And it is!

I'd seen ads for So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt and was dying to try it. Not because B can't have dairy or soy (but I know many of you are dealing with a dairy and/or soy allergy).

You see, I have a little what-you-might-call 'addiction' to anything coconut.

Mounds Bars? Check.
Green Curries? Yesiree.
Coconut Shrimp? You betcha.
Pina Coladas? Bring it on.
Mango and Sticky Rice? Oh lordy!

Heck, I even went through a huge bag of coconut jelly bellys each week when I was pregnant with B. And who doesn't love the smell of that Hawaiian Tropic tanning oil?:)

So I REALLY wanted to try this yogurt. And it seemed like I couldn't catch a break and find it at my local Whole Paycheck.

But today I scored!

After spending a small fortune on paper products at Paper Source in San Jose, I headed back up the peninsula and hit my local Whole Foods for groceries/meals so my husband and daughter don't only eat ramen while I'm on a business trip this week. The store was fairly empty and the dairy manager just happened to be stocking the shelves when I waltzed into his section. I asked him about the product and lo and behold it was there, on a top shelf, in four flavors! I asked him if he'd tried it and would he recommend it? He wasn't a fan of yogurt and hadn't and couldn't (isn't that ironic that he doesn't like yogurt and he's a dairy manager??) but he told me to choose a flavor to try right there. How's that for customer service?!?

And boy did the company that makes this yogurt just gain a customer. God this stuff is good.

First off, unlike other organic yogurts, there was no separation when you opened it (e.g. no whey on top to mix in). It was creamy and smooth - no lumps or granular texture. I tried the vanilla flavor to see if the coconut was overpowering. It wasn't at all. It had a nice flavor of vanilla with a subtle undertone of coconut (and I think I could taste it so well because I knew it was in there - I think if I wasn't trying to taste it, it would have been even more subtle to me). I was worried that it would be too fatty, but it has 6g of fat (not lowfat, but not terrible). No cholesterol either.

The downside? It's almost $2 a container. Ouch! But it looks like you can sign up for coupons here.

If you are looking for a dairy/lactose/soy free yogurt (or if you are vegan and want a yogurt alternative) look no further. This is SOOOOO tasty!

You can check out their allergen statement here. They manufacture products with dairy and nuts, but it looks like they take things VERY seriously when it comes to cleaning lines and separating allergens (or else they'd have to answer to both angry vegans AND parents of allergic kids - ha ha).

*I have no ties to Turtle Mountain, the makers of this yogurt.

Not so Easy Bake Oven...

So B's 4th (yes, can you believe it?!?!), 4th birthday is coming up in a little over a week.

She's been asking for just about everything. If you have a child who watches TV (yes, I'm a terrible mother who lets her daughter watch Spongebob - what do you think she's going to be for Halloween?) then you know what I'm talking about. Every commercial that comes on garners the following:

"Mom, I want that!"

OR

"Mom, we NEED to go to Chuck E. Cheese's, where a kid can be a kid. You can relax and have a salad there you know!"

OR

"Mom, if I promise not to wear makeup can I have a Bratz hair curler set?"

You all think I'm joking about the last request. B's what you call 'a verbal child', so things like this really come out of her mouth. I wont tell you what she said when she walked in on Mark going to the bathroom last week. I know, TMI!

Well, for B's birthday we told her she could have 4 presents, since she was turning FOUR. She thought that was really neat. So the last few weeks have been spent discussing the finer points of Baby Alive vs. Barbie, race cars vs. hotwheels, and transformers vs. spiderman (did I mention she's into boy type toys as well?).

At the top of her list was this cupcake maker. Think Easy Bake Oven without the oven. Basically you make the mix, put it in a cupcake mold, and microwave it. B loves to cook with me (she even uses a knife under my supervision) and even though she's younger than the recommended age, I think she'll do just fine with it. Plus, there's no bulb like with the Easy Bake Oven (i.e. no way for B to burn the house down), so it was the best and most excellent choice for her.

But there's a catch. There's ALWAYS a catch with Peanut Allergy, now isn't there? Like Easy Bake Oven Mixes, this brand's mixes ALSO have a 'may contain' warning. Here's the actual wording:

"Allergy Information:
Consumers with food allergies or other sensitivities, please review the ingredients carefully.
All ingredients are wheat free, gluten free, nut free, peanut free, and trans-fat free. All mixes are packaged on equipment that process wheat, milk, egg, soy, and sulfating agents. May contain traces of peanuts and tree nuts.
Major allergens: milk and egg.
May contain soy."

As our good friend Spongebob would say: "Aw, Barnacles!". And can I just add that warnings like this suck. All ingredients CANNOT be peanut free if there could be traces of peanuts in the mix.

So what's a Peanut Free Mama to do about these peanutty mixes?

Google it!

