Noodler

Let the official countdown begin! In less than one week, Clara will return to the allergist for her wheat "oral challenge," which is when she will eat Cream of Wheat at the allergist's and people will watch her to see what happens (I'm bringing popcorn for the show). The hope, of course, is that nothing will happen and that we can cross wheat off of our foods-to-avoid list.

We are feeling quite confident that the oral challenge will go well, since before her initial allergy testing she ate wheat with abandon and seemed to suffer no ill effects. But for the past three months, Clara has not had any bread, crackers, or any of the millions of other food products that contain any wheat. She does enjoy her daily wheat-egg-milk-free waffle, which I buy at great cost and great convenience from the special-diet-friendly Wegman's. But I am truly excited to be able to make her a great number of wheat-a-licious delights, even if I still have to avoid eggs and milk (and peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, and fish, which are her "just-in-case" no-nos).

So wish us luck! And don't feel to bad for Clara: as you can see from the picture, she manages to eat quite well on her special diet. Here she is eating some (actually quite delicious) brown rice pasta with a tasty red sauce mixed with smooth Tofutti cream cheese. Good times.