All the Things I Want to Say

Normally, feeding my family is not an issue for me, but the last few days - that's all I've done. Dinner is all I can think about. It's straining my creativity to the breaking point. We're on an elimination diet in the hopes of determining what exactly is causing his hives and rash. There are still plenty of things we can eat, but many of our old standbys are out for now. No Bacos, no bread, no soymilk, no garlic, and definitely no peanut butter. Making dinner is much harder when you are allergic to every grain commonly available in a small-town grocery store.

Jax tested allergic to:

wheat
soy
dairy
eggs
garlic
onions
rice
white potatoes
peanuts

Being vegetarians, we normally eat a lot of vegetables anyway, so it shouldn't be a huge problem. But it has been, in some ways. There is no butter, no margarine for us, so I'm using olive and other oils instead, none of which have the same consistency of my usual Parkay Light. We are using oat and rye flour instead of wheat - again, the taste and texture are completely different. The change isn't bad per se, just taking a lot of getting used to. And my cornbread sucks.

When I went veggie eight years ago, we just adapted our usual fare. Any dinner can be made just as tasty without the meat or by using a meat substitute - mushrooms in pasta sauce, for instance. No problem. That's the approach I'm trying to take here, and it's working - sort of. Last night we had spaghetti squash instead of regular pasta, which is probably healthier anyway. Tonight? I have no idea. Maybe stir-fry with barley instead of rice?

The good thing is that I'm having to make everything we eat from scratch. It's cheaper, and better for us to boot. I had to buy more cookware, though, and the food grinder attachment for my beloved Kitchenaid, and a host of other gadgets since we just didn't have enough stuff to get through a meal.

After a few weeks of the elimination diet, his skin actually looks much better. So we've started adding in one food at a time to see exactly what he reacts to. Onions not so good, potatoes bad. Soy is next, and this is the one that scares me.