Here's Some Irony for You...

Circus Peanuts contain no peanuts.

Seriously. No gluten either.

Will wonders never cease?

p.s. I'm still sick. Ugh.

Sick.

I've caught Bella's cold so things are quiet around here. Hopefully I'll be back to my old self tomorrow with a new post.

The Allergy Table - Ugh

I guess I am naive, but I never realized that Bella sat at an 'allergy table' at her school.

I had always been under the impression that she just never sat next to kids that had nutty foods in their lunch, and that all the kids washed their hands after eating so they didn't spread the nuttiness to Bella.

So, they do wash their hands after eating, which is great. But I noticed that Bella always told me that she sat next to her friend "P" at lunch each day. I found this a little odd and asked her why she didn't sit next to her cousin (he is in the same class as her). She just shrugged and told me she couldn't, because he might have peanuts in his lunch.

I didn't think much of it, but then I started to worry that it was already starting. That she was already 'peanut girl' and that she was already being ostracized for her allergy. Visions of her sitting alone each day, with no friends, filled my mind. I was envisioning how I would handle homeschooling her to help her overcome the psychological damage done to her by the bullies with their taunts and threats and....

Uh, I got off on a little tangent there, didn't I? Ahem....

So I had a chat with the folks at her daycare. And yes, indeed, Bella sits at the 'allergy table'. Which is FINE with me, don't get me wrong. And any of her pals can sit with her as long as they don't have peanuts in their lunch that day. Whew.

But....

Here's where I am puzzled. The other kids at the table, well, they don't ALL have peanut allergies. Some of them have shellfish allergies, some have milk allergies, some are allergic to tree nuts, and some to eggs.

The thing is. I send all of those in Bella's lunch in any given week (except of course for the tree nuts). Now I feel terrible, that I could have inadvertently exposed a kid to an allergen! Yikes!

I've emailed the director of the school already about it (I asked her to call me-I didn't say about what). They should, at the very least, send a note home to the allergic kids so we are aware of the other allergies at 'the table'. Of any parents, we'd be the most likely to understand, empathize, and comply.

Or should they? Does this seem bizarre to you guys?

BTW, I am really happy with the school Bella goes to. I don't want her living in a bubble or anything, so I am ok with it not being a peanut free school. They always provide nut free snacks (for everyone, not just Bella). And if there is ever a question with special snacks, treats, food projects, etc., (sometimes they'll have a weekly theme that incorporates food - they tasted sweet, sour, salty, etc, today in fact) they are always making sure that we find something Bella can have. They really are great. They may just need a leeeeeetle guidance on this one.

What should I say? Or should I? Maybe I should just play dumb and ask her to confirm their policies and practices? I'm not very good at playing dumb though :)

Recipe Link

Did you know that some Super Target stores have grocery sections???? There aren't any in my area, so I'll just have to imagine them, longingly, in my mind.

I swear I would feel like I'd died and gone to heaven if I could kill two birds with one stone and shop at Target AND get my grocery shopping done.

I was on the Target site and saw their recipe section - they have a neat feature where you can tell them what you have on hand, and what you DON'T want in a recipe, and it will give you back a list of ideas.

In the screen shot at left (click on it for more detail), you'll see I put 'chicken' and 'rice' into the list of what I have on hand, 'peanuts' into the list of what I don't want, and I got 20 results. Note: I also put in just 'chicken' and got 200 recipes! So I guess it's better if you can narrow it down.

Anyhoo, you'd couldn't just put in 'dairy' or 'wheat' or 'tree nuts', as what you want to avoid, but with a little fine tuning of the keywords you use, you should be able to find recipes that work for you. But you could ideally eliminate recipes with cheese, milk, or cream if you had a milk or dairy allergy.

Is it haute cuisine, epicurious.com, gourmet, or food network even? No. But a majority of the recipes are submitted by visitors so I have a feeling they are very approachable and easy. They look like everyday recipes that a working mom (or a busy stay at home mom for that matter) could pull together for her family (and actually have them all eat).

