food allergies + a toddler

Dairy Free Butternut Squash Risotto

abbyanderson — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:16:24 +0000

I often hesitate on posting some of the new recipes that I have tried because Bo doesn’t eat them or they just o.k. and not amazing. Tonight, I tried a butternut squash risotto and it was AMAZING and to top it off Bo loved it so I would say this recipe was a huge success. It’s a little time-consuming to make, only because you have to stir it so often, but it is so worth it. I served our risotto with roasted broccoli and that was definitely enough because the risotto is so filling.

Click here for the recipe for Creamy, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Butternut Squash Risotto.

Sunbutter, Chocolate and Banana Shakes

abbyanderson — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:41:07 +0000

Yesterday we made Sunbutter, chocolate and banana shakes! They were just what the doctor ordered. I couldn’t find the exact recipe that I was looking for after a quick google search so we just kind of made it up. I’m not good at making my own recipes or documenting how much of each ingredient I used so I apologize for this very vague post. Here’s my best guess at what I threw in the blender!

6 ice cubes

1 cup of coconut milk

2 scoops of coconut ice cream

one small handful of dairy free chocolate chips

2 bananas

EpiPen

abbyanderson — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:15:39 +0000

I will be the first to admit how scared I was of the EpiPen. I never wanted to have to inject something into my sweet little boys leg and I had no idea how I would ever do it. Well, that horrible anaphylactic reaction happens and let me tell you that you don’t even think twice about it, you will do anything to help your poor child who is struggling. For me, our one anaphylactic reaction has taken the fear out of the EpiPen for me but for those who haven’t had to use it yet, here is a great read from Missy – Marketing Mama. Missy has kind of been a food allergy mentor for me. I started following her on Twitter a while back and we finally met this year at a food allergy fair. She is an amazing mom and does so many great things for the food allergy community. She accidentally injected herself with her daughters EpiPen when she thought she was showing a friend how to use the ‘Training Device.’ A great learning experience for us all! Please read.

How I accidentally injected myself with an Epipen - by Missy of Marketing Mama

photo from Missy of Marketing Mama

Dairy Free and Egg Free Pancakes

abbyanderson — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:08:11 +0000

We have made pancakes before and have always used Bisquik just with more oil and milk to try to make up for the egg but this past weekend I wanted to see if we could get a better consistency and pancake if we made our own batter from scratch. It was so easy. Can’t believe it took me this long to try this. I found this recipe and it was great – we’ll definitely be making them again!

Dairy Free Mac n’ Cheese

abbyanderson — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 03:38:25 +0000

Today I attempted my first dairy free mac n’ cheese for the little guy. I used Daiya cheese and started off with this recipe but it was lunch time and I wanted a quicker and less fancy recipe so I just ended up mixing Daiya cheese, Earth Balance butter and So Declicious Coconut milk until I got the right consistency.

Banana Muffins

abbyanderson — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:19:31 +0000

This was our breakfast this morning – dairy free, egg free and nut free banana muffins and a coconut yogurt and flaxseed milkshake. Yum! Smoothies are something we have often but I am always looking for new muffins or easy breakfasts to make because that’s an area where I feel like we don’t have a whole lot of variety. These banana muffins were a hit and were some of the best that I have made without eggs. Click here for the recipe.

Medpax

abbyanderson — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 03:34:50 +0000

