Food Allergy Week Challange

My son C. is allergic to wheat, egg, peas, banana, sesame, peanuts and tree nuts. We have rid our house of most of his allergens except for wheat, some eggs and the occasional banana. Wheat is clearly the hardest of his allergens to live without. I find myself making 2 pastas, sandwiches on different breads, and on occasion 2 different pizzas. It is more work, and I wonder if he realizes that we eat different foods.

So, since next week is Food Allergy Awareness Week and I have decided to mark it by planning all the meals to be free of all C.’s allergens. Now, the hardest part is going to be planning a week of meals at once. I truly am terrible about planning our meals ahead. I read about moms who plan their food for the week, shop and are all set. I have tried to do this, but it never seems to work out. On most days 4:00 rolls abound and I wander into the kitchen so see what I can throw together. It is a disaster.

I really hate the dinner hour. Getting dinner on the table with 3 kids under foot and fending off requests for last minute snacks is a huge challenge. Then, when we do get to the table, I am barraged with whining about how they do not want what I have prepared. This is followed by constant pleas, by me, for them sit still and eat. I also remind them that if they leave the table without finishing, then that must mean they are full and the kitchen is closed. They do not need to eat everything on their plate, but they can not ask for snacks if they did not eat their dinner.
Now enter into the equation that fact that 2 year old C. is VERY picky and not all that interested in food. He spends dinner time begging for “more milk.” Until he realizes that he is not getting it, and goes off to play with trains. I am lucky if he has eaten a few blueberries and a cherry tomato. I just look at my husband and wonder how do other people do it – what are we missing?

I know I have my work cut out for me, but I do not think it is too much to ask my family to sit down and eat one meal together. I think it would be good for us. Eating allergen free might give us all an appreciation for what those with foods allergies go through. In the meantime I would love to hear any meal time tips or tricks that work for you! I clearly need the help.

No More McDonalds French Fries

I do try to teach my kids healthy eating habits, so we do not eat at McDonald's on a regular basis. But on particularly busy days sometimes the drive through is the best option. The Happy Meals are safe for K. and R. to eat. I would get french fries for C. and then make his special nuggets at home. Well no longer. I do not remember where I first heard that McDonald's french fries may contain wheat. Sure enough, when I checked their web site I found that they do contain : WHEAT AND MILK (Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients.)

I know when we were first diagnosed with food allergies I looked up the ingredients for the french fries, and they were safe. That was about 2 years ago. I am not sure when they made this change I am just glad I caught it. When managing kids with food allergies you can never be too safe. This is just good a reminder that manufacturers do change their ingredients. It is a good idea to re check the ingredients of foods, even if it has previously been considered a "safe" food for your child.

Leaving Your Food Allergic Kids II

Well we went to the wedding this weekend and the kids were fine! I even managed to relax and have some fun. It was a great wedding - good food (an amazing mashed potato bar!), great band and a fun crowd. I am exhausted - my stamina for dancing til midnight is not what it used to be. I think it will take the week to recover.

All my preparation and stress was probably over kill, but I will do it again the next time. Aunt J. loved the way I labeled all the food in the pantry. I also cleared out a basket and filled it with safe snacks that everyone would enjoy, Pirate Booty, Cool Ranch Doritos, and Potato chips. I just wanted to make things as simple as possible.

In advance I made some chicken and rice soup that everyone could eat. I also planned a taco dinner on Sat night since it is safe for everyone and my kids love it. I made some Popsicles and had them available in the freezer for a treat. I also bought some Cherrybrook Kitchens cookie mix in case they needed and activity.

I posted all the pertinent allergy information on the refrigerator:

• a list of allergies for each child
• a chart for medications they needed to take and when
• emergency contacts,
• Epi pen instructions
• a menu and list of snack ideas.

The kids did great - they did not miss us for a minute! They were well behaved and the weather was great so they played outside a lot and got to watch a movie at night. They never even got around to making the cookies!

Organized My Counter

This post has nothing to do with allergies, but I thought I would share anyway. This all started with my cleaning my pantry so I could label what food was safe for Collin to eat; now I have cleaned off my counter top. The space was formally used as a dumping ground for papers, schoolwork, mail, catalogs you name it. Now it neatly accommodates all my clutter!

I found that magazine files are great for coloring books, note pads, and worksheets. I bought one for each child. Now if they want to do an activity, they know where they can find it and where they can put it back when they are done. It is a beautiful thing!

