Food Allergies & Restaurants

" Insiders Guide to Restaurant Dining," is a very good feature on the FARE website (www.foodallergy.org). 

  It explains exactly how to discuss your allergies with the manager; the chef; the hostess; and how to  check in and order. 

 That's  all very well and good, But what kid, what teenager--what grown-up!--wants to do all that? 

   I know it's a must, a have-to. But it's difficult-- emotionally and mentally. It means making yourself " different". Singling  yourself out. Being " special". 

 That's hard. (Of course, once done, you can go back to that restaurant and enjoy a meal. )

But the first time... Well it's the first time. Awkward. Difficult. Not pitch perfect. 

And all the while-- proverbial fingers are pointing, saying "why's he so special. " that's not a place any of us likes to be--  when it's for food allergies and not a Nobel Prize. 

 Just another reminder that keeping safe includes being " different. " Another reminder that living with food allergies takes emotional strength, character, and maturity. 

School access to Epi !

http://www.foodallergy.org/advocacy/school-access-to-epinephrine

Summer salads--

It's about 1000 degrees where I live today, but I'm no gloomy Gus. I decided early this morning that I'd put together a "room temperature" dinner. So here goes:
Three bean salad
Pesto( no nuts) chicken
Savory brown rice

Three bean salad
One can cut green beans
3/4 can chickpeas
3/4 can kidney beans( dark or light)

In a bowl, Gently layer or mix the beans

Dressing:
Mix together in a beaker
1/4 cup vinegar
3/4 cup oil
1/4 Balsamic vinegar
2 cloves smashed garlic
Salt/ pepper
A few pinches Oregano if you like

Dress the beans lightly-- you won't use all the dressing
Leave beans in refrigerator for a couple of hours and turn beans every so often.

Pesto
Cup of fresh basil-- washed and dried
8 cloves of garlic, halved
1/2 cup olive oil
Chop basil and garlic in food processor and add in oil.
Chicken thighs( I used 10)
Steep chicken in pesto for two hours-- again turning over so all chicken gets covered.
Bake chicken in 350 oven for an hour.
(I start chicken on underside and then turn skin side up for last 20 minutes. )

Savory Brown Rice
Add in for every cup of rice, half a chopped-- with skin-- Granny Smith or other tart apple And a handful of Golden raisins.
Enjoy!

Cheap Eats and Frustration

Cheap Eats was the cover story--picturing a hundred appetizing bites-- of a popular NY magazine last week. And there are ice cream trucks on every corner. And boardwalks full of mini- hoagies and Korean taco trucks and fried Oreos. ( Ok it's Jersey)
Food is everywhere this summer. Everywhere-- and much of this food my kid can't eat-- and that's very tough.
The very intractableness of it-- that these allergies are so dangerous, so many. That they do not change.

I don't really know how to be supportive in this context or what to say: "stiff upper lip?" Well that's been his whole
life.
" It'll get easier/ better" --probably not.
"Don't go out" -we all know that doesn't solve anything and definitely accentuates the worst.
So I settle for writing a post-- rather more gloomy than my usual ones-- and ask my readers if they've any good ideas. Please write!

Traveling and Food Allergy

Traveling -- if you're like me, the idea of traveling to a new destination -- taking a vacation to a new spot-- starts a knot of anxiety in your stomach. How will the food be? What will we have to bring? Will there be supermarkets close? What can we ship to our hotel? What about the plane ride-- delays??? What kind of food is available there?
Plus a host of other questions depending on where you're going.
We often take the same type of vacation-- a cruise which offers us a variety of destinations; we've been to the Baltic, Alaska, Russia as well as Mexico and the Caribbean. All have been great and mostly the food situation has been fine-- safe, often made to order.
But what about traveling on a different scale: backpacking through Europe; taking a semester abroad. Those non-structured, freewheeling trips.
These seem like impossibilities for my child. Granted we are dealing with multiple allergies -- but our mantra, which we have oft repeated ( to many of you at conferences and events), is don't let your allergies stop you; don't let them define you.
But here we are, necessarily letting food allergies curtail activities. There really is no safe way for my child to study in a foreign country-- how would he eat? How could the program feed him or how could he feed himself? And IF we could figure out a way, a country, would his time there be all about food / safety and not the program?
So, again, there is that valley of acceptance of the limitations. It doesn't matter that he's not limited in A through X. He can't do Y and Z. And that's the tough part, the intractable part of dealing with food allergies -- of course you can't let them stop you from going, doing-- but you have to realize, at points, they DO stop you from going and doing.
Of course many many kids, people, have obstacles set before them that they have to overcome -- and this is no different-- in fact, in many ways food allergies are manageable in comparison with horrible diseases or other disabilities.
I'm not whining-- it's more acknowledging-- and hopefully moving on--that a door can shut and no amount of knocking is gonna get it open. But, as I've been taught my whole life-- one door closes and another one opens.
So perhaps our great experiences and explorations will occur a bit closer to home.

