Parents' nuggets of wisdom

Mommy knows best…

Anu Rao

Mommy know best?! Oh yes! 🙂
In my opinion, managing multiple food allergies is part intuitive and part learned. The learning part – other moms (and to give credit where due, the occasional dad too!) in similar situations have given me awesome tips on a myriad of issues…thriving in the school system, handling social and emotional situations, new products available, alternative sources of nutrition and so much more. One such invaluable tip I received long back…a dairy-free diet for a 1 year old gave me nightmares about calcium deficiency till I remembered that as a kid, my mom would feed us Ragi, a nutritious grain commonly used in Southern India. Its biggest strength from my point of view – it is a gold mine of Calcium. However, till I could provide Ragi’s English equivalent name neither my allergist nor FAAN (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network), could give me their input on if it was safe to try for a child with multiple food allergies. Even ‘googling’ did not help 🙂 Then a friend who had kids with nut allergies mentioned in casual conversation that it is called red millet. As it turned out, my son could have it – lucky us!
So, this section is dedicated to parents/ caregivers of children with food allergies from whom I have learnt so much. In each post, I will bring interviews with different parents/caregivers and their unique way of handling this challenge and useful things they have learnt along the way.
My first interview – with a beautiful woman and a dynamic professional. She is also mom to a lively and bright 9 year old girl with severe cashew nut and pistachio allergies. Thanks for sharing your story dear friend…
On a visit to India when this young girl was less than 2, the child had a small bite of a dessert made entirely from cashew nuts. Within minutes she broke into hives and started having projectile vomiting. I can only imagine the terror that would have struck the mom’s heart at that moment. Fortunately for the child a medical student was at home and had the presence of mind to immediately give Benadryl (panacea of all food allergy evils) and remove all the food particles still in the child’s mouth.  Since then the mother stopped feeding all foods that could potentially contain nuts till she could meet an allergist back home in the United States. Tests revealed a high allergy to cashew nut and a medium allergy to pistachios.
The allergist told her that the numbers were so high that the chances her kid would outgrow the nut allergy was low but if she managed to keep the child completey nut-free, the child’s intensity of allergy may come down over time.
Rarely  have I seen a mom embrace this challenge so completely. She swore that she would keep her child’s environment as nut-free as humanly possible. So, began mom’s journey to keep her little girl safe…all nut products in the house were discarded and every item brought into the house was produced in a nut-free facilty. But, how did she handle challenges that were beyond her complete control…
Family and social circle:
Most of her family and closest friends were extremely understanding but as happens with most of us there were some who just dint get the gravity of a severe food allergy. With a tear in her eye, she recalls many a party hosted by close family members (some of them doctors themselves), where she had to stand outside with her little one because there were bowls of nuts carelessely lying around everywhere. To maintain amicable family ties, she continued attending such parties though the safety of her child was jeopardized. Sense dawned when her colleague made a profound remark, ‘You are the only one who can stand up for your kids and you should.’ From that moment on she realized that her daughter came first and followed a few simple steps:
1) Had an honest discussion with her friends and family members who just dint ‘get it’. If they still chose not to understand, she stopped socializing with them or ensured that the social meet was at her place where all the food was safe. She did lose friends along the way but were they even friends in the first place?!?
2) Changed her socializing style to mostly one-on-one meet-ups with people who  understood her predicament.
3) Started focussing on quality family time.                                                      4) She had interesting input on how she helped her husband become a caretaker. It was hard for him because as the youngest child in his family, he was used to being taken care of and not the other way around 🙂 He understood that she was not being paranoid but careful. But to help him ‘get’ how hard it was to be constantly vigilant – she left the dad in charge of his little girl alone once in a while so, he learnt to take care of her. She also had the allergist explain to him at length that he should support her in the care of their daughter.  
School:                                                                                                          Aah – scary to leave our kids alone amidst potential bullies and without the personalized care they get at home! With a 6-year old about to enter the gigantic public school sytem – her input was invaluable to me:
1) Her first step was to meet with the principal of the school who explained in detail the facilties available in the school including nut-free tables, teachers trained in epipen (epinephrine shot) usage and their strict anti-bullying policies.
2) She has also kept close contact – through emails and personal meetings with teachers. This has helped the teachers ensure the child’s safety especially during class parties et al. This has not always been easy because some teachers did have a know-it-all attitude and found her vigliance extremely annoying. So – all you moms out there…Dont get intimidated. Its your child and you have the right to keep him/her safe.
3) This mom has ensured that any foods used in the class like jelly beans, dried beans, pasta, cereal etc. as counters for math,  articles for art projects etc, in manufactured in nut-free facilities. Now that’s what I call a vigilant mom!!
4) Became an active part volunteer so she could be there for all class celebrations and help the teacher keep the parties allergy-friendly.
5) She has taken jaw-dropping measures to ensure her child safety and also does not feel any different from her classmates:

