Fall!

Hi Everyone!  Long time no blog, right?  I wont even bother apologizing for not blogging over the summer (what's the point - you know I still love you guys, right?) - life just, well, HAPPENS.  I take it as a good sign that I only have time to post bits and bobs on Facebook (if you don't follow me over there, please join me - you'll see much more Peanut Free content that way).

Here's a small glimpse into what's going on in our lives right now:

School
B started 4th grade!  I can't believe it - 4th grade.  She starts middle school next year (yup, our district has middle school 5th through 8th grade and the whole idea of it makes me insane), so I'm just enjoying my little girl. The big changes this year are that she doesn't carry her epinephrine to the playground any more (her principal takes all the kids epis in a cooler each day to the yard) AND she's not sitting at the peanut free table anymore.  She was really starting to feel self conscious, and since she isn't airborne reactive, we are trying out her sitting at the regular tables with a buffer.  All of her classmates have known her for years, so they instinctively know not to sit next to her if they have peanut butter in their snack or lunch.  It's been working out great so far, and she feels less like the 'allergy kid'.

Anxiety
Along with school came B's anxiety.  BIG TIME.  She's just a creature of habit, and the beginning of the school year always brings a lot of anxiety until she's settled.  That, coupled with her existing anxiety over her food allergies makes it challenging!  How are you all dealing with anxiety??  We are lucky in that B's teacher is so supportive and helpful - don't know what we'd do without her!

Birthdays
Speaking of B, her birthday is next month (the day after mine!) and we are throwing a Candy themed party for her at her dad's house.  So fun!  I have a Pinterest board full of ideas - cannot wait to get all crafty!  p.s. you can follow me on Pinterest if you want - I have an allergy board too as well as all sorts of random things.

Enjoy Life Decadence Bars
The fine folks at Enjoy Life sent us a box of each of their new Decadence Bars.  Holy cow they are awesome!!  B's favorites, in order, are:

• S'mores
• Cinnamon Bun
• Cherry Cobbler
• Chocolate Sunbutter

I tried them myself and every flavor is DELICIOUS (and I'm not just saying that) and the textures are great.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, you really cannot go wrong with this brand.  The care they put into their product development is outstanding and so apparent when you taste their products.

Thank you so much to Enjoy Life!

Mondo Beyondo
This is a personal one for me.  I'm taking an online class called Mondo Beyondo and I'm just loving it.  This is my second time and it's even better this time around.  I highly recommend Andrea's classes.  They really just help let your dreams out so you can make them a reality!  No affiliate links or ads here, just my personal opinion.

Halloween
B has asked for a day costume and an evening costume (jeez, what did I agree to??).  Each year, B goes out trick or treating, gets all the candy she wants and then we either trade out unsafe candy for safe candy or she leaves the majority of it out for the Halloween Fairy and gets a treat in return (usually a small lego set or something equivalent). The funny thing is that she's a candy hoarder.  I still have a bag of her halloween candy in the freezer from last year! I should probably throw that out LOL...

Love
I'm still seeing the same guy. He's still traveling around constantly for work but his home is here with me and for that I am extremely grateful. Life is GOOD! :-)

Hope you are all doing great too.  Please do join me over on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.  I love interacting with you all and seeing what you're all up to!

Gabs

Peanut Allergy Product Review: Allermates

I think this smile says it all, yes?

Last week, when I got home, at my door was a big box.

I LOVE big boxes (and I cannot lie)!

It was from a company called Allermates - they sell products that help identify your child's allergy, but in a cool way.  They make wristbands, dog tags/necklaces, lunch boxes, and shirts.  The company was started by (what else?) an allergy mom.  Here's what they are all about:

"With allergies on the rise and many of my friends and family members facing similar issues, I realized that there was a great need for kid friendly allergy awareness products. I decided to create products that would not only help protect kids with allergies, but ones that would also make them feel good about themselves regarding their allergies. Products that were fun, colorful and, let's face it "cool". I noticed how most kids I knew, including my own, were absolutely fascinated by colorful characters. Next thing I knew, I was writing bios for fun, cartoon like allergen charcters that came to mind. And so P.Nutty and the rest of the gang were born. 