Glutino and Sesame and USA requirements

Note well: the actually delicious Glutino gluten free pretzel products are made on the same lines as products with sesame.

That information doesn't have to be on the label -- but buyer beware; trace sesame could be on the pretzel.
As many of us know, in the US, companies have the infamous "may contain" labeling. It can be confusing. It can be frustrating.
And in the US, the "may contain" DOES NOT have to mention sesame. In Canada, sesame is considered an allergen to be included on labels. But not in the US.

I'm returning these Glutino products to the store. When I bought them last night the consumer info lines were closed already, so I couldn't check. But I'm taking no chances.
I mentioned, strongly, to my CS representative at Glutino that management should know that sesame-- even if not a US required label-- should be mentioned --sesame must be included in Canadian labeling -- since the consumers have the same allergies-- it's just the labeling requirements that differ.
Also, Glutino has taken over the GlutenFree Pantry baking products. Glutino intends to keep many formulas the same( although I noticed that "Earth Balance" spread -- a Glutino brand--is suggested for use instead of butter or margarine ).
But read and reread all the ingredients lists -- even though we all do that as a matter of course-- because SOME formulations have changed.
Gotta say, just when you have a great go-to product... Well, it's never dull !

Advocate for yourself--FARE conferences

http://blog.foodallergy.org/2013/04/30/be-your-own-advocate-teens-at-fares-annual-food-allergy-conferences/

Mixed food allergy messages

Short note here folks-- there's been research about not starting your child on solid foods to avoid allergies and research that states one should give allergenic foods around 6 months to prevent allergies. Conflicting information and not easy to decide. Get your doctor's personalized ideas.
For me-- and many out there-- it's well beyond 6 months and we've waited or not and we'll have to live with whatever the research literature decides. It would be great for younger families to get some consensus since managing food allergies is stressful on all.
At least there's research happening on many fronts!

No more food allergies

If you can get a copy of The New York Times magazine section for March 10-- Do it! There is an article about Kari Nadeau of Stanford University who is desensitizing kids to multiple foods at once. And it's working!
Yup. IT'S WORKING.
It's not an easy road-- these kids are troopers with in- hospital dosing and every three weeks up dosing. But it's working and their allergies to foods are gone. They'll need to eat these foods daily for a few years-- pieces of these foods at least. But they will not get reactions.
Sounds unbelievable. But true.
Perhaps this treatment protocol will be available to more soon-- and we thank those brave kids and their parents and families for taking this road.
What would your child's life be like without food allergies?
It's huge.

New Epi pens Auvi-Q

Well the new Auvi-Q epis are really small. And the trainer instructs you -- in a robotic voice--on how to use it. Pretty weird. But honestly it's small and that's a plus for boys who want to slip the meds into a jacket pocket or pants pocket.
About the size of an iPhone. One of them. Picture depicts size next to a deck of cards.
Worth looking into-- though I imagine schools and camps and anywhere one leaves the meds will still request the usual Epi Pen-- that's what staff et al. are trained on and what they know.
I agree with that strategy honestly but I think for kids outside the monitored environments of school, camps, sports then this new Auvi-Q option is good. At least worth a try if insurance will go for it.
Will upload a picture ( I hope!)

