one as we were leaving church. They are a success. And I have a new hero! :-)

Also, tried the Buckwheat Pancake mix we bought at the natural market the other day. All four guys enjoyed them!

Update

Got a phone call yesterday, the blood test came back normal. And, found out, it will take at least a week for the other test to come back.

The List Spreads

My mom asked for a copy of The List today. She is planning to go grocery shopping and wants Little Man to be able to eat what she purchases.
She cooked for him for the first time today, since The List was brought into our lives. I'm so thankful for her. She seemed as lost as I was in her meal prep. Glad to know I'm not stumbling around alone. We did enjoy turkey, carrots, and apples.
We took along some goat milk. A friend bought some for us yesterday and it has been a nice change from the sugar laden almond milk. (Especially since sugar is on The List.)

Acidophiles

A mom at church, who has children with in-tolerances, suggested acidophiles. I have used acidophiles, sold acidophiles, and recommended it to others. I have even used it on my children. But, we weren't currently taking acidophiles.
So, off to my favorite healthy stuff store, Herbs & More. Where I purchased Nature's Sunshine Probiotic Power.
We are on day three with them. My child has pulled them out of the refrigerator multiple times every day asking for one. He even asked if he could share with daddy.

3rd Recipe Attempt

I was finally prepared to tackle grocery shopping earlier this evening.
After a successful trip to our local Natural Grocers and the regular grocery store, we were home with enough groceries to cover meals for the weekend. Now, what to make for dinner? Pizza?




First off, the crust. According to the package the mix will make a substance the consistency of cake batter. The package did not lie. It was a little hard to believe it would turn out.




After the initial 20 minutes in the oven the crust seemed like a cracker and with some very large bubbles.
Found this almond cheese to top the pizza with.



This is a picture of the finished pizza. I topped it with salami, pepperoni, Italian sausage, and green bell pepper. The crust is a thin crust and the edges do have a different taste to them. But, overall, it was a success!
My child who had said I needed to make two pizzas (one for Bear and one for the rest of us) ended up eating two pieces and calling it good.
HA! HA! Score one for mama!

2nd Recipe Attemept

My 2nd recipe (okay, I didn't use a recipe and that might be the problem) was not as successful as the orange julius.

I used:
2 cups plain almond milk
1 piece of kale with the stem removed
Frozen strawberries to fill the blender

First off, it took forever to get the blender to chop it all up.
Second, there was still green visible.
Third, it wasn't pretty pink it was more grayish.
I had the boys try it and then put the rest in Popsicle molds. Chances are they won't complain when it is frozen.

Okay, even frozen these are not good. I don't even like them. :-(

1st Recipe Attempt

So, my first recipe attempt occurred the other morning. I have a child who loves orange julius. And, I knew his youngest brother would not want to be left out enjoying the orange julius. So, I took out our plain almond milk.

2 cups plain almond milk
1/2 can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 tsp vanilla
12 ice cubes

Ice crush button on the blender till all the ice is crushed.

My husband didn't even mention noticing it wasn't the usual orange julius recipe.

The List

So, what makes up The List?

The Low Sugar Diet
Foods to be avoided or minimized on the Low Sugar Diet

*White bread (including any bread with white flour in it)
*Pasta, unless whole grain
*White flour, and products made with it such as cake, cookies, crackers, pretzels, doughnuts, bagels, and muffins
*Potatoes and potato chips
*Corn and corn chips
*Sugar and products with added sugar, e.g. canned fruits in syrup
*Jams and jellies containing added sugars
*Ripe bananas
*Raisins
*Pineapple
*Beets
*Parsnips
*Honey
*Syrups
*Salad dressings and sauces with added sugar, such as Teriyaki sauce
*Fruit drinks containing added sugar
*Sugar-sweetened soft drinks

So, that is the list.
Plus, you need to remember, we removed dairy from his diet March 8th (5 weeks ago).

Wading In...

So, I have had about 48 hours for the shock of The List to wear off. Now, I really need to figure out how to go grocery shopping.
After consulting with a few friends who have been there, done that, I have been introduced to the enlightened cook and Lara Bars. The enlightened cook has a recipe for these expensive bars. I bought 4 bars for $5 yesterday. I know one flavor that is not liked, but there are a lot of flavors left to try and if I make them myself he can have the tropical ones because I can leave out the fruit on The List.

In a Nut Shell

I am the proud mother of three Young Men. The youngest is 42-months. We just started the looooong process of looking into food allergies and in-tolerances.
My youngest has had loose stools his whole life. He was born without the use of medications. His birth was "traumatic" in that he was posterior. He nursed exclusively for 6ish months. At that point he was able to grab food off my plate and get it in his mouth. So, he started trying out solids. He stopped nursing when he was 26-months-old.
About 2 months ago we pulled obvious dairy from his diet. It has helped a little.
So, we got a referral from our family doctor for a Pediatric Gastro Intestinal doctor. Who we saw earlier this week. He ordered a blood draw, a stool sample analysis, and put him on a low sugar diet (which feels VERY restrictive and from here forward is referred to as The List.)