March 28, 2013 Living with Food Allergies Blog Carnival

Welcome to the March 28, 2013 edition of Living with Food Allergies blog carnival. Blog posts from all food allergy friends are welcome each month. It's a chance for members of the online food allergy community--new and old--a chance to virtually rub elbows. If you are a food allergy friend with a blog and would like to join our group and network with other food allergy bloggers, please let me know by requesting an invitation. I am working on adding other, different opportunities for food allergy bloggers in addition to participating in the blog carnival.  Please be sure to let me know the url for your blog and your email address when you request your invitation! 

Now onto the blog posts! Thank you to everyone who participated in the March edition!

Eating with Food Allergies

It is difficult to read a blog post on Colette Martin's Learning to Eat Allergy Free - Multiple Food Allergies without feeling hungry. Colette asks "Are you ready for spring? I sure am! This tart is perfect for a spring lunch." In her post, Learning to Eat Allergy-Free: Butternut Squash Luncheon Tart, she shares a recipe for a scrumptious looking Butternut Squash Tart.

Ilana Eck (aka the Hip Hostess) presents a Balsamic Beet Vinaigrette posted at The Hip Hostess, saying, "This vinaigrette is a nice way to serve an impressive salad to those with food allergies. A single beet adds color and sweetness to the salad. The vinaigrette is all you need to dress up simple mesclun greens, though you can add toppings, such as goat cheese or toasted nuts (for those who can tolerate them), to up the wow factor." The salad looks lovely. When we are overwhelmed by an abundance of greens this summer at our local farm, I'm going to give this a try!

Margaret Greanias of Plate It Safe offers some great ideas for get-togethers with food allergies in her post Allergy-Friendly March Madness Party saying, "allergy-friendly ideas for a March Madness party."

Do you have a gluten-free dairy-free diet? Rachel Kokosenski of Go GFCF offers some helpful tips on How to Eat Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Chinese Food.

Commentary and Thoughts

Following the recent death of a 19 year old college student with peanut allergy from a fatal allergic reaction to a cookie, Rachel M. presents C is for Cookie, P is for Peanut. Rachel M. blogs at When Did I Join the Circus?. She offers the following summary of her post: "A mom of a child with a peanut allergy reflects on the recent news story of a college student's death from the same allergy."

I have to admit I learned something new in Stacy Molter's post, Hidden Food Allergies: What is Amylase? I had absolutely no idea what amylase was. Stacy noted "We gave Colton a corn tortilla which appeared to be safe for him to eat even with his multiple food allergies, and he began to have all the symptoms he had when we believed he failed his baked egg challenge; his legs flared with eczema and he started having difficulty breathing. What could he be allergic to?" You can read more from Stacy at her blog,  Stacy Molter.

In her post, Allergist Reflects on Food Allergy Deaths, Caroline Moassessi of www.gratefulfoodie.com offers some more thoughts about the recent food allergy deaths in the news.

Do you remember looking into pre-schools or are you about to do so? It is hard enough to select a pre-school for a child who has no medical conditions, but it is especially hard to find the right place for a child with multiple food allergies and Eosinophilic Esophagitis, and that's only part of the story. Jenny of Multiple Food Allergy Help shares her experience in her post, Examining Educational Options [part 1].

Jennifer Roberge shares the story of her son's recent first anaphylactic reaction in her post, It’s Just Not Worth the Risk: Our Anaphylactic Experience posted at It's an Itchy Little World. Jennifer notes "A history of eczema and negative results with allergy testing leads us to a very unexpected, severe reaction."

Here is an Open Letter to Oreo I wrote about the lack of clear information about risk of cross-contamination for non-peanut butter flavored Oreos.  I am sorry to say I still have not received an answer from Oreo but I can see they visit the post often and look for comments, so if you would like clearer information on risks for cross-contamination, please comment on the post itself!