  • She often offers to bring the class treats so that all the children eat the same thing.
  • At the school food table she along with other moms having kids with food allergies have made sure that the first few items are allergy friendly so all the kids can join the same line but leave the line once the other items start. So all the kids feel socially included 🙂
  • When her daughter was in Kindergarten, she was the only one sitting at the nut-free table which was traumatic for the little girl. So, this amazing mom would take her lunch break at the nut-free table with her daughter. Dont know many moms who would do that. In fact, it dint even strike me till she mentioned it.

Eating out:
She tries to cook at home as much as possible where she can be 100% sure of zero cross-contamination and the ingredients that go into the dish. However when she does dine out on occasion:                                                1) She always calls in advance to ensure that the restaurant has some safe choices for her daughter.
2) Ensures that the restaurant follows safe practices to avoid cross-contamination.
3) When dining abroad she tries to stick to known chains whose food practices she is aware of like Pizza Hut and McDonalds.
4) Some restaurants and cusines that she has found to be accomadating and allergy friendly: Romano’s Macaroni Grill, Olive Garden, California Pizza Kitchen and restaurants serving Mexican Food.
5) Cuisines highly likely to be unsafe: Indian, Thai, Chinese, Lebanese – nuts often form a hidden ingredient in many of their dishes.
6) Nut-free bakeries she highly recommends in the Michigan, US area: Bake AStation , Bake Station Too and The Pastry Palace
Explaining to the child:
1) She has taught her now 9 year how to always be careful when eating including ensuring that food crumbs from her neighbor’s lunch does not fall in her lunch tray at the lunch table.
2) She herself has stopped eating all nuts and has told her child that she is allergic to them too.  So, the child feels that she is not alone in this struggle.
All the hard work is slowly paying off..7 years after the struggle began, this sweet little girl has outgrown her pistachio allergy and her cashew nut allergy has also come down significantly. Mom says with a wistful smile, ‘I dont want to ever re-introduce nuts to my daughter. It is not that important to eat nuts.I just want her to outgrow it so an accidental exposure will not harm her.’ She also wonders if her eating a lot of nuts during pregnancy contributed to it because there is no history of food allergies in the entire family.
In all this her objective has been to help her daughter be safe and not feel that she is different in any way. Guess who has helped her all through the way in ensuring that?! Her mom and the little girl’s grammy – of course 🙂
Moms rock…

Useful Links & Articles

New Fountain of Vitality

Anu Rao

A few months back – I had to bid good bye to one of my favorite health food stores in New Jersey, ‘Fountain of Vitality’. With 3 branches across the state, this chain boasted a great selection of allergy friendly foods. Despite being much smaller than a Whole Foods or Wegman’s, I could always find things for my son that I would not find anywhere else. Imagine my dismay when the owners declared bankruptcy and the bank took over all the stores. Yes – I did shed a few tears that day as did many of their fans on Facebook 🙂
Aah – the joy when a few weeks back I saw the doors of the Warren, NJ branch of ‘Fountain of Vitality’ open again. Ridiculously excited – I ran in and what a pleasant surprise to see the same sales person with her ever-smiling face and helpful attitude. We smiled like long-lost buddies as she introduced me to the new owner, Mr. Farooq of the now aptly named store, ‘New Fountain of Vitality’! Here is how the story unfolded…Mr. Farooq was associated with one of the Fountain of Vitality stores. When the owners declared bankruptcy, Mr. Farouq realising the value of such a valuable chain bought the Warren store from the bank and brought back some of the original sales staff. Smart move because the staff of this chain were one of its greater assets. They were very well informed and on-top of things if I made any special requests like ordering out of stock items. What a joy it was to shop again at my favorite haunt and I again made great allergy-friendly finds for my soon to be, 6-year old bundle of vitality.
Thank you Mr. Farooq for keeping the Fountain flowing…

Store Address:

New Fountain of Vitality
Pheasant Run Mall
100  Mountain Blvd. Ext.
Warren, NJ 07059
(732) 469-0088

Ingredient

Soy Lecithin – allergenic or not?!

