I’d like to introduce you to my newest child. Baby C the 2nd. She looks a lot like the Original Baby C, but she isn’t as needy. Her buns don’t have a flaming red rash that has her perpetually scratching. She sleeps.
How did I go about trading in my former baby for a newer model? Simple. I gave up the grain. Well, and the dairy, but short of a shot in my coffee I don’t do much of the white stuff. So it’s mostly grain. Good bye, bread. So long, pasta. Farewell, sandwiches. Auf wiedersehen, my favorite breakfast carbs – the waffle, the buttermilk pancake, the english muffin and the blueberry muffin. And my beloved tortilla chips? I hope we reconnect again soon. I miss your crispity crunch in my Chipotle already (yes, Chipotle seems to be the only place I can find that will cook food for me and keep me within my constraints, and even then I need to avoid the rice).
After we found out the little munchkin was allergic to 50% of the foods we’d introduced -banana – I decided that between that and perpetual eczema she has quite a sensitive little system. Thanks to my sister, The Researcher, I was introduced to the GAPS diet and the thinking behind Gut and Psychology Syndrome. The long and short of it: when our immune systems are compromised, they recognize normal, healthy substances – like food – as foreign bodies and chase them off via allergic reactions. Per the doctor who developed this thinking, it can manifest itself in many ways, almost all of which begin with the letter A. So she developed a diet that helps to “heal the gut” so one can fully digest all the beauty of food the world has to offer. It restricts a lot of carbish food, along with refined sugars and dairy, and puts an emphasis on veggies, whole meats, and fermentation – the healthy bacteria that live in our tummies that help us to digest.
I wish I could say that the change has been easy. It’s not. I love food. LOVE food. (And this little project has shown me that where my treasure is…). And my affinity for a crusty bread dipped in cream cheese was pretty much the last thread that kept me attached to Mainstream. My BC girls are going to cut me off soon. But it had to be tried. Much to my slight disappointment, it worked. C has been rash-free and happy for nearly 2 weeks, save the outbreak the other night after I hate a few crabcakes laden with breadcrumbs **shaking fist at the sky**.
So, I prevail onward, yogurt smoothie in hand, toward the land of Almond Flour. Yes, I tried it in the brownies the other night and it came out delightfully fudgy. I could have probably ground the almonds a bit more finely, but overall it was a good development. Again, the book club girls are gathering a napkin. But it’s the least I could do for a happy baby and perhaps an hour of sleep. As I lamented the loss of soft, floury goodness to my friend AZ, she reminded me that it’s less about giving up my love of food and more about giving C the opportunity to love food as much as I do. That helps put it into a bit more perspective. Though it doesn’t cure the hostile feelings I have toward Panera when I drive by each time I head into town.