Hi, I’m Autumn and this is our story,
I am a mother to two amazing, wild, crazy kids, Frankie and Lila! I love being a mom, even with all its challenges and man there are some challenges, RIGHT? Recently we have faced one of our biggest challenges yet.
Frankie was diagnosed with a disorder called Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE). To sum it up, something he is eating is causing an autoimmune response in his body causing swelling and damage to his esophagus. It is most often caused from food, specifically most often from one of the top 8 food allergens.
To pin point the allergen we must follow an elimination diet, eliminating the top 8 allergens for 3 months and then adding one back in at a time to figure out which allergen or allergens it is. Side note: he is allergic to eggs, the traditional IgE allergy, but EoE is an IgG allergy and there are currently no approved testing to support identification of IgG allergies besides elimination diets and trials.
My Mission
This little guy here is so strong and passionate about life in his kid like way.
I decided we would all be doing the elimination diet with him for a few reasons. 1. Its always better to do something new when you have the support of family and friends (I even had a wonderful friend join on us this elimination diet.) 2. I wanted to know if what I was making/buying was satisfying and good. 3. It’s easier to make the same meal for everyone and not to have to worry about him accidentally eating something he was not supposed to. So basically we are all in this together! I can not expect my 7 year old son to do something that I myself can not do!
My Vission
One afternoon my family and in laws gathered around for a small get together. I had made pot roast for everyone and it was so good! My brother in law was asking me how I made and said “everything you make is good!” My reply was, “things will start tasting different when we do the elimination diet.”
It was like I was letting everyone know that my cooking would soon become not so great and they may not look forward to it. My fear was they would look forward to coming over and be disappointed.
Fast forward to now. During this process I realized, man I can still make amazing delicious meals that I’m positive friends and family will enjoy and look forward too!
My vision for all of us struggling with food allergies and elimination diets is to find enjoyment in it and feel pride in the meals we serve. To take something that was once a struggle and make it look easy! We got this!