Friday, April 25, 2008

Test Kitchen: No Eggs French Toast

We recently found out that our 7 month old is allergic to just about every ingredient the nutrition facts have to warn you about. Peanuts, Milk and Eggs are among the list. Not only do we have to be careful of the foods we feed him, but the doctor reminded me that Breastfeeding is best especially for babies with allergies. But because he eats what I eat, I have to maintain the same cautious diet. So I’m dedicated to providing breast milk until he’s one year old when he’ll be retested for his allergy to soy and see if that supplement will even be possible. In the interim, I have been adjusting to the fact that I used to eat at least two servings of Peanuts, Milk and Eggs daily and now I have none. There was actually a one-month period of withdrawals and nausea because of that drastic change. Now that my options are limited I have had to come up with new ideas on how to enjoy meals the rest of the family will like, minus the ingredients I cannot have...

So one day I had a strong craving for pancakes or French toast and just kept thinking there had to be a way I could have something similar, even if it meant pouring syrup on toast (yeah I was that desperate). Then it occurred to me that I had precut fruit on the verge of going soft in the fridge and this is what I came up with:
I tested it twice before coming up with a tasty breakfast treat.

No Eggs French Toast

2 slices bread
¼ blended combination of pineapple, strawberries, and grapes (you can actually test other fruits but this is what I used)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp syrup

Toast the bread in a toaster. Cube the bread. Blend the fruit combination into a liquid, set aside. Heat oil in a pan and spread around evenly (this helps prevent the fruit blend from burning or sticking). Warm up the toast in the oiled pan tossing around for even-ness. With the heat on medium, pour in the measured ¼ cup of blended fruit and toss immediately to coat the toast. You can cook to desired crispness but be careful as the fruit can burn easily. (As I said, I tested this twice and that slightly burnt fruit smell is actually aromatic throughout the day!)

Top with 2 tbsp syrup and Enjoy!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

See if your pediatrician will run an IGg Food Panel on your baby. He could have sensitivities to other foods too that you're unaware of and it doesn't show up on an IGa. Usually kids who are sensitive to milk and eggs are also very sensitive to wheat.

Look into a rotation diet for yourself and for your baby. The idea is to take out offensive foods and rotate different foods for at least 4 days. Then you'd reintroduce the offending foods one at a time until your body can tolerate it. But I would only do this with supervision from a nutrionist or doctor.

Probiotics are also great to boost digestive health.

Our son cannot tolerate soy, any gluten (wheat, oats...), rice, any casein (dairy), nuts, many different vegetables, citrus or eggs. We're very luck to live in a country where our grocery stores are stocked with so much variety! He loves quinoa, corn, potatoes, teff, and all sorts of other alternative grains.
Good luck!