Free Allergy Recipes: Spinach Artichoke Dip

Free Allergy Recipes: Spinach Artichoke Dip

Halloween Tips

Well we made it through Halloween without any allergic reactions. What a relief!!! I have a couple ideas for you and your child to make the candy hunting a little easier. I decided to take the head on approach. We collect candy and then I go through the candy with Fisher and tell him you can have this, but you can't have that. I want him to start learning now that he needs to be careful about what he puts in his mouth. I also made sure we had plenty of candy at our house to make up the difference with a few extra special treats picked out just for him, like a Halloween Pez, stickers, spider rings and fun stuff like that.

Just keep in mind, if your child is allergic to peanuts this may be too risky. Touching or breathing peanut dust can be detrimental. So there are other ways of getting around the" typical " trick or treating traditions without having your child feel left out. Here are a couple..


Trunk or Treat- My allergy group held one and we had a ton a fun without any candy what's so ever. Games, crafts and then all the parents decorated the back of their cars/trunks. All the children went trick or treating from car to car. Everyone passed out games, puzzles, airplanes, cars, all sorts of fun things. This idea is a lot of fun, but it does take a group of people and someone to organize it all. I suggest finding an allergy group in your area or starting one if you there isn't one already.

Trade it out- When you buy your child's plastic pumpkin, bag, whatever you buy for your child to collect candy in, just buy two. Then fill the second bag with the "safe" goodies then trade him/her when you get home. I've even heard of the Switch Witch too, kind of the tooth fairy concept. Have your child leave their Halloween bag at their front door when they go to sleep and the Switch Witch brings them safe candy and goodies in exchange. Something like that.

Sticker trade- Trade your child a sticker for each piece of candy that's not safe.

Plan ahead- If your child is very young, and you will only be going to a couple neighbors or even just family, bring candy to those people in advance and ask them to give that to your child when you arrive.

I know it's hard. You want your child to have everything that any other child has and more, but you'll get through it and your child will be happy to be celebrating with you. That's why I chose to head on idea. I always want open communication with my kids and I don't want them to ever feel like I've mislead them or sheltered them from the truth. To each his own I guess. Just remember to take your epi-pen with you just in case.

Happy Trick and Treating!!!!

Dairy, Soy Free Mushroom Stroganoff

I found a great recipe at one of my favorite blogs for Stroganoff. I never imagined Fisher would be able to have this and it's one of our favorites. I made it last night with a few adjustments and it was delicious. I added meat (we are MEAT EATERS) and also added a pasta too. YUMMY!

Here is the recipe....Mushroom Stroganoff

Allergy friendly, family friendly FOOD: Preparing for absence

Allergy friendly, family friendly FOOD: Preparing for absence: "I know that many parents cooking for allergic families have recipe substitutions mastered. They pull out their favorite cookbook, flip to a ..."

Our new list, unconfirmed....

Almonds
Cashews
Crab
Egg White
Milk
Oat
Pecan
Pistachio
Shrimp
Soybean
Strawberries
Walnut
Wheat
Tuna

Another battle begins...

I was informed by Fisher's new allergist that because Forest has a little eczema, it's a good possibility that he also has food allergies. This is very sad and breaks my heart. She has suggested that Forest start testing before I stop breast feeding him and make the switch to milk or formula. UGH!

Poisonous Stroller

We were at this yearly event in Columbus called the Red, White and Boom for the Fourth. The street was lined with typical vendors from any carnival, fair etc. and we did the typical things we do to prevent Fisher from ingesting something he shouldn't, with success. (Every single day is a success that he doesn't have a reaction) Anyways, one thing we've never worried about before are his FEET! We put Fisher back in the stroller once it was time to go and headed home. The next day we used the stroller again and noticed he had hugh, itchy welts on the back of his legs (our sign that he's come in contact with Dairy). After sometime of scratching our heads, we came to the conclusion that his shoes were covered in butter, cheese and who knows what else from the Red, White and Boom. See, the bottom of his shoes touch the seat of his stroller whenever we put him in. There's no way to avoid this and a poor design in my opinion. So everything he stepped in was in turn on his seat. I remember thinking that day what a mess the streets were. There was food everywhere. Like someone had a huge food fight. You noticed things like this more when your child is allergic to food. We don't wear shoes in our house and I'm so thankful for that now. You bring the world into your home on your shoes.