Guess Who?

This is not meant as a promotional post. This is just a story of a great company responding with love and care to a mom's request.

A while back I had contacted the CMO of this company on Twitter, inquiring about the availability of a sample package. We had not tried their products before except for one, and that was back when my son was 18 months and allergic to everything under the sun. So after hearing people in our support group talk about the many great products this company had to offer, I thought it was time for us to try them again. I just did not want to spend a lot of money on cookies and cereal and chocolate, only to see my son reject them all. My hope was to get samples and see what he liked best, and then buy whatever he chose.

So I wrote to the CMO. And I was amazed to see that he replied in less than 24 hours, telling me to contact one of their marketing assistants with my request. Which I did. And what do you think they did in response? They sent me two big shipping boxes filled with full-size boxes of vanilla graham cookies, double chocolate cookies, snickerdoodle cookies, lemon cookies, the most delicious chocolate crunch granola ever,  puffed crunchy flax cereal, chewy snack bars, and semi-sweet chocolate chunks. All free of the top eight allergens. All delicious.

My son loved them all. So did my non-allergic daughter. And so did I.

If you already buy their products on a regular basis, I'm sure you already know who I'm talking about. For those of you who don't, here is the answer to this riddle.

Thank you, Joel and Alina!

Trick-Or-Treat: It Can Be Sweet!

Editor's note: This is a guest post from Kimberly, The Food Allergy Mom

As the fall holidays approach, parents of children with food allergies collectively cringe at the food-related challenges they bring.  After all, both Halloween and Thanksgiving are completely centered around food!

Still, if you’ve visited my blog, The Food Allergy Mom, you know I don’t believe in letting food allergies define our kids.  Kids deserve to be kids…no matter what.

Halloween is a little more than a month away and it’s time to start thinking about how you can safely capture the magical fun and food of the holiday. 

Before I break down the different ways to safely celebrate the day, there is one cardinal rule to remember.  Foods and candy that are normally considered “safe foods” are not necessarily safe at Halloween. 

Many popular candies and treats can have altered ingredients or are processed on equipment that also processes a known allergen.  Many of these changes are due to special packaging and festive appearances of brand name products. Never let your child consume food or candy that is individually packaged unless you checked the ingredients and warning labels of the larger bag it came in.  Ingredients and warnings are required to be labeled on the exterior of the product, but not necessarily on its individual components.

Now that you know what not to do, how can you safely celebrate Halloween with the family?  Here are few frightfully delightful ideas:

The Candy Swap:  Older children or children with very mild food allergies (not requiring epinephrine), may be able to safely trick-or-treat around the neighborhood if the ground rules are laid out beforehand.  The most important rule is for kiddos not put anything in their mouths!  Accompany your child from house to house allowing them to collect candy with friends.  When done trick or treating for the night, let your child swap out the candy they collected for safe candy (candy you personally bought and approved) or a non-food prize.

Selective Trick- or-Treating:  If you have family or other food allergy friends in the area, take your child to trick-or-treat only at those “safe” houses.  This may require driving around the neighborhood rather than walking but is still just as much fun when in costume!  Make sure the treats served are truly safe by providing friends with an approved list of treats ahead of time and then double-checking the ingredients again before your child consumes them.

Pumpkin Party:  Halloween parties are usually a high-risk zone for those with food allergies and require extra care.  Even if you are the host or hostess for the party and are providing allergy-friendly food for friends, a well-meaning guest usually shows with a special dish they think is allergy-free. 

If you do decide to host a Halloween party, consider making it a non-food party or make sure your children know to eat only the food you personally place on their plates.  If you are attending a Halloween party, bring an allergy-friendly dish.  It is a great idea to bring extras of the allergy-friendly dish in your purse to provide your child with so there is no chance for cross contamination or look-alike mix-ups.

Falling For Fall:  Another option is to avoid food all together by enjoying the simple pleasures Halloween has to offer.  Load the family in the car and head out to a local pumpkin patch.  Enjoy the fall weather and take your time picking out the perfect pumpkin before enjoying a picnic.  Some pumpkin patches even host a festival on the weekends with lots of food-free activities such as carnival games, hay rides, and costume contests.

Whatever you do this Halloween, make it a safe and boo-tiful experience for you and your family!

Going to Preschool with Food Allergies

And here we go... it is time to give preschool a try. A very exciting time for my child, and a very scary one for me. Letting go, trusting others with his care, trusting him to remember at least some of the things I've been repeating incessantly for the last month. Wash your hands before you eat. Don't drink from the water fountain. Don't share food. Eat only what I send in your backpack. Etc. etc. He is 4! How much can I really rely on him to remember all that?

