Egg-Free Cinnamon Spice Chocolate Chip Pancakes

A few years ago, reeling from the realization that Roo could not and likely never will be able to consume eggs, I couldn't help wallowing in a warm bath of self-pity. No more leisurely mornings at our favorite pancake house. No Christmas morning french toast casserole. No summer strawberry cream cheese brioche bake. No farmers market donuts. No crepes, waffles, breakfast burritos, huevos rancheros or egg sandwiches. What were we going to do with ourselves on weekend mornings?!

Practicing their Cups

Bean sports weekend morning hair like nobody's business, am I right?

Thankfully I've gained a little perspective over the years. I've learned that Roo seems to do just fine with eggs at the table as long as he doesn't personally ingest them. We still don't risk cross contamination by going out for breakfast if we don't have to, but Christmas morning french toast casserole has retained its rightful place in the holiday line-up (thank gawd!). Don't worry. Roo always gets extra bacon. And usually chocolate.

As for the weekend staples, we've been able to adapt much more painlessly than I ever could have imagined. Egg-free pancakes? No problem!

Egg-Free Cinnamon Spice Chocolate Chip Pancakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 & 1/2 tbsp baking powder (yes, tablespoons)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup chocolate chips
butter, maple syrup, whipped cream, powdered sugar, berries, or extra chocolate chips to serve


Start heating a griddle or heavy frying pan over medium heat. Whisk together first 6 ingredients (flour-salt) in a large bowl. Pour the milk and oil into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. A few lumps are fine.

Use a ladle or measuring cup to spoon about 1/4 cup batter onto the griddle (or use a tablespoon to make super-mini pancakes like Mufasa). Scatter a few chocolate chips on top of the wet better. When the surface is dotted with tiny air bubbles, flip the pancakes and cook the other side until golden brown. Serve with butter, syrup, whipped cream, powdered sugar, berries, extra chocolate chips or my favorite - plain.

Beaches Negril Resort Allergy Review

A few weeks ago we embarked on our first international travel since 3 kids and Roo's food allergies joined the family. In case there was any doubt, traveling with food allergies is daunting - nuts nestled  in airplane seat crevices, unfamiliar restaurants, driving 15 miles out of the way in search of a well-stocked grocery store only to discover you made a wrong turn 9 miles back...uh-huh.

Traveling out of the country can feel downright impossible. I'm here to tell you it's not. At least for us, at this point in time, with our current set of allergies (peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, and peaches) we have proved it not only possible, but dare I say...enjoyable.

We selected Beaches Negril Resort and Spa based on several positive reviews we read regarding the handling of food allergies. Beaches touts a no worries to food allergies stance and that's really great except we all know it's a big fat lie. There is always some worry with food allergies. Always. That said, Beaches Resorts have made a commitment to take food allergies seriously and are making a concerted effort to welcome and accommodate guests with special dietary needs. Rock on, Beaches!

We notified the resort several weeks in advance of our visit about Roo's allergies and received an email confirmation that they would be able to accommodate his needs. Upon check-in we reminded the staff of his allergies, which had not been notated anywhere in our reservation but turned out not to be necessary. Within a few minutes, we were meeting with the resort's head chef who gave us a rundown of allergy protocol and assured us that Roo would be able to find safe things to eat throughout the week. Nice, right?

At each resort restaurant we informed our server or a manager that we had food allergies. A few minutes later, a chef would come to our table to discuss safe options. At the buffet style Mill restaurant, a chef was available to walk us through the buffet line pointing out which items were safe and those that weren't. Overall, Roo didn't have problems finding things to eat. Special thanks to Chef Conray who went so far as to prepare delicious egg-free, nut-free, fruit-filled muffins especially for Roo which turned out to be some of the tastiest treats any of us had on the trip. Talk about going the extra mile!

Our beachfront suite was large enough for the five of us and had a mini fridge and microwave. We brought along plenty of safe snacks and microwavable foods just in case but ended up barely using any of it. Best of all, no one ever seemed inconvenienced in the least if we asked to double or triple check to make sure certain items were safe. The kids particularly loved eating at the tappenyaki style Kimono's restaurant one night where our chef was careful to avoid eggs and nuts for us as well as onions, due to another traveler's allergy.

I should point out that while the food is ample and edible, it is not gourmet. I don't know about you but on a trip when I'll be spending 70 percent of the time in my bathing suit, gourmet meals are not a huge priority anyway. 24-hour access to soft-serve ice cream at Sweeties was enough for me, thank you very much. For us, food safety and sustenance were the priorities and Beaches Negril delivered on both accounts.

