Food Allergy Desensitization May be coming to an Office Near You

If you haven't spoken to your allergist in the past 6 months, you may want to check in. Food allergy desensitization programs like this one are becoming more prevalent. I found out over the summer that our allergist office will begin peanut desensitization in December. They chose peanut to start because they have a peanut allergic allergist who is willing to be the first desensitization patient in the practice. My 12-year-old may enter the peanut program this summer, although were are just as anxious for a milk desensitization program.

I'm really excited about this works. I recognize the risks, but I hope with a slow progression, an active watch for symptoms of an allergic reaction and keeping epinephrine close at hand, there will be success. This living in fear of accidental ingestion due to cross contamination or incomplete food labels is no good. Finally, some help may be on the way!

Cyber Monday Food Allergy Deals

Imagine the satisfaction of giving your milk allergic friend a box of safe chocolates for the holidays. How great it would be to bring an allergy-friendly hostess gift to the home of a family with food allergies. Take advantage of Cyber Monday and score some great deals on food allergy products:

Divvies has free shipping today on orders of $40 or more.
Stuck on You has 30% off their entire site today with promo code "cybersale2011"
Kyle Dine is offering 50% off his music CD's through December 6.

Happy shopping!

Can You be Allergic to Chocolate?

Over the years I've heard many people say that they, or their children, are allergic to chocolate. Can you really be allergic to chocolate? Finally, I uncovered an answer to my question. In this 7 minute audio clip, Allergist Bradley Chipps (I love that Dr. Chipps is talking about chocolate chips!) says that it is a possibility, but that he's never seen a diagnosed case of chocolate allergy and that after polling numerous colleagues he's yet to find an allergist who has made this diagnosis.

So, according to the doctor, it is possible to be allergic to chocolate, but very rare. Dr. Chipps believes that most people who eat chocolate and experience allergic symptoms are reacting instead to dairy or nut.

Interesting...

Dispose Those Expired EpiPens Safely

I have a little bag filled with expired Epipens. While I love the trick of practicing by using a real (expired) injector in a piece of fruit, like an orange, I'm never sure what to do with them after that. The local pharmacies don't seem to want them and while our allergist will dispose of them, I seem to have trouble remembering to bring them when we have an appointment.

Well, the FDA has stepped in and now offers do's and don't's, along with instructions on how and where to dispose of them. Of course the needles should not be put in recycling, trash, or flushed down the toilet, but many communities now offer disposal programs.

Check out your state's laws on needle disposal or call the Coalition for Safe Community Needle Disposal at 1-800-643-1643 for further assistance.

Enjoy Life Has Dairy Free Mega Chocolate Chips!

Enjoy Life has two new products and as they are both chocolate, I was more than happy to take the opportunity to try them out.

Their first new product is dairy-free mega chocolate chips. I am so excited that Enjoy Life is introducing this to their product line. I regularly  bake with Enjoy Life dairy-free mini-chocolate chips. They are perfect for melting when I want to use my candy molds and I like to use the mini-chips when I make the miniature size of my banana chocolate chip muffins. I had been having a trouble finding a bigger chip because the Allergy Grocer, my source for Barry Callebaut chips, went out of business. Then I discovered that Wegman's brand is dairy-free and I started baking with them.

Now, there's another choice, a BIG choice. Enjoy Life's mega-chips are  free of gluten and the top eight allergens, including dairy, soy, peanuts and tree nuts. The best part is that they are FULL of delicious chocolate taste.

They are really good- right out of the bag!

I also made a batch of chocolate, mega-chocolate chip brownies (what can I say...I enjoy my chocolate!). The big chips melted beautifully and created an ooey-gooey treat.

I am very pleased with these chips and you can get a coupon for 55 cents off an Enjoy Life product on their website.

The other new Enjoy Life product is Double Chocolate Crunch granola. I know that finding a peanut, nut and dairy-free granola is tough. Look no further. This granola is yummy right out of the bag and equally delicious in a bowl with milk (cow, soy, rice or otherwise).

