Learning from mistakes

We went camping for a few days in Yosemite National Park.  Growing up, Yosemite was a must-do trip for my family every summer when I was a kid but I hadn't been there as an adult in over a decade.  I was excited to take in the beautiful surroundings and experience it with my kids the first time.

Yosemite is awesome but probably like any mom of a food-allergic kid, I was bogged down with anxiety before and during the trip.  Sharing food with non-allergic relatives, the great outdoors with its nutty, chocolaty trail mixes and the promise of no cell reception made for a risky situation.  I was extra vigilant about checking labels, washing or wiping down Ryken's hands and had to remind him more than once not to accept snacks - though allergy-safe - from cousins who had just finished peanutty, milky meals.  I had reprimanded my husband who allowed Ryken to eat a piece of salami without checking the ingredient label.  Ryken complained of a hot, itchy tongue minutes later (we gave him Benadryl immediately which helped) and a stomach ache.  A week later in the grocery store, we saw that the salami did contain dairy.

Ryken suffered a stomachache 30-45 minutes after eating  unlabeled salami.

Despite being on high-alert for food allergies and bugging my family about food safety, on our last morning before heading home, I made a big mistake: while reading an ingredient label for an energy bar called Aussie Bites, I completely skipped the line about the "unsalted butter" in it!

My source of confusion: "canola oil" in boldface and no "Contains..." allergen statement.

My boys' reactions were unexpected.  In fact, they had no reaction whatsoever.  I hadn't realized my oversight until 8 hours later when I was about to give them more bites and re-checked the label out of habit.

I was horrified and stunned, as much by my mistake as by how we were able to avoid total disaster.  My mind was swirling with frightening images of what could have happened and the realization that Ryken had eaten dairy in a baked good for the first time ever and was totally fine.  In that jumble of emotion I barely registered relief that both kids were okay or hope that there are some ways they can consume dairy.

Now that I've had more time to reflect about our camping weekend, I'm grateful for what I have learned or been reminded of:

(1)  Always take time to read through the ingredients whether it be a new food or one you get every week.  You never know when ingredients may change as Sarah has mentioned in a previous post.  I think I need to physically put my finger on the label and read word-for-word as this is the second time I've overlooked an allergen while reviewing a label.
(2)  Don't give your food-allergic kids something to eat unless you can confirm exactly what's in it.
(3)  Always be prepared with your medication.  We had an error of judgment and an oversight.  My husband reassures me that we were prepared for the worst with our bottles or Benadryl and two sets of Epi-Pens.
(4)  On a personal level, we learned that Callan also has a contact allergy to milk (poor thing broke out in hives after being splashed by an exploding Frappuccino); a hot, itchy tongue and stomachache are becoming more common symptoms for Ryken; and the boys might be able to tolerate milk products in baked goods.  I don't have any plans to give the kids dairy-laden treats in the near future but will be fascinated to hear our allergist's take on this.

Spiral Pasta Salad -

I am loving these sunny summer days especially because it means more barbecues and more delicious eats! 

This batch was made with what was left in the crisper.  I recommend adding broccoli and bell peppers!

Below is a recipe for a favorite pasta salad of mine.  It's fresh, attractive, easy, and not as heavy as cheese or cream-laden pasta salads.  Plus, my milk-allergic kids can eat it!

You can play with the amounts of pasta and veggies and you can switch out different vegetables depending on your tastes.  When I'm making it on a whim, it's got whatever is left in the fridge (usually celery, carrots, tomatoes, corn). I try to make this dish as colorful as possible -- bell peppers (red, yellow, orange, green), celery, carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, corn -- there are so many ways to go!  When you are making the dressing, do keep the ratios the same.  You may find that you need to double the dressing recipe or half it depending on how big your salad ends up being.

This recipe is free of 7 of the 8 most common food allergens.  By substituting brown rice pasta for regular pasta, you can make this completely free of the top 8. 

Spiral Pasta Salad adapted from Darlene Kileel's submission to AllRecipes.com
Salad:
16 oz package of spiral or macaroni pasta
(I like Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Rotelle.  Trader Joe's sells brown rice pasta as well.)
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped bell peppers
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup chopped tomatoes or blanched broccoli, chopped

Dressing:
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use canola or olive)
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp +2 Tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
Ground pepper to taste

1. Combine all dressing ingredients together.  Stir until sugar is well mixed.  Chill in refrigerator for at least a couple of hours to allow the flavors to combine.
2. Cook pasta according to directions on package.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Set aside to further drain. 
3. Add chopped vegetables to pasta.  Gently mix until vegetables are well distributed.
4. Toss pasta veggie mix with dressing until everything is evenly coated. 
5. Refrigerate at least a couple of hours before serving to let dressing absorb into pasta.

