I made a quick call to the pediatrician and explained how the eczema seemed to flare up when we started eating some dairy again, and the doctor said that, sight unseen, it sounded like it could be a dairy allergy, and that we should eliminate dairy again until our appointment in May. Since that time, we have had absolutely no dairy.

Friday night, guess what decided to show up? A nice, red patch of eczema on the little guy’s arm. So clearly, I chose the wrong bad guy. It looks like dairy is not the culprit, after all. And the more research I do, the more that it seems like the addition of dairy at the time of the flare up was simply a coincidence.

Each account of a true dairy allergy that I have read about includes pleasantries such as diarrhea, projectile vomiting, extreme gas/fussiness, hives, rash where the food comes into contact with the skin, and so on. These are not problems that we have ever dealt with, and it seems that if we were looking at a true allergy, we would have had at least one of those problems.

Here is the list of food allergy symptoms from Web MD:

Food Allergy Symptoms to Watch for in Your Baby

Food allergy symptoms usually appear very soon after the food is eaten — within a few minutes to a couple of hours. If you’re introducing a new food to your baby, keep an eye out for these symptoms:

• Hives
• Flushed skin or rash
• Face, tongue, or lip swelling
• Vomiting and/or diarrhea
• Coughing or wheezing
• Difficulty breathing
• Loss of consciousness

So here we are, back at square one! My husband seems to think that maybe he just has a little eczema – not necessarily because of anything. I am starting to wonder if he is correct. I am going to wait a few more dairy-less days before I make a call as to whether or not we are avoiding all dairy for no reason.

It looks like those first few months of sleepless nights may have been due to simply having a bad sleeper – not a dairy allergic one!

Well we are officially dairy free – doctor’s orders. I called the pediatrician about my vegan challenge that cleared the baby’s eczema, and I explained that it reappeared once dairy was reintroduced. He said that it may indicate a dairy allergy, and that we should both be completely dairy free for the time being. We have a one year checkup in a few weeks, and I am guessing that he will send us to an allergist at that point. I so hope that we have no food allergies going on. The baby loves to eat, and he has never not liked anything I’ve given him. I hope that this was just a fluke.

In the meantime, I have been obsessing over baking the perfect dairy free cupcake/smash cake for the upcoming first birthday bash. I have literally baked dozens of dozens of cupcakes, and you know what? They have all been terrible. Well, I take that back. The vegan chocolate cupcake recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cupcake book was actually pretty decent. They were still heavier than a “regular” cupcake, but not chewy or tough. I took them to a friend who had just given birth, and she claimed they were the best cupcakes she’d ever eaten. Must have been the come down from the hormones talking.

I made several cupcakes from the VCTOTW cookbook, and they were all an odd texture, and my non-vegan testers were unimpressed. So was I. Every single batch I have made have been chewy, tough, and/or dense. I have followed directions to the letter. I have made sure not to over mix my batter. I even tried a recipe from a vegan chef who won Cupcake Wars! To be honest, those were the worst yet, which really surprised me. I am SO incredibly frustrated. Earlier today, I learned that Duncan Hines mixes are dairy free, and that a can of pop can be mixed into the batter to keep it light and vegan. I went to the store, bought the supplies, and made the cupcakes. The taste was decent, and they were light. So light, in fact, that they fell apart when we tried to take the liner off to eat them. Failure.

I GIVE UP.

Is there anyone out there who can help me find a decent dairy free cake for my baby’s first bithday? This is getting ridiculous! T minus two weeks, and  at this rate, the poor child will be cake-less.

Help!

Is eczema life threatening? Of course not. Do I want my child to have to suffer with itchy, scaly patches of skin? Absolutely not. It is fascinating to me that in a matter of hours, with very little dairy consumed, the body can recognize it as an invader so quickly that it responds with skin irritations. The human body is a well oiled machine, when taken care of.

I have learned a very valuable lesson this week. Trust your mother’s intuition. My son has never been a good sleeper. There was a period of a few months during infancy when he barely napped all day and would wake up every hour or two through the night.  I remember questioning whether I should eliminate dairy from my diet at that time, but well meaning family and friends convinced me that I was overreacting. I should have trusted my mother’s intuition.

When he was about 3 months old, he started to develop patches of eczema, and while they were mild, they were a nuisance. We would diligently apply the cream that the doctor prescribed, the eczema would clear up, and days later, it would always return. I questioned the pediatrician at the six month check-up as to whether I should eliminate dairy to see if the condition cleared up. He said that was ridiculous, and no, I shouldn’t. I should have trusted my mother’s intuition.

When I started this vegan challenge, I had hoped to see improvement in my son’s skin, and within a few days, it looked as it should – like perfect, soft baby skin. I was so happy to see that amazing return on a simple dietary change. Those two weeks were the longest period that his eczema was absent. For that, I feel terrible. Live and learn – Trust your mother’s intuition.

So we are going to go vegan indefinitely. I am a little nervous, yes. Sometimes it is hard to find the time to make every meal from scratch, and sometimes I really just want something easy and cheesy. I am nervous about the criticism I will receive for depriving my child of bacon and Cheetos.  After all of the research I have done on veganism, I am absolutely convinced that it is the most natural, healthy diet that one can choose. Still, I am always left feeling so flustered when I am personally attacked for what I choose to eat. I never seem to know what to say.

Easy, healthy recipes are appreciated. Any vegan moms out there with some tips and/or inspiration?

