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Raising a kid with food allergies is tough. You pretty much have to develop a manual for your kid that you can drop off to babysitters along with the backpack full of inhalers, epipens, over the counter antihistamines, creams for rashes, and safe snacks. My husband Aaron and I went through years of treating the symptoms of our son’s allergies. We never got ahead of them; it was always a game of catch up.
Then we made a change. We were lamenting our plight to friends of ours, who happened to have an answer. They said, “You have to take your son to this nutritionist who helped a bunch of people in our family.” We agreed, “We absolutely do.” So we did.
The Cut-Everything Diet
The nutritionist said we first have to cut out all sugar, all wheat, and most caffeine from our son Collins’s diet, and she recommended we then feed Coll a no mold/low histamine diet. While I was in her office, I mentioned I’ve suffered from bad environmental allergies for the entirety of my existence. She said if Coll and I both go on this diet and take it seriously, my son can wean himself off his inhaler and I can wean myself off my daily prescription antihistamine.
Some of the foods and drinks we were challenged to cut on this new diet included cheese, chocolate, corn, white potatoes, nightshades, and all food additives. All fermented things were also discouraged, which is interesting because we were previously told by multiple medical professionals that yogurt and kombucha would be beneficial for my son.
In an attempt to simplify how many meals we’d be cooking and avoid teasing Collins with foods he can’t consume, Aaron and I decided we would all stick to this diet.
Results
Collins’s skin has cleared up for the first time in his life! And his dad, mom, and sister are feeling pretty great as a result of our cleaner eating.
Holy Crow! It’s Expensive.
The highly recommended nutritionist we visited didn’t accept insurance. After paying for the office visit, DNA test kits, and supplements, we spent over $750. I realize that’s a lot, and I wouldn’t expect most people to be willing to drop that amount. Desperate for results, we were willing to make an investment, and this particular nutritionist was highly recommended.
The cost of groceries has also increased. It’s just more expensive to buy rice pasta in place of semolina. And all of those flour and sugar substitutes are way more expensive than the sinfully delicious originals.
It’s Time Consuming
Gone are the days of grabbing ready-made meals and snacks off the grocery store shelves. As far as I can tell, nearly all prepared foods contain additives, some form of sugar, corn, wheat, or white potato. That means I spend far more time in the kitchen concocting meals.
In order to save myself time in the long run, I’ve been batch cooking. For example, if I’m baking sweet potatoes for dinner, I’ll bake 2-3 times as many potatoes as our family will eat in one sitting. I do the same thing with steel cut oats, quinoa, jasmine rice, and other grains that become the basis of future meals. Although some information online says leftovers should be avoided by folks on a no mold diet, there’s no way this diet is sustainable for us if I don’t batch cook.
Figuring Out Substitutions
It’s been really hard to find recipes that account for the dietary needs in our home. (Along with the list of foods we’ve recently cut, my son is allergic to nuts and eggs.) I have no choice but to play jazz with existing recipes and just see if they work out. Last night I created the original recipe below, which turned out okay. I’m not going to lie: replacing sugar, eggs, and white flour with other foods will not please all crowds. You can totally tell the difference. But if you’re avoiding processed foods like us, this might hit the spot for you.
Semblance of a Peach Cake
Ingredients
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 cups local honey
1 cup olive oil
1 cup cassava flour
1 cup quinoa flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 cups peeled, pitted, chopped peaches
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F while you grease two 8” x 4” pans.
Combine all above ingredients by hand in a big bowl.
Pour batter into prepared pans, and bake at 375 for 40 minutes.
