Sweethearts Candy Blog's

I'm happy to announce that the winner of our Allergic Girl book giveaway is Karen! Congratulations! Karen will receive a copy of this upcoming food allergy book by author and blogger Sloane Miller. Thanks to all who entered and shared their heartwarming stories of how they approach food allergies with love. You all make me proud!

Karen, I now need to reach you so I can send you your prize. Please e-mail me at nut-freemom@sbcglobal.net with your contact info so your copy of Allergic Girl can get on its way to you immediately!

Here is Karen's story:

"Karen said...
The first Christmas after my 14 month old had her first reaction to peanuts was extremely difficult. Family members still were not very accepting of her allergy, brushing it off as not being very serious. Some even insisted that the traditional Christmas salad still have almonds in it even though we were told to avoid other nuts as well. It's been over 2 years since then and all of our family is extremely supportive of our now 3 year old. It's amazing to see how they go out of their way to make sure she's safe when she's over at their houses, at holidays and anytime! Their love and support mean so much to us and I can always count on them to think about reading labels and calling companies, etc. It takes time and a lot of learning to know what it means to be "nut/peanut free" and they have really come a long way!"

Since this giveaway got a great response, I will be doing more of these in the future. Keep reading this blog for more details.

Note: This winner was chosen at random via a computerized process.

For those of you looking for holiday gifts for the allergic people in your life, (or if you would like to drop a few hints for your spouse or family), here's a short list of some of the best food allergy books/magazines out there.

I've had the pleasure of meeting all of the authors below, either in person or online, and I can tell you that they are completely devoted to helping food-allergic people and their families enjoy a better quality of life.

The Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book by Kelly Rudnicki. Just awesome. Kelly provides delicious recipes for things like apple doughnuts, birthday cakes and a myriad of cookies and quick breads that are egg-free, dairy-free and nut-free. If you ever thought it was impossible to bake without eggs, dairy or nuts, Kelly will set you straight! Your kids will be the envy of their friends with these yummy treats. Full-color photos accompany each recipe. You also get to see Kelly's cute kids hard at work baking! You will love this book! Check Kelly's website to order. I've also found this book available at my local Borders book store.

The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook by Cybele Pascal. Martha Stewart featured this book as one of the best baking books out there and once you flip through it you will see why. This book is so gorgeous and filled with delicious-looking photos that make you want to roll your sleeves up and get baking. Cybele offers dozens of recipes free of all top 8 food allergens and gluten. A simply beautiful book! You can visit Cybele's website to order or visit your local bookstore. I got mine at Borders!

Food Allergy Books by Linda Coss. Linda Coss is a pioneer of food allergy parenting and cooking. She has wonderful cookbooks as well as a book of advice on how to live with food allergies. Her cookbooks are also free of dairy, egg, peanut and tree nut and she has some really awesome family-friendly meals. Don't miss her books! You can order them by visiting her website.

Enjoy Life Foods: Cupcakes and Sweet Treats for Everyone! and Enjoy Life Foods: Cookies for Everyone! Enjoy Life Foods offers great baking ingredients free of the top 8 allergens and then some. They bring their delicious approach to allergy-friendly eating to you with two beautiful books that will solve your allergy-free baking problems. I've found these at my local bookstore but you can order them from their web site, too.

Allergic Living magazine. I highly recommend a subscription to this amazing lifestyle guide. Besides tackling food allergies with wit, wisdom and tons of practical advice, editor Gwen Smith and her talented team also address seasonal and environmental allergies. Published 6 times a year, you will wonder how you ever got along without Allergic Living. Visit the website for subscription details.

I hope you'll check out each of the resources above. And thanks to the talented people behind them. You make a difference!