An Introduction

Welcome to my food blog dedicated to dairy-free recipes. My name is Jen and I am fortunate enough to be a stay at home wife and mother to two.

Before our daughter arrived in 2006, the only food we had to avoid was shrimp; an allergy my husband had developed as a teen. My husband is also allergic to dog and cat dander, the pollen of various weeds and trees, and he seems to have a citrus sensitivity.

My husbands allergies meant any children we had would have a higher chance of having allergies as well. So it wasn't too surprising to discover our daughter was dairy sensitive. Since I was breastfeeding, this meant I had to avoid dairy. At around six months she seemed fine and we moved on.

At about two and a half years of age, our daughter finally gave up breastfeeding. Within a week she had bad congestion. She would also complain of a tummy ache when she drank a glass of milk.

After a couple months of this, our doctor suggested a dairy elimination diet. The first week I made several mistakes. I couldn't believe how many things had some sort of dairy in it, and I was not in the practice of looking for it on labels. The second week was successful and we saw a huge improvement.

After being completely off dairy for two weeks, we reintroduced it with a slice of cheese pizza. The congestion was back and with it the realization that we now had to be dairy free. We are lucky she doesn't have a severe reaction to dairy, and we've found that she can handle trace amounts.

Our son was born just about two months ago (August 2009) and he too has dairy issues. So I have found myself off of dairy again. This time it was different though, I found myself feeling better as well. Many of my relatives have IBS, and while I do not, my digestive system does seem better. So my husband and I have decided to be "cow" free.

This blog will be about our getting used to all of us being dairy free and what I am cooking to keep us all happy. Every dish posted will be dairy-free and, when appropriate, free of other allergens. I hope you try and enjoy our dishes.