A happy Valentine's Day thanks to Ener-G

This weekend I wanted to make cupcakes for the boys for Valentine's Day and I didn't have a box of my favorite cake mix from Cherrybrook Kitchen. I also had a bunch of errands to run and didn't have the energy to make an extra stop to pick up a new box.

So, I decided it was time to experiment with a regular cake mix and the Ener-G egg replacer. I picked up a box of mix at Target and headed home.  I think it was Betty Crocker, but I'm not 100% sure. I did look at the ingredients and it said it might contain milk in it. I had no idea how the cake would turn out without real eggs, but I was game to see what would happen.  Great news!  The cupcakes turned out great. They rose up like you would expect and tasted good.

I was online trying to see what other people's experiences are with "regular" cake mixes and found this posting about Duncan Hines mixes that do NOT have dairy in them. So, next time I'll give that mix a try.

I am SO relieved to have other options for making treats for the kids. By they way, here's a tip fo other moms out there: When you make a batch of cupcakes,  keep a couple unfrosted cupcakes aside and throw them in the freezer ... this way you have one to grab the next time your allergy kid is invited to a birthday party.

P.S. Little Guy's school Valentine's Day party was interesting ... had to bring bread and popcorn for the party for him.  Ugh.

Update on Miracle Margarine

One of my original posts on this blog had to do with finding Fleischmann's unsalted margarine -- which has no dairy in it. This post has been one of my most popular with 16 comments on it.

Since I first posted it there have been some questions as to whether UNSALTED Fleischmann's margarine is free of dairy. Some people have posted that there is whey in it and I should "Make sure you know all the facts before you post something like that."

First of all, YES, we all should always check the labels of our kids' food. I posted this in Oct. 2006 -- 3 years ago!!! Things change ... always check your labels. I'm just a mom out here sharing what I have seen and what has worked for my family. And I touched on that in one of my very first posts.

That said, I am looking at the ingredients for the margarine in front of me and it says: Liquid soybean oil, water, hydrogenated soybean oil, contains less than 2% of the following: vegetable mono-and diglycerides and soy lecithin (emulsifiers), potassium sorbate and calcium disodium edta* (to preserve freshness), phosphoric acid (acidulant), natural and artificial flavor, vitamin A palmitate, colored with beta carotene (source of Vitamin A), Vitamin D3. CONTAINS: Soy

So, there you have it. I don't see a reference to whey. At least in the kind I get at my local store. I don't know enough about ConAgra Foods (who produces the product). Perhaps the ingredients differ by geographic location.

I certainly would not want the person who posted the comment to this blog to give it to her daughter who has a severe dairy allergy if the package she is looking at says there is whey in it. It would be terrible for that little girl to get sick. I know, my son can't eat whey either or casein.

This blog was meant as a way to share information and find other people dealing with the same issues. We are all stressed as we try to navigate through this experience .... let's try to support one another.

B&S -- your latest show is BS

Why? I asked myself this question several times the other night when I finally watched the most recent episode (Episode 319 "Spring Broken) of the ABC drama "Brothers & Sisters." Why include that line? What did it REALLY do to help the storyline? Not much. But it DID condone lying, being deceptive and putting other people in danger ..... great attributes to teach our children.

What am I talking about? If you didn't catch it, in the beginning of the show the harried, overworked single mother Sarah was making lunch for her kids and told her daughter Paige (who is around 13 years old) that she ran out of turkey, so instead she was giving them peanut butter sandwiches. Paige responds with "MOM! We are a peanut-free school!" And Sarah tells her, "Just tell them it's soy butter."

Nice.

Seriously. WHY?

As I suspected, other viewers picked up on how stupid this was and are talking about it on the ABC message board and so are some columnists.

It is so surprising to me that this liberal show would include this exchange. It's not like peanut allergies aren't well known these days (case in point -- the recent news story on the potential peanut allergy cure). So what dumb-ass wrote this ?!? Oh, I guess it was Brian Studler (according to the B&S writers blog). Well, he is not much a of "stud" to me; he is an idiot. (And evidently, not much of a writer since he couldn't write his own blog entry! Okay, I digress.)

I am fortunate, my boys can be around peanuts, they just can't ingest them, so this faux soy butter sandwich would not be an issue for them. But regardless of if your kids have peanut allergies, we all should find this dialogue shameful because it teaches the child that she is above the rules, should lie to get what she needs, and to not show sympathy and compassion for those with allergies.

