A Patch of Hope

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/03/29/a-patch-of-hope-for-peanut-allergy-sufferers/?iref=allsearch

Thoughts?

:)

J.

No Sharing, part II

A few months ago I posted about the dangers of sharing food and teaching the boy to NOT share food. Myself, my husband, and his teachers have all been instrumental in teaching him to not share food. My husband took him to a swimming class the other day, after the class he asked the boy for a cookie from his snack container, and the response was “no share food!”

This is one of my proudest moments as a parent of an allergic child!

:)

J.

Bye Bye Latte

I am a morning coffee drinker, and occasionally i'll drink a cup in the afternoon if the mood strikes. I am very particular about my coffee though. I don't like it too strong, but I also don't like it weak. In our coffee maker the perfect cup is made by using 8 cups of water to 5 1/2 tbsp of coffee and a dash of cinnamon (a hint from my sisters friend). I am not into the fancy coffee beans either, presidents choice or folgers are just fine.

When I do indulge in an afternoon caffeine fix, i'll usually go for a latte. I find the filtered coffee from most of the big name coffee shops undrinkable. As you know, I am only allergic to peanuts, but I do stay away from all other nuts. If I was allergic to hazelnuts I would never drink coffee out because there is such a high risk of cross contamination between the coffee carafes used in the stores. In fact, I know someone who did have a reaction from this type of cross contamination.

Yesterday it was brought to my attention that one of the Starbucks that I frequent regularly sells peanut butter cookies. Since I never eat the cookies, brownies, cakes or other baked goods due to my allergy I never even look at them.

I was very upset at myself for never realizing this before, but it dawned on me that there is a risk to me and my latte. What if the barista just served a cookie to someone else and touches my cup? What if the peanut butter crumbs land on the counter and I touch it? I pride myself on being super careful, to the point where people have criticized me for how extreme I am. I was a bit upset with myself for having never considered this risk factor to myself, but from this day forward I will start to look at the desserts to make sure there are no peanuty ones that may pose a risk to my latte.

As far as the boy is concerned, he is many years away from being a coffee drinker, but with a tree-nut allergy coffee shops will be out of the question for him.

:)

J.

My favorite Things...#2

Dare Foods is definitely my favorite peanut free company for off the shelf peanut free products. They were the first company I can remember to declare they are peanut free. At Dare Foods, they are very allergy conscious, and have a huge variety of peanut free products. The following statement was taken from their website:

"We’ve taken extra care when it comes to quality control at each of our 5 Canadian manufacturing facilities so that you can rest assured when choosing Dare products:
we put our process and packaging equipment through a regular allergen cleaning procedure; we work with our key suppliers to ensure that they also have a stringent allergen management process; and we ensure that staff do not bring any nut/peanut products into the facilities."

Of all the products this is a list of my family favorites:

Breton Regular and Minis

Bear paw crackers-Original flavor

Vinta crackers

Simple pleasures-Digestives and chocolate thins

Real Fruit

Bread Sticks

Melba Toast

Whippets-A delicious treat that was always in my house as a kid.

Simple Pleasures Moments-Lemon Poppy (These are new. I bought them yesterday for the first time, and they are the perfect alternative to a cookie).

www.darefoods.com


:)

J.