After extensively researching my son’s anaphylactic allergies (dairy, egg, peanut, and tree nuts), I came across some discussion about how the constant consumption of foods with similar proteins to the ones that he is allergic to may increase the chance of outgrowing that allergen. Of course, as with many things in the allergy world, this idea is purely theoretical and not evidence based. There has not been any detailed controlled study on the subject, and no indication that there will be one any time soon. Despite the lack of evidence, the logic made sense to our family and we figure we don’t have anything to lose.
We tried to give our little one the foods separately (e.g. tofu for peanut, cherry for almond), but found that it was much more efficient to blend it into a delicious smoothy, which he loves (as does our daughter). This smoothie is, in theory, made to help with his tree nut and peanut allergies specifically. If you are looking to do something similar make sure to adjust the recipe to address the allergies you are specifically concerned with, and it goes without saying, make sure to remove any ingredient that your child is allergic to. In our case, we also added the nuts that are safe for us into the smoothie in order to keep them in his diet more frequently. This is a short explanation, if you have any questions about why we selected the food that we have or the amounts, please feel free to contact me! I’m always happy to discuss the rational, or link to available research I have read.
Here is the recipe we use for five 4oz servings, and the brands we currently use that are free of cross contamination at the facilities they are made in (for our allergens), but please double check!
5 apple skins (we use the skins because it has the most protein from the fruit)
5 pear skins
10 frozen cherries (Trader Joe's)
5 tablespoons tofu (Mori-nu)
5 tablespoons coconut milk (Native Forest)
5 dates (La Megara available from Trader Joe's or direct)
1 tablespoon pistachio butter (The Pistachio Factory)
1 tablespoon walnut butter (Corky's Nuts)
1 tablespoon pecan butter (Guidry Farms available at Sprouts or direct)
1 tablespoon coconut oil (if looking for weight gain) (Trader Joe's)
Blend until smooth, then portion out for the week & make it fun!
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