The Egg Trial Begins

The Egg Trial Begins CradleRockingMama.com

Tuesday I picked up a dozen eggs from my parents.

Yesterday morning I cooked the first egg that’s been cooked in our house in over a year.

I was trying to make a custard-type egg dish for Zac, for a few reasons. For starters, it would be a relatively new texture for him, and that’s a good thing considering his diet is so limited. Secondly, baking eggs apparently makes them less IgE reactive – just in case. Third, there seems to be a theme that lots of FPIES kids can handle well-cooked foods, but not raw foods, so longer cooking time on an egg might make it better for Zac in terms of FPIES tolerance.

Like I say, I tried, but it didn’t quite work out right. I don’t think I added enough liquid.

What I got was more of a baked scrambled egg. Okay, but not the goal.

It’s a shame, too, because I’d taken some really good pictures to share the step-by-step instructions of how to make a custard egg without dairy or sugar. See?

Steps to make baked scrambled eggs CradleRockingMama.com

Oh, well. Maybe next time I can get it right!

I served it to Zac at breakfast yesterday morning, and he flat turned up his nose at it.

Seriously – look at this face!

Um...what exactly IS this, Mama?

Um…what exactly IS this, Mama?

He played with it a bit but didn’t really eat any of it. I chalked it up to the fact that he’d already eaten quinoa and bacon (pork belly) and probably just wasn’t hungry.

So I tried again at lunch.

The same thing happened! In fact, this time, it was worse; he requested quinoa be added to the bowl of eggs, and started picking out the quinoa!

I took video of this because it was SO unbelievable to me.

After I took the video, I grabbed his bowl and chopped up the egg pieces as small as I could possibly make them so they would just blend in to the quinoa and he would be unable to pick them out.

As soon as he got the bowl back from me, he put down his fork and refused to eat a single bite.

Seriously.

I was getting a little frustrated; the child doesn’t realize that the egg before him represents $246.00 in corn and soy free chicken feed, but I certainly do! How am I going to get him to eat this gourmet-priced egg?

I started thinking of all the ways I could make an egg that would be appealing to a 22 month old kiddo, just in case I had to whip up an alternative at dinner.

Turns out, I needn’t have worried.

Darrel came home from work, I called out “Dinner!”, Jed came running, food was added to plates, and Zac was plopped in the high chair. His breakfast/lunch/and-now-dinner bowl was placed in front of him (again) and AGAIN he refused it!

So Darrel said “Maybe if I feed him the first bite he’ll like it.”

To which I responded “I tried to feed him earlier. He pinched his lips closed and turned his head. But go ahead and try if you like!”

He tried.

And my stubborn, willful son opened his mouth, took that bite, and then proceeded to feed himself the rest of the bowl!

ARGH!!

Picky kids are enough to drive a mama insane, amiright?

Well, it’s only been one day of egg, so not much to report yet. No acute reactions, though, so that’s good. We’ll keep plodding along, trying to convince Zac to eat a little more egg each day until we’re up to a full egg per day. (Today’s serving was 1 T. only.)

If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask for any prayers you could send our way; both for eggs to be safe for Zac…and also that he’ll willingly eat them throughout the trial! 

Two little interesting things before I go, though.

First, I picked up a second nifty thing on Tuesday, in addition to the eggs: a bike chain for our fridge door.

Jed-proofing the fridge

Jed-proofing the fridge

We wrapped packing tape around it because the cord wanted to spring loose every time we unlatched it. Attractive, I know. Necessary, though, because Jed has already opened the fridge (when I had it unlocked and was standing right next to him) and informed me that “I want those eggs right there!”

Heart don’t fail me now! 

I’m a nervous wreck having eggs around Jed!

After all three meals yesterday, I swept AND mopped the floor around Zac’s high chair as soon as he finished eating. Jed is allowed free rein to play in the dining room, and the last thing I need is for him to pick up a stray bit of egg and wind up in the ER in anaphylaxis!

It feels weird, by the way, to be taking such extreme cross-contamination precautions for Jed instead of Zac. By keeping eggs out of the house, we’d reached the point where there really isn’t anything in the house that Jed could be damaged by, food-wise.

So while the egg trial is good for me and Zac, it’s bad for me and Jed.

Some days I just kind of hate food, you know?

Anyway, the second tidbit I wanted to share was for any of you who raise your own chickens.

My Dad reports that his “girls” have increased egg production from about 20-22 eggs per week to almost 35 eggs per week since going on the GMO-free, soy-free, corn-free food!

He says they’re also showing a TON more energy; they run full speed all over the property now and are much more active than they used to be.

He thinks they look healthier, too. Dad thinks their feathers look shinier and fluffier.

So that’s something to consider as anecdotal evidence that the old maxim “You are what you eat” applies to animals, too, and you may want to consider switching feed if you haven’t already.

