My name is Ria Sharon. I am the mom of a toddler with severe allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, and penicillin. I am also the co-creator of My Mommy Manual and the online parenting course, Yogi Parenting. I have no medical or scientific training but I manage life-threatening food allergies on a daily basis. I hope my experiences will help you.
Every time we are at a restaurant or at a party, I am always pleasantly surprised that Tanner is the first one to say, "I am allergic to nuts. I can't have any nuts. Does that have nuts in it?" He says so quite matter-of-factly, without a trace of fear or nervousness in his voice.
And then I feel pride... and gratitude for this wonderful kid, who is like a light in my life. He has peanut and tree nut allergies. But to him, life is still something to be savored and experienced with gusto!
I wanted to share this video because I think it's important to note that using an Epi-pen so simple, that even a person as young as four is capable of doing it AND teaching others how to do it. (Note that he is using the TRAINER and not actually giving himself a shot in this video!)
On Mother's Day, we enjoyed an amazing feast at The Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis. It was truly over the top as you can see for yourself with this dessert table. But the most amazing aspect of the brunch was that the staff at the Khorassan Ballroom was not only aware of nut allergies but also quite accommodating. Not unlike the Disney Dining experiences, the Chef walked us through the buffet selections and pointed out our safe choices. The Pastry Chef did the same with the desserts. Although they did served peanut butter mousse, there were also at least ten items that were nut-free including a flan, merengue, mango parfait, fruit tarts and a host of others. It was so nice to go to such an event and not have our guy feel deprived. It gave me permission to pile the desserts on my plate. So Happy Mother's Day to ME!
Cupcakes for Peanut Allergy, Nut Allergy, Milk Allergy and Egg Allergy
My friend and support team leader extraordinaire, Carol shared her recent Egg-less Cupcake Experiment. She tried three different recipes for egg, milk, peanut and nut free cupcakes with varying results. 1ST PLACE:Divvies recipe for Chocolate Cupcakes had the right texture and a nice dome. Carol, did you say that the icing didn't hold up as you expected?
2ND PLACE: The Duncan Hines cake mix with a can of soda. For yellow mix add white soda, for chocolate mix add a can of dark soda. The cupcakes did not dome as good as the Divvies Recipe, but they were good for a quick recipe, or a recipe for family and friends. Basically, you don’t add any other ingredients but the cake mix and the can of soda, but apparently take a few sips out of the soda first as it doesn’t need too much liquid.
3RD PLACE: The Duncan Hines cake mix with Ener-G Egg Replacer which you can buy from www.allergygrocer.com and other specialty markets. The cupcakes tasted fine, and domed a little better than the soda can recipe, but they were VERY fragile. They were separating from the liners when I was trying to get them out.
Carol asks if anyone knows how to make the Divvies recipe for yellow cupcakes. Anyone? Anyone?
It's true. The burden of my guilt is weighing on my heart. I've been faithful for so long. But I have to confess that... I did it. I've had nuts. It started out so innocently. Some pistachios in a chicken salad sandwich. I didn't realize how much I missed them. I forgot how absolutely yummy they are. It's not like I made a pact with God or anything. So when I'm away from the family, I find myself ordering a salad with walnuts or devouring a whole bowl of almonds.
Yes, the cake has PECANS! And I had it in my own house, after bedtime! Guess what? It was soooooo delicious!
T, one day a long time from now, you might read this. I hope you can understand and forgive me. Just so you know, after I ate it... I did wash my hands and brush my teeth.
Great news for nut allergy (and other food allergy) families! According to the comments on the Allergy Awareness suggestion, it looks like the idea is is under review! You can also add your two cents and continue to vote.
I did a little poking around the site. I'm not sure how the folks at Starbucks are selecting the ideas to actually implement. The ones highlighted the Ideas in Action section have anywhere 20 points (comfortable seating) to 7840 (coffee classes). Our cause is weighing in at 340 as of today.
