Allergy-Friendly Businesses
Allergy-Friendly Mother's Day Brunch Menus
Celebrate Mom's special day with one of these these allergy-friendly menus:
Breakfast in Bed
On her special day, give Mom the gift of a few more minutes of sleep. Then surprise her with this delicious, allergy-friendly meal on a tray. And don't forget to clean up the kitchen!
- Southern-Style Breakfast Sausage
- Egg-Free French Toast, or
- Gluten-Free Crepes with Raspberry Sauce
- A delicious smoothie, such as GF/CF "Banilla", or Strawberry Banana
- Coffee
Lunch Al Fresco
Whether you picnic on your back deck or in the park is up to you. Celebrate Mom with simple foods that can be enjoyed outdoors.
- Vegetarian cucumber and hummus wraps (use gluten-free torillas)
- Marinated Asparagus
- Chips and guacamole
- Fruit Salad with Champagne-Lime Dressing
- Fresh lemonade with mint
- Peppermint Buttercream Candies
Spring Pollen and Food Allergies
Flowers blooming, trees budding - eyes itching? Nose dripping? Spring is a lovely but, for many of us, allergenic time of year.
Spring pollen allergies may affect, or even bring on, food allergies for some people. If you can eat apples or melon most of the year, but in the spring they make your mouth itch and your lips swell, you may have Oral Allergy Syndrome. OAS is asensitivity to the proteins in fruits and vegetables that are similar to airborne pollen.
Pollen allergies may also interact with asthma and food allergies, increasing the risk of a severe allergic reaction when exposed to a food allergen.
Spring pollen allergies may even influence rates of food allergies during the prenatal period. A study in Finland found that babies who had their 11th week of gestation during birch pollen season were much more likely to develop food allergies as children.
Non-Food Birthday Celebrations at School
My daughter's school has instituted a "no food" policy for birthday and other classroom celebrations. This decision was not made because of food allergies. The new policy is part of a healthy eating and exercise program that the school district is implementing. It does, however, have the added benefit of making the school a safer place for children with food allergies.
Instead of snacks, students have their birthdays recognized by having their name read with the morning announcements and being given a card and a birthday ribbon to wear. Parents are encouraged to send in non-food treats or donate something to the school in honor of their child.
If your school does not allow food in classroom celebrations, or if you would like to start this trend yourself, here are some ideas of non-food ways to celebrate a child's birthday at school.
Teachers can provide:
1. Allow child to be "queen" or "king" for the day - give them the leadership role of line leader, calendar helper, feeder of the class fish, or keeper of the chalkboard.
2. Have a special birthday crown that the child can wear for the day. This can be a hat that stays in the classroom, or a simple paper crown that goes home with the child.
3. Host a special monthly birthday lunch club with the teacher.
4. Give the child a coupon redeemable for something fun in the classroom, like extra art time or a "get out of homework free" pass.
Parents can provide:
1. Donate a book to the school library in honor of your child. (Just think how great our school libraries would be if every family did this every year!)
2. Bring in stickers, pencils, fun erasers, or small inexpensive toys such as stretchy frogs or plastic tops for the class.
3. Donate a plant to beautify the school grounds - flowers, bulbs, trees, or bushes.
4. Donate a board game to be used for indoor recess, or a sturdy jump rope or ball for outdoor games.
5. Have a family member come to class to read a story or share a special talent or skill, or allow the child to share their talent with the class.
How do you celebrate your child's birthday without food? Share your ideas with other readers!
Meet an Award Winner: Paul Antico of AllergyEats
Paul Antico is the founder of AllergyEats, which won the Best Food Allergy Mobile App of 2012 in our Reader's Choice Awards.
Paul started AllergyEats two years ago, and launched the AllergyEats Mobile App eight months ago. Despite being a relative newcomer, the mobile app won first place and the AllergyEats website was a second-place winner of the Best Food Allergy Online Support category.
Both the website and mobile app allow users to search for and rate restaurants on their allergy-friendliness.
Read more about the other winners of the 2012 Food Allergy Reader's Choice Awards:
Meet an Award Winner: Lynda Mitchell of Kids with Food Allergies
Kids with Food Allergies Foundation is the winner of the 2012 Reader's Choice Award for Best Food Allergy Online Support.
Lynda Mitchell founded the Kids with Food Allergies Foundation (KFA) in 2005. Her son was born with challenging medical problems and developed a dozen food allergies in the first year of life. "Twenty years ago, a child with a dozen food allergies was almost unheard of," she says. "It was a worrisome and lonely time; one where little was understood about food allergies or how to manage them." Lynda learned to cook foods her son could eat and manage her son's allergies on her own.