DOJ ruling about food allergic kids

So what is everyone thinking about the Lesley College Dept of Justice ruling???
I love that the ruling insists that food allergic kids deserve to have equal access to the social world as well as feeling safe while eating.
This has been an issue at some colleges-- I know from personal, shall we say, experience. And it's painful when a kid feels he or she has to sacrifice sociability to being safe. College,with its " in loco parentis" ideals, should work with a student to achieve those goals. A school should not act as though the student is at fault and should not be antagonistic to the student.
These are kids-- responsible kids-- who are trying to manage a system much larger than themselves. And colleges should Be supportive.
I hope that this DoJ ruling will help schools understand the world a food allergic student must navigate- and help that student through the rough waters.

College Fried Chicken

Happy New Year!
May it be a peaceful and bright one for all.

The title of this post isn't exactly true-- it's not college fried. It's more like fried chicken for the college student-- which at 1030pm feels like the same thing.
( can you imagine a whole college dorm smelling like fried chicken-- microwave popcorn is 'bad' enough!).
But I love the cooking anyway. I dunk the chicken thighs in Rice Dream to soak, then I dredge in Orgran Easy Bake bread
Mix-- gluten free if course. And today I also used King Arthur gluten free pancake mix ( it has no sugar) mixed in.
Plus plenty of salt and pepper.
Then -- my big secret-- I fry in olive oil! Filipo Berio to be exact. I know all you Southerners are shaking your heads at the poor deluded Northern girl--Italian to boot. But all I can say is --don't knock it till ya try it!
So I use thighs because it takes less time and they're juicy. And a throw in wings for good measure. ( my whole apartment building back stairway smells sooo good.)
Enough, I'm getting hungry again!
I'm going to try to upload a picture -- hmmm we'll see. Techno girl I'm not.
Happy new year again!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

My Christmas Gift

Almost Christmas -- and I'm heading into the holiday happy and healthy. I've tried many new items this season-- I put together candy cane cookies-- which my mom and I made every year. Some years they came out perfect enough to hang on a tree. Some years they burned a bit or were untidy, the red and white stripes not quite separate.

This year I made gluten-Dairy-egg free candy cane cookies which were fat and lovely and the perfect twists of red and white. I was so proud. And I felt this ribbon of connection to my past.
I know I often lament the loss of the thread to my past, to my history. But perhaps I moved beyond that lament this Christmas. I know there is a loss of cultural tradition with food allergies. At least for my Italian tradition. But this year I duplicated the item , but far far more importantly, I duplicated the love and delight I experienced as a child by making this simple candy cane cookie and presenting the plate to my son.
I have always said it's not what's on the plate but who's at the table. And this Christmas that's my gift-- knowing how true that is.

Thanksgiving

So Thanksgiving has come and gone. I, for one, had a great time and this year only two items on the table were not safe for my son: bocconcini (mouth size mozzarella balls) and caponata (eggplant appetizer) 
Those were there on the antipasto plate --separate ones of course-- because they always are--see below about tradition!

This year we skipped stuffing --last year I made gluten free stuffing and vegetarian stuffing for various members of the gang.  But this year, I skipped it entirely and made rice a la Thanksgiving.  That means, diced Granny Smith apples with the skin; orange dried cranberries, and golden raisins-- all put in the pot with white rice in water and chicken stock.
Although I made far too much-- it was delicious-- and sort of spicy -- perfect with both the turkey and the ham and today, by itself .

But Thanksgiving again got me thinking about traditions and how difficult it is to overlook them.  Around holidays, even in the least food-conscious cultures-- there are traditional foods for certain occasions. And within that larger cultural tradition there are family traditions: being Italian American we always had lasagne or straccitella soup before the turkey, and finocchio (fennel) and roasted chestnuts after. Well, lasagne and egg and cheese soup  don't go on my menu today-- and my question is, do I lose some of my cultural connection by not having the traditional foods grace my table?  What does it mean to NOT be able to pass on those cherished--or silly-- family recipes?

I do feel a loss, a loss of connection to my history, and a loss in general to my cultural tradition, in a way that is, well, American. As we become one nation, the melting pot of the world, will we lose these traditions anyway? Am I bothered because in my particular family we cannot continue those food/culture connections for a very particular reason, which means it's specific to me, and not the slipping away of tradition in general? Should I feel isolated by the severing of the food traditions-- or am I reading too much into those recipes?

It's a question I continue to think about-- any comments or ideas-- let me know how you feel.