Food prep for Spring Fair

Our family will be attending a spring fair tomorrow,

we attend the same fair every year and try to prepare for it as best we can.

We plan ahead and be very organised to attend and make it is fun and enjoyable for our munchkins, despite the fact that they have food allergies, skin concerns and asthma.

Like most Fairs it has entertainment, rides, sometimes animals, stalls and lots of lots of yummy foods.

The only food that can be purchased safely for our munchkins at this stall is corn on the cob with butter, a lovely snack that they enjoyed last year.

We are hoping this stall is there again this year too.

But there will be so many yummy looking foods to which we will have to explain is a no no and not safe, in order to keep our kids happy, give them a treat and keep them safe we pack all the food with a special twist.

The fair if my memory serves me correctly doesn't sell show bags, but most children would be able to buy hot chips, cake, lollies, a burger and the usual fair foods.

Although I will have to pack my munchkins morning tea to bring I thought it would be nice to pack it in small 'show bag' so that they can also have a special food experience at the fair.

This is what I came up with...

My little Man and Little Miss will both receive their 'showbags' on arriving at the fair.

each 'show bag' contains:

a sticker book

(fairies and transport. we were running out of stickers :P)

two little people cars

(Declan has been asking for cars to play with in the sand and these do the trick,

they will also come in handy when they go for a quick holiday with Nan and Pop next weekend to Ballina to the beach)

Authentic Original french fries

(so they can also eat chip like everyone else, even if they aren't hot)

Lotus organic Banana chips

(from Mrs Flannerys, no preservative's or traces of nuts, the munchkins consider this a special treat)

Artisse organic lolly pop

(free of gluten, wheat, dairy,peanut, soy and gmo)

small sweet William chocolate

(free from peanuts and tree nuts, lactose, cholesterol, animal products, no artificial colours and preservatives and low GI)

This year I have decided to pack a lunch consisting of:

honey sandwiches

cheese sandwiches

small plain yogurt tubs

a small glad snap bag of green seedless grapes

special desert -homemade chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles

small biscuits for a extra snack if needed

I almost always pack too much but better have more than have a child hungry, especially one with allergies...you can't just stop the car or pick something up at a stall that is safe.

Hubby and I have decided to pack our own lunches too so the kids don't have to watch as we eat hot chips or burgers in front of them, plus saving money and being healthy at the same time helps.

We will pack salad sandwiches, grapes and muffin bars for ourselves.

Before we leave in the morning, antihistamines will be given, eczema creams and suncream applied, allergy wrist band on declan, water bottles filled, safe food talk to munchkins whist travelling in the car, medications in the nappy bag checked (epi pens, antihistamine's, creams, thermometer, pain relief) and make sure the wipes container is full to the brim (you can never have too many wipes when allergies are involved) and hopefully we will all enjoy a fun safe day!

talking food with my little man

This was just too cute not to share.
A proud moment where Declan shows that he is becoming more aware about his food allergies and that he does understand.
It's nice to know when they appreciate special home baked treats too :)

Today I handed Declan a homemade honey biscuit topped with chilled chocolate and sprinkles
- a special treat for morning tea.

Declan: "Mummy" (looking at the biscuit)
              "Is this biscuit from a packet?"

Mummy: "No it's not a packet biscuit Declan. Mummy made those special ones just for Declan and   Thalia. They are safe for you."

Declan: "We have to check the packet for the packet ones don't we."

Mummy: "Yes, it's very important to check packets so we can make sure the ones from the shop are safe for you to eat."

Declan: "Yeah, no eggs and nuts. They make me sick!"

Mummy: "Well these ones are very safe, Mummy didn't use eggs or nuts to make them."

Declan: Thank you Mummy, I'm happy it is safe. It's looks yummy!!"

Mummy: "I've very happy that you like the biscuits Declan. You make Mummy very proud when you ask questions about food to check it is safe. When you get older you can help Mummy and Daddy read the packets to check if foods are safe for you to eat.
Your getting very clever!