I like to make this pasta the night before or morning of a barbecue.  It's best when the pasta has had time to absorb the dressing.

Product Review: Allergy Alert Stick Ons

This summer means Ryken's first summer camp, day trips (and most likely more eating out), weekend getaways, and preparation for the next school year.  For our family, the latter will be a new experience since Ryken will be attending a Spanish dual immersion.

As a safety measure Ryken already wears STATKids wristbands to alert people of his dairy and peanut allergies.  I really love how flashy they are but we've had some problems.  We have to make sure the bands don't get hidden under long sleeves or ignored because of the myriad of silicone wristbands and Silly Bandz that kids wear these days.  I decided I needed to invest in more allergy identification to improve our chances that people would take note of Ryken's allergies.  And with a student body and staff of English and Spanish speakers, I wanted to make sure I got allergy identification in both languages.

I came across Allergy Alert Stick Ons, a company based in Ontario, Canada.  With contrasting colors (red, white, black), large typeset and helpful graphics for the major allergens, the stickers looked like a helpful indicator for food allergies.  One of the examples shown on their website was a "No Nuts and No Dairy For Me" sticker (hey, perfect for Ryken!) that easily convinced me that this product was worth checking out.

I submitted an order request and got a prompt response from the very helpful Petra.  Petra sent me an electronic proof of the sticker for my review.  I mentioned to her how the visuals will be very helpful in Ryken's bilingual school.  It was at this time that Petra suggested we could create an alert sticker in Spanish.  We could do half of the order in English, and half in Spanish.  Right on!

Petra offered to find out the Spanish wording using an online translation program.  (Neither of us knows Spanish.)  I cross-checked what she came up with my husband's 4 years of Spanish, my own online research, and native Spanish-speaking friends and came up with some corrections.  The translation was lengthy.  I worried over how we could convey all the allergies without making the sticker a confusing mess.  Petra listened to my concerns and did an outstanding job with arranging the text so that everything fit and looked great.  All in all, it took more than a dozen emails, several mock-ups, and the help of my Spanish-speaking friend, Javiera, but I think I got what I wanted. 

Did you know there are three ways to say "peanuts" in Spanish? 

I wondered if I could adjust the graphic to make the tree nuts a little more prominent (the peanuts are much larger than the tree nuts if you check out the sticker in English).  The ever-helpful Petra said this was no problem and, as you can see, she adjusted according to my request.

The stickers took two weeks to arrive (from Canada, remember?).  When I opened them, they were exactly as I had seen in the final proofs, only bigger and better!  The bigger the sticker, the better at being seen!  The stickers were nearly 3 inches (7.5 cm) in diameter.  Okay, so it does say on the website that the stickers are 3"x3".  But the site's examples have been slightly reduced in size to fit the site's format so I was expecting something a little smaller.

I highly recommend that you check out Allergy Alert Stick Ons especially if your kids have multiple food allergies or need a translation.  The company's service is excellent, you get to see your product as a proof so you will know exactly what you're getting, and the final product is first-rate.  The stickers are sold in packs of 30 for $12.50, which I think is a great price considering that the stickers are customized according to your needs. I do recommend that if you would like your sticker translated into another language that you consult with native-speaking friends to make sure you've got the message right.  Using online translations have their limits!

When you're ordering, feel free to let them know Irene from GetAllergywise sent you.  And don't forget to share a photo of your personalized stickers with us!

Product update: Trader Joe's Whole Grain Milk has been discontinued!

RIP July 2011.  Help bring it back!

Last week I was shopping in Trader Joe's and noticed that they were out of their lightly sweetened whole grain milk.  I figured it wasn't a big deal.  Sometimes it takes a couple days for shelves to be restocked.  I bought a couple cartons of their unsweetened variety and figured I could just buy more whole grain milk next time.  Yesterday I still couldn't find any of our usual whole grain milk.  A GAW reader was kind enough to inform me that Trader Joe's has discontinued its whole grain milk line.  Noooooo!!!

