Food Allergies are no Joke

Ms. Burbia mentioned this site in her blog today: http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/ along with some kid-friendly travel tips. I'm ever so glad she is shedding light on the issue in her blog and I thought I'd bring it over here too.

If you've read The Pancake Incident then you know we are an "allergy family." we are peanut/treenut free. Dairy is at a minimum and clearly labeled. It is very scary to think that a simple snack could kill my baby - but it can.

Ryan has a bit of a PB addiction. poor kid no PB at home and he is in a peanut free classroom at school. We have now discovered Sunbutter. It is made in a nut free facility- and OMG - YUM-O! I can get it in the grocery store and it is SO much yummier than PB -IMO. The other Moms in Ryan's class were ecstatic when I told them about it too.

The hard part of dealing with his allergies certainly isn't at home. I read labels and (mostly) cook from scratch. when we venture out, it is a whole new ball game. restaraunts are likely to have cross contamination - particularly with dairy. Then you have the issue of well menaing loved ones offering your kid a snack - without clearing it with mom or dad first! Sending him to school scares the daylights out of me. Yes, there are PF tables. He is allergic to dairy too. It isn't jsut about sharing food either. Colin has had CONTACT reactions. As in - he didn't eat the food, he just touched it. We all know how good the hygene of small children is. yeah.. one kid has an ice cream that drips all over his hands, gets it on a door, Colin touches the door. and it is epipen time!

Food allergies are serious. They can be deadly. PLEASE try to be considerate - even if it is an inconvenience to you.

What do you eat?

that is the first thing people ask when I tell them about our assorted food allergies. we eat a lot of things.. just not dairy, beef, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts or Cheerios...

.. but there is dairy and wheat in everything...

true enough.. read a few labels and you will be surprised at some of the things that contain dairy and wheat ingredients. BUT it is not in EVERYTHING!

sure, there are some things - like Sunbutter -that I need to go to Nature's Way for, but for the most part, I shop a a "normal" grocery store. I can get soy milk, yogurt and Cheese in the whole foods section.

Shop the perimeter

I can't remember who said it to me or if it was in reference to eating healthy or saving money, btu it applies to both. I dont' care what major supermarket you go in, BUT - you find your fresh produce at one end, then usually the deli ( you may need a little extra thought in your deli order to keep it helathy..) then your seafood and meats along the back. the dairy case, eggs and fresh OJ (I get the kind with Calcium and D added since I don't drink cow milk) then your fresh baked goods. then of course, I need to hit the paper goods and cleaning products aisles BUT I am trying to use more re-usable containers and I am shifting to more natural cleaners live vinegar and baking soda.. ones that won't kill me kid if he accidentally gets hold of them....

yes, I do get some stuff in the middle- cereal, some snacks/treats and Todd's diet soda (I do want to stay married... and I am considering the diet part a small victory at this point..) but the core of our diet comes from the perimeter - Fresh, whole, natural foods.

It takes to long to cook from scratch.

not really. chop things ahead. use a crock pot. stir fry! every fresh cooked meal doesn't have to be a Sunday-dinner roast! learn how to recycle left-overs into a new meal! my mom could feed us for a WEEK on one large roast chicken! you cna even make big meals on the w/e and freeze the extra for the week.