I will speaking at the FEAST meeting February 22 at 7pm on Empowering Children with Food Allergies. FEAST is a wonderful support group for parents of allergic children. It meets monthly at the Memorial Library of Radnor Township and shares information via email and meetings. For more information please contact Jean at jmk226@cornell.edu
Du Jour Market
With not a lot of great places to eat on the main line (Philadelphia suburbs), it is a pleasure to go to Du Jour. My daughter is always treated beautifully at Du Jour. She puts her order in directly with the general manager Marianne Mcdevitt. She ensures that my child’s meal is completely safe. The food is delicious! If you are in the Haverford, Pa area, visit Du Jour Market 379 Lancaster Ave. With or without food allergies, this place is great. www.dujourmarket.com
Article on Safety at School /Playdates
Over 12 million Americans (1 in 25) have a food allergy. Children are the largest group affected. There are an increasing amount of young children attending schools with nut allergies. For a parent of a child who is allergic to all nuts, it is second nature for me to protect her. For parents and teachers who do not live with this reality, it can be confusing, scary and overwhelming. It does not have to be this way!
If ANY child who is allergic to peanuts or tree nuts eats even a small amount of those allergens, they could have an anaphylactic reaction. EVERY child who suffers from this condition is susceptible to a deadly reaction. There is no such thing as being a little allergic. However, there are easy strategies to keep these kids physically and mentally safe.
In the Classroom:
If children bring peanut butter or food that has blatant nuts, they should sit at the Nut Table. Studies have shown that when you make kids who are allergic to nuts sit alone ( i.e. the Nut Free Table), they feel bullied, out casted, ostracized…DIFFERENT. They already live with the fact they are “different”, but making them sit alone adds salt to the wound. When a child brings nut products to school it is by choice. When a child comes to school with nut allergies, it is not by choice. Most kids without allergies develop sympathy for those who cannot safely eat what they can. Children want to sit with their friends. They do not want to feel left out. If you create a nut table and a safe table, most kids will be able to sit at the safe table. My experience has been that most kids will decide to bring safe food to school , so they can sit with their friends with nut allergies. Most children will remind their parents not to send nut products, so they can sit with their friends who cannot safely eat nuts.
A few wonderful books for teachers and students are:
Chad the Allergic Chipmunk: A Children’s Story of Nut Allergies
Allie the Allergic Elephant: A Children’s Story of Peanut Allergies
There are dozens of NUT FREE treats and alternatives to send to school:
Instead of Peanut Butter 2 Excellent/healthy alternatives are Soy Nut Butter (IM Healthy) Sunflower Butter (Sun Butter)
Treasure Mills Allergen Sensitive Snacks makes school safe treats such as brownies, chocolate chip treats, oatmeal raisin cookies, etc… ( sold at whole foods)
Divvies (on line) makes delicious treats for school
Vermont Nut Free (on line) amazing candies, treats, etc…
Dr. Lucy’s (on line) wonderful desserts
Enjoy Life (on line) yummy treats and snacks
Entenmanns makes several nut free deserts (BE SURE to read ingredient label…not every item from them is safe!)
Many popsicles and water ices are safe (must read labels)
Obviously, when reading an ingredient label you want to make sure that there are not any nuts . However, just as important is to make sure the product was not manufactured in the same facility where nuts are present. This cautionary statement will most likely appear, under the ingredient label. But it can sometimes be found next to or even on another side of the product. This is the companies way of telling the consumer there could easily be nuts mixed in with this otherwise safe product. Stay away from these products!
In Your Home:
If you are having a child over with nut allergies, it is simple to keep him safe. It is absolutely fine to have nuts and peanut butter in your home. Please just put them out of reach. If you have prepared peanut butter sandwiches, as long as it is not on any surfaces, no need to wipe up. If possible, be sure to have the parent of the play date read labels. If not, keep it simple. The child can safely eat fruit, vegetables, cheese, yogurt, MOST Mac and Chesses, MOST pizza snacks, ….just carefully read labels and look for cautionary statements regarding the facility the product was made in. Make sure the parent leaves 2 epipens and they train you how to use one in case.
As a parent of a child with food allergies, I am grateful for all other parents who try to keep my child safe and happy. I am also grateful for the parents who try to keep my child from feeling left out!
Lori Aronsky www.foodallergyally.com
Check for Epipens
Before you leave to go anywhere, make sure you have 2 epipens. Because you may have changed purses, back packs, given them to someone else, etc… When age appropriate, a child should always carry their epipens. It needs to become a habit. The reason to carry 2 is in case one does not work (it is a mechanical device therefore, it can break) . Also, the life saving effects of the epipen only last for 20 minutes.