And in case you have never seen photos like this, here’s a little peek at what eggs SHOULD look like:

All different sizes and shades of brown.

All different sizes and shades of brown.

And here’s the insides:

Did you know eggs yolks are supposed to be more orange than washed out yellow? Isn't this gorgeous?

Did you know eggs yolks are supposed to be more orange than washed out yellow? Isn’t this gorgeous?

I love that our eggs still have bits of feather stuck to the outside of the shell when I get them, and that the yolks are bright orange and so rich looking. 

If my parents weren’t raising chickens already, I’d have to start keeping my own flock after seeing this! (And assuming eggs prove to be safe, of course!)

Have you trialed egg for your FPIES kiddo? How did it go? And how did you trial it – baked, fried, baked in something? 

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13 Responses to The Egg Trial Begins

  1. Cathy says:

    I love the face Zac is making in the picture! I’ve definitely seen that one before! I find that once I take the food away from E and tell him that I’ll eat it (i.e., it’s on my plate now), it suddenly becomes the most interesting and delicious thing he has ever had. He literally starts giggling with delight when I give it to him off of my plate, even though he had spit it out moments before. I know it’s so bad to encourage him eating off my plate, especially because I don’t only eat his safe foods, but it makes the trials go so much better. I also find that I only have to do that for a day or two and then he’s willing to eat it from his plate. The things we do for our kids (and to get through food trials)! E’s first acute reaction was to baked egg so it’s going to be a while before we are ready for an egg trial. Good Luck!

    • Carrie says:

      Hi Cathy! I know just what you mean about kids eating off our plates. We can dish up identical food on all three of our plates, but Jed will want to only eat what Darrel or I have – it’s crazy!

      I’m so sorry your first acute reaction was to baked egg. Those are so scary! I’m grateful we haven’t had an acute reaction in a while…hopefully, this will be his third safe food!

      Thanks!

  2. Amy in SC says:

    Can you make a baked quinoa dish, kinda like rice pudding? Really just guessing, but my kids love that stuff. It’s just grain, egg, some milk (quinoa), and sweetener. Mine like it hot or cold, depending on the mood and the kid.

    Bike lock = gotta do what you gotta do

    I love fresh eggs. Ours are shades of greenish blue and brown. We buy them now, but hope to have our own when we move.

    Will pray that this is a safe food. And that the big boy stays away.

    • Carrie says:

      Ooh, Amy…that baked quinoa dish sounds pretty good! We don’t have a safe sweetener yet, though. Think that would make a difference? And how do you cook it?

      Aren’t fresh eggs so pretty in their little pastel colors? Makes me happy. 🙂

  3. Julie says:

    Egg production could be sun related too. Once the weather breaks our gals lay a ton more eggs and they tend to have more orange yolks.

    • Carrie says:

      Thanks, Julie! That probably isn’t hurting things, but I still think the food makes a difference. We’ve been pretty consistently gray and cold here until the last two weeks, so the girls showed a big increase before the sun hit them. But we’re all perkier since the sun decided to come out and play, so you’re right, too!

  4. Rae says:

    I know an egg dip often is used in breading meats, so what about pork chops dipped in beaten egg, coated with quinoa, and fried in pork fat?

    Also — fried eggs have a quite different texture from scrambled eggs…especially if the yolk is not 100% hard (but still cooked enough for safety). He might prefer them fried?

    Ooh! What about Egg Drop Soup, in the pork broth?

    Best of luck for this trial going safely for both boys, and not-too-stressfully for you 🙂

    • Carrie says:

      Thanks, Rae! The egg trial is going great so far, now that I found out how to get him to eat them! LOL I’m making meatballs and quinoa muffins and he loves them!

      I’ll try breading some pork meat at some point, but I don’t have any to try that with right now. In the meantime, I’ve never made egg drop soup. How do you do that?

  5. Bisi says:

    Well Fawaz turns one in April. …… I’m so scared lol!!! Egg trial in May!! I guess I think an extra month after his one year birthday is gonna make a difference!! Already praying!!

  6. Anna says:

    Hi Carrie, I was hoping you could share the brand of the chicken feed you are using. Would you mind sharing your favorite coconut oil and quinoa brands too? Thanks so much!

    • Carrie says:

      Hi Anna!

      We’re using Scratch and Peck Naturally Free Layer Feed. It’s supposed to be soy and corn free. Some corn allergic people report that they still have reactions to chickens and eggs fed this feed, but it’s the best option I could find to buy and so far we haven’t had any problems. (knock wood!)

      For quinoa, it’s Ancient Harvest all the way, baby! They were very helpful on the phone, and their quinoa only products are manufactured in a different building than any of their products that contain other ingredients. So anything that is JUST quinoa is completely safe from cross-contact with other foods.

      We don’t really use coconut products any more, but when we did, it was Tropical Traditions. They’re the BEST coconut products on the market, IMHO.

      Hope that helps!

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