Okay, I think I got it all out. Getting down off soapbox now. Thanks for listening.

The outcome of the social experiment

Okay, it was a pretty anti-climactic outcome from my social experiment at Big Guy's school with the cake walk. I asked the mom in charge and she said she didn't stay for the whole thing, so she didn't see if anyone took the allergen-free treats. Oh well!

As I said before, given how hectic it was in the room with the cake walk and given the lack of visibility to these treats (both in where they were placed amongst the other treats and the knowledge that they even existed), I think they weren't taken by kids with food allergies.

But I did get a survey for the overall fun fair and in the suggestions section, I recommended that next year they have an allergen-free section of treats and advertise their existence prior to the fun fair. So, we'll just have to wait and see.

Also, my friend gave me a great idea for an alternate to the cake walk, which would also address the allergy issue ... a Book Walk. Same idea as the cake walk, where you walk around and when the music stops there is one winner, but the winner gets to pick a book instead of a treat. This requires more upfront work since the parents have to get the book donations, but I think it is a terrific idea. It promotes literacy, instead of sugary treats and also helps out the kids with food allergies. Not to mention, the parents who aren't that keen on taking homemade treats from unknown bakers who may not be as diligent as they are in keeping a clean kitchen ... if you get my drift. So, I might try to float that idea out there next year too. Just call me a rabble rauser!! (how do you spell that??)

Any one have any other ideas???

Update on the social experiment

Well, we checked out the Cake Walk** on Friday to see how my mini-social experiment was coming along. As I said, I hadn't taken Big Guy to the cake walk last year because I knew he couldn't eat anything that he might win, so I didn't know what exactly to expect.

When we got in the room, I couldn't believe how many treats were stacked up for people to choose from. And when the kid wins the cake walk, he/she just runs up and grabs whatever looks good. The winner didn't get much time to pick. So, it was nearly impossible for the winner to find my labeled treats.

I quickly realized the problem with my experiment .... lack of visibility. The winner couldn't find my treats and no one knew that non-allergen treats were going to be there. For labeled treats to work people have to know they are there. So, I think next year I would try to work with the parents who organize this part of the fun fair and suggest that 2-5 of us make allergen-free treats (like I did this year), label them and announce the availability of the treats to all parents via the fun fair info sheets that are sent home 2-4 weeks before the fun fair. We would basically have a separate table for those treats and then kids with allergies would know there is something there they can eat if they do win the cake walk.

What do you all think? Would you allow your child to eat something at an event like this? Is it worth it???


** (For those of you who aren't sure what a cake walk is at a fun fair/carnival, here you go. There are a bunch of numbered sheets of paper taped to the floor in a circle. Then a bunch of kids (around 15) walk in a circle while music is playing. When the music stops, you stop on a number and the leader draws a number from a hat, if your number is drawn you win and get to pick a "cake" (in this case, a plate with 2-3 portions of a treat on it).

A new member of the family

Tada! I had a baby!! He was born on Jan. 21 and is a "cutie-pie" (according to Little Guy).

Hanging out today with mom.

Hmmm, now that the baby is here I guess I can't use the term Little Guy for my second son. But it would be confusing to change his nickname now. I guess I'll stick with Little Guy for him and call the baby Littlest Guy (which I'm sure he will LOVE when he is older).

Anyway, it will be interesting to see if he has any food allergies. I've talked to other moms with 3 kids and there are at least 2 families where one of the 3 kids dodged the food allergy bullet. Time will tell for Littlest Guy.

My mini-social experiment

Tonight is the Fun Fair at Big Guy's school. I decided that since I have some more time (being home on maternity leave) I would bake some allergen-free treats for the cake walk.

I made the Cherrybrook Kitchen chocolate cupcakes with Pillsbury frosting (which only contains soy) ....


and dairy-free rice krispie treats with the Miracle Margarine (aka Fleischmann’s Unsalted Margarine, which has no dairy in it.)


As you can see, the treats are clearly marked regarding what allergens they do and do not contain. I am interested to see if ...

(1) parents with kids with food allergies even go to the cake walk (I know I didn't last year because I assumed there would be nothing there that Big Guy could eat)
(2) parents with kids with food allergies are comfortable taking food another parent made
(3) kids without allergies will NOT eat these because they think they will taste gross (which they don't, they are yummy).