Dylan’s Candy Bar
Nut Free Section
Just got back from my favorite city in the world…New York. We had a wonderful weekend. But as a mother of a child with a life threatening food allergy, traveling is stressful. But as I always tell my child… you have a mouth and eyes to ask and see ingredients and an epipen to save your life. You have a plan. All the restaurants we ate at were extremely accommodating except the famous Cipriani’s. They were rude and completely unwilling to help us. However, we ended up at Park and they were beyond wonderful. The managers went out of their way to keep my daughter safe and happy. The food was terrific! The place was beautiful. So thank you to the staff at Park! The highlight of our weekend was going to Dylan’s Candy Bar. Taking a child who is allergic to ALL nuts into the worlds biggest candy store is not easy. But, Dyaln’s was a dream come true. As we entered this slice of heaven on earth, we met another girl named Emily who has the same allergy. She is a bright and adorable 13 year old from Chicago. Emily overheard us discussing our strategy for going through the store. She was excited to take us to the NUT FREE section. We were thrilled to see a special area with delicious products from Divvies and Vermont Nut Free. What a relief to see that Dylan’s cared enough to dedicate this special spot to those who have allergies. I spoke with Jordin in the marketing department. She is working on other allergy safe areas such as gluten free, egg free, etc… The store is a dream for anyone who loves candy, but my child (even with her allergies) had the best time ever. Thank you Dylan’s… you are as sweet as your delicious candy!
The Black Cloud
When my daughter was a baby… I worried she would fall and scrape her knee, catch a bad cold and be uncomfortable, be damaged for life crying herself to sleep, etc…..
When my daughter was diagnosed with food allergies…I worried she would eat something and die! When I realized that just a bite could kill my baby, a black cloud rolled over my life. It has been hovering over me ever since. Some days it is darker than others…filled with heavy torrential rain. At any moment my child could accidentally ingest food that could stop her breathing. Food is everywhere like a thick blanket covering the sky. It can not be avoided. I check every label, talk to every restaurant manger/chef, send “safe food”, etc……… But sometimes it is not enough. Accidents have and will happen! That is a fact of life. It can not be avoided like the food which is everywhere.
After years of experience, the only way I have found to keep the cloud lighter is to have a plan. Check ingredients, check them again, make sure you ALWAYS carry 2 epi pens , and keep your fingers crossed. As soon as my daughter was able to read, I taught her how to read labels. As soon as I felt like it was appropriate (a month ago…she is almost 10), she gave herself the epi pen. As soon as I thought it was appropriate, I had my daughter order her own food. Part of my plan is to empower her to take charge of her life. I don’t want her to have that dark cloud looming over her beautiful head.
With a life threatening condition, you can NEVER let your guard down. One bite can kill you. But like all parents who worry about their child’s safety, most of it is out of my control. That is why each day I try to concentrate on what I can control. I am teaching her this life lesson all the time. We can not change her food allergies, but we can minimize the risk of them hurting her.
After a close call or an accident, the black cloud rolls in low and heavy. But I shake it off (as best I can) and concentrate on the PLAN. The cloud will be with me forever….I just need to focus on our plan!
Holiday Danger Zone
It is holiday time and the gifts are out of control dangerous. Neighbors bringing over all sorts of unidentified deadly baked goods. Wish they would just dump them in the garbage can on the way in. “Only nice of them” my husband tells me…I reply “Maybe they’ll bring over a hand grenade next year!” Seems like everywhere I turn there is a nut on something…peanut butter cookies, nut-laced fruit cake, giant cheese balls smothered in deadly nuts, nut of the month club holiday gifts, …..every holiday party is full of land mines…entire appetizer trays full of assorted nuts! I even saw mashed potatoes with almond slices on top. That has always been a safe bet at these holiday parties. You know things are scary when the taters are tainted with nuts.
I check every single spec of food that might go near my daughter. We bring all sort of safe back ups for her. We carry 2 epi pens. We have a plan and it does work, but there is always a stress I carry with me at other peoples homes (especially during the holidays) . Especially when they bring those darn deadly dangerous “only nice of them” baked goods to my home. Happy New Year…..stay away from the neighbors!
Breakfast Ideas
No matter what the allergy is…Breakfast is still the most important meal of the day. There are dozens of healthy delicious morning options for kids of all ages. For individuals allergic to milk, a sunny side up egg, dairy free bread with melted soy cheese breakfast sandwich topped with salsa is delicious and safe. Nut allergy…no problem…enjoy a “nut free” healthy pop-tart alternative Natures Path Organic Toaster Pastries. Delicious, nutritious and nut free.
