Calling all Parents with children with Food Allergies

A few days ago I was contacted by my older sister. She told me she had a friend who had a son with an illness that left him with a very limited diet. I contacted Gladys to ask her what  exactly her sons condition was. I was in for a surprise. She told me that her son was diagnosed at 18 moths with Eosinophilic Esophagitis and Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis. I have ran across this disorder in my mass research on food allergies but never looked more in depth into it until now. It is a disorder ( like food allergies) but its when the body rejects food like it would the flu. Eosinophils are a type of white blood cells that triple in numbers when they think something foreign inters the body ( for him its food). Eosinophilic Esophagitis is the high number of Eosinophils in the esophagus. Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis effects the stomach and small intestine. 


The symptoms include:

•  Nausea or Vomiting
•  Diarrhea 
•  Failure to thrive (poor growth or weight loss)
•  Abdominal or chest pain 
•  Reflux that does not respond to usual therapy (which includes proton pump inhibitors, a medicine which stops acid production)

•  Dysphagia (Difficulty swallowing)
•  Food impactions (food gets stuck in the throat)
•  Gastroparesis (Delayed emptying of the stomach)
•  Anorexia (poor appetite)
•  Bloating
•  Anemia
•  Blood in the stool
•  Malnutrition
•  Difficulty sleeping

There is no cure for EE or EG, but treatment can help alleviate symptoms and help prevent more damage to the gastrointestinal tract. Her son is going through dietary therapy. Its a testing of food allergies as a guide for an elimination diet. An elimination diet is avoiding the foods that test positive on allergy testing. He is on an amino acid formula called Elecare. It is protein based that has absolutely NO allergens. Along with that her son who's name is Daniel by the way can now have pork, potatoes, apples, corn, broccoli, cod or tuna and bananas with the exception of a few more I haven't been updated on. She can only cook with 100% corn, vegetable or olive oil and season with honey, salt, pepper, pure maple syrup and Fleishman's margarine. She is a dedicated mother and is giving it her all and I think she is doing a damn good job. So I'm reaching out to everyone and anyone who has information on EE and EG. For more information on EE and EG click here. 

   

      Thanks, 

          Danny Brown.

Scalloped Potatoes (Recipe Suggestion)

So here it is. Last week I asked on twitter are there any recipes that you may want your little ones to have but can't because of their food allergies. The tweet was answered by  Shayna Graham. She wanted a recipe for scalloped potatoes without gluten, yeast, mushrooms, dairy,eggs or nuts. So I took the job and went researching at Whole Foods and got a few things and came up with a great recipe that came out superb (Emily loved it!).

• 5 tbs of Earth Balance Buttery Spread
• 1/4 Soy Flower ( or any other to fit your allergies)
• 2 cups Soy Milk ( or any other to fit your allergies)
• 8 oz Daiya Cheese
• 4 large Russet Potatoes (sliced 1/8 inch thick)
• 1/2 Natural Nectar Crackle Bread (Crumbled into crumbs)

Preheat oven to 350°. In a sause pan add the butter and whisk in flour on low heat. After butter and flour are mixed well start to slowly whisk in milk and let come to a simmer. 

While simmering gradually start mixing in 6 ounces of the cheese while stirring slowly. salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat. In a baking pan I used an aluminum one (hey I'm a single dad bare with me) Grease and add a layer of potatoes first then sauce and sprinkle some remaining cheese. the layers should start with potatoes at the bottom and end with sauce and cheese on top.

Sprinkle crumbs on the top. The flavor crackers I use where sun dried tomato and oregano. Bake for an hour and about 15 min uncovered until golden brown and potatoes are tender.

I hope you enjoy it Shayna as much as me and princess did. Also sorry about the pics its my first time being a food photographer. If anyone has any questions or input I would love to hear from you.