Just another resource that is helping families with allergies, even in a small way like this (and even if they probably don't realize that we'll benefit from it). Being able to eliminate recipes that contain allergens can help a great deal in meal planning.

Now if I could just get to the grocery store....

Losses

It's been a rough week here at Casa Peterson.

My mac hard drive failed (ahem, the laptop is ONLY 6 months old - ARGHH) and I lost 6 months of photos of my precious Bella and Mark (oh, and the rest of my family). I am slowly rebuilding some of it from blog posts, flickr uploads, and random emails and portable drives.

So don't forget to back up your stuff (even if it's a new machine and you THINK you have time).

That, coupled with another sad event that I wont go into here (everyone is safe and healthy, don't worry), has me in a complete funk.

I just need to breathe in and breathe out, and focus on the good things in my life.

They were only photos - I still have the memories in my head.

Back tomorrow with a more lively (and less somber) post.

Peanut Allergy Bully Gets What's Coming To Him

Justice is served.

Peanut butter crackers found in lunchbox; classmate charged
A Morton Middle School student faces felony charges after putting crumbled peanut butter crackers in the lunchbox of a student with a severe allergy to peanuts.
Read More

Do you think the punishment was too severe?

Bullying and Food Allergies

I stumbled upon this disturbing story on the ABC site this morning:

Bullies Go Nuts With Allergic Kids
Peanut Butter and Deadly Taunts
A Combination of Bullying and Peanut Allergies May Put Some Kids in the ER

Late last spring, 14-year-old Sarah VanEssendelft of Mastic, N.Y., experienced bullying worthy of a teen movie.

"There was a group of five girls ... and they decided they didn't want me sitting at their lunch table anymore," said VanEssendelft. To get her to leave, they all brought in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

For VanEssendelft, it might as well have been arsenic.

Read More

I think this falls into the 'allergic parents worst fear' category.

How did children become so mean? How can we educate our kids and make them more compassionate?

Between this, and reading about Andrew Smith, my heart is sunk this morning.

In Memory of Andrew Smith

Thank you Gina, for posting such an important and moving interview with the mother of Andrew Smith. If you take one look at the face of that sweet boy and read the story, I guarantee your heart will break.

If Pamela Smith stumbles upon this post, I hope she knows that there is a mom out in California who's heart goes out to her. Pamela, you are in my thoughts during this terrible time.

I hope by posting this, I can help a family out there avoid this type of tragedy.

Please keep your Epi-Pens close at hand and educate your family and friends about the severity of food allergies (and unfortunately, their consequences).

American Girl - Peanut Allergy Friendly!

As promised, here's a review of our recent trip to American Girl Place in Los Angeles (at the Grove). It's a bit long. I warned you.

First and foremost, I want to get one thing out of the way. Many of you probably know (if you have a little girl) about American Girl. Basically they are for girls 8+ and they cost (are you sitting down?) $90 each - no that's not a typo. And you can buy about 4 million outfits and accessories for them. They also make little babies for the 3+ set (that also - surprise - has all sorts of accessories for purchase). What a racket, huh?

Getting an American Girl doll is an investment that you need to keep adding to (if you want your kid to stop bugging you that is :->). I knew Bella was too young for an American Girl Doll, and I wasn't really excited to start the tradition, but since it was my niece's birthday, and they had the little babies Bella could get, I made an exception. With trepidation.

And you know what?

IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT!

The whole experience was so much fun, that it was worth having to hear Bella now tell me every day that she wants the double stroller, trundle bed, and pajama set for her new twins (yes, she got twins! but for the same price as one doll! she already knows how to spot a good deal!).

Getting to the Grove in LA is a total pain in the butt. BUT we made it (via a detour that fortuitously took us by the La Brea Tar Pits - cool!), got valet parking (this is LA, is there any other way to park?) and found the store.