Anu Rao

Soy Lecithin – what is it? Why is it there in almost every other processed food item?! That is the most baffling predicament that faces most that  have a soy allergy. I had never heard of it until my son was diagnosed with a  soy allergy. When it was time for him to start on rice cereal at 6 months of age, I could not easily find a single brand that did not have the ominous ‘soy lecithin’. Naah – not even the so-called baby-friendly ‘Gerber’ 😦 Those were dark days when I felt that my son would not be able to have even a spoon of rice till I came across Beechnut Rice Cereal. That was the only brand that was easily available and safe – yes, it did not have soy lecithin!
Here is a twist in the story…I switched allergists when my son was a little over 1. The new doctor said that my son would probably be okay even if I gave him foods with soy lecithin in it. Relief…he was okay with products containing soy lecithin! Huh – really…why is that?! As it happens, a majority of people allergic to soy are allergic to the protein component of soy. Lecithin, on the other hand is a fatty substance occurring in plant and animal tissues. Soy lecithin, is a by product of soybean oil production. The allergenic potential of soy lecithin is largely based on processing techniques and the amount of protein remaining in the final product. A majority of soy lecithin used in food products is derived from refined soybean oil that has been processed using the hot-solvent extraction technique, that eliminates most, if not all, allergenic proteins. Hence, soy lecithin is ‘usually’ well tolerated by most people allergic to soy. So, if you have a soy allergy, talk to your allergist and be aware of how your body reacts when you have anything that has soy lecithin in it.
All that sounds great but am sure many of you are curious – why is soy lecithin used so widely. Well, it’s most popular use is as an emulsifier. Now what does that  fancy word help with?! Hmm – emulsifiers give a consistent texture to creamy  products, promotes solidity in margarine and prevents it from splattering when shallow frying, prevents cocoa and cocoa butter from separating in chocolates, increases shelf life, improves the baking process and much more! Little wonder they are used all over the place 🙂 But, why not any lecithin – why specifically soy lecithin? Well, that is pure economics. Soy is one of the cheapest crops in the United States – that makes soybean oil and soy lecithin relatively inexpensive. Good news – in recent years there has been a shift to other sources of lecithin, most importantly soy lecithin in part due to the increase in soy allergy. So, someone out there is listening to us…
The following links are very useful if you want to know further about this omnipresent ingredient:
– http://www.fooducate.com/blog/2009/07/07/what-is-soy-lecithin-and-why-is-it-found-in-so-many-products/
– http://www.soyconnection.com/soyfoods/pdf/Soy-Lecithin-Fact-Sheet.pdf
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy_lecithin

Recipes

‘Lentil Bites’ – allergy-friendly protein punch!

Anu Rao

I have been feeling like a kid in a candy store all week. In my quest for allergy friendly dishes through the lanes of international cusine, I came across some amazing dishes from the state of Gujarat in western India. Without any substitutions – so many of their dishes are naturally allergy friendly and high on nutrition. At such moments I am reminded of a line from the song  – I hope you dance…’Promise me that you will give faith a fighting chance.’ To thrive with food allergies, one must always keep this song very close to their heart 🙂

‘Lentil bites’  – mmmm’ilicious’…what more can I say 🙂 The essential ingredient is mung beans! This bean has always been one of my favorites – high in protein, fiber, essential vitamins and minerals, low fat but still manages to feel light on the stomach…go figure! 

The following measure will yield approximately 75 bite sized pieces. Ideal as finger food for a small group of 6 – 8 people.

