When my primarily breastfed son was four months old, we offered him a bottle of milk based formula. He eagerly swallowed a few mouthfuls, then immediately vomited the formula back up and within minutes his tiny body was covered in hives. We scrambled for the car and headed to the emergency room. Our food allergy journey had begun.
Since then The Kid has also been diagnosed with allergies to peanut, shellfish, egg, all dairy products, beef, lamb and pork. In addition, we avoid tree nuts, due to concerns about peanut cross contamination. The two big challenges for us have been keeping our child physically safe while allowing him to have as normal of a childhood as possible and trying to create meals that are tasty, healthy and mostly resemble the food that The Kid sees everyone else eating.
After struggling in the kitchen for several years, I began blogging my recipes, mostly because I am chronically disorganized and it seemed like a good way to keep track of them. Plus it lets some of the other inadvertent food allergy cooks benefit from all my trials and errors!
The blog has grown in spurts since then. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so clicking on links and making an Amazon purchase may allow me to make a teensy tiny commision at no cost to you. These are always products that I personally own and use. Sometimes I accept products for review, but my turnaround time is unpredictable, at best. Occasionally I've also won contests of both the "send us your best recipe" and "sheer dumb luck" variety. However, any opinions about products (or anything else) are my own.
If you are new to food allergies or new to my blog, here are a few posts that may be of interest. For more information, the tabs at the top of the screen will take you to a complete list of recipes I've posted, a photo gallery of lunch ideas, a list of some of my favorite places on the internet and a glimpse inside my pantry at some of my favorite food allergy substitutions.
- A Challenge...and Banana Pancakes
- Dear New Food Allergy Parent
- Food Allergy Family Tree: A Century of Allergic Reactions
- Epipens and Food Allergy Fashion
- Contact Reaction to Hair Conditioner
- Bullies, Food Allergies and the Force
- Hurricane Preparedness with Food Allergies
I can be reached by email at allergiesmom[at]gmail[dot]com. Thanks for taking the time to share our food allergy journey!
Libby Stigaard Ilson