Luckily, his teacher is wonderful. We met a while back before school started and we talked extensively about making his school experience safe and enjoyable. She listened carefully and understood my concerns, taking them all very seriously. And we both came up with this plan for my son:

1. The classroom will be a nut-free area
2. There will be an EpiPen in his backpack and one in the classroom. 
3. She will be the one administering the epinephrine in case of emergency (the school is small and has no nurse on campus). 
4. He will only eat safe snacks that I will provide and drink only water from his own cup. 
5. He will wash hands with soap and water, and if that's not possible, he will use baby wipes to clean his hands. No hand sanitizer, as it has been shown that it does not remove peanut residue completely.
6. I will provide a safe treat and volunteer at birthday parties as much as I can, to minimize accidental exposure to cupcakes and/or cookies.
7. The teacher will have a copy of his food allergy action plan in the classroom.

With all these steps in place, the first week went without a glitch. We are now into the second one, he seems to love it so far and I am slowly starting to relax.

How about you? What steps have you taken to make school safe for your child? Do you have any tips you could share?

For older kids and high school students, you might find this video useful. It is about a California teenager who developed a peanut allergy at age 15 and about the steps her school put in place to ensure her safety.

Also great to share with your school is this web-based training course created by a team of food allergy experts in cooperation with FAAN and FAI. It is comprehensive, yet easy to understand, and provides examples of real life situations and how to deal with them. It is designed for educators, but anyone can benefit from watching it. Highly recommended.

Community Education Classes for Families Dealing with Food Allergies

 
In case you missed this announcement on our Facebook page, here it is again: Billings Adult Education is offering a series of community education classes for families that are new to food allergies. If you need some help in learning how to shop, cook, eat out, and even party with food allergies, here is your chance.
The first class teaches "How to Shop If You Have Food Allergies & Special Diets" and it is scheduled for Tuesday, September 20, at 5:30PM. The instructors are Heather Mattson and Kristin Thompson. Classes will be held at the Lincoln Center.
For more details, click here, call 406-281-5010 or contact Heather Mattson.

The EpiPen Holder Your Child Will Love to Carry

"Mom, we got a package! Can I open it? What's in it?"

As I walk to the door to pick up the package, he follows me closely, his little steps hurried and his big brown eyes curious and glimmering with excitement.

We open the package and he sticks his little hand in the box, pulling out a brown, fuzzy thing that looks like a stuffed animal.

"Mom, I love this! This is great! Can I keep it? Can I feel the texture inside?"

Love at first sight.




The fuzzy thing is actually a little monkey-shaped EpiPen^® holder made by Activeaide, an Australian manufacturer of allergy and asthma-related products.



The zipped pouch is big enough to hold one or two epinephrine auto-injectors and a few pre-filled Benadryl spoons. You can even include a copy of your child's food allergy action plan and instructions for epinephrine administration.

Fully insulated, the pouch has a multi-layered construction to keep the medication at constant temperature. The big red cross on the back makes it easily identifiable as a medical product. Kids won't see it as such though. For them, it is a cute furry friend they can hook on to their backpack and take with them wherever they go.

For older kids, teens, and adults, Activeaide offers various types of holders that can be kept in a purse or a backpack, hooked to the belt, or, for the active and sporty types, strapped to the arm/leg. I prefer the Twin auto-injector holder. It is easy to find in my big, cluttered purse and it is the perfect size for an EpiPen and a couple of  pre-measured Benadryl spoons.

The company offers several other allergy and asthma products, as well as anaphylaxis and asthma books for children.

Activeaide ships worldwide, including the US and Canada. They offer a flat shipping rate and 4-7 business days delivery.

Disclosure: I received free Activeaide merchandise for review but no monetary compensation to write this article. 

Namaste Foods Contest

Are you a good baker? I am not, and the fact that our family has to avoid a long list of allergens makes it even more difficult. Nevertheless, I would like my children to be able to experience the wonderful world of cookies once in a while. Enter Namaste Foods, a company based in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. They offer a variety of mixes for breads, cookies, pancakes, cakes, and even frosting! Although we have not tried them all, the ones we have tried turned out delicious even when using egg replacements.

It is worth noting that Namaste Foods is now located in a new facility that is free of the top 8 allergens. In addition to the top eight (dairy, egg, wheat/gluten, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish) the facility is also free of corn and potato.

Namaste Foods is currently hosting a recipe contest for kids. There are two categories: 10 and under, and 11-16 years-old. If you think your kids would be interested in participating, go here to enter.

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post and I have not received any incentive to write it.

Food Allergy Presentation

How many of you are familiar with slideshare? It is like a YouTube for presentations, documents, and professional videos. There is a bounty of slides to browse and share, on all sorts of topics, including food allergies.
This particular one I share below comes from UC Davis and it presents an overview of food allergies, including statistical data, immune mechanisms involved in the allergic response, as well as diagnosis and management. I hope you find it interesting and valuable.

Food Allergy Seminar.Lecture.Class

Source: Susanne S. Teuber M.D., UC Davis