So that is why I consider this donation to be a mini-social experiment. The mom running the cake walk has two kids with food allergies, so she'll be paying attention to how this all goes down.

Stay tuned!!

A nod to the difficulties of eating out

I'm a little late posting this, but I thought it was really cool to see a local restaurant acknowledging the difficulties eating out with food allergies. I've blogged about this before and I know other people have too.

I don't think a 5 year old and 3 year old would really dig this posh restaurant, so I hope family-style restaurants consider doing the same thing. It would be so cool to be able to order ANYTHING off the menu at a restaurant, or at least have it CLEARLY marked so we'd know what we could get AND actually have the food contain what the server says it does (or does not).

Here is another idea .... Can you imagine how cool it would be if underneath the description of the food on a menu there was a list of allergens (like we get on food labels) ... for example:

Chicken Fingers Allergens: wheat, soy, egg, dairy

Oh, and it should be in plain English, like that, not "casein, whey, etc."

Is that really so hard??

Wow, what a dream!!

Photo Essay ... enjoying the sun and water

As promised here are the photos from our trip to Florida. We had SO much fun. While today, as I post these, it's pouring rain. Sigh.

Travel tip: Note from the doctor

We recently went to Florida for a family vacation and had a wonderful time. (See photos below!)

As all of you know, traveling with the allergic "rug rats" adds a whole 'nother dimension to getting prepared. Since we went back to an area we had been before I knew there were health food stores nearby if the main grocery stores didn't care some of the products the boys like.

But still I decided to bring the Tofutti soy cheese they like so much since I have a hard time finding it here. I actually brought 2 kinds of cheese -- the soy American slices and the soy cream cheese. I carried both on board so they could eat it en route and so I could keep it cold. I was a little worried about the soy cheese because it could be considered a liquid and is more than 3 ounces. Sure enough, when we went through security they saw the rule-breaking cheese in the x-ray machine and asked us about it. My husband immediately said, "go ahead, throw it out." I immediately started explaining "how my little one has all kinds of food allergies and we can't get that cheese anywhere, blah blah blah."

Now, let me say if there had been a big line at security or we were running late, I would have sacrificed the cheese too, but that was NOT the case. The nice lady from the TSA told me that I should have a note from the doctor re: his food allergies and then they could let it through. (who knew!?!) Instead I got to speak to her supervisor. He was a nice 24-year old kid who looked at me and the soy cheese and said we could take it through. Hurrah!

So, lesson learned: BRING A NOTE FROM YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT YOUR KID'S ALLERGIES WHEN YOU TRAVEL.

Now, on to the fun stuff .... photos! The boys had a great time fishing with their dad, enjoying the beach and the pool.

OKAY, I can't add my photos :-( ... I get the error message below. It happens whether I am in IE or Firefox. I did report it to Blogger and will try again later. So, stay tuned for photos.

Describe what you were doing when you got this error.
Provide the following error code and additional information.

bX-qon7g9

O'Soy is Okay ... I think

As I said in my last post, I couldn't tell if it was safe for Little Guy to eat O'Soy yogurt any more. I did email Stonyfield Farm to get more information on whether the yogurt now contains dairy and they sent me the following response.

Hello,

Thanks for contacting us! We always welcome comments and questions from our yogurt lovers, and we’re grateful when someone takes the time to tell us what they think of our company and products.

To answer your question regarding whether O’Soy is completely dairy free, the O'Soy may contain traces due to shared equipment, but it also may contain traces due to the fact that some of the cultures used are dairy based. A small amount of cultures are initially used in a very tiny dairy base and then grown into the billions. If any dairy is present, it is in a minuscule amount. The cultures will turn the remaining amount into lactic acid.

Our old packaging stated that trace amounts maybe present, then updated the statement to be more accurate. The formula has not changed, but if there are any dairy concerns, it is best to consult with your physician. If you're highly allergic to dairy we do not recommend usage.

We are passionately committed to producing the best tasting, healthiest yogurts available, and trying to do some good in the world while we’re at it. Please visit our web site at Stonyfield.com to learn more.

Sincerely,

The folks at Stonyfield Farm

I consider this a very nice and fairly complete response. So, thanks folks at Stonyfield Farm! I think that since Little Guy is not SO allergic that he can't breath if he has dairy, I will give O'Soy another chance. I am sure he had it before and we never had any issues, so since the recipe hasn't changed, I think he'll be okay.

