http://www.enjoylifefoods.com/our_foods/chocolate_chips.html
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Baking Soyless
Here's a type of chocolate chip without soy!!!! Time to bake! I found them at Wegmans in the organic/health section of the store. From the website, it looks like they are nationwide!
Soup Stock
The holidays are a difficult time to weed out foods with soy. Just yesterday, Little Soyless and I visited family. A thoughtful soy-free soup meal was prepared, but we did not think to scrutinize the recipe carefully. By the time we arrived home, Little Soyless was rashy and hyper. I've noticed that his hands have begun to develop eczema and hives immediately after consuming soy now. So in lieu of the holidays, I am using and recommending Kitchen Basics soup stocks, coincidentally screened for allergens. Here's a link:
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Farina
We learned through trial and error, that the Farina hot wheat cereal contains soy pieces. After two days of eating the cereal, the three year old in our house became excitable, running, jumping, and screaming. Then, I noticed a bumpy rash on his back. After checking the box, I confirmed that the boxed hot cereal does in fact contain soy. Bummer.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Our Departure from Soy
Shortly after the holiday season of my son's second year of life, he became very unhealthy. It started during flu season, and for several weeks we guessed that we were all passing the stomach flu back and forth. Every week, during the middle of the week, Noah would wake between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. moaning. By the time I reached him, he would have already vomited all over himself and his bedding. Sometimes, he would vomit continuously until noon. We started growing increasingly concerned with each episode, many ending in the hospital emergency room.
Our journey took us to many specialists and in and out of laboratories for months. We were required to give weekly stool samples for bacteria and parasites. The blood tests, although not normal, did not indicate allergies initially, so a gastroenterologist made a diagnosis: cyclical vomiting syndrome. With a familial history of migraine and episodic vomiting, the diagnosis seemed solid.
However, we were overlooking some simple symptoms of indication. Since I had started Noah on solid food, he had eczema around his mouth. Sometimes, I noticed contact with foods would inflame his face within minutes. He had a rash on his bottom too. These obvious signs were ongoing. I cannot be sure, but I also eliminated many foods while breastfeeding due to concerns over colic and crankiness. It is possible that my intuition was working overtime for my newborn. And yes, you probably want to know if I mentioned these things to the pediatrician. I did, but at the time no concern was expressed.
The gastroenterolist's diagnosis, cyclical vomiting, was difficult to accept. So I spent time asking her questions about the patterns of his vomiting. I wanted to know why the food in his stomach was undigested the next day, and I wanted to know why Noah's body had to purge everything. During the time between the latest appointment and our last, Noah's blood work suggested a rise in eosinophils. She said she would check his blood allergy work, and that is where she saw a slight indication of a soy allergy. I said that we were going to run with a soy elimination diet, to be sure, and that is where we found our answer.
Since we have eliminated soy, we have eliminated eczema, extremely hyper/erratic behavior, and weekly periodic vomiting.
My hope is that our experience will help you through yours. Although a soyless diet requires concentration, preparation, and diligence, we have never regretted the sacrifice. Soyless is an eye opener about food additives, food processing, and steps to a healthier life. I hope you can find your own soyless joys!
Our journey took us to many specialists and in and out of laboratories for months. We were required to give weekly stool samples for bacteria and parasites. The blood tests, although not normal, did not indicate allergies initially, so a gastroenterologist made a diagnosis: cyclical vomiting syndrome. With a familial history of migraine and episodic vomiting, the diagnosis seemed solid.
However, we were overlooking some simple symptoms of indication. Since I had started Noah on solid food, he had eczema around his mouth. Sometimes, I noticed contact with foods would inflame his face within minutes. He had a rash on his bottom too. These obvious signs were ongoing. I cannot be sure, but I also eliminated many foods while breastfeeding due to concerns over colic and crankiness. It is possible that my intuition was working overtime for my newborn. And yes, you probably want to know if I mentioned these things to the pediatrician. I did, but at the time no concern was expressed.
The gastroenterolist's diagnosis, cyclical vomiting, was difficult to accept. So I spent time asking her questions about the patterns of his vomiting. I wanted to know why the food in his stomach was undigested the next day, and I wanted to know why Noah's body had to purge everything. During the time between the latest appointment and our last, Noah's blood work suggested a rise in eosinophils. She said she would check his blood allergy work, and that is where she saw a slight indication of a soy allergy. I said that we were going to run with a soy elimination diet, to be sure, and that is where we found our answer.
Since we have eliminated soy, we have eliminated eczema, extremely hyper/erratic behavior, and weekly periodic vomiting.
My hope is that our experience will help you through yours. Although a soyless diet requires concentration, preparation, and diligence, we have never regretted the sacrifice. Soyless is an eye opener about food additives, food processing, and steps to a healthier life. I hope you can find your own soyless joys!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)