Moving on to coconut!

I'm not going let the whole egg trial let me down.  So eggs are on the shelf for now, along with the avocado.  We will come back to them at some point. 

Today we try coconut!!  I've been adding it to my diet quite a bit lately.  I've become somewhat addicted.  I love it in my millet, yogurt, granola.  It's such a great natural sweetner.  I didn't even put honey in my millet this morning!  I just added some shredded coconut and raisins.  Oh my it was tasty. 

Crossing my fingers that Jake finds it as tasty as I do.  He's starting to get a bit picky about his foods.  I love when babies starting forming opinions about their food.  Not. 

Now how do I introduce the coconut?  Sneak it into his pancakes?  Mix up some special millet granola?  Decisions.  I may start with the granola for now since it's easy to make and I can easily monitor how much he eats.  Or maybe I sneak a little into his potatoes?  He's kind of smart though.  He knows when something's invaded his yummy potatoes. 

I'll keep you posted on what we decide. 

Here's to coconut!  *clink* (that would be coconut shells knocking together, not glass)

Breaking from Eggs

*sigh*

Capital B.L.O.W.O.U.T. today.  Mucus.  Black specs. All up his back and down his legs. 

Part of me wants to press on with our egg trial.  Is that crazy? 

Today was Day 4.  We've had zero signs of discomfort or crankiness until this morning.  He was a little clingy for our weekly visit to visit Granddad in the nursing home.  But he eventually warmed up.  I attributed it to his molars starting to push through and no morning nap.

We came home.  I made lunch.  I gave him an entire egg (about 1 1/2 Tablespoons?), grapes, cheecha puffs and a millet cookie.  He ate most of it.  He was happy.  He was walking around, playing, while I cleaned up lunch.  Big Bro says "Jake stinks!".  I didn't see or hear him do his business.  I figured it would be normal.  But it wasn't.  It was a blowout.  He was fine after.  Two hours later, he's still fine.  He nursed well and is napping.  He was happy going to bed.

I'm not sure what to think.  Was it a crumb he picked up?  Was it the eggs?  I have to admit my housekeeping has been less than stellar this week.  DH is out of town.

I'm not sure what our next step will be.  But for now we'll take a break.  At least until DH is back in town.

First Birthday Mango Sorbet

Jake's first birthday did not pass by without a birthday treat...

Mango Sorbet! 

Only Regret.. I wish I would have made the blueberry, it would have turned out much better in the pictures!  The mango blended in with his yellow shirt and fair skin.  Oh well!

The irony?  He liked the mango, but he preferred his potatoes.  Good old reliable.  I could have stuck a birthday candle in his sweet potatoes and he would have been just as happy. 

Simple Mango Sorbet

2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 fresh, ripe mangoes (or about 3-4 cups frozen mangoes, thawed)

Prepare simple syrup with the water and sugar by combining in a medium pan over medium heat.  Cook until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Peel and dice fresh mangoes. Combine mangoes and symple syrup in blender and blend until smooth.  Cover and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours, or overnight.  Pour mixture into ice cream maker (I have this one and love it), and process as directed.  Mine took about 20 minutes, then needed a day in the freezer for desired consistency.  **No ice cream maker? See footnote!

I have made this same recipe using about 4 cups of fresh blueberries.  You could sub just about any fruit in this recipe!  I have some fresh strawberries I'm going to be trying next!

**If you don't have an ice cream maker... Baby B's FPIES Test Kitchen has a great recipe where the mixture is blended and re-frozen a few times.  You could take your mango sorbet mixture above and follow the directions of blending, freezing, blending and re-freezing!

Day 1: Eggs

Well, I went off course.  I had said coconut next.  Really, it will be NEXT, after we trial eggs.  I keep going back and forth between "Jake needs more protein" and "Jake needs more calories and fat".  I happened to make scrambled eggs for lunch for my big kids today.  And, well, maybe a few pieces found their way to Jake's high chair.  So that sealed the deal.  We're trialing eggs this week.  He gobbled them down, by the way.

Shelving Avocado

We did one day of avocado.  I felt like I would "know" after one taste of it.  While it wasn't a vomit/shock fail, it was not a normal food adjustment.  Cranky, clumsy, clingy... then a nasty diaper the next morning.  It seemed once it was out of his system, he returned to normal.  He had a normal diaper a few hours later.  It was enough for me to put it on the shelf for now.  I'm a little bummed because he needs the extra fat and calories.  I think we'll have a few days of nothing, then maybe coconut next.

Meanwhile,  I'm on the search for some grass-fed lamb.  I've contacted a local farm here and I believe I can get ground grass fed lamb for less than $10/lb.

I think the turkey is helping our sleep issues a bit.  He was up only two times last night.  Down from three times a night for the past week. Which is down from 4-5 times a night the week(s) before that!  He doesn't eat that much turkey, however.  I've had to trick him a bit.  I've found he prefers the ground turkey over the roasted turkey (which I ended up pureeing and hiding in his food).  But I can't think of anything else that is different over the past few weeks. Unless it's learning to walk?  Maybe that's wearing him out?  Either way it's progress.  I like progress, especially when it involves sleep. 

Millet Granola!

It's been over 6 months since I've had any oats.  This means no granola in my diet.  Oh how I miss it.  This recipe was made for myself while I'm on the elimination diet for Jake.  However... I'm considering trialing coconut next week...

Maybe I'll make Jake his own version of granola!  (I will post it if I do!)

The great thing about this recipe is anything and almost everything can be subbed.  This is a starting point.  Want to use quinoa instead of millet?  Go for it!  Any dried fruit will work, no need to use raisins.  Leave out the nuts and seeds (I plan to for Jake).  However, you cannot sub the shredded coconut and coconut oil.  It makes the flavor of this yummy granola.

