Immediately after leaving the GI where we had learned that my two week no soy / no dairy trial would continue indefinitely, my husband and I decided to take a family trip to Whole Foods to find me something to eat. He carried Nelle around, since we had accidentally left the carrier at home, and I pushed around an empty cart.
Although I learned at that appointment that most people with a soy allergy can eat soy lethicin and soy oil I am committed to avoiding these items before I slowly try to reintroduce them in a couple more weeks.
Slowly my cart began filling with things. It must have. I got two paper bags full and spent $84.
Showing posts with label food allergies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food allergies. Show all posts
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Introduction
I am used to reading food labels. Always have been. I'm 32 years old and have been a vegetarian my whole life. Okay, I was an ovo-lacto-pesco vegetarian until I was 21 and gave up the pesco part. Fish just looked gross to me. But I digress.
Along the way people asked me if I was vegan. No, I'd always say, I love cheese too much.
When I was pregnant an interesting thing happened. No longer were my boobs private things not to be discussed. Strangers would ask me if I planned to breastfeed and get excited for me when I told them I was. I would often add, however, that if my baby was dairy sensitive that I would probably have to switch to formula; I couldn't give up cheese.
Fast forward and Nelle is almost three months old. We spent 10 weeks soaking in baby spit-up before a gastroenterologist suggested I go dairy free. Oh and since my trial of dairy free a few weeks prior hadn't worked and most babies with dairy allergies can't handle soy either, I needed to give that up too.
Despite my initial brush-offs about not being able to give up cheese, the reality of it became that it would be harder for me to give up nursing. When it became a choice of feeding myself cheese or my daughter "boobie foods," it wasn't really a choice at all. Along with reflux medications, it seems to be helping so far, so I'll give it a try.
Okay, so here's where it gets really tricky. I'm not vegan, but I'm a vegetarian who has to give up dairy. That leaves eggs. Soy is a staple to the vegan diet. Heck, soy is a staple in most diets. On a list the GI gave me of foods to avoid it says "Asian foods." Really? I have to give up food from an entire continent! This was not good news.
My husband cooks. Some. I cook. Some. Okay, not really. Mostly we like to eat out or just prepare quick meals thrown together with things we have on hand. We're just a typical working family. We go grocery shopping once a week and keep a relatively stocked cupboard. Typically our food comes from Trader Joe's or Costco. Sometimes I pick stuff up at Target while there getting other stuff.
So, what do you eat?
It's a good thing I was already familiar with that question. When I was in elementary school classmates would ask me what I ate for Thanksgiving. "If turkey is the only thing on your table," I would, in that oh so 8 year-old way, snottily reply, "then I feel sorry for you."
Here's what's on my table.
Along the way people asked me if I was vegan. No, I'd always say, I love cheese too much.
When I was pregnant an interesting thing happened. No longer were my boobs private things not to be discussed. Strangers would ask me if I planned to breastfeed and get excited for me when I told them I was. I would often add, however, that if my baby was dairy sensitive that I would probably have to switch to formula; I couldn't give up cheese.
Fast forward and Nelle is almost three months old. We spent 10 weeks soaking in baby spit-up before a gastroenterologist suggested I go dairy free. Oh and since my trial of dairy free a few weeks prior hadn't worked and most babies with dairy allergies can't handle soy either, I needed to give that up too.
Despite my initial brush-offs about not being able to give up cheese, the reality of it became that it would be harder for me to give up nursing. When it became a choice of feeding myself cheese or my daughter "boobie foods," it wasn't really a choice at all. Along with reflux medications, it seems to be helping so far, so I'll give it a try.
Okay, so here's where it gets really tricky. I'm not vegan, but I'm a vegetarian who has to give up dairy. That leaves eggs. Soy is a staple to the vegan diet. Heck, soy is a staple in most diets. On a list the GI gave me of foods to avoid it says "Asian foods." Really? I have to give up food from an entire continent! This was not good news.
My husband cooks. Some. I cook. Some. Okay, not really. Mostly we like to eat out or just prepare quick meals thrown together with things we have on hand. We're just a typical working family. We go grocery shopping once a week and keep a relatively stocked cupboard. Typically our food comes from Trader Joe's or Costco. Sometimes I pick stuff up at Target while there getting other stuff.
So, what do you eat?
It's a good thing I was already familiar with that question. When I was in elementary school classmates would ask me what I ate for Thanksgiving. "If turkey is the only thing on your table," I would, in that oh so 8 year-old way, snottily reply, "then I feel sorry for you."
Here's what's on my table.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)