Cinder, we do eat a lot of black beans and red beans. I've never tried field peas though, and that sounds like a different idea. Thanks! Zoobie, I'll have to look for tiny garbanzos - and I don't think I've seen split garbanzos in a long time, now that I think of it. Will have to check around. I just miss some of the lentil dishes we used to enjoy... trying to find a substitute for that particular texture/taste is harder than one would think! These are all great ideas - thanks!

Beaners, what a great idea. I think some grains might be a good substitute for our purposes - now I'm going to do some experimenting!

Thanks, Ravin. I'll try those!

My doctor is a big proponent of the Mediterranean Diet. While you're checking out the other options, maybe check that one out too, and see which is most appealing. :grouphug:

Lentils are out here, due to anaphylactic allergies, but I miss making some of our lentil based meals. What would be a good substitute in recipes? I'm drawing a blank, which seems silly. Any ideas?

Double post. Sorry!

My allergic DS has had severe, frightening reactions from airborne particles. Twice - once in an environment (store) where they were selling a lot of chocolate and nut items (nothing loose, all bagged, so we thought it would be okay), and another time when I cooked lentil soup (lentils often cross react with peanuts - that's how we learned to avoid lentils). Basically, if one inhales an airborne particle into one's mouth, it's like ingesting the allergen. Oh! And another time when DH brought home 5 Guys. We thought peanut residue might have been on DH's shirt. Allergist had told us never to take DS into 5 Guys, but we thought take out for us would be okay. I wouldn't rule out the rice, either. Unless you read the packaging at the restaurant, and discussed cross contamination with the cooks? All it takes is a cook using the same spoon to serve the rice that s/he used to stir something with another allergen... We rarely eat out, but when we do, there is always a discussion with a manager, and unless we are confident that the manager understands food allergies, we don't eat there. Usually the manager prepares the food him/herself. Oh, and rice - we don't order it. It's one of those items that they've probably prepared in advance since it takes so long to cook, and so we have no way of ascertaining their allergy-awareness before our arrival. Our allergist constantly reminds us that when eating out we are placing all of our trust in the cooks/servers. All of it. It's our child's life in their hands, which is a sobering thought. But, your kiddo's allergies sound different, and the doc's advice to you is clearly not the same... (Have you considered a second allergist's opinion?). So maybe all of those precautions sound like overkill to you. That's okay, too, as long as it works for your family. Did your son have a skin prick test as well as a blood draw? Did he react to peanut? I don't personally know much about IgG allergies, so I'm not much help there. Just wondered if you'd explored peanut via SPT. The IgE allergies, though... Do you avoid all of those items? My kiddo has several IgE allergens via blood that we don't avoid, but we watch out for symptoms, and we are aware that problems could develop. This is at the advice of our allergist. She had us eliminate the allergens totally for 2 weeks, and then flood his system with them, just to see what would happen. Sure enough, 2 of the IgE allergens that didn't seem as frightening, as he's not anaphylactic, were exacerbating his asthma. So we avoid those 2. The others we ignore. But we are always armed with epipens, for other reasons. :) I hope you find answers soon. FWIW, it does sound like your kiddo had some type of reaction - but there are so many variables, I think it would be hard to pinpoint the cause. Peanuts in 5 Guys, possible X-contamination in the Chinese restaurant. Mystery reactions are the worst!

Hoping it goes as well as possible for all. :grouphug:

It sounds like you are worried about PAS. (Parental Alienation Syndrome) You might check out some articles or books on the topic, maybe do some googling and read reviews first. I wish I could recommend something specifically, but it's been so long that I can't recall which ones were helpful. PAS can be very subtle, it doesn't just mean bad mouthing the other parent. It can be as subtle as a quiet change in expression, discouraging positive talk of the other parent, or encouraging negative talk. It is insidious. And very hard to combat. There could be some articles out there with specific strategies. I hope so.

I didn't vote, because my thoughts weren't quite listed as an option. :) Can you (or, a-hem, the hypothetical mom) have a conversation with the kids removing yourself from the legal action? This is how we handled a situation with a non-custodial parent, per our family therapist's advice. So rather than you trying to send someone to jail, it's more that our country has laws about parents needing to do the right thing for their kids, and when a parent doesn't do what s/he needs to do, then the court steps in to make sure that s/he does. I can't remember exactly how our family therapist had us phrase it, but it essentially took the blame off of us, and also gave us a way to avoid tit for tat type mud slinging. It gave us a way to take the high road. It's a tight rope, but it's possible. As for an extended visit... No. Not unless it's in the court order. If CP and NCP were getting along great - that would be a different story.

Ugh. That stinks. On the other end of the spectrum, we had to decline a niece's invitation as it was a "no kids" event. No child care options for us due to DS's health issues, but we understood their feelings on no kids. No big deal. We sent our regrets, and a very nice gift from the registry with a beautiful card. Niece has barely spoken to us since. :( Nor has her mother (my stepsis), or her grandmother (my SM).