Next I need to figure out how to make granola bars... I need something to really "bind" it.

Millet Granola

1 cup raisins

½ cup walnuts

¼ cup raw sunflower seeds

¼ cup raw pepitas

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

2 Tbsp hulled millet

1 cup millet puffs

2-3 Tbsp virgin coconut oil

1 Tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Add all ingredients to food processor or blender.  Chop/Grind until fine chunks.  Spread mixture into a 9 X 13 baking pan.  Bake at 300 for 15-20 minutes.  Allow mixture to cool, then crumble and store in airtight container in fridge.  This is so yummy alone.  I love it sprinkled on top of my yogurt or over Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss Dark Chocolate dessert.

Warning:  Highly addictive.     

And here's the recipe in pictures. 

I can't help it.  I'm a visual person.

The hulled millet is hiding in a boring container behind the puffed millet. Oops!

Yummm puffed millet.  My 8 year old thinks it tastes like popcorn!

Reminds me of Sand Art at the fair.  Anyone?

WHHHEEEEEEEEEE! I get dizzy just watching it!

Too bad Smellivision never really took off.. the aroma is divine. 

My breakfast!

Millet Pancake Recipe

The first time I made these, they came out perfect.  Well, as perfect as a pancake can be with such limited ingredients.  I didn't write down the recipe.  I just winged it.  It has taken me a few tries to try to get something close to what I did the first time. 

Jake is a little tired of our magical millet muffins.  And I have to admit, I'm partial to these pancakes.  They don't crumble as easily, which means less mess.   They freeze great, too.  Every morning I pop one into the microwave and in 30 seconds he has a pancake to eat.  These little pancakes are our new staple. 

Millet Pancakes

1 cup millet flour

2 Tbsp raw organic sugar

1 tsp baking powder (corn free)

¼ tsp sea salt

2 Tbsp applesauce

3 Tbsp canola oil

½ cup of water (or more if needed for desired consistency)

Combine dry ingredients.  Add wet ingredients, stir to combine.  Pour ¼ cup portions onto a hot griddle.  Flip after a few minutes when bottoms are golden brown.  Let flip side brown for a few minutes.  Serve alone or with some 100% pure maple syrup!  These pancakes freeze well. 

 

On a side note:  Jake passed turkey! 

Gobble, Gobble!

Pancakes anyone?

Today is a special day. 

Special days always call for pancakes at our house. 

Why should Jake miss out?

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY JAKE!

He polished off three of these. Yay!

Day 3: Turkey

This is where things get a little nerve racking.  Jake will have his third serving of turkey at lunch today. 

I have very high hopes and big plans for Thursday.

Jake's first birthday.

It will be a Thanksgiving, of sorts.  (if we pass turkey, please, pretty please....)

Yesterday went well.  I boiled the turkey breast forever.  I doubt there was any sort of nutritional value left in it.  He ate some. 

Oh one thing though... he pooped 562 times yesterday.  Ok, it was only 7 times.  But that's a lot.  However, they were all NORMAL.  Strange, but not fail worthy by any means. 

Fingers, toes, and eyes are crossed.  Ok, not my eyes.  My cousin used to tell me they'd stick like that when we were kids.  I believed him.

Day 1 Turkey

I'm leary.  Jake didn't like the turkey I made.  I just stir fried it in some canola oil.  He did eat a few little (and I mean little) bites.  This was lunch time yesterday.

This morning he spit up.

He hasn't spit up since I ate one of his triggers last.  I didn't eat any triggers recently. 

Was it a crumb of some sort?

I'm going to skip today and tomorrow (we'll be out of town for the day).  I plan to start again on Sunday.  My plan is to crockpot, cook the heck out of, break down proteins like crazy, for his next bite of turkey. 

Part of me wants to shelf the turkey and try lamb instead.  But it's definitely too early to be shelving it.  I'll give it another try and see what happens.  Typically it takes three or more tries of a food before Jake has a reaction. 

Meanwhile... the ice cream/sorbet maker I ordered off Amazon got delayed due to snowmageddon. Darn. 

Allergist Appointment

We had a follow up with the Allergist today. I feel so lucky to have found him.  He may not have the most experience with FPIES kids, but he seems so on top of things and I feel like we want the same things for Jake. 

We're going to start meats!  Turkey for my little turkey!  I am on the hunt for a fresh, organic turkey to roast for Jake.  We will take it slow for a week, maybe a tablespoon of turkey, then increase our serving size over a few weeks.  I hope the extra protein will help keep Jake full longer at night.  The night nursing is killing me right now. 

Dr. S. suggested sorghum to try as our next grain.  It's like he's reading my mind!

I brought up eggs.  I think being an allergist  he's just leary of eggs all together.  He agreed to try egg yolks, baked in a muffin for at least 30 minutes at 350 to help break down the proteins.

As for milk, I wonder if he'll ever let us try anything dairy!  His other FPIES patient has a trigger of milk.  He is 2 1/2.  He was just in yesterday to re-trial milk.  I guess it was a horrible fail.  Four hours had passed and they really thought he was going to be fine, then BAM.  Reaction.  The IV he had in ready to go, came out.  They ended up calling an amblulance to take the little guy in to be monitored in the ER.  How heartbreaking.  I feel so horrible for that family.  I'm so scared for the day we re-trial rice and oats.

Anyway, while Jake doesn't show any discomfort from my dairy intake, we agreed to hold off on milk for now. 

We go back to the allergist in four months.  I'm hoping we have another grain and few meats passed by then!