Oh, Allergies

So, we may be adding a whole new twist to this blog. We found out today that Hadley is very allergic to eggs. Which means she can't have anything with eggs - even things she's had in the past without a reaction because she could end up having one if she develops more allergens. We pretty much have to tote my little allergy bag around I prepared when we thought she might have an allergy: her allergy plan, Benadryl, Epi pen in a cute little bag of course. And I have to read the labels on EVERYTHING. I was surprised to learn that some pasta doesn't contain egg and some bread doesn't contain egg. I also found a brand of waffles that are dairy and egg free. And I found an alternative to adding eggs to cakes, which we'll be trying this weekend in anticipation of her upcoming birthday (hello, what's a birthday party without a cake to eat for the birthday girl?!). I found some lasagna and ravioli that is egg-free, which she had tonight - and loved! So even though it's going to be tricky at times, I have a feeling I'll fall right into the routine and it won't be an issue.

On the other hand, my husband is lactose intolerant. Within the past year or so, we've noticed some unpleasant symptoms when he would eat a lot of dairy. Particular brands bothered him more, but eventually just one glass of milk would make him sick. I started buying Lactaid, which helped, but over the past few months, the lactose intolerance has only gotten worse. And if you know Andrew, you know that he loves ice cream and cereal. And if you know me, you know I love cheese and sour cream and will gladly add it to any meal I make. So, we've switched Andrew to soy milk. I found some lactose-free ice cream we'll try this weekend. And he's cut out a lot of cheese, sour cream and any other miscellaneous dairy items. So, I also have to work on cutting dairy out of the stuff I cook for dinner. The good thing about this allergy is it just makes him sick, as opposed to Hadley's allergy which could cause her to go into anaphylactic shock.

Which means, this mama is going to have to change the things we eat and the way we cook. We have to really follow food labels and be conscious of what we are using. Which, let's face it, isn't really a bad thing to do anyway. We should be more conscious of what we're putting into our bodies. So, this blog may turn in to a place where I post recipes or tips and tricks of dealing with allergies. "The Sweetness of Eating Dairy and Egg-Free" has a nice ring to it, no??