Santa - it has begun...

We took A to her first Santa Clause parade this weekend with our friends. We packed up the kids, took lots of snacks & hot chocolate and found ourselves a spot on the parade route. A loved the music, the bands, the snowman and of course Santa Clause! I think she even liked her very first taste of hot chocolate (made from Vanilla Rice Dream and chocolate syrup). I think my next hot chocolate attempt will be from scratch - anyone have any good recipes out there? I am wondering if I can make one out of cocoa, sugar and water...will keep you posted.

Waving at Santa Clause

Enjoying her first hot chocolate

Recipe: Dairy/Soy Free Granola Bars

To date, I haven't had any luck finding a really good dairy/soy free granola bar in the grocery store. I found out last night that my search is over! I have everything I need to make them in my own kitchen.

I think this is one of the easiest recipes I have ever made. And also possibly one of the yummiest.

I adapted this recipe from Kids with Food Allergies (a fantastic resource with online support groups and recipes for all food allergies).

4 ounces dairy free margarine
4 ounces white sugar
2 tbsp corn syrup
8 ounces rolled oats
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips

- Melt margarine, sugar, syrup (do not allow mixture to boil)
- Remove from heat and stir in the oats, raisins and chocolate chips
- Press firmly into well-greased baking dish - should be 1/2" to 3/4" thick (I used 1/2 of my Pampered Chef stoneware bar pan - my favorite baking tool - next time I will double the recipe and use the whole pan)
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until golden
- Mark into bars while hot and let completely cool before removing

Allergist update

Well, we went to the allergist last week. It was a two day endeavor. Separated by 48 hours. Two more appointments that had been marked on our calendar for months and months. Another two days that I had placed hopes on. The plan was to do a skin test (for peanuts/tree nuts, milk & soy) and Atopy Patch Testing (APT) for milk and soy on her back. What a nightmare. The skin testing that we did at 10 months was a piece of cake compared to skin testing at 23 months! She. Was. Not. Happy. Screaming. Writhing. Throwing up (only a little, but my mom caught it in her hand - sorry mom). But the good news. The skin tests to milk and soy were still negative, as were the peanuts and tree nuts. After that all bets were off. Trying to get her shirt back off for the APT did not happen. Somehow, we were finally able to get the patches on and left with quite a few more tears. I was very happy to have my mom there. A may have needed my shoulder to cry on, but I needed my mom's. To see your child so unhappy and scared is not a fun thing. And for her not to understand why she was being poked and prodded (so to speak) was definitely not a walk in the park.

Negative skin tests to peanuts/tree nuts, milk and soy (second time negative for milk and soy, first time tested for peanuts/tree nuts)....and I am still scared to try nuts! Even with our allergist's okay. Yes, I am crazy.

48 hours with this on her back. She didn't notice that it was there at all. She also didn't get upset when she didn't get to bath (one of her favorite activities) for 3 days! But doesn't she have beautiful hair?!?!

Fast forward two days. This time I was on my own. I wasn't sure who was going to catch the potential throw up. I was apprehensive to say the least. I think she knew as soon as we pulled into the parking lot. "No doctor mommy". And once we arrived in the office, whenever anyone approached her, she would scream bloody murder. I honestly have never heard my child scream like that (well, except for two days before, but wow). We had to sit in the waiting room for 20 minutes with her shirt off so that her skin could completely dry once they pulled off the patches. She just kept asking me "shirt mommy, shirt mommy". The looks of pity that I was getting from the other parents - yikes. One thing that did help us during our wait - Her first lollipop. And I actually had the audacity to ask our allergist if it was milk and soy free! He looked at me like he couldn't believe that I would ask that. But it just came out of my mouth. Like verbal diarrhea. After our half-naked wait in the waiting room (yes, I actually thought that I may have to undress just to keep her happy - can you imagine the looks that that would have brought?!)....The results: both patches (milk and soy) were negative.

Negative APT!!! I think the tape marks were worse than the sharpy marker! I am still working at getting them to come off.

The good news. We passed both tests. The bad news. Our allergist still wants to wait to trial anything. He said that it is a good sign that the APT was negative, but given her history he is apprehensive to do even a soy challenge. Now he is talking 4 years old. But we will revisit again in 11-12 months. I think he is nervous. I wonder if he has had a child have a recent reaction in his office during a food challenge. He told me that if A was his child, he would not attempt a challenge at this point given the severity of her previous reactions. He also said that given how hard the testing had been to give her (i.e. pin her down), it would be extremely difficult to get an IV line in at this age for her. I trust him. He is the expert. He has been through this with other children. So, for now, we are status quo. To this date, soy protein has never passed her lips. And milk has not passed her lips for 19 months. We know what to do and she is thriving. I trust him. I trust him. I do also trust my gut that tells me that she will grow out of this. Someday she will share a bowl of ice cream with me. Someday we will be laughing over sushi and edamame.

To offset the disappointment and another potential 2 years of waiting....we will be done with Nutramigen in 2 weeks!!! For that I am so happy. We have been referred to a Registered Dietitian (RD) and are still waiting for an appointment. However, I also work with a couple pretty awesome RD's who have been very helpful. One suggested that I contact The Specialty Food Shop at SickKids in Toronto. What a fantastic resource. I was concerned about the lack of protein and fat in Rice Milk (her new beverage of choice). Here is her email to me:

"Taking Nutramigen up until 2 years of age was an appropriate thing to do for your daughter. Now that she is turning 2 years of age, it is fine to start her on a milk alternative like rice beverage. Just some things to keep in mind:

• Look for a rice beverage that is fortified with calcium and vitamin D.


