How Our Family Eats
Living with food allergies and eosinophilic esophagitis (EOE) is very personal. Regardless of the list of foods or the need to avoid, those with special dietary needs deserve to experience food as a source of pleasure and share similar food for the social bonding and connection it provides.
I often say that our family eats vegan - but with meat.
We avoid the Top 9 most common food allergens, plus others (mustard, banana, lentil and barley).
Our son’s list of foods to avoid is restrictive, but there are also other foods, not listed, that our son has not yet tried. As a result, we have three distinct categories of food: ‘avoid’, ‘safe’, and ‘not yet confirmed safe’. We do not introduce new foods at home without professional guidance and follow a very specific process. Certain foods require a food challenge in a hospital or clinic.
More about us:
Our son has had multiple anaphylactic reactions and numerous mild reactions to many foods.
Due to his history of poor growth we are focused on the frequency of meals, and on nutritional value for all of the calories he consumes.
We are very specific about what brands we buy to prepare food for our household. We do not freely use products that have precautionary warnings. I do call manufacturers to scrutinize ingredients and understand how foods are processed to confirm if safe.
All meals we eat as a family are prepared safe for us to enjoy together. With two sons, one with many and one without any food allergies, we strive to provide opportunities for them both to live life fully while maintaining a safe household. I don’t have any food allergies, but my husband is anaphylactic to shellfish. With some creativity we aim to meet all of our individual likes and dislikes in terms of food and do our best to address our needs inside and outside the house.
