Total Elimination Diet Update
Saturday, February 2, 2008 14:37As of today, I’m two weeks into my new, and totally unfabulous total elimination diet. Sawyer is 4 months old, and I’ve already dropped 7 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight (you wouldn’t hate me if you knew what I’ve been eating). After 13 days of agonizing decisions over what to eat for dinner – turkey or chicken, rice or potatoes, mmmm, maybe some salt – I added eggs back into my diet yesterday. So far so good, but I’m definitely knocking on wood as I say that.
I’ve begun exploring wheat, gluten and dairy free diet alternatives at our local Vitamin Cottage. I did a little shopping trip, and was pleasantly surprised at the options they offered which fit into my new diet plan. Unfortunately, some of these options are pretty much unpalatable (anyone want some vegan, soy free, rice “cheese”?). I did find a few things that are making me a happier person though:
Enjoy Life Foods sells soft baked Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies contain real, dairy free, soy free chocolate chips that actually melt if you heat them for a few seconds in the microwave. While the texture is a little gritty when compared to your average cookie or brownie, I still thought these little guys were pretty tasty. I’ll definitely be buying another box the next time I come across them, so I can have them on hand when I’m missing out on dessert or some other goody my family is eating.
Speaking of chocolate chips, Enjoy Life also sells their soy, dairy, nut and gluten-free chocolate chips by the bag for baking or snacking. I’ve only sampled a small handful, but they tasted just like regular semi-sweet chocolate chips to me. I’m hoping to try them out for baking in the very near future!
In case you’re wondering, Enjoy Life has a dedicated, nut and gluten-free bakery. They routinely test their foods for common allergens, and their foods are all free of the 8 most common allergens: wheat/gluten, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish and shellfish. I’ll be writing a little more about my favorite allergen free finds in the weeks to come, so stay tuned for another update.
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Flowersbyfarha says:
January 24th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
One of the hardest things about going through an elimination diet–and maintaining a long term diet based on the results– is feeling “normal.” “Normal” isn’t necessarily healthy but it is part of being with a group that takes certain things for granted. Many people don’t understand, and even resent the one who is working hard to find a healthy path, particularly as one struggles with regaining a healthy weight.
Best Wishes!
Kristie says:
January 25th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Thank you for your comment. You are totally right. It’s been a tough road for both the little guy and myself!
Karen Joy says:
October 8th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Hi ~ I’m just curious if you continued this diet, and what the results were. I’ve been on a TED with my 11 month old breastfeeding daughter for almost a month. Allergy testing (prick, RAST, and 3-day patch) revealed 17 allergic items, but even after we eliminated those items, she was still having problems (SEVERE eczema, diarrhea w/ mucous). Our allergist/immunologist has suggested that we go to a ped g.i., as it appears she may have an underlying sugar malabsorption problem of some sort. Anyways, after searching your blog, I can only find 2 posts on the topic, and I’m wondering how far you took it, and what the results were.
Kristie says:
October 8th, 2009 at 10:09 am
We were able to narrow down his allergies enough with the help of an allergist and our observations to get to the point where I was able to eat everything except egg, dairy and corn products while nursing him. Around a year, he outgrew the corn allergy, and I continued nursing him until he was 19 months old. This cleared up his skin, but hasn’t eliminated all of his GI issues. We’ve debated seeing a peds GI specialist, but haven’t been yet. At this point, his main issue aside from the allergies themselves (currently egg, dairy and honey) is poor growth and some continued problems with diarrhea. At 24 months, he is the size of an average 11-12 month old. His weight has been following it’s own curve for the past 6 months though, so we are in wait and see mode. About once every two weeks or so, he has a bad bout of diarrhea with mucous, and we haven’t been able to narrow down the cause yet. Hope this helps. I’m sorry you and your daughter are going through this!