It's Wednesday, day 6 of GF diet. For whatever reason, Zoe and her sister were up at the crack of dawn and played quietly enough so I wouldn't here them. When I came downstairs, I found out that they ate a couple of these cookies all before 6:30 am. With that said, by mid-morning she was pretty tired and didn't do a whole lot of physical activity. She feel asleep for her nap at 11:30 while picking up her sister from school and got up at 2:30 pm. Once her sister was up, they were very busy playing together. They went outside for awhile, and when they came back in Zoe's right armpit was really itchy and seemed to have a hive type rash. She said she doesn't know why it's itching or if she put something there. It's always hard to know with eczema. Super frustrating really...I think it's from the grass, since she does have a allergy to it.

Breakfast: ( 1 GF chocolate chip, without mommy knowing.) I made GF Blueberry muffin's from the Deliciously G-free cookbook. These were really good, but I did swap out the butter for coconut oil, and used about half the amount and added a mashed banana. Zoe ate 1/2 of it.

Snack: 1/2 Banana and bowl of homemade Applesauce.

Lunch: skipped, due to nap.

Dinner: I made Lasagna soup, but omitted the cheese and used Lundberg small penne rice noodles. This was a hit! Zoe had 2 bowls, and 1 slice of homemade GF crusty bread, and small bowl of Trader Joes Soy Ice cream.

It's Tuesday, day 5 of GF diet. Zoe is doing well with this diet chage. We walked to the coffee shop and park this morning. She played on the playground the whole time. She didn't want to ride in the stroller, and typically she does. Not sure if that's because she gets tired easily, or from the asthma, or from the gluten. From what I've read from others testimonies, people who have been off of Gluten just feel better in general and have more energy and less bloating. Zoe has never really complained of her tummy hurting, but does get tired easily. So for me, it's great to see her with so much more energy.

Breakfast: Trader Joe's strawberry soy yogurt, 3/4 of banana, and a little less than 1 scrabbled egg, 6oz of Silk & Protein mixed berry juice (GMO free.) Yes, a big breakfast today!

Snack: 1 slice Trader Joe's goat cheese, rice crackers, 1 rice cake, and 1/2 apple.

Lunch: 3/4 Trader Joe brown rice Tortilla with melted goat cheese & homemade salsa.

Dinner: Coconut green curry with rice, probably around 8oz if that and 1/4 of a lemongrass chicken and rice noodles/veggies rice roll. She didn't eat much for dinner, but managed to save enough room for GF chocolate chip cookies.

It's Monday, day 4 of GF diet. This morning, Zoe was a little difficult. She didn't want to eat her breakfast and seemed a little moody. After taking her sister to school, she sat at the kitchen table and did a collage and playdoh while I cleaned. She was fine for the rest of the day and started her first ballet class after her nap. She went right into her class and followed the teacher's instructions and had a ton of fun. She was a little itchy around bed time, but that was it. No real rash.

Breakfast: GF Oatmeal with 1/2 banana & coconut milk. Zoe wasn't in the mood to eat, so she only had 3+ bites.

Lunch: 2 Lundberg caramel rice cakes with homemade jam & homemade applesauce.

Snack: Rice crackers, 1 slice of Trader Joe's goat cheese, and apple.

Dinner: I made these GF Chicken fingers (substitute the almond flour because she's allergic to nuts for millet flour. Although, I think coconut flour would have been better. ) She only ate about 1/2 of one and a couple bites of basmati rice w/GF soy sauce, salad (avo, red bell peppers, and red onions)with Trader Joes Goddess dressing, and lots of hummus with carrots and celery.

It's Sunday, day 3 eating GF and without milk or corn. So far, I have noticed that Zoe's itching has been very minimal and she has had more energy than normal. She has done well with eating GF so far, and adjust well to these changes. But like her sister, she would like Tillamook cheese, goldfish, and wheat bread. But she's aware of her allergies and is open to trying new foods.

Breakfast: Homemade GF pancakes reheated from yesterday's breakfast with maple syrup and water.

Snack: Rice crackers with goat cheese.

Lunch: Homemade applesauce and Grilled goat cheese on GF Happy Camper's bread.

