Food Allergy Guidelines for Illinois Schools Now Available!

Illinois lawmakers recently passed legislation regarding required guidelines for dealing with food allergies in all Illinois schools. The great news is that these guidelines are already available online.

Most schools in the various districts around the state will most likely adopt these policies and tailor them, if necessary, to their schools' needs.

Many people worked tirelessly to get this passed and also to create the food allergy guidelines documents. A big thank you to all of them!

If you don't live in Illinois and are having trouble getting food allergy guidelines in your state, send this link along to your state government reps as a model of how to implement these policies.

If you do live in Illinois and are having trouble with your school, please refer them to this new food allergy guidelines link for direction and help.

I'm so excited that this was finished before the next school year. Again, thanks to all the parents and state reps who made this possible!

Nut-Free Holiday Sweets and Treats!

Whew! It's been a busy week around here with work, holiday prep and all the other stuff that goes along with the holiday season. With all of the holiday magic I'm trying to create, it occured to me that many of you may be wondering where to find safe, nut-free sweets and treats for the holiday season. If you're new to nut allergies, the holidays can be an especially confusing time. What is safe to serve? Where do I find allergy-free treats that I can really trust?

You're in luck because I have some great suggestions! First, A & J Bakery in Rhode Island has some super-yummy holiday treats at their in-store bakery right now including -- gasp!-- nut-free Yule logs! I love those. They are also the home of the allergen-free gingerbread house, complete with plastic decorations, allergy-free candies and a full set of directions. You can order these kits online, so get going! Visit their website to learn more.

Next up is my all-time nut-free candy favorite, Vermont Nut-Free Chocolate! They've got their usual delicious array of Christmas-themed treats including peppermint bark--a family favorite--as well as chocolate "Skippers"--a nut-free M&M-style candy that are great for decorating cookies or cakes.

In addition, Vermont Nut-Free has chocolate coins for Hannukah as well as other Hannukah-themed candies. Be aware that Vermont Nut-Free, while completely safe for nut allergies, does contain milk, soy and egg in many of their products.

If you're looking for nut-free, dairy-free or egg-free cookies and candies, Divvies is the answer. They've got many delicious and colorful options, perfect for stocking stuffers or Hannukah treats.

If you're looking for treats that are free of the top 8 allergens, then of course you've got to check out the assortment from Enjoy Life Foods. Their site even has recipes that use their allergy-free ingredients, so be sure to stop by and see what's on offer.

If you're looking for delicious nut-free, egg-free and dairy-free baked goods--and you don't have time to bake-- look no further than Sweet Alexis Bakery. They've got a delicious assortment that my family is crazy about. These tasty baked goods are extremely high quality and they make a great gift! Or bring them to the family holiday party. Either way, you're gonna love them.

I hope this gets you off to a good start! And to my Jewish readers, Happy Hannukah!

Nut-Free Halloween Treat--Pumpkin-Seed Brittle

Since many of us have been visiting pumpkin patches lately or plan to do so in the near future, you may be wondering what to do with all of your leftover pumpkin seeds. Toasting them with a little olive oil and salt is always a nice option, or sprinkling them with cinnamon sugar is a nice sweet treat for fall. But we've been there, done that, right?

Leave it to Martha Stewart to find a really creative treat using pumpkin seeds.

For those of us dealing with nut allergies, peanut brittle is off-limits so I was delighted to find a recipe for pumpkin-seed brittle while flipping through "Martha Stewart Halloween" magazine. (I can't resist her holiday-themed anything.) It's really easy as well as being an inventive and tasty way to use pumpkin seeds leftover from pumpkin carving. Here's the recipe:



Pumpkin-Seed Brittle from Martha Stewart magazine Halloween special issue, Fall 2009
(This magazine is available at all major booksellers, newstands and supermarkets.)


(Toast the pumpkin seeds by spreading them on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for 7-10 minutes, turning occasionally.)


Ingredients:


4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for baking sheet

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 cup hulled pumpkin seeds, toasted



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 11-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet.


Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in sugar and honey. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cook, without stirring, until mixture is medium amber in color and a candy thermometer registers 280 degrees, about 6 minutes. Stir in pumpkin seeds. Cook until mixture reaches 300 degrees on the candy thermometer, about 2 minutes. Pour onto prepared sheet and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.

Organic, Allergy-Free Halloween Candy and Recipes from Surf Sweets!

For kids with nut allergies, candy like gummy worms and jelly beans are usually off-limits due to cross-contact warnings on the package. That's a bummer because so many Halloween-themed recipes this time of year make use of these two popular candies.

