Stuffed Pepper: Gluten-Free Website and Community

Have you heard of Stuffed Pepper? It's a comprehensive new website/community for those managing a gluten-free diet. You can find restaurant reviews, blog posts and articles by community members and chefs, product and book reviews, a discussion forum, videos and news bits, all related to living gluten-free. There are many opportunities for you, the reader (once you register as a community member) to contribute too.

Take a minute and check it out, and while you are there, be sure to download the brand new month-long gluten-free meal plan!

*Thank you to Stuffed Pepper for supporting Food Allergy Buzz in the Circle of Moms Top 25 Food Allergy Mom Blogs contest.*

Center for Celiac Research Moves to Mass General Hospital for Childrenl

The Center for Celiac Research, which has been headquartered in Baltimore for nearly 20 years, is going to move to the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children and partner with the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Boston Children's Hospital. The Center is led by Dr. Alessio Fasano, who stated "By joining forces with our colleagues at the BIMDC Celiac Center along with MGHFC, we will become one of the largest and most advanced facilities in the world to care for people with gluten-related disorders." According to the press release, the patient clinic at the Center for Celiac Research will open in February 2013. 

Food Allergy News: Governor Patrick Signs Massachusetts Epinephrine Access Law

Like so many other states, Massachusetts has recently enacted a new law to permit school students to carry and administer epinephrine. I thought I would include a link to an article about it for my Massachusetts food allergy friends: Law Will Allow Woburn Students to Carry Epi-pens. You may notice a familiar name in the article, since Massachusetts food allergy mom and advocate Laurel Francoeur was the one who got the ball rolling here! Wow--thank you, Laurel!!!

Living with Food Allergies Blog Carnival: January 24, 2013 Edition

Welcome to the January 24, 2013 edition of Living with Food Allergies Carnival. Don't be deceived by its petite size! We have a great selection of blog posts here from some top-notch food allergy advocates. Grab a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, and take a look!

Caroline Moassessi of www.gratefulfoodie.com offers Inspiring- We Met the Auvi-Q. Both Caroline and Joanne (see below) were able to attend a bloger/social media summit regarding the Auvi-Q!

Dr. Michael Pistiner presents Back to School with Food Allergies: What the School Community Needs to Know | Harvard Vanguard :: Blog posted at Harvard Vanguard :: Blog, saying, "This blog was created as a tool to educate parents of children without food allergies. May be shared by PTOs, teachers, administration, nurses and parents." Thank you so much for this contribution, Dr. Pistiner!

Gina Lee of Food Allergy Education Network presents Got Food Allergies? Ten Questions You NEED to Ask Before Eating at a Restaurant. Read, and re-read!

Jennifer B presents Food Allergy News: peanutfreebaseball.com Celebrates Its 5th season! posted at Food Allergy Buzz. 

Joanne LaSpina, of Food Allergy Assistant, offers two timely and informative posts: Auvi-Q Epinephrine Injector Is Coming and Food Allergy Anxiety.

Stacy Molter presents Crusty French Bread Recipe posted at Stacy Molter, saying, "This recipe is free of soy, peanut, tree nuts, dairy, fish & shellfish, with an egg free option. This recipe does contain wheat. Below the crusty layer of this french bread recipe lies a bread with a soft, delicate texture. This bread is the perfect addition to your favorite soups, pasta, and sandwich dishes." I'm a frustrated french bread baker, but Stacy's post has inspired me to keep trying!

That concludes this edition. Thank you to all the bloggers who contributed to this edition! Please submit your blog article to the next edition of living with food allergies carnival using our carnival submission form. Send me an email if you'd like to host a future edition: jennifer[at]foodallergybuzz[dot]com; it's very easy to do, a simple copy and paste operation! Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

The Living with Food Allergies Carnival was originally founded by Jenn Casey. You can find Jenn over at rationaljenn.blogspot.com. She's currently taking a bit of a break from blogging, but I think it's important to give credit where credit is due--this blog carnival's a great way to virtually rub elbows in the online food allergy community, so thank you, Jenn, for starting it!

Food Allergy News: peanutfreebaseball.com Celebrates Its 5th season!

This spring marks the 5th anniversary of peanutfreebaseball.com, the sister site of Food Allergy Buzz. It's hard to believe I've been tracking peanut free baseball and peanut allergy accommodations at baseball games (and other sports too, by the way!) for 5 years. Every year, there are more games offering accommodations to individuals with peanut allergy. Major and minor league teams, allergists' officea, allergy support groups and individual fans all help keep peanutfreebaseball.com in the loop. It's the one site where fans with peanut allergies can come to find out about peanut allergy accommodations at baseball games around the U.S. and Canada, and I'm really proud of that!

Please continue to send your peanut allergy friendly baseball (and other sports) news, info and photos to jennifer[at]foodallergybuzz[dot]com. Be sure to LIKE our peanutfreebaseball.com Facebook page since I can quickly post ticket info on FB a bit faster than here on the blog, and be sure to follow us on Twitter too--peanutfreebaseball.com has its own Twitter handle now: @pnutfreebasebal (couldn't fit the 2nd "l").

Thinking of warm spring days and baseball...

Happy 5th Anniversary peanutfreebaseball.com!

Food Allergy News: Egg-Free Flu Vaccine

I received an email from Brookline Families with Food Allergies this afternoon which stated that the FDA has approved Flublok, an egg-free influenza vaccine. (Thank you BroFFA for being so on top of things!) Additional information is available at www.flublok.com.

Food Allergy Consumer Product Review: Kitchen Table Bakers Parmesan Cheese Crisps

Shortly before Christmas, my sons and I had the chance to try a fabulous snack--Kitchen Table Bakers' Parmesan Cheese Crisps. These crispy wafers of parmesan cheese are quite scrumptious. We tried 3 flavors: sesame, everything, and rosemary. The rosemary and everything flavors were our favorites. I have to admit, when we got to the end of the package, there was a bit of negotiating about who would finish off the last one because everyone wanted it. The interesting thing about these cheese crisps is that the main ingredient is parmesan cheese. It's really just cheese and the spice for whatever flavor you eat. There aren't any artificial ingredients or fillers.

Kitchen Table Bakers's cheese crisps are free of eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. They are also gluten-free, sugar-free, and free of trans fats. One serving is 80 calories. The crisps come in several flavors, including Aged Parmesan, Sesame, Rosemary, Flax Seed, Garlic Italian Herb, Jalapeno, and Everything.

This is an excellent snack for get-togethers and celebrations. Yes the kids will enjoy them, but I think they're a tasty treat that's a little more grown-up. (Hide yourself a package for secret snacking!) 

The FAB Review 
Dedicated facility: No
Appearance: See through plastic container, 3 ounces. Round cheese crisps, about 2.5 inches in diameter.
Taste: Nice cheesy flavor. Satisfying and light.
Texture: Crunchy, crispy
Convenience: Available in some stores, including Whole Foods Market. Also available online on Amazon.com and other stores. Price online is approximately $10 for a 3 oz container.
Buy again? Yes.

Food Allergy Study at Boston University Needs Your Help

Candice Chow, a Doctoral Candidate at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University, is conducting a study about the relationship between anxiety and food allergies in children. She needs input from mothers of children (under the age of 17) with food allergies. To participate, please complete the online survey. It should take 30 to 45 minutes. They are also giving away a $250 Amazon card to one lucky survey participant.

Thank you to Candice for undertaking this important research for our children.