The Back to School Party Box is designed for teachers to keep in their classrooms. This way they can always have appropriate treats on-hand for their students with allergies. Parents are now able to send their children to school without having to worry about them eating something their body might not be able to tolerate. The Back to School Boxes will also save parents from having to make a special trip to the school to provide a safe treat.

Parents are able to go online at www.indiecandy.com or call 205.835.0049 and order their child’s Back to School Party Box. Indie Candy has two sizes available: “Party Box” for $25.00 and “Extreme Party Box” for $50.00. The boxes are decorative pencil boxes personalized with the child’s name for easy storage and identification. Parents will be asked to list all allergies or sensitivities their child has in order for Indie Candy to build a box according to each child’s specific needs.

Indie Candy produces seasonal, all natural and allergen free sweets in Birmingham, AL. With the rapid rate of allergies increasing, Indie Candy has found a way to cater to families across the US creating candies and sweets free of all the Big 8 allergens. All of Indie Candy’s products are GFCFSF and Feingold approved.

Please join us for the 5th Annual Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network Walk for Food Allergy: Moving Toward a Cure on
Saturday, September 25, 2010 at Kensington Metropark / Milford, Michigan

Did you hear that an Allergen Friendly CARNIVAL is coming to town?
Strolling jugglers and a unicyclist will dazzle you before the walk.
That’s not it though, stick around after the walk to learn how to juggle, walk the tight wire, balance on the rolling globe, and take your family or friends for a bike ride on a party cycle that seats 6!  It’s sure to be a day full of fun for children of all ages!

Registration & entertainment begins at 9:30am & the walk will officially start at 11am. Rain or Shine!!

Find us on Facebook!
FAAN Walk for Food Allergy 2010- Metro Detroit and Food Allergy Connection

We need volunteers!!  If you are interested in helping with set-up, registration, games, or clean-up, please email detroitchair@foodallergy.org

Registration is open at: www.foodallergywalk.org

But these 2 moms happen to be my BFFs so I knew I could just say what I was thinking (ahhh girlfriends rock). Anyway, one mentioned that her son, almost 5, still does not sleep through the night and she had tried all kinds of behavioral methods. The other mentioned that her son (8 years old) still leaks a little at night.

Now, both are perfectly normal behaviors for their age. But, both of these kids have food allergies – egg, tree nuts, peanut and diary intolerance. So I told my friends some of the changes I had seen my in son with autism after diet changes and supplements and I thought I would share them with you.

Urination and Bowel Movement Issues:

When my son who was later diagnosed with autism was about 2 he used to wet his diaper constantly. I mean CONSTANTLY. I actually wondered how I was going to potty train him since he didn’t seem to be able to keep from peeing all the time. He also had loose stool. Not quite diarrhea but very loose bowel movements. All of it got 100% better after I removed gluten from his diet. No joke. I remember it as being almost instantly but I know that can not be the case. So I would say it must have all cleared up in about a week or 2. He was potty trained before he turned 3 and was out of a nighttime diaper before 4.

Sleep Issues:

My son did not sleep through the night until I gave him B12 shots. It took 2 shots 3 days apart and he slept through the night for the first time. Before that he would sleep 6 hour stretches then get up and come look for me, for the first 4.5 years of his life. Typically, kids on the spectrum do not absorb B12 (and a bunch of other things) well. From what I can tell, some kids with food allergies don’t seem to absorb it well either. We started out with B12 powder, then liquid but urine tests showed he was passing most of it. So I stepped it up and started subcutaneous shots. (There is a great video about it by this terrific dad here. Many thanks to this dad, I know I would not have had the courage to do B12 shots if I had not seen his video).

Autism side note:

The B12 shots also turned on his social skills and desire. Prior to B12 shots my son did not speak to other children. He didn’t even acknowledge their presence. 3 B12 shots he started asking kids to play. I found out from one of his teachers who literally said “What did you do? He started asking kids to play today!” It took 3 shots. Just 3.