We tried to be smart at the buffet and avoided areas where there was high potential for cross contamination from peanut-butter, eggs, etc. Roo enjoyed packaged cereal, bacon or sausage, cheese, and fruit for most breakfasts and there were always options available to him at lunch and dinner (pasta, chicken, quesadillas, etc.). 

The Venetian was hands down our best meal of the week though surprisingly it was the least accommodating restaurant we tried in terms of allergies. Our waiter checked with the chef regarding our allergies and we were told he would make spaghetti and meatballs for Roo. Luckily, that's what he wanted anyway but we were not provided any other options. Despite the claims to the contrary, I couldn't get past the notion that there could be egg in the meatballs so Roo skipped the meatballs, ate the pasta, marinara, and extra Parmesan. He was happy and satisfied to the point that the rest of us were able to enjoy dessert - pumpkin doughnuts, chocolate tart, and tiramisu while he sucked on a ring pop I brought along in my purse. 

Looly relaxing at The Venetian

The bottom line is be smart. Be prepared. Be gracious. Notify the resort in advance of your needs. Be specific. Remind, remind, remind - everyone and every time. Bring along several packs of epipens. The resorts are located far from the nearest hospital. Better safe than...well, better safe, okay? Express gratitude and remember names. Don't assume ingredients are the same abroad as they are at home. Bring back-up. We brought an entire suitcase packed with safe foods just in case. We ended up not using most of it, but it was so much more relaxing knowing we had it available if we needed it. 

To be fair, after reading a few complaints from other visitors to Beaches Negril, I concede the following. It's Jamaica. And it's the tropics. There is extreme poverty in many areas. There are bugs. Milk comes in a box and according to Bean tastes different than milk in the US. The driving is chaotic. It's hot and humid. The birds tend to visit the open air restaurants for their breakfast too. All true. But, guys, it's the tropics!

There are enormous sparkly pools, a lazy river and water slides, breathtakingly clear azure seas, the softest coconut white sand that doesn't burn your feet even at high noon, multiple swim-up bars, fruity rum lunch, a warm, gracious, enthusiastic staff to cater to your every whim, palm trees fluttering in the breeze, and smiling, dripping, sun-exhausted kids. Relax and enjoy it.

 

Response from Renee Moilanen

Apparently I was not the only one revved up over Renee Moilanen's recent article: Parents should relax a bit about kids' food allergies. My open letter to the writer saw lots of action yesterday! Thank you for all the love.

For the record, I received a personal response from Renee Moilanen via email. She has also issued a public apology you can read here. In my opinion the apology falls a little short. It's more of an "I'm sorry BUT" rather than a simple "I'm sorry."

In any event, Moilanen is a mom too who I believe genuinely does not wish ill will on any child. And you have to admit, she got us talking.

Open Letter to Renee Moilanen who believes parents should relax a bit about kids' food allergies

If you were on Facebook or Twitter or online at all last week you no doubt had the pleasure of reading the mean girls style sorority rant that was making the rounds. What you might have missed, however, was the food allergy-fueled mommy version.

A few days ago freelance writer and mother, Renee Moilanen published a piece on DailyBreeze.com entitled: Parents Should Relax a Bit About Kids' Food Allergies.

I'll let you take a moment to peruse the article but if you'd rather spare yourself, here's the gist. Ms. Moilanen is dismayed that her non-allergic son had to celebrate his 3rd birthday (in the preschool classroom) with soy ice cream bars due to the allergies of his fellow students. Despite her heroic attempt to bring in a safe treat, one child still ate graham crackers rather than soy ice cream bars, causing her, that is, Moilanen, not the child, immense irritation. Moilanen's personal experience being that she "chose" not to accept her own son's food allergy (he got a rash around his mouth after eating eggs as a baby and now it turns out he can eat them) she feels certain that the vast majority of parents of food allergic children are exaggerating or flat out making up their kids' allergies.

OK. Got that? Good.

Understandably Ms. Moilanen is catching a lot of flack in the comments section of her article and elsewhere around the web. I can't say I disagree with much of the commentary but this woman is, after all, a mother, and I can only assume that the best interest of her child is at the heart of the rhetoric. I've always taken a middle of the road stance when it comes to trying to manage food allergies in schools, but this really got to me. In hopes that it is ignorance rather than malice behind the piece, my open letter to Renee Moilanen follows.

Dear Ms. Moilanen,

Let me begin with an apology. I am sorry that you find food allergies to be inconvenient. Believe me, I can relate. Allergies are no fun.

As a room parent responsible for organizing parties and social events for multiple allergy-infested preschool and elementary classrooms, I understand what an inconvenience food allergies can be. As the mother of children both with and without food allergies and as a compassionate human being, I found your recent piece to be poorly researched, mean-spirited and dangerous.

