A Re-introduction...

I've been blogging about food allergies for 3 years now. It's been a huge learning experience for me and my family. One of my daughters has allergies to milk, eggs and peanuts and this is the only life she has known. We discovered her allergy to milk at 8 months old when she had a severe allergic reaction to cow's milk and formula. We avoided it until her first birthday when she had another visible reaction to her birthday cake that did not contain milk. Turns out it was egg whites. So, we took her to an allergist and discovered she was severely allergic to cow's milk (goat's milk ended up giving her the same reaction), eggs and peanuts. We were told she would possibly outgrow one or more by her fifth birthday, but when we took her for a re-check at five years old, she still had all three allergies. The milk allergy appears to be non-life threatening now, but egg has gotten worse and peanut has stayed the same.

I blog in order to journal our lives that are so greatly affected by food allergies, but also to encourage those of you who are just finding out about food allergies and those of you who have been living this lifestyle for awhile. You will find lots of recipes that our family likes and tips/tricks that I use in the kitchen and out to eat.

I am moving my blog www.allergyfree.wordpress.com to this site because it is much easier to manage and the picture quality is better, in my opinion. So, feel free to go back to my wordpress blog to check out the archives. I have moved most of my posts here to this blog (which is why I have tons of posts dated December 30, 2011), and will have more added as time goes by. I have an 'Eating Out' page on my wordpress blog that may be of help to you. I add to that as I come across allergy-friendly restaurants.

Please subscribe to my posts by email or add me to your favorites to keep checking in. I'd love your feedback, as well.

Thanks for stopping by! The New Year will hopefully be full of new ideas and posts for this allergy blog!

Tips for Helping Your Child Live a 'Normal' Life

I notice the look of hope on my daughter's face when I am checking the ingredient list on certain foods that look appealing to her. And, unfortunately, I have seen the look of disappointment when she learns she cannot have that food. I have seen her eyes light up when I have found a new treat for her and I've seen how happy she is when she realizes she can eat something that her older sister gets to eat. As a mother, I want her to be able to eat everything that her peers are eating, but I know that is not possible. It breaks my heart to have to tell her that some of these very mouth-watering foods could be very hurtful to her, but I do it because I love her. And because of this, I have come up with some things to help her feel like she's 'normal'. I hope that these tips will be of benefit to you or at least get your creative juices flowing! And if you have any great tips, please leave a comment on here. I welcome your input.

• Desserts - I have come to the point that I just like to have desserts on hand that my daughter enjoys and can eat. Not only can she eat them, but they are very similar to the desserts the rest of us eat - taste and appearance! This has been fun for me. Some are simple, some time-consuming, but they are ALL worth every minute of time and effort! The smile on my child's face makes it all worth it. You've got to find what works for you. One of my favorites: Cherrybrook Kitchen cake and cookie mixes! Check them out! They are free of nuts, dairy, egg, and peanut - even gluten!
• Ready-made snacks - These type of snacks I like to keep on hand for traveling, picnics and carrying in her bag to church or friends' houses. Most of the fruit snacks available in grocery stores are fine for my child's needs, but for variety, I buy other sweets on occasion. My favorite cookie - Back to Nature! Try the chocolate creme! Yummy! I can get these at Whole Foods and Publix. Look for the buy one get one free sales on these!
• Peanut Butter - My daughter is allergic to peanuts, so I have found a good alternative to peanut butter. One is Soy Butter - sold at most grocery stores - It's more oily, but spreads nice like real peanut butter and my daughter likes it. If you are allergic to soy, though, try Sun Butter. I've tried Sun Butter - made from sunflower seeds, but it has a big aftertaste that neither I nor my daughter can handle. If you really like sunflower seeds, you'll like Sun Butter. Who doesn't love a PB&J? Now we have a good alternative!
• Baked goods - if you're into making baked goods from scratch, but have an egg allergy, today is your lucky day! Try Ener-G Egg Replacer (affordable and it works!) for a lot of your recipes. As with any alternative, you may have to tweak your recipe to see what works for you, but this works well in a lot of baked goods. Find it at Whole Foods.

A few tips -

• Make a batch of cupcakes out of the allergy-free mix and freeze them individually. Keep some frosting on hand, as well. Then, when you need a quick dessert or your child is heading to a birthday party, grab one out of the freezer, thaw it, frost it and you're on your way.
• Make a batch of cookies and freeze them in pairs to do the same thing. Or just keep a couple of cookie mixes on hand. They don't take long to mix and bake and you'll always be ready for that last minute invitation to someone's home or outing where you'll need a special dessert for your child.
• Experiment and come up with your own quick fixes. Not only will you be happy that your child has something special to eat like everyone else, but you'll have the satisfaction that you came up with it on your own! I've come up with a few that my daughter really likes and I love knowing that I've made something yummy especially with her in mind...and one that my entire family can enjoy together!