Declan: Thank you Mummy, I love you (spoken with a mouth full of biscuit and giving mummy cuddles :D)

It's nice to see all the hard work paying off trying to educate him to safely live a allergy life.
Now he has started Sunday school and is attending places with his peers where unsafe food is being eaten, it's very important that Declan knows to always ask about food before touching and eating.

Now that his sister has a Play Kitchen and play foods (safe and unsafe) it's interesting to hear their little conversations and questions when playing about "pretend eggs" and comments like "Thalia, what do we do with eggs and nuts? I think we should put the eggs over here away from the other food so we can keep away".

It makes me happy to see
1. that they are playing nicely together
2. they are enjoying pretend play with the new kitchen and food
3. they both have an understanding of unsafe and safe foods and their allergies
4. they remind each other and others of food issues though both pretend play and real life circumstance's.
5. they are able to learn about allergies through play and enjoy it.

Amen to allergy awareness! :D

Christmas Avent Calender Excitment

 To my delight and surprise while doing my grocery shopping tonight in Aldi I found something that filled me with excitement :)

I picked up a Thomas Christmas Advent Calender thinking "My munchkins would love one of these...I love the idea of advent calenders at Christmas....mmm might have to make up my own as I don't think I will ever find a safe one :(..."
Then as I did a double take at the labels and saw the big words "Nut safety promise" and "Free from Artificial colours and flavours"...
I still wasn't convinced until I flipped the box over and read the ingredients list and disclaimers on the back..

IT WAS SAFE!!!!!!!

I was very quick to grab 2 Thomas Advent calenders to put away for my munchkins for Christmas :D

Thought I'd share my experience so you can do the same for your children if they are able to have kinnerton chocolate......sorry for the munchkins with dairy allergies out there.

What is the nut safetly promise?
We go to extraordinary lengths to try to make chocolates safe for Nut Allergy Sufferers.
No Peanuts, segregated production, dedicated lines that have no nut products and countless
other measures for our raw material supplies and staff. Need to know more?
Visit our website at http://www.kinnerton.com.au/

So get to Aldi and grab a allergy friendly Advent calender for all of $2.50 each and share our excitement!!!

allergy free Trick or Treat

Super man and Dragon boy

 A safe Halloween makes a Happy Halloween.
Friendship, fun and food...what more could one want.

For past 2 Halloween's Declan, Thalia and their special friend have shared the fun and frenzy of a allergy free Halloween. This year we even had the delight to welcome a new little witch ( 4 months)to the trick or treat crew :)

With the munchkins at this young age (3,3,21 months and 4 months) we mummies can get away with pre placing safe snacks and treats at a friendly neighbours place across the rd and only making a visit to that particular house for Halloween. The children love it!!

 The excitement builds as costumes get picked, children get dressed, the much practised "trick or treat" is said in the cutest of voices and the treats are given, and even more quickly devoured!!!

At this stage it's working but as the munchkins get older we may have to rethink how to approach Halloween.

It's important for both of our families that our children don't miss out and be able to have the fun that everyone else enjoys at Halloween.

 So although we plan within our children's limits we try to plan it so that they can share the Halloween experience.

I have heard and read of older allergy children trick or treating as most do, knocking on strangers doors and receiving all manner of treats....only to go home knowing that they probably won't be able to eat any of it, scanning labels and putting them aside.
Then receiving a variety of safe treats from their parents on arrival home.

I don't really know what I think of this, I know for a fact that I would be paranoid to the max at every single door...wondering if this would be the house that forgot to purchase treats and offer us some nuts from their pantry!!!! or we would meet THOSE children who carry an egg with them while trick or treating in case they need that "funny" trick when someone doesn't want to give them treats :o

I guess we will meet that challenge when it comes.

For now I'm simply happy that my munchkins are happy and had a blast as you can see from the pics

Some very excited munchkins receiving some very special treats!