The file box on the left is for all my miscellaneous papers. I have labeled my files to organize; bills to pay, school papers and reminders for each child and each school, recipes from magazines, a separate folder for allergen free recipes, coupons, things to do, kids activities and summer camp info. I also have separate files to sort articles from magazines - gardening, kid’s crafts, health and wellness, decorating etc. It is great – I have a place to file everything daily, and it is close by when I need something.

I do not want to mislead you - I do not actually do all theses things - I just keep the information organized. I am ever hopeful that I will find the time and the motivation to garden, cook and decorate my house.

On the right I found a little bin for our cell phones, i pods and sunglasses. This contains their cords too! The little stripe boxes contain markers and crayons. They are so cute and were such a good deal at our local Pottery Barn outlet that I had to get some more to hold receipts.

This has been fun and I love how clean it looks. Perhaps I will tackle my corner cupboard with the dreadful lazy susan.

One more confession - I do use a label maker. I have terrible handwriting and I like it to look neat :)

Labeling Allergy Free Foods in Pantry

I am preparing the house to leave my kids with family members so my husband and I may attend a wedding. It was very nice of my husband's Aunt and Uncle to offer to stay with the kids. Needless to say, with all of our allergies I have a lot to do to get ready. I took the first step in organizing our pantry.

I ordered the Pantry Partner Stickers from FAAN. They are green and red stickers that you use to label your food - what is safe and what is not. Green is for go - that food is safe, red is for stop - that food is not safe. The stickers are good quality so that when you have a new box of cereal you can peel it off and reuse it again.

My 4 year old loved to help label the food that was safe for his younger brother. It was a great opportunity to clean out my pantry as well. Now it is easy for anyone to tell what snack food is safe for Collin.

Handling Food Allergies in School

Last night I attended an interesting meeting of the Health, Safety and Wellness Committee of our local School Board. They called a meeting to discuss the current procedures for keeping children with food allergies safe at school. They invited our local support group to represent the parents. I really appreciate that our representative, Maria, made a point to focus on our desire to build a positive relationship with the school board. Not only did Maria do a great job of providing insight into raising food allergic children, she also voiced important questions and concerns that parents have about sending their food allergic children to school.

I commend the school board for their interest in becoming educated on food allergies, and taking steps to formally discuss what policies could be adopted to help keep our children safe. I have previously had the opportunity to meet several nurses from out local schools. During these brief conversations I was pleased to learn that they have taken the initiative to put procedures in place to help food allergic children in school. They encourage an open dialog between the parents, educators and school medical staff to develop a plan that will work for each child. As parents we have the choice of where we want to store the Epi pen, where we want our child to sit during lunch and how we want to handle class parties.

Regardless of weather your school has a formal food allergy policy in place, keeping your child safe is about building relationships. Positive relationships with teachers, nurses, friends and other parents that foster open communication. A supportive circle of friends, family and teachers will help keep our children safe. We need to advocate for our children in a positive helpful way. We know more about our child’s food allergies and their reaction than anyone else. It is our job to communicate that information effectively.

It strikes me that another major component should be fostering awareness and sensitivity among non allergic students and parents. We have all read about the case in Kentucky where a school bully put a child at risk when a peanut laced cookie was sprinkled on his lunch. Fortunately this story did not have a tragic ending. The child accused of the bullying is facing some very serious consequences. There are so many people that do not understand how serious food allergies are. Did this child really understand that his actions put another’s life at risk? How do we raise our children to be compassionate and sensitive to those who may be different? This is an issue that transcends food allergies.

Our school district has regular school assemblies. I heard a suggestion that perhaps one of the assemblies could address food allergies. FAAN even has books and videos geared toward kids to educate them on food allergies. Perhaps we could benefit from the same kind of sensitivity training used to foster acceptance of other differences, applied to food allergies.

Can't Stand the Coughing!

My 2 year old had been coughing for 2 weeks. At this point, I am sure he has developed environmental allergies. I have established a pattern. When we go outside he is fine for about an hour. Then he starts to cough a bit. If we stay out he will sneeze a little and develop a runny nose. When we go inside the symptoms subside to an occasional cough. Until bed - then the coughing kicks up again and some mild wheezing begins. Oh the poor little guy, I can barely listen to him. Most night I awake in the middle of the night to hear him coughing in his sleep. We have an appointment with the allergist next week, so we just have to get through the next 4 days. I can not even give him antihistamines because he will need to have scratch tests done st his appointment. So we wait, and I try to keep him inside as much as possible. Which is next to impossible since it has been beautiful and everyone wants to play outside! They are calling for rain tomorrow. :)