Sweethearts Candy Blog's

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!

Welcome to Food Allergy Awareness Week! I'm happy to say that many governors issued state proclamations about FAEW, so thanks to everyone who contacted your state officials.

The Illinois Food Allergy Education Association sent me info about two Food Allergy Awareness Week Events taking place in the Chicago area.

Wednesday, May 12th, 4:30-6:30, at New York Slices, 1843 Second Street, Highland Park, Kelly Rudnicki will sign copies of her book, The Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book (nuts, dairy and egg free recipes).

Kelly is a local food allergy mom who I met last year at the FAAN conference. She's a great food allergy advocate and her baking book is fantastic! If you don't have it yet, you'll want to get a copy. I love the recipes in this book! Plus, every recipe has a full-color photo. A beautiful book for you, friends, family--anyone you know interested in nut-free, dairy-free and egg-free baking, or just baking, period. Visit her web site at Food Allergy Mama.

Saturday, May 15th, 11-2p.m. at Free From Market, 14482 South LaGrange Road, Orland Park, Lisa Williams will have cooked tasty food for allergenistas. Directions at: http://www.freefrommarket.com/location.php Lisa Williams

Lisa Williams is a Chicago-area "allergenista" who hosts allergy-free restaurant events and has a great website: Lisa Cooks Allergen Free.

Plus, for all of you looking for nut-free, egg-free and dairy-free baked goodies for your family or school, Sweet Alexis Bakery is offering a 15% discount to help celebrate Food Allergy Awareness Week. This is your chance to stock up! Don't forget that Sweet Alexis treats are great to store in your freezer for safe treat emergencies (don't forget the grandparents, friends and relatives)! Enter coupon code: allergy10 at http://www.sweetalexis.com.

Now I have a question: what is your best experience teaching a non-allergic person about food allergies? Did they accommodate you in a special way? Did they go out of their way to help your child in some way? We hear so many negatives stories, so let's share some positive ones for Food Allergy Awareness Week. E-mail me your stories at nut-freemom@sbcglobal.net.

I just wanted to give a shout out today to Kelly, aka Food Allergy Mama, on the October 1 release of her new nut-free, egg-free and dairy-free baking cookbook. You can read all about here, including how to order a signed copy of this fabulous book!

I met Kelly (a fellow Chicago area allergy mom!) at the FAAN conference last spring and I couldn't be happier for her. What a great resource for food allergy mamas everywhere, not to mention a great resource for family members and friends.

It can be really difficult to come up with delicious baked treats that don't contain milk, eggs or nuts so The Food Allergy Mama Baking Cookbook is a such a welcome resource. I'm glad it's on the shelves today!

Congrats to Kelly! I ordered my copy and am looking forward to some delicious baking. Visit her site Food Allergy Mama for more info.