Milk, Egg, Wheat Free Diet - Where to begin

[August09baby]

My DS (7.5 months) had a skin prick test today and the results came back positive for milk, eggs, wheat, and rye. Soy was negative. As were barley and oats. I know the skin prick test can have high false positives, but we were still advised to eliminate Milk, Eggs and Wheat. DS is officially failure to thrive at this point, having falling complete off the growth charts. I am breastfeeding so the choice is to have me eliminate or switch to a elemental formula. I have never formula fed a baby so the thought is overwhelming both philosophically and practically. On the other hand I am not sure how to eliminate all of these foods and still make enough milk for two (I am also nursing DSs twin sister). Part of the issue is simply time. With a toddler, twin 7 month-olds and a part time job I am not sure how to add managing this extreme diet into the mix. Any suggestions, tips or advice? Thanks.

[dannic]

We are gluten, dairy, and egg free. I would continue breastfeeding. I've heard that many babies don't end up tolerating elemental formulas.

I breastfed dd2 being gf/cf/soy, all sugars, preservatives, ect. free. Once you learn the ropes, it's really easy to get enough carbs/ calories.
Pascal has a cookbook--the whole foods allergy cookbook that is wheat free plus top eight free. User friendly recipes. She uses oat flour a lot. HTH!

[kereplussome]

I know tfrecipes.com has a menu-mailer that is gluten and casein free. It is also tf-based and has an active forum attached to discuss the menu and other things (like gf/cf, etc.) Here's a link: http://www.cookingtf.com/mailer.html

[Therese's Mommy]

My experience is that it can have a high rate of false negative. At my dd's first skin prick test she had 3 positives and 2 negatives...she is actually allergic to the 2 things she tested negative to. I wouldn't assume that your ds is fine with the foods he tested negative to. I would keep a food journal so you have to hopes of connecting any reactions with the food(s) causing it. With my dd, when I first did an elimination diet I cut out wheat, dairy and peanuts, but started eating more soy and egg. Things got worse for her and I didn't understand why...well it was because she is actually allergic to those things as well.

As far as the ED, it can be done. It might take a little more work and forethought and you might lose so weight, but it is totally doable and so worth it. Just work to get enough fat and protein and you will be fine. Also, try and find a good supplement to make sure you don't have any deficiencies.

[tanyalynn]

Our basic, fall-back meal is meat and two veggies, and sometimes it was just meat and a starch. Tonight: roast beef in the slow cooker with herbs de provence and salt, and then roasted red potatoes with more herbs de provence and salt, and roasted asparagus, squeeze some lemon juice on the asparagus, add more salt (yes, I do love salt) and it was done.

Roast a chicken, mashed potatoes with chicken stock (if you use storebought, buy Pacifica brand or check carefully for wheat/gluten), a green veggie. Makes good leftovers.

Filling starches: rice, quinoa, potatoes, sweet potatoes, plus there are other GF grains like millet, buckwheat if you want for hot cereal. But we mostly stick with rice and quinoa, they're easy and I don't have to learn too much that's new.

Eggs, if you tolerate them--hard-boiled, they're portable and filling and nutritious (eta: just re-read the list, ok, no eggs). Drumsticks. I find protein and fat filling, so that's why I'm listing them as my go-tos. Meatballs--I use a meatloaf-type recipe, bake them and then grab-and-go.

I use this recipe to marinade the drumsticks, and they're portable...
http://www.3men.com/competition%20chicken.htm

I do it w/o soy sauce (which often has wheat in it, though there are some wheat-free ones if you read carefully). You can make a lot and freeze.

Coconut oil is a good fat, there are recipes in the Traditional Foods forum (surprisingly high % of people with food intolerances there) that are allergen friendly, search for high fat snacks or something like that in the thread title.

In terms of a multivit, do you have one that's no dairy/gluten/egg? If you don't, I'd get a Thorne Basic Nutrients multivit, sold lots of places online, it's a good source of folate (low folate is related to IgE allergies), good forms of various vitamins and minerals. And if you want more minerals, Thorne biomins or citramins are mineral supplements. B vits mostly pass through in breastmilk, most minerals generally don't but would be good support to you, since you just grew two babies.

[elanorh]

Great suggestions from pp. I've been dairy/soy/egg/wheat/legume/fish/shellfish/peanut/treenut free for several months with both my dds (I think it would add up to about 10 months total) ..... I do agree that there are false positives and false negatives, and keep a food journal, watch to see that there really isn't a soy allergy as well.

I did much of what the pp mentioned for foods. Some other suggestions:
You can still have 'pasta.' I used Asian cellophane noodles (the clear noodles), or spaghetti squash, or brown rice pasta (De Boles is the brand I like best I think). Even if you are in the boonies like me, you should be able to find one of these options.

Quick and easy lunch - I would start each work week by making a large batch of brown rice, and a large batch of ground burger (vary the seasonings; one week it might be Italian, another it might be Mexican, or garlic/onion, or whatever).... Then for quick lunches, I would mix the rice, burger, and vegetables and heat and eat (squash, or corn, or broccoli, or canned tomatoes) .... It actually didn't seem too monotonous, and was a very quick lunch.

We bought a Frybaby and made home-fried potatoes at least once a week (for the calories). It IS a shift to switch from thinking of eating as something to do in a nutrient-dense/lower calorie way, to thinking of eating as needing to be a more calorie-dense activity ....

