Book Nook

My children received multiple books for Christmas; one of them was The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. I'd read the book years ago, but not with the kids. They haven't even seen the film. This version is abridged slightly, but does not change the original details, such as Dorothy wearing silver shoes instead of ruby slippers. Charles Santore's illustrations are vivid and beautiful, capturing Baum's descriptions well. The story, of course, is a captivating classic the kids love. If you have only seen the film, you should pick up the book! It's sure to fire your kids' imaginations.

Over a Month Later

And I'm fairly used to my dietary changes. I miss cheese occasionally, but I really think I feel better overall now that I'm not eating dairy. I find that I crave fish more, but that's fine. My only meats are chicken and turkey (if you knew me before I fell pregnant with Charlotte, you're laughing now, since I used to avoid chicken like the plague and didn't eat it for years). I hope I can find some tuna that is soy-free soon, too, as tuna salad with avocado instead of mayo is quite tasty.

I've also discovered the wonder of Earth Balance soy-free, so I don't miss butter quite as much. Thanks to that, I can make delicious melt-in-your-mouth vegan pancakes.

I really find that I'm eating a lot healthier. I can't eat most processed foods, which helps. I have been putting oats in more things, like banana muffins, though I have an ulterior motive for that. I eat a lot more spinach and other greens (mmm, kale chips), and I've started making smoothies. For some reason I've never really liked eating fruit and veg on their own, with some exceptions, but smoothies are great. I think I'll start using coconut water in them, too. So while it can sometimes be annoying finding things I can eat, overall I think it's helped both Leo and me.

Sunday Snippets - a Catholic Carnival

Happy Epiphany, and thank you RAnn for hosting the carnival.

My posts this week:
- Soy is in everything
- eating out with food intolerance
- Leo's playmat
- Happy Epiphany

Happy Epiphany!

Happy Feast of the Epiphany!  At the end of Mass, our pastor blessed chalk, so we picked some up in the narthex.  Here's a blessing you can do, if you want (we didn't have incense, but got Holy Water today).

And now I might just read Twelfth Night.

Crafty Thursday

I'm finally getting Leo's playmat finished (hey, it's still Christmas). While the pattern doesn't call for satin blanket binding, my mother picked some up in case I wanted it. I fought with it, but it does make it look more finished. I had used a soft, fuzzy blue fabric folded double for the backing, so it's quite thick and soft. Now I need to get working on the animals, and put Velcro the barn door.

Eating Out with Food Intolerance

Not being able to eat dairy, eggs, beef, pork, soya, tomato, and alcohol make cooking interesting at times. It also means that eating out/getting take-out, something I only rarely do anyway, is stressful and nigh impossible. I have found one place thus far that is completely accommodating and delicious: The Mellow Mushroom.

We went there one evening after I saw that they list all the allergy information for each ingredient they use on their website. I was then able to determine if I could eat there, and what I could eat. When we went, I explained that I couldn't have any dairy, so the server made a note of that. We had to wait a bit because the chef got it wrong the first time, but the manager came out to talk to means they even gave us a discount. The pizza was delicious and worth the wait. I loved that I could completely customize my pizza to avoid all the problem foods. My only complaint is that they don't offer goat cheese. They do, however, have Daiya vegan cheese, but since I wasn't sure about that, I omitted cheese. I would definitely recommend Mellow Mushroom, though, food allergies or not. It's a little pricier, but very tasty.

Soy, Soy Everywhere!

I knew soy was a common ingredient, but I had no idea exactly how common it is. Because Leo cannot tolerate me eating even tiny amounts of soy, I've had to purge it from my diet. I didn't have it much anyway because of how it affects my chart (soy mimics oestrogen; because the cervical mucus pattern is determined by oestrogen and progesterone, soy can affect the mucus observations) but I didn't care too much about checking labels to see if soy was hidden.

Once I knew soy adversely affected Leo, though, I started checking labels. Every so often, though, I forget to check a label until I notice Leo's discomfort after I've eaten. I'm finding that soy really is everywhere. It's in some breads. Many vegan alternatives to dairy and meat are soy-based. Standard vegetable oil is actually soybean oil. I've yet to find packed tuna that is soy-free - I'd thought tuna in water would be safe, but it isn't. Even vitamins contain soybean oil! While it is possible to avoid soy, I'm realising just how difficult that is. Eating out is a complete nightmare. It's a good thing I like making everything from scratch, even if I'm having to adapt some things.