You wonder, could 20 percent of the children in your son's preschool classroom possibly have true food allergies? My apologies again, but yes, most definitely. Based on your figures 1-2 percent of children have true food allergies (though other studies put the number closer to 8%). I can't help but wonder, are there a lot of white kids in his class? Do you live in an affluent neighborhood? Race and income have both been shown to impact the prevalence of food allergies. Are the preschoolers in his class generally preschool-aged? Yeah, well, that ups the ante too. With a sample size of 15 students, I fear your trusty percentages are going to be hard to enforce.

Caucasians have more allergies than any other race. Of course, my son is half Indian (perhaps you'll hold that against him too, but again, it is yet another physical characteristic over which he has no control) and he still ended up with multiple food allergies despite Asians having the lowest incidence of allergies overall. Maybe this allergy thing doesn't always play by the rules.

Your assertion that parents somehow overreact or worry their children into an allergic state is misinformed and insulting. I will cede the point that death by food allergy is, thankfully, rare. I cannot agree though, that a few days of crippling stomach cramps, bloody stools, skin welts and vomiting are inconsequential medical events to those involved.

Just imagine dropping your child off each and every day for a mandatory play date (aka school) in a building where you knew there was an unsecured loaded gun hidden away on a high closet shelf. What are the chances that your kid is going to stumble upon the gun? Not great. Even if he does find the gun, what are the chances he'll shoot himself with it? Pretty low, I'd say. How about one of his play date buddies? Again, the chances are probably not all that high. Maybe you'll get lucky and he'll just shoot himself in the foot. In a few days he'll be out of the hospital ready for his next play date, right? Wait...not right?

So, would you go so far as to ask the teacher or other parents to secure the weapon even if all the other kiddos liked guns and had undergone appropriate weapons training? Would you skip the play date all together? Or maybe you'd just send your kid in anyway so as not to cause a scene or inconvenience anyone? You tell me because that's the choice I and thousands of other parents make every day when it comes to food allergies, school, and our kids.

Yes, the gun analogy is cliched and extreme but so are many food allergies. Severe does not need to be synonymous with death. The unfortunate truth is that food allergies are unpredictable. Will my child die if he eats an egg-laced cookie? Nope, probably not. But then again, you never know. Every allergic reaction is an individual event. The best predictor is a previous reaction, but again, there are no guarantees.

I guess what I'm asking for here is a little compassion or at least open-mindedness when it comes to allergies, because it is hard. It is so gut-wrenchingly hard to give a quick kiss and walk away from your child not knowing if today is the day the dreaded phone call is going to come. In my experience, kids are inherently understanding and supportive when it comes to allergies in the classroom. It's only when the parents get involved that things start to get ugly. Knowing that other parents are not only unsympathetic but actively annoyed that my son might bring along his own safe snack is especially excruciating. Talk about setting the scene for bullying.

I don't have all the answers regarding the handling of food allergies in schools, but neither do you.
Once you've attended the allergy appointments, held a squirming toddler for countless prick tests and patch tests, and cleared your schedule for day-long administration of flu shots, once you have refilled dozens of prescriptions for epi-pens and spent weekends huddled around the toilet rubbing your son's back as he shivers and retches in pain caused by a piece of "egg-free" cornbread that turned out not to be, then I'll be ready to listen to your advice on handling my kid's allergies. 

Until then, there is absolutely no good that can come from judging the parenting strategies of allergic families any more than can come from my judgement that you're raising your son in an uncompassionate junk food-riddled environment. How about I allow that you're competent enough to feed your child and you admit that you might not know everything there is to know about feeding mine.

After all, we're the parents.

Sincerely,
Amy Moriarta

Egg-Free, Nut-Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Sunflower Seed Cookies

Almost 15 years ago (how did that happen?!) my sister introduced us to her famous oatmeal, chocolate chip, pecan cookies. We were never the same. Mufasa immediately proclaimed them to be the only cookies on earth worth eating. You might have noticed Mufasa makes a lot of proclamations.

Then came Roo. Sweet, clever, cuddly, hilarious, exuberant, sometimes exasperating Roo, complete with a slew food allergies and well, there went our pecan cookies. We've been trying to come to terms with it ever since.

More than the flawless toasty, nutty, chocolatey, brown sugary essence that is everything a cookie should be, it was the texture of those cookies that really got you. They literally burst with chewy oatmeal to satisfy the molars, gooey chocolate for the tongue, and lots and lots of crunchy, salty nuts.