My coconut milk rice pudding recipe (check the coconut milk to make sure it is wheat-free):
3 cups cooked rice (Jasmine is superlative)
1 1/2 cups (ish) coconut milk (1 can)
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp oil

Heat, stirring, over medium heat, until most of the milk is absorbed and rice is creamy (about 15 minutes). Remove from heat, add safe vanilla extract. Eat warm or cold. Creamy and delicious. You can make it with brown sugar and/or brown rice, too. You can top with a little raspberry jam, or whatever, or have it plain.

[kjbrown92]

Make a roasted chicken once a week, eat it (making some gluten-free gravy to use the good drippings; I use sweet potato starch and sorghum flour), then turn the bones into bone broth in your slow cooker (24-36 hours). It's full of calcium and other minerals. I'll drink a mugful of it, or throw some leftover rice and veggies in it and call it soup.

Crockpot is good: beef pot roast, pork roast. Throw everything in the pot in the morning, and in the evening all you have to do is boil some rice and steam a veggie.

Sweet potato fries is an easy accompaniment to a meal
buckwheat pancakes in the morning (make a double batch when you do have time and freeze the extras, toast to reheat)
Jones sausage (the non-flavored ones), frozen links are safe. They go nicely with the waffles
We also have Bob's Red Mill's hot buckwheat cereal (microwaveable, fast and easy) and millet porridge in the mornings
When you have more time you could make sweet potato-bacon hash
Smoothies with coconut milk (good high fat) and fresh or frozen fruit is a good quick breakfast as well

Not sure where you live, but we have a couple of potato chips that are safe for us (Cape Cod and Utz, non-flavored variety) that's a quick snack (my vice).

I throw craisins and pine nuts on my salad for a little extra flavor and fat. And make an oil & vinegar based dressing. I make a big salad then we eat it for 2-3 days.

I agree about easy meals while you're starting out.

[dannic]

You-all are making me hungry!

I second getting comfortable with good fats--important to keep up breastmilk supply...evoo, coconut oil, avocadoes, ect. We love guacamole with lots of things. DOn't forget chili beans, tacos, homemade green chile, salsa and chips! Black beans, mmm. We eat a lot of Mex type food around here, lol.

[ScootchsMom]

My advice as a formula feeding mom to DS, after having breastfed DD for over 3 years, don't do the formula if you don't absolutely HAVE to. Washing bottles takes more time than anything else in the world, and it takes time away from babies. Preparing formula is a PITA, making sure they aren't drinking a bottle that has been out too long, etc. is all a giant PITA. I would much rather eliminate foods in my diet than stand there washing those darn bottles every night. Just my 2 cents

[IngaAnne]

You've already gotten a lot of great advice. Just know you aren't alone in this! I'm a working mom of a breastfed 9month old who's allergic to wheat, dairy, nuts, eggs, and soy. It's definately a challenge when time is limited, but it's so worth it. My son used to be constantly broken out with itchy eczema. He'd try to claw at his skin whenever he had the chance and would often wake in the middle of the night screaming and broken out in bumps. Within a week of my cutting out wheat, dairy, nuts, and eggs he was greatly improved. He's now super happy and no longer obsessed with scratching.

Besides the suggestions others have already given you, I'd suggest doing a little food shopping/research online after the kids are in bed. Reading all those ingredients labels can be a pain in the butt at first and even more difficult when you are at the store with babies in tow. I'm fairly new to this, but have already found gluten-free mall to be a decent online source for some cookies, chocolate, pasta, etc. You can put in all your allergens on the site, and it will only show the foods available that you can eat.

Anyways ... good luck

[JsMamaK]

I second the reccomendation for The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook. My father got it for our family after we spent 6 1/2 months figuring out recipes on our own! It's fantastic and I've since told our allergist that this needs to be the #1 reccomendation for families when they're given positive food allergy results. This cookbook will keep your whole family happy and healthy so you won't need to prepare 2 meals!

I also wish you patience & perserverence if you end up pulling foods from your diet to keep nursing. Remember-- it takes several weeks for things to completely clear your system & then your DS's, so don't give up! :-) The hardest part for me was knowing it would take time to clear my system of dairy, eggs, soy, gluten, nuts, & fish and that in the meantime, nursing would make my DS uncomfortable. But, we stuck with it and successfully nursed until he turned 2, despite working full time at first and then part time. When he stopped gaining weight, I did alot of gluten free, egg free, dairy free baking and EVOO and flax seed to increase the fat. I ate it too and gained back some of the weight that had dropped off from the first part of the ED! Ha! And we ate many, many, avacados.

Best of luck to you!!

[dannic]

How's it going, mama?

[rhesp1212]

YOU CAN DO IT MAMMA!!! It seems like such a daunting task at first, but you can do it. I was on an extreme elimination diet while BF DS for about 7 months (he literally only tolerated 7-8 foods at the time). Focus on what you CAN have rather than what you can't. Buy whole fresh foods as much as possible, as most processed and prepackaged foods have hidden dairy. The good thing is you can have corn and soy, which is also in just about everything!!

For replacement of eggs, you can use egg replacers, or pureed fruits, flaxseed mash, etc. There are TONS of alternative flours out there now when you eliminate wheat. I make my own crackers, muffins and breads using other flours. There are lots of great recipes in the resource section of this forum as well.

Since you're BF'ing make sure you're eating enough protein and fats to keep up your milk supply. Also, I always made sure I had food on hand. There is nothing worse than getting hungry and not having anything quick to grab to eat. Always have fruit, veggies and safe snacks on hand for munching and on the go.