I’ll be honest, life is a little on the stressful side right now. I feel like I’m constantly talking about Finley’s food allergies but it consumes me right now. Seriously, for the past two nights my first and last thoughts of the day are about food and I’ve actually woken up in the middle of the night thinking about it. We already knew that Finn is allergic to peanuts, dairy, egg, avocado, banana and tomato. Monday at his allergy appointment, I found out that he is also allergic to corn, potatoes and pecans. We’re starting to reach a point where his nutrition could be jeopardized. Following his doctor’s instructions we are eliminating the corn for the next 2-4 weeks and if he doesn’t get better then we will have to eliminate potatoes. Before this week, I had no idea how much stuff contained corn. We can no longer buy anything pre-made at the grocery store. Everything he consumes must be made from scratch with his special milk, butter, oil and baking powder. I never realized before this diagnosis how much I had to be thankful for. The ease of opening a box of graham crackers to give the kids for an afternoon snack is a thing of the past for us. I’ll admit that it all makes me sad and even breaks my heart but I still have so much to be thankful for. I am so thankful that I have my very happy boy. I’m thankful for the products out there that I can cook with; products that make this lifestyle a little easier. I’m thankful for all my friends and family that send me recipes and ideas for meals. I’m thankful I have a working oven to cook in (even if it does smoke). I’m thankful for the internet and the endless amounts of information I’ve been able to obtain. I’m thankful for the medical knowledge and testing that has allowed us to diagnose Finn. I’m thankful for epi-pens. I’m thankful for the many prayers from our friends and family. I am thankful that God is good.
This morning Finley and I made these simple biscuits (I’m including our modified ingredients below). I am so thankful my boy loves to help me cook!
Preheat oven to 450°F. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk. I had to throw in a little extra flour due to the extra stickiness because of using shortening instead of butter/margarine. Place on lightly floured surface; knead 20 times or until smooth. Pat or roll lightly until dough is 1/2-inch thick. Cut with floured 2-inch cookie cutter to make 16 biscuits, rerolling dough scraps as necessary. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown.
ETA: Because the above substitutions lack the buttery flavor these tasted kinda floury. I made them again today and cut back on the shortening and subbed some honey instead. They tasted much better this time.
Since we can’t smother our biscuits in butter once they’re cooked we dipped ours in some raw honey.
I admire you so much for finding ways to be thankful in such a stressful situation. My mom and I (just about an hour ago) were discussing how challenging everyday life must be for you guys. I’ll continue to pray for your sweet baby boy.
And p.s. LOVE the picture of Finn helping in the kitchen. It seriously makes me a little teary eyed!!
Oh, April…I’ll be praying for you guys. I can’t even begin to imagine the stress of this for you, on top of being pregnant. Thank you for sharing, and thanks for showing your heart.
I am thankful for a daugher in law who loves her child so much she goes the extra mile to see that her child still can have good and fun things to eat. Your sacrifices do not go unnoticed! Much Love and prayers
April…..what a challenge! (and what a sweet attitiude you are having) It reminds me of that verse “A cheerful heart is good medicine.” When we can be thankful in difficult situations…..God always encourages us….. and others too.
Thanks for letting me share.
I’ve been talking to so many mom’s lately who have had to make big changes to their family diets because of allergies. I’m always overwhelmed just listening and imagining what it would be like. I’ll pray for you and little Finn, too – hopefully he will grow out of most or all of his allergies – at least we can pray for that!
i think you are doing a wonderful job balancing it all AND a job! not many moms could handle all of that. i realize i complain WAY too often about dumb things when i read what some moms go through just to feed their kids.
have a name yet? sometimes i think we are close and sometimes……..not so close. and the baby’s room is in shambles. i dont think we will be ready for this baby at all!
I wouldn’t be able to handle it if my job was full time and I’m thankful that I only have 1 more job in the next month. I don’t think we’re really going to be “ready” for this baby either. Her room is technically the storage room right now. There’s not a name yet. I guess Justin and I should really discuss that at some point
April, I just stumbled upon your blog because I did a search for “Finley Jude” after my aunt in law told me that there were other babies out there besides my son with that name. I just had a baby boy, our second child, in October and we named him Finley Jude. I am so sorry to see that your little man has such severe food allergies. My baby boy already seems to be sensitive to milk and I have eliminated it from my diet. It’s so hard to find things without milk! That recipe you put up looks delicious and what a great idea to put raw honey on them! What a great alternative to butter!