The Nut-Free Mom Blog Gets a Food Allergy Blog Award, plus, Food Allergy Awareness

Thank you to Healthline for naming The Nut-Free Mom blog as one of their top food allergy blogs of 2014! This is the third year my blog has received this award and I am extremely grateful to be recognized in this way. Thank you, Healthline!

Click this link to see the other winners; you'll see some of your favorites and might even find some new ones. I'm definitely in good company. A big congrats to all of the winners!

As nice as it is to receive an award, the most important thing to me is the way that blogging has allowed me to connect with other parents and even teen/adult nut allergy sufferers coping with the same issues. If I have helped any of you in any way by sharing my experiences and knowledge, that is exactly my goal.

And if you are a new reader, let me give you a warm welcome and invite you to peruse my 630 + blog posts that deal with the many aspects of nut allergy management. Just type your key words into the space in the search bar located in the upper left hand corner of this blog and let it rip!

Since my receipt of this award is so close to May, which is Asthma and Allergy Awareness month, I've been thinking about some posts I've shared in the last year that seem to have resonated most with readers. I realized that many of these popular posts have, at heart, the issue of food allergy awareness. If you have already seen these posts, thanks for reading! If you haven't, I hope you'll give them a look.

Nut-free baking for the non-allergic. This is one of the areas that I feel needs the most awareness since it deals with the food allergy awareness "biggie" of cross-contact and how to prepare "safe" foods. If you haven't already read this post, here is a link (and you can find it in the right side bar of my blog as well.)

My best advice for parents of kids with life-threatening food allergies. I've thought a lot about this topic over the years and watching my own kids grow, this post sums up the most important things I've learned.

Working around food allergies at school parties. If you have school-age kids, you know this is a big one! Check out this post for tips on navigating the food allergy minefield that class parties can be.

Thanksgiving with Food Allergies: Let's Dish. Look, I know we just had the spring holidays, but the thoughts and suggestions in this post can be applied to pretty much any holiday, because what do holidays all have in common? Food! This post offers advice on coping with holidays and allergies.

What I really hope is that blog readers find practical advice and especially, helpful encouragement from a parent in their shoes. This is the other reason I wrote my nut allergy e-book guide for parents, because I firmly believe that even though food allergies are serious and must be regarded as such, they don't have to get in the way of anyone living a full life.

Thanks to all of you for your continued readership! Now, let's hear from you. What are some of the biggest issues you face when navigating food allergies?