Food allergies and fear

Over the years, I have joined several groups on social media sites regarding food allergies. My daughter’s peanut allergy is off the charts – the highest level on 2 blood tests, and a skin test. My daughter will be 12 this week. I have done a ton of research about her allergy and my husband and I are on the same page about how to handle her allergy. However, over the years, I have read so much and seen so many posts from others about their child’s food allergy and the precautions they take. I love that I have learned so much over the years, but also along the way there were several times that I felt paranoid about her food allergy. I had to take a step back and ask myself if I was truly acting rationally. There were times, I freaked out a bit too much – definitely more than I should have – because of something I read. At the time, I did what I felt was the right thing to do, but in hindsight maybe it was a little over the top.

How much information is too much information? Parents will do anything and everything to protect their child, especially from something that is life threatening. Therefore, I believe that every family has to do what they are comfortable doing in regards to their child’s food allergy. I have read that some people bring their own plastic silverware and paper plates to other’s homes, so there was no possibility of cross contamination. I have read that some people refuse to eat out at restaurants, ever. I have read that people bring their own food to anyone and everyone’s home for their allergic child to eat, to avoid any possibility of cross contamination. I have read that people will skip weddings, and family functions, because of fear of cross contamination with their child’s food allergies.

My question is, how much is too much? Is there too much, when it come to protecting our children? I don’t know. Is all the information too much information – enough to make us terrified and paranoid? Where do we draw the line?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

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Wordless Wednesday: No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher’s dirty looks

Today is Bean’s last day of school! Welcome summer!

This year Bean has had the best teachers and such a great, happy bus driver. They have all been so accomodating and so on top of things when it comes to her peanut allergy. I will actually miss them, but am so excited for her to be home for the summer.

BD’s Mongolian Grill – The SAFE Restaurant

I had the pleasure of talking to Ken Leetch, the General Manager, at BD’s Mongolian Grill in Bolingbrook.  He was nice enough to take the time out of his busy schedule to discuss their safety practices with me.  This restaurant can be allergen free, gluten-free,  Paleo, or Vegan.  You pick, and they will try to accommodate.  First off, BD’s Mongolian Grill is one of my favorite buffet type restaurant.  Most buffet type restaurants are not very safe for Bean with her peanut allergy, due to cross contamination issues.  I was comfortable taking her to BD’s before, but now that I know more about their safety practices I am confident that BD’s would be a safe place for her to eat.

If you have never been to BD’s Mongolian Grill, it is essentially a place where you pick the ingredients and then take it up to the grill.  It’s amazing stir fry.  You can purchase one bowl or unlimited bowls.  With your bowl, you also get their soup and salad bar.  Their soups recently changed to being 100% home-made in-house by BD’s.  After you start off with the soup and salad, then you take your bowl and go up to the buffet and choose your ingredients.  You have several choices of meat, vegetables, noodles, sauces, and spices.  Once you have all your ingredients picked out, you can take your food up to a grill to be cooked.

Some of the safety practices they follow are:

• Temperatures are checked on the food lines every few hours to make sure everything stays cold and fresh
• The tongs are constantly changed to avoid any cross contamination
• If you are concerned about possible cross contamination due to a food restriction or allergy, they will make your bowl from fresh ingredients in the back that are kept segregated
• Also, they have an Allergy Friendly cooking station.  It is a separate place to have your food cooked to avoid allergens in your food.  The pans are used one time before being washed, and then they are heated up to 200 degrees to burn off any remaining allergens
• There is a MAC or MAM (Market Area Manager or Market Area Coordinator) walking around the food area, in a black chef coat.  They can help create meals, give ideas, and also can provide you with a nutritional brochure.

They also have a .pdf file on their website that lists every single ingredient used in all of their items.  If you are on the go, there is an Android and Iphone app called BD’s Go Mongo.  The app lets you create-a-bowl, choose all your ingredients, and view all the ingredients in the bowl you made!

Disclaimer: I did this review, because this is one of my favorite restaurants.  I was not given anything and did not receive any compensation in any way,  in order to do this review.  All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.

 

Kemnitz Family Kitchen Labels & Flags

Kemnitz Family Kitchen has these great labels, stickers, and flags for foods that are gluten free and allergen free.  They also have special labels that say “NO” in red if they are not safe.  We went to my mom’s for a cookout yesterday, and my cousin has decided to try being gluten free to see if it makes her feel any better.  We were able to put flags in the foods that were safe for her.  My mom made the homemade salsa, and taco dip.  Both were safe, so I was able to put a flag in them.

My cousin brought some Udi’s Gluten Free hamburger buns, which are not only gluten free, but nut free also!  Had to put some cute flags and stickers on those too!