Ingredients:
1. 1 cup  split, husked mung bean (available at stores like Whole Foods and also in regular grocery stores in the International Foods aisle)

2.  1 tbsp. Eno’s fruit salt (available in Indian grocery stores) : This ingredient is optional
3.  Salt and pepper to taste
4.  ½ cup of vegetables like grated carrot, finely chopped fresh spinach
5. ½ tsp mustard seeds (black)
6. ½ tsp.  cumin seeds
7. 2 tsp. oil (any oil like vegetable, corn, canola or olive oil)

Method:
1. Soak the mung bean in 3 cups of water for 4-6 hours. It should be soft to bite. Drain the water.


2. Grind the soaked mung bean to form a coarse batter with about ¼ cup of water.


3. If you have the fruit salt, add it at this point along with the salt  and vegetables and continue with step 5.                                                                                                         4. If you dont have fruit salt, let the batter ferment overnight and then follow the same steps below.
5. To prepare seasoning – heat the oil on medium heat in a small saucepan. Add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds.


6. In about a minute the mustard seeds will crackle. Remove from fire and add the tempering to the ground batter. Be watchful else the seasoning will burn.


7. Mix the batter thoroughly.


7. If you have a steamer, add 2 inches of water to it. and bring it to a boil. A big pot can be used instead of a steamer.


8. Grease a flat stainless steel dish/plate that can go into the steamer and put 1 tsp.  of the ground batter at 1 inch intervals on the plate. Place it carefully inside the steamer.
9. Cover the steamer/ pot and let it steam for 10 minutes.


If you have an idli mould – it can be effectively used for steaming.


Recipes

Potato-peas loaf

Anu Rao

Allergy friendly so often tastes ‘blaah’ or at best ‘just ok’ that this dish took me by surprise – pretty darn yummilicious. A double thumbs-up as an appetizer or a side dish on a fancy dinner table 🙂 The best part is it is so simple to put together – less than half an hour excluding time taken to boil the peas and potatoes. So, here is my modern take on a traditional dish from the western part of India…

Ingredients:
1) 4 large potatoes, boiled (Yukon gold or red potatoes work best)         
2) 1 cup cooked peas
3) 2 tablespoons rice flour (use organic brown rice flour to enhance nutrition)
4) Salt and pepper to taste
5) Oil to grease the baking tray  (any oil is suitable)

Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 400 degree F.
2) Roughly mash the peas in the blender
3) Mash the potatoes roughly and mix in the mashed peas, rice flour, salt and pepper well.
4) Grease a standard 9″ bread loaf pan.
5) Press the mixture into the baking tray and lightly brush the top with oil.

6) Bake for 20 – 25 minutes till it is golden brown around the edges and crisp.

 
7) Cut into bite-sized pieces and serve with salsa or a dollop of dairy-free butter on top 🙂

Useful Links & Articles

Food allergies – social dilemma?!

Anu Rao

Methinks, a tongue in cheek approach to one’s food allergies makes it way easier to handle social stresses. Aah – those moments when I am subjected to annoyed stares if I make the severe faux pas of asking more than once if a slice of cake has nuts in it or request for special food arrangements for my son so he can be safe. The challenge becomes bigger when we travel abroad to places where food allergies are unheard of. Case in point – India! In such places people have a bemused, indulgent approach 🙂 Many look at me…’the overprotective mom from the overly sanitary US environment’. Hard to  explain to them that food allergies are as real as any other physical ailment even though the symptoms manifest themselves only when one ingests something the body cannot handle. That means, food allergy sufferers have to be careful 24/7. Telling people that the wrong food might cause anaphylactic shock and sure death if a dose of epinephrine is not given with 5 minutes just makes me look ‘paranoid’ and I must add – most people don’t even believe me. For most a food allergy is still just a rash or an itch which food allergy sufferers should learn to tolerate rather than make a hue and cry about it – oh yes!

That’s why the recent case of parents in a Florida school staging a protest because the school is taking the required measures to keep children with severe food allergies safe comes as no surprise. CNN has a very compelling report titled ‘Parents fight school’s peanut policy‘. I can only imagine the trauma kids with food allergies and their parents must be going through given such an environment. A must read for all allergy sufferes and care givers. Helps us understand that we not only have to be careful about what we eat, we also have to be prepared for a lot of resentment from some in the larger society.

Makes me wonder – what is the best approach when trying to keep kids with food allergies safe…a gentle, non-confrontational but firm approach or, a strict, up-in-arms approach. Or, does the answer lie somewhere along the curve?!

