Thanksgiving Foods to Watch Out For with a Peanut and Nut Allergy

With Thanksgiving coming up, I thought I'd give you just a few ideas of where nuts can be lurking (besides in your wine glass):

• Pie Crusts - many of the pie crusts I've see of late in cooking magazines (and online) utilize ground nuts in the crust. This wouldn't be apparent to the naked eye in say, a pumpkin pie, and could send you into a reaction (which is never fun, especially during the holiday celebrations). Always ask about ingredients if you aren't completely sure. And if you still aren't convinced it's safe, then abstain.
  
• Stuffing - watch out for almonds and pecans (and chestnuts) in stuffing.
• Green Beans/Brussels Sprouts - I've been seeing lots of recipes for these greens either garnished with nuts (like hazelnuts and almonds or pine nuts) or in compound butters composed of these nuts in their ground up form.
• Sweet Potatoes - again, this veggie goes hand in hand with brown sugar and - you guessed it - nuts! Look for pecans and/or walnuts as a pairing typically either mixed in or part of a crumble on top.
  
• Cookies - this is a no brainer in some respects, but the holidays are definitely a time for nuts! Marzipan (ground almond/sugar paste) abounds in baked goods as well as walnuts, pecans, pine nuts, and peanut butter.
  
• Extracts - Lastly, keep in mind with ANY baked goods that people use almond extract a lot to replace vanilla. If you are going to take a chance and have a sugar cookie, you just might want to ask about almond extract.

So what did I miss? Readers, comment away!

Not so Easy Bake Oven...

So B's 4th (yes, can you believe it?!?!), 4th birthday is coming up in a little over a week.

She's been asking for just about everything. If you have a child who watches TV (yes, I'm a terrible mother who lets her daughter watch Spongebob - what do you think she's going to be for Halloween?) then you know what I'm talking about. Every commercial that comes on garners the following:

"Mom, I want that!"

OR

"Mom, we NEED to go to Chuck E. Cheese's, where a kid can be a kid. You can relax and have a salad there you know!"

OR

"Mom, if I promise not to wear makeup can I have a Bratz hair curler set?"

You all think I'm joking about the last request. B's what you call 'a verbal child', so things like this really come out of her mouth. I wont tell you what she said when she walked in on Mark going to the bathroom last week. I know, TMI!

Well, for B's birthday we told her she could have 4 presents, since she was turning FOUR. She thought that was really neat. So the last few weeks have been spent discussing the finer points of Baby Alive vs. Barbie, race cars vs. hotwheels, and transformers vs. spiderman (did I mention she's into boy type toys as well?).

At the top of her list was this cupcake maker. Think Easy Bake Oven without the oven. Basically you make the mix, put it in a cupcake mold, and microwave it. B loves to cook with me (she even uses a knife under my supervision) and even though she's younger than the recommended age, I think she'll do just fine with it. Plus, there's no bulb like with the Easy Bake Oven (i.e. no way for B to burn the house down), so it was the best and most excellent choice for her.

But there's a catch. There's ALWAYS a catch with Peanut Allergy, now isn't there? Like Easy Bake Oven Mixes, this brand's mixes ALSO have a 'may contain' warning. Here's the actual wording:

"Allergy Information:
Consumers with food allergies or other sensitivities, please review the ingredients carefully.
All ingredients are wheat free, gluten free, nut free, peanut free, and trans-fat free. All mixes are packaged on equipment that process wheat, milk, egg, soy, and sulfating agents. May contain traces of peanuts and tree nuts.
Major allergens: milk and egg.
May contain soy."

As our good friend Spongebob would say: "Aw, Barnacles!". And can I just add that warnings like this suck. All ingredients CANNOT be peanut free if there could be traces of peanuts in the mix.

So what's a Peanut Free Mama to do about these peanutty mixes?

Google it!

Turns out those fancy mixes for the Easy Bake Oven can be easily replaced by cake mix and milk. Oh, and here are 57 other mixes for you to try as well. Granted, these are for the EB Oven, but I'm betting a variation will work for us.

Who knew?

So we'll adapt the recipes for the cupcake maker she's getting. I don't think she'll know the difference.

I'll let you know how her Carnival themed birthday party goes. Have I mentioned how I tend to go overboard when it comes to parties? Can't just have a cake and punch around here, no sir. I'm going to try to use some restraint, but, darnit I LOVE a good party, especially one with a bouncy house.

Any other toys you've run across with allergy warnings?