This granola hits the spot when you need a quick chocolate fix!

Enjoy Life products are available at dozens of online retailers and at many grocery stores.

I'm off to have another one of those brownies!

Help for Parents of Food Allergic Kids

Allergy and Asthma Network is a great resource for parents. They have two new videos available that may be helpful. The first one features Chef Ryan Hutmacher, owner of Centered Chef. He finds a family in the grocery store who is struggling with a long list of unsafe foods. Chef Ryan helps them develop a plan for making safe home cooked meals.

The second video is a panel discussion that tackles real situations related to food allergy that come up in our schools. They discuss things like peanut-free tables and self-carrying of epinephrine.

Both videos are about 30 minutes long and packed with great information.

Find both videos at Life Links for Parents.

Planning Ahead for Thanksgiving Dinner

Food holidays are always challenging when you need to plan around food allergies. By keeping things simple and planning ahead a delicious holiday meal is easy to achieve. Here are some tried and true Thanksgiving tips and recipes:

• I always brine our Thanksgiving turkey. Honestly, this will be the moistest, most flavorful turkey you've ever had. Check out my article, "How to Brine a Turkey".
• Our side dishes are simple. For mashed potatoes, I reserve some of the potato water to beat back into the boiled, softened potatoes. Dairy-free margarine, a little seasoned salt and some pepper and we're good to go. We enjoy my sweet potato recipe and I serve a variety of vegetables like green beans, corn and raw veggies including red pepper, carrots and grape tomatoes. 
• I usually make bread in the bread machine or serve biscuits. Homemade stuffing isn't too tough to tackle. Follow this Cook's.com recipe using safe bread and margarine.
• It's always fun to make a few dessert selections. I have some of our favorites under the recipe tab of foodallergyassistant.com if you're looking for new dairy, egg, peanut and nut-free ideas.

Start gathering recipes and planning now for a low(er)-stress holiday meal. I'd love to hear how you've adapted some of your family favorites to accommodate food allergies!

Fall Holiday Chocolates That are Also Allergy Friendly

I enjoy making my own simple dairy and nut-free chocolates using a candy mold. If however, you are searching for something special this holiday season for a food allergic loved one, check out Premium Chocolatier's products. How elegant is a box of pumpkin truffles for maybe a hostess gift. Kids will love the stand-alone chocolate turkeys for a fun thanksgiving treat and their mini-chocolate cheesecakes (yup, they are dairy and nut free too!) would be a welcome gift to anyone who has never been able to indulge in a traditional box of chocolates.

I have always been satisfied with my Premium Chocolatier orders and they are perfect for those times when I want something distinctive that I can't make at home. They also offer gluten-free chocolates, dairy free chocolate covered pretzels and their Milkless candy bar tastes just like a traditional Hershey® bar- honest!

Chocolate does make life a little sweeter.

Another Year of Trick or Treat

Another trick or treat night and all was fine. A few of the neighbors had special, safe treats set aside. I sent thank you e-mails the following day to them because it warms my heart that they get that this is a tough holiday for kids with food allergies.

My son separated his candy into safe and unsafe piles. The safe pile was considerably smaller. I swapped the unsafe pile with some chocolates I made in a Halloween Jell-O mold. I added crushed almonds to the chocolate because my nut allergic child can have almonds. They are a great protein source so I try to add them to baked goods when I can.

We head into the succession of food holidays- Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day. Along the way we'll deal with cooking in the school Family and consumer Science class, a family trip and an overnight school activity. Each event requires planning and a dose of anxiety, but as a family, we've got the hang of this food allergy thing pretty well now. I am excited to read your comments about successful milk desensitization programs for your kids and I'm thrilled that our allergist office will soon start a peanut desensitization program. Strict avoidance may be an out-dated recommendation in the coming years.

Now that would be a treat!