Tips and Advice

Selena Bluntzer, of Amazing and Atopic, recently used an epinephrine injector on her daughter and wrote Take the Fear out of Epinephrine about the experience. Selena says "I feel that it's very important that nobody be afraid of administering epinephrine. It's a life-saving medication that should be given without hesitation, when the need arises."

Stacy Molter shares some tips on how to keep small children with food allergies safe in her post, Labeling A Child With Food Allergies. She says "There are many ways to label a child with food allergies. Here's how we label our son to keep him safe and alive."

Peanut Free Zone provides some tips for caregivers and babysitters in Babysitters And Food Allergies – How You Can Be Prepared.

Ana Phylaxis "wrote this blog to help out others with food allergies; specifically, how to put Google Translate's tool to use for them when traveling internationally." Check out Ana’s Tip: When Traveling Internationally, Take Google Translate With You posted at Kate Hufnagel.

Joanne of Food Allergy Assistant shares some interesting information about epinephrine injector use in her post, Consider Body Weight When Using an Epinephrine Injector.

From Australia, Sonya Beisler shares Parenting a child with Multiple Food Allergies: How do you put a price on a child’s life? regarding the possibility of severe cuts in Australian government funding for the protection of children with food allergies. Sonya blogs at Parenting a child with Multiple Food Allergies.

courtney j, of the The Random Ramblings of a Stay at Home Mom, writes about carefully and responsibly eating peanut butter in her post The Random Ramblings of a Stay at Home Mom: Loose Nuts. Her child is allergic to 23 foods and the only food on that list Courtney J does enjoy from time to time is peanut butter--wow! 

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of living with food allergies carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Food Allergies, Asthma and Eczema: Emotional Effects on Children, Part 1

Part 1
How are food allergies, asthma, and/or eczema affecting your child's emotional well-being? It's difficult to know. 

I recently was working with a second grade class and one of the activities we were working on was replying to pen pal letters. The children were supposed to include 2 new pieces of information about themselves. One girl immediately thought of sharing the fact that she has eczema, warts, and host of other health concerns, and wanted to know my opinion. I told her that I thought her pen pal would be interested in information about her interests or hobbies, or things she enjoys doing outside of school. I thought it was noteworthy that part of that child's identity, and obviously a big part, was her eczema. In fact, her mother had just come to school earlier that day to apply some ointment to the places where the eczema was worst.

It made me a little sad to think eczema plays such a large role in her life that that was what she was thinking of sending as a piece of information about herself. I know my own son is conscious of his health conditions as well. I don't want him to be defined by his food allergies, eczema or asthma. I don't want him to be "the allergy kid" or the "asthma kid". I think it is a juggling act (conscious or not) for parents of children with medical conditions. We need to take their conditions seriously of course, taking whatever measures are necessary for their care, but we cannot let the medical conditions consume us. I think for most parents, managing life with food allergies, asthma, eczema and whatever other conditions you may contend with, is just part of the routine. We're busy living life--doing homework and projects, playing, going out, and getting ready for the next day. We may not be aware of how large these issues loom in our child's mind. 

One positive consequence from the increase in children with food allergies, eczema, and asthma is a growth in the number and variety of educational and fun resources for children with these conditions. The next post in this series will explore some of those resources.

Food Allergy Friendly Supermarket Find: Lucy's Brownie Cakes and Snack 'n Go Packs

We recently tried these great snacks available at a nearby Whole Foods Market: Lucy's Snack 'n Go Packs and Lucy's Brownie Cakes. I am familiar with Lucy's from years ago, when I had a small online food allergy snack business. It was hard not to eat the merchandise! Every Lucy's product I have tried tastes delicious. Even better, Lucy's has a dedicated bakery and they test for the presence of gluten, milk, eggs, peanuts and almonds. No gluten, milk, eggs, peanuts or tree nuts are allowed in the bakery in any way, and peanuts and tree nuts are not allowed in the building at all.

I love the Brownie Cakes and Snack 'n Go Packs because they are perfect for a lunch box, a handbag or purse, maybe even your coat pocket! I feel compelled to recommend them because they're such great products and I hope to see them on store shelves for years.

