The Backstory:

In July of 2012, my 13 year-old daughter was diagnosed with severe ulcerative pancolitis.  By the time she was diagnosed, she was extremely ill.  Her gastroenterologist began to prepare her for a life with chronic disease and the probability of surgical intervention.  He did not recommend testing her for food sensitivities but because my husband had an experience of controlling his colitis through diet, we made a decision to have her tested anyway.  The results showed she had sensitivities to soy, eggs, almonds, green peas, milk and cinnamon.  We found the food IgG testing to be invaluable to planning the next steps.  Our healthy-eatingfunctional medicine doctor recommended she eliminate the foods she was sensitive to already and to begin a rotation diet so that she would not develop new food intolerances.  Her recovery was slow but steady.  Today she is healed and healthy.  Eating is actually a happy time again and she has managed to avoid immune-suppressant medications and surgery.  I remember how afraid we were in the beginning of this journey and how desperately I searched for hope and guidance.

My background is not in medicine or medical care.  This site is for parents and caregivers who are working to feed a family with food sensitivities and plan menus on rotation diet.  It is meant to encourage you and offer assistance to anyone who is preparing food for children with food intolerances and/or taking on the challenge of using food as part of the healing process for inflammatory bowel disease and other chronic illnesses.

Advice for Coping with Dietary Changes and Restrictions:

  1. Focus on what you CAN have, not what you can’t.  Don’t think of it being forever.  Most food sensitivities diminish over time and can those foods can be reintroduced.
  2. Introduce as many new options as possible and poll the family for likes and dislikes before revising the menu.
  3. Try to cook for the whole family as much as possible instead of preparing a different meal for the family member with food sensitivities.
  4. Plan meals in advance and stick to the plan.  It’s almost impossible to remember when the last time was that you ate any particular food without a calendar.
  5. Some foods are more likely to become allergens.  Pay special attention to rotating the most common allergens like corn, shellfish, eggs and nuts.