Living with "it"

I thought that by now, Nana would have outgrown her food allergies, but it seems that as time goes by, her allergies are not going anywhere.

Living with food allergies is by far one of the most difficult things I ever had to experience, not because I have food allergies but because I have to figure out every single meal that I feed my daughter.  It might not seem that complicated, and in fact, I know that many have lived with food allergies for a much longer time than we have, but to us, seeing our daughter's friends eating foods that she is allergic to right in front of her, it breaks our hearts apart.

 We try -as much as possible- to plan ahead, and for the most part, we usually eat the same meals, unless we are eating cereals, but either way, today, I wanted to share with you a few ideas for meals that are gluten free, wheat free, soy free, dairy free, egg free, and sugar free.

Breakfasts:    The beauty of summer is its fresh, juicy fruits and vegetables.

• Strawberries and banana smoothies
• Blueberries, banana, apples, and spinach smoothies
• Blueberries, strawberries, oranges, apples, and spinach smoothies

All made with Organic Rice Milk and ground flax seed, no sugar added, the fruits are naturally sweet and need no sugar!

Snacks:    We encourage the kids to make good choices -of course, if they don't... I'll make their good choice ;)

• Baby carrots
• Fresh cherries
• Cherry tomatoes and sliced cucumbers
• Celery sticks
• Apples with peanut butter
• Peaches

The idea is to eat as fresh and healthy as possible, so any fresh fruit or vegetable we have is good for the soul!

Lunch:    We try to eat lots of salads, but let me be honest, we (the kids and hubby) are not the salad type of family -unfortunately.

• Hummus sandwich with cucumber, onions, and tomatoes
• Turkey sandwich with lettuce, onions, tomatoes
• Steamed rice with homemade black beans
• Haystacks -tortilla chips, homemade black or pinto beans, chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, sometimes shredded lettuce, sweet corn, chopped cucumbers
• Peanut butter and honey -when we are on-the-go

Dinners:    This is where I struggle!  I try to come up with fun and tasty meals, but that is not easy when there are food allergies, and since we love Mexican food, we try to make up some of their many traditional meals.

•  Zucchini and polenta enchilada -we use corn tortillas, sliced zucchini, Rosarita enchilada sauce (it's the only one that is gluten-free and has no green bell peppers)
• Burrito bowls -steamed rice, black beans, crumbled polenta with Simply Organic Taco Seasoning Mix (ok, so it's not even close to the real thing, but we like it!)
• Corn (gluten-free) pasta topped with Classico Tomato and Basil sauce
• Homemade chili

Since I am not currently working is a bit easier for me to make healthy meals for my family, but I got one child with food allergies and another one who is a very picky eater and will not eat cook veggies, specially cooked tomatoes or zucchini!   Now, as the kids summer break is coming to an end, I must start thinking about their school lunch! Do you have any ideas or suggestions?  If so, leave us a comment.  We love hearing your feedback!

Thank you for visiting!