My younger daughter passed Test #2 of 3 today at the allergy doctor's, and we're hoping next week she'll be declared dairy allergy-free. (She passed her blood test and skin test, and next week is a "food challenge" in the doctor's office in which they feed her milk and observe her for any reaction.) I'm already dreaming of a big pizza and ice cream party next weekend. Though I am trying not to get my hopes *too* much. (And realistically, I know even if she can eat dairy, I'm going to be extremely cautious and all Mama Bear on her until I'm completely, totally sure she doesn't react.)
For anyone with kids with food allergies, or if you just want to learn more about them, there are a few resources I've found invaluable:
New England Chapter of the Asthma and Allergies Foundation -- Among its benefits, it hosts educational seminars in the Greater Boston area.
Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network -- Has a wealth of information about food allergies and it sends out recall alerts about foods that have been recalled for being improperly labelled and not containing allergy information. (I get a surprising number of these notifications. Very scary that so much food is mislabelled.)
Allergy Eats -- Contains an online database of restaurants with user ratings on allergy awareness and dining experience. There's also an Allergy Eats blog and Facebook page with lots of great information on dining out with food allergies.
Showing posts with label allergies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label allergies. Show all posts
Friday, October 22, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Stuck in a Dinner Rut...
As I was checking out at the grocery store today, buying hamburger and pasta for American Chop Suey tonight, I realized... I'm stuck in a dinner rut.
Don't get me wrong, I love American Chop Suey. But isn't it just a little... boring?
When we joined a CSA earlier this year it helped make our meals a little more interesting. 10 varieties of squash, collard greens, kale, beets. I got kind of inventive. But the CSA season is winding down, the vegetables we're getting are kind of bottom of the barrel in terms of quality, and I'm just sick of some of the same vegetables week in and week out.
I'm not quite like my mom yet -- every day of the week for her is associated with a different meat she always has for dinner. Monday is hamburger and pasta night, Tuesday chicken, Wednesday hamburger again, Thursday chicken again. And so on. But I do find myself getting into that routine with meals where I make the same things over and over again.
So - any ideas to help me get out of this rut? I'm all ears. I only have a few guidelines:
1) I don't really do dinner out of a box. I mean, I'll cook pasta and rice from a box, but I gave up Hamburger Helper years ago. Don't want to go down that road again. I'd like more "simple, fresh." I will do frozen vegetables.
2) My younger daughter has a dairy allergy. I can make some easy substitutions like soy milk for milk or soy butter for butter, and even some veggie cheese. But I try to stay away from overly cheesy dishes or anything made with milk-based soups.
3) I own a Crock-Pot. And I love using it! Any ideas beyond pot roast would be awesome.
Have at it.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Off to the Allergy Doctor...
This week I'm taking my daughter to the allergy doctor for her yearly testing. My daughter is one of the 4% of kids with a food allergy (dairy, to be exact). We've been dealing with her allergy for a year now -- it's been hard at times, surprisingly easy at others. But I'm ready for it to be over.
We are lucky in that my daughter's symptoms are: 1) not that serious to date (though the doctor says that could change with any reaction); and 2) likely to go away over time. (I think an estimated 50% of kids with a dairy allergy outgrow it by age 3; she just turned 2.) And while my daughter handles her allergy remarkably well (she understands that at Dunkin' Donuts her sister can have donuts while she gets a bagel, and at the pizza place her sister can have pizza while she gets pasta), we did have an incident this past week in which my daughter became very upset that she couldn't have some of her sister's birthday cake. It's so tough to explain to a 2-year-old that she just can't eat certain foods.
I genuinely feel for those parents (and their children) who have to deal with far more serious -- and multiple -- food allergies, and who can't say like I can, "I hope it will be over soon." Because for their kids, it's more likely to be a life-long allergy. In our year of dealing with this allergy, I have learned that far too many people do not understand enough about food allergies (especially at restaurants, which is very scary) -- and some people are just downright cruel about them. I had a former co-worker with a tree nut allergy, and she used to tell this story about how a former colleague baked brownies for the office, and purposely told this woman that there were no walnuts in them -- even though there were -- because she wanted to see what her reaction would be. I laughed at the story at the time; now it just makes my skin crawl to think that someone would endanger another person's life (yes, allergies are *life-threatening*) like this.
I have a lot to say on food allergies and not enough time in the day, so I'll save most of it for future posts. I'll just say for now to please be understanding about food allergies. Those with food allergies (and their parents) do not mean to be any type of a burden, but allergies really are a matter of life and death.
I had a conversation several months ago with a woman at the New England Chapter of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation about food restrictions at school due to allergies. We were talking about parents who get upset that their kids can't bring in peanut butter to school or whatever else, and she told me that what she'd say to these parents is, "Do you really want to be the person to endanger a child's life?" And really, that's what it boils down to. I realize that at a restaurant (or as a guest at someone else's house) I can be full of questions about ingredients and how things are prepared. I really don't mean to inconvenience you, but this is my child's health and well-being (and possibly her life) on the line. I wish everyone could understand that.
We are lucky in that my daughter's symptoms are: 1) not that serious to date (though the doctor says that could change with any reaction); and 2) likely to go away over time. (I think an estimated 50% of kids with a dairy allergy outgrow it by age 3; she just turned 2.) And while my daughter handles her allergy remarkably well (she understands that at Dunkin' Donuts her sister can have donuts while she gets a bagel, and at the pizza place her sister can have pizza while she gets pasta), we did have an incident this past week in which my daughter became very upset that she couldn't have some of her sister's birthday cake. It's so tough to explain to a 2-year-old that she just can't eat certain foods.
I genuinely feel for those parents (and their children) who have to deal with far more serious -- and multiple -- food allergies, and who can't say like I can, "I hope it will be over soon." Because for their kids, it's more likely to be a life-long allergy. In our year of dealing with this allergy, I have learned that far too many people do not understand enough about food allergies (especially at restaurants, which is very scary) -- and some people are just downright cruel about them. I had a former co-worker with a tree nut allergy, and she used to tell this story about how a former colleague baked brownies for the office, and purposely told this woman that there were no walnuts in them -- even though there were -- because she wanted to see what her reaction would be. I laughed at the story at the time; now it just makes my skin crawl to think that someone would endanger another person's life (yes, allergies are *life-threatening*) like this.
I have a lot to say on food allergies and not enough time in the day, so I'll save most of it for future posts. I'll just say for now to please be understanding about food allergies. Those with food allergies (and their parents) do not mean to be any type of a burden, but allergies really are a matter of life and death.
I had a conversation several months ago with a woman at the New England Chapter of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation about food restrictions at school due to allergies. We were talking about parents who get upset that their kids can't bring in peanut butter to school or whatever else, and she told me that what she'd say to these parents is, "Do you really want to be the person to endanger a child's life?" And really, that's what it boils down to. I realize that at a restaurant (or as a guest at someone else's house) I can be full of questions about ingredients and how things are prepared. I really don't mean to inconvenience you, but this is my child's health and well-being (and possibly her life) on the line. I wish everyone could understand that.
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