November 2010 – Allergy Foodie

Brrr – winter is here – what can be better than a bowl of warm and nourishing lentil soup? Yummy – and yet a simple pleasure like this is denied if one tests positive for lentil allergy. Recently, a reader asked me if there are other kinds of lentils that one could try even if they tested positive for lentil allergy. Although, the allergist is the best person to give a qualified opinion – in my personal experience, the answer is ‘Yes’! At the very least – ‘lentils’ is just one kind of pulse and there are many more in this category that is worth investigating in conjunction with the allergist.

: Pulses

Continue reading “Beyond lentils: allergy friendly ‘Vegetarian Proteins’” →

Dining Out

Emotional Challenges of Holiday Gatherings…

14 Nov 201014 Nov 2010 Anu Rao

Since I became mom, holiday-time socializing has become bitter-sweet. Seeing the wonder of festivals through the eyes of a 5 year old is priceless. But, ensuring that he does not get excluded from enjoying festive foods because of his multiple food allergies is emotionally draining. I spent most of my youth in India and most my adult-life in the US of A. What does that translate into? Our family celebrates all the Indian festivals that begin in late-August and go on till early-November and also celebrates all the festivals in the US – Halloween through New Year 🙂

When Arjun was younger, I would make allergy friendly versions of goodies at home and carry safe food for him to all gatherings. As he is growing up, he has outgrown a few allergies which has made eating out a little easier. However, the challenging part is – though he is aware that he needs to be very careful about what he eats, he is a little boy who wants to feel that he is as normal as the other kids. He understands that he cannot eat everything from the festive spread but he does hope that there are at least a couple of items he can eat. Fortunately for him, most people who have us over go out of their way to ensure that he has something more substantial than chips to eat. Thanks to all of you who are considerate to food allergy sufferers.

Continue reading “Emotional Challenges of Holiday Gatherings…” →

Useful Links & Articles

Is “Fountain of Vitality” history?

11 Nov 201011 Nov 2010 Anu Rao

A tough and stagnant economy has yet another victim…my son’s favorite brand of allergy friendly cheese is Vegan Rella and ‘Fountain of Vitality was the only store that carried it near where I live. Apart from Vegan Rella, this small chain of health food stores carried a very diverse, hard-to-find allergy-friendly foods. It was also one of the few chains which boasted excellent customer service – they were knowledgeable about the products, were prompt about calling me for back-ordered items and took suggestions seriously. Compared to giants like Whole Foods, they still held their own.

Imagine the utter dismay of a mom of a multiple food allergy child when I found this notice on their door today,

“After 35 years in business we are sorry to say that Fresh and Wholesome Foods and Fountain of Vitality are closed. Thank you for your support through all these years. We have enjoyed serving you and will miss you.”

In many of my previous blog posts, I have listed this chain as a great place to buy the reviewed product. Unfortunately, that information is not current anymore.

Here are a couple of links that offer some more information to readers about the future of this great chain of wholesome, allergy-friendly stores:

http://www.nj.com/independentpress/index.ssf/2010/10/ tough_economic_times_forces_fr.html (copy and paste the whole link)

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=122700044455129&id=178294730441#!/pages/Berkeley-Heights-NJ/Fresh-Wholesome-Market/178294730441

Hope this chain gets a buyer who can keep up the tradition of tough-to-find allergy friendly foods backed with customer service which exceeds expectations.