Nuts are a no no here in the KC house these days, but seeds, we really like seeds. Sunflower seeds in particular are a house favorite. Here they work together with rolled oats and chocolate chips to really amp up the texture of my nut-free, egg-free version of the best cookies on earth. Just ask Mufasa.

These are substantial cookies and this, my friends, is no time for restraint. Do not, under any circumstances, skimp on the chocolate chips, oatmeal, or sunflower seeds.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Sunflower Seed Cookies

2 & 1/4 cups all purpose flour (do not sift!)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tsp real vanilla extract
3 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer whisked and well mixed with 4 tbsp water
1 tbsp softened cream cheese
1 & 1/2 cup rolled oats
2 cups chocolate chips (we like big, dark ones like these)
3/4 cup hulled sunflower seeds

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.

In a separate large bowl, beat the butter and sugars until creamy. Add the vanilla, egg replacer mixture, and cream cheese and continue to beat until well combined.

Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, 1/3 at a time, mixing well between additions. Add the oatmeal and mix again. Stir in the chocolate chips and sunflower seeds. Drop by tablespoon onto parchement-lined cookie sheets (or line them with Silpat mats) and bake 9-11 minutes until lovely, fragrant, and golden brown.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Don't forget the milk!

Chocolate Sunbutter Rice Krispies Treats

How do you cheer up a grumpy 6-year-old whose first grade concert got rescheduled because of this:

With these!

While Looly pouted off the cancelled concert, Bean and I got to work. 

Halfway through, Roo jumped in for a little chocolate therapy. 

Chocolate Sunbutter Rice Krispies Treats

2 tbsp butter

10 ounces marshmallows

3 tbsp Sunbutter

6 cups Rice Krispies or other puffed rice cereal

8 ounces chocolate (chopped, or use chocolate chips)

Spray a 9 x 13-inch (or similar size) pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a large pot over low heat. Stir in the marshmallows until melted. Remove the pot from heat and stir in the Sunbutter until it's runny and well integrated with the marshmallow. Finally, stir in the cereal until coated with sticky Sunbuttery marshmallow. Turn the mixture out into the prepared pan. Using a buttered spatula or a sheet of wax paper, press the the mixture into the pan. Let cool.

Microwave the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second intervals, stirring between heating until it's melted. Pour the chocolate over the Rice Krispie treats and spread into an even layer. Allow the chocolate to cool and set. If you're in a hurry and need to garner a smile from an unhappy child sooner rather than later, pop them in the freezer for 10 minutes to set the chocolate.

Use a sharp knife to cut into squares and serve with plenty of cold milk.

And sure enough, look who's smiling again. 

Peanut-Free or Not to Be?

This peanut thing is tricky. For one reason or another, peanuts in schools seem to be getting a lot of folks all worked up these days on both sides of the lunchroom. As mom to a peanut and tree-nut allergic kid, I'm oddly bipartisan on this front.

Obviously it would be safer to rid Roo's world of all traces of nuts starting with his school lunch table. On the other hand, singling out peanuts doesn't really help us much since a stray walnut or trace of almond butter are just as dangerous for him, if not more. 

I also understand the frustration of parents who can't send an easy, reliable, standby sandwich to school with their child. My kids are not always great eaters and if someone tried to tell me I couldn't send chicken to school with Roo, I'd be a little peeved. Then again, if that chicken was going to endanger another student's life, I'm pretty sure Roo could manage with carrot sticks and turkey roll-ups. I'm not messing around with kids dying.

The other aspect of my peanut-free ambivalence is perhaps more controversial. See, I don't trust other parents. I can't. It has taken years of reading labels, calling manufacturers and restaurants, reviewing RAST results, reading allergy studies and meeting with specialists to gain a firm understanding of how to keep my own son safe. That still doesn't qualify me to keep another child, one with different allergies and a different level of severity absolutely safe.

At four years old Roo is pretty well-versed and won't accept anything to eat unless he's verified its safety with an adult. But quite honestly, that's not their job. I don't expect another parent, camp counselor, or teacher to scour labels for filberts or albumin (yup, he's egg-allergic too) and call manufacturers when there's any doubt. It's just not realistic. I will mention, however, we've been very lucky to have a superstar teacher at Bean and Roo's preschool who goes way above and beyond in terms of understanding and accommodating Roo's unique needs.

To me going "peanut-free" at school doesn't mean much. There is still no way to guarantee that Timmy's mom didn't sneak him a peanut butter sandwich, just this once, or that Karen's grandpa didn't realize that the Kitchen Sink cookies from the local bakery contain peanuts. Roo needs to know that unless something has been deemed safe by me, his dad, or another trustworthy adult who has read, reread, and understood his entire allergy protocol, it is not safe. On some level isn't it more dangerous to instill a false sense of security at school when that's not how the rest of the world works? I don't want him thinking that just because he's at the peanut-free table, everything's copacetic.

