Sweethearts Candy Blog's

When you have a family member with food allergies, sharing cups or other items is more than just potentially germ-inducing--it can trigger accidental allergic reactions. What if there was a product that could help you identify each family member's personal items to cut down on accidental exposures and cross-contact? Wouldn't color-coded labels come in handy here? However, labels you find at office supply stores fade immediately and can't stand up to dishwasher usage.

That's why I'm so happy to tell you about color-coded labels especially designed for this very important purpose. Elizabeth Goldenberg of Onespot Allergy is the mother of a child with severe peanut and tree nut allergies, and she knows firsthand how important it is to keep an allergic person's items separate--and safe. To help identify items at home, she created convenient, color-coded food allergy labels (pictured above). These handy labels can be used on everything: plates, glasses, a lunch kit, water bottles and more items that need to be identified for the food allergic person's use only.

Most labels and inks are made from toxic or carcinogenic materials. Onespot Allergy food allergy labels are non-toxic. The labels are designed to be fade-proof and will stay on your items, even when placed in the dishwasher. Plus, they can be peeled off items without leaving any residue, a huge bonus for the busy mom.

Elizabeth suggests choosing a color for each family member so that everyone knows what belongs to them and to eliminate potentially dangerous mix-ups.

In addition to food allergy labels, Onespot Allergy also offers back-to-school items such as EpiPen belts so that your child can wear their life-saving EpiPens at all times.

If you want to learn more about these color-coded labels, click here to see Elizabeth explain her product in a video.

For more info about any Onespot Allergy items for back-to-school or at home, visit the company web site web site.

Summer is the time that many of us get in the car, hit the road and visit the relatives. For many of us, these are folks we haven't seen in awhile and they may not be fully aware how much food allergies can affect our lives. Also, there can be more family baggage involved than simply what you've packed in the trunk of your car.

Some family members are ready and willing to help accommodate a severe food allergy. They understand that it's not a food preference, but a medical condition and they accept the dangers. Other family members are less receptive and/or less informed about it so it's going to be your job to be proactive so that you can have fun and also, a safe trip.

Family relationships can get strained over food allergies, but there are some things you can do to help.

- Call ahead. Don't just show up at your appointed time and expect everything to go smoothly. Especially if you're staying with relatives and even if you aren't, give a shout out and discuss the food allergy situation. You will want to give people a heads up about foods to avoid but also you want to reassure your family that you will help provide safe meals and won't leave it all up to them.

- Bring food. Pack enough non-perishable safe treats, either homemade or from places like Enjoy Life Foods or Divvies so that your allergic child is not left without good stuff during family meals or snack times. Stocking up will also save you and your family the stress of last-minute grocery runs or overheated discussions about "just one bite won't hurt" and "why can't he have the plain M&Ms?" etc.

- Be fun. Food is part of the social fabric that holds families together but it can also be divisive if you're dealing with food allergies, so don't let all the focus go to the food. Once you arrive, organize a family vs. family soccer game, go to a movie or beach or bring your favorite board game and engage everyone in a fun activity that doesn't revolve around food. Everyone will be having too much fun to comment on what your kid is or isn't eating.

- Plan activities that allow you to bring your own meals. If you're visiting a zoo or amusement park, for example, you will want to make sure you can bring a picnic lunch so that you don't have to rely on the food allergy-unsafe food options found at these places. Everyone loves a picnic, so help pack a good one and then you can focus on the activity instead of finding what so often turns out to be as easy as finding a needle in a haystack -- a "safe" lunch or dinner while out and about.

I hope everybody is gearing up to enjoy a great 4th, but since that means travel for many of us, I wanted to share some tips for coping with this fun and food-filled summer holiday.

First of all, if you're traveling by car, try to start the trip after a meal: It saves time, worry and stress! You'll also want to pack plenty of safe food options--you never know what a road trip can involve so be prepared! It's better to give your child food you've brought alone for the trip than risking restaurant food somewhere that looks sketchy just because you have nothing else to feed them (or you!)

Also, if you are traveling by airplane, see this post I wrote about air travel. Don't forget to remind the airline about your family's food allergy needs and don't forget to keep the EpiPen with you in the cabin.

In fact, always remember to keep your EpiPen with you at all times.

My personal tip: Don't risk a food because you don't want to "offend" someone. If you're unsure that the food is safe,then just skip it. Bring your own safe dessert or treat for your child and be sure to teach your child to decline a food politely. It's a lot more fun to stay at the backyard BBQ and avoid a potentially unsafe food than to take a trip to the ER on a holiday weekend!

Here are a couple more links that will help you on the 4th:

Staying safe at summer barbecues

Jen Roeder Love from FAAN (The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network) shares her favorite travel tips

FAAN's travel tips from their web site

Have a great time everybody!

I wanted to share a story with you since I know that many of us worry about teaching our kids to handle their allergies on their own. When your little one is diagnosed with severe food allergies (usually this happens at a very young age)it can be difficult to imagine them ever managing it on their own.

From personal experience as well as what others share with me, I've found that teaching a child to manage the allergy should begin immediately. Obviously you don't want to scare a tiny child with too many details, but emphasizing "safe" and "unsafe" foods and teaching kids how and what to avoid is something you can do right away. Two really good resources for helping you to do this are the Beyond a Peanut flashcards and the young children's book "Ally the Allergic Elephant" by Nicole Smith (who I met recently, along with her awesome teen son, Morgan.)

My family used these resources as well as positive encouragement and reinforcement with my daughter from the time we knew of her allergy at age 4. Her own memory of her severe allergic reaction (that clued us into the fact that she had an allergy at all) certainly keeps her on track, but our family's consistency with regard to managing the allergy has also helped. Like many of you, I've often felt like a broken record, repeating myself over and over, but now that my daughter is 11 years old, she's taken over a lot of the ownership of her allergy management.