Uncategorized

Nice to be mentioned…

Anu Rao

Blogs continue to disseminate relevant information in large part when other good websites and bloggers cite them. I owe the sustenance of my blog due to mentions by many fellow bloggers both in the field of food allergies and related fields…thank you!
 

1) Enjoy Life Foods Blog: It is a privilege to be a part of the blog roll of one of the foremost companies, making great food products for those suffering from all the top 8 food allergies, ‘Enjoy Life Foods’.

2) BeAllergyWise.com: Thank you Monique for a mention in your article ‘Multiple Food Allergies Complicate Life’. She has this to say about my blog… Another site that I like for those of us with multiple allergies is Allergy Foodie. Anu Rao writes about her journey with her son, who was also diagnosed with multiple food allergies. Her son is allergic to all 8 common food allergens! Her passion for good food that is fun means that her blog is full of discussions of ingredients, allergy free eating and good nutrition. (This is a woman after my own heart!)

Be Allergy Wise editor Monique Attinger is someone whose footsteps I am trying to follow – she is a former management consultant and researcher who has abandoned the rat race for the joys of childrearing and writing. Her two children are her inspiration to keep learning as much as possible about allergies – both hers and theirs.

3) Healthcare Technicians: Thank you Heather Trotter for mentioning my blog in your article ‘Who needs wheat anyways? The Top 50 Celiac Blogs’. Heather has this to say about my blog…‘Allergy Foodie – What are the top eight food allergies? Find out through the blog, but more importantly, it includes tips on how to live with each. Gluten free is just one of them.’

Heather Trotter’s blog is a gold mine of information for healthcare technicians and those aspiring to be one.

Useful Links & Articles

Rare Allergies: ‘Mustard’…yes, really!

Anu Rao

On occasion, I have been accused of ‘helicopter parenting’ and even ‘apache’ helicopter parenting by my husband 🙂 However, I met my match a few years back in a Gymboree class where doting moms across the United States try to lay the foundation for ‘awesome’ adults in clueless toddlers! She had a little one who was allergic to peanuts – the lengths she would go to, to ensure that a food item was safe was scary for someone like me who had a child with far more food allergies. Yes – it did make me wonder if I was being a tad careless. However, the difference was probably – she let her anxiety show! That in my book, as a mom to a child with food allergies is a definite no-no. We have to be careful at all times, but cannot let that paralyze our lives by living in constant fear! But, I digress…one day, she told us that her child was severely allergic to ‘mustard’ – yes that very same condiment that is used across the world in various forms – in sandwiches, curries, soups and so much more. It is a hidden element in many dishes and may not even be listed on the ingredient chart because it is one of the many spices and condiments used in minute quantities in dishes. Initially, even someone as aware as me did not believe her and put it down to her being over-cautious. Then, when she told me that her son broke into hives within seconds of a small splatter on his arm – I knew it was very serious and she was fully justified in her caution. Years later I came across Kytriya through my blog who talked about the very same allergy.

Continue reading “Rare Allergies: ‘Mustard’…yes, really!” →

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Gluten-Free ‘Play Dough’ – yeah!

Anu Rao

Aaah – the joy of getting tiny fists into a mass of play dough and punching it into any shape their young hearts desire – priceless! Alas – a forbidden pleasure for children severely allergic to wheat/gluten. When my little one reached the age that he could enjoy play dough, it would break my heart to see him look longingly at other kids in Gymboree play with ‘Play Doh’ in Art class. Equally important was the fine motor skill development that play doh helps with. That’s when I started researching alternative ways of making play dough and one of the recipes that worked was this one…

Gluten-Free Wonder Playdough recipe:

1/2 cup rice flour

1/2 cup corn starch

1/2 cup salt

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 cup hot water

1 tsp. cooking oil

food coloring

1) Mix all ingredients together in saucepan, cook on low heat, stirring occassionally for at least 5 minutes or until it forms a ball.

2) Remove from heat, let cool for 10 minutes. Scoop into a large bowl, add at least 1/2 cup more rice flour, and 1/2 cup more corn starch, knead until well mixed and no longer sticky. Store in airtight container.