My first impression - totally overwhelming - when you walk in you are hit with pure estrogen. This was a Saturday, so there were, oh, a few hundred girls in the store, all with high pitched voices running from display to display to see all the different dolls in their various outfits. And it was TWO stories. So basically you had to run all over the store, chasing your daughter to discuss the merits of Julie, a child of the 60's, vs. Molly, who's waiting for her dad to return from WWII. I mean, really, do you even have to think about it? BTW, the correct answer is Julie - she has better outfits.

Luckily, we made it to the area for the 3+ set and found the twins Bella really wanted (along with a double stroller that I REALLY didn't want to schlep home - I told her they were 'sending' it to us - I hope she forgets about it, but I doubt she will) and a few extra outfits for them. The staff there was great and so nice to the kids.

Once we had our dolls, we made our way to the cafe.

So the Cafe is apparently one of the hottest tickets in town right now, and you need to get your reservations in months in advance. If you even have an inkling that you want to go, make a reservation. I saw a few girls crying because their parents didn't make a reservation (because they didn't realize the popularity of the place) - that would really suck for you.

They have 3 seatings for lunch - expect to be there about 15 minutes before your seating. But don't worry, they have plenty of stuff for you to look at (err BUY) in the seating area.

Once you're in, the restaurant is a sea of hot pink and black (almost like the inside of an Eloise book). In addition to the number of people in your party, they ask you how many dolls you would like at the table. We had two (Bella left one of the twins in the bag), and they gave each a hook on chair so the doll could sit at the table along with a miniature teacup and saucer for each doll. They really work the tea party vibe in the room. So cute!

Now for what you guys really care about - the food. It's a fixed menu for $22 a person, which sounds like a lot, but included:

• cinnamon buns for each person (which were little and cute and tasty)
  
• fruit kabobs
• chips/veggies with spinach dip
• a main course that you choose (for both kids and adults - the choices were great, the portions were really big, and the food was great)
  
• dessert that consisted of a small flower pot filled with chocolate mousse with chocolate cookie crumbled on top, along with a sugar cookie. if you have a birthday party there, the flower pot is filled with peppermint ice cream and you get a slice of cake (chocolate and vanilla layers with white frosting).
  
• bottomless drinks like lemonade, juice, iced tea, etc. (non alcoholic, but if you wanted booze you had to pay for it).

None of the items they have there have peanuts or tree nuts, so you can rest assured that there are no issues with cross contamination from other items on the menu. Now, did I go in the back to see the labels of the items they use to see if there were warnings? NO. But I did get confirmation from the chef and manager that the only item that could possibly have suffered from cross contamination was the crushed chocolate cookies they sprinkly on the dessert (which would have occured at the facility where the cookies are made). The cake they serve for birthday parties (which we got along with the chocolate mousse dessert that comes with a standard meal) is also peanut free and nut free (and deemed safe from contamination by the chef). I felt 99.9% comfortable with the meal (I mean, come on, as a peanut allergy parent are you ever 100% comfortable when eating out?). It was so nice to be able to relax and eat and have fun with the girls, my sister-in-law, my brother, and my husband (yes, we made the men come with us :->).

And no allergic reactions made for a great time!

So, if you haven't figured out whether or not I would recommend a visit to the American Girl Place near you - I WOULD! It is such a girly experience that I am so glad we did together. Plus the fact that it is an allergy aware place puts it at the top of my list to visit again. Sure my credit card will hate me next month, but it's only m-m-m-m-oney, right? Gulp.

And we have Disneyland next month. Will it ever stop?

Added Bonus: We saw some stars (I guess) while we were there: Patricia Heaton and Jared Leto. Patricia Heaton was a teenie tiny cute thing and Jared Leto looked horrible and scruffy, both just as you'd expect.

Pillsbury "Blech" Off Winner

Do I even need to tell you what kind of cookie won the Pillsbury Bake Off this year?