Case in point: This past weekend, my daughter attended a Taylor Swift concert with her cousins in Detroit. Since the concert was held at Ford Field (a football stadium) of course peanuts were being sold by vendors. Luckily, there weren't a lot of peanuts around her seating area, and it was nowhere near as "peanutty" as a baseball game, but she told me later that she was a little concerned.

Since we knew this would probably be an issue, she asked to eat before going to the concert and while there, only ordered a Coke. Let me tell you, she could have cared less about eating at the concert. It was her first "grownup" concert so it was all about Taylor Swift and the experience of seeing her.

What really impressed me was that she was careful to only order a "bottled" Coke from a vendor at a stationary location in the arena. Why? She noticed that the vendors selling food/drinks in the stands were serving peanuts as well as "open," already-poured drinks and she didn't want to risk the cross contact. This was something she spotted on her own and brought up without prompting. She was right to be concerned because the vendor-sold items did carry a risk that was better to avoid altogether. She also carried her own hand wipes and cleaned her hands--you can't have too many hand wipes when out and about with a food allergy.

Do I wish she didn't have to be so concerned? Of course. But this kind of proactive thinking (along with eating before the show) is what's going to keep her safe and healthy as she moves to even more independence. It wasn't a big deal to her--by now, it's just part of life and it doesn't faze her.

This is such a great point for a child to reach. It doesn't mean I don't worry anymore, but since I can see her making the right choices, I feel good about her doing things on her own.

For those of you who have very young kids facing food allergies, just keep playing the "cracked record" and one day, your kids will be telling you how they can stay safe.

And that's a huge point to reach, because let's face it: no one is going to be as concerned about food allergies as you are (or your kids are). They have to self-advocate and the sooner they learn, the better for everyone.

For me, the most stressful part of traveling with my nut-allergic daughter is restaurants. When you're away from home and staying at a hotel, restaurants are your main source of food. As someone who watches "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares" on BBC America, that is a pretty scary reality for me. The bottom line is that you just never know what is going on in a restaurant kitchen and who is doing the cooking. As we know, restaurant workers vary widely in their knowledge and understanding of food allergies. So the pressure is on us to communicate and navigate menus and establishments on our own. Yes, some restaurants do a stellar job, but you always have to do your research prior to eating.

Less is more. When evaluating a restaurant for allergic folks, seek our restaurants with small, simple menus. Why? Well, big menus that feature everything under the sun usually contain several off-limits items and cross-contact risk becomes greater. Also, the bigger the menu, the more likely that several chefs are cooking at once and again, cross-contact is an issue.

Find out what kind of oil they use for frying. This is especially important if a fried dish is one of a resto's specialities. When we travel, we call restaurants with lots of fried items and ask if they use peanut oil. If they do, we skip it. I've heard a lot about the "cold-pressed" vs "refined" peanut oil debate and some people insist that peanut oil is safe. The thing is, people have reacted to peanut oil -- some fatally -- and I would also argue that if you tell restaurant staff that you can have peanut oil with a peanut allergy, you're sending them a mixed message that may result in other kitchen mishaps. Plus, no peanut oil is 100% free of peanut protein, so for me, that's dancing too close to the mouth of the volcano. Many times, restaurants tell us that they use canola oil, and we have staff confirm this from the kitchen. These are the restos we feel good visiting. If you want to be absolutely safe, peanut oil is out and canola is in. Minimize your risk ahead of time and you'll have a better experience.

Get the menu in advance. Most places have their menu displayed outside the restaurant and in many cases you can get menus online. This is hugely helpful--don't skip this step! Knowledge of the menu helps you to avoid places that emphasize items that your allergic family members need to avoid.

Pay attention to salads. Salads are one of my daughter's favorite meals, especially Greek salads (no doubt a heritage thing since my husband is Greek.) However, salads can be high risk so before you let your child order one, examine what other salads are on offer. Do any of the salads contain nuts or nut oils in the dressings? If so, don't order a salad. The reason? Sometimes chefs untrained in food allergy simply pick the nuts off of a prepared salad and serve it--this makes for a potential reaction because the salad is then contaminated. Dressings look alike and can be mistaken for each other. Side note: my daughter knows to do this already. When she ordered a Greek salad, I opened my mouth to say--let's look at the other salads first--and she already had read the menu. None of them contained nuts. One more reason to involve your kids in the menu-reading process, even when they are young. It's great when they take responsibility for their own allergies.

Take the pressure off with some non-restaurant meals. We made sure to get a room with a refrigerator, enabling us to give our kids some cereal for breakfast or simple snacks. We also had a picnic dinner and lunch during our vacation using items we purchased from the local grocery store. Our kids really enjoyed picking out foods for our picnics and our allergic daughter felt more in control and more relaxed. Our picnics were some of our best times while on our trip--and it was the one time I wasn't on alert for allergic reaction. I needed a break--and so will you. Adding a few non-restaurant meals to your trip is not only stress-saving, it's money-saving as well.

AllerDine and Allergy Eats. These two food allergy restaurant guides help you decide where to eat by offering a database of U.S. restaurants that are rated according to your specific allergen. If you travel and find a good place to eat (or a bad place) don't forget to share your experience on these helpful web sites! www.allerdine.com and www.allergyeats.com

You'd think we'd get out of cooking one day a year, but if your child has severe food allergies, forget it. Actually, the traditional Mother's Day brunch, served buffet style, can be hazardous for many types of food allergies. In my family, we've never gone to big Mother's Day meals in a restaurant since so many breakfast foods have some type of tree nuts due to all of the baked goods and cross-contact. For those of you who deal with egg, dairy and/or wheat allergies, you know how difficult it is to locate an allergy-friendly brunch.