3) If it gets to dry, add a few drops of water, If it’s too sticky add more rice flour and corn starch in equal amounts.

If making gluten-free play dough is not your cup of tea, try ‘Coloration Wheat & Gluten-Free Dough’

Gluten-Free Play Dough (picture taken from http://www.discountschoolsupply.com)

Enjoy seeing your little ones discover the joys of pliant dough 🙂

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Birthday Cakes – a pictoblog :-)

Anu Rao

Arjun’s birthday celebrations have transformed my kitchen into a fun cake bake lab – more power to all us moms who have taken on food allergies as a way to explore alterntives! As his 6th birthday draws close, I reflected on the many hits and misses with his birthday cakes through the years…from rock solid, hard to eat cakes to pretty darn amazing 🙂
 
1 Month old: Wonder why exhausted, severely sleep-deprived first time moms find intense pleasure in celebrating  the birth of their angel every month?! That I dint know the first thing about bakinig and even less about cake decorating did not deter me – go figure! A pretty decent regular yellow cake resulted the first month of which a month old Arjun could obviously not take a bite. My monthly celebrations soon came to a grinding halt because Arjun was diagnosed with multiple food allergies and I was yet to figure out alternatives.
 
 
 
1st Month Birthday – a regular yellow cake!
 
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1st Birthday: A cake that he could not eat but surrounded by the love of his grandparents and cousins in India. Lucky for me – he still thought his fingers tasted infinitely better 😛
 
 
Regular White Cake with vanilla frosting and Winnie the Pooh 🙂
 
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2nd Birthday: Now my little one was old enough to want a bite of his own birthday cake 🙂 An “Allergy friendly Chocolate cake with strawberry filling and vanilla frosting” resulted.  It was CherryBrook Kitchen  that came to the rescue with their range of dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, gluten-free cake mixes! 2 layers of gluten free chocolate cake with a layer of strawberry jam in the center. Talk about taking the easy route but hey – it works! Now for the icing on the cake – frost it with store bought vanilla frosting like Duncan Hines vanilla frosting or Cherrybrook Kitchen vanilla frosting or an allergy-friendly home-grown recipe! For the extra touch to personalize the cake with your little one’s favorite theme – balls, cars, trains…fondant is the way to go! Fondant is essentially sugar and coloring hence, allergy friendly with a professional touch. I used readymade fondant made by Kitchen Krafts.
Remember: Even if you bake the cake a day earlier, do not refrigerate else the cake made from this mix becomes scarily hard and crumbly – eww!  Something that our guests and I discovered as we tried hard to cut through the cake 😉
 
 
 
 Beautiful looking chocolate cake but tad too hard to slice through 🙂
 
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3rd Birthday:  “Allergy friendly Chocolate Brownie Train cake decorated with gummy bears and rolled fondant”. Thanks to The Cravings Place  Ooey Gooey Chocolatey Chewy Brownie Mix. Yummilcious and yes…dairy, egg, nut, soy and gluten-free 🙂 Make it your own and very fancy by using an appropriate cake pan that your child loves – at 3, Arjun was all about freight trains. His birthday cake was complete with gummy bear freight and fondant tracks 😀 Allergies does not mean that food should look unappetizing!
 
Chocolate Brownie Train cake… 
 
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 4th Birthday:  Vanilla and Chocolate Brownie sandwich cake with fresh strawberries and vanilla frosting – ‘Cars’. Yet again The Cravings Place create-your-own cake mix and Cherry Brook Kitchen gluten-free chocolate cake mix came to the rescue. Sprinkles and my little’s one’s favorite ‘Cars’ movie characters, McQueen and Sheriff completed the effect 🙂

Vanilla and Chcolate sandwich cake with fresh strawberries in the center!

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5th Birthday: This year wheat was included in his diet so he got to have a customized dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soy-free but made from regular wheat flour! Was he excited to have his very first store made birthday cake  just like other kids or what?! So much for homemade!!! All kids want is what other kids seem to be getting and not something unique 😀 So, it was a vanilla sponge cake with Spongebob plonked right in the center for good effect…



eggless, dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free sponge cake

With his 6th birthday right around the corner wonder what surprises this year will bring…but, we are sure of one thing – it will be tasty, fun and exciting!