Turns out those fancy mixes for the Easy Bake Oven can be easily replaced by cake mix and milk. Oh, and here are 57 other mixes for you to try as well. Granted, these are for the EB Oven, but I'm betting a variation will work for us.

Who knew?

So we'll adapt the recipes for the cupcake maker she's getting. I don't think she'll know the difference.

I'll let you know how her Carnival themed birthday party goes. Have I mentioned how I tend to go overboard when it comes to parties? Can't just have a cake and punch around here, no sir. I'm going to try to use some restraint, but, darnit I LOVE a good party, especially one with a bouncy house.

Any other toys you've run across with allergy warnings?

FAAN Walk: San Francisco!

Saturday was the FAAN Walk for San Francisco. It was amazing. Rainy (can you believe it?), but amazing. Our support group, SF Food Allergy, had a table there. We had some super cute buttons made up (I'll post a photo soon), gave out literature, and spread the word about the support we offer folks in person on the SF Peninsula and online via our Yahoo Group.

So why was the walk amazing? You mean besides the fact that there was parking right there, even though we were in Golden Gate Park :)?

All joking aside, it was amazing to meet so many parents of allergic kids and talk with them (albeit briefly) about the challenges they face day-to-day. It was amazing to see so many allergic kids running around, having a ball, and just being kids at a party they were definitely included in and where they were safe. It was amazing to meet other allergy bloggers too (Hi Alison!). I hate to sound sappy, but it was such a unifying experience. Literally every person you met there 'got it'. I got a bit teary at times when I spoke to people.

We (I'm speaking for you Connie) were proud to be a part of the vendors/groups at the walk. They included:

• Dey Corporation (Makers of the EpiPen)
• TwinJect
• Peanut Free Planet - who gave away samples of many of the products they sell and also offered caricatures of the kids - so cute!
  
• Enjoy Life Foods - their new Choco Boom bars are SO good - they were giving away samples of them as well as a good variety of their other products at their table. The kids (um, and us adults) were loving the chocolate bars and cookies. I'm not a huge fan of their baked goods (sorry, just being truthful here), but I would eat their rice crisp Choco Boom bars over a Nestle Crunch Bar any day of the week. Honestly!
  
• Crayon Sports Drinks - not only were the drinks tasty, the staff were wonderful too.
  
• FEAST (an online East Bay support group - no link, sorry - i googled and couldn't find one. Leave me a comment if you know their URL or online group link)
  

But that wasn't it! There were bounce houses, face painting, balloon animals, clowns, music, hula dancers, and a Mad Scientist demonstration. Kudos definitely goes to Lynda Taschek who co-chaired the event. She did a super job and was just so darn nice! I'm looking forward to next year's walk and our group's presence there. I already have lots of ideas for next year's event (Lynda, we should talk!).

Lastly, it's not too late to join a walk near you. Visit the FAAN site for a location near you. And if you can't participate, you can always donate.

p.s. So if I wasn't totally lame and had actually charged the battery of my camera, you'd see a gorgeous shot of me and Connie at our table at the walk. Someone from FAAN took a photo, so I'll try to post it once something's live.

Are You REALLY Prepared?

I'm not going to bore you with more 'i can't believe i can't send peanut butter to school with my kid!' stories this week. Oh, and if you leave a snarky comment about peanut allergic kids on this site, you bet your sweet bippy I'm going to pull it. Go ahead and try me.

Ahem.

So with the recent news of Hurricane Ike, I got to thinking about earthquakes. Yup, around here we get earthqaukes now and then. And you don't get notice like you do with a hurricane. The earth starts shaking and that's it.

So you prepare, much like you prepare for a peanut allergy. You have plans in place and supplies at the ready just in case you are hit with a disaster (which you hope NEVER comes). Earthquakes come on fast and are frightening and you're helpless!

We have a big container in our backyard filled with supplies, like water, radios, batteries, etc. just in case the big one strikes. Given the recent hurricane, Mark and I went out back and looked in our kit to make sure things were current. It had been quite some time since we checked it. Here are some things we discovered:

• Items were missing. Seems like the gardener (the only other person who has access to our backyard) or one of his guys helped themselves to a maglite, radio, and tools. Glad I fired him last week. Note to self: buy lock for kit.
  
• Diapers. Um, B has been potty trained for over a year. We can nix those.
  
• Formula. Again, B's been eating solids for quite some time. Powdered milk and our meals should be fine.
  
• Some of the food we packed (those freeze dried meals from REI) contained peanuts. Ack! I'll be buying more food for our kit and I'm thankful that these meals have allergen warnings on them - we can't just buy granola bars for obvious reasons.
  