And thanks to all of you who commented!!

O'Soy -- what's going on?

O'Soy and Silk yogurt had been staples in our house. The boys LOVE soy yogurt. But recently, my husband called me from the grocery store and told me that the O'Soy yogurt said it contained active milk cultures. So, we stopped buying O'Soy. This is a real bummer! 50% of the market taken away from me (or rather from Little Guy since he is really the one that has to avoid ALL dairy still).

I went to the O'Soy web site to see if I could find more information on it, but I couldn't. If anyone else has any info, please let me know.

And for all of you who accepted my challenge several months ago to comment on the anniversary of my blog .... THANK YOU! It was wonderful to see so many comments. And to all of my friends who have personally told me to get my butt back to blogging and they miss me in the "blogosphere"... THANK YOU!

Happy Blogiversary

"He Can't Eat That" is ONE year old. I can hardly believe it!!! It seems like just yesterday I wrote "Hello." And while sometimes (okay, lots of times), I've been remiss in writing, I have REALLY enjoyed this experience.

I definitely met the goal I set for myself, "to connect with other parents who also have kids with food allergies. I'd like to share what has worked for me and I'd like to hear other people's stories when they have had to tell someone "he can't eat that!"

It has been so heartwarming and energizing to meet so many other parents though this blog and blogging in general.

As part of my blogiversary, I would like to challenge any and ALL readers to post a comment!! I am asking all the lurkers (maybe there are only 1 or 2), but anyone to -- as they say in hide-and-seek -- come out, come out wherever you are!!!

If you have never posted a comment, just click Comments and you can fill out an online form. When asked to pick an identify, you can choose Anonymous if you don't want to fill out an account.

I think the most comments ANY post I put up was 6. So, help me out friends .... let's get that number up!

I survived a year. I made friends. I found out Little Guy CAN eat wheat. I dealt with hives and "throw-ups." I started posting photos. I met a lot of supportive folks who love their kids and are dealing with similar issues. Or met other people who can relate on other levels.

So, give out a shout!!

Thanks!!

Anne D

School Update and Question

Big Guy has been in kindergarten for nearly two months now. We haven't had any food-related problems. I did volunteer to help out in class the day they made "Bernie Bears" out of biscuit dough. I looked at the ingredients and made sure it would be okay for him to eat the project.

There has been one birthday party in school already. Mrs. C. (his teacher) followed our process perfectly and gave Big Guy a treat from his treat box, even though Big Guy tired to talk her into calling me to check on the ingredients of the birthday treats.

And there has been one field trip. Again, the teacher and nurse were great. Mrs. C. talked to me ahead of time to make sure I would bring the epi-pen to the trip. (I volunteered to go with the class.) AND the nurse called me at home to find out if I would bring his medicine or if she should send it with the teacher. So, they definitely had it covered. Luckily there wasn't anything at the pumpkin farm that was an issue for him, but you NEVER know.

Next step is the HALLOWEEN PARTY! Again, I will volunteer at it. (Looks like another unintended advantage of food allergies is getting to be REALLY involved in your child's class.) I talked to the room mother to find out what food/treat project they were planning for the party and she said they were going to decorate store bought sugar cookies. So, I told her I would find one that would be okay for Big Guy to eat too.

Any ideas?

So, overall kindergarten is going great for Big Guy. Whew. Happiness is NOT getting a call from school to tell you that your son is heaving his guts out and breaking out in hives.

The latest advance in Benadryl

I love when a new product comes out that REALLY meets your needs and makes you life easier. It seems like so often in life there are things out there that seem to be especially made to add work and irritation to your life. So, when something comes along that actually helps you, I get happy.

Have you seen this? Single-serving Benadryl spoons. LOVE it!!! (I am such a nerd.)

The leaky sticky bottle of Benadryl in a zip-lock bag in my "diaper" bag is a thing of the past. Now, I can toss a couple of these single-servings in my bag or purse and be prepared. I never did understand why the child-proof cap on the Benadryl couldn't do the job of keeping all the liquid in there, but oh well.

Thank you researcher or marketing genius who came up with this idea. THANK YOU!!!!

