Nut-Free Supermarket Friday Find, Plus Memorial Day Weekend Party & Travel Tips

Grilling on the go with food allergies? A disposable instant grill to the rescue.

For Memorial Day Weekend, I'm featuring something a little different for Nut-Free Supermarket Finds Friday: a disposable instant grill. No, it's not a nut-free food but we can cook nut-free foods on it and it eliminates cross contact risk from shared or public grills. For example, marinades can have peanut or tree nut products or oils and if you have allergies to fish or other foods, you never know what was on the grill if you're away from home. I've even seen peanut shells inside public grills at the park. 

 

These handy little grills are available at Walmart, hardware stores and supermarkets. Here's a link to disposable grills sold at Walmart.

 

If you're looking for Memorial Day Weekend travel tips, party tips or recipes, then click this link to a past post where there are info and additional blog post links for all of the above!

 

I hope you all have a happy, safe and healthy Memorial Day holiday with your family and friends.

Food Allergy Emergency Preparedness for Natural Weather and Other Disasters

The recent tornado in Oklahoma was a tragic event on so many levels. We are sending lots of good thoughts and love to anyone coping with this horrible crisis.

In a natural weather disaster where the devastation may be widespread and involve fatalities, water and food may be greatly limited, much less allergy-friendly food. Have you thought about how you would manage this situation? Weather disasters and other emergencies aren't pleasant to think about but since they don't happen when you expect them, it's best to be ready.

Here's a few tips for keeping on top of food allergies in a weather emergency or natural disaster:

Have a good stock of "safe," non-perishable food items that can be eaten by the entire family. Soy milk (if you can have it) doesn't require refrigeration and bottled water is always good to have on hand in case you can't use your tap water for any reason. I like to have cereal, crackers, pretzels and slow-spoiling fruits like apples and bananas on hand in case of a blackout. SunButter, if you can eat it, is also good to have as is non-refrigerated cheese and crackers (if you aren't allergic to dairy). Anything from Enjoy Life like trail mix and granola is safe for the Top 8 food allergens, gluten and sesame. These foods will keep well and give you much-needed energy if you are low on food and stressed.

Stock up on bottled water. In case the water is unsafe to drink, you need plenty of water. Look for sales and then store them in a safe place where family members won't grab a bottle for convenience.

Make sure all your prescriptions are up-to-date and well-stocked. Check to make sure that you have several epinephrine auto-injectors, a bottle of Benadryl and whatever asthma or seasonal allergies your child needs well before a crisis hits. In the event of extreme bad weather, you may not be able to renew these prescriptions in a timely manner, so get them now. Keep them in a plastic resealable bag so they don't get wet.

Keep a generous supply of cleaning wipes and antibacterial hand wipes. If the worst happens and you have to leave your home for any reason, you'll be able to remove allergenic residue from surfaces. In addition, hand and face wipes will come in handy for personal use.

Have a"Go Bag" ready. At a food allergy conference I attended a couple of years ago, a dad who used to work with NYC on Emergency Preparedness discussed the need for a "Go Bag" that you have ready for your child in a convenient area of your home. This bag would contain up-to-date medications in addition to safe, non-perishable foods and drinks.

In addition, The American Red Cross has a site with excellent plans for preparing you and your family.

For anyone interested in helping to ensure that victims of the tornado have allergy-friendly/GF food if they need it, here is an official address for you:

Send shelf-stable Allergy Safe Foods and/or Gluten Free Foods (Please mark them as such on the outside of the box) to: Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, 3355 S. Purdue, Oklahoma City, OK 73139

You can also visit Peanut Free Planet for as they are sponsoring a disaster relief effort. Here's more from PFP:
"If you would like to send a food donation to the food allergy families that have been victims of the Oaklahoma Tornado you can order on our site. PFP will cover the shipping of the gift to the Oaklahoma Food bank. If you would like to donate $ to purchase products to fill in the gaps of other donations please purchase a gift certificate. When you order enter our address as the shipping address. 15252 Stony Creek Way Noblesville IN and choose in-store pick up and put "Oklahoma" in the comments section. The donations will be shipped Thursday morning. "

What about your family? Any tips you'd like to share? Or have you thought much about this topic?
 

For Food Allergy Awareness Week: My Guest Post on The Food Allergy Mom

Kimberly, creator of the wonderful blog, The Food Allergy Mom, invited me to guest post for food allergy awareness week re: the importance of being "plugged in" online to the all of the great resources available. This topic is obviously one that is close to my heart since I have written both online and in print about food allergies, anaphylaxis and parenting for the past 6 years. Thanks to Kimberly for inviting me to guest post and thanks also for providing such a helpful resource to your readers!

Here's an excerpt from my guest post  on The Food Allergy Mom:

" “I feel alone.” That’s the number one thing that I hear from parents who have just begun navigating the world with a child who has life-threatening food allergies. I understand that feeling. In fact, it was that sentiment of feeling alone and wanting to connect that prompted me to begin writing my blog “The Nut-Free Mom.” " Read more by clicking this link.

I  am very thankful for the positive reader feedback over the years and grateful that so many readers have found encouragement, practical advice and emotional support via this blog and others.

One of the most important things about food allergy and anaphylaxis awareness is the connections! If you can find a way to communicate effectively and positively to others regarding food allergy, anaphylaxis and your child's needs, that's half the battle. One way to do that is to connect with other parents, learn from them and share your ideas so that together we find creative ways of managing life-threatening food allergies. So in that spirit, I hope you'll join a Food Allergy Awareness Week Twitter party hosted by Jennifer B of the awesome blog "Food Allergy Buzz."

