Food Allergies

So- I almost feel bad about writing this post- because I'm complaining a little bit- and I know this isn't that bad when I look around me and see people dealing with way worse. But- I'm still going to get it out- I am so annoyed at having to deal with the food allergies with my children!! Growing up- we didn't have to worry about foods- we didn't really have special needs or anything- so I figured that was how my married life would be- pretty normal with a few hiccups to get through here and there. One of the main reasons I am dismayed that I now have to deal with not one, but two food allergies- is- I hate to cook. And- sad to say- I was liking the freezer foods that I could pop in the microwave once or twice a week and not worry about dinner. Now- I really can't do that. Jacie can't have gluten- and gluten is in SO many things!- its really hard to go out to eat now with her. I've discovered that Rachel really can't tolerate much milk. How much, if any- I don't know- but I know she gets really sick if she eats a lot in a day. I kept thinking with her- if I just replace milk with the soy milk- I'll be fine. But- milk is in nearly everything too! so- I have to read labels like crazy. And- I have a nagging feeling that Jacie needs to be off milk too. She still complains of headaches and stomach pain a lot- although it doesn't make her wake up crying. She's still lacks energy- so- I'm going to take a big breath- and try and make a huge change in my house so that Jacie and Rachel will both be going gluten and dairy free as much as possible. If Rachel gets some gluten- I think she'll be fine- if Jacie gets a bit of dairy- I think she'll be fine... so it will be hard- but I think I may be able to do it. There is a book down at my library that is a gluten and dairy free cookbook- so I want to go check that out and see if I can manage to cook any of it!! Alyson seems to like the silk milk just fine, but going totally gluten free for the whole family could be a bit spendy- so I don't know how this will go. But- we'll see how it works! If anyone out there has any good dairy free or dairy and gluten free recipes- I'll be happy to see if I can incorporate it into our family lifestyle! But, for now- I just need to remember- one step at a time!