But you know what WASN'T in there? You guessed it - B's medication (epi and benadryl). I'm so glad we checked! I'll be filling a prescription this week but I'm concerned about leaving the epi out in the elements for an extended period of time. Granted it will be in a big container, surrounded by other items that could insulate it. But I'm definitely ordering another epi-pen holder and probably an insulated lunch box to put the epipen holder in. I need to have these in our kit, so I'll take my chances that it stays ok in there. What else can I do?

So the next week will see me updating our supplies (there are plenty of other items we need to pack in our kit besides what I mentioned). If you live in an area that is prone to natural disasters (like earthquakes or floods or hurricanes), check out the Red Cross site for checklists to prepare your home, office, and school (and make a donation if you can to help the victims of Ike). Don't forget a kit for your car as well if you travel far for work. Oh, and remember that many of the premade kits that are sold for emergencies contain energy bars that may contain allergens like peanut butter, milk, and wheat.

Are you prepared? If you have a kit, what are your must have items?

FAAN: Food Allergy Alert Notice

I don't usually post these alerts, but since this is a national (maybe even worldwide) product, so here's an update:

**THE FOOD ALLERGY & ANAPHYLAXIS NETWORK SPECIAL FOOD ALLERGY ALERT NOTICE**

ALMOND ALLERGY ALERT
September 5, 2008

The Hershey Company is recalling 7.25-oz. bottles of “Hershey’s Chocolate
Shell Topping” due to undeclared almonds.

The product was available nationwide after July 8, 2008.

Only the 7.25-oz. bottles with code 69N and UPC 346000 were affected.

Consumers with questions may call (800) 468-1714.

If you want to get these notices delivered in your inbox, visit the FAAN page and sign up here.

A Possible Safe Breakfast Food Option at Starbucks?

I was on the Serious Eats site just now and they had a post about the new breakfast options at Starbucks.

Starbucks is now offering hot oatmeal as a breakfast option. I saw this at the SB across the street from my office but brushed the thought of it aside since I saw the word 'nut' associated with it.

But I may reconsider.

This photo from the Serious Eats site shows that the nuts come in a sealed packet. Plus they aren't even peanuts. I think I might actually be comfortable letting B have this. Whenever I take B to SB I always get her the prepackaged Madeleines, but I think I'll investigate this item a little further. It would be great to have a non sugary option for road trips.

Would you let your peanut allergic child eat these since the packets appear to be sealed? Is this any different from letting your child have a soft serve at McDonald's (where actual peanuts are packaged like this)?

Peanut Allergy: Don't Be a Hater!

As the school year is underway, there is a rise in the number of news pieces about peanut allergies in schools and the attempts at keeping our kids safe by either having a school wide ban on peanuts or allergy tables and other measures in place to diffuse the peanutty goodness in the classroom.

I'm always amazed at the ignorance of people who comment on these articles and casually say that kids with peanut allergies should do the following (my commentary is in parenthesis):

1. Be homeschooled (Homeschooling? Why didn't I think of that? Because I don't know about you, but I'm MADE of money and I don't have a mortgage or anything).
2. Be sent to a separate room to eat (So they can reap the benefits of NOT socializing at school - she feels bad enough about sitting at an allergy table, so yeah isolating her even more will be SO helpful).
   
3. Be expected to know exactly what they can and can't have at the ripe old age of 5 (what? your 5 year old doesn't know how to read? Sheesh!)
4. Be fed peanuts so they aren't a bother anymore. (so THAT's how you treat peanut allergy?!? I feel so stupid).
5. Know that when this commenter was a kid there was no such thing as food allergies (yeah, we're making this whole PA up for attention. blah, blah, blah - well you know what? there are allergies NOW and we're doing the best we can to keep our kid ALIVE at school).
   

It's just a sandwich people - one food of millions. Lighten up. Our kids have a right to a safe place to learn. And I hate to break it to them, but technically food allergies can be classified as a disability so we have good old 504's to back us up. Should we discourage kids with diabetes (we may need to alter our snacks!) or epilepsy (a seizure might interrupt my child's day!) from attending school too? Or how about kids with physical disabilities? Shall I go on?

Hey Mr/Ms Commenter: why not take this as an opportunity to teach your child tolerance? I'm sure you don't know what that means.

My personal stance on allergy tables and peanut bans is this. I support peanut free classrooms for preschool and kindergarten. I support allergy tables and good hygiene/preventative measures for elementary school kids (and junior high as well). A peanut free cafeteria menu would be cool, just so B can eat lunch and not worry about cross contamination, but I wouldn't make it a deal breaker. But banning PB and all traces of it completely? I just don't think it's realistic. So why not come up with a solution that works under each circumstance?

Ultimately, why do people need to be so mean? We know not having peanuts (or wheat or egg or milk) sucks. We live it every day. For you it is a small choice to not send a sandwich in. For us it is a choice between life and death for our child.

OK, my venting is over. Do you have anything to add?