Today is officially the start of week three of my three week vegan challenge, and I wanted to post an update. I feel good, but I am also getting frustrated and bored with my food.

After week one, I lost 6 pounds, and I was seriously happy about that. This week, I lost a grand total of zero pounds. That’s not what I was hoping to see, especially since I am not eating anything cheesy, creamy, or really decadent – with the exception of a few vegan cupcakes through the week.

On that note, let me mention what I am not liking so much after two weeks.

• I absolutely adore baking, but every vegan recipe I have tried has been a gummy flop. With the exception of one batch of chocolate cupcakes, which turned out pretty good, the deserts I have made have been pretty crummy. The thought of never being able to bake and enjoy the result again is gnawing at me. A lot.
• I really, really miss cheese. I am not talking cheese whiz or velveeta here, but a nice garnish of Parmigiano Reggiano on top of my pasta would be nice. So would some melted, bubbly goat cheese on my whole wheat pizza. I can’t lie. Even so, I haven’t cheated.

• I have made some pretty delicious vegan meals that my son and I enjoyed, but my husband is still not on board, so family meals are pretty much non-existent. I don’t like that.
• We have family dinners at my parents’ house every Sunday, and my mom has made fabulous vegan dishes for the little guy and me, but she is basically making us a separate meal. That’s not fair to her, and I feel like I am making her work twice as hard. Well – I am. I’d rather it not be such an issue.

So, will I continue my journey into veganism when the three weeks is up? I don’t know. I feel good, yes, but other areas of life have become an issue, and maybe more of one than I’d like.

At this point, the big test will be re-introducing dairy to the baby. He has always struggled with a mild case of eczema, but since I cut out dairy from my both of our diets, the skin issues seem completely resolved. Whether that is a coincidence or not remains to be seen. He only ate very small quantities of organic cheese or organic milk that was in a recipe before, but I ate more than that, he could have been reacting to dairy in breast milk. Maybe not. We shall see.

As long as he has no issues, I think that I will probably continue eating dairy in smaller amounts than I previously was. Mostly vegan meals at home, vegetarian when we are out or unable to eat vegan easily.

I guess that’s what author Kathy Freston and Oprah call “vegan-ish”, which means different things to different people.  As most of you know, Oprah and many of her staff recently took a one week vegan challenge. At the end of the week, Oprah said that while she didn’t plan to become vegetarian or vegan, she did intend to be a more conscious eater and have “meatless Mondays”. Her main guest and the author of Veganist, Kathy Freston, said that her husband is vegan-ish. He eats vegan at home, but not when out. Sounds reasonable to me. I guess my husband is vegetarian-ish. He’s happy to eat vegetarian at home, but he eats what he wants when he’s out.

I know that the term vegan-ish has upset a lot of hardcore vegans and animal right activists, but I honestly don’t see how any move towards a more animal free diet can be a bad thing. Frankly, I think that the term will encourage more people who never would have even considered vegetarianism to eat more meatless meals, and that’s wonderful for everyone!

Image - Emma Christensen for the Kitchn

I’m almost two weeks into the vegan challenge now, and I am feeling better than ever. Although it usually passes quickly, I still have moments where I miss cheese in my food. Tonight was one of those nights, but a vegan recipe saved the day. One that packs such an incredible flavor punch that you won’t care if you ever have cheese again. I promise.

When I was planning my menu for this week, I came across this recipe for Dal Palak, a traditional Indian comfort food, at The Kitchn. I really wanted to try something different, so I added the ingredients to my Trader Joe’s shopping list. The only thing I couldn’t find were red lentils. I have seen many recipes over the years that call for the elusive red lentil, but I have yet to actually see one. I went with standard brown lentils instead.

The recipe was pretty simple. The bulk of the work involved chopping the vegetables, which really didn’t take much time at all. Oddly enough, I have always thought that I didn’t like mushrooms, so this was the first time that I have EVER cooked with mushrooms. Ever. I can’t even remember ever eating them before, but I was certain that I hated them. It turned out that they added great flavor to the dish!

So, on to the recipe (reposted from The Kitchn).

Dal Palak
Makes about 8 cups

1 large onion, diced
2 packages (about 16 ounces) white button or baby bella mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 medium-sized red or white potatoes, cubed
1 inch fresh ginger, minced
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons coriander
1 Tablespoon garam masala
2 teaspoons red chili powder
1 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes
10 ounce bunch of spinach (or more if desired!), cleaned and cut into ribbons
1 cup red lentils
3 cups of water or broth
1-2 Tablespoons salt
3-4 scallions, chopped

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions, the mushrooms, and one teaspoon of salt, and cook until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms show spots of golden brown. Add the potatoes and another teaspoon of salt, and cook until the edges are just starting to turn translucent.

Clear a space in the middle of the pan and add the ginger, garlic, spices, and one more teaspoon of salt. Cook until the garlic is fragrant (30 seconds), and then stir the spices into the mix. Add the diced tomatoes in their juices, the spinach, and the lentils. Stir to combine everything and then top with three cups of water or broth.

Turn the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and let the soup simmer for about 45 minutes until the lentils and potatoes are cooked through. Taste the soup to adjust the seasonings and salt. Stir in half of the chopped scallions, reserving the rest to use as garnish.

Serve dal along with rice, naan, or chapatis.

I served this with whole wheat naan, and it was absolutely delicious. I plan to add this recipe to my regular rotation! It’s the perfect vegan comfort food.