Adventures in Food and Allergies: My return

Three years ago, I began this blog to share with others our life with an allergic child.  As the world

learned more about children with multiple, severe food allergies, I began my journey as the mother and blogger for one very allergic child. I wanted to share with others the day-to-day struggles that we

call normal. I wanted to answer the questions that bombarded us daily. "What is your angel allergic to?" became the most dreaded question.  As I gave a quick and very abbreviated list of my angels allergies, the person's eyes would glaze over and a look of bewilderment would fill their faces. 5-4-3-2-1- I could count down to the next question, "So, what CAN your angel eat?" followed by, "Ohhhh, poor thing. I'm so sorry." These questions exhausted me. The pity. The bewilderment. These were not words that I associated with my angel.  Admiration. Strength.  This is how I viewed my child and how I wanted her to view herself.

Fast forward 3 years... I am now the confident mother of a very confident allergic child.  We still have days of struggle, weeks of struggle. We still get the questions and I still hate the pity-filled responses.  But, I have gotten better at using my words. I have regained my voice and with it have taught my angel to use hers, as well.

Over the past year, I have not written much.  I needed a break, a time to look inward so that I could look outward again. Cooking became routine and mealtimes often boring. There were hospital visits and food challenges, too many to share in one post. In the end, I have new recipes with newly tolerated foods and plenty of suggestions to go along with it. Although our family is still mostly grain-free, meat-eating vegans drawing from limited vegetable sources, there have been a few changes - changes that dramatically affected our meals. They inspired me. Potatoes, peppers and cooked tomatoes are foods that you can expect to see in my newest recipes... we've tried pizza and pasta and so much more.

For those who have been with me, thank you.  For those who awaited my return, an even bigger thank you. I am back and eager to share our newest adventures in food, allergies and allergy-free living. 

Rainbow of a Snack

The month of March is a busy one for recognizing the importance of health.  It holds such holidays as National Health Month, National Dental Month, World Kidney Day, Brain Awareness Week, and the list keeps going.  This makes March a great month to raise awareness of these issues and the benefits of eating healthy.

After school is a perfect time to encourage kids to eat healthy.  Instead of turning on the TV and plopping down with a bag of chips, let kids build fruit sculptures.  Ask kids to gather fruits or vegetables to represent the different colors of the rainbow.  Help the kids clean and prepare them then put each kind of fruit in a separate bowl.  Place silpats or plates, toothpicks, and a ball of Dduk dough (colored with beet juice) on each mat.  Now, ask the kids to use the Dduk, toothpicks, fruits and vegetables to build a sculpture.  Who  can build the most colorful sculpture? The tallest? The strongest? The possibilities are endless. Want to double their fun?  Join them!  Nothing is more exciting than seeing the creations, or mistakes, that parents make while playing with the kids. My angels shaped the dough (which they ate before I ever microwaved it) and used fruits to decorate their edible sculptures, eating as many fruits while working as they used in the sculpture itself!  But, the fun didn't end here.... everyone saved their sculptures to eat at breakfast.  You got it!  Afternoon fun for the kids and, with a little dry cereal on the side, tomorrow's breakfast is in the bag!

So, while kids dream of rainbows and search for green leprechauns, encourage them to eat healthy. Roll out some dough and pile on a rainbow of fun to help your angels recognize the importance of eating good, staying healthy, while having fun. Maintaining a balanced diet that includes all the colors of a rainbow helps kids find the true pot of gold - good health!

Bullying & Food Allergies

Wouldn't we all love to think that our angels will never be bullied?  Wouldn't it be nice if we lived in a world where people didn't hurt other people?  Sadly, we don't live in that world.  In our world, some people push others around, intentionally say hurtful things, and regularly threaten their peers.... they bully others.  And, in our world full of allergens, the sad fact is that our angels are often an easy target for those who want to bully others.

Kids with Food Allergies has published many articles to help you and your children deal with food allergies and bullies.  Today's article "Bullying of Children with Food Allergies - How You Can Help" reminds us to talk to our children openly about bullies and what to do if they or others are victims of bullies.

Today, as many of you are home for the holiday, take time to chat with your kids.  Remind them, not only about bullies and what to do as a victim, but also remind them of how they can show kindness.  If our children can recognize kindness, then it will go a long way to helping them recognize unkind, bullying behaviors.

Stop bullying.  Be proactive.