Dragon boy wasn't letting anyone get into his bag :)



my little witch before chocolate






   

Our choice of safe treats for each child was:

•  a very small block of Sweet William chocolate (free from peanuts and tree nuts, lactose free,cholesterol free, free from animal products, no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives, Low GI)
• A Artisse organic lolly pop (no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives)
• A packet of natural confectionery Dinosaur lollies



after chocolate :P

  So what does your family do for Halloween???

allergy education wish list

I firmly believe that when it comes to allergies and/or intolerance's that knowledge is the key.
Education regarding allergies = Awareness and Knowledge
and Awareness and Knowledge = Power
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I have said in previous posts that I endeavour to bring up my children in such a way that they have confidence, pride, knowledge and awareness about who they are and that they are special despite the fact that they have a food allergy or in Thalia's case food intolerance's.
I want my children to know that they can still have fun and be proud of who they are despite the differences they might have when compared to their peers.
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I am constantly trying to find situations, opportunities and words to show/explain/teach them all these things and so far *touch wood* it seems to be working.
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The other day I received the star allergy alerts e newsletter (via e-mail) which has some very interesting fact and information along with some new products on their site.
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here is an interesting yet sad part of the newsletter:

Food Allergies and Bullying.

As if our precious allergy kids don't have enough to worry about... A new report has found that about 35% of children over the age of 5 with food allergies have been the target of bullying, teasing or harassment because of their allergies. Most reported the issues related to their having to carry medication, being set apart at mealtimes and getting special treatment.

Almost half of those children reported that the food they were allergic to had been waved in their face! This disturbing new trend is causing emotional issues in allergy kids including depression and embarrassment. We need to encourage our kids to report incidents immediately and addressed by the schools.

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Just another reason to educate children with allergies as well as their friends, family, schools, church etc.

If you are interested in receiving your own newsletter from star allergy alerts simply go to http://www.starallergyalerts.com/

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Another thing that got my attention was a line of new educational books for children with allergy's aimed at the 3-6 yr olds. Defiantly one for my wish list!!!!

take a look.

Fantastic NEW Freddy the Mouse Books!!

This gorgeous range of educational books aimed at 3 to 6 year olds, feature gentle informative stories about friends with severe food allergies and anaphylaxis.

The stories are told in a clear and relevant way, using characters that children cannot help but fall in love with! They offer an invaluable introduction to food allergies, and provide useful framework to support discussion between adult and child.

Priced at $22.95 each or the Set of 3 books for $54.95! (SAVE $13.90!)

Freddy meets Ginger - The fox who was allergic to eggs

Freddy meets Ginger, a fox who is severely allergic to eggs. As Freddy and Ginger have some autumn fun, Ginger eats some egg by mistake and soon becomes unwell. Join Freddy and his friends as they learn what to do when confronted with a severe egg allergy.

Freddy and Isobel are off to the beach. As they play with an exciting new friend, Isobel has some milk by mistake and becomes ill. Join Freddy and his new exciting friend as they learn how to help Isobel deal with a severe milk allergy.

Product details

Freddy meets Nutmeg- The squirrel allergic to nuts

Freddy meets Nutmeg in the garden, a young squirrel who is severely allergic to nuts. As Nutmeg is meeting friends in the garden, she eats some nuts by mistake and becomes sick. Join Freddy and Nutmeg as they learn how to deal with a severe nut allergy.

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Another book that wasn't in the newsletter but is definitely a must on my wanted books list is The BugaBees friends with food allergies:

   

Written by Amy Recob, BugaBees characters are based on the eight foods that account for 90 percent of all allergic reactions:peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, milk, soy, eggs and wheat. "The BugaBees -Friends with Food Allergies" brings fresh optimism and fun to children dealing with the everyday challenges of managing a food allergy. Additional activities and talking points in the back of the book inspire further learning and teaching opportunities for young children and their caregivers.
*Price includes extra $5 P&H charge.

 Price: $ 24.95 AU + postage and handling

Freddy meets Isobel - The mouse who was allergic to milk

so there you go, thought I'd share my finds

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Here's to allergy awareness and knowledge, educating my munchkins to live a life with allergies and do it well!

tried epi-pen

We have never been in the situation where we needed to administer an epi-pen for Declan (which we are VERY thankful for) although we always have to carry 2 pens with him at all times..just in case.
It makes me feel sick just thinking about jabbing an epi-pen into my son but I hope that if and when it is needed I will be able to do it without hesitation and not even have to think.

