Another child with allergies?

Yesterday, Ashlee was finally able to get into a dermatologist.  Almost as soon as she saw Ashlee, she said the dreaded words "food allergies", and then continued to list all the foods to avoid until getting into an allergist...egg, soy, dairy, nuts.  Oh joy I thought!  Now I get to make dinner without dairy too!  My life must not be crazy enough, there must be something I need to learn about managing craziness still.  I apparently need more craziness to meet that level of coping.:)

All kidding aside, I did freak out a bit, cried a little again on the way to Wal-mart to see what I could do to make lunch time at school easier for my sweet teenager.  But I did notice that unlike last time, I wasn't so afraid.  I knew that I could solve our eating challenges because I learned that there are SO many options out there.  They are available online and in our local stores now.  I was able to find a replacement online for peanut butter, and have ordered some soy and dairy free butter.  Many of our other grocery items meet her allergy needs.  I think the hardest thing is my baking.  I LOVE to bake desserts!!!!  This is going to be a little trickier because the replacement butter is just a spread and would be terribly expensive to substitute that for cookies, cakes, etc. 

Luckily, Ashlee will be allergy tested in three weeks.  We can live without all these food items for that long until we know for sure which ones are triggering her severe eczema.  This dermatologist also concurred with Taylor's doctor that these allergies will change overtime.  What triggers a reaction now, will not necessarily be the same in five years or ten years.  Therefore, we need to constantly be monitoring and every few years test again.

I just wanted to express gratitude to all those who have struggled with food allergies, then made products that are delicious replacements!  That makes my life so much easier.  We are hoping to launch a website in the near future that will sell soy, dairy, egg, nut, and preservative free bread.  We are very excited about this and can't wait to share soy free bread with more people.