I'm confident that the AllerMates images and stories will appeal to kids of all ages and make them feel good about themselves regarding their allergies. Most importantly, our products will help identify and safeguard kids with allergies and give their parents and caregivers some peace of mind." - Iris Shamus, Founder


The folks at Allermates were kind enough to send us the following items to review:


Bracelet - I honestly didn't know if B would be into this, but she immediately put it on and wouldn't take it off.  Ringing endorsement, right?  Every Food Allergy mama I know has had issues with their child keeping their medical id bracelet on - this one looks like it might stick.  Not heavy, adjustable to different wrist sizes, and super cute.  And great colors!



Necklace - I loved that they use a rubber necklace here.  B loved this one too since she has other necklaces just like it and this will blend in with those.




Dog Tag - These dog tags are adorable.  The characters that Iris came up with are really cute.  It's also not too big and doesn't have the big medical emblem on it that prevented B from wanting to wear her other medical id's.




Lunch Bag - They promote this as a lunch bag OR a medicine kit. It is big enough for bottle of water (or metal reusable bottle) and food for the day.  As a medicine bag it would be great, since it's insulated.  You could also put a photo in the laminated side pocket.



What I love about these products are:

• Price Point - The prices on these items are reasonable and they wont break the bank.
• Quality -  The quality of these products is amazing.  They are really well made and I KNOW that the lunch bag, for example, isn't going to fall apart in a week.  
• Cool Factor - many of my issues with allergy related apparel and products is that they are WAY too cutesy.  These are kid friendly without being over the top.  I mean, look at that photo - B is at an age where COOL is everything and she LOVES this bracelet (and has made me PROMISE that she can use the lunch box at school next year).  
• The Little Things - On the side of the lunch bag (which you can see here on the website) there's a place to check off your child's allergy, but also a place for EXTRA allergies (sesame?  coconut?  melon? no problem!).

I highly recommend Allermates to you guys - so proud of this fellow food allergy mama for creating such a great product line!

Thank You Allermates!

Gabs

Products I LOVE: No More Tangles!

B has gorgeous, thick hair.

But it's long.

And with long hair comes tangles.  She doesn't get a huge amount - she gets one big mamma jamma right in the back where the ponytail holder used to live. Combing it out is a nightmare. 

If you have a girl with long hair, you probably know what I'm talking about.  I'll spare you guys and not post a photo.  Put it this way, if B had expletives in her vocabulary, she would use them every time her hair is brushed.

So you can imagine how elated I was when I found this in the salon where she gets her hair cut.

The Knot Genie!!

It's amahzing!  It's a stiff bristle brush/comb and it really works - just like they say - without complaining!  It's a Miiiiiiiracccullll!  p.s. that was my Oprah voice there :)

I have nothing to do with this company and they haven't asked me to write this, nor did they give me one (dang!).

I love it so much I got one for B's dad's place too.  I know that he will thank me :)

Peanut Allergy Product Review: Enjoy Life Crunchy Cookies!

I must admit, when I walk into my office on the one day a week I work there (yay for telecommuting!) I get a thrill when I see a box sitting on my desk!

Last week was no exception.  I had a box from the good people at Enjoy Life and it was filled with...

Crunchy Cookies!

 I was a good mom and waited until I saw B to tear these open. 

And boy did we!

It would have been irresponsible for us not to try at least two of each to make a qualified decision about which flavor we liked the best, right?

And the winner?

 Sugar Crisp!  This is a cookie that you would think was just a regular sugar cookie from any manufacturer - but it's better because it's top 8 free!!

Runner up:  Chocolate Chip.  Their chocolate chips are in it, so no wonder they are great too!

This isn't to say that we didn't love the Vanilla Honey Graham or Chocolate chocolate chip, mind you.  Those are excellent as well.

Thanks Enjoy Life for sending me these samples!

Peanut Allergy Product Review: Enjoy Life Chocolate Stuff!

So the good folks over at Enjoy Life Foods have done it again!

I was lucky enough to receive a box of two of their newest products recently.  The Semisweet Chocolate Mega Chunks and the Double Chocolate Crunch Granola.

Oh Emmm Geeeee.  Where do I even start?

The chunks are amazing and taste great.  I wish I could say I made a lovely batch of chocolate chunk cookies (or blondies) with them, but nope, B and I just ate them straight out of the bag, perfectly content.  I even put a small container in her lunch one day for her to snack on (what?! don't judge!). They are so delicious and it's great to have another option for chips for cookies and baking.