For me, this state of affairs means a lot of cooking and/or baking at home. Often, I prefer it--personally it's not relaxing for me to bring my child to high-risk restaurant situations. I'd rather go eat with the family during a "safe" restaurants downtime when they are more likely to pay attention to special food requests.

Last year, I baked a coffee cake and brought it to a brunch. This year I plan to make the same cake because my family loves it and it looks impressive (streaked with two layers of cinnamon/brown sugar filling) even though it is relatively easy to make. I assume I will be cooking throughout the day even though my husband volunteered to grill at night, as he usually does on the weekends.

Somewhere along the line, I just accepted that I would be doing most of the cooking, when possible. That's been OK for the most part. I've had a lot more control over ingredients and my kids have enjoyed a pretty healthy diet. When I cook, I have the added pleasure of knowing that I am providing some love along with the meals. As my favorite food writer M.F.K. Fisher put it: "One of the pleasantest of all emotions is to know that I, I with my brain and my hands, have nourished my beloved few... to sustain them truly against the hungers of the world."

It is in this spirit that I once spent 6 hours making and decorating birthday cakes for my daughter's first big birthday party. She was in kindergarten and had invited every girl in her class plus a few more friends. She wanted a "Groovy Girl" theme -- if you have daughters you've probably seen these colorful, fashionable dolls -- and I needed to create orange, pink, black, purple and yellow frosting. This took me awhile. I also had trouble with the cake writing, since I'm not very good at it and the miniature Groovy Girl dolls I bought for the cake kept sinking into the frosting. Since they were not "true" cake toppers, they were too heavy.

I was exhausted and covered in frosting by the time I finished but I didn't think much about the time it had taken. I shared this story with one of my friends recently and she said "Wow, you must really love your daughter!"

I laughed because a) I guess I do and b) when a 6-hour cake prep doesn't faze you, that's when you know you've got a child with food allergies.

Last week I was reading a newspaper article in advance of Mother's Day that asked authors to chime in with their favorite advice from their mom. My favorite was this quote, taken from Baha'i writings: "When there is love, nothing is too much trouble and there is always time."

That's how I feel about being "forced" to cook on Mother's Day. Kids with food allergies have to be so careful of what they eat, all the time. If I can give my daughter something delicious, something safe so that she can be included with all of us, her happiness makes me happy. It's a gift that keeps on giving, not just on Mother's Day, but all year.

Sometimes it's a good idea to bring your kids to Crate and Barrel. I know, sounds counter intuitive but if I hadn't had my little eagle-eyed 11-year-old with me recently, I never would have seen this awesome doughnut pan! I've been meaning to get one of these for years so that I could make nut allergy-safe doughnuts, but the pans available had always been so expensive at $30 or so that I always saved it for another day. Being unable to visit doughnut shops due to all of the cross-contact risk is an adjustment that we've had to make, so I've always been on the lookout for ways to make our own at home.

This great pan pictured above was $10.95 at Crate and Barrel. You can also order it from www.wilton.com. They also have mini-doughnut pans available, especially nice since Hostess Donettes are not longer an option for our family--they now carry tree nut allergy warnings.

Best of all, the doughnut pan comes with a simple recipe that I altered just a bit. You could also do some variations like adding a few tablespoons of cocoa powder and a little more canola oil for a chocolate cake donut. Or add a nice spring-y touch with some lemon or orange zest to the batter. I also remember some amazing apple doughnuts that we used to buy, pre-nut allergy, at a farm bakery store that were seriously amazing. So you could grate some apple into the batter, add some cinnamon and roll them in cinnamon sugar for apple doughnuts. The possibilities are endless!

Baking doughnuts does change their taste a little bit. Let's face it, fried foods are the bomb! But baking doughnuts does make them healthier and I found the taste delicious. My kids LOVED them. They couldn't believe it one Saturday morning when they awoke to fresh powdered sugar doughnuts.

This pan makes a great Mother's Day gift, too if you're looking for last-minute ideas.

The following recipe is just an example of the great things cooking next week during the Food Allergy Recipe Swap live chat at The Motherhood. Please join us if you can--May 10, 1 pm EST. Lori Sandler of Divvies will be our host! You can share your own recipes along with pictures of the finished product. I hope you can be there!


Nut-Free Powdered Sugar Cake Donuts
2 cups cake flour, sifted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray pan with nonstick baking spray (such as Pam). In a large mixing bowl, sift together cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add buttermilk, eggs and butter. Add vanilla and beat until just combined; do not over beat. Fill each doughnut cup about 2/3 full--any more and you won't end up with that nice doughnut shape.

Bake 7-9 minutes or until the top of the doughnuts spring back when touched. Color on tops is no indication of doneness-they will be more golden on the bottom.

Let cool in pan for about 5 minutes before removing. Finish doughnuts by placing them, one at a time, in a resealable bag filled with 2/3 of powdered sugar. Close the bag and shake gently to coat.

Makes 12 doughnuts.

Even though I've been dealing with my daughter's food allergies and seasonal allergies for years, I still find myself having to make tough calls about her health vs. socializing. We are fortunate to have so many understanding friends and neighbors but sometimes we just have to say "no" to one thing and find a different solution. And that doesn't have to be tragic.

I want to share a quick story because I sometimes feel that parents beat themselves up over the things their kids have to "miss out on" due to food allergies or other allergies.

My daughter and her really good friend have been trying to arrange a sleepover at the friend's house for several weeks now. This was supposed to take place this coming weekend. Well, right now, seasonal allergies are really taking a toll on my daughter's health. She's on medication but the pollen count is giving her a lot of stuffiness and breathing problems.

