Forget Peanut Allergy: Things I'm Loving This Week #1

I'm sure it's premature to say, but I think Fall may be arriving soon here in Northern California  - I tried to wear summer clothes yesterday and was chiiiiiillly!  But, now that I've typed that, we'll no doubt have a hot spell in early October (just like we always do).

Here's something new.  Non peanut allergy related.

Things I'm loving this week:

The BEST Artichoke Soup

Source: Saveur Magazine

Glass Beaches 

Source: Anthology Magazine (via Flickr)

Big Sur

Source: Hiking in Big Sur

Stitches West 2013
Yes, I'm a knitting nerd. Signed up for this today with my best friend and I couldn't be more excited.  

Source: Knitting Universe

Oahu
Another trip planned - cannot wait!

Source: Haleiwa Town

Tom Bihn Bags
I want, no, I NEED this bag.  Anyone got any spare change hanging around for this beauty? The organizational FREAK inside of me lusts after this:

Source: TomBihn.com

Makeshift Society
How cool is this?  I want to join!

Source: Anthology Magazine

Curried Chicken and Coconut Rice
Um, yummmmmm!?

Source: Shutterbean.com

And, last but NOT least, my boyfriend - ain't he cute?  

Danny reading a putt for Angela Stanford in
Alabama yesterday.  They tied for 3rd. (Source: Getty Images) 

How about you?  What are you loving this week?

G

Candy Vending Machines - Beware!

A lovely reader by the name of Anonymous just left a comment on my last post (next time leave your name lovely reader - i love knowing everyone's name who comments!):

"A new concern: my 8 yo daughter went to gymnastics with a friend last night. After class, the friend's mom let the girls each get a handful out Skittles out of the candy machine--the old fashioned kind where you put in a quarter and crank the handle, and a handful of skittles pours out into your hand. They were two miles from home when my daughter somehow realized that she had bitten into a Reece's Pieces!!! She spit it out immediately and we got her Benadryl right away. She is fine. But just a shout out to other moms to be very aware of those machines."

I totally agree!  I am super wary of those machines - we had a close call a few years ago with B and we only do the toy/sticker machines now.  I'm so glad her daughter was safe too - what a scare!

Thanks Anonymous for the heads up and reminder!

Trader Joe's - Have You Noticed?

For those of you that shop at Trader Joe's:

Have you noticed that more and more of their food seems ok for peanut allergies? I went today after dropping B off at school and found quite a few items she could have that I don't seem to remember being able to buy before.

Am I crazy? Are the fumes from the not-yet-cooked turkey making me crazy?

If you do shop there, what's your favorite item?

MAC Lipstick and Sesame Allergy

I picked up a new shade of MAC lipstick yesterday (OK, the color is 'photo' if you must know the shade) at the mall and as I was looking at the label (don't all Peanut Allergy moms read every single, dingle label??!) I noticed that this color contains Sesame Oil.

So, if you, or anyone you smooch, has a sesame allergy you should probably avoid it. Not sure if all MAC shades contain the same ingredients? Thank goodness B isn't allergic to sesame - not sure if I could live without my MAC (yeah, you're right, I probably would be fine).

And don't forget to check your other makeup products before you buy them, just in case. Nut oils (and in this case sesame oil) can be in all sorts of things.

Eat at IKEA?

I was at Ikea on Friday (don't get me started on what they must pump through the vents in that place to make you spend huge amounts of money on cheap furniture and home accessories) for some things (I was buying napkins and drinking glasses if you MUST know) and walked by their restaurant.

Now I love me some swedish meatballs as much as the next guy (or gal), but I never bring B in to the restaurant because they advertised PB&J's and frankly we just wanted to avoid the hassle of their buffet style food and the chance of cross contamination.

But I saw something on Friday that made me a little relieved. I actually read their signs and learned that Ikea uses Uncrustables at the East Palo Alto location. So I feel a bit more comfortable eating there since I know they aren't actually making them in the back - just taking them out of a box and slapping them on a plate. You could check with your local Ikea to see if they do the same.

But there's no way in heck I'm dropping her off in the ball room for kids there. Ick.

Divvies

Note: I want to preface this by saying that I have zero affiliation with this company. This is just my personal experience with this product. They have not compensated me or given me free products in exchange for this post.

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

So, have you tried Divvies yet?

I was lucky enough to get a few free samples at the Food Allergy Walk in September. I couldn't believe how good they were! I was actually sold after the first bite.

I placed an order for a few items with them not long after and we've decided on two favorite flavors in our household: Molasses Ginger and Oatmeal Raisin.

These cookies are so good that the only way I can describe them is that you would honestly never know they were allergen free if you didn't read the label. Soft, not too sugary, flavorful with a wonderful texture (and I can't say that for Enjoy Life: I know, I know I shouldn't say that, but their cookies are, well, taste challenged and look funny - but I love the Chocoboom, so no nasty comments please).

But the taste of Divvies is amazing. If you go to Whole Foods, you may have seen the Dancing Deer brand, which are delish, but sadly not allergy friendly (they have a " Produced in a bakery that processes peanuts and tree nuts." warning). The Divvies molasses cookies taste just like the DD ginger cookies. They are that good.

I ordered a box of prepackaged cookies called the Divvies Doubles. Twelve packages of two cookies. Perfect with a cup of tea (ok, busted! i've been eating them too) or a glass of cold milk. So good!

The only so-so Divvies product for me? Jelly Beans. They look exactly like Jelly Belly's, but they just don't have the same oomph (something's just missing). But if your child has never had Jelly Belly's they'd never know what they are missing. And they don't come with a flavor guide so you don't know what flavor you are eating until it is in your mouth (which can be blech).