• At the age of 2, your daughter needs 500 mg of calcium and 200 IU (international units) of vitamin D per day. If you find a calcium and vitamin D fortified rice beverage, 2 cups (500 mL) of the beverage would meet her needs for these 2 nutrients as long as the label reads “30% DV” for calcium and “45% DV” for vitamin D. DV = Daily Value.

You are correct that rice beverage is much lower in protein and fat. At age 2, children need approximately 1 gram of protein per kilogram per day. For instance, if your child weighs 13 kilograms, she would need 13 grams of protein per day. If your daughter is eating 2 servings of meat and alternatives from Canada’s Food Guide per day, she would be meeting her protein needs and you wouldn’t need to worry about getting protein from her beverage. Canada’s Food Guide recommends children aged 2 consume 1 serving of meat and alternatives per day, but because she will be lacking some protein/calories from the rice beverage, it would be fine to give her 2 servings to add some protein and calories.

As well, regular homo milk provides about 16 grams of fat in 2 cups. You can replace this with 1 ½ Tbsp of another fat like olive/vegetable/canola oil or margarine per day to replace the fat she would be missing from the milk.

Finally, you could consider talking about a vitamin/mineral supplement with your dietitian or doctor if you feel that your daughter is not getting the recommended number of servings from Canada’s Food Guide based on her age. Centrum Junior Regular and Complete are multivitamins that are free of both milk and soy, however, I always do recommend reading the label and calling the manufacturer just to confirm this information. Your dietitian will be able to assess in detail and make this recommendation. If the diet is balanced, no need to worry about a multivitamin.

Below is information on Canada’s Food Guide based on age. See serving size information under the category for children aged 2-3.

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/order-commander/eating_well_bien_manger-eng.php

Final message:

Rice beverage is fine. Ensure it is fortified with calcium and vitamin D (30% DV for calcium and 45% DV for vitamin D). Provide 2 cups per day to meet your daughters needs. If not, a calcium and vitamin D supplement may be used. Speak to your health professional.

Provide 2 servings of meat and alternates to add protein and calories in place of regular milk.

Provide 1 ½ Tbsp of fat to replace the fat from regular milk.

Consider a multivitamin only if a balanced diet is not achieved.

So my plan for now.... Her second birthday is looming. December 4th. Until then, I am going to cut her Nutramigen in half. 1/2 Nutramigen and 1/2 rice milk in her bottles. After that - we will go with just Fortified Rice Milk and follow the dieticians recommendations. We will also meet up with the dietitian and see what they have to say. Stay tuned!

Take a recipe and adapt!

Wow. What a busy month. I haven't had the time to post, respond to emails, or keep up with my favorite blogs. I have been on my computer, but working away at my thesis :(. Another step done and I am back to blogging (hopefully on a regular basis again!).

We were visiting my parents this weekend and I came across my Mom's 2010 Milk Calendar....and last night I decided to adapt two of the recipes to be dairy/soy free. Guess what? They both worked perfectly. Leading me to further believe that most recipes can be fully adapted quite easily to be both dairy and soy free.



Tasty Tiny Meatloaves

3/4 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1 tsp dried basil or oregano
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup rice milk
2 eggs
1 carrot
1 small zucchini
1-1/2 lbs lean ground beef, chicken, pork, turkey or veal
1/4 cup ketchup

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine oats, basil, salt, pepper, rice milk and eggs; let stand for 5 min.
3. Peel and shred carrot and zucchini and add to mixture.
4. Add ground meat and blend well with a fork.
5. Scoop mixture evenly into a 12-cup muffin pan.
6. Pack lightly and flatten tops.
7. Spread with ketchup.
8. Place muffin pan on a rimmed baking sheet to catch drips.
9. Bake for 20 min or until thermometer inserted in centre of one registers at least 165 degrees F.
10. Remove from pan with two spoons, draining off excess liquid.

A loved them and ate almost an entire one to herself. I honestly think it is the most meat she has had at one serving. I used 1/2 lean ground beef and 1/2 ground turkey to make these.

Morning Glory Breakfast Bars

2 cups bran cereal (All-Bran or 100% Bran)
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup rice milk
3/4 cup drained canned crushed pineapple
1/2 cup applesauce
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup liquid honey

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Line a 13 x 9-inch metal baking pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang at each end.
3. Lightly spray with cooking spray.
4. In a bowl, combine bran cereal, carrots, rice milk, pineapple and applesauce; let stand for 5 min.
5. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
6. Whisk egg and honey into rice milk mixture.
7. Pour over dry ingredients and stir until just moistened.
8. Spread into prepared pan, smoothing top.
9. Bake for about 30-min or until a tester comes out clean.
10. Let cool completely in pan on rack.
11. Using foil overhang as handles, remove from pan and cut into bars.

I am going to freeze these so they can be pulled out for a quick breakfast or snack.

A Very Dairy-Free Happy Halloween

We decided against going trick or treating with A this year. Because of her age and that she doesn't understand her "safe" and "unsafe" foods, we didn't want to risk upsetting her when we took things away from her. If by next year we are still dairy/soy free, I will plant special treats for her around the neighbourhood and we will go out trick or treating.

But for this year, this is what I did. I did want to make it special for her. So - she wore Halloween t-shirts, socks & hair clips all week, I bought her new Halloween pajamas, a Halloween present - Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie (with a stuffed Pooh dressed as Tiger) and dairy/soy free candy and chips to hand out to the kids. I wanted to only have safe treats so that if she wanted to try some she could. I cut the candies in half for her to try and I think she may have an addiction (the leftovers will go away for special occasions as I already am well aware that she has a sweet tooth!).

A's Halloween presents & safe treats

She LOVED seeing all the kids and kept asking me "more kids mommy?"

One of her Halloween outfits (hair clip made by yours truly)

Cozied up in her Halloween pajamas ready to turn in for the night