Out for breakfast in PDX - "Jam" in SE PDX on Hawthorne

We had breakfast yesterday at JAM. What a great little breakfast place. All foods are sustainable, local, etc. The jams are homemade....just a great find. Beware so, this place gets packed especially on the weekends. It opens at 7:30 AM so be there early.

But why - you may ask - do I write about this restaurant on the Galactosemia Blog...well, they offer VEGAN Blueberry pancakes, the Hashbrowns, eggs, etc. are all dairy free and of course they have soy milk. I am just excited to have another option now where the girls can eat pancakes (Besides "Cup & Saucer" and I love that place too). The kids breakfast menu includes eggs & bacon, vegan pancakes, and the bread...its all from Grand Central. And all breads from Grand Central is milk derivative free :)

Here is the information for JAM -Phone: (503) 234-4790
2239 Se Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214. - It is located on the North corner of Hawthorne, between SE 22nd and SE 23rd Ave. (Right across from Grand Central on Hawthorne)...

Enjoy! - Let me know what you think...

Diet of CG in Germany

While in Germany we met with a couple of families in Berlin who both have kids with CG. I understand that families are urged to include aged cheeses in their diet thus eliminating the need to supplement calcium. I saw the list of cheeses which was ok'd after new testing and it includes cheeses which have been aged for 6 weeks or longer. Interesting, isn't it?

For us, we allow our oldest to eat Parmesan Reggiano. This we only allow at home. She has been eating Parmesano Reggiano on a regular basis now for almost 6 months and her levels did not increase. Note also, that we do not adjust our diet in any way before the draw. I am very interested however to see whether it increases her calcium level in any way...

Halloween - "Trick or Treating" we had so much fun

We had SO much fun last night. For dinner we orderd pizza from Oasis Cafe, and then went out trick or treating. Both girls wanted to be cats this year. Cats with bright pink tails :) After dinner we went "Trick or Treating". I think this is first year that Alena really understands the concept of knocking on somebody's door, say "trick or treat" and then you get some candy. Maybe 4 is the magic number for that :)

Both girls had little jack-o-lanterns to collect their candy in. They just had so much fun digging through the bowls to take any type of candy that looked good to them. After an hour their bags were almost overflowing.....What fun!!!

Back home Alena and I sat down at the table. Alena sorted out all the candy containing milk (I had no idea that she knows exactly which candy she cannot eat....), trading it for candy she can eat. We did the same thing with Mia...That's how easy it was....

When I first found out that our girls have CG I would have NEVER thought it possible to go trick or treating, or thought that it would be no problem at all to just sit down with them and exchange the candy. And you know what? It is just that easy and no issue at all. Life is what you make of it!!!!

Happy Saturday to all....

P.S.: After a breakfast of pizza the girls are now indulging in their candy. Mmmmmhhhh...but then again, Halloween (or the day thereafter) is only once a year....

Halloween - Candy at School...so proud of my oldest...

Our oldest goes to Preschool 5 mornings a week. The school does a fantastic job managing the diet...Today she was in after care for an hour. When I picked her up she showed me a piece of Tootsie Roll and asked "Right, Mommy I cannot eat this candy?". Of course she canNOT eat Tootsie Rolls. I am just so proud of my 4 year old to 1.) confirm with me that its not OK to eat, 2.) hold on to the candy, 3.) give up the candy without any problems...WOW - I am not sure that I would have been able to do that at 4...

In any case, this also goes to show that it is just so important to educate the other adults around us to never give any food to kids they do not know...

Happy Halloween everyone.

Chocreale - Chocolate/Hazelnut spread just like Nutella

I grew up with Nutella. So every time I see Nutella in a store a get a little sad because the girls cannot eat it. Last year in Europe we discovered Chocoreale. It is a chocolate spread available in Hazelnut/chocolate, dark chocolate, and "milk" and chocolate. I brought a couple of jars back with me last year but not this year because it is so heavy.