Because of her first-hand experience, Lynda realized how isolating and overwhelming a new diagnosis of food allergy can be for parents. She decided to found the KFA online community in response to the need she saw in the food allergy community.
Since 2005, KFA has grown to have 24,000 members. This month the site will launch a new mobile-friendly community forum that will allow parents on the go to access the online support that KFA offers. The organization is also launching three new blogs on food allergy issues to meet the needs of its growing community.
Lynda's advice to parents of children with food allergies is: "Children with food allergies can live full and healthy lives - it just takes a lot of planning to make sure they remain safe and healthy." She reminds parents that "KFA is here to educate families with practical food allergy management strategies to save lives and improve the quality of life for children and their families."
KFA is a non-profit organization and is open to anyone who is looking for support for managing a child's food allergies. An associate membership, which allows access to the community forums, is free. A family membership is only $25 a year and includes a welcome kit, coupons, and access to an allergy-friendly recipe database. To learn more, visit the Kids With Food Allergies website.
More people behind the products and services that won the 2012 Food Allergy Reader's Choice Awards:
Meet an Award Winner: Jill Robbins of HomeFree
HomeFree cookies won the Reader's Choice Award for Best Allergy-Friendly Sweets of 2012. HomeFree was started in 2009 by Jill Robbins, a clinical psychologist and mother of a child with multiple food allergies.
HomeFree has grown to offer six flavors of allergy-friendly cookies and many other baked goods, all made in a dedicated facility free of peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, eggs, and dairy. In addition, the award-winning HomeFree cookies are also a certified source of whole grains are certified kosher.
Read more about the winners of the 2012 Food Allergy Reader's Choice Awards:
- LeAnn Carlson of Lauren's Hope
- Alison DiBiasio of Allergy Essentials USA
- Paul Antico of AllergyEats
- Dennis Singsank of Hilton Soy Foods, makers of WOWBUTTER
- Jill Robbins of HomeFree
40% of Us Ignore Allergy Warning Labels
"May contain milk."
"Manufactured on shared equipment with peanuts."
Would you buy a product that carries a warning label about one of your allergens? A new study found that many of us do.
Surprisingly, the study of consumers in the U.S. and Canada found that people who have a household member with food allergies are more likely to buy a food carrying a "may contain" statement on its label than households without food allergies. The household without food allergies were "indirectly" supplying food for a child with food allergies - such as bringing a snack to daycare.
About 44% of households that have a member with a food allergy said they would purchase food with a "may contain" statement, while only 16% of households indirectly affected by food allergies would do so. However, people who were involved in an allergy association were much less likely to purchase foods with a "may contain" statement - only 10% said they would do so.
Researchers speculated that consumers with food allergies may be less careful with their own health than that of another family's child. My speculation is that those of us who are managing food allergies on a daily basis realize that everything "may contain" a food allergen unless it is produced in a dedicated facility.
In the United States, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA) requires manufacturers to disclose big 8 food allergens in their products on the ingredient label in plain English. Disclosure of possible cross-contamination is voluntary.
Do you buy food products that carry a "may contain" statement for your trigger foods? How do you decide which foods are safe to buy?
Meet an Award Winner: WOWBUTTER by Hilton Soy Foods
Hilton Soy Foods is a family-owned business from Ontario, Canada, that makes WOWBUTTER, winner of the Reader's Choice Award for Best Peanut Butter Substitute of 2012.
WOWBUTTER is a nutty spread that is made from non-GMO soybeans. It is made in a dedicated peanut- and nut-free facility, and is a safe alternative to peanut butter for children with peanut allergies or schools that have banned peanuts.
The goal of Hilton Soy Foods is to bridge "the gap between allergic and non-allergic students in order to provide a healthier, safer, more united and happier school environment" by creating an allergy-friendly peanut butter substitute so that children can enjoy their favorite sandwiches safely.
Meet an Award Winner: Alison DiBiasio of Allergy Essentials USA
Today's profiled award winner is Alison DiBiasio of Allergy Essentials USA. Alison's product, the Epissentials leg case, is the winner of the 2012 Reader's Choice Award for Best Auto-Injector Case.
Allergy Essentials USA is a five-year-old company that makes auto-injector cases that strap to a leg or arm under clothing. The cases are made of smooth neoprene and have an adjustable closure to fit any size leg.
Learn more about Allergy Essentials and the person behind the products Meet an Award Winner: Alison DiBiasio of Allergy Essentials USA.