Now, don't get me wrong. You have no idea the tear it brings to my eye when someone takes the time to find out what works for Roo, then opts for birthday fruit kebabs over cupcakes because they are safe for the whole class. I sincerely appreciate the efforts that so many of our dear friends and family have made over the years...from the first batch of vegan, nut-free sugar cookies my sister sent a few Christmases ago, to the strategically planned family anniversary party at a restaurant that would accommodate Roo's needs. My gratitude is immense.

Clearly food allergies are real and sadly, they're not going away any time soon. I don't know what the right solution is but as we're figuring it out one thing is clear. We're going to need to work together. Allergic kids and their parents deserve an environment in which they're empowered to protect themselves. Epi-pens in every classroom would be a good start, in my opinion. If we can manage defibrillators in public places, a few strategic epi-pen jr. packs placed throughout schools should be doable. Parents of non-allergic kids need to be able to ask questions and feed their families without being attacked and accused.

No matter your stance, many of us are looking at nut-free lunches this coming school year. Be on the lookout soon for posts highlighting the many delicious and varied alternatives to PB and J and peanut butter cookies that our family has grown to know and love.

No Sprinkles on Top

We made frozen bananas this week. They were fun and tasty and overall things were going great until Roo tried a couple of bites...

Exactly two bites in he started complaining that his stomach hurt. Ten seconds later he threw up his  dinner. Don't worry, I haven't lost my mommy vomit mojo. I caught most of it in my bare hands.

Ten seconds after that he was completely fine again and asked for a popsicle. No gagging, no stomach flu, no runny nose, nothing. So, clearly he's reacting to something, right?

This is at least the fifth time he has vomited after eating rainbow sprinkles, which would be incredibly useful information if he hadn't also eaten rainbow sprinkles a hundred other times and not reacted at all. What gives?!

Food dye intolerance? Before I get a verbal pistol whipping on the dangers of food dyes, I realize they are nutritional super-villains but honestly when your kid can't eat a normal egg-laced cookie at a party, sometimes skittles and lollipops are the way to go.

Now we're looking at Betty Crocker versus CK Jimmies (definitely not so good for Roo), comparing ingredient lists and studying up on Blue 1 dye verses Blue 1 Lake. And of course, swearing off sprinkles for a while. Roo is not pleased.

Tuna Tartare Two Ways

We don't eat enough fish. We stopped making it regularly somewhere between the day I wrestled half a filet of lemony whitefish from the cat after Looly chucked it off her highchair tray and the onset of Roo's food allergies.

In any event, Starfish brand fish sticks (don't knock 'em till you've tried 'em) and the occasional salmon fillet round out our current seafood rotation. I've been longing for the return of homemade fish tacos and sauteed scallops and finally decided this week that it's time. Bring on the tuna!

I don't normally advocate lying to kids. My children have a firm understanding of lots of difficult topics...poverty, natural disasters, war, death. They know our beloved cat did not disappear last January to go to live on a farm somewhere. And for the most part, they handle it. But raw fish? Let's just say I didn't send a memo before I put it on their plates.

Tuna Tartare for the Wee Ones (grown-up version appears below)

1/4 pound fresh, high quality tuna steak
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp. canola oil

1. Slice the tuna steak into 1/4-inch cubes and place in a large bowl.
2. Whisk together soy sauce, juice, and oil. Pour over tuna. Marinate in the refrigerator for an hour or more. Serve with rice crackers.

So they didn't embrace their first tartare experience with all the gusto I'd hoped for but miraculously, they each chewed and swallowed an entire quarter inch cube of raw tuna before politely expressing their dissatisfaction - a far cry from the days of "Yuck!" and "Are you trying to kill us?!" All that and no one threw up or even gagged a little bit. That's a victory if I've ever seen one.

Whatever the kids don't finish, just toss into the grown-up version below.

Spicy Tuna Ceviche
adapted slightly from Barefoot Contessa

2 pounds fresh, high quality tuna steaks
1/2 cup olive oil
3 limes, zest and juice
1 tsp. wasabi powder
1 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. Sriracha sauce
1 tsp. coarse salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 cup scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and diced
1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds

1. Dice the tuna steak into 1/4-inch cubes and place in a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, combine oil, lime juice, zest, wasabi powder, soy sauce, Sriracha, salt, cayenne, scallions, onion, and jalepeno. Stir well. Pour over tuna and toss gently to coat. Marinate in the refrigerate for about an hour. Add avocado and toss gently just before serving. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with rice crackers, wonton crisps, tortilla chips, or shovel it into your mouth directly out of the bowl with a fork like me.