I just found a store selling Chocoreale online in the States. It is quite expensive but so worth it for a treat every so often. The web-link to this vegan food store is http://www.veganessentials.com/index.php

FYI - I did not check out their entire selection but it does look great what they have to offer. I hope you and your kids will enjoy Chocoreale just as much as we do...

Sweet "cream" - whipable

Soya Too now also sells "whip able" cream in addition to the whip cream. I saw it last week at New Seasons Market. What a great addition when making cakes, etc. This will be so handy.

In Germany I saw this in stores and brought a couple of Tetra Packs with me just to have on hand...so glad to have found it here.

If you do not have this item available in your local grocery store don't worry. I just also found it online at

"The Vegan Store" - http://www.veganstore.com/822.html

they also carry the Alpro heavy cream., chocolates, dairy free cheeses..wow what a great selection on non-dairy foods...http://www.veganstore.com/ check it out looks great.

One disclaimer so - I have never bought food stuff from an online store...

Halloween - Trick or Treating what to do...

We are back stateside and I am finally somewhat getting caught up on everything including the blog.

This week is Halloween and we will go "Trick or Treating" with both girls. They both want to be cats this year...I think that this is the first year that I am feeling a little less anxious about this tradition. In past years I was always worried that our oldest would be upset to have to give up candy. Here is what we did last year...

- When we get home we exchange the "bad" candy to candy they both can eat
- Last year oldest was really excited about that because she knows that there is plenty of
candy containing "Kuhmilch" which she won't touch

There are so many candy choices out there for the girls - so this is what we have in the house (and also hand out)-

- Skittels (this is their absolute favorite)
- Dots
- Mike & Ike
- Junior Mints
- Starburst
- Nerds
- Twizzlers

I am sure there are other options, this is just what we have found so far. Candy obviously is not the ideal food, but what a treat for a little kid :)

We took the train to Berlin...food on the train

Last Thursday we took the train to Berlin. All together an almost 9 hour train trip...on the way up I packed plenty of food for the girls. Made Salami (safe, from the butcher in town where everything is w/o any milk sugar) sandwiches, brought cookies, gummibears. It was fantastic enough to eat and we did not need to worry at all :) In the afternoon an icecreamwoman was announced and she walked through the train offering ice cream. We of course were sure that she would have popsicles w/o any milk. Where we wrong...the girls were both so disappointed. Good thing there is also a bistro on the train where they sell Pringles. Normally not the food of choice, but since the girls were so sad...the Pringles were a welcome treat. They loved them and forgot about the ice cream.

On the trip back we were not as prepared. We had stayed in a Hotel in Berlin and were not able to make sandwiches. We had plenty of snacks so. At lunch time I went to the restaurant car asking whether they had food declarations. And they did!!! There was one meal (Asian Noodles) the girls could eat and it was great. The bottom line is that it is quite easy to travel by train not really worry about the food. I speak German, but I certainly would have also found the information if I only spoke English.

Have a great day everyone...more from our European adventure soon :)

On vacation in Germany

...just a quick note. We are now in Germany on our annual vacation. The trip was uneventful. For the food issue, we are just glad we brought our own. We ordered the vegan meals for both girls, but the margarine contained whey and we really do not know about the bread...

Here in Germany we just always make sure to bring our own food along. Today we went swimming. The girls were (of course) hungry for a snack afterwards. All of the sausages in the bar contained lactose...good thing that there are always french fries (Pommes Frites) and we brought some sausage along...

Getting ready for the trip...

Alright so we are leaving for Germany tomorrow. I have packed the bags, gotten the letter from the girls physician, and just now also packed the food to carry on. The girls are just SO excited. And its not just because I packed Tings as a snack :) - One thing I still need to get is bread. Why, oh why do I always skimp on bread? Both girls just LOVE it...well or I may just get some bagels, but it will need to last until we are at our destination in Germany and that will take close to 20 hours...