Thursday, February 24, 2011

What? Wheat?

This is what Ginny can eat:
  • Fruits (8): Pears, apples, strawberries, blueberries, mango, bananas, avocado (yes, it's a fruit) and peaches
  • Vegetables (3): Spinach, broccoli and carrots
  • 'Grains' (2): Quinoa and millet
  • Meat (2): Grass fed beef and salmon (we think, although we never really got her to eat enough to be certain)
  • Milk (1) including yogurt and cheese
  • Other ingredients: honey (in baked goods), cream of tartar, baking soda and canola oil
That totals 16 safe foods if you count the salmon. Some days, that seems like a lot. Most days, it's still pretty limiting to try to feed her. Fruits and vegetables can only take you so far. She doesn't want much pureed these days, unless it's in a smoothie, so she gets things raw, freeze dried and cooked. The quinoa flakes are a one-meal-a-day staple and the quinoa flour (and some fruit) has made its way into muffins for G, but there are just as many days that she refuses these as days that she's willing to eat them. The quinoa pancakes, apparently, didn't pass muster. The millet puffs we have remaining in our house are one of Ellie's favorite snacks, however, Ginny isn't interested, and the millet flour in cookies was a notable futile attempt at getting her to eat millet in another form. She gets ground beef cooked. I have no idea how else I might feed this to her really. I once tried a patty and she simply, repeatedly chucked it across the room Frisbee style. Milk is a wonderful addition to her diet, along with the yogurt and cheese. I know there are other dairy products out there but we haven't made it through them all yet - and most have so many crazy additives (xanthum gum and carob, sigh....) that it can get tough finding brands that will work for G. I'm open to recipes and ideas, of course, but my own brain seems to be in a fog and unable to think creatively with these ingredients these days.

So, in an effort to expand Ginny's diet and relieve my frustration, I intend to do a wheat trial. Other FPIES moms have inspired me! My mind is made up. If I type it here and make it public, I can't go back, right? I had considered corn but it's simply not as nutritious. I'd like to try potatoes some day too, but wheat wins. I have no idea how she'll get the wheat to eat, but she will. Soon-ish. Wheat. Wow.

6 comments:

  1. Aw poor G! Miss u and hope all else is well! We keep praying for G and all of you affected by this! Love u all!

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  2. Wheat opens a lot of possibilies! I was SOOO nervous to do it (kara had corn so we were pretty content...) but I did, simply because she was going to be scoped and we needed to rule out celiac due to family history. Now if we could just pass dairy...or soy, even in oil or lecithin - we'd be smooth sailing from there! :)
    Good luck, and GO FOR IT! The only way you'll know is to try!

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  3. Go for it! We are all rooting for you!!! Wheat would be huge!!!!

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  4. Hi Jamie. I hope it works. I've been following this blog, with my own eating issues (no gluten, peanuts, bananas, etc.). I hope it gets easier soon for the both of you.

    One note: neither xanthum gum nor carob are weird additives. Xanthum gum is made from corn, and is used to replace gluten for us celiac folks. And carob is a natural ingredient that many people eat if they are allergic to chocolate, or like my boyfriend, who grew up with hippie parents who thought it was "more natural." --Amanda K.

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  5. Hey Amanda :)
    I know, xanthum gum and carob aren't crazy in and of themselves, it's just crazy for us that there are so many additives in everything. Corn would be safe for many people - and my dog loved carob, they're just not safe for G :(

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  6. WHEAT?! amazing! that is exciting stuff!

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