So remember a couple weeks ago when I said I would share my newly revised menu binder? Well that hasn’t happened yet, and I have felt really terrible about saying I was going to do something and not actually doing it. But the truth is, we have been going through some pretty huge food changes around here. Along with some intense reflux, the baby is sensitive to both soy and dairy. It took me a while to figure it out because every time I gave up dairy I naturally replaced it with a bit of soy. A bit of soy milk in coffee (which I have now also given up), a bit of soy milk in smoothies, Braggs or soy sauce on my rice instead of butter. It was really hard to pin the huge amounts of vomiting down to anything… but for now I am off of coffee, soy, dairy, brassicas, and beans. Between that and a daily dose of medicine for reflux the puking has finally dimmed down to a normal level.
I cook all the meals (even most of the ones that Don takes to work) so the adjustment has been HUGE. At first I started to turn to Asian cuisine because that seemed the most naturally dairy free option. Then I realized about the soy sauce and fish sauce and everything else in Asian foods that have soy flavorings in them. So I have turned to Hispanic foods. Many people attribute Hispanic foods with tons of cheese, but actually authentic Hispanic foods have very little dairy. And they have the added bonus of having TONS of flavor! So I have been making myself some really wonderful, whole foods recipes! The only down side I have found so far is that many of these foods are needing to be imported from CA or even farther south this time of year, making my locavore instincts feel a little neglected. But honestly with how much better it has made Luke feel… well I am overlooking it until we can start to get these wonderful flavors from our own garden (all of which are planted!!!! YAY!).
In the process of figuring all of this out, I was going to redo my menu notebook again… but it was SO much work (like hours upon hours of work) to do it the first time and if I removed all the dairy and soy from the notebook I would be starting with less than 2 weeks worth of recipes and side dishes. So I did a quick Google search for an allergy free menu planner… and guess what? I found TONS! In the last two years the menu planning empire has exploded. There were two that I was seriously impressed with:
Heart of Cooking – It has a whole foods menu planner, a Paleo Diet menu planner and several allergen menu planners to choose from. We got the free week from them and we loved all but one recipe we made. We especially loved the Turkey Burgers with the ginger carrots! That recipe has now made it into our cycle of recipes, and joy! It’s dairy and soy free. :)
The Nourished Kitchen – Obviously inspired by a Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions diet, this menu plan has a few things that are close to my heart. Their ‘waste-not, want-not’ tips at the bottom of some of the recipes make my heart sing! They give tips like how to use apple peel for jellies and chicken carcass for stock. A very neat tidbit to add to a menu plan, especially for people just learning to cook. (I think this menu plan would make a great gift for a newly aspiring healthy foodie.)
We are on the Nourished Kitchen sample menu now, and we have completed the Heart of Cooking sample. I am already impressed with both sites and excited about the ideas I have gleaned.
I have been very excited to be able to play with new foods and new tastes. It has been an adventure, but it is completely worth it now that Luke is feeling better. So with that said, I will be starting to post some recipes from my new diet. I hope that you will enjoy them as much as my past recipes! I can’t wait to show you what I have discovered.
6 comments
Sorry to hear about the food issues! We thought that our son might have had that but then turns out he had bad reflux. Switched around meds a few times before finding out that Prevacid worked!
Oh, and for Chinese cooking I don't usually follow recipes but you can use oyster sauce in place of soy sauce.
I also found this site recently:
https://www.healthhomehappy.com/
I think she has a dairy free menu option either in the works or already available.
Can you do yogurt or cheese? These can be tolerated much better, since the lactose and milk proteins are broken down. I've been making my own yogurt and it's super easy. Also, almond milk is really yummy, but I guess that could cause problems, too.
Kaia either had reflux or a sensitive gag reflex early on, but when she started teething and chewing on her hands at 3 months, it only took a couple of weeks until she started sucking her fingers and self-soothing instead of nursing too long and vomiting.
Good luck!
My son was sensitive to gluten, dairy and soy during pregnancy and for all 16 months of breastfeeding! Let's just say I've never been so skinny and I ate like a horse. Glad you've found almonds - they are most helpful. I also started using goat milk products. At 9 months my milk production dipped and so I mixed 1/2 b.milk with goat milk. We eventually transitioned to 50-50 goat milk & rice dream/enriched organic. At 4, a naturopath suggested reducing all sugar and especially fruit. He could suddenly tolerate gluten and dairy but we're happy to keep soy out. Happy eating!
Stumbled upon your blog! I hope all is well with your baby and you, I feel your pain so to speak. I've been dairy/soy free for about 4 years. Definately make your own food!, but sometimes you just need a little help
(((wink))) My faves: NuGo Free bars, Zing Bars, Larry & Lunas coconut milk based ice-creams, Pacific
Oat milk, Coconut Secret "soy sauce", Justin's chocolate hazelnut butter, EnjoyLife chocolate chips, Theo dark chocolate bar, Daves Killer Bread/ 21 whole grain, Green Giant Healthy Heart frozen meals...just a couple off the top of my head (make sure you check ingredients of all of the different flavors, some have soy and or dairy in them) :0).
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