A New Adventure

Over the next few weeks I will be learning to cook and feed a gluten free, dairy free, soy free, sugar free 2 year old. Alivia has had sensitive and problematic skin since she was a baby, and we never had a real reason for why this was. This past fall/ winter and now into spring her skin has been out of control, what we believed to be eczema we now believe is related to foods which her body is sensitive to or intolerant of. No creams did the trick, they would ease up the flare up a bit but she constantly had scabs, was scratching and just uncomfortable. After going to see a Naturopath a few weeks ago and getting a Vega test done then seeing the naturopath again, she is now on a strict diet with crazy amount of food that she cannot eat.
The main ones to avoid are Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Sugar, Peanuts
She also can't eat bananas, any citrus fruits, pineapple, strawberries, cherries, cauliflower  eggplant, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, tuna, honey, yeast and egg yolks.
If you're wondering what she can eat, that was my first reaction too- what am I going to feed the girl who eats everything and wants to eat all the time!
In the first week I had many ups and downs, being super excited to get her body functioning properly to being so frustrated because she won't eat anything I make for her. We've been able to find some great substitutes that she likes- almond milk and almond butter, coconut yogurt. For snacks we now have fresh fruit and veggies instead of fishy crackers or granola bars. There's plenty of gluten free pastas and breads, it just takes a lot more planning and a little more effort. I usually make the kids a smoothie everyday and fill it with fruit and veggies, they love it and don't know that it's completely healthy.
Unfortunately it's also a financial strain as gluten and dairy free products cost so much more (my plan is to find some great recipes to make foods mostly from scratch- but one thing at a time) so the rest of the family will generally have our 'normal' food while I make Alivia a variation that is similar but with her restrictions. She usually gets upset about it and just wants what we are having, I think it will be a bit of changing the whole families diet to help her and to make sure she doesn't always feel like the odd one out.
So here's to a healthy girl, inside and out!