Peanut Allergy: Never Assume (again)

I was at Whole Foods yesterday getting a sandwich (which, by the way was terrible - every sandwich I get there sucks).

I was looking at all the options and noticed that I didn't see peanut butter - woo hoo! I love not seeing peanut butter on menus.

But (oh yeah, there is a but)...

I asked. B wasn't with me so I didn't need a sandwich for her, but I asked anyway.

"So you guys don't do peanut butter sandwiches here?"

You already know where this is going, don't you?

The answer:

"Of course we do! We just don't list it on the menu."

Gah!

There you go. I'll never stop asking, even if it 'seems' safe.

It never ends.

Peanut Allergy Unfriendly: Turtle Mountain So Delicious Coconut Creamer

How about the good news first??

Turtle Mountain/So Delicious has a new product (well, new to ME at least):
Coconut Milk Creamer!

And now for the bad news....
folks with a peanut allergy can't have it. Well, at least the Hazelnut Flavor.

I put some in my basket at Whole Foods, got all the way to the register and THEN looked at the label: Contains Peanuts?!?! Doesn't say it anywhere in the actual ingredient list (I'm suspecting it's hidden in the 'Natural Flavoring' that appears on the actual label - not the one on their website which isn't the label I saw at WF). Not a word of it mentioned on their website actually.

To be fair, I didn't look at the other two flavors when I was there. So the others might be safe.

I was so bummed though. Their yogurt is awesome and I assumed (ha!) that the creamer would be peanut free too.

Ah well, I'll just have to stick with half and half for a while longer.

Close Call at Whole Foods

So I guess there is someone up there (or out in the universe, depending upon how you look at it) that likes to make sure that I never let my guard down regarding Bella's peanut allergy. And it just so happens they decided to keep me on my toes in a fancy pants grocery store.

I took Bella out of school early yesterday. Before Nap! Am I crazy? Yes!

But back to the story.

So we had a date night last night and one of Bella's teachers (who has a shellfish allergy, so she just 'gets it') needed dinner, as did Bella. So I stopped in to the local Whole Foods (aka Whole Paycheck) for a chicken Caesar salad and some cupcake mix for them to make as their evening activity.

Bella was an absolute doll in the store. She sat in the cart (moms out there will appreciate that she didn't! want! to walk! yay!) and was just as good as gold. I gave her a snack to chew on while we were in the store and she was having a grand ole time, telling me everything she wanted.

So we grab a salad and one of those vitamin water drinks for the babysitter, and then I realize I need half and half for our morning coffee (hey, if you're gonna have cream in your coffee, you might as well do it right. am i right or am i right?). So we head to the back of the store to the dairy section. And that's where it happened.

I know what you're saying. In the dairy section you had a close call with Peanuts? YES.

So I turn to reach for the half and half. I am on this kind of annoying kick where I am trying to buy local. So there I am examining all the flipping labels to see where the closest organic half and half came from, not really paying attention to Bella. I choose one, and I turn around and I swear in slow motion, Bella says to me...

"momma, i think we need some of this".

This is when you cue the mission impossible soundtrack.

It's a tub of the store ground peanut butter. there's a big pile of them on the endcap.

and of all the things in the store, this is what she grabbed.

so I freaked out a little, i'm ashamed to say. first I put it back and say (without trying to sound like a high pitched squirrel), "that's peanut butter honey, and even though it's in a tub, you shouldn't touch that!"

So then i try to assess the situation. What should I do? I take her snack from her.

She starts to freak out, because she thinks she's in trouble (from me I mean). Crying commences. Great!

So I inspect her hand. No visible residue.

So then I smell it (typing that sounds so weird).

I swear to God it smells like she hand cranked those peanuts into her hand.

Now I am almost crying, but I am trying to hide it so she doesn't know I am terrified that she might have a contact reaction.

So I say, "sweetie, you didn't do anything wrong. there shouldn't be peanut butter near the milk, so you had no idea, but we need to wash your hands again" (we had just gone to the potty). And she flips out even more. She's 3 - need I say more?

So I find my way to the diaper section and tear open the closest pack of wipes I could find. I swear I practically gave her a silkwood shower with those babies right in the aisle. There were other folks there and they must have thought I was insane, so I kept saying to her "Bella I need to wash your hand because you touched something that you are allergic to."

Ugh. It was so stressful.

Needless to say, I bought her a toy in the store. I felt so guilty for letting her get into that situation.

Then we hightailed it out of there (via the checkout of course). I watched her like a hawk for the next 3 hours.

She's ok. I'm ok.

But it goes to show that those darn peanuts can show up anywhere, any time, when you least expect them.

I need a glass of wine after typing this. The stress!

Have you had a close call lately?