A funk!

I'll admit it, I'm in a funk! I've been dealing with food allergies in my children for eight years now! It all started when my youngest daughter was born.  She was sick...a lot. When she was five months old, we discovered she had food allergies. And then the fun began.

I cooked and cooked and tweaked this recipe and that recipe. We had some good days and we had some bad days. We had some great food...and we had some *throw that away as fast as you can food!*

Now she's eight and has outgrown so many of her allergies. She's now allergic to dairy, eggs, tree nuts and peanuts. Ok, I've come a long way in eight years! I know all about dairy substitutes, how to cook without eggs and we just simply have a rule of no nuts in the house. Can you say, Sunbutter? (Sunbutter is an amazing product made from sunflower seeds!)

And then...something amazing happened this past year. Short version is that after ten years of suffering from various symptoms of canker sores, severe pain/cramping in the limbs, stomach pain, skin peeling, bladder issues and so much more...after ten years of this, we discovered that our eleven year old son also is suffering from food allergies and gluten intolerance! He can't have wheat, gluten, tree nuts, peanuts...and soy.

So, now I have to figure out how to cook meals that don't contain any soy, dairy, eggs, nuts, or gluten. Sound hard? Well, for the most part I am able to overcome...but sometimes...oy! I get into a funk.

Try cooking a great loaf of gluten free bread without any eggs! I've gotten the banana bread down thanks to Karina, but regular bread is still a work in progress for me!

What about cake? A cake with no dairy, soy, eggs, or gluten...and tastes great? Well, on my good days, I can try and come up with something...but I'm in a funk!

And I love to bake! I love to cook! I've often said that He must have knew what He was doing when He gave me these kids, because I love to cook!

I know that part of my funk right now comes from just not having the correct baking tools. For instance, have you ever tried to mix a loaf of bread with a $10 hand mixer? A Kitchen Aid is what I need! But alas, I don't have one, so I get frustrated and then my son goes without his fresh bread that he loves.

And it takes time! Who has time when your the mother of five busy children...and you home school a couple of them?!

But seriously, why am I even writing this? It sounds so negative, right? How will this particular blog ever help anyone trying to deal with food allergies and children?

If nothing else, I hope it helps them to know that there will be times when you are in a funk. It happens. Recognize it. And then....

Get up and go make some bread...or something.

That's what I'm going to do. I think I'll go put on those big girl panties and find something fabulous to make for lunch.

Comments

[Esther]

I understand that funk well!

Have you tried Bob's Red Mill's "Wonderful Homemade Bread"? We've had success using EnerG Egg Replacer with that. It's a quick and easy recipe, and my GFCF person likes it. It fluffs up like "real" bread, too. I posted pics here if you want to have a look: http://mydogsrule.wordpress.com/2008/11/15/fun-with-baking/

Nice blog, Hope! :)