Well, I was really happy to learn about a relatively new (founded in 2008) Chicago-area candy company that makes gummy worms and jelly beans that are free of the top 8 allergens--Surf Sweets! The best part, besides being allergy-free, is that these candies are also naturally sweetened and made with natural, organic ingredients. Plus they are free from artificial colors and flavors! Awesome. Also, Surf Sweets are made in the U.S. in a dedicated, nut-free facility. Even better.

According to their press release, Surf Sweets are available in mainstream grocery stores across the U.S. and Canada and they are also found in natural foods stores and at online retailers including Peanut-Free Planet.

To get some ideas about Halloween-themed treats you can make using Surf Sweets, check their website for a video demonstrating how to make Popcorn Candy Worm Cake, Mummy Gummys and Witch's Cauldrons. Room Moms and Treat Moms, take note.

I know I'll be sending some of these to the class Halloween party. Not only are they safe for nut allergies, but they are also good for the other students in my daughter's class who have multiple food allergies, including dairy.

Anyone else found some good allergy-free candies for Halloween that they care to share with us? Let me know.

The Good Witch and Other Allergy-Free Halloween Fun

One of the hardest things about Halloween with food allergies is that the kids who Trick or Treat come home with bags full of candy that they can't eat. Still, for a lot of kids (and parents) Trick or Treating is a big part of Halloween that they don't want to eliminate.

So what do you do to help the kids cope with treats they can't touch?

I just got the most recent FAAN newsletter and a mom had a great suggestion. She said that she has her kids place the unsafe Trick or Treat candy outside their bedroom door on Halloween night. Then, the next morning, "The Good Witch" takes the bags but leaves them a special treat, like a toy or safe candy instead.

I love this idea. It reminds me a little bit of what I do with my daughter who ends up having to give away about 3/4 of her treats bag each year.

We started a Halloween "Treasure Hunt" the first Halloween after we discovered her nut allergies. While Dad took her trick or treating, I placed "clues" around the house leading to special Halloween treats bag filled with safe candies, plus non-edible items like small toys and a Halloween book. This was such a big hit she didn't mind giving up her candies at all. In fact, at age 9 she still looks forward to it!

The only caution I have is for those of you with non-allergic kids--you will have to do something similar with them or they will feel left out. They don't need as much as the allergic kids since they're not giving up their candy, but making it a family activity definitely cuts down on the sibling rivalry and makes it a lot more fun.

What are some of your "tricks" to compensate for the unsafe treats? I'll have more of my own time-tested suggestions soon, but reader ideas are welcome!

Food Allergy-Friendly Family Recipe from Cookbook Author Linda Coss

Since it's a Monday and we're right in the middle of the back-to-school rush, I thought I'd share this fabulous and simple recipe that I received from food allergy cookbook author and advocate Linda Coss. As Linda rightly points out in a recent press release, "It's not necessary to prepare a separate meal for your food-allergic child and then pick something up for the rest of the family." Besides being a drag and excluding the child with food allergies, I find the pick-up and prepare method to be more trouble than it's worth.

The following dairy-free, egg-free and nut-free recipe comes to the rescue. I like it because my kids love salmon and for those of you trying to offer a meat-free option to your kids, the sweet and tangy sauce makes it even more appealing.

I'll have more recipes from Linda in upcoming blog posts. Enjoy!

Apricot Glazed Salmon

Reprinted with permission from "What Else Is to Eat? The Dairy-, Egg-, and Nut-Free Food Allergy Cookbook" by Linda Marienhoff Coss, available at http://www.foodallergybooks.com/

In this salmon dish a layer of garlic makes a nice counterpoint to the sweet apricot glaze.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

2 tablespoons sugar-free apricot fruit spread

1-1/2 teaspoons honey

1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar

1 pound salmon fillet, about 1-inch thick

1-1/2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Preheat broiler. Cover broiler pan with aluminum foil.

To make apricot glaze place apricot fruit spread and honey in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds or until liquefied; stir in vinegar and then set aside.

Place salmon, skin side down, on prepared broiler pan. Place garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl; mix well and then spread evenly over salmon. Broil for 6 minutes. Spread apricot glaze evenly over salmon. Broil for an additional 4 minutes until done; serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings, 4 oz. each.

Taming the Food Allergy Anxiety Beast

At a recent school Parents Night, the teachers passed out a child development fact sheet for kids ages 8-10 years old. For the 9-year-olds, one of the common developments was "increased anxiety about the world." Add life-threatening food allergies to the mix and you can have a recipe for one stressed-out kid.

It makes sense that as kids get older, they get more concerned about things going on in the world. After all, their understanding of the world's machinations only increases each year. I find that as my daughter has gotten older, she has gotten more anxious (at times) about her severe nut allergy. A recent hives and facial swelling scare just from being around PB&J at school as well as a restaurant "near miss" this summer has contributed to her overall concern. Hey, who can blame her?