Allergy Scoop on Passover

Guest post from Tamar Warga

The Jewish holiday of Passover is around the corner and depending on your food allergy this may be a challenge or a reprieve. Folks with egg and nut allergies will need to be extra vigilant. During Passover, regular wheat flour and yeast are not used. As substitutes, Passover recipes frequently call for ground nuts and eggs. Tree nuts and eggs are in almost all traditional Passover desserts. While tree nuts abound, peanuts are not consumed by many Jews on Passover. This is a great time for people who are soy and corn allergic as well since many Jews don't eat soy or corn during this time. Gluten free products are plentiful due to a custom called non-gebrokts. Avoid products that list matzah, cake meal, or farfel since these are all wheat-based. On the other hand, If you see, non-gebrokts on a Passover product it is synonymous with gluten free. To recap: lots of peanut, soy, gluten, and corn free products in the Passover section of your supermarket but be extra careful about egg and tree nut ingredients. Look for some of these Passover products in the fridge and freezer sections as well.  As always, read labels and carry your epipens. Best Wishes for a Safe and Joyous Passover.  

Thank you to Tamar for this guest post!Tamar Warga, MS-CCC, SLP is a licensed and certified Speech Language Pathologist and a certifiably crazy mother of 10 (4 with food allergies). She is also the author of A Taste of Freedom Passover Food Allergy Cookbook. Tamar blogs at Kosherfoodallergies.blogspot.com, ”Where kosher Jews get allergy news.”

Food Allergy Allergy Friendly Food Tip: Ray's New York Bagels

Ray's New York Bagels has been on my family's "safe" food list for several years because they do not use peanuts and tree nuts. I was pleasantly surprised by their recent packaging change. The package now states "Our bakeries are completely nut free and dairy free". I always feel better seeing it in writing, as opposed to just taking a customer service rep's word for it over the phone. Ray's are the best frozen bagels I've tried. My sons and I can't decide if the Everything Bagels or Plain ones are our favorites. It's a toss-up! By the way, Ray's are Kosher Parve, and come six in a package.

Cooking with Food Allergies in Newton, MA

Here is a bit local food allergy news for those of you in Massachusetts. It sounds like a class which would be particularly helpful for those newly diagnosed with food allergies. Newton Community Education is offering a Cooking with Food Allergies course. The instructor is Cindy Crowninshield. Below is some information about the course:

Cooking With Food Allergies 

"If you have an allergy to gluten, wheat, yeast, corn, soy, egg, nuts, fish, or dairy, and need to follow a special meal plan— help is on the way. Cooking to accommodate an allergy can be daunting at first, but there are resources to make your life simpler. This course, taught by a licensed registered dietitian, will teach you how to shop for allergen-free eating, make substitutions in recipes, and cook foods that children and family members can enjoy. Sample homemade hummus, Mediterranean quinoa salad, and chewy gluten-free oat cookies. Handouts will be provided. Bring your questions and issues, and be prepared to enjoy the process. This class is popular with people looking for some great ways to accommodate children and family members with simple recipes that will be flavorful and enticing to eat. Note: this is not a cooking class, but you will be tasting. For more information or to register please go to: www.newtoncommunityed.org or call 617-559-6999."

Thank you to Newton Community Ed for contacting Food Allergy Buzz about this wonderful opportunity!

Food Allergy Consumer Product Review: Maplehurst Bakeries

For years, I would pass by those cupcakes in the supermarket bakery department, wishing they were safe for my son's peanut and tree nut allergies. It'd be so convenient to be able to run down to the local store and grab a package of cupcakes for a party with last minute notice, instead of having to bake cupcakes myself. Then, several months ago, I started to notice packages of cupcakes at the supermarket with a peanut-free symbol. More recently, Maplehurst Bakeries contacted me about a review of their peanut-free cupcakes--the very ones I had spied at the local supermarket!

