[OTMomma]

Hi. I need help. I have food allergies. I know I'm allergic to dairy and wheat and I suspect others (corn and rice among others). A couple of years ago I realized I was allergic to dairy and wheat and started cutting some of those items from my diet, but I never found good ways to replace them. Yes, I know they aren't essential, but I mean I can't figure out WHAT to eat. So I feel like I"m starving.

I go to the kitchen (or grocery store) and say "I can't eat any of this!" so I end up skipping meals or eating things that make me ill. The only meal I know without them is stir fry and I make that a couple of times a week. I drink soy milk instead of cow milk. I've lost more weight than I want, and my family now tells me how unhealthy I look. They blame my EBF, but I don't think that's it.

I'm sure there are others here who don't eat these things. PLEASE tell me what you eat! Or refer me to a thread about this. (I couldn't find the right words to search with)

I just had to have surgery to remove a polyp from the inside of my nose that grew due to allergies and my MD wants to send me to an allergist. I'm terrified I'll be told I'm allergic to all food and I'll just starve. Sorry, I'm so dramatic today, still feeling bad from the surgery.

 

[Breathless Wonder]

What have you been eating?

Have you tried other grains, such as quinoa, barley or spelt?

Do you eat a lot of beans or nuts?

Do you have other sensitivities, such as tomatoes?

I have a recipe for lasagna, made with zuchini for noodles...
I'll find it and post it later.

 

[OTMomma]

I've tried spelt but didn't really like it. I'll have to look into quinoa, I've never tried it. Thanks for the suggestion.
I don't think I have any problems with tomatoes and I would love to have that reciepe,

My husband is big on Italian food- pasta and such, so that is part of my problem. Our diet used to be based mainly on that. Oh, we do eat meat.

 

[MamaMonica]

Can you replace the wheat pasta with rice pasta and make other italien foods like pizza with a rice crust (they have mixes or try The Gluten free Gourmet book) and soy cheese so you can eat familiar foods?

Is the whole family off these or do they eat the other stuff and so you need to stock the cupboards with what you can't have?

What helped was taking everyone in the family off the allergins- for us that's gluten (wheat, spelt, kamut, barley and rye) and soy (as well as other less intense allergins). Now everything in the house is something we all can eat. Well, almost everything. dh still has beer in the fridge.

 

[Breathless Wonder]

Did you try spelt the grain, or did you try a spelt pasta? I tried Vita Spelt pasta, and liked it relatively well.

May I reccomend that you check out some of the Moosewood cookbooks? Many of their recipes contain dairy, or wheat, but some of their recipes do not, and I have liked what I have tried from them so far.

Do you eat soup? I find black bean soup very filling. Lentil soup. Minestrone.

Vegetrain chile is yummy as well.

Hummus with various vegetables.

If you can tolerate oats, you can do pancakes and waffles with amaranth flour, or oat flour. We have used oat milk, rice milk or almond milk to make them. It makes a thinner pancake. You could substitute apple sauce for eggs if they are an issue.

Nuts, nuts and more nuts. Nut butters- I like to eat apples with nut butter on them.

 

[OTMomma]

Thank you both for your suggestions. I have not put the whole family on my diet, but it sounds like that might be easier and you had some really good ideas for how to cope with this. Thanks!

 

[captain optimism]

I have two ideas: one is this magazine:

http://www.livingwithout.com/

It is a magazine for people with food allergies and sensitivities.

Check out some regional Italian cookbooks from the library. In Italian cooking, you can make polenta with chestnut flour, it's somewhat traditional. Chestnuts are a floury nut and some people use chestnut flour for other baked goods. Expensive, but potentially worthwhile. You might find some other Italian dishes that don't use wheat, dairy, tomatoes and corn. (I was going to suggest polenta and risotto but I see that you suspect you are allergic to both corn and rice.

So sorry about that.)

Also, don't hesitate to have allergy tests, you might find out you are allergic to fewer foods than you think. It might be something environmental instead.

 

[mirpnmama]

spaghetti squash is a good way to replace spaghetti...yummy!!!

 

[sarah10998]

Hugs to you. I feel your pain, it is awful going to the grocery store and not finding anything that you can have. I have actually come home and cried because of this. If you eat meat I woul try to make sure that that is a part of most of your meals plus make sure that there is some fat as well to help you feel full. When my allergies were first diagnosed (wheat, soy , eggs dairy, pineapple, banana and vanilla) I noticed that I felt a lot less "full" without grain products, I did get used to that but it was hard for a while. I have actually resorted to using thinly sliced meat as "bread" and put the other sandwich stuff inside the slices. that did help a lot. Good luck, Sarah

 

[melissa17s]

My mom got me a cookbook for my allergies that is helpful for finding alternative cooking ideas. It is The Allergy Self-Help Cookbook by Marjorie Hurt Jones, RN, and the recipes are free of wheat, corn, milk, eggs, yeast, sugar, and other common allergens. It was recommended by my allergist. It begins with a section on diversifying your diet and it helps develop a meal plan so you can get the nutrients you need with out resorting to eating what you should not have. It even has some recipes for sweets and snacks, which is useful during holiday times- and everyday, too.

 

[OTMomma]

These are all such good ideas! This thread is making me feel so much better. The meat sandwich sounds good and i hadn't thought of that.

I think I will be buying myself an after Christmas gift of that cook book too.

Thank you all. And if anyone else has ideas, I'd love to hear them.

 

[KJP_starmama]

There are so many good things that don't include dairy and wheat.

I'm not saying dairy and wheat are bad (except for you), but they're way too overused in our culture! You can have a satisfying meal without them!!

Tonight, I made a soup called Potato-Kale soup with turkey sausage. It was totally wheat and dairy free, and delicious; my husband dove into it. The other morning, I bought a pancake mix from our healthfood store that was wheat-free. He was also amazed at how good they are.

The Paul Newman company makes Newman-Os (like Oreos) that are wheat and dairy free (using barley flour).

Do you shop at a healthfood store such as Whole Foods or a local co-op? There are TONS of ideas for wheat and dairy-free cooking in those places.