Help young children learn about the foods that they need to avoid, or help classmates understand a child’s allergy with this free coloring page printable.

Download a free  printable coloring page for Dairy Allergies.  Print out, copy, and enjoy!

They say the sunset in the tropics has a flash of green. This smoothie isn’t flashy, but it will get you going in the morning.

1 Cup frozen mango chunks

1 banana

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup coconut milk (soy-free)

1 cup loosely packed fresh spinach leaves

Place all items in the blender.  Use ice crush setting or pulse until frozen fruit is finely chopped, then puree until smooth. Drink immediately.

Help young children learn about the foods that they need to avoid, or help classmates understand a child’s allergy with this free coloring page printable.

Download a .pdf printable coloring page for Egg Allergy.  Print out, copy, and enjoy!

This is a high-protein, high-energy, creamy and delicious smoothie. It’s sweet but not too sweet, and makes a great breakfast. I think Elvis would approve.

1 Tablespoon cocoa powder

4 Tablespoons sunflower seed butter (or substitute another nut butter that is safe for you)

1/2 cup applesauce

1 frozen banana

1/2 – 1 cup water (just enough so that your blender will be able to blend)

Alternate: If you don’t have a frozen banana on hand, substitute a fresh banana and use 1/2 cup of ice cubes and 1/2 cup water

Place all ingredients in blender. Pulse or use ice crush setting to break up frozen pieces and then blend until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Drink immediately.

Yield: About 2 cups.

I recently had the opportunity to be interviewed by Nicole Eredics and Terri Mauro of  The Inclusive Class about food allergy inclusion.  It was an honor to be included in their lineup!

Listen to it online at: Including Children with Food Allergies in the Classroom.

This is a topic I could talk about for much more than 30 minutes, so look for more blog posts to come!

• There is no common definition of food allergy (as opposed to sensitivity or autoimmune disorder) and there should be.
• Despite elimination diets being the main treatment at this point in time, there is only one study of their effectiveness.
• Food allergies affect more than 2 percent but less than 10 percent of population.
• Breastfeeding, hypoallergenic formula, and probiotics can all help allergic infants have fewer symptoms.  Breastfeeding has the strongest effect, and there is a positive effect of maternal dairy product elimination for dairy allergic infants.
• There is no evidence of  any effect of maternal elimination diets during pregnancies.  (So you can stop feeling guilty about that peanut butter fudge ripple ice cream cone you kept craving.)
• The Top 8 Food Allergens = 50 percent of reactions (as opposed to 90 percent, which you will often read). This means people with “weird” allergies, like barley or celery, are a lot less “weird” than their doctors may lead them to believe. 

Chafen JJ, et al. Diagnosing and managing common food allergies: a systematic review. JAMA. 2010 May 12;303(18):1848-56.

Screen shot of the new Ap from Vistadec Inc.

I’ve been wanting this ap to be created for some time.  Now I can’t wait to try it out.

According to the manufacturer, you should be able to scan barcodes using your smartphone camera, and the program will have a personalized allergy alert for you.

It is unclear if the app will search for less common allergens, or only the Top Eight plus sesame.

For more information, see My Food Facts.

(Now if only they could link this to the handheld scanners already in the grocery store…)

A word of caution.  One of the many, many brands was actually given to us by the GI clinic at our local children’s hospital.  The bottle said it was soy free.  The nurse had researched it and called the company who swore that it was soy free.  Gave it to my daughter, she had a reaction.  I called the company.  They swore that their Vitamin E was not based on soy, and after much questioning they gave me the name of the company that supplies their Vitamin E.  Five minutes on google established that the supplier’s Vitamin E was in fact made from soy.   I called the vitamin company back and told them this and they said “Well, we can’t keep track of all the ingredients from all of our suppliers.”  REALLY??  You can’t??

Sometimes no matter how much we research a product, it is not enough.

However, I am happy to report that we’ve found a new allergy free kids vitamin that actually seems to be, well, allergy free.  I can’t guarantee that it will work for everyone, but so far so good with us.  The only problem with them is they have no iron in them.   For that we use Kirkmann capsules — they make tiny, easy to swallow ones that are only 5 mg of iron.

Yummi Bears Organics — free of top 8 allergens, GF/CF, and vegetable based food coloring — may not be appropriate for folks who are allergic to those veggies, but good for kids who are sensitive to dyes.  Best of all — my kid actually likes them!

http://yummibearsorganics.com/

Yummmmm… bacon in salad.  You can feel so virtuous while eating it.

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half

2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed) corn, off the cob

1 Tablespoon minced fresh cilantro (or if you don’t have any, substitute parsley)

5 slices bacon, cooked until crispy and crumbled

juice of 1 lime

1 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons olive oil

a few grinds of black pepper

Toss together all ingredients.  Serve immediately.  Or, if you want to make ahead, toss together and refrigerate everything except the bacon overnight and make and add the bacon before serving.

This is a one-skillet meal that comes together quickly if you have a cooked chicken breast in the fridge.  A weeknight dinner to celebrate spring’s fresh vegetables.

1 Tablespoon olive oil

3 red potatoes, diced

1 spring onion, white and green parts, sliced thinly

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cooked chicken breast, cubed

1 lb asparagus, snapped into 2-inch lengths

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 teaspoon thyme

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in large skillet (I used nonstick, but a well seasoned cast iron pan would also work.)  Add potatoes and spread into an even layer.  Saute until golden around the edges, about 15 minutes.  Stir in white part of onion and garlic.

While the potatoes are frying, prep the vegetables and chicken breast.

Pour 1/4 cup water into the pan and cover with a loose lid.  Allow potatoes to steam for 5 – 10 minutes until tender.  Add chicken, green part of onion, asparagus, lemon juice, and thyme.  Cover again and steam for 3-5 minutes, until chicken is warm through and asparagus is bright green and toothsome.  Add salt and pepper to taste.