With the first warm and sunny day of spring, my husband took the tikes for a walk to our local Starbucks. It's always a trick bag though because our little guy can't eat anything there. When we met up again this afternoon, hubby mentioned to me that he happened to visit the My Starbucks Idea site yesterday to suggest that they have safe food options for families like ours. Apparently, if the ideas get enough traction, as evidenced by the number of votes, Starbucks will consider implementing them!
It could be as simple as partnering with pre-packaged allergen-free snacks like... Divvies! Mark, give those guys in Seattle a call!
You have to sign in to the My Idea site but don't let that dissuade you. C'mon, folks! Let your voice be heard. Cast your vote for the Allergy Sensitive Foods idea that my husband submitted yesterday or any number of similar submissions. Here are the results when I typed "allergy" on their search page!
Cross contamination is risky business for anyone with food allergies. It's what makes eating out a frightening proposition for a kid with a nut allergy like my son. But for those who don't live a severe food allergy on a daily basis, it's an often misunderstood issue. I thought some firsthand experiences might clarify what cross contamination means.
On our recent Spring Break trip to Chicago, we stayed with dear friends of the family. My kids call them our Cousin-Friends, we are that close! They take our son's food allergy very seriously. They make special trips to the grocery store to stock up on organic soy milk. They rid their house of peanut and tree nut edibles for the duration of out stay. And on this occasion, as she prepared dinner for all the kids, my friend noticed a stray batch of cookies she had made with peanut butter in them. She very quickly disposed of them. Then proceeded to cut up mangoes especially for Tanner, who loooooves fresh mangoes.
Only after she cut them, she turned to me in horror, "I didn't wash my hands! I touched those cookies!" Oops!
"Yeah, that's cross-contamination" I confirmed. And we offered Tanner a cup of peaches instead.
On another occasion, I had to have lunch on the run and had a chicken salad sandwich in the car that contained pecans. I took a swig from the water bottle that I keep next to my seat. Later that day, I picked Tanner up from school and he begged me for some water. I almost tossed the bottle back to him without thinking. Fortunately, I remembered. Yes, that is cross-contamination too and I explained that to him. He was not happy with me and was not buying that water can have nuts in it. Unfortunately for him, it can!
Tonight, my husband and daughter discovered our new favorite chinese take-out restaurant. Chinese? With food allergies? No way! Yes, I was so pleased to learn that the Chinese Noodle Cafe on Delmar is nut allergy friendly. When my husband said, "It's too bad we can't take our son here... you know, because of his nut allergy and the wok cooking." The manager reassuringly showed him how they do not use nut products in their woks. "Look at this dish," He said, pointing to a platter of cashew chicken. "Notice how the cashews are dry? It's because we add them to the dish later."
My husband, the super sleuth, found out that the owner, Peggy Hou has food allergies too. She shared that food allergies are a growing concern in the restaurant industry, not just for her personally.
This confirms my belief that as food allergies continue to affect more people, change is inevitable. Look at Ming Tsai, the celebrity chef in Boston, who has implemented safe food practices for the last 10 years in his restaurant, Blue Ginger. It doesn't hurt that his son has severe food allergies. He is quoted in this story on WBZ Boston saying, "Everyone has the right to eat safely, anywhere they want to eat."
The Restaurant Bill was introduced by Massachusetts State Senator Cynthia Creem requires 1) disclosure of ingredients, 2) staff training, and 3) improve public education. The first legislation along these lines was approved in New Jersey in 2005.
But Ming and Peggy agree that being food allergy friendly is a matter serving their customers. More and more restauranteurs are finding that the "you get what you give" rule is very much in effect. That's why Chinese Noodle Cafe is our new favorite!
As food allergy parents, it is understandable that we get wrapped up in the anxiety of trying to keep our children safe. So I am grateful for those occasions when someone can contribute something positive to our situation. A useful tip or recipe or an inspiring anecdote can feel like sunshine on a cold, rainy day.
Thank you, Colin, for your marvelous imagination and authenticity. Maybe one day, you'll make your invention a reality.