Bahama Breeze Fiasco

We spent Memorial Day in Cleveland and overall it was stellar. Bouncy house, swimming pool, sunshine, barbecues, playgrounds, new shoes, a pinata, cocktails, good friends and one bad restaurant experience. Having been on the other side of the food allergy equation, I'm usually willing to cut restaurants some slack. Feigning knowledge, however, is never a good idea when allergies are in play.

Here's a copy of my letter to Bahama Breeze corporate office.

Dear Boss Man (not really his name),

On Saturday, May 26, 2012, my family of five visited Bahama Breeze in Orange Village, OH. My four-year-old son has food allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, and eggs. While we avoided the need for epi-pens and hospital visits, the attention we received in response to his allergies was abysmal.

I know that dealing with food allergies is a nuisance. I have worked in restaurants and am sensitive to the myriad unreasonable requests and demands we customers make.  Still, I wouldn’t be writing this letter if I didn’t sincerely believe it might help protect a future diner.

We purposely dined at an off peak time. I let our server, Tony, know of my son’s allergies immediately and asked if he would mind checking to see if the bowtie pasta from the children’s menu contained egg. Tony informed me that he didn’t need to check because all pasta contains egg. Obviously, as the mother of an egg-allergic child and someone familiar with food preparation, I knew this wasn’t true. I explained that generally only fresh pasta and egg noodles contain eggs, at which point Tony told me that Bahama Breeze makes all of their own pasta. How impressive for a Caribbean-themed family restaurant to make all their own pasta – and bowties at that! Still dubious, I opted not to argue further.

So, we ordered the grilled chicken instead. When I asked Tony to verify that the chicken wasn’t marinated in anything containing nuts or eggs, he told me that the chicken “should be good.” Well, “should be good” isn’t good enough when anaphylaxis is involved so I asked him to please check in the kitchen, but never heard back. When our food arrived the chicken was covered in a glaze. My husband questioned Tony yet again about how the chicken was prepared at which point Tony finally asked another server what was in the glaze. She responded “citrus juices and egg whites.” Thankfully my son hadn’t tasted his food yet. But what if he had? Fifteen minutes later Tony brought us a plain chicken breast but our confidence was shaky.

When we dine out we’ve learned that some restaurants are better equipped than others to deal with food allergies. That’s okay with me. But please have a plan in place even if that plan is to state that you do not accommodate allergy requests. When dodging a bullet, I generally prefer not to tip the shooter.

Thank you for your time.

Cake Pops and Art Cupcakes

Looly turned six last week. Six!

Between her school celebration cake pops, chocolate dipped pretzel rods for Roo to take to school so he could participate in the 2 additional school birthday celebrations of the week, and Looly's actual birthday party cupcakes, I was a dipping, frosting, sprinkling fool.

Cake pops are the ideal kid assisted treat. There's plenty of measuring, pouring and mixing, but more importantly, there's cake smashing and mauling, both skills my children excel at. And, they're made of cake. And frosting.

I'm not going to provide a cake pop recipe here because you can really use any cake, frosting, or candy coating you like. The process is what matters. If you want more information, I highly recommend Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes For More than 40 Irresistible Mini Treats by Bakerella.

Carrot cake pops with cream cheese frosting are magical but more often than not, I end up using Cherrybrook Farms cake mix (vanilla or chocolate) because it's nut-free, egg-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, ridiculously easy, and tastes pretty good. There is a wide world beyond allergy-free vanilla and chocolate but I make a lot of cake pops for preschoolers with allergies so...

5 Steps to Cake Pops

1. Bake a cake. Any cake. Cool it. Crumble it into a bowl.
2. Mix in some frosting (homemade, store bought, whatever) until it resembles a sticky cookie dough. Chill for an hour or two.
3. Roll cake-frosting concoction into balls. Chill again for an hour.
4. Melt candy melts or candy coating. Dip lollipop sticks into candy coating and insert about 3/4 of the way into cake pops. Chill again.
5. Finally, dip cake pops into melted candy coating and add sprinkles or decorations before the coating sets. If you want them to stand up like lollipops, use a styrofoam block or cake pop stand to hold them once they are dipped.

After we ate all the cake pops, it was time for artsy cupcakes for Looly's baking-themed art party at Magical Minds art studio. I totally ripped this idea off Pinterest, and I believe All You magazine is the original source, but how freakin' cute are these "paint" cupcakes?

