Dietary Changes: Week 1

We have almost completed week 1 of our dietary changes, and I would like to document the first six weeks so I can look back and see how far we've come (hopefully).  This week went pretty well. Dinners were really easy and the kids ate great, but breakfast and lunch were challenging.Especially breakfast, I just can't seem to fix them anything that satisfies their appetites in the morning. This week I am going to try some sausage, bacon, quinoa porridge, and grain-less granola cereal.

Since dairy was not one of Evelyn's allergies we have reintroduced dairy into our diet hoping that Tristan may have outgrown his sensitivity. In hind-sight this may not have been a good plan. For a couple of days Evelyn has been complaining of her stomach hurting and her bowel movements are confirming that her tummy is not happy. I believe it is due to the dairy, not because she is sensitive, but because it has not been a part of her diet for most of her life. So, we will be scaling back on the dairy and maybe including dairy in one or two meals a week and see how that works.

Of course we do not see much of a change in her yet, we know that will take about six weeks. Evelyn's foods have all been free of her allergens and we are still sending Tristan to school with sandwiches. Not sure if that will continue, but it seems to be working okay for now. We have definitely learned that we cannot feed the other two something if Evelyn can't eat it, she becomes very unhappy.

Tonight MA had a meeting in Gallatin, so the kids and I took him and afterwards we all went out to eat. We went to Demos' because we knew they had a gluten-free menu. I think it was WAY too early in this process to attempt to eat out.  There gluten-free menu was pretty good, but Evelyn ended up wanting a cheeseburger, so we just ordered it with no bun. Of course brother and sister ordered cheeseburgers too and Evelyn protested her bunless burger. She soon got over it and ended up eating her entire cheeseburger. The most difficult part was when they brought us bread.  It is SO good and we all wanted some, including Evelyn. When we told her she couldn't have any she cried, so we sent the bread back and asked them not to bring us anymore. On the plus side Tristan ate an entire side salad, Evelyn ate about 1/4 of hers, and Emeline ate a bowl of soup!

This week I also learned that I am going to have to be MUCH more specific with my grocery list. I did not buy nearly enough fresh veggies, fruit, or potatoes for us. I thought I was buying enough for seven days, but we are only on day five and I am almost out of all three! This week has given me a much clearer idea of how much we eat at each meal. I am going to have to be much more specific with quantities in the future.

The girls were on spring break all last week and were home with MA. Everyone is back in school this week, so I am more nervous about breakfast and lunches this week.
Thank you for your prayers and keep them coming!!

On Our Plate: April 3 - April 10

We are beginning our dietary changes tomorrow. After almost having a nervous breakdown thinking about what we were going to eat I decided to keep it simple. Nothing fancy this week, but nothing containing any of Evelyn's allergens either. I hope to take on more complex meals, but for right now we're just taking one step at a time.

Tuesday 4/3: Skillet steak with mushrooms and onions, mashed potatoes, and salad (100 days of real food)
Wednesday 4/4: Balsamic Chicken with roasted squash, and salad (skinnytaste.com)
Thursday 4/5: Baked Lemon Garlic Tilapia with eggplant salad and steamed red potatoes (skinnytaste.com)
Friday 4/6: Macadamia Mango Chicken with asparagus and grilled potatoes with salad.
Saturday 4/7: Chicken Fajitas (skinnytaste.com)
Sunday 4/8: Easter lunch at Nan's
Monday 4/9: Shrimp Dinner (to be determined)
Tuesday 4/10: Broiled Tilapia with Tomato Caper Sauce with oven fries and salad (skinnytaste.com)

Most of these dinners are new to us, so hopefully they will be crowd pleasers.

Breakfasts: Smoothies, yogurt, gluten-free breakfast bars, and lots of fruit!

Lunches: Cucumber sticks, carrot slices, ham and cheese roll-ups, popcorn with chocolate chips and nuts, trail mix, raisins, hummus with homemade tortilla chips, applesauce, and cheese and fruit kabobs.

I am most nervous about breakfast and lunch. These are majorly different from what we normally eat, so I'm not sure how the kiddos will react. Praying it goes better than I think!