My cousin brought a cake she made gluten free, and it was REALLY good.  However, my grandmother brought packaged donuts that were not safe for my cousin or my daughter’s peanut allergy, so I put the STOP sticker on them.  It was great, because they were both able to see right off that they were not safe for either of them.

I am so excited about these flags and labels.  Especially at larger family functions where different people have different food restrictions, and people bring home made foods.  People can immediately see which items are safe and which are not.

My cousin said these were a great idea, especially if you are at a restaurant and they bring around desserts to view.  They could have the little GF flag in them to show they are gluten free and safe.  Another neat idea is if you order lunch from a restaurant and they have gluten free options.  They could label your meal with a Gluten Free sticker.  Kemnitz Family Kitchen has several little stickers and flags for every occasion and food restriction.  These would be great for cookouts, family parties, and school treats.

You say it’s your birthday?  Happy Gluten Free Birthday!  Imagine getting a cupcake from a co-worker that is gluten free, with a little birthday sticker on it.

Is the food vegan?  Is it an Easter, Christmas, Halloween, or Fourth of July?  There are adorable labels to label your foods to bring to get togethers.  There are even labels to make what items your food does NOT have!  This is especially important for home made foods.  The possibilities are endless!

Disclaimer: I was sent two packages of flags and labels in exchange for my honest opinion of the products.  I was not compensated in any way, and all opinions are my own.

Review: Nonuttin’

Right off, I love the name!!  Nonuttin’ says it all!  Their products are free of ELEVEN allergens!!  Yes, 11!  Their products are dairy free (including all derivatives such as casein and whey), egg free, fish free, certified gluten free, mustard free, peanut free & tree nut free (including employees signing a contract that they do not eat peanuts/tree nuts before work or bring them into any area of the No Nuttin’ facility), sesame free, shellfish free, soy free (including soy lecithin), no sulfites, wheat free, AND since the USA lists coconut as a tree nut, no coconut either!

Are you allergic to latex?  No latex gloves are used on any Nonuttin’ production line either!  Avoiding refined sugar?  They only use evaporated cane sugar!  So their products must taste like cardboard right?  It can’t be free of all these things, and actually taste good, right?  WRONG!  Their products are delicious!  Nonuttin sent Lizzie and I a bunch of their products to try and they were all delicious!  Our kids loved them all!

The first thing we tried was their Nonuttin’ All Natural Granola.  The girls loved putting it in their yogurt or just eating it plain.  Bean loved the Vanilla Cinnamon, and Bubbles favorite fruit is blueberry, so she really loved the Blueberry Maple.

  

The next thing we tried was their granola bars.  YES, they have granola bars!  AND they are peanut free granola bars!  Can you tell how excited I am about this?  If your child has a peanut allergy, you understand my excitement.  I have not found ANY safe granola bars for Bean at any of the stores around here.  They are always “made on the same equipment” or “may contain”.  Well these contain No Nuttin!  Their granola bars come in four varieties – Apple Cinnamon, Raisin (both pictured below), Chocolate Chip, and Double Chocolate Chunk.  Their granola bars are soft and chewy, and you can actually see the apple and raisins in them!  Definitely a favorite here!

  

Next we tried their oatmeal!  They come in these great little cups, with lids.  Just add boiling water (I just used really hot water), pour it up to the line in the cup, put the cover back on for a couple minutes and TADA, the perfect cup of oatmeal!  I was really leery of these at first.  I really thought they would be soupy, and I really dislike soupy oatmeal, but they seriously turned out perfect!  There are four varieties – Daily Hug (apples and cinnamon), Morning Mojo (apples, blueberries, apples, raw sunflower seeds, and cinnamon), Pacific Coast Morning (blueberries and cranberries), and Sunny Start (cranberries, raisins, and raw sunflower seeds).  We tried the Morning Mojo and Daily Hug.  Bean had the Morning Hug and loved it.  Bubbles tried the Morning Mojo, but was not thrilled about the sunflower seeds.  I like it though and finished it off for her!

   

Lizzie came over for a cookout, and we had to figure something for the kids to have for dessert.  The dessert had to be gluten free for Lizzie’s kids, peanut free for Bean, and dairy free for Bubbles.  It is always so very difficult finding a snack that all the kids can enjoy.  Often, we find a product that is allergen free OR gluten free, however these are the best of both worlds, and allowed all of our children to enjoy them!  They loved them, and even the dog wanted some!  LOL  Lots of smiling faces, and no one was left out!

Nonuttin is a great treat for field trips, on the go, as a quick snack, also they are great for kids to bring in as a safe treat for school for birthdays or for snack day.  All the kids could have these!  They are soft and chewy and sooo good, especially the Double Chocolate Chunk, and all the kids will love them!

