Dairy and Soy Elimination Diet: Part 1

It all started with some spit up. I felt that Henry was spitting up a lot around 4 weeks old. A lot meaning 3-5 times every feeding, and sometimes an hour to three hours after eating. The doctors didn't think anything of it because he was rapidly gaining weight. Finally they realized he had reflux, and he went on Zantac. However, that didn't help. Basically, we went through a series of stool samples and eliminations; first it was dairy, and soy. We changed his prescription to Prevacid, and are finally seeing a change. It has all been a lot for me to process, here is what my research has yielded so far. 

Some things you may not know about dairy and soy:

- They are the two most common ingredients in packaged foods (At least to me!)

- They are in pretty much all cereal and bread.

- There are several names for soy.

- You can't have goat cheese when you're eliminating dairy.
- When ingredients list "natural flavoring", chances are pretty high that it means soy.

So, this is a new journey for me. I'm allergic to bees, that's it. Suddenly being "allergic" to food items, especially hidden food items like soy, is a  huge challenge. When you're told you can't eat something, all you want is THAT thing. I had "cooker's block"; I couldn't think of anything to make to eat. Now on week two of no soy and week four of no dairy, I'm slowly finding my way around avoiding those ingredients. Here are a few things I've made so far:

 L-R T-B: Cinnamon Life! MY FAV! I bought 10 boxes on sale. Eggs with any vegetables, cooked in coconut oil. Apple walnut quinoa. Seasoned sauteed chicken.

 L-R T-B: Coconut ice cream...yes it's as good as it sounds. Fresh salads with lots of protein and homemade dressing. Quinoa salad, this one included black beans, avocado, red peppers, cucumbers evoo and lime juice. Made from scratch pumpkin pancakes! 

Seeing him spit up less and be more comfortable is worth it. Despite his tummy troubles he is truly a happy baby. I love this little guy. And Baby Gap leggings.

How about you? Have you ever had to give up a food? Do you have any food allergies? What are you cooking lately? TELL ME ABOUT IT!