It turns out that the cupcakes with the peanut-free symbol are made in Maplehurst Bakeries' peanut-free facility in New Hampshire. A few years ago, the facility in New Hampshire was known as Freed's Bakery, but following a change in ownership, it's now part of Maplehurst Bakeries, a huge company which supplies supermarkets around the country with baked goods. There is a long and impressive list of supermarkets where Maplehurst Bakeries' peanut-free cupcakes are available:

ACME
Albertsons
BI-LO Farm
Fresh Giant of Carlisle
Giant of Maryland
Jewel-Osco
Kroger
Market Basket
Marsh
Publix
Shaw's
Shoppers Food Warehouse
ShopRite Smith's
Stop & Shop
Tops
Walmart
Weiss

Maplehurst Bakeries has quite a bit of information about their peanut-free cupcakes on their website, and even has included a letter explaining what steps they take to ensure their cupcakes are peanut-free. In reading the letter, I discovered that their cupcakes are, for all intents and purposes, free of tree nuts as well! It states:

• "No peanuts or tree nuts are utilized in the manufacturing of products at the Manchester Facility. 
• No peanuts or tree nuts are warehoused within the Manchester Facility.
• The equipment at the Manchester Facility is not used to manufacture anything containing peanuts or tree nuts.
• We test for the presence of peanuts and peanut products in the Manchester Facility. Due to a lack of accurate and reliable testing methods for detecting the presence of all tree nuts, we cannot and therefore do not make the claim that our product is “tree nut-free” due to lack of sufficient available testing.
• Products made and labeled in our Manchester Facility bear the “peanut-free” logo and/or the “peanut-free” plant statement on the labels."

So, if you are managing peanut and/or tree nut allergies, and you've been wondering about those supermarket bakery cupcakes, when you see that peanut-free symbol and Maplehurst's name on the package, you can rest assured that no peanuts or tree nuts are in the manufacturing facility. It's such a big deal to be able to buy frosted cupcakes off the shelf at the local store!

FAB Review
Dedicated facility: Yes. No peanuts or tree nuts are in the facility. Labeled as peanut-free.
Appearance: Pretty frosted cupcakes in packages of 6 regular size or 12 mini cupcakes.
Taste: Sweet, light cupcakes
Texture: Moist
Convenience: Available at many supermarkets around the U.S. Modestly priced at about $2.99-$3.99 per package.
Buy again? Definitely! You can't beat the convenience and price.

UPDATE:
We received a couple of questions from readers which we forwarded on to Maplehurst. We thought the questions and answers would be helpful for you to read. Thank you to Maplehurst for the speedy reply!

Q1. Are the sprinkles manufactured in a peanut-free facility? How about tree nuts? 

"Some are manufactured in a peanut-free facility, but some aren’t. In the case of sprinkles manufactured in facilities that aren’t peanut-free, the processes highlighted below are followed to ensure against cross-contamination."

Q2. Are the ingredients for the cupcakes from peanut-free facilities and/or tree nut free facilities? 

"Most of the ingredients that Maplehurst purchases from external suppliers for their peanut-free cupcakes come from facilities that are peanut-free as well. However, some of their external suppliers have facilities that are not peanut-free. In this instance, these suppliers are held to strict production standards that safeguard against cross-contamination. Their processes are heavily monitored and frequently assessed. This involved swabbing tests of production lines and testing for the presence of peanuts in their ingredients."

Food Allergy Friendly Find: "Cotton Tails" by Tootsie

Have you seen this Tootise product before? It's Fluffy Stuff Cotton Tails.

I found it at Michael's yesterday. I just happened to look at the candy near the cash register. I found the allergen labeling on it before I noticed it was made by Tootsie. I love Tootsie labels; they are so clear. The back of the package states: "Produced in a facility that does not use peanuts, tree nuts, eggs or gluten."

I didn't even realize Tootise made cotton candy. According to Tootsie's website, "Fluffy Stuff" is available year-round and in seasonal varieties, like these "Cotton Tails" for Easter.

Another hit with the kids, made by Tootsie!