I visited the company's website and sent in a comment.  Nikki of customer relations promptly replied to my concerns and confirmed that Trader Joe's has indeed discontinued selling whole grain milk due to poor sales.  She did say that the company is always open to hearing from its customers.  So if many customers contact Trader Joe's about a product's cancellation, the company may bring it back.

Our family loves Trader Joe's whole grain milk as an alternative to cow's milk and almond milk (to which my boys are allergic) and soy milk.  Compared with similar offerings at Whole Foods, Raley's, and Safeway, it is affordable and tastes pretty good.  If you are one of the many people who rely on whole grain milk as your dairy or soy substitute, I encourage you to write Trader Joe's immediately.  Your letter could make the difference!
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*Update:  FYI: I bought some of the last cartons of Trader Joe's whole grain milk while on vacation in L.A.  I reread the label and now realize that it *does* contain soy in the form of soy lecithin.  I know some soy-allergic people can handle soy lecithin just fine but many cannot.  So this alternative might not work for milk- and soy-allergic people.  Almond milk does not contain milk or soy.

I hope Trader Joe's comes back with a similar milk substitute free of all the most common allergens.

A cure: what it would mean

The recent research study on milk allergy desensitization by Stanford has given me so much hope. Could there be a treatment to rid my kids of their milk allergies?

Generally speaking, I try to think of the positive.  I'm a "glass half full" kind of gal.  And what I have in my glass is a lot of gratitude for the wisdom that living with food allergies has given me.  I have learned more about what goes into growing and processing what we eat, and what foods our family can and should do without.  This has definitely led to healthier, fruit-and-veggie-filled choices for meals and snacks.  I have become a lot more assertive as far as advocating on my kids' behalf at school, among family, and within our different social circles.  When you manage food allergies, you learn quickly to speak up loudly and often.

Over the years our family has adapted well to the speed bumps presented by food allergies.  Our kids are happy, healthy, regular kids.  As glad as I am with how our lives are, there is no doubt in my mind that life without milk allergies would be better.  A hundred times better.  And it's not just about being able to eat cheese and butter. It's about safety, convenience, and inclusion.

Families without food allergies get a glimpse of what it's like for milk-allergic kids at get-togethers.  The looks of yearning as other kids devour pizza, mac 'n' cheese, and finger foods; eyes transfixed when the fancy birthday cake is brought out, followed by, "Mommy, does that have dairy?  Can I eat it?!"  Pouting, grumbling, and tears when the off-limits dessert is served.  Every party is an emotional up-and-down when you have a severe food allergy.

Food allergies, from the parents' point of view, are also an emotional, mental struggle.  I can say without overexaggeration that my kids' allergies are always at the forefront of my mind.  Last year, whenever the phone rang during Ryken's school hours, I tensed up and braced for a voice on the other end telling me about an accidental ingestion.  (Thank goodness, that did not happen.)  I feel my blood pressure rise when we are at a playground or library and other kids are running around with cheese sticks, Go-gurts, and peanut butter sandwiches in hand.  I used to love to travel.  Nowadays, an invitation to travel is met with hesitation because of the risks and detailed planning involved.  There is a knee-jerk reaction of panic when we first commit to going somewhere.  "How will I feed the kids?" "Will I have access to a kitchen?" "Will there be cell service and a hospital nearby?"  Even when we have been very careful with vetting foods for group camping trips and finding out "safe" choices from a restaurant's menu, we've still made mistakes or been plagued with random hives from Lord knows where.  This week Ryken begins his first full-day summer camp that is half an hour away from our house...and I really nervous about it.

Unless you have a child with a life-threatening health issue, it is hard to describe what it would mean to be free of the ominous cloud that is food allergies.  To spontaneously go out without having to tote all of those meals and medications.  To drop your child off at a playdate without fear.  To casually choose something off a restaurant's menu without a second thought as to whether it could make your child sick.  To be on a plane and worry about whether your kids are going to kick the seat in front of them but not about whether they're going to have some freak allergic reaction while you're halfway across the Pacific. 

I am looking forward to following the Stanford team's research as they treat a wider pool of patients.  I am very hopeful for progress in treating food allergies.  Really, hopeful is all I can be.

Bananapops

Mmm...remember frozen chocolate covered bananas?  The ones you get at amusement parks for like $6?  Well, you can make them at home for cheap...and without fear of dairy in the chocolate.  And the ingredients are simple.

You'll need:

Bananas

Short skewers (or you can buy lollipop sticks at your local craft store)

Chocolate chips (ghirardelli semisweet are dairy free)

Parchment paper

cookie sheets

Slice your bananas into 3/4 to 1 inch disks.