Just be sure to use gel food coloring. The colors become much more vibrant than with liquid.

Happy Food Allergy Awareness Week

And of course, a very Happy Mother's Day too!

In what was to be a most apropos kickoff of Food Allergy Awareness Week, the kiddos (with a little help from Mufasa) prepared me a lovely Mother's Day breakfast.

Yup, that's a sun dried tomato and feta omelet with fresh pico de gallo, berry fruit cup, hot coffee, and they did not overlook my propensity for carbs with a croissant and toast.

Roo chopping feta

Looly slicing kumquats for the fruit salad

Bean cracking eggs for my omelet

Roo's turn for egg-cracking

And then...

The photos don't do the hives justice since when he first started reacting I was much too busy overreacting to snap photos. The single drop of Benadryl we got him to drink did little to remedy the situation since it, along with a cup of freshly chewed fruit salad, ended up all over his shirt. Once I was fairly certain we wouldn't be celebrating Mother's Day in the emergency room, I managed to document the event for the allergist.

In retrospect we should have known better but this was his first time reacting to touching egg. He didn't actually ingest any at all.

Still, despite a few itchy spots, it turned out to be a tremendous Mother's Day. My kids, and their Dad, rock.

So like I said, Happy Mother's Day! And Happy Food Allergy Awareness Week! In our house you can't have one without the other.

Traversing the Restaurant Scene with Food Allergies

I want my kids to see the world before they're too cool to hold my hand. I want them to run their fingers along the weather-pocked stone of the Mayan temples I keep telling them about. I want them to know the sharp sting of black sand on the soles of their feet and the cool melt of ahi on their tongues. They should be sticking their noses into steaming pots of dal in India and sampling nshima in Zambia where their father was born. Our passports are up to date. I even bought a new bathing suit but sadly we won't be boarding an Airbus any time soon. Damn you, food allergies. I want to go on vacation!

OK, so we're not quite ready to tackle international travel yet, but as I mentioned in a previous post, we're inching toward mobility. Over the course of the past four years of dealing with Roo's allergies (now down to eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, beef, and peach) we're starting to get the hang of this eating on the road gig.

First things first. When we go to a restaurant we always have Roo's epi-pens and Benadryl. Always.

We call ahead whenever possible to get a rundown of how the restaurant handles allergies, what food items are safe, and what type of oil they use to fry stuff. We do not call to ask these questions at 7:00 pm on a Saturday night.

Once we get our menus, we ask all of the allergy questions again and compare answers. Often they are not the same as those received on the phone.

We keep an emergency snack bag in the car with a few small items in case we can't find something safe and need to buy ourselves some time. This bag contains fruit snacks, pretzels, and Dum Dum lollipops at a minimum. Bananas and turkey roll-ups do not keep well in the car. 

When someone, say a busy waitress, takes time to find out once and for all if there is egg in the fusilli pasta and returns with the label torn from a box, we do not let this act go unrequited. We are chronic over tippers. This is not a bad thing.

And we're learning to relax.

Eating out with food allergies is a risk but so is everything else worth doing. Every time Roo works his way across the monkey bars I worry that the kid before him had peanut butter on his fingers. Every time Looly goes on a play date I worry that there's an unsecured firearm in the house. Every time Bean opens our back gate on a stormy day I worry a gust of wind is going to smack the iron handle into her teeth. But somehow the monkey bars get crossed, the play date gets played, and the gate gets secured once more.

I guess that's what we do. I can't protect them from everything. For Roo, eating buttered noodles and broccoli from a kids menu is just one of those things.

Tai's Tags

Some time ago, after a particularly intense allergy appointment that involved administering a practice epi-pen into my own thigh repeatedly, followed by counseling on the myriad ways a stray pecan could bring about the demise of my only son, I ordered a medical alert bracelet for Roo.

It has an indestructible canvas band peppered with cheery zoo animals. It features a large oval disc of metal engraved with a list of Roo's allergies, medical conditions, and the phone number to MedicAlert's hotline. It's pretty snazzy. 

The thing is, Roo won't wear it. The wristband is a little wide for his tiny arm. It gets caught on stuff and hinders his wrist motion, not a good thing when learning to write your ABC's. It gets wet every time he washes his hands, takes hours to dry and chafes his sensitive skin.

Then there's me.  I have a hard enough time keeping track of the specialists, therapists, appointments, and prescriptions. The prospect of keeping yet another database up to date with Roo's ever-evolving medical dossier is both unappealing and unlikely. Then, I just can't help thinking that in the heat of the moment, with Roo in the throws of anaphylaxis, do I really want the paramedics to call the 1-800 number on his bracelet to check in on his eosinophil count? Actually, I think I'd rather have them call me. So, no more MedicAlert for us.