Last week, she hung out at her friend's house (the one who wanted to host the sleepover) and when she got home, she was stuffy, wheezing and needed her asthma inhaler. Turns out that the seasonal allergies that already existed were being aggravated even more by an apparent allergy to her friend's pet guinea pigs.

What to do? The date was arranged, the plans had been made, the hosting family couldn't be nicer or more accommodating with our daughter's food allergies.

I decided that we needed to host the sleepover at our house and try again at the friend's home when spring is over and the pollen count subsides. (My daughter is a lot better in the summer than the spring). My daughter has hung out with the guinea pigs in the past and not suffered intense symptoms, so I figured she just couldn't take the pet allergies and seasonal allergies all at once. I worried a little bit about offending the parents of my daughter's friend, but knew I needed to make the call.

Well, when my daughter came home for lunch, she had already taken care of it. She spoke to her friend, explained the problem and they decided the sleepover should be at our house. I didn't even need to sweat this. Obviously, it's no fun for a kid to have an asthma attack, so my daughter advocated for her own situation and it was resolved.

Everyone knows that it is more fun to attend a sleepover at someone else's house, so I did feel a little bit bad that my daughter couldn't do that this time. But you know what? She was OK with it.

I frequently hear from parents who are really sad that their child can't visit an ice cream shop like they, the parent, used to do as as a child. Or they worry that depriving their child of a treat at a birthday party will damage their child's self-esteem. I'm not saying that this can't happen, but kids are smart and resilient. Don't make a big deal about it and there's a good chance they might not, either.

My biggest obstacle now: deciding on an appropriate movie for the girls to watch. That's OK. Sometimes it's nice to be faced with a parenting challenge that's non-allergy related.

Easter will soon be here and so will family celebrations that naturally revolve around food! However, food allergy safe Easter celebrations are possible. I wanted to compile some of my best tips for holiday dining with the family.

Easter is tricky because a restaurant Easter Brunch is often part of the festivities. Please be extra careful at a "buffet" brunch. Risk of cross-contact is astronomical and many brunch dishes contain tree nuts. Sometimes bringing some safe foods for your child is the best thing you can do when faced with this issue. Don't take a chance at buffets. If you know you will be going to a brunch, call the restaurant now and see if you can have a "safe" item prepared separately in the kitchen.

Now, onto the at-home celebrations! Last year, I received the FAAN spring newsletter and I want to share a few of their allergy free Easter tips:

1. Instead of decorating real eggs, paint, decoupage or bead wooden eggs available at craft stores or online. Plastic eggs can also be decorated using stickers, ribbons and permanent markers.

2. Fill baskets with small toys, cars, dolls, crayons or mini stuffed animals, instead of putting the focus on food.

3. Organize an Easter egg hunt using plastic eggs. Fill them with coins or stickers or even coupons for activities such as roller skating or movies, instead of candy.

I also want to address family meals because of course, they are part of the fun but you've got to be careful. Here's what works for me:

1. Communicate about the allergy early and often. Whether you plan to attend a dinner outside of your home or you are the host family, you want to put the word out now about your nut allergy concerns. Things to discuss would be safe brands of bread for stuffing, gravy sauces or sauce enhancers or mixes, stuffing recipes in general (many contain pecans, pine nuts or other nuts), desserts and cross-contamination when cooking or baking. You want to give people plenty of notice about the food to help ensure safe choices. Many times people set their menus and decide what they plan to bring to a dinner early, so go on, make that call today!

2. Offer to provide safe alternatives to family favorites. Does someone always want to make pecan pie or peanut butter blossom cookies? See if you can make an alternative pie or offer to make the cookies using SunButter (sunflower seed butter) or soybutter. Or, introduce a new recipe that may become a nut-free family favorite.

3. Be careful at the buffet table. Buffet tables present cross-contact problems, since serving spoons may be used for more than one food. You may ask to serve your child first to prevent cross contact, or prepare a separate plate for your child in the kitchen.

4. Suggest an alternative to "mixed nuts in a bowl" and peanut-laden Chex mix-style snacks from the party. Yes, these are a big hit with many family members, but see if you can bring an alternative snack. These are particularly dangerous because younger allergic children may grab these items and eat them before you can stop them. Also, people spread the nut dust and residue around with these snacks. If your child touches the hands of someone who was recently snacking on this, and then eats something "safe," a reaction can occur because they will then ingest the nut allergen along with the "safe" food. This just happened to the child of a friend of mine, so be careful.

5. You bring (or make) dessert. Desserts are one of the top foods to cause allergic reactions, so don't chance it. You make the dessert. It may seem like a lot of work but honing your dessert-making skills is a must if you're a nut allergy caregiver. Also, everyone loves desserts, so if you make a good one you'll be one of the "heroes" of the dinner! :)

6. If you're really concerned, bring a safe meal for your child. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you may not feel the meal is safe enough for your child to eat. That's OK--it happens. Just bring something extra for them and serve it to them without a lot of fanfare. If anyone asks, use the situation to increase awareness: "Alex can't eat the dinner because of her nut allergy." You never know--this simple statement could result in more cooperation from others for the next celebration.

Happy Easter!!

Congrats to Jennifer N. of Minnesota--you won the Vermont Nut-Free Easter chocolate giveaway!!! Please e-mail your complete name and address to nut-freemom@sbcglobal.net so I can get the prize to you! :)

Thanks to all who entered the giveaway!! These have been a big hit so I will have more in the future.

Many of you commented about the non-edible Easter treats you like to offer, so I wanted to share some of my own. Here is a link to a post that I wrote that discusses some ideas for Easter baskets. Candy is traditional but for food-allergic kids, other items can be just as fun. Share this list with friends, family and churches.

