Hi.  I have 15 month old twins who I am finally realizing are allergic
to milk and soy.  My son also reacted to goat's milk, but I haven't
tried it on my daughter.  I've suspected their allergies since we were
newborns, but we've finally reached a stage where we were able to prove
it.  Their major symptoms are screaming at night (usually 12-4 am) and
diarrhea.  We have cut both soy and dairy out of their diets (and mine
since we are still breastfeeding), but I know there is still something
else bothering them.  We are going to keep eliminating allergens like
wheat and corn until I figure out what else is the problem.  Since no
one in the family has had allergies to food before (except my childhood
allergy to strawberries which I outgrew), this is all very foreign to
me.

What I am looking for is help with grocery shopping.  I am very much
used to popping a box of food into the microwave for dinner or buying
fast food.  With young twins, that is the easiest thing to do.  I miss
cooking, but I don't have time for it.  Obviously, it has become a new
priority, and I am going to have to cook on weekends when my husband can
watch the kids and freeze things (we have an extra freezer, thank
goodness!) for the upcoming week.  However, I am at a loss to buy many
basic things.  I am sure that the answer is probably that I will have to
eliminate items that I am use to using (like store bought bread which
has milk, butter or soybean oil in every loaf I've looked at).  If
anyone has dealt with both milk and soy allergies and can give me a list
of "safe" brands of things that they buy on a regular basis, I would
really appreciate it.  Trying to read labels at the grocery store is not
easy to do with two toddlers!  I live in Austin where there are multiple
wholistic grocery stores as well as one store that has a large Jewish
section, so I do have a great selection of items to buy.  It's just a
matter of figuring out what I can buy that won't set off the kids.

Thanks in advance.

Elizabeth