Attitude and General Mood:

So far this has all been about my son who has autism but I started some diet changes for one of my sons who has terrible food allergies. The whole family has been GFCF in the house but I used to allow this particular child of mine to have regular food when he was out of the house. He is not on the autism spectrum, not even close, so why make him suffer with no wheat or dairy when I don’t have to? Well for tons of reasons mentioned in this other article, I put him a strict rotation diet that is also GFCF. The first thing I noticed was a change in mood. No more cranky kid after school, much less attitude (yeah, you know what I’m talking about), and giggles. I had not noticed that he didn’t have giggle fits until he went GFCF.

Asthma, Food and Coughing:

Another amazing thing I noticed when I put my allergic to everything son on a rotation GFCF diet was how he stopped coughing when eating. He used to cough up a lung when he ate anything but I thought it was vaguely worse when he ate diary or crumbly bread. The cough is gone. I mean GONE. I thought his “eating” cough was related to his asthma but now I see it was related to his diet.

Standard Disclaimers Apply:

Now I am not a doctor (not even close). I’m a mom who has 3 sons each with food allergies, including one son who has autism who has made amazing progress with the gfcf diet and more.

The thing I guess I really want to stress here is rule out the physical. It’s great to try all different kinds of behavior techniques for getting your kid to sleep, behave, whatever but if their tummy hurts, their eczema itches, or they need B12 then all the methods in the world aren’t going to do much.

I’ll end with a short but funny family story to illustrate my point:

A family member was going through a divorce and her 10 year old daughter started complaining about feeling strange in her tummy especially at night for about a week. So they went to their doctor and the mom explained how she was going through a divorce and she thought her daughter might have anxiety. Should they seek family therapy or individual therapy? How much would it cost? etc. etc.

Her doctor responded with “Let’s rule out the physical first, shall we?” He did a standard exam and ran some tests. Turns out her daughter had worms.

Tip #1 Be prepared with emergency snacks.  Sitting in an ER is not fun, especially when you are hungry.  ER’s may have meals available or they may direct you to a vending machine or cafeteria.

Vending machines may have familiar snacks but you can not see ingredient statements.  Companies can pack products in different plants so in some cases the large bag of a particular food may be safe but a single serving may be prepared in a different facility or may not be allergy friendly. A Cafeteria and the kitchen may not have qualified people available to answer questions on ingredients and food preparation.

Have a shelf stable snack in your purse or car.  A goal is to have 200-250 calories available, it should keep you from being hungry for about 3 hours.

Tip # 2 Carry a restaurant card for your specific allergies with your emergency snack.  The hospital may have an excellent allergy awareness program, or they may not.

Tip # 3 Be very specific and repeat the allergy to each new clerk and nurse filling out forms.  Specifically state the allergy and include foods and medications that are often contaminated.   Examples may be:

‘I have a milk allergy that includes all items made with milk products’   The nurse should write in the allergy section ‘milk and all milk products’.    Many people with lactose intolerance will say ‘milk allergy’ and then call the kitchen for butter or coffee creamers. Medications may use lactose as an inert ingredient, known to pharmacists as excipients.

‘I have an egg allergy that includes items made with eggs including bakery items and the Flu vaccine. Often people who do not like eggs say they have an allergy and then request items made with eggs as an ingredient, like cake or batter dipped chicken.

‘I am on a gluten-free diet, so please put no wheat, barley, malt, rye and oats’.  The Food Allergy Label Consumer Protection Act requires wheat to be in plain language but not barley.  Many still do not know malt is usually made from barley.

‘I am on a wheat-free diet, which means no wheat or oats’.   Oats not grown in a gluten free manor have been found to be contaminated at significant levels.

‘I have a peanut allergy – please write tree nut and peanut allergy’.  Peanuts and tree nuts may have been processed together along the field to plate journey and although unintentional, there may be cross contamination.

Tip # 4 If admitted, ask to speak to a registered dietitian.  Every facility is different.  The RD can be your agent to make sure the food service operation, nursing and the pharmacy knows about your allergy.  Do not settle for a foodservice hostess and ask for the Dietitians name.

Tip # 5 When you do receive a meal, check the meal ticket name and that the ticket matches the tray items 100%.   Even if one thing is wrong or missing: for example the apple juice ordered was replaced with cranberry juice without an explanation, request a food service managers attention.  The error means the tray was not checked properly.   As in restaurants, keep the offending tray until the replacement is sent so a worker is not tempted to take a short cut.