I'm heading to the FAAN conference this weekend, so if you see me there, be sure to say hello!

We're back from Spring Break in Florida, so since I'm fresh from air travel with nut allergies I wanted to share our experience. Many readers and Facebook fans have questions about this topic, so this is for you!

The prospect of air travel can be frightening for families dealing with food allergies for so many reasons. Close, cramped airplane seats, peanuts or tree nuts served to all passengers as snacks, recirculated air, food brought on by other passengers, food left over from previous flights are all of concern.

Here is the most important lesson to learn from air travel: There is absolutely no way you can ever elminate all allergenic foods from your flight. There are many reasons for this; I witnessed several incidences. For one thing, even though some airlines no longer serve peanuts, they sell "snack packs" to people willing to pay for them. These packs often contain a pack of tree nuts. Secondly, airlines in general do not even offer snacks anymore or lunches, dinners, etc. unless you are flying First Class. (And I don't know many families who do that.) What does that mean? Due to the "no snacks" policies, I saw many families bringing on full lunches or buying food at the airport for the plane trip.

You can't blame people. Both of our flights got delayed and in one case, re-routed due to bad weather and we ended up on one flight several hours longer than had been anticipated. People get hungry and want to eat.

That said, this does not have to be a big problem. You can take proactive measures. Here are some things we did/considered before flying.

The airline. We chose an airline, Continental, that never serves peanuts as snacks. They are now merging with United, so we bought our tickets through United. That airline also does not serve peanuts. They DO serve tree nuts in the snack pack available for purchase, but that is costly and very few customers bought that. Does the snack pack potentially still pose a small risk? Yes, but it's much better than 270 people being served peanuts at one time. By choosing an airline that does not serve peanuts/tree nuts as the in-flight snack given to all passengers, we eliminated a lot of risk right there.

Take your inhaler/EpiPen/Benadryl in your carry-on. Luckily not one person questioned our daughter's EpiPens or other medications. In fact, they announced at the airport security that these items were allowed. Having important meds close at hand is crucial, so don't put them in your bag that will go in the cargo hold; carry those with you at all times.

The time of day. We were unable to get the earliest flights of the day, so we did fly on planes that had been previously vacated by a previous flight's passengers. Many times the early flights are "cleaner" i.e. other passengers have not had a chance to leave food residue.

Board early. We asked the attendants at the check-in desk if we could board with the young children/needs special assistance group so that we could clean our seating area before others boarded the plane. This was a huge help and we were able to do this on both flights. I cleaned the arm rests, looked at the seats and immediate floor area and the tray tables. I wiped off the surfaces my daughter would touch with wipes (not too strong-smelling, since some people react to fragrances esp. in a plane's close quarters) and we were good to go.

Bring safe snacks/hand wipes. My daughter had food for the flight so the food on offer wasn't an issue. We also served her a bottled or canned drink during the beverage service. Some airlines use a communal bottle and cups for water and juice. It's possible for snack items to get into these vessels so we chose sealed containers. Before eating her own snack, my daughter used a hand wipe (her suggestion, her choice. I liked it. :))

Seating. We strove to get seating in a row just with our family. On the way home, our family had split seating so I put my daughter next to the window with me in between. That way, there was a person between her and the other passenger not in our group. As it turned out, this passenger ate and drank nothing at all during the flight! This is not always the case, so placing a body between the allergic person can help create a barrier. Still, if you have enough people in your party, claiming an entire row is a nice way to reduce the food exposure.

These were relatively simple measures and we did well on the flight. My daughter was a little sneezy afterwards but I think it had more to do with her seasonal allergies kicking in. Though we were surrounded by people and food, we were happily able to enjoy our flight. In fact, she enjoyed it way more than I did--I'm a white-knuckle flier especially with the recent 737 issues with regard to the plane's safety and structural problems!!!

The main point I want to make is that you can travel by airplane with kids who have severe nut allergies if you take some precautions and are careful. Allergic Living magazine has a great airline info sheet that compares airlines and their food/peanut policies so please check out that great, well-researched resource.

I will have more posts about our recent travel experiences, so please check back soon!

I had another post planned for today but the tsunami in Japan got me thinking about so many things. My heart goes out to everyone who has been touched by this tragedy, including those in the affected U.S. regions who must now wait out the oncoming storm. I hope they are all safe.

This incident reminded me of a post I did when we were hit with severe weather that caused lengthy power outages here in Chicago. Luckily, this was nothing like what they are facing in Japan or in other places where earthquakes have occured, thank goodness. However, when you've got food allergies in your family, more common weather emergencies like hurricanes, flooding, blizzards and tornadoes require a bit more preparation.

Weather disasters and other emergencies aren't pleasant to think about but since they don't happen when you expect them, it's best to be ready.

Here's a few tips for keeping on top of food allergies in an emergency:

1. Have a good stock of "safe," non-perishable food items that can be eaten by the entire family. Soy milk (if you can have it) doesn't require refrigeration and bottled water is always good to have on hand in case you can't use your tap water for any reason. I like to have cereal, crackers, pretzels and slow-spoiling fruits like apples and bananas on hand in case of a blackout. SunButter, if you can eat it, is also good to have as is non-refrigerated cheese and crackers (if you aren't allergic to dairy). Anything from Enjoy Life like trail mix and granola is safe for the Top 8 food allergens, gluten and sesame. These foods will keep well and give you much-needed energy if you are low on food and stressed.

2. Make sure all your prescriptions are up-to-date and well-stocked. Check to make sure that you have several EpiPens, a bottle of Benadryl and whatever asthma or seasonal allergies your child needs well before a crisis hits. In the event of extreme bad weather, you may not be able to renew these prescriptions in a timely manner, so get them now. Keep them in a plastic resealable bag so they don't get wet.