Some of you with school age kids may be going through this too. What can we do as parents to help alleviate some of the food allergy anxiety? It's not like we can tell them that it will always be OK and nothing will happen. We don't want them to over-think their condition, but we definitely want them to take responsibility for their serious allergy. It's a tricky business. Here are some strategies that have worked for us:

- Have your child be responsible for carrying medication. This gives my daughter a sense of power, because she knows she always has it with her rather than relying on the adults around her. It's also good practice for the future and it seems to make her less anxious. Obviously a 3-year-old can't carry the epinephrine but as kids get a little older you can ask them: What else do I need to bring with us today? Early reinforcement of this will help them to be responsible later on.

- Let kids take the lead. This past weekend, we went to a new candy store in town that models itself after the old-fashioned ones. You know, candy in barrels, all the candy we liked as kids, etc. Since it is all tightly wrapped and there are many safe options for us, we allow her to visit there once in awhile. Recently, however, peanut butter-filled pretzels were lying in an open container near the cash register/counter. My daughter hates to see stuff like that, but because her foods were wrapped and didn't get anywhere near the pretzels, we deemed it safe for her. It took her a couple of hours to agree with us, however. After explaining the low risk to her, I let it go. It hurt me to see her not be able to enjoy her candy right away, like her sister did--until I saw her later that day, reading a favorite book and enjoying her new candy. Lesson learned? Let your kids determine what they feel is safe enough. Don't press them. It is their allergy, after all, not ours. They need to do what they think is right.

- Reinforce safe dining out experiences. It's tempting to want to avoid restaurants due to food allergy concerns, but it's good to occasionally go to them if only to show your child that you can. Thoroughly research the restaurant and then have your child order a simple menu item. We've become regulars at a few restaurants and it really boosts my daughter's morale (well, all of ours, really) to enjoy a restaurant meal successfully and safely. Plus, becoming adept at these situations will be a lifelong skill.

Healthy Nut-Free Snacks for Kids--from OnLaGrange.com

Welcome, http://www.onlagrange.com/ readers! If you're looking for the continuation of my article that appeared in the most recent issue of www.onlagrange.com, follow this link for a complete list of healthy snack options.

And to all of my readers, look for a new post soon!

"Allergy Injectors are Liberating and Daunting"

Here is an interesting link from CNN sent to me by a friend. I like the way it discusses carrying an Epi Pen from the perspective of people who actually carry them, especially adults who have developed severe food allergies in later years.

The inclusion of food-allergic adults in the story is helpful in another way: it proves that anyone can have food allergies and that they can develop them at any age.

This Epi Pen discussion also reminded me that when we received our first diagnosis we kept forgetting the darn thing. It's hard to remember to carry something like that when you're not used to it.

I want to pass on our low-tech means of reminding ourselves to bring the Epi Pen with us: Post-It Notes. We placed them on the dashboard of the car, on the front and back door and on the fridge. I guess it looked a little weird to people when they saw Post-It notes with the word "Epi Pen" on them everywhere in our home, but it worked!

Anyone have a unique way they remember their Epi Pen?

Acorns, Pine Cones and Tree Nut Allergies

Medical note: Please always refer to your doctor if you have any questions about what is safe to handle for your child's tree nut or peanut allergy. I am not a medical professional, so I can only speak for myself or those with tree nut allergies similar to my daughter's. Thank you!

Recently, I had an e-mail question from a reader who wanted to know if their 3-year-old who is allergic to tree nuts could safely handle acorns and pine cones. This mom was concerned because her child's school did a lot of outside exploration and the teachers wondered if these natural objects were safe for this child.

I realized I didn't really know the answer--I've let my daughter handle pine cones (normally they don't have pine nuts in them--that I've seen) but just recently she asked me about acorns since they're falling from all of the oak trees right now.

Acorns are nuts from oak trees so they do qualify as a tree nut. However, check out this link from FAAN: -according to them, it says kids with tree nut allergies don't have to avoid these objects. However and this may sound like a "Duh": please don't let your kids eat acorns without asking a doctor. According to my Internet research, some people do eat them and if your kids are studying Native American cultures, for example, acorns may be used to create foods. So as always, before you let your child ingest anything ask your allergist. Everybody is different in what they will react to.

That said, tree nuts such as walnuts, etc. do show up in fall decor and crafts and your child should not touch those or handle them. Even the shells have enough allergenic material to cause a reaction in some people.

Has this question come up for any of you as well? Please don't be shy about asking your allergists for advice on this one. But it looks like pine cones and acorns should be OK for most of our kids to use in a science lesson or craft project.

