Interesting Links

Some interesting links (well, in my opinion) to share with you this week:

• Majority of children considered peanut-sensitized by standard tests may not actually have peanut allergy
  Um, ex squeeze me? A Baking Powder?*
  
• How to Eat Well on a Food Stamp Budget
  What I found interesting about this was that peanut butter wasn't mentioned once.
  
• Emotional Impact of Food Allergy
  Thanita jotted down notes from a FAAN conference she attended. I dread B becoming a teenager and throwing caution to the wind.
  
• Ming Tsai's Crazy Chicken-Rice Noodle Stir Fry
  Looks tasty (and save for the fish sauce, top 8 free, right?)! You could substitute soy sauce for the fish sauce or tamari or bragg's liquid aminos?
• Nuts vs. Drupes: What's the difference?
  I'm ashamed to admit I'd never heard the term Drupe before. Have you?
• Dairy, Egg, and Nut Free Oatmeal Fudge Bars
  How awesome do these look??? From the Food Allergy Mama.

What about you guys? Anything to share?

*for those youngin's out there, I was quoting Wayne's World :)

Birthday Parties: Hosting a Child with Food Allergies

This came through my Google Alerts this morning and I thought it was a great article to share with you guys.

Tips to Plan a Safe Birthday Party when Inviting Children with Food Allergies.

Dina (founder of Beyondapeanut.com which you should all check out) did a great job of giving a rational list of why parents of allergic kids worry about sending their child to a birthday party and ways to alleviate the stress for both sides. I think that these tips actually carry over to play dates as well.

How do you guys approach parents throwing the party your child is invited to? Do you all stay at the party with your child? Or do you go? If you do, what made you feel comfortable in doing so?

Link Love and a Recipe for you!

Here are a few finds from the web I recently stumbled across:

• Peanuts Anyone?
  
• Lecture from Wesley Burks (Duke) on the peanut allergy immunotherapy research on i tunes (Via Gina Clowes Twitter Feed)
• Interesting (although old - 2007) Comparison of School Food Allergy Emergency Plans to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network’s Standard Plan (PDF)
• School Lunches from around the world. The US versions are pretty awful looking.

And lastly, I'll leave you with an awesome aioli recipe (ok, it's just a fancy mayonnaise - why'd i have to go all french on you?). Technically you make an aioli by emulsifying egg yolks with olive oil and garlic, but I don't have time for that. I used some vegenaise and it worked like a charm! Since I used it, I guess this makes this recipe vegan, gluten free, and (I think) top 7 free, no? It has soy, so we just missed the top 8 mark - darn!

Green(ish) Aioli(ish)
In a blender, combine:

• 1 cup vegenaise
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• the zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves (you could use dill, basil, taragon, chervil...)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  
• Salt to taste
  

Whiz it all together until you have a smooth creamy mixture that's combined. I took it all the way so there wouldn't be an option to pick any of the green out (isn't that what all little kids try to do?). It turned a lovely light green color. So Pretty!

I made this for our anniversary dinner on Tuesday night (8 years - woo hoo!) and it was a huge success. I was practically licking the bowl (and maybe you might have caught me foraging through the fridge later that night looking for other things to dip in it).

Try this with grilled chicken, gilled veggies, tofu, dip fries in it, cut up raw veggies, pita chips. It's so tasty you might just want to put a dab behind each ear. Enjoy!

Site to Check Out: Rocks in My Dryer

Rocks in my Dryer has a great guest post today from Jane Anne at Gravity of Motion.

Here's a snippet:

"I had an eventful morning at church this past Sunday. Our church has a “Children’s Time” where the children go down front and are presented with a quick lesson. After the lesson, they go to another room for a children’s program. This week the pastor decided to use a Trick-or-Treat illustration to talk about sharing. He began by handing out paper bags to the kids. Then he pulled out a bag of Reese’s peanut butter cups. That’s the moment I stopped paying attention to the story. "

If that didn't get your heart pumping then I don't know what will! Read the rest here.

Thanks to Jane Anne for a great guest post and to Shannon for hosting and helping us get the word out about living with food allergies!