And if you'd like to read another homage to Benadryl, check out Rational Jenn's blog. Or to get tips on how to put together your "go" kit for a child with allergies (including, of course, Benadryl!) check out No Whey, Mama's post "Allergy Kits, or I'm not a doctor; Don't Sue Me"

Lists and Resources for the Season

Halloween. A big holiday for kids and a stressful one for those of us loving kids with allergies.

Lots of parents are blogging about how to deal with this holiday--one where "poison" is literally pushed onto your child at every turn. I blogged about it last year. Oh, and here is a photo of the kids from Halloween last year. (I can't resist the photo!)


I LOVE lists. Here is one on safe treats for your kids, including links to websites with more information.

This post talks about the options you can take to deal with the "poison" candy that your child receives. I go with the "Fair Trade" policy ... the candy I buy to give the kids that trick-or-treat at my house is a variety of "safe" candy for my boys and I let them choose from those when we get home. Jeez, I think I STILL have some from last year.

So, any other stories or tips as we all get ready for this BIG holiday?!

I Heart Jim

WARNING: A non food-allergy post .....

Just have to share what a dork I am. The Office will be on soon and I can't WAIT! This season has already been hilarious. I feel so lucky that we got 2 one-hour episodes and ANOTHER one tonight!

And I found their web site today while I was bored at my office. With pages like this on it. I want to work at Dunder Mifflin too! Looks like they have lots of openings.

And this is the shirt I want ....

And I think I have to get this one for my husband ...

He is hooked too. Last week he watched it on Thursday while I was out, Friday night with me, and Saturday with our friends. And he laughed his ass off every time!

Oops, gotta get the boys to bed so I can watched it on TIVO.

Need Carmel Apple Recipe

Remember these? Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Since having the boys, I have steered clear of any kind of caramel apples. The ones that are already made up at the grocery store always say they could contain nuts (even if they are the plain kind), so I don't get those.

But this time of year, I WANT one. Sarah blogged about Fall at No Whey, Mama. And I too want to eat food for the season.

When I was a kid, we got a bag full of caramels (the bag with the sticks in it), melted down the caramels and stuck the apples in the pan. But I am pretty sure that all those caramel candies have milk in them, right?

So, has anyone out there made dairy-free caramel apples? My kids LOVE apples and anything sweet, so I'm SURE they would be a big hit at our house.

I did find a recipe online that only has brown sugar, butter (I could use non-dairy margarine), and water. Has anyone else tried these? Are they any good? Help me out, please!!!

Safe Sugar Cookies ... yummm

Earlier this week a couple of our friends came over for the day. My friend and I are going to start doing more kid-exchanges ... I watch her kids on school holidays (like Monday) while she works and she will watch my kids on a day when I have to go out of town for work (a day I normally am off).

Anyway, the kids are the same ages as Big Guy and Little Guy, so they have lots of fun together.
I decided it would be fun to do a baking project with the kids since I know I have the right "safe" ingredients here at home. Whereas when she has the boys it will be harder to find non-allergy foods for a food project. Not that she doesn't' try! She's the one who made rice krispy treats for the boys at her daughter's party in Miracle Margarine.

So, I used Cherrybrook Kitchen's Sugar Cookies mix and Pillsbury frosting (dairy-free, unlike some other frostings) AND Halloween decorations. See how much fun the kids had decorating the cookies ....

(Oh and NO teasing about the newspapers on the counter. Yes, I am anal about getting the place too messy.)

and eating the cookies!

They were very easy to make -- yeah! The little guys could even roll the dough themselves. And the decorating was lots of fun. A successful (and safe) baking project.

I'm no Giada, but ...

I may not be the queen of italian cuisine, who also happens to be HOT (at least according to my husband), but I CAN make spaghetti and meatballs.

Homemade, you might ask? Hell no. But they are quick and tasty and I even put the cooked pasta BACK in the pan with the sauce and meat before I served them ... to me this is a very gourmet trick. You see, when I was growing up my mom used to pour the sauce and meatballs on top of the noodles on the plate (see! they were even called "noodles" back then, not "pasta").

Anyway, the meatballs come from one of my favorite stores, Trader Joes. They have two kinds that Big Guy and Little Guy will devour: party meatballs and turkey meatballs. Neither one has any dairy, cheese or eggs in them -- which can be difficult to find in pre-made meatballs.

So, grab a bag, enjoy and don't give that size 2 chef another thought.