The Beginning

Why another food blog?  I'm glad you asked.  Here is our story.  Four years ago we started a food journey with our family.  Our daughter, who was 17 months old at the time, had severe eczema and stomach issues.  She had suffered like this since she was 5 weeks old.  We kept going to our doctor for help with the eczema and each time we were given a different steroid cream to help.  The cream would work for a few weeks and then her skin would flair up again with the eczema and we would have to go back for a stronger cream.  The cycle just kept repeating itself so we decided that something had to change.

So what to do?  Google it of course!  We began researching about her skin and stomach problems and found that the problem started on the inside of her body.  The flare-ups on her skin were an indication of what was going on inside her body.  The only way to heal her skin was to heal her body from the inside.  The best way to do this was to find out what she was eating that was triggering these flare-ups.  Our doctor told us that she was too young for allergy testing so we then began researching other ways to find out what she was reacting to.

The solution for us was an elimination diet.  Simply put, you eat very basic food (think white, non-processed food like chicken, rice, cauliflower, pears, etc.) for a few weeks and then you slowly add things back in to find out what is causing the problems.  The whole process takes a couple of months.

After the first week we noticed improvements in her skin and stomach issues.  In the end we found out the foods she has to avoid are: dairy, gluten, bananas, strawberries, and citrus (except lemons).  Now there was just one question, "What do I feed my child?"

So began our journey.  A year later I experienced some health issues of my own and found I needed to stop eating gluten.  In January 2014 our son was born and he too has eczema and stomach problems.  We haven't figured out everything he needs to avoid, but so far he does best if he stays away from: gluten, dairy, bananas, citrus, and nightshade vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, capsicum). For myself I am now avoiding gluten, dairy, and sugar.  

Our health is improving, but we are still have a way to go on this journey.  This blog is a way for me to record the recipes that we are using.  Most of our recipes I find on Pinterest and then tweak them to fit our family's needs.  Some recipes are old favourites that I've altered to suit us.  Enjoy!