A Day in the Life of a Food Allergic Child

I dare say that the majority of the population has no idea what it is really like to have a food allergy or, in my case, have a child with food allergies. In recent years, the topic of food allergies has made its way to the media and more popular places, but not to the degree it ought to be. So, for those of you who may not have any experience with someone living with a food allergy, this is for you. This is my daily experience with my child who has allergies to milk, peanuts and eggs. My thought processes and daily strategy, the perspective of a 3 1/2 year old, and other thoughts.
The Caregiver - (aka. Body Guard)

• Grocery shopping has changed dramatically. It takes more time to shop because it is medically necessary for me to read EVERY ingredient on EVERY label of the items I am wanting to purchase. And this hasn't changed over time. Some things I know off the top of my head what ingredients are included, but I still read the label everytime. Why? Some of the same products are manufactured in different plants and therefore could be exposed or processed on the same equipment as an item that could potentially be fatal to my child. So, every label is read. This is one change that was very hard to adjust to. Most people just go through aisles, pick up the item they want and throw it in the cart. Well, those days are long gone. Believe me, I know how hard it is to pay close attention when you have 3 children with you at the grocery store and you're trying to get them to behave themselves, not beg for food, not throw tantrums when you tell them they can't have that cereal that is $5 a box because it has Barbie on the front of it....nevermind the fact that it tastes like dirt. I know all about it. But the fact is, reading EVERY label is extremely important for the health and safety of my child. And I'll do whatever is necessary to ensure she is protected from those allergens that could threaten her life.
• Eating out is another biggie. Whew. This has become a bigger challenge as my daughter gets older. At first, it wasn't so bad going out to eat. We could go anywhere because she was still too young to eat all of the table food. Once she began eating normal table foods, my research on restaurants has become a necessity, as well. In fact, one time (while we were still bringing her own food with us to restaurants) we went to a steakhouse that serves peanuts at the table without really thinking anything about it. And although I cleaned the table where she was sitting, brought her own portable placemat, cleaned the highchair she was sitting in, etc. just being in the same room with all of those peanuts started to make her react. Immediately, I left the restaurant and took her to the car with me. I must admit that was probably the dumbest mistake we've ever made as far as her allergies are concerned. It was just one of those small, yet hazardous, oversights that non-allergic people do not have to even think twice about. But, these days when we are planning to go out to eat, I go online and try to find an allergy menu. If I can't find one, we don't eat at those restaurants. We only eat where we know for sure what is in the food. And thankfully, because of the recent awareness of food allergies in the media, you can find several restaurants with an allergy menu or list of ingredients. I plan to add a page to this site in the very near future of those restaurants - good and bad - who have these types of menus. I have to give a big shout out to Fatz Cafe! They were excellent about my child's allergies and the manager came out to the table to find out himself what allergies my child had and he made sure it was cooked apart from any other foods. What a blessing that was! Needless to say, we've been back to that restaurant a few more times. But our lives have changed, as far as eating out is concerned, in other ways, too. Going out with friends is a little difficult because we are limited on the restaurants we can visit. And then, just on a whim, we cannot go if we do not already know about a certain restaurant. So, in that way, we are limited.
• Birthday parties and other outings - This is one that is hard. I have found some terrific alternatives to your normal baked goods and other things that are present at birthday parties and many other events. They have been a lifesaver! I am crushed at the look on my daughter's face when she sees all of the yummy stuff her friends are eating and knows that she cannot have that. She has a great attitude about it and rarely cries about it, but the look in her eyes of disappointment is enough to make me want to cry my eyes out. As a mom, I want her to have all of the great delicious and tempting foods that her friends are having, but I know that it is for her own safety that I cannot allow it. It is heartbreaking. So, I've learned that I have to keep 'her' cupcakes and 'her' ice cream and 'her' cookies on hand at all times - just in case!
• Sunday School and Preschool - At our church, snacks are given out at some point during the service. This is one thing that I never used to think twice about, but that now I constantly wonder why it's necessary to feed kids at church. If you think about it, it doesn't really make sense other than to kill time. Seriously, the child eats breakfast before Sunday morning church, eats lunch after Sunday morning church and either eats dinner before or after Sunday night church, and dinner before Wed night church. So, why feed them? I am quite sure this is a battle I will not win because the majority of parents do not have to be concerned about their child's safety around food. So, I try to bite my tongue and just deal with it accordingly. I always try to have a snack in my daughter's bag that she takes to church, along with her EpiPens that go EVERYWHERE with her. And her teachers are good about giving her her own snack and/or checking with me on whether or not she can have whatever snack they are handing out during that class. I am very thankful for those teachers. It is always better to err on the side of caution and so far, her teachers have done that. As for pre-school, well, I wish that she could go to preschool, but we decided that she would be better off not going right now since we do not know yet whether she has outgrown any of her allergies. She will be tested in another year so that we will know for sure by the time she starts K5. For now, I'm attempting preschool at home....attempting is the keyword. =]