Yup, the dreaded Peanut Butter Cookie!

The nerve! Don't they even THINK about peanut allergies? :)

All joking aside, the recipe does look really easy. Too bad there's no way to attempt a Sunbutter version. Too many peanutty products in there, I'm afraid.

p.s. American Girl was fabulous! Photos and the whole story coming soon!

American Girl Store Here We Come!

Bella's cousin is turning 6 on Saturday, so we're heading down to LA to celebrate with her.

The venue?

The American Girl Store at the The Grove in LA.* If you've never been to one of these stores, they are HUGE and have shopping, a cafe (more on that later), a salon so your doll can get their hair done, and the Chicago one even has a theater if I'm not mistaken.

Now you may be asking - isn't little Bella a bit young for those dolls? And I would say "heck yes!", but it's a special occasion so we're making an exception. The memory will be so great for her, so we're just going with it.

My biggest concern, as I'm sure you can imagine, is the cafe. I wasn't sure what to think, so I went to their website and found their menu. Looked good - no nuts (at least none that were evident). So I called them. And I spoke to the nicest woman named Irina (I'm sure I butchered that spelling). She told me that they removed all nuts from their menu due to the rise in allergies (yay!). She then said that she would confirm with the manager and chef just in case there was anything that might have the risk of cross contamination (her words, not mine, could you just die????) and she took my number.

I honestly didn't think I would hear back from her, but lo and behold, on my machine when I got home was a nice message from her telling me that yes, everything on the menu was peanut free and made in a peanut free kitchen EXCEPT for one thing. They put Oreo crumbles on their desserts - those could have possibly be made in a facility that processes peanuts. So they could just not put those on the dessert at our request. Or we could have sorbet instead and skip the chocolate dessert altogether. Luckily, my niece doesn't like Oreos so we can just get the desserts without, and both will be happy to have the same thing.

My jaw just hit the floor due to the 1) incredible customer service I just witnessed and 2) that Bella could enjoy a 'normal' birthday experience without limitations.

I can't tell you how pleased I am that I wont have to give Bella the "there are things on the menu that you can't have speech".

I'll let you all know how it goes, but by the looks of it, we've come across a company that really gets it.

Yay American Girl!

*So the Grove is the mall that you usually see photos of stars shopping at in magazines like People and US Weekly. Maybe I'll be starstruck there!

Tag: 7 Things

Ria over at Check My Tag 'tagged' me for a 7 Things Meme.

Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share seven random and/or weird things about yourself.
3. Tag seven people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Instead of telling you all about me (trust me, I'm not that interesting), I thought I would break out my top 7 easy and portable snacks for peanut allergic kids. I'm leaving out the obvious veggies with ranch dressing, string cheese, and fruit. And I know, some of these aren't the healthiest, but these are snacks, people, not meals :)

Peanut Free Mama's go to snacks to keep a peanut allergic 3.5 year-old quiet in the back seat of the car:

1. Pocky Sticks
Pocky sticks are long thin biscuits covered in chocolate or other flavorings. Chances are, if you have a Safeway or major grocery store near you with an "international" aisle, you'll be able to find these. Be careful though: each flavor seems to have its own allergy warning. We've been able to find strawberry, grape, and chocolate ones (but not all chocolate ones) that are safe for Bella. WARNING: Highly Addictive!

2. Pirate's Booty
This has been a favorite since Bella was a little baby. It's like a healthier cheeto. Made from corn and rice and covered with white cheesy stuff. Yum.

3. GoldFish
If you don't know what Goldfish are, please leave me your name and address in the comments section so I can come to your house and shake you a little. Kidding of course! These, too, are highly addictive and never seem to get old. And have you seen the starfish shapes? Too cute!

4. Clif Kids Twisted Fruits
Fruit rollups on 11. But unlike fruit rollups, these require no unrolling by me and the resulting sticky paper. Bella's personal favorite is the Tropical Twist. No added sugars. No weird sounding ingredients. Basically fruit and pectin. Yum.