I highly recommend that you try Divvies out. You can order on their website, but I had a nice chat with a woman there when I called in my order. Their site has a bunch of cute sampler baskets (did I mention that in addition to cookies and jelly beans, they have chocolate bars, chips, gumballs, popcorn, and cupcakes?!?) and if you don't think the chocolate snowman on their site isn't the cutest, then something is really wrong with you :)

Now if they would just open a stand in my local mall, I'd be the happiest woman in the world.

Did You Think of This? Cuz I Didn't.

Image Source: Flickr User macprohawaii

I took Bella to Toys R Us after school today to buy a couple of birthday presents for parties this weekend (2 in one day - yikes!). On the way out, I gave Bella $1 in quarters to get some Skittles from the gumball machine. She LOVES gumball machines. And a small handful of Skittles is 50 cents - that's highway robbery!!! Ahem, I digress...

So she gets her Skittles and we walk out past the bank of machines near the exit. We're about 2 steps from the door (and she's jammed most of them in her mouth) and I see peanut m&m's in one of the machines. One that looks exactly like the machine she go the Skittles from.

Oh crap. Big Gulp on my part. What if last week the peanuts were in the Skittles machine? What if those Skittles in my little girl's hands are now covered in peanut dust? Argh!

I lose Peanut Free Mama points this week for that one. Bella didn't have a reaction (oh and you can BET I was watching her like a hawk for 2 hours after), but we've just crossed another treat off of our lists. It just keeps getting shorter, doesn't it?

Luckily, our nearest Fry's (yes the geek heaven) has a bunch of gum ball machines that are filled with rings, tattoos and plastic ninjas so she can get her fix of those money sucking spheres of doom.

How could I have completely missed this? It just really hits home that if you get complacent you let your guard down.

It's back up now.

Can You Eat It?

Have you guys seen this site? You select the allergies that you are dealing with and it spits out a list of food that's 'safe' to eat.

I haven't really checked it for accuracy, but I am in favor of the concept.

Does anyone know who's behind this?

epipen carriers - sassy options out there?

i must admit, i really need to be more diligent about how i carry around our epipens. i am usually really good about taking her messenger bag into the house each day after our forays out and about. but there have been times where i've forgotten it in the car. upon realization of this lame-brained-ness, i smack myself (think "i shoulda had a v8") and frantically look at the epi pens to make sure they haven't been compromised by the heat or the cold. and yes, because of my stupidity, I've replaced a few!

well, since it's 2008, i'm making a post new year's resolution to find a better way to keep these puppies safe and sound for bella.

so after searching, googling, and surfing the peanutallergy.com site, this is what I came up with (along with my notes, albeit brief, on each one). Some are plain carriers, some are insulated, and some are geared towards packs to keep at school or daycare:

• http://www.medicareplus.co.uk/acatalog/Anaphalaxis.html?gclid=CL6a_-KOi5ECFQU6awodM1RfGw - good variety, has packs for folks that need to carry and epi-pen and inhaler!
• http://www.bluebearaware.com/EpiPen_Twinject_Pouches_s/58.htm - not into the 'princess' one, but that race car one looks cute for boys!
• http://www.omaxcare.com/ - cool looking carriers for active people - check out the leg buddy!
• EpiAccess http://www.epiaccess.ca/en/single.htm- bright blue!
• EpiSafe http://www.medi-episafe.com/index.asp - simple holder - insulated
• AllergyKids http://www.allergykids.com/product.php?proid=11&sub_catid=- bright green!
• Ana-Tote http://www.allstarsales.ca/index.html?lang=en-us&target=d17.html - simple carrier - love the carabiner clip
  
• E-belt http://www.ebelt.ca/products.asp - waist and belt loop holders - good for boys
• Epinephrine mate https://www.foodallergy.org/shoppingcart/CGI-BIN/msascartlist.dll/ProductI nfo?productcd=EPIMATEWAIST - waist pack for two pens - not sure if it's insulated?
• https://www.foodallergy.org/shoppingcart/cgi-bin/msascartlist.dll/ProductInfo?productcd=EPIMATEBK - plastic holder for one pen - not sure if it's insulated?
• Medipouch http://www.medipouch.com/ - simple waistband style holder
• Allergypack http://www.allergypack.com/ - very rugged looking, good assortment of styles
• Safetysack http://www.safetysack.com/ - doesn't look like it's insulated, but looks good for school/daycare/caregivers to have
• Epipuppy http://www.epipuppy.com/ - a little too cutesie for me, but if your child loves dogs...
• @RiskRescue http://www.atriskrescue.com/kit.html - these look more suited to the school environment
• https://www.foodallergy.org/shoppingcart/cgi-bin/msascartlist.dll/ProductInfo?productcd=EPENPAL2 - a little more utilitarian, but good for a guy to carry

These are the ones I like the best:
http://www.kozyepi.com/epipen/plain/index.htm - super cute, especially the mocha one (check it out at left).

http://allergyhaven.com/ - love the fabrics (check out the photo below), and best of all it looks like they are offering a 15% discount right now. Score!

since i'm the one carrying it (oh and mark too I guess), I want something cute (of course) that I can find easily in my purse or the messenger bag. keep in mind that even though these are my preferred carriers - it's just a personal preference, not a judgment of the others. these all look like they fit a need out there!

i'd love to hear from you all - have you used any of these? do you have a favorite? any other choices I didn't stumble across? spill, people!