With a possible swine-flu pandemic coming our way, it may be a good time to stock up on allergy-free food! For quick and easy allergy free snacks and meals, it's helpful to bake and cook in large quantities and then freeze the food in individual size containers. That way when you need a fast fix, you can just pop something out of the freezer and into the microwave. Presto!
A recent news article caught my attention, and I'm sure those parents dealing with their child's food allergies will agree with me: eating out can be a scary thing. We teach our kids that their food allergies do not need to keep them from doing things they really want to do, yes, like eating out with friends. So many times we've all talked with chefs, wait staff, looked up ingredients on line, etc. etc. For our family, we tend to eat out only at a handful of restaurants, so we can be as confident as possible with trusting another person in preparing our child's food.
The news article referred to a close call that happened at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant.
"Earlier this summer, Sharon Brigner's son Brandon was one of many children who had an extremely close call. On June 11 at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in northern Virginia, Brigner told ABCNews.com that her son had a severe allergic reaction to egg after eating several mozzarella sticks that unknowingly contained the food he was allergic to.
Brigner said this week that the reaction happened despite her son's nanny asking the manager of the kid-friendly restaurant twice whether the food contained egg, and being reassured by the manager that it did not."
It's true, as FAAN says, "We're all in this together." We can check and double check, and in the end, it's all about educating those around us.
I just read an interesting editorial on the "War On Peanuts." Here's an excerpt: "Officials [in North Carolina] recently sent letters home to parents asking that they no longer pack peanut-butter sandwiches or cookies in their kids' lunches." They go on to say, "We're all for keeping kids free of lethal food reactions. But in the case of peanuts there appears to be an overreaction. Some parents have even gone out and bought peanut-detector dogs for their kids....CDC data show food allergy deaths are extremely rare, with peanut-related deaths almost nonexistent." They claim that although the numbers are increasing, overall, the percentage of children with true food allergies still isn't that big. The author continues, "Punishing other kids for such an extreme minority is, well, nuts. The health benefits of peanuts to the other 99% far outweigh the risks."
Ten years ago, when my child was first diagnosed with food allergies, I would have been livid reading this editorial. The author is too flippant about food allergies. When my daughter was first diagnosed, I thought peanuts should be banned from all of her environments, including daycare and extended family's homes. The information I had at the time paralyzed me with fear. Now that we've lived with food allergies for awhile, I have a different perspective. Peanuts are a part of everyday life, and isn't it my job as a parent to help my children learn how to manage their food allergy in everyday life? I can't control their environment forever, but I can equip them with common sense about food safety.
Reading this editorial actually made me feel kind of embarrassed. Was I the parent who completely overreacted? Did I make people think that I needed a peanut-detector dog? (if there is even such a thing!) I wish I had my perspective now back when my child was first diagnosed. I'd be a little more relaxed but still vigilant. I'd educate and work as partners with people instead of request a removal of all peanut products.
I still feel strongly that I am doing a lot of things right to keep my children safe and teach them how to manage their own allergies. I wonder though if in another ten years, I'll look back again and wonder if I should have done things a little differently. This is where it's helpful to band together with other parents dealing with child food allergies. We can lend perspective to those who have a more recent diagnosis, and we can learn from those more veteran than us. It feels better to know that we're not alone!
I start this blog entry with...UGH! Those of us dealing with our child's food allergies have heard over and over, check and double check ingredients of every food you buy every time you buy it. Campbell's is a well-known company and I generally trust their labels. I was a bit discouraged though on my most recent trip to the store. Campbell's has a new line of soups out called Select Harvest. It's marketed as a healthier choice, without MSG or artificial flavors. Be careful! Their Chicken Tortilla soup contains peanut oil. It's listed in the middle of the ingredient list, but it is not in bold type nor is there a warning statement anywhere else on the label. I know Campbell's did their job by listing it in the ingredients. I just thought that by now, bigger companies would at least put the top allergens in bold letters, if not have a separate warning statement.
It's a good reminder that it really is important to read every label every time.
With Halloween approaching, I'm sure many of us who have children with food allergies are getting anxious. It's worth checking out FAAN's article on which candy is safe to eat. The article also has a couple of other links to check out.
Happy trick-or-treating!