Food service associations around the globe are working diligently to increase the awareness and training for food service industry employees.   Future articles will explore resources for you to share and give you more tips for managing healthcare emergencies or planned visits to your local hospital.

This article was written by Ronni Alicea, RD, MBA. Ronni is a registered dietitian specializing in celiac disease, food intolerances and allergies.  She maintains a practice and consults for food companies, healthcare facilities and foodservice operators on assuring appropriate food is available safely.   She is currently writing a non-commercial foodservice manual for allergy and intolerance diets and founded Celinal Foods, a gluten-free food company for residential care facilities.

One of the first things I began to do once getting settled into my new diet was to seek out alternatives to some of my favorite foods. I have always loved to cook, bake and eat with family and friends, and I didn’t want our dinner companions to not enjoy the food I prepared because it lacked taste, texture or panache. Our friends already had so many questions about my eating habits that I didn’t want to scare them off the idea completely. After all, so many people have an intolerance to wheat, gluten or eggs and don’t even know it, as allergens can mask as so many different types of health problems, from rheumatoid arthritis to fatigue to constipation or even blurred vision.

Much to my surprise, brands on supermarket shelves were taking notice of this growing “allergy” problem. Van’s Natural Foods makes a variety of wheat-free waffles – even with blueberries – for breakfast, and Enjoy Life foods offers a plethora of allergen-free foods from bagels to double chocolate brownie cookies (for dessert, of course!). I quickly learned that allergy-free didn’t have to mean my food was going to taste like cardboard.

One of my favorite foods to make is pizza. I’m known for my classic herbed pizza crusts with all the organic fixings and tasty toppings. But my struggle became the crust. I could find rice cheese with no issue, but making the crust wheat-free proved difficult. The crusts I tried to make were heavy or dense, with no texture or flavor. Rolling a crust out was next to impossible, because without eggs the crust had no elasticity.

My problem was soon solved, however. My husband – being the founder and CEO of Uncle Matt’s Organic , was at an organic tradeshow and walked by a booth managed by Pamela’s Products. Much to his excitement, and mine, Pamela’s makes a wheat and gluten-free bread mix that is perfect for pizza crusts! Just add egg replacer and off you go. This is by far the best crust I’ve ever had, and my daughter even loves it! It’s so easy the kids will enjoy making pizza with you, and the whole family can eat allergy-free.

With my newly discovered pantry essentials, life was looking up. I was feeling better and healthier. Best of all, at my check-up with my ENT (ear-nose-throat doctor), he found no inflammation and even asked, “What did you do between your last check-up and now?” When I told him I was living allergy-free, he was not surprised. Now if only more Western medical professionals would start thinking beyond pills and insisting on allergy testing for common problems – more people might be able to live healthier, happier lives!

Bio line:
Susan McLean is a mother of one and an organic advocate. As an entrepreneur who owns a web and graphic design company, she works with green and organic brands. She lives wheat, gluten, dairy, and egg-free.

So, I went to a new place that my sister in law recommended. It was a great price for an inside-outside wash and when you hand over your car keys, you enter the building to wait and pay. They offered my complimentary water or coffee which was very nice.

Then, I noticed “the machine” and was instantly thankful that I didn’t have my kids with me.

Mixed Nuts Dispenser

Standing beside me (almost 5 ft tall) was a huge nut dispensing machine. My kids get freaked out from closed packages of nuts at the grocery store. This mixed nuts machine would have surely caused one of them to have a meltdown. Having lived with a nut allergy for over 30 years, I am able to deal with situations like this with ease. However, this time I started thinking about cross contamination and my mind started racing. If someone has eaten nuts from the machine at the carwash, then washed my car, there could be traces of nuts in my car, or if they used the same pen I did to sign my name on the Visa, there could be traces too. I could see that I was starting to make myself crazy and for a brief second was really unsure what to do.  What would you have done?

Based out of Austin, TX, the company has noted that most people won’t know or taste the difference but for those with Celiac Disease or gluten intolerance, this is great news!

