Allergies = What to Eat?

 Craig has had HORRIBLE seasonal allergies since moving to Arkansas so since we are nearing the end of the year we wanted to get allergy testing done for him and the kids.  We met our deductible this year with Jenni being born so we only pay 20% out of pocket for all appointments until Dec. 31st, then we start all over next year and $5,500.00 is a lot to pay out of pocket as a deductible before insurance starts helping.... just saying.

Craig found out he is allergic to practically everything outside here.  :(  Trees, grass, weeds etc.  He's also allergic to dust mites, cats & dogs.  Since Jace has had pretty significant seasonal allergies as well and since he has been sick so much lately I wanted to have him tested as well as Ty who has had a mysterious rash of tiny raised bumps on his arms, legs, and sometimes face since moving here as well.

What I found out:  after doing the skin prick test we found out that Jace has significant seasonal allergies to trees, grass, weeds,etc.  He's also allergic to dust mites and cats.  AND he's allergic to WHEAT & DAIRY and had a false positive for Pork.  Say what?!?  Food allergies??  Ty tested positive for Dairy allergy as well.  Since we had 2 kids that were testing positive for dairy allergies they recommended having the girls tested as well.  Brooke had a false positive for dairy and Jenni tested positive for dairy and her histamine test was out of control bad.  It blistered and caused hives all over her body.  What do I do now??  The food that I normally feed my kids they are allergic to.  I kind of wanted to cry.

Nani had given me a book to read about the brain called "Magnificent Mind at Any Age" and it had recommended exercise, healthier eating/ high protein/ low carb diet/ supplements & eliminating sugar, & artificial flavoring/ Food dyes for better behavior in kids.  Jace's behavior was terrible and we needed answers.  So we had already cut out most processed sugars and food dyes and now I have to cut out dairy and wheat??  OVERWHELMED is exactly how I felt.  I researched as much as I could about food allergies, histamine intolerance, and gut issues and started looking up GFCF recipes on Pinterest.  Good thing Paleo is all the rage right now so there are lots of fun recipes available online that fit our families needs.  It's super hard changing your diet.  Luckily Jace has been very cooperative with everything which was completely unexpected.  In January we are starting an Elimination Diet to try and figure out what foods he is having problems with because it appears that doing an elimination diet is Gold Standard in testing for food allergies.  Skin prick tests/ blood tests can be wrong up to 60% of the time.  Those are large odds.  I'm hoping we get the answers we've been searching for and are able to help heal Jace from the inside out.  :)  In the mean time I will try to figure out what to feed my family.

Ty helped me cook today.  He prepared a sauteed banana.  :)