Not all gluten free flours are created equal. In fact, a lot of them are not good at all, especially for frying foods. Many gluten free flours leave a gummy, soggy texture when they are used for frying. I tested several different gluten free flours and found the very best one for making delicious fried … Read more
The scariest part of dealing with Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis (FPIES) is being in the early days of trying to figure out what’s going on before you have a diagnosis, or right after you get that new diagnosis, and trying to figure out where to go from there. Whether it’s you or your baby dealing with … Read more
Everyone has seen babies doing cake smashes for their first birthday. But, not everyone wants to do that and not every baby can eat cake. For our kids with severe food allergies, we had to come up with different ideas because there was no way they would be able to safely eat cake in time … Read more
Xanthan gum is a staple ingredient for gluten free baking. Most gluten free recipes call for you to add xanthan gum to the recipe, but most gluten free flours already have xanthan gum added to the flour itself. It’s important to know whether the flour you are using already has xanthan gum or if it … Read more
Elecare and Neocate are both amino acid-based formulas, so there is no dairy in them at all. There are slight ingredient differences; Elecare contains soy oil, where Neocate does not, and Neocate and is non-GMO, Elecare is not. Some babies tolerate one formula brand better than the other. Amino acid-based formulas are an alternative to … Read more
Alfamino and Elecare are both amino acid-based formulas, but are made by different manufacturers and have some key differences. Both contain small amounts of soy oil, though it is broken down so much that many babies with severe allergies are able to handle it. Alfamino contains more MCT oil, which is better for babies who … Read more
Alfamino and Neocate are both amino acid-based formulas, but their ingredients are different. Alfamino contains potato starch and soy, while Neocate has neither of those. Neocate is Halal and Kosher, while Alfamino is not. Alfamino has a more pleasant taste, but for some babies with severe food intolerances it may not work. Amino acid-based formulas … Read more
Baby formula is expensive, and with a hungry baby, it doesn’t last long. Many people wonder if insurance will help with some of those expenses. Health insurance does not typically cover regular soy or milk-based formula, but there are other programs such as WIC that can help with those costs. However, if there is a … Read more
Food protein-induced enterocolitis (FPIES) is a rare food allergy that causes vomiting and diarrhea. Because some of the symptoms of FPIES look similar to other autoimmune diseases, like Chron’s disease or Celiac disease, people often ask if FPIES is an autoimmune disease as well. Research does not show that FPIES is an autoimmune disease at … Read more
It’s almost that time of year again – football is back, the air will start getting cooler soon, and I’m seeing Halloween candy appear in stores. If you’re like me, and you have kids with food allergies, the idea of your child going house to house collecting candy full of hidden peanuts, soy, or loaded … Read more
Have you ever had an amazing shrimp dinner, gone home or back to your hotel, and then started getting nauseous and vomiting all night long? Maybe you’re here because it’s the first time it’s happened and you just got a bad batch of shrimp. Or, maybe you’re here because it’s happened once or twice before, … Read more
It was 2016, and my first baby was about to turn one year old. I dreamed of the trendy first birthday party, complete with a smash cake. There was only one problem…my daughter had FPIES. With a long list of foods to avoid that made her sick, we only had one safe food leading up … Read more
If you haven’t already, check out part 1 of this post with other ideas too! Finding birthday cake ideas for a one or two year old with food allergies could be one of the most challenging and heartbreaking parts of the allergy journey. It’s so hard when you want your child to be able to … Read more
If you have a child or loved one with food allergies, you probably already know how hard it can be to find allergy friendly or food free holiday items. I talked about Halloween with food allergies in my post here, and there are several other holidays (Valentine’s Day, Easter, etc.) that are similar. It’s just … Read more
When we first started on this food allergy journey, I totally took foods for granted. I didn’t ever look at what was in the food I was buying or eating. We ate a lot of pre-packaged meals and foods like coke and chips. Our allergy journey actually started with me, and the first thing I … Read more