Drawing up a new food pyramid

We've been working for a while now on sorting out some seemingly diet-related health issues for a couple of members of the family, and a month or so ago we got results back from food sensitivity testing. Going over the results with me, the doctor emphasized that none of this was life-threatening and since I was about to have a baby, it would definitely be fine to wait to address the potential food issues until after I settled into a good routine with the baby. I'm not ready to claim that I'm there quite yet: "Guess what, kids; the Internet says that today is National Sandwich Day. How does that sound for supper?" – me this evening. There were also carrots, so at least everyone ate something healthy? (And it turns out that the Internet was wrong, anyway; Sandwich Day is Nov 3, in honor of the fourth Earl of Sandwich.)

So we aren't attempting a full elimination diet at this point, but we're at least generally trying to keep an eye on what we eat and noticing whether anyone seems to react, and trying to reduce our reliance on the foods that may possibly be causing the issues: gluten, dairy, legumes, eggs and citrus (different things for different people). Hopefully that'll make it a little easier to shift into the elimination diet once we reach that point.

It's unfortunate that wheat and legumes are both staples of a tight grocery budget! It will be a challenge to use less of them (and eventually cut them out completely) while still keeping our grocery bill as low as possible.

We order dry goods in bulk twice a year through a local co-op, so I'm getting some almond flour through them to try my hand at gluten-free baking. And I already know how to go dairy-free, thanks to Kit's year+ of being allergic to it; Otter is showing more and more possible signs of the allergy too, so it's just as well that we won't be eating it. Eggs, though; what do you feed people for breakfast when they can't have gluten, dairy, or eggs? Lots of oatmeal, I guess?

Actually, it just occurred to me that I have a bunch of books with answers to that question... I picked up the Ultimate Meal Planning Bundle back around New Years', and stuck all of the gluten-free and allergy-friendly books in a folder on my computer along with the many other GF/allergy/vegan/other-specific-diet cookbooks that I've picked up in other ultimate bundles over the years but were never applicable to us. Until now, when I am super thankful to have this trove of treasures to begin digging into. I just found a 200-page book in here on gluten-free sourdough baking!

Coincidentally (I promise it's a coincidence! I totally did not begin this post thinking about anything other than figuring out our family's food issues), the 2018 Ultimate Homemaking Bundle goes on sale tomorrow morning. I'm actually not planning to pick it up this year, now that I have a bazillion suddenly-applicable-to-us books that I should be reading through. It feels weird to not order it—I think this is the first ultimate homemaking or healthy living bundle I've skipped since 2015! I always encourage people to take a look through what they're offering, though; every year's bundle is full of valuable resources, and this is certainly not the first time that I've gone back to a whole category of books that had been gathering virtual dust for a year or two because they suddenly became pertinent to us. As long as there are at least a few resources that will fill a need for you, the bundles are generally a great deal!

I always love finding new books, resources, food bloggers to follow, etc, so if you have any good sources for recipes that'll fit into our new diet, I would sure appreciate links! It's a little overwhelming to think about how many things we'll be at least temporarily cutting out, but at the same time, I'm excited to take on the challenge.