I’ve been really struggling with whether to wean my son or continue to nurse him. As much as I would have loved to be able to nurse him until 18 months when the allergies peak and things start getting easier, my body has been putting on the brakes for a while now, especially after we had to eliminate oatmeal from my diet. After a lot of thought and a heartfelt discussion with my husband, we decided that it was time to wean. It was a very difficult decision to make but has a definite silver lining in that I am now free to actually eat out (date nights, here we come!!!), and eat dairy after almost three years away from it.
Logistically, we still will have to keep a number of the allergens (eggs, peanuts, etc . . .) completely out of our house because of our son so I’ll still be doing mostly allergy-friendly cooking. We will probably continue to use milk substitutes but I will again be able to partake in cheese with my husband. Tonight, to celebrate eating cheese again, I went all out with dinner. I made a Spinach Salad with a Creamy Raspberry Vinaigrette, steaks, a baked potato bar (though still with the dairy-free margarine instead of butter), and sauteed mushrooms.
I’ve made the Spinach Salad many times over the past few years but always had to omit the feta. It is a standard for our family but since I personally think that feta is one of the best foods on the planet, I was thrilled to be able to include it again. I made the vinaigrette different than I have in the past and am very excited about the new version. In the past, I combined olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and the raspberry syrup that you buy at a liquor store for fruit margaritas. It was good but nothing compared to making it with fresh raspberries and not nearly as healthy. Plus, it most likely had corn in it and I wanted my son to be able to have the dressing. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to the old way.
All in all, what began as bittersweet is revealing itself to be more sweet than bitter as we embark on the next leg of our journey.
From Preludes to Pralines 