In March of this year is when I found out I had alpha gal (I'd had it for years and it had been getting worse and worse and I had finally figured it out) we went on two separate diets in our house. A month after I found out about alpha gal, I figured out Becky had it. Then a few weeks later I started miscarrying our 11th baby--my 8th miscarriage--which went on for over two months as I continued to stop and start bleeding. Becky's alpha gal is now in remission, thank goodness! Mine is not. Doing the diet helped me to discover that Becky had an egg allergy. She had been having stomach pain on and off before the alpha gal diagnosis (and certainly alpha gal was part of it) but after going on the homeopathy for 30 days she was able to eat meat and have dairy again without issue. Becky is also allergic to chicken, turkey and turkey eggs, and quite possibly all bird and bird products. I think this is because we kept feeding her eggs for so long without realizing that eggs were the problem. Ugh, mom guilt! Poor Becky. But I'm so glad we have now figured it out!
I finally sat down yesterday (in an exhausted heap) and decided that we are all going on the same diet with a few variations. I can't keep trying to make two meals or stagger leftovers, it's driving me crazy. I need to have brain space for homeschooling and I'm so tired of not knowing what is for dinner or lunch or breakfast...breakfast has been a hot mess for awhile.
We are all going to go gluten free. And everything we make will be dairy free. I will keep raw milk around for the kids to drink so that we have a source of calcium, but we won't cook with it. We will all be egg free and if we can manage this then all I will have to do is make chicken and beef when needed and beans on the side. (Brian and Reuben are allergic to beans) We desperately need a diet in our home that everyone can eat.
I went on thrift books and ordered 4 "top 8 free" allergy friendly cookbooks and I can't wait to get them. I told the kids we are going to take these cookbooks and systematically go through them and find some meals we like and take the guesswork out of meal time. Yes, it's going to be hard. We have a lot of gluten things in our home that we will give to a friend as we transition. But we are going to do this and learn how to nourish each other and thrive. We will make ONE meal for everyone!
A journey has to start somewhere, doesn't it? I have been gluten and egg free before, but only when I was either by myself and/or with small toddlers, not homeschooling. I'm glad I have a big 11 year old to help me who loves baking, and an inquisitive 8 year old who enjoys chopping and a toddler who just loves mixing things in a big bowl.
I didn't want to do this--I don't want to make my kids who can tolerate gluten be gluten free or everyone be egg free just for Becky-- but there are just too many allergies to manage, so we are going to try consolidating everyone. And if it doesn't work better than what we are doing now we can always go back.
I had a very relaxed morning today with my devotions and soup for breakfast. God is so good and I am trying to trust in him through all these crazy times...as we miss our Pastor who passed away in September and I just found out another friend is having a still birth, which is devastating. There is so much sorrow in the world. Through it all God is there, guiding us home.
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