Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Allergy Update

I am figuring out how to provide a dairy free yet well rounded diet for our little Veda.  Through this experience I am trying to broaden my knowledge on good nutrition in general and push myself to try new recipes.  Today I whipped up some banana "ice cream" made with whipped up chunks of frozen bananas, a dollop of peanut butter and cocoa powder.  I can't beat myself up for feeding that to my kids, which makes me happy.  Next I want to try making some hummus type bean dips that will appeal to our taste buds.  I gave some store-bought hummus to Veda recently that gave her the tell-tale red rash around her mouth.  I have crossed that particular dip off of the menu for the remainder...  I think maybe it was the Tahini.  So, making my own hummus may be a good move going forward.

The red rash...
Luckily, it doesn't seem to bother her too much! :)

We visited with some friends that have gone dairy free at times for their kids that were showing sensitivities. I took home some reading material, Go Dairy Free is really informative about various dairy sensitivities and allergies. I haven’t gotten to the recipes yet but Jen tells me there are some good deserts in there! I definitely will find try out some of those recipes as treats are rarely dairy free it seems. (However, Oreos are surprisingly dairy free.) We took the kids to the farmer’s market a few Saturday mornings ago and that place is a mecca of all that is freshly prepared and delicious. I became immediately aware of the fact that it was not easy to find treats that Veda could enjoy as we devoured our breakfast burritos and donuts. I hate the knot I get in my stomach when Veda reaches for something that she can’t have and I have to snatch it out of her grasp. It is a truly terrible feeling. I don’t want to have that feeling anymore. This means I will be doing more to be prepared for our ventures out and hopefully will have healthy and delicious snacks available that our whole family will enjoy.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Balloon Glow!

Imagine a perfect evening sitting on a beautiful lawn with live music while enjoying PB&J and watching as hot-air balloons are inflated before your eyes. Yes, this was our evening.  :)  We didn't know what to expect, but our friends the Richmonds told us it is a guaranteed good time for the family.  It really was impressive and we were early enough to see a balloon lift off and then watched as 5 more were anchored to the ground for us to take closer look.  Sawyer was giddy.  Veda practiced escape tactics.  It was perfect. Pictures could not do this justice.  The scale of everything cannot be captured by a camera.  The heat from the flames shooting up into the balloon, I cannot share with you here.  But trust me, it was awesome.  You will just have to go sometime. 
Feel free to caption this photograph... I look forward to all of the comments from my devoted audience.





Feel the heat...  

I promise to do some research on getting the most out of my camera before photographing any more awesome hot-air balloons.  Better pictures next year.