Still, I want Roo to have a plan in place when someone offers him food. He is not the most verbal child in the world and tends to flat out refuse any and all food from strangers rather than attempt to explain his allergies. And while I'd much rather him err on the side of caution, it has led to several unfortunate experiences of being excluded from food filled celebrations when the food was in fact safe for him.  So, here's my solution!

Roo will be receiving this necklace for his birthday in a couple of weeks. Bracelets aren't his thing but he loves necklaces. This one was custom engraved by Tai's Tags, a top-notch seller I discovered on Etsy.com. It has his name and a cute graphic on one tag (not shown) and a complete list of his allergies on the other, but I could have chosen anything...our phone number, blood type, whatever. 

There's no itchy band. No 1-800 number. No link to a medical database. But, Roo will be able to show to his teachers, friends, babysitters, or anyone else who offers him a treat a clear, concise list of his allergies. It saves him the daunting task of trying to explain his condition to adults and gives him an excuse to flaunt his cool, personalized dog tag necklace.  He's going to love it!

Reflux too?

The somach flu, sloppy and violent as it was, went as quickly as it came, with Looly its lone victim.  She was a trooper.  Countless hours of PBS, snuggles from Nana and Grampy who were visiting, and a get well soon balloon surely sped along her recovery.  I'm still trying to figure out how Bean didn't succomb, given the sheer number of times she reached her hands into Looly's stainless steel throw up bowl.  Nice.  While Roo struggles, her immune system is ironclad.

Thrilled as I am the Roo didn't get sick, I'm now on a quest to figure out why (why oh why!) he won't stop throwing up.  He's off the suspected allergens (milk, eggs, nuts, beef) and the improvement was been dramatic in the past three months.  He is more active, more comfortable, more enthusiastic about coming to the dining table and generally jollier than he ever was before.  All good, right?  His clean scope in November indicated that he was indeed on the mend.  So why the heck won't he eat, keep his food down, and by all means, gain some weight? 

He ate a great dinner Friday night, drank a super cup of fortified soy formula, got in his pajamas, brushed his teeth, read stories, threw up vast quantities of soy milk, hotdog, veggies, and rice for a few minutes, then was perfectly happy to get his pj's changed and head off to bed.  Repeat the scene Sunday night with chicken, broccoli, and french fries.  I am so frustrated.  Is he still allergic to something or is it *just* gagging from the oral sensory delay? 

Or is it reflux?  He does not seem uncomfortable until the moment before he vomits.  As I'm sure I've made abundantly clear, he does not love to eat, but he does not seem uncomfortable while he's eating anymore either.  In general it's in the evening, after dinner, while drinking or soon after drinking and by some evil twist of fate, he's much more likely to vomit after a good meal than a poor one.  Vomit.  Everywhere.  Then, he's off to get a towel to clean up after himself (breaking my heart), and happy to change his clothes, go play, take a bath, go to bed, or whatever else is planned.  I know it's not a behavioral vomit.  He's not doing it to avoid anything.  Crying makes it worse - or more likely to happen.  A runny nose is our worst enemy (after peanuts and eggs).  I am so confused.  And so tired.  Ugh.

Good News Bad News

The good news is Roo hit the 20 pound mark on the scale Monday night! We've been anticipating this milestone for oh, I don't know, 14 months now, so this was huge. In all fairness, we weighed him at the end of the day, after drinking several ounces of milk, and the scale teetered between 19 pounds 15.5 ounces for several seconds before finally settling at a beautiful, perfectly round 20.00. Still. So proud of the little guy.

Disappointingly, the afterglow was short-lived.  He's throwing up again and needless to say, the 20 pounds are no more.  It started a little over the weekend, a couple of spit up episodes early this week, then a full-fledged vomit last night, again after breakfast today, etc.  So it goes. 

To complicate matters, I can't think of a single new or contaminated food he's eaten lately, but with our infrequent floor sweeping, who knows for sure. He has a runny nose, which tends to make him gag when he eats and drinks or then again, maybe it's the other way around. Perhaps he ate something that's giving him the runny nose. Now the best we can do is wait to see if his eczema flares to verify my hypothesis of an allergen exposure. Good times.

Last but not least, the night waking is intensifying.  Last night he was up often -drinking milk, crying, contorting, and eventually vomiting.  The two of us finally rendezvoused in the guest room for a few hours of unrest.  I can't figure out if it's the recent transition to a toddler bed, a stuffy nose, an irritated esophagus, stomachache, or a combination of everything that's waking him up and making him sick.  Regardless, we are both surly today.