A 3 year old's view:

• Constantly surrounded by kids who are eating things that she cannot eat. She's beginning to understand why and always says, "When I outgrow my allergies, I can have that."
• She gets told no almost everyday over certain foods that she sees. For example, her older sister is in Kindergarten and brings home a sweet treat every Friday that she gets as a reward for being good all week. She recently brought home a bag full of candy from her Valentine's party at school - most of which her food-allergic sister cannot have or else it isn't marked with ingredients so we don't know what might be in it that is harmful to her. Part of this dilemma is just the fact that my oldest daughter is in school and gets to experience these things - and that happens to any child with an older sibling, but part of it is the fact that her sister gets to eat anything and she is very limited. This is just part of living with food allergies.

Life is definitely different for those who face food allergies. Even the environment can be hazardous to those who live with certain allergies, including Hand Soap, for instance. I found one handsoap with the scent of 'milk and honey'. I thought surely there wouldn't be milk in it - it's just the name, right? No! There really is milk in the soap. Then, the following week, we were at a church and when I took my daughter to the bathroom and was helping her wash her hands, I noticed it was the same soap. Thankfully, I had already found out about that previously. But, it just made me realize that it doesn't matter where I am, I always have to be on-guard! Allergies are very serious and cannot be taken lightly. It could mean life or death in some cases.

How I Became a Part of the Allergic Lifestyle

I had always heard about food allergies and some people having them, but never knew exactly what all that entailed. That is, until my second child was a year old. I knew that giving a baby milk was not encouraged until a year old, but seeing how she was almost there and how when I tried to give her a bottle of formula for the first time, she wouldn't drink it, I decided to go against the 'rules' and give her milk. Turns out there was a reason she wouldn't drink the formula! Her body was telling her not to. It only took two sips of milk to realize she was choking and hives were breaking out all around her mouth and down her chest to her stomach. She was coughing terribly and it was then that I knew she was having a severe reaction. My husband and I got her in the van as quick as we could, along with our firstborn, and began our journey to the ER. Along the way, she seemed to calm down and having a Mom who was a nurse, I knew to keep an eye on her fingernails/toenails. For if they were turning pink immediately after touching them, the oxygen was able to move through her body the way it is suppose to. Thankfully, she recovered quickly from that reaction and we did not end up having to go to the ER afterall. But the reality that our daughter has a food allergy was beginning to dawn on us. Little did I know the change in lifestyle that was going to bring for her and for the rest of our family. I called her pedatrician and was told to keep an eye on her, but that she should be okay, and of course, not to give her any milk products for awhile. So, that's what we did.  Then, came her first birthday.  We were out in California visiting grandparents and I knew I needed to find a cake that had no milk in it.  So, I was very happy to find that Angel Food Cake did not.  After eating a few bites of the cake, I noticed hives around her mouth.  Alarm ran through my body and it was then that I knew she needed to see an allergist.  She had an allergy to more than milk.  I had a suspicion that it might be an egg allergy because I had read about people having that and afterall, angel food cake is made with egg whites.  So, upon returning home from our trip, I took her to the allergist where she had the 40 prick test done on her back.  Needless to say, that was slightly traumatic for a one year old...and her mom.  The results were that she indeed had an egg white allergy, as well as, a peanut allergy and, of course, the milk allergy.  The nurse couldn't even measure the milk hive because it was spreading out like wildfire into little pods of hives.  She called another nurse in to try and measure it, but they said they'd never seen one so bad.  That was NOT encouraging.  So, we left there with the reality that there was absolutely nothing we could do to get rid of these allergies, except hope she will outgrow them.  She will be getting tested again next Summer (before her 5th birthday) so that we know what her allergies are when she starts Kindergarten.  We've learned a multitude of lessons over the past 2 1/2 years and that is what I hope to share with you.  Tips, What Not to Do, Food Alternatives,etc.  And I hope that you will share yours as we journey through this lifestyle together in hopes of living this life to its FULLEST!