Dinner: Half Philly steak sandwich on GF Rudi's hot dog bun and homemade potato fries with Trader Joe's organic ketchup.

It's Saturday, day 2 of GF diet. I've seen an improvement with Zoe's behavior when it comes to listening and having self control instead of throwing a tantrum. She still stomps her feet, but she is realizing that you can't get to far when you stomp. Also, she's been potty training since 8/21 and went #2 in the potty. This is great news and I'm really proud of her! I'm sure you other mommy's can relate to how exciting this can be and all this hard work is paying off.

Breakfast: GF Pancakes with maple syrup. Recipe from the Deliciously G-Free cookbook by, Elizabeth Hasselbeck. These were really good.

Lunch: Leftover Spaghetti with lundberg rice noodles (they were actually good, not to starchy.)

Snacks: rice crackers and 1/2 cup frozen blueberries.

Dinner: Trader Joe All Natural (GF & casein free) hotdog, no bun and baked beans (but she didn't eat the beans,) and a little bit of salad.

It's Friday and Zoe's first day of being on a Gluten free diet. Since I don't have anything GF, I made a special trip to Bob's Redmill to get stocked up on GF flours to be prepared for baking etc...

Breakfast: Oatmeal (not GF) with Coconut milk and 1/2 banana and homemade applesauce.

Snack: GF Happy Campers bread with homemade jam.  (This bread is locally made in Oregon, pretty good & sold at Dave's Killer Breads for $6.) and 1/2 a peach.

Lunch: Hummus, salami, and celery.

Dinner: Spaghetti with homemade roasted marinara & Lundberg rice noodles.

This blog is basically a diary about Zoe's allergies. She is my middle child, almost 3 years old this November. Back in June of 2011, we found out that Zoe was allergic to cashews. She ate a cashew cookie and 4 hours later after we had put her to bed, she had a swollen face, cauliflower ears, and was extremely restless, and itchy. We rushed her to the ER to find out that she is highly allergic to cashews. She was given prednisone, epinephrin, and benadryl. Once we were back in our home town we took her to see the allergist.

At her appointment, she was tested for other tree nuts, milk, corn, cat & dog dander, and found out that she is allergic to these things and has eczema, which was a surprise to us. The allergist told me, that she can have milk and corn in moderation. I do try to avoid it as much as possible and use goat cheese instead. Some of the allergies tested higher like cashews, almonds, corn, and dog. Then in January of 2012, she was having shortness of breath and wheezing from a chest cold. Since she is so young, we took her to the ER again. Upon the visit, she was given prednisone, epinephrin, and a nebulizer. At this point, whenever she has a respiratory infection/cough, she gets asthma like symptoms. Sometimes, it can be due to being around a dog, especially if she has been licked by one or if she has a cold, or environment.

Recently, this last June and also this month September 2012 she had a severe rash that was diagnosed as Atopic dermatitis (it looked like a bad case of chicken pox.) I took her to see her pediatrician and was given a oral antibiotic and emollient (cream) to help with the rash and itching. Since she has eczema, sadly it is normal for her to get these types of rashes.In between that time, we had gone camping and she had another asthma reaction. She was tested again by her allergist and tested positive for grass. As a mother, you feel terrible that your child is constantly itching and her diet has to be closely watched. Finally, after a lot of prayer I finally asked her pediatrician for a referral to see a Naturopath doctor (ND) for her rashes. Praise God, I got one that approved 3 visits.

We met her ND today and Zoe was given these suggestions to help her with the eczema and rash.

1. Avoid Gluten for 4 weeks (wow, really???)

Gluten foods:

Wheat
Spelt
Rye
Barley
Semolina
Soy sauce

Gluten-free Grains

Rice
Quinoa
Oats
Millet
Teff

Vitamins

Probiotic powder 1/4 tsp. daily (mix with water.)

All purpose salve applied to eczema as needed.

Nordic Natural chewables with DHA & EPA.

Vit D: 800 IU/day

Castor oil massage from right to left circularly on abdomen before bed.

My goal is to rule out what foods are triggering this eczema and frequent rashes. As for food allergies, once I cut them out of the diet my hope is to see an improvement in her skin and overall health.

Christina