3. Keep a nice supply of Clorox wipes and antibacterial hand wipes. If the worst happens and you have to leave your home for any reason, you'll be able to remove allergenic residue from surfaces. In addition, hand and face wipes will come in handy for personal use.

4. Get the "Go Bag" ready. At a FAAN Conference I attended a couple of years ago (sign up now for the 2011 FAAN conferences coming up soon!), a dad who used to work with NYC on Emergency Preparedness discussed the need for a "Go Bag" that you have ready for your child in a convenient area of your home. This bag would contain up-to-date medications like EpiPens, inhalers and Benaydryl in addition to safe, unperishable foods and drinks.

As promised, I have another exciting food allergy giveaway for readers of The Nut-Free Mom -- Beyond a Peanut educational flashcards!

I've long been a fan of "Beyond a Peanut." These handy, portable cards are the perfect tool for teaching adults and kids about nut allergies. Creator (and friend) Dina Cooper was kind enough to offer this special giveaway just for readers of The Nut-Free Mom. Thanks, Dina, for a great product that I personally use and benefit from.

Beyond a Peanut uses a color coded system to teach others about nut allergy safety and pitfalls.

Blue cards provide important food allergy safety information.

Yellow food allergy cards create awareness around items or situations that can present a danger for someone with food allergies. For example airplanes and bulk foods.

Green food allergy cards address foods or situations which are usually considered safe for a child with peanut and tree nut allergies. On the back are examples of situations that can make an environment unsafe or cross-contaminate a usually safe product.

Red food allergy cards address foods that have a greater risk for people with nut allergies. These cards offer alternative ideas and suggestions to ensure the safety of someone with a peanut or tree nut allergy.

These are great to share with preschool or elementary school teachers, grandparents, friends, other relatives--anyone who cares for your child with nut allergies.

How can you win? Simply post a comment on this blog between now and this Friday, March 11, that shares with us how you currently educate others about your child's food allergies. The winner will be selected by a random drawing and announced next week.

Also, don't forget to follow me on Twitter and my new Nut-Free Mom Facebook page for even more food allergy news and support from others dealing with nut allergies.

Good luck! I'm looking forward to hearing your stories!

With food allergen labeling all over the map, it's always good to do your research on a product. Because my kids like dried fruit, I noticed while shopping one day that Ocean Spray Craisins say "peanut-free" on the bag. However, I also noticed that the company makes trail mix containing tree nuts, which are another group of allergens we need to avoid. Peanuts have definitely made it onto food companies' radar, but tree nuts, not so much even though they are one of the most common and potentially life-threatening food allergens.

I contacted the company for more info and was very happy with the following response:

"February 24, 2011

Hello Jenny,

Thanks for contacting us over here at Ocean Spray, where we pride ourselves on 80 years of taking great care in harvesting and manufacturing our products. It’s nice to hear from people who are as into cranberries as much as we are.

All of our products are produced in facilities and equipment that are free of nuts, dairy, and eggs. The production equipment is cleaned and sterilized between each production run. Thus, there is no risk of cross contamination between any of our products. We are currently marketing a selection of Trail Mixes, which contain mixed nuts, dried fruit, and chocolate. Those products are packaged in separate facilities, apart from our standard products."

It was good to know that the trail mix is not made in the same facility as the plain Craisins, aka dried cranberries.

With this in mind, here's one of our favorite family cookie recipes. We recently added Craisins to this and everyone loved it--plus it packs a little more nutrition into the cookie. I know I've offered chocolate chip and oatmeal granola bars recently, so Craisins would be a nice addition to those as well.

The Nut-Free Mom's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Craisin Cookies

3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine, (1 stick) softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar (I like dark brown)
1 large egg
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned or quick cooking oats, uncooked
3/4 cup chocolate chips (I use Hershey's semi sweet or Vermont Nut-Free)
1/4 cup Ocean Spray Craisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, with mixer set a medium, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla just until combined. Reduce speed to low and gradually stir in flour, just until blended. At low speed mix in oatmeal, chocolate chips and Craisins.


Drop dough by heaping tablespoons (I use a mini ice cream scoop for this), 2 inches apart, on two ungreased large cookie sheets. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes, rotating cookie sheets between upper and lower oven racks halfway through baking. With wide spatula, transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Repeat with remaining dough. Makes about 24 cookies.

With the Academy Awards on TV just yesterday, it got me thinking about people in our lives that deserve the award for "Best Performance in Dealing with a Food Allergy."

As parents of kids with food allergies or adults dealing with food allergies, we can be faced with negativity at times. We've discussed this on this blog and also on my Facebook page (where I also asked readers to chime in on their "best food allergy performance" award-winners). However, most of us have those special people in our lives who go above and beyond for us. Or maybe we are impressed by our kids and how they handle their challenges.

In a previous post I discussed why I would give my daughter a "Best Food Allergy Performance" award. I am lucky that there are so many people in my life who support her and me even though sometimes dealing with food alleriges is inconvenient and even stressful for people. I'm thinking of my youngest daughter and how she is extremely careful about foods on behalf of her big sister and always is looking out for her. I'm thinking of my husband and how cautious he has become with regards to food, so that I feel truly supported and don't have to do all of the work myself.

Even more special, I'm thinking of the friends we have made who go out of their way--literally--to provide safe foods for my daughter. One of her friends even served "made in a nut-free facility" cupcakes at her own birthday party--just so my daughter could participate in the birthday treats. I'm thinking of the moms and dads who watch over my daughter during play dates and parties. I'm also thinking about the teachers who showed us empathy and did what they could to ensure that we could send our daughter into their classroom with confidence that she would be well.