Skewer them.

Lay them down on a cookie sheet lined with parchment

Making sure the banana parts don't touch.  You'll see here that the kids wanted to make "doubles"...that's fine too.  I even used the ends...hey, when it's coated in chocolate, the kids will still eat them.  Put the tray in the freezer for at least 2 hours.

Once the bananas are good and frozen....melt your chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments (stirring in between) and check for burning.  We don't want that.  When its melted....

Start dipping!  The chocolate will start to harden immediately, so you gotta work fast.  If you notice your bananas beginning to thaw a bit, stick them back in the freezer.   They need to be super cold for the chocolate to stick and harden.  

If you want to, you can put the dipped bananapops back into the freezer to chill before eating...but really, who can wait?   Not my kids.

Product Review: Select Wisely

Eating out won't be as stressful for us with Select Wisely cards in hand.

Our family doesn't eat out much because of our kids' multiple food allergies (dairy, peanuts, various tree nuts, kiwi, halibut).  When we do, it's always a task to choose a restaurant that we think will be the best bet at keeping our kids safe.  We always stay clear of these types of foods: American (dairy), Indian (dairy, nuts), Italian (dairy), sushi (imitation crab meat can have dairy!), Mediterranean (dairy), Mexican (dairy).  We tend to stick with Chinese and Thai restaurants and make ourselves repeat customers when we've had positive experiences there.

While some Chinese and Thai dishes do have nuts, I felt like we could maneuver around that problem easy enough by explaining the kids' nut allergies.  (Note: Ryken has a moderate peanut allergy.  If he were highly allergic to peanuts, I would think twice about Thai food.)  I have found that restaurants are usually much more attentive to nut allergy concerns.  There is more awareness of the serious dangers of nut allergies whereas a milk allergy is a lot less common.  Also, on the whole, nuts are not an integral part of all Chinese or Thai cooking although there are some dishes cooked with peanut oil or garnished with grounded peanuts and peanut sauce. 

So on a personal level, the dairy stuff really worries me the most.  Because dairy is in so many forms -- milk, butter, margarine, whey (casein), cheese, chocolate, and yogurt to name a handful -- I think it's a lot easier for wait staff and cooks to miss an ingredient when checking for allergens.  I think this is what happened on our Mother's Day visit to our favorite Thai restaurant.

We've eaten out a little more recently and discovered how frustrating -- and potentially dangerous --  it is to try to explain to a waiter in my broken Cantonese that my kids are allergic to milk, peanuts, and tree nuts.  (I still have no idea how to talk about tree nuts!)  My limited Cantonese was meaningless to Mandarin-speaking waiters.  After two especially nervous-making dining experiences I remembered about Select Wisely translation cards.

Select Wisely sells translation cards for important health-related information.  If you have food allergies, penicillin or latex, diabetes or special dietary needs, you can purchase medical alert cards in the foreign language of your choice.  Select Wisely offers translation in over 60 languages.  Enclosed in thick laminate, the cards are wallet-sized and come in sets of 2, one for your wallet and one for safekeeping in your suitcase.

I ordered the "Strongly Worded" food allergy cards for milk products and nuts/peanuts/peanut oil.  There were two types of Chinese cards -- one is written in traditional Chinese and another in simplified Chinese which has been taught in mainland China since the 1950s.  I ordered the traditional Chinese (used in Hong Kong/Taiwan) in the hopes that this might be more universal.   When the order arrived in the mail, I was excited to receive some freebie nut allergy alert cards and emergency cards.

Strongly worded card for milk allergy in Traditional Chinese.

Reverse side of the strongly worded card for milk allergy.

Strongly worded card for all nut allergies in Traditional Chinese.

Reverse of strongly worded card for all nut allergies.

A handy emergency card that the company sent me for free.

We have used the strongly worded cards once so far.  I explained the food allergies to the server and then presented her with the translation cards.  The cards were promptly shown to the cook who okayed our order.  I saw the cook peering outside the kitchen later (perhaps to place a card to a little kid face) and I felt much more at ease knowing that the restaurant staff knew exactly what our allergy issues were.  We had a delicious meal without any problems.  Phew.

I have just ordered more Select Wisely cards in Spanish and Thai.  While I'm not yet ready to book any international vacations, these will be great to have if we find ourselves dining out on one of these busy summer nights.