5 on Friday

1.  Allerbling

My brother and sister-in-law gifted Brady with an Allerbling for Christmas.  I had never seen, nor heard of this item before then.  For all you mamas out there with an allergenic child – listen up!  The set comes with eight “charms” depicting the most problematic food allergens and two different sized bracelets so it can grow with your child.   They are made of a rubber-like material (think the Livestrong bracelets) so they are comfortable and non-abrasive.  Each bracelet can hold up to four allergens. 

I think they are a wonderful way to prompt adults who are new around your child to the allergies that they have.  Even though they are aware, it’s nice to have an additional sense of comfort with another reminder.   I don’t put this on Brady when we are home but we have been good about putting it on him when we venture out to see others.

The kit says on the packaging that it is for ages 3 and up.  However, we are able to fit the bracelet on Brady.  I will say that having him wear it around his ankle provides more security (as long as it remains visible).  Another idea my sister-in-law had was to attach it to the diaper bag or an article of clothing. 

Any way you wear it – it’s a good idea. ;)

 

2.  Recipe Request

 If you were unable to catch my blog earlier in the week, I was discussing the difficulty I have with preparing meals for the whole family while still acknowledging Brady’s food allergies.  See the post here.  If you have a second over the weekend to think about some meals you make that could possibly work for us, I would love to hear from you. 

 

3.  I’ve Fallen Off The Wagon

Once upon a time I was religious about making sure I wrote in the kids’ baby books, organized photos in a timely manner, and made regular albums for each of the kids.  I’m not sure what happened over the last year but I have not done any of the above until this week!  Yes, that means that I am officially a year behind. 

On Tuesday, both kids were bathed and in bed by 7:30 (I have no idea how this miraculously happened) and I took full advantage of my time and arranged our photos from 2014 on the computer.  I then picked out a template for each of the kiddos photo albums and got Tessa’s 1/3 of the way completed.  I was on a roll and am so ecstatic that progress was made.  Now I just need to stick to it and follow through with my goal of completing both books by the end of January.  Do you think I can do it?

 

4.  Juiced Up

I have been anti-green drinks since forever.  There’s just something about the color that I can’t seem to get past.  We have a restaurant here at the clinic and the chef only cooks all-natural and organic meals.  She has a couple specialty smoothies and I have been very tempted to try the “purple” one but have yet to take the plunge on any.  Today she made a fresh batch of green smoothies and I was talked into giving it a whirl.  Boy oh boy, talk about amazing!  I’m sure not all the greenies out there taste like this one, but you best be believing I will be taking advantage of these more often.  Plus, I feel just a little bit healthier today since I had spinach. ;

5.       Bitterly Cold

This is the time of year that I absolutely dread in terms of weather.  I don’t mind the December snow as it’s typically still fairly warm and it makes Christmas feel more like, well Christmas.  Once January comes around, I’m itching for Spring and instead of beautiful days we have temperatures reaching to a whopping -5.  If you need us this weekend, we will be hibernating in the basement.

Don't you think I need this sweatshirt?

Cooking With Food Allergies

Mr. Brady has a long list of allergies.  There are a couple that are severe; the remainder cause either an instant rash on his body, digestive problems, or skin issues if he has them persistently.  The majority of his allergies involve foods. 

Here is the current line-up that we avoid:

●Peanuts

●Pistacchios

 

●Whey – This is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained.  It is a part of milk, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc. so we avoid all dairy.  Please let me rant for a second on this one.  Why is it that producers feel it necessary to make so many infant/toddler pouches, meals, and snacks with milk and the deemed ‘oh-so-healthy-for-you’ greek yogurt?  I know everyone on the planet is on a health kick with this stuff but give me a break!  Ok, I feel better now. 

We also have to be very careful because it is used as a preservative in many foods; especially lunch meats and nearly all go-to snacks for kids (even our household favorite goldfish)! 

●Gliadin – This is a partner to gluten.  We have slowly introduced wheat to him and if kept in low doses, he tolerates it okay. 

 

●Pumpkin

●Oats

 

●Tomato

●Watermelon

 

●Pineapple

 

I am hopeful that Brado-Potato will outgrow some or all of these allergies.  Until he does, I am on a mission to continue to provide meals that he can eat.  This is sooooo difficult to do.  I feel like we eat the same cycle of meals over and over again.  It’s either that or I cook something for the three of us and he gets his “usual” of meat and veggies.  Don’t get me wrong, I know that it’s healthy for him.  I just know I would get sick of beef or chicken and the same round of vegetables each day.

Here is where all of you come in.  I need some new recipes that are Brady-friendly.  Obviously anything that is quick and convenient is best, but I am willing to make sacrifices ( aka let David make it) if they are a bit more challenging and time consuming. ;)

Please leave links or the full recipe below on the blog for easy access or feel free to e-mail them to me too.  Any ideas are welcome and appreciated!