I'm sure many of you have those special people in your lives, so be sure to thank them for all they do. Who would you nominate for "Best Food Allergy Performance" in your life and why?

Spring felt like it was coming to Chicago last week for a fleeting moment, which got me thinking about gardening, bird feeders and much more. I've also had some recent questions and comments from blog readers about the "nutty" stuff they are finding in both bird seed and gardening items.

Non-edible food items frequently contain tree nuts or peanuts, and they are not regulated in the same way as foods are with regard to labeling. Always read the list of ingredients when buying gardening or lawn items and also birdseed for your feeder. It's surprising how many non-edible items will contain peanut or tree nut ingredients like shells or other matter.

Gardening items can be dangerous because, obviously, the go into the ground and young children will have access to them. If you have young kids, you know everything that looks edible (and even a few things that don't) will go directly into their mouths. So have fun with your spring garden, but be cautious!

Items to watch out for include mulch, plant food, enriched dirt for planting and of course, bird or small animal food.

A couple of years ago, a gardening item at Target stores called Buzzy Bee had peanut and tree nut allergy warnings. This is rare, however. Most of the time you need to read the labels and call companies if labels are unclear. Now, Spring can hurry up and arrive--just be prepared!

The book giveaway winner for Sloane Miller's "Allergic Girl" will be announced Wednesday after a random drawing, so come back on Wednesday and find out who won!

Since it's Valentine's Day, it got me thinking about the things we do for love as food allergy parents. Sometimes the things we do are easy, like baking cookies for the class. (OK, sometimes not so easy, I'll grant you.) Or tagging along on our young child's play date, just to be sure they don't have an allergic reaction.

Other things aren't so easy. Anyone who's faced opposition about our child's allergies from the school, resistance from other parents or even family members can attest to that. It's very hard to single out your child and also single out yourself for what many people perceive as requests for "special treatment." It can also be difficult to explain our child's serious medical condition to other people without either coming across as "Debbie Downer" or as too glib. I find myself walking that tight rope constantly--I don't like to dwell on the negatives, but I have to do everything I can to make the people who care for my daughter understand how to help her stay healthy.

It's not easy to watch your child have a severe reaction, undergo uncomfortable medical tests or even be denied a sweet treat that "all the other kids are eating."

Sometimes we get angry when we're not taken seriously. Other times we doubt ourselves--are we doing too much, or not enough?

Not to get all sappy on you here, but if you are a parent who loves your child, you already have everything you need to get through the hard times of caring for a child with a severe food allergy. Love for our child is what keeps us going. A parent's love is the extra ingredient in everything we bake and do. Nothing can surpass it, so remember that the next time you're struggling, as we all do, with food allergy issues.

And speaking of love, here's some love for my wonderful blog readers, a book giveaway! Sloane Miller of the blog "Please Don't Pass the Nuts" will give away one copy of her upcoming book "Allergic Girl: Adventures in Living Well with Food Allergies" to one lucky Nut-Free Mom blog reader. As an adult living with food allergies, Sloane has been a big inspiration to me as I raise my daughter. She is awesome and this book will be, too!

All you have to do to get a chance to win your copy is to post your own food allergy love story in my comments box. It can be about something you've done for your child, something someone else has done, something loving you wish for the allergic person in your life, etc. As long as it's about love and food allergies, it counts! Keep posting your stories on The Nut-Free Mom blog all week for your chance to win. Good luck!

In the meantime, give the food-allergic person in your life an extra a hug and Happy Valentine's Day!

When you begin scrutinizing food labels for potential allergens, you never know what you're getting in for. Because current FDA laws only require actual ingredients to be listed, cross contact info sometimes makes it to the label, and sometimes it doesn't. Calling the company and doing some "food detecting" may be in order. The information you uncover (or don't uncover) will likely have an impact on what brand you toss in your shopping cart.

No matter what type of prepared food I buy, I like to see what else is offered by that brand, in a similar product. For example if I see jarred pesto sauce (may contain nuts) sitting next to red sauce, I may not buy that brand before placing a call to the company to check for cross-contact concerns.

As someone who likes to cook sauce from scratch (I find it relaxing to make sauce, don't know why but I do), it's rare that I buy pasta sauce these days. However, some nights that's all us busy families have time for and there are some really good-tasting prepared sauces out there.

Some readers have written to me about Ragu pasta sauce and apparently there was some concern it may contain tree nuts due to a few jars with this warning. I have contacted Ragu (as have many readers) and they assured all of us that their labels would reflect cross-contact concerns and that the plain sauce is safe unless otherwise marked. However, please contact them if you have further questions. We all know how quickly things can change.

I put the pasta sauce question to my Twitter followers who deal with peanut and tree nut allergies. Some of you liked Muir Glen and Gia Russa brands, while others went with Emeril's Organic brand.

At the supermarket the other day, I saw that Prego, Barilla, Amy's Organic, Classico, Bertolli and Mezzeta did not carry nut allergy warnings, along with the other brands we've listed already. If you use these brands, have you ever called the companies and what have they said? Let us know!

Besides being fresher-tasting, a homemade sauce is a great option because we know exactly what goes into it.

Here's my recipe for my favorite pasta sauce. It does contain organic beef; if you want to go meatless, this recipe is still good. :) Just be sure to add plenty of fresh parsley and basil. Also, as with any pasta sauce, the longer you simmer this, the better it gets. It's even better the next day. My family loves this recipe! Try it out this Valentine's Day. They'll think you're amazing.

