Party Prepping

Well Fourth of July weekend has come and gone.  We had some parties to go to which is fun, but creates quite a bit of work when you or your daughter have dietary restrictions.  I am not going to share everything that Chloe ate this past weekend because it's boring and quite honestly I don't remember. 
Here's my strategy for attending parties.  I contact the host of the party to find out what's on the menu, so that my kids think they are eating what everyone else is eating.  This weekend it was hamburgers, hot dogs and brats, along with macaroni salad, fruit, veggies, baked beans, cookies and ice cream.  So here's what I took.
- Hot dogs-- Many hot dogs contain gluten and dairy, so I always take my own.
- Cucumber salad--  My kids love cucumbers and I got some in my CSA box this week, so it was an easy dish and I took enough to share.

(For some reason this is the only picture I took of my food this weekend...weird I know!)
- Cookies--  These are delish by the way.... Double Chocolate Cookies by Paleomg  The recipe calls for thick almond butter, which I have yet to find, so I just add some almond flour to my almond butter to thicken it up a bit.  They turn out beautifully....You're welcome ;)
- Lemon Fruit Tart -- I had to make something a little bit patriotic, so this was it.  It was yummy, but very lemony.  The consistency of the filling was awesome and I will definitely make it again! 
- Banana Ice Cream-- Slice a banana, freeze for a couple of hours.  Throw the sliced bananas in your food processor with coconut milk and some almond butter.  It will turn into soft served ice cream.  You could then add some Enjoy Life Chips, or berries or nuts or whatever else you like in your ice cream.  I personally go for chocolate.
My kids ate fruit and veggies at the party, to complete the meal. 

So it's been a week since we started these diet restrictions, and I have to say it's getting a little easier.  Last Friday and Saturday Chloe was itchy, but did not have any new eczema spots.  I was very worried that maybe I eliminated the wrong foods, and I am still thinking she may have some sensitivity to nuts (not peanuts because that's a legume and she has never had any trouble with her organic peanut butter, but she has been eating more almonds in the past week), but now the itching has decreased.  She also does not have any new spots of eczema.  So we'll continue on this track, one week at a time, and hopefully we can complete the diet as planned.  If we have to eliminate nuts in the middle of this thing, it's not going to be pretty.