My Robot RDA5
by Colin
I made a robot. His name is Robot Dee Alex, or RDA5. The five is because I’m 5.
He is made of three boxes and some tape.
I feed him food and he can tell me when my food has something I’m allergic to.
A few of the buttons are for changing things into different colors.
He has a computer and a keyboard.
He has three lights. One is for emergencies. One is for when good things happen. And one is in case the robot is broken.
With dear grandparents, aunts and uncles on the other side of the earth, airplane travel is a regular occurrence in our family. Even though Tanner has a severe peanut allergy and tree nut allergies, we can't let that stop us from staying connected. Compared to 14-hour plane rides, domestic travel is a no brainer! Every few months, we find ourselves banking more frequent flyer miles. Of course, it is with measured safety precautions that we prepare for every trip. For the parents that are apprehensive of airplane travel with food allergies, here are a few tips:
• Pick the right airline. Obviously for us, Southwest is out of the question. We are relatively comfortable with American although they do serve/offer snacks with nuts on their flights. • Call ahead and ask about their food allergy policy and don't hesitate to inform your ticket agent and your flight attendant about your special needs. • Be prepared with medication. Along with our auto injectors, we carry a note from the doctor and chewable Benadryl tablets. In our years of traveling, I've only had security check the Epi-pen once and only because I volunteered it. • We bring our own snacks for the plane and wipes to clean off airplane trays or tables at the airports. • We cover our seat with a Plane Sheet (see photo above) and now that Tanner is four, we remind him not to be rooting around in the seat pocket or floor. Sometimes he actually listens!
Okay, first there was Meredith Broussard's "exaggerated threat of food allergies" article in Harper's magazine and now the segment on New York Public Radio. Listen to it here:
I've been totally avoiding this story because... well, it's disturbing. And I've seriously considered whether addressing it is just adding fuel to its fire. My readers certainly don't need to be convinced of the reality or seriousness of food allergies so this is hardly the forum for launching a dissertation citing the statistics to counter Broussard's article. I think that Gina at Allergy Moms is doing an excellent job voicing the reaction of the food allergy community.
What I find interesting is that the pervasiveness of food allergies is an issue at all. In my opinion, we have already decided as a country and as a culture that the special needs of a few warrant the consideration of all. I was actually thinking about this today as I used the bathroom at a coffee shop with my daughter. We had just read Aunt Katie's Visit, a kids book in which a woman with a disability shared with an elementary school classroom what it was like to be paralyzed from the chest down. So my 6-year old noted how the handicap restroom was extra big to fit a wheelchair. I pointed out that the toilet was higher and that there was a handlebar to make it safer and easier for someone to use the potty. The added thought and expense of this chain restaurant's bathroom was not shouldered by choice. It is mandated by law!
Why are all public buildings handicap accessible? Why do parking lots have handicap spaces? You know, the ones that come with a hefty fine lest some inconsiderate citizen decide to inconvenience a truly disabled person by taking their legally designated spot. These are all accommodations for the relatively small group of people who have special ambulatory needs. And how did this come to be? Without details, I'm going to guess that there was some issue regarding rights to access. At least, Aunt Katie says, "... it makes me sad when I can't go to a store or a restaurant because they don't have a ramp."
Well, the same is true for people with severe food allergies. Just like chef Ming Na has said, "If you own a restaurant, you can't turn away someone with a food allergy. It's unconstitutional." People with severe food allergies still have a right to go to school and to eat in restaurants and be in public places (like public playgrounds!) without risking their life. I guess if I were to expand on this parallel, not only would peanut products be banned from schools but there would be a hefty fine, especially considering that peanuts aren't just an inconvenience but are actually life-threatening to children who have a constitutional right to attend that school.
Since no one can deny that food allergy is an issue (take a gander at over 100 responses to the radio program on the WNYC page if you are in doubt!), the exact extent of its pervasiveness is really irrelevant. I think the issue is how we, as a society, respond to the needs of people who live with food allergies. If we are being consistent, then even this question has already been addressed.
