Proof That Some People Just Don't Get It....Again.

Today, I managed to get a small taste of what a milk allergic mom goes through.

I just dropped B off at school and saw something baffling.

They have alphabet snacks, meaning each week someone brings in a food with a different letter - we had "V" so I brought in vegetables with dip. In theory, it's a cute idea, but what a pain in the butt when you have food allergies to worry about!

So today is "Z" day and the mom brought in Za'atar rolls, which in and of itself is a pretty awesome idea for a Z snack! But here's where the insanity came in to play.

B has a classmate (let's call her X) with a milk allergy.

So while I'm getting B settled (coat off, homework in cubbies, etc.) this creative mom brought the snack in and told the teacher it was safe for everyone. Of course I chimed in (uh, grilled more like it, but I was nice - really!) and asked about the ingredients to determine whether or not it was safe for B.

But then she says "It's safe for X, too. There's no milk in it, but I just used cheese in the dough."

I looked at her and said "What exactly do you think cheese is made from?"

Blank stare in return from both her and B's teacher. X would be having a different snack today.

But what if I wasn't there to point that out?? I don't think X is ana to milk, but still. We should still be educated and vigilant about keeping our allergic kids safe.

It never ends, I guess.

When we get around to educating parents in B's class next year, I think I'll pull together a handout detailing the top 8 allergens and examples of each food.

Have any of you guys experienced something like this? I've had the 'she can't eat peanuts but she can have other nuts, right?' line, but that one's sort of understandable - they are two different things.

I'm interested to hear your thoughts - should I have just butted out??

p.s. just found this neat handout for foods to avoid with a milk allergy - this will come in handy!

ppss. and here's one for peanut allergy!

Back, albeit briefly.

Bella turned 4 over the weekend and I am still recovering. We had a party for her with 20 (no that's not a typo) of her pals from school (and life) and threw a mini carnival that included carnival games, a bounce house, and a real-life popcorn machine (um, so I went a leeeetle overboard). We had a ball! Don't believe me? There are photos (and a video even) to prove it.

But I found myself on the other side of the fence so to speak. One of Bella's pals has a milk allergy and I wanted to make sure the party was absolutely safe for him. But I found myself perplexed as to what I could serve - everything seems to have milk! After a little research, I ended up serving fruit, pigs in a blanket (it's scary that 'buttery' crescent dough has no dairy in it), raisins, chocolate teddy grahams (nope, no milk in those either), and home made chex mix (i used oyster crackers instead of goldfish). His mother was SO appreciative - it was truly a time where he could wander around the party and she could talk to other moms without having to worry. At all. Isn't that cool? I'm so glad I could keep him safe and give her some peace of mind for a few hours (isn't that what all of us allergy moms want?).

The only place I failed was the cake. Due to a snafu with the bakery we use, there ended up being milk in the frosting and he couldn't partake. So what's a peanut free mama to do? Break out the ChocoBoom bars of course! I sent it home with him and his mom (I think she was a bit wary - she hadn't had one and I think we all know how yucky some of the allergen free treats are out there) but I got the seal of approval a few hours later when his mom told me that he tried it and declared it "Delicious. And it's yummy too!".

I'll be back to my regular (well, more frequent) postings soon. I'm still cleaning up from the festivities - I'm hoping I can finish the dishes before we hit the 1 week anniversary of the shindig. Wish me luck - I'll need it.

Friday Recipe - Sunflower Butter Balls

I read the feed to a craft blog called The Crafty Crow. She highlighted another blog called Happy Things - specifically a recipe for Peanut Butter Balls - which the author had adapted from a sinful recipe from the butter queen herself Paula Deen. The recipe looked so good that I thought I would take my first stab at creating a peanut free treat from a peanut laden one.

The transformation from there to here definitely took a few turns. Paula's original treat has been turned into something a bit healthier and definitely something that a Peanut and Tree Nut free child can partake in.

Here's what you'll need:

1 cup sunflower seed butter (I used Sunbutter Organic Creamy)
1 cup honey
1 cup powdered milk
1 cup quick cook oats (I used McCann's Quick Cooking Irish Oatmeal)
3/4 cup wheat germ

To make them:

Place the wheatgerm in a shallow bowl. You'll use this later.

In a separate bowl, combine the sunflower seed butter, honey, milk, and oats and mix until they are evenly incorporated. Roll into small balls about the size, ironically enough, of a walnut (I used my meatball making tool and it worked really well). Roll them in the wheat germ. Place on a plate or tray and refrigerate until set. Once they are set you can transfer them into a covered container or put in the freezer.

Makes Approx. 36 balls.

How are they, you ask? Put it this way, when I tasted one, the first words out of my mouth rhymed with Moly Mitt! I swear I could eat, like, 7 or 10 of these in one sitting. I regretted making only a half a batch. Suffice it to say, these will be made many more times (I'm sure with variations) in our household. These are almost like little soft granola bars - I could see giving Bella a few of these in the morning for a quick breakfast. I also think these are not peanut butter looking enough to confuse a child.

A note about allergens: these don't contain peanuts or tree nuts but they DO contain dairy and wheat, but I bet we could find substitutes. McCann's oatmeal is made on dedicated equipment so I think it's safe for gluten free diets (correct me if I'm wong!). You could use gluten free graham cracker crumbs to coat them and you might be able to find in your area powdered soy milk? I'll leave it to you, my wonderful readers, to suggest a dairy free alternative to powdered milk.

Let me know if you try these, and if you do, how your kids (and you) like them. I can't really take any credit for them, but the experiment was fun and oh so delicious.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

p.s. You know what? If you wanted to try Paula's recipe and just substitute SunButter, I bet the recipe would turn out fabulous -it would definitely make a sweet treat for the holidays.