5. Dried Fruit from Crispy Green
The pears are amazing as are the apricots (stay away from the Pineapple though - woof). Their website has a store locator and you can even buy them online at Amazon.

6. Turkey Jerky
Mmmmm. Turkey. Chewy. Yum. We bought our last pack at Trader Joe's and the allergy labeling indicated it was peanut safe.

7. Madeleines from Starbucks
This is our go to snack if we stop in at a Starbucks with Bella. I can't find any information about them on the Starbucks site, but Bella loves them. They are prepackaged in 3's - they keep them at the counter (if you don't see them, ask the barista or manager - they have always had some in the back when I've asked). They don't contain any nuts. No allergy warning, but I trust the labeling as all the other packaged Starbucks items have a warning so I take the absence of a warning as a green light for Bella. oh and now they have chocolate dipped ones. If that doesn't spell trouble, I don't know what does.

An honorable mention also goes to squeezable applesauce (although it missed the cut due to the possibility of spillage on my car's upholstery.

So most of the folks I would tag have already been hit. How about 7 of you (or more) leave 7 items in the comments section for me? It can be your favorite peanut free snacks? Your favorite songs? Your favorite passages from Shakespeare? Surprise me! I love learning more about the folks who visit this site!

Blech: Trader Joe's Gluten Free Brownie Mix

So I went into Trader Joe's a few weeks ago and saw their Gluten Free Brownie mix. I was intrigued and decided to buy some. The label not only said that it was gluten free, but that it was tree nut free, peanut free, milk& dairy free, soy free, and corn free.

And as my husband would say "flavor free!"

Turns out he was right. Considering cocoa is one of the 6 ingredients on the label, these things tasted like hockey pucks. Note that the label says 'Delicious' at the top. This, my friends, would be false advertising.

Would it have killed them to add a little vanilla? Cinnamon? More chocolate?

Eesh. Save your money folks.

Living Your Life...

It's been an awfully quiet few weeks around here at Casa Peanut Free.

No reactions.
No strange products found.
No stupidity from friends and family.

So what's a Peanut Free Mama to write about?

First off, if you are in the Bay Area, please join the SF Food Allergy group that is meeting this Friday (April 4th) at 10 am at the Starbucks on Laurel Ave. in San Carlos. Connie and I are lots of fun to hang out with (really, I'm not just saying that :->).

Second, I thought I should write about our lives on a normal day. On a day when we're not fighting the fight, so to speak. Many blogs that focus on food allergies tend to highlight so much of the negative involved in managing a food allergy.

But you know what?

Most days, and weeks (and now we're going on months) things are just fine.

We wake up. We eat breakfast. We go to school (and work). And there are no calls. No hives. No swelling. No nothing. We go home. We eat dinner. We go to sleep.

Rinse. Lather. Repeat.

Ultimately, this doesn't take over our lives as much as it did in the past. At the beginning, so much of what you read about peanut allergies is what you have to say no to, and what will be hard for you. But in reality, it is just a small slice of your life.

The biggest thing to remember is that eating peanut free (or tree nut free or dairy free, etc.) just becomes part of your fabric. You adapt. And you live. If you let it make you crazy, it will. Sure, you can't wish away the allergy, but you can choose how you react to it. You find a peanut safe airline, you find foods your child CAN eat, you find restaurants in which you feel comfortable, and you find caregivers (hopefully) that understand.

Please remember that (especially those who are new to all of this). It gets better. It REALLY does. Sure we face challenges from time to time - you need only read back a few posts on this blog I'm sure - but being peanut free is just part of our lives now.

But it certainly isn't the identifier. I don't want Bella to ever be known as the peanut allergy girl. Just as Bella. And, oh-by-the-way she has a peanut allergy.

OK, back to what you were doing. Have a good Wednesday everyone.