Stubb’s all-natural barbecue sauces are available in Original, Spicy, Mild, Smokey Mesquite, Honey Pecan and Hickory Bourbon. Marinades include Beef, Chicken, Pork, Texas Steakhouse, Moppin’ Sauce and Wing Sauce. All the flavors are gluten-free and use cane sugar rather than corn syrup.

When we contacted Stubbs they wanted us to remind readers that the new gluten free products have slowly been rolling out of production facilities and onto shelves which will replace older non-gluten free items.

The new bottles will read “All Natural, Gluten Free” Look for Stubb’s products at a retailer near you.

Daiya Foods is excited to announce the launch of their Cheddar and Mozzarella Style Shreds in Canada. (The product is also currently sold in the U.S.)

VANCOUVER, BC (August 3rd, 2010) Your time has come Canada; Daiya Foods is beyond excited to finally broadcast their anticipated launch of Mozzarella and Cheddar style shreds in the Canadian foodservice, grocery, deli, and retail markets.  It’s been no secret deliciously dairy free Daiya has caused quite a stir from bloggers to celebrity chefs since its launch in April 2009. It’s been called “the holy grail of vegan cheese”; naturalnews.com says “Daiya is one brand that stands out from the rest.  Based on its excellent taste, texture, and ingredients, Daiya truly is a delicious and healthy vegan product.”

Daiya Foods originated in Vancouver, BC and The Naam restaurant on W. 4th Ave was one of their first customers and Canadian consumers have been asking for the last year when they can buy the product in Canada.  The day is on the horizon, the labeling issues holding Daiya Foods back have been overcome, and the packages are at the printers! We will start shipping to distributors Oct 1st, and you will see the product in stores by the end of the month!

Over the last year the only way to purchase Daiya products in Canada was to order 5lb foodservice packages from online retailers like Karmavore or Viva Granola; many supportive Canadian consumers waited patiently for their shipment of Daiya style shreds to arrive at their front door.

Now everyone will find the retail packages exploding onto shelves in early fall, plus the foodservice and prepared foods sections in markets will be ramping up over the next 4 weeks.  Enjoy Daiya products on your pizza, nachos and comforting macaroni. Daiya products are a healthy choice that offers all of the taste, melt, and stretch without the guilt! It’s a perfect option for any diet need, whether you have a common food allergy, are lactose intolerant, vegan or your just watching cholesterol and trans fat intake!

Positive feedback is already coming in from the foodservice market; Boon’s Burger Café in Manitoba says “Thanks Daiya, we’ve got new customers coming in the door… just because we are carrying your “cheese”!  With a powerful, fast moving national launch in the US Whole Foods and the continued trends in vegetarian and health eating, Daiya Foods expects the same excitement in Canada.   Check back often to see where you can purchase or enjoy Daiya products at http://www.daiyafoods.com/where/index.aspx.

For the review on this product by AllergySense, click here. We also used Daiya in a delicious dairy free, nut free, gluten free recipe – learn more here.

She called me (this was 9.00 pm last night so she was both tired and upset and as you Moms know, that’s not a good combination) in tears that her life was so unfair and why couldn’t she be just like all of her other friends. Having lived with a nut allergy all my life, I could empathize with her and promised her a special treat when she got home – special just for her. It was late and I was grasping for straws in an attempt to calm her down on the phone.

Thankfully we have a good selection of nut free ice creams and treats where I live so today you can be sure I’ll be stocking up the freezer so that she can have a good selection. Living with a food allergy has many emotional and psychological challenges – those are rarely spoken about. Sometimes, all we want to do is just have an ice cream from a regular ice cream store – and sometimes we all just want to scream and cry too – its natural, totally normal and sometimes makes you feel better when are you able to express your emotions.

On Sunday, August 29 at 9.00 pm EST, you can join this free Webinar to learn from a Registered Dietitian about how you can continue to make choices that are safe for your life with Celiac Disease.

On the panel are: Rebecca Panzer is a registered dietitian practicing in Boston, MA specializing in food allergies/intolerances, developmental disorders, diabetes, and disordered eating. Deb Mailand, diagnosed with celiac disease at age 15, is currently a Senior at Tufts University where she advocates for both herself and others!

For more information and to register, click here.