A couple of weeks ago when we were at ECFE one of the teachers mentioned that they gave the kids goldfish for snack but that they didn’t give any to Bo. She said this to me pretty nonchalantly and it was at the end of class as we were trying to gather the kids, coats, all their stuff and head out the door so I was rather distracted and it didn’t fully sink in – the fact that she just said that other kids were given goldfish at snack time. Then I left with Bo, walked down the hallway and noticed he was rubbing his eyes and one of them was bloodshot. By the time we made it across the parking lot and into the car he was sneezing and rubbing his eyes….that’s when the one teachers comment finally sunk in – Bo was at the same table as other kids who were eating goldfish (all goldfish contain dairy) and he must be reacting to that. Luckily I was able to react right away, gave him Benadryl, took him home and gave him a bath and the reaction calmed down. I was frustrated and disappointed because we had so many successful weeks of being at ECFE and being reaction free and I just felt totally bummed that this happened. I was conflicted about what to do because honestly it just sounded so overwhelming to have to call the teacher, ask her about the goldfish and explain to her again that Bo is so allergic to dairy that he can’t even touch it. After discussing with my husband I knew it was best to call the lead teacher to discuss with her, plus, I wanted to do another session of ECFE and was hoping to take class with the same teachers because I had felt so good about how they had handled his allergies. When I called and spoke with her she did say that she was giving other kids goldfish and she was soooo sorry because she didn’t realize that Bo couldn’t even touch/be around dairy she just thought he was safe as long as he didn’t ingest it. I am not trying to blame the teacher at all and I know she feels absolutely horrible but this was a good reminder for me that I need to be really clear about Bo’s allergies, his sensitivity to even touching those foods, and that I maybe need to talk about it or bring it up multiple times so that his caregivers do not forget. I know I explained to the staff that he was allergic, even to the touch, but I also know that those teachers have so many kids with so many different needs and that it’s a lot to remember each kids specific situation/need.

I spoke with this teacher again at our class today and asked her for advice/suggestions on things I could do when I am leaving Bo in the care of others outside of our house – the other big concern I have right now is leaving him in the sunday school at church. I asked if it would be helpful if I put a sticker on him every time that listed his allergies, my thought on this was that if an adult saw that he was sneezing and rubbing his eyes and then noticed his sticker maybe it would trigger them to call me or it would just be a reminder for them that this is the little boy with the severe allergies, his teacher thought this would be a good idea, and she also said to me “don’t be afraid to scare the hell out of the teacher!” I was sort of relieved to hear this coming from a Teacher. I never want to offend or bombard someone by telling them so much information but I am realizing more and more how much I need to constantly remind people and talk about Bo’s specific needs. She also suggested always leaving a written action plan. This prompted me to look online for other action plans mom’s have created for their kids and the ones I was finding were almost too detailed and too much information for someone to sort through at a time of panic or in an emergency . I just wanted something basic that was very clear and easy to follow. I think I found just the answer and I am feeling so good about having this product to leave for those who are caring for Bo. Medpax – what a great idea! This product is a container that will hold all of BO’s medications that we keep with us at all times (Epi-pen, Benadryl & Inhaler) and also has a very simple and clear action plan along with Bo’s picture on the front of the case.

If you have a food allergic kid and have a different ‘action plan’ that you leave with caregivers – what do you use? I would love to hear how other people handle this. Has anyone used a Medipax. I’ll have to write again after we’ve used it for a bit and will let you know what we think.

Yogurt and Granola

abbyanderson — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:27:57 +0000

Bo has never been much of a breakfast eater. He wakes up, has a cup of milk, and then I can’t get him to eat much until about 10am. But as of late he has been waking up saying he’s hungry and he often will eat breakfast right away. Maybe it’s because he has a new favorite — yogurt & granola! This So delicious coconut yogurt is pretty good some of the best dairy free yogurt on the market. The granola is pretty good too and it’s awesome that it’s dairy, egg and NUT free.

Coconut Nog Milkshakes

abbyanderson — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 20:46:26 +0000

We have a new favorite holiday treat in our house! We just mix together Coconut Nog and Soy/Coconut or any kind of dairy free ice cream. A perfect dairy free, egg free and nut free holiday milkshake. Have you tried to make milkshakes with the chocolate mint? We have to try that next.

Thanksgiving Treats

abbyanderson — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 01:58:27 +0000

We had a few different family gatherings this past week and we were in charge of bringing desserts because they really tend to be one of the harder things to re-create or buy dairy, egg and nut free. I made all of the following… and we ate all of these over the last four days. The links to the recipes are below each photo.

We had a really great Thanksgiving! Both of our families were so amazing and so accommodating – they made all of the food dairy, egg and nut free so that Bo could be a part of the celebrations. We are so thankful for such understanding and loving families!

Dairy, egg and nut free brownies.

Cowboy cookies.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies.

Apple Crisp. I used this Martha Stewart Recipe and just used Earth Balance butter in place of regular butter.