Disclaimer: Nonuttin’ sent us the products pictured above to review, in exchange for our honest opinions of their products.  We were not compensated in any way, and all of the opinions were our own and not influenced in any way.

 

Healthy Kids Options When Dining Out

We don’t dine out often, but when we do, I am always looking for healthy menu choices for my girls.  I was happy to hear about a program called Kids LiveWell.  I was actually supposed to attend a Kids LiveWell event this past Monday, but my daughter was having her Upper Endoscopy that day, and I was unable to attend.  I was really bummed out, because this sounds like such great program, and I was looking forward to learning more about it.

So many families avoid dining out, because the menu options are not healthy options.  Well, restaurants have heard our plea’s for healthier menu options for kids, and healthy menu options are increasingly becoming the focus of the National Restaurant Association (NRA).  In July 2011, the NRA created the Kids LiveWell program to help restaurants highlight healthy menu choices.  The NRA launched the award-winning Kids LiveWell program to make a healthful choice the easy choice when eating out with your family. It takes the guesswork out of identifying healthy meals for your children to eat.  The NRA developed this program in collaboration with Healthy Dining, who is a team of registered dietitians.  They work with restaurants to identify and validate the qualifying menu choices.

We typically tend to always go to the same restaurants because we know they have safe and healthy options for Bean.  One of her favorites is a local buffet restaurant, that offers a LOT of fruit & vegetable choices.  We know fruits & vegies are peanut free, and are a healthy choice, plus she loves them.  All restaurants who participate in the Kids LiveWell program have to agree to offer & promote a selection of healthy menu items.  I looked online, and was surprised to find several restaurants in our area that participate in the Kids LiveWell program and offer healthy menu choices.  You can find ones near you by clicking here.  There is also a Kids LiveWell app for Android and Iphones.  To learn more about the program, you can visit their Facebook page and follow them on Twitter.

This sounds like a great trend, and I hope more restaurants decide to participate.  The eating habits we learn as children tend to follow us through the rest of our lives.  Starting our children off right, and incorporating lots of fresh fruits & vegetables, will teach them how they should eat as adults and teens.  With so many children being overweight and obese, making the healthy option the “good” option to them, and pushing it in restaurants is a great idea!  Kids love going out to eat, and this allows them to still go out, and eat healthy!

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of the National Restaurant Association. If I would have attended the live event, I would have received a gift bag and promotional items to thank me for taking the time to participate.  However, since I did not participate, I did not receive any promotional items or gift bag.  :0(

 

Good Moms (and Dads)

So true!

Food Allergy?

To help determine if you or your child has a food allergy, there are a few steps you must take.

• Keep a log – write down very detailed symptoms.  Be sure to note the food and how much of the food caused the problem.
• Call your doctor – Bring your log with you and tell your doctor all about it.  He will do an exam and further testing.
• Blood Test – If your doctor suspects a food allergy, the doctor will most likely send you for a blood test.  A blood test measure’s your immune system’s response to certain foods known as immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies. However, these blood tests aren’t always accurate, and produce false positives.
• Skin Test – This is typically performed on the back for children, and on the inner arms for adults.  Your skin is pricked with a very tiny needle, and a tiny amount of the allergens are placed beneath your skin’s surface.  If you are allergic to something, an itchy raised bump will form.  The doctor will rate the size of the bump with the severity of the allergy.

 

• Restricted Diet – Depending on your results, you will be asked to remove certain foods from your diet.  If the doctor thinks that you may have an intolerance or sensitivity rather than an allergy, he may ask you to remove certain foods from your diet, and gradually add them back in to check for specific symptoms when reintroduced.  This will narrow down which foods specifically are causing the problem.  If you are truly allergic, the doctor will recommend the food be eliminated from your diet completely.
• Oral Tolerance Test – This test is done in your doctor’s office or a clinical environment, where doctor’s are prepared with emergency medication. A small amount of the allergen is given to the patient to ingest.  Typically they start with a very, very tiny amount of the allergen.  If that it tolerated, then increasing amounts are given at set time intervals, typically a every half hour or so.  If you don’t have a reaction during this test, you can typically begin including this food back into your diet again.

 

Your Saliva On Pacifiers Can Ward Off Childhood Allergies, Asthma, & Eczema

 

In an article posted on Medical News Today, researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Sweeden, reported in the Journal Pediatrics (May 6th, 2013 issue) that cleaning your babies pacifier by sucking it, you may reduce your infant’s risk of developing allergies, asthma, and eczema!

You can read the article here