The granola was a HUGE hit as well.  Nice and crunchy, great, REAL, chocolate taste with no funky aftertastes or mouthfeels. I ate some with banana it was EXCELLENT.  So tasty and you feel a little naughty at the same time eating chocolate for breakfast :)

These are definitely going on the must-buy list!

The thing I like most about EL products is that I would buy these even if we didn't have an allergy to deal with - they taste THAT good.  

Verdict:  4 big thumbs up from me and B for both - THANK YOU ENJOY LIFE!

Peanut Allergy Product Review: Enjoy Life Cookies!

I've been a HUGE fan of Enjoy Life - I probably go through a bag of their chocolate chips a month (if you're interested in the tastiest non dairy chocolate mousse you've ever had, leave me a comment!).  And you can be sure that any birthday party B attends, she's got a Choco-Boom bar with her just in case the dessert/snack is off limits. 


If you're not familiar with Enjoy Life, here's a bit about them:

"At Enjoy Life, our whole business is making smile-good foods that keep people’s insides happy. That’s why all of our foods are specially made to be gluten-free and free of the 8 most common allergens. Our goal is to make delicious products that just about everyone can EAT FREELY. We promise they’ll make you smile inside out!"

Most of their products are also free from: casein, sulfites, potatoes, and sesame.  How cool is that??

So when they asked if I would try out some of their new soft baked cookies it was a no brainer - of course I said yes!  Lo and  behold a few weeks later a box arrrived carrying three flavors for Miss B to review.

The first thing we noticed with each box was the overwhelming (in a GOOD way) smell of the main ingredient of each flavor.  When you opened the brownies, you smelled CHOCOLATE!  And with the snickerdoodles CINNAMON!  And the lemon cookies LEMON!  It wasn't just a sickly sweet smell (like you get with, say, Oreos).

So what did B think?

Double Chocolate Brownie
I thought for sure this would be B's favorite, but it wasn't.  It was MINE though.  This is a really satisfying, chocolatey, chewy cookie.  I plowed through the majority of these.  Even though I had no self control, I did like that the package was separated into little sections that contained 2 cookies each.  It gave me a little bit of hope that I would only eat 2 at a time (fat chance, though, they were too good)!

Don't get me wrong, B liked the chocolate, but her favorite was.....


Snickerdoodle!
These little cinnamony (is that a word?) gems were the definite favorite for B (which isn't a surprise since she LOVES the caramel apple bars they make - which also contain cinnamon).

Lively Lemon
The last ones we tried were the lemon.  I have to be honest, I'm not a HUGE fan of lemon cookies.  Give me a chocolate chip cookie over a lemon bar any day.  But I think these may have converted me.  I loved the little nuggets of lemony goodness in the cookies - so tasty!  Even B agreed.

So would we buy them for ourselves?  Absolutely!   Definitely a 3 out of 3!! And I'm not just saying that because they sent me 3 free boxes of their cookies (note: that was my disclaimer).  There are plenty of companies that send me products that are awful that I don't bother talking about on this site. 

Thanks, Enjoy Life, for giving us a chance to taste your soft-baked cookies - we're adding another Enjoy Life product to our list of favorites!

Gab

p.s. be sure to visit their site to download a coupon for 55 cents off a product!

Product Review: Ian's Natural Frozen Foods

A few months back, Ian's Natural Foods sent me some products to try.

And I posted a review on this site.

Or at least I thought I did.  But, for some reason, it never posted.  So here, without further ado, is my review.

Many thanks to Ian's for providing me with free samples of these products to review on the site!

----------------------------

I was lucky to be the recipient of a sampling of Ian's Natural Foods newest gluten free, allergen free frozen products.  These included:

• Chicken Tenders
• Maple Sausage Egg Wafflewichs
• Cheesy French Bread Pizza

At first, I was a bit hesitant to try them.  Mainly because whenever I see Gluten Free listed on a label, we usually can't have it because it still has nuts in it.  That has actually happened a lot with well meaning family and friends.  They pick up a cake mix they assume is safe because it says Gluten Free, not knowing that many of these foods use Almond flour instead of white flour or have nuts in some form or another. 

Anyhoo, back to the review.  I went on the Ian's site to check out each product - they have a nifty allegen tool - all safe for us! 


So we dug in.