It's easy to join the Twitter discussion, plus it's fast-paced and fun. Plus, you can win prizes from food allergy-friendly sponsors.  To find out more about this event which takes place tomorrow at 7 EST, click this link.

Food Allergy Awareness Week: Join the Twitter Party sponsored by Food Allergy Buzz!

Join the Food Allergy Awareness Week Twitter Party!

To kick off Food Allergy Awareness Week, I want to tell you about a fun opportunity to connect with other food allergy folks -- fellow parents, advocates and dedicated sponsors -- a Food Allergy Awareness Week Twitter Party! This event is hosted by Jennifer B of Food Allergy Buzz, one of the smartest, nicest and most dedicated food allergy bloggers and advocates that I know. She's been hosting these Twitter events for years and would love to make "food allergy" a trending topic on Twitter during the party.

It's really easy to participate, fast-paced and fun -- the hour flies by very quickly!

Here's more information about the Twitter party, including a link to the invite. Hope to see you there!

Food Allergy Awareness Week (FAAW) Twitter Party 2013

• Thursday, May 16, 2013 • 7:00 PM Eastern
• Hosted by Jennifer B
• 339-364-8832
• on Twitter
• www.twitter.com

Join us for the 4th annual FAAW Twitter Party! This is a fantastic opportunity to connect with others in the online food allergy community LIVE at 7:00 PM Eastern. Chat with other food allergy friends, help promote food allergy awareness and maybe even win a food allergy prize from one of the party's sponsors. Click this link to see and respond to the invitation.

In order to participate in the FAAW Twitter Party you will need a Twitter account.

To be eligible for a prize, you must:

1. rsvp YES to this invitation

2. follow @FoodAllergyBuzz on Twitter

3. tell friends about the 2013 FAAW Twitter Party on Twitter and/or FB (send us the links for the Tweet and FB post!)

4. participate in the party using the #foodallergy hashtag!

 

Sponsors include Surf Sweets, Onespot Allergy, Enjoy Life Foods and Peanut Free Planet!

For more information, click this link:

http://socializr.punchbowl.com/partypage/c64249971c3302da

 

 

 

The Nut-Free Buzz About Biscoff: Europe's Peanut-Free Peanut Butter Alternative and Cookie

Today's Nut-Free Supermarket Find Friday item is...Biscoff! So many of you have asked me about Biscoff in recent weeks and months that I thought it was high time I posted about this product, or really line of products since in addition to a spread, Biscoff makes delicious cookies. Crisp and sweet, they taste a little bit like a cinnamon-y gingersnap. My entire family loves the cookies and the spread.

Just a note here for those of you looking for a peanut butter substitute: I don't think of the Biscoff spread as a true peanut butter alternative, like say, SunButter, because the Biscoff Spread is made from cookies. Yes, it's very delicious, but it's not a health food. Still, if you want to try something new, Biscoff is some tasty stuff. Also it may look like peanut butter but it smells or tastes NOTHING like peanut butter, a boon to kids who, because of severe allergies, are repelled by other substitutes.

Biscoff items are a product of Belgium and since I always like to double-check any foods not made here in the U.S. due to labeling concerns and manufacturing practices, I am happy to say this company appears to be very transparent about their allergy info. Here's the nut-free deal with regard to this product:

Biscoff  spread is made in a nut-free facility as are the cookies. Biscoff Spread is packaged (not produced) in a facility that also has hazelnut items being packaged there as well. This does not trouble me, since the facility where the Biscoff is produced is nut-free, according to the company and the say they take precautions during packaging. Click this link to the Biscoff FAQs page as well as an excerpt from the company web site:

"Does Biscoff contain any nuts? Should I be worried if I have any nut allergies?
Both Biscoff Cookies and Biscoff Spread do not contain any nuts and are produced in a facility that contains no nuts.

Biscoff Spread is packed in a facility that packs other products that contain hazelnuts. Our packer guarantees 0% contamination for Biscoff Spread with any other products that contains nuts. Biscoff Spread is packed in a separate dedicated line and is never packed on shared equipment used for other products containing nuts.

Biscoff Crumbles are packed in a facility that processes eggs, nuts, peanuts and sesame."

I have never seen the Biscoff Crumbles in stores, but obviously avoid those.

More allergy info from the Biscoff web site:

"What are the allergy warnings for Biscoff Cookies and Biscoff Spread?
Biscoff Cookies and Biscoff Spread both contain wheat and soy. Biscoff Cookies and Spread are both Vegan."

Note from me (Jenny): this product contains sunflower oil, so avoid if you have a sunflower seed allergy.

You can find Biscoff spread and cookies at most well-stocked grocery stores. I've seen these items everywhere from my local Jewel grocery store, to SuperTarget and Walmart.

If you think you'd like to try this and get creative with recipes, check out this link I found from The Huffington Post, all about Biscoff and recipes that use both the spread and cookies. They may not all be nut-free recipes, but they are certainly yummy-looking and creative. You can always alter them to make them "free from" what you need to avoid.


For more information about Biscoff products, visit their web site: http://biscoff.com

Please note: With any foods mentioned here, you are the best judge of what is safe for you and your family. If you have any questions about any foods mentioned here and whether they are safe to consume, please ask your doctor.