Nut-Free Mom's Super-Quick Bolognese Sauce
1 lb. ground beef (I use Laura's Organic ground round)
A couple tablespoons olive oil
Freshly cracked pepper, to taste
4 cloves of minced garlic
1/2 tsp (or less if you like less heat) red pepper flakes
1/2 medium yellow onion
1 cup low-sodium beef broth (I use Swanson's organic beef broth or stock)
1/3 cup red wine; alternatively, use orange juice
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes (I use Hunt's Natural)
1 tablespoon tomato paste (I use Hunt's)
About 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley or to taste
1/4 cup shredded basil or a couple tsp dried
1 tsp dried oregano

Heat olive oil in pan and add beef. Season meat with black pepper and brown in a deep skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, crushed red pepper and oregano. While this is cooking, grate onion into meat mixture using a hand grater. Cook a few minutes to soften the onion, then add broth and wine or OJ. Stir pan and deglaze, incorporating any browned bits from bottom of pan. Add tomatoes and half the parsley and basil. Stir again, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes. (You can do this while you boil water and cook pasta). Right before serving, sprinkle with rest of parsley and basil. Serve with your favorite pasta.

What is Valentine's Day without chocolate? If you haven't ordered yet, you'll want to quickly snap up some nut-free treats from Vermont Nut Free Chocolate, pronto! From truffles to heart-shaped candy, it's all good and 100% nut-free, facility, products, everything..

Peanut Free Planet is another online retailer with a wide variety of treats perfect for Valentine's Day. I recently ordered some Seth Ellis Chocolatier SunButter Cups from Peanut Free Planet and they just arrived! Can't wait to dig in...but I'll hold off until after school. Don't want my kids to miss out!

Enjoy Life Foods offers this yummy allergy-friendly Valentine's Day recipe you can try with your family. I found pink Jet Puffed Brand (by Kraft Foods) marshmallows at my local supermarket (marshmallows are used in the above recipe). They contain gelatin but no egg whites for those of you dealing with dairy and egg allergies as well as nut allergies. My kids loved them--the marshmallows are even heart shaped.

What about school parties? Food is offered at school on Valentine's Day for many of us. For example, our school is offering an ice cream blast on Monday to celebrate the holiday. I was given advance notice from the teacher, which was great. However, I will be putting my Cuisinart into action and sending my daughter with her own ice cream that day.

What are some good non-edible treats to suggest for an allergy-friendly classroom? Every school kid likes pencils, stickers and other non-edibles. If another parent wants suggestions for edible treats, Smarties brand candies and Dum Dum Suckers are two kid favorites that are free of the top 8 food allergens. These are easily found in the supermarket, so that's a bonus. Stay away from Brach's conversation hearts (nut allergy warnings) and all chocolate treats; chocolate is just too risky for nut allergies and kids with dairy allergies can't have it, either.

For more tips on a safe, sweet and successful Valentine's Day class party, check out this link to my previous post on the topic!

I received my latest New Yorker magazine dated February 7 (with a caricature of Mayor Bloomberg on the cover) and it contains an article that is causing a lot of buzz around the food allergy community. "The Peanut Puzzle" explores theories on what may be causing food allergies and some of the research that is being done to desensitize allergic kids. (You cannot read the entire article online unless you are registered; you can find it at your local library or magazine stand, though.)

After a careful review of this article, I'm very mixed about it, mainly because it ends with a supposedly successful desensitization to milk and it gives the impression (if you don't know all of the research and details) that food allergies are pretty simple to cure. The article never explains that desensitization is not an actual cure, that is, removing the allergy. All that desensitization will do is raise a person's threshold.

The article does not reveal any brand new research: the "hygiene hypothesis" is mentioned, as is the low rate of peanut allergy in Israeli babies, the theory being that this is due to an infant food containing peanuts. Both of these theories have been out there for awhile. Leading allergists Hugh Sampson, M.D. and Scott Sicherer, M.D. are both quoted in the article. One striking thing that they both mention is that they don't know, and that no allergist really knows what is causing food allergies.

One thing this New Yorker article accomplishes, however, is that it brings home some startling facts about public perception of food allergies, especially with regard to restaurants. In a study that Dr. Sicherer conducted using 100 restaurant workers (managers, chefs, waiters) in the NYC and Long Island regions, whopping percentages of those surveyed had potentially deadly misinformation about food allergies. More than a third surveyed thought that food allergens can be "killed" by frying a food at high temperatures and a fourth believed that small amounts of food allergens aren't harmful. A fourth also were misinformed about cross-contact; they believed that simply removing allergenic foods from a finished dish (taking walnuts out of a salad and then serving the salad, for example) would not be harmful to an allergic person.

Despite being wrong on these accounts, 75% of the workers surveyed believed that they knew how to serve an allergic diner a safe meal. Wowsa. That scares me to the core, especially because incidents in restaurants account for about half of all fatal food allergy reactions.

Is it any wonder that I get more than a little antsy in restaurants? I share this information because many of you reading this right now are brand-new to food allergies. Because food allergies get so much media attention lately, you may wrongly believe that restaurants understand how to keep your allergic family member safe. Many don't. You need to be really cautious. For example, my family avoids restaurants where a lot of dishes serving nuts are on the menu. We won't allow our daughter to eat a salad if other salads on the menu contain nuts or nut dressings (the stats I list above back us up on this one.)

That's not to say that you can never eat in a restaurant. But don't shoot the messenger here, if you care for an allergic child or have allergies yourself, your carefree restaurant days of breezing in and out of establishments are over. Do your homework, read menus, make phone calls. If it doesn't feel right, don't do it. Learn to cook--it's safer.

I may not agree with everything in this article, but one thing I do agree with. The author states that "People with food allergies live under a constant threat in a society that is still poorly informed about the condition."

For information on handling food allergies in restaurants, please check out some of my former blog posts:

Check online menus before you eat

A great restaurant experience

A bad restaurant experience

Please also visit Allerdine and Allergy Eats for more helpful dining out info!