The first thing we tried were the chicken nuggets.  You know how chicken nuggets are usually chicken paste molded into a nugget shape?  Fuggedaboutit!  These were the real deal -  sweet, crispy, and REAL chicken (you can tell because when you tear them in half they shred just like a regular chicken breast does).  B gobbled these up!

Next up?  The wafflewich.  OMG these were awesome and my favorite.  I mean, what's not to love about a waffle sandwich, right?  But these were perfect - crispy but soft inside waffle, tasty meat, fluffy eggs and the smell in my kitchen was heavenly.  I used my toaster oven to heat it up and it worked like a dream.  I plated it by cutting it in half and serving it with some warm syrup.  Oh baby! If I was a real food blogger I would have taken a photo - but honestly i gobbled it up too fast anyway :)

And last but certainly NOT least are the french bread pizzas.  I have to admit that I was pretty hesitant about these, mainly because it has soy cheese. But I'm eating my words, because these were great too! They reminded me of coming home after school when I was a kid and heating up a Stouffer's french bread pizza as an afternoon snack.  So good and Melty! We were seriously fighting over them in my house.

Final Thoughts
I would honestly say I would buy these again for B (and me and the hubs) to enjoy.  If you are looking for Gluten Free/Wheat Free options for your allergic child, look no further than Ian's Natural Foods Allergen Free Line!  If my picky eater is any indication, your child is sure to love these too!


Full Disclosure:  Ian's Natural Foods provided me with free samples of these products to review.  I was not compensated in any additional ways nor was I asked to write only a positive review. 

Product Review: Barney Butter!

Those of you who read my blog know that I LOVE Barney Butter, so when the kind folks at BB asked if I would do a formal review of their product on my site it was a no-brainer. 

For those of you who have just arrived, Barney Butter is incredible almond butter.  But you know what?  Saying that it's just ' incredible almond butter' seems too underwhelming.

I really SHOULD say "almond butter that doesn't look like any other grainy, wierd, flecked almond butter that's already out on the market".  Or maybe "almond butter that looks like peanut butter - seriously, it LOOKS just like it, spreads just like it - and you don't have to mix the jar like those awful organic peanut butters that separate with the oil on top."

Or lastly "your husband who always loved peanut butter and wont have it anymore because of your allergic child and absolutely hates sunflower butter and swore he would NEVER taste another substitute, but took a spoonful of this stuff and actually had teeny little tears in the corners of his eyes when he tasted it?"

Too wordy?

Let me start over.  The kind folks at Barney Butter sent me some 90 calorie sample packs of their almond butter last month to review and I've been finding all sorts of creative ways to use them. 

Here are the details of the 90 calorie packs:

• 90 calories (7.5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of fiber, 1.5 grams sugar.  Since they are low in calories (2 points a pack if you're on weight watchers) I don't feel guilty having them.
• Ingredients: Almonds, Evaporated Cane Juice, Palm Fruit Oil, Sea Salt
• Gluten Free
• No Transfats
• No Hydrogenated Oils
• Vegan and Vegetarian Friendly
• Made in an almond only facility
• Guaranteed free of peanut particles and contaminants

And here's what I did with them:

• Ate the first one straight from the packet (what? like you wouldn't have?!)
• Gave a couple to my girlfriend who was running a marathon and needed 'fuel' for the race
• spread one on a half a bagel (yum)
• made a dipping sauce for dumplings (added soy sauce, hoisin, chili and rice vinegar - again, yum!)
• added one packet at the end of a stir-fry to thicken things up
• used one to dip banana into
• added one to a smoothie
• and last but not least, made an honest to goodness AB&J (almond butter and jelly)

And that's just in the last few weeks!  Just think of how much more you can do with it.  Actually, just look on their site - there you go!

Here's the thing:  this stuff is great.  Smooth, great flavor, easy to spread.  Easy to bake and cook with and no strange aftertastes.  You could easily fool someone with this.  Trust me, my daughter is STILL a little freaked out by it even though she can read the label and knows it's OK for her to have. 

If these folks ever decide to go out of business I might just need to buy the company and keep it going.

I'm not kidding.

Thanks, Barney Butter, for the opportunity to spread the word about your product!!

Disclaimer:  This is a product review.  Barney Butter provided me with samples of their product to review.  I was not compensated in any way (beyond the samples).