Back to School Tips and a "Killer Peanut Butter Sandwiches" Article Link

Ready or not, here it comes! The school season is here or almost here and many of us find ourselves discussing our child's allergies with teachers and staff.

You will definitely want to print out this article by Linda Coss: "Attack of the Killer Peanut Butter Sandwiches" to bring along with you. It's a terrific explanation of what allergic kids (and parents) are up against at school and it takes the non-allergic point of view into account.

I'm on my way to a meeting on Monday (we begin school on Tuesday). I've been through several of these meetings already and have learned what to ask over the years. Here are a few "talking points" as you get ready to talk to the school about your child.

- Your child must carry the EpiPen at all times, to every location in the school. This is law in many states; for others you may be required to have a doctor's note. In any case, make sure that your child's teachers understand the need for an accessible EpiPen--every second counts. No locked cabinets, no "we only keep it in the health office." Explaining how a reaction works helps; a doctor's order will clinch the deal.

- Which staff members and teachers have EpiPen training? And will you use it? Asking them these questions helps identify what you may need to advocate at your school. It's been my experience that all staff are trained at our current school, but as schools all have different rules, please find out. Offer to train them or to have the nurse/health aide do a training. Make sure your child's teacher is comfortable using the EpiPen and ask what you can do to make her/him more comfortable. It's crucial.

- What are your emergency procedures? Get the exact details. You may discover that you want to revise these a bit.

- Please follow our Food Allergy Emergency Plan. Available at the FAAN website, this is the life-saving "go-to" guide if someone suspects your child is having a reaction.

- What's the "treats schedule" for the year? For example, any special holiday or event celebrations? If you can nail it down early, you'll be prepared to deliver safe treats to your child's classroom if necessary. You really don't want to be stuck making food at midnight. It makes you cranky.

- Make sure that you mark down the expiration dates for your meds--and ask if the school has a "reminder" policy for this. Many schools do, but you should be the one who really is on top of this so there are no gaps where your child is at school without their EpiPen. Just mark it down on your calendar for two weeks before it expires so you have plenty of time to get new ones.

Study: Food Allergies Not Understood by the General Public--What to Do About It?

I've been wanting to discuss this recent study about how the public views food allergies. Not surprisingly, most study respondents did not understand either what food allergies are or how serious they can be to someone's health. The study also showed that many people erroneously believe that medicine may be used that will prevent food allergy symptoms.

I had a real-life experience with this on a TV show a few weeks ago. "Monk" the detective series on the USA network happened to mention this misguided view of peanut allergies. Monk is a great show--for those of you who have ever watched it, you know that the title character is consumed with details. He had the chance to meet an actress from one of his favorite childhood TV shows and so he wanted to clear up some of the show's details from years past. It was funny. But here's what he asked: "On one episode you had a peanut allergy. But then on the next episode you ate something containing peanuts and didn't have a reaction. Why?"

Yes! I thought while watching. The USA network reaches millions of viewers and now they'll hear how wrong that is. However, here was the other character's disappointing response: "Maybe the doctor just gave me some medicine." Then the show of course moved onto other topics and that was that.

ARRRGGHHH! There is no medicine you can give someone to prevent an allergic reaction prior to ingesting an allergenic food. But this very big medical misinfo made it through the final cut of the show.

I mention this now, because as we go back to school, many of us may find ourselves faced with people who think we're making this all up. Or that there is a simple medicine that can prevent a severely allergic person from having anaphylaxis once they've ingested the allergenic food. If you're meeting with school officials, this is your chance to speak up and have the facts.

For example, one finding of the study was that parents of non-allergic kids did not want special accommodations, such as a peanut ban (understandable, since they never do.) But surprisingly the same group didn't even want a peanut-free table. Why?? How does it affect them? Just goes to show you that for some having the school try to help with a child's food allergy for safety purposes is considered "special treatment" even if it only affects the allergic child and not the non-allergic kids. How does a peanut-free, milk-free or egg-free table affect the non-allergic in any meaningful way? If anything, it's more difficult for the allergic child, though it may be medically necessary depending on their age and level of sensitivity.

Facts combat ignorance, so have them ready. You may want to refer people to the FAAN web site or to food allergy books. DVDS, available through FAAN, can also be very helpful. Every bit of education helps.

I'm curious: Have you had "Monk moments" in your own life where blatant misinformation about food allergies in the media or otherwise had you shaking your head? I'm guessing yes.

The best thing we can do is to educate and advocate. Don't be rattled by people who don't "get it" but work hard to educate them, showing them the compassion you wish they showed to you. The old adage "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" really applies here.