:grouphug: What a terrible situation for your DD. I'm so sorry she's in such pain as a result. The school's handling of the bullying is unacceptable. I hope you'll pursue every avenue available to make sure that they don't let another situation reach the point it reached with your DD. And I do think they failed to provide your DD a safe environment, and should refund part of your tuition, as another poster pointed out. Their actions were clearly not adequate to the level of bullying. A police report, an attorney, whatever you can do to get this message across. Obviously, your first priority is your own kiddos, but your actions here may well save another child's life, as the bullies will likely move on to another target. How horrifically sad. The suicide comment... I have mixed feelings on that. I understand that your daughter feels upset by what happened after she said those words, but goodness, those are serious words. The nurse can't possibly have known what might happen next, or what your DD would do. She was calm, but that doesn't mean she would not have acted on her words, and in fact, I think that calmness would be disconcerting. I am coming at this from the perspective of someone who has seen a teen make good on those threats - more than once, and personally - every comment to that effect would be taken seriously - very seriously. There is no backtracking and saying, "I didn't mean it, it was a joke, it wasn't serious." Did you know that most failed attempts are followed up by statements like that? And a good number of those people go on to make successful attempts later. I'm not saying that your daughter meant her comment, but I am saying that if I heard a child make that statement - I'd act as though she did mean it, as doing otherwise could have terribly sad results. What if your daughter had followed up on that statement? And the nurse had not acted? I understand your feelings about your DD seeing the psych ward. I've seen it, as a result of the teen I mentioned above. It was a horrible sight. I hated leaving him there, in that place, but there was no choice for us, at that point. I am grateful that your DD did not have to stay there! Maybe, at this point, some counseling for your DD - to deal with the repercussions of bullying and what happened, not necessarily the suicide comment - would be good?

I would listen to the ENT, and follow his/her instructions. You went to a specialist for a reason. :) The urgent care doc sent you to a specialist to get a more informed opinion - I'd run with that. FWIW, I've taken Levaquin and developed tendon issues - but only after taking it long-term,and at a much higher dose than you'll be taking it to knock out an ear infection. Tendon issues don't happen over night, you'd have warning. And, really, I was on it for months before any problems. I think you'll be fine, and you'll feel much better. Whatever you decide to do... Hope you feel better quickly!

He's gorgeous! Congratulations!

Afternoon coffee in hand here, too. :D Mmmmmmm...

Julie, I might just print those health benefits out and hang them on the fridge. :) Love it! I ordered the free trial bags, nicolepa! Can't wait to try it. I love espresso with chocolate overtones, so reading that sealed the deal. Our espresso machine is out for repair right now, and this conversation has made me doubly anxious to get it back!

I'll try it! Fresh roasted makes such a huge difference. We had a subscription to Counter Culture for a long time, and getting freshly roasted beans is a yummy treat. So much better than something off the shelf at a store. Mmmmmm... thanks!

Ooooh, I want to try Cafe Altura. Thanks! Dandelion, is it an oily bean or does it look more matte? The oily ones gunk up our machine so we are supposed to avoid them. I love finding new coffees, so will try either way. If it's oily, I just have to sort of blot the beans. We use NOW melatonin, too, but we switch up brands sometimes. Some do seem more effective than others.

I'm not Dandelion, but Counter Culture roasts a great shade grown organic bean. :)

Yes, melatonin works for us. Ditto Dandelion's experience. I take it not quite nightly, but DS takes it nightly. Without it, he simply stays. awake. all. night. He takes 1 mg. I've thought about trying valerian root tincture with him, but haven't. That might be an alternative for you, too.

Sleep, schmeep. I'll just double up on that melatonin! Just kidding. Errrr... Kind of kidding. ...Okay, maybe I'm not kidding. :D Wait a second... Did you just enable me??? :willy_nilly:

It will say shade grown on the packaging, I think, as they'll want to market that angle. :) I'm going with Dandelion's astute assessment about the mycotoxins. Yet another healthy angle! Shade grown is better for the birds, as it doesn't destroy bird habitat the way some other bean growing practices do. But the mycotoxin angle is yet another plug. :) I do taste a big difference, too. On that note, I am sorely tempted to go grab an espresso right now. The power of suggestion. Fighting the urge!

There's nothing quite like enabling each other, is there? :lol: :hurray: :lol:

Oh! I have Hashimoto's, too. :) I don't know much about it, really, though, so it's good to hear tiredness is normal. I have difficulty falling asleep, despite being tired all the time. It's bizarre. So, yes - melatonin at night and espresso in the morning keeps me going. Better living through chemistry. :D ETA: I have an espresso with my afternoon adrenal meds, too. Not sure I can justify that one as remotely healthy, but it's how I keep going in the afternoons. That's my dark confession of the day.

You should have seen me skipping out the doc's office the day she told me about the benefits of melatonin at night and coffee in the am! I skipped all the way to Starbuck's! If you want to call it a health benefit, drink organic, shade grown beans. :)