Epi-pen's have used by dates and when they expire the usual routine is to hand it back to the chemist so that they can dispose properly of the sharps even if it has not been used.

So when we noticed that one of Declan's epi-pen's had expired we thought, if it's just going to be chucked out by chemist staff anyway why don't we practice on an orange or mandarin to see how hard you really have to push down on it, if we can feel the click when the needle is correctly inserted etc.

Tonight Andy tried the expired epi-pen on a orange, we were both very shocked and surprised to see the needle after coming back out of the orange...the whole whopping 2cm of needle!!!!! :O

Andy said that he felt the click and as you can probably see from the photo he was pushing quite hard into the orange.

I'm glad we did this little exercise,those little bit's of information might just make the difference. Thank goodness we have the technology and intelligence in this day and age to have such a life saver of a pen!

It also reminds me that we are still yet to buy a trainer epi-pen for family and friends to have a look at and practice with.

Here's hoping we never have to use one for real

First trip to the Zoo

Our family was privileged enough to share a wonderful day together at Australia Zoo not so long ago in August.Okay I hear you, it might of been a while ago but better to blog later than never...and trust me it's well worth a blog post.

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It was the first time both Declan and Thalia have got to experience the Zoo....although there are many times that I'm sure we live in the Zoo in the very walls of our own home :P

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We spent most of the day and somehow managed to take a peep at most of the animals, Declan simply loved everything about the Tigers and Thalia was more taken with the Elephants (go figure, I just think she might eat as much as one!).

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I brought along 'safe' food that I had packed earlier for snacks/morning tea during the day but thankfully we were able to buy 'safe' lunch.

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I rang the Zoo the day before to see what we would be able to eat if anything on the menu's, they rang back later that day with a list of foods, one of them being hot chips...yay.

I knew Declan and Thalia would enjoy a treat of hot chips so my mind was at ease and off we went without Mummy having to pack all the lunches..phew

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It came to lunch time at the Zoo and we headed towards the food court, I proudly told Declan he would be able to have safe chippies for lunch. We got in line and as I reached the serving station I let the lady know Declan's allergies to nuts and eggs before I ordered just to double check.

The staff member let me know that the chips wouldn't be safe after all, even though the chips themselves didn't contain eggs and/or nuts they would be fried with other things that were not safe, hence making the unsafe :(

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A very upset Mummy who had a excited toddler looking forward to his chippies was not happy! I let the staff member know that I had phoned and been told that the chips would be safe - after waiting a fair while and having staff members having quiet 'chats' about the situation I was greeted by the lady who I spoke on the phone to.

She was very nice and apologised and showed me a list that she had worked out would be safe for Declan, so it ends up that the kids had Cheese pizza and sausage rolls for lunch.....thankfully the kids we still chuffed and Declan understood when I explained that the chippies were not safe for him.

Definitely an experience to make sure I really do my research and double check before eating out.

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We all had such an enjoyable day and because we went in August we got a free pass for the rest of the year due to a special they had on at that time.

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So we are now looking forward to more trips to the zoo, looking at the things we didn't quite get to see, visiting the animals we loved and exploring all the different aspects that make the Zoo experience!!! :D

Here are some of my favorite pic's from the day:

Thalia's favorite animals of the day, the elephants - showing us how to be a team and link together with friends to find our way :)
although this photo is of poor quality,I love it.

Declan showing Mummy how he is just like a Tiger !! ROAR

Decaln chillin with his Kangaroo buddy


Thalia showing her true colours- life of the party :P

Exploring the Big Crocodiles teeth

King of the Croc's

Declan lapping up his time with the snakes....following in Mummy's footsteps :)

A peek into my pantry

Welcome to my pantry!!!

I thought since I was going on a mission to clean up and clean out as most people do from time to time I would take some pic's to share


....you know the clean up days where you think "okay, this time it's going to stay organised and clean so everything is easy to see"

...lol well it never seems to work but at least you might find some exciting food that was hibernating at the back of the cupboard or have a few minutes, hours or days of that contented feeling of being somewhat organised

...that is when and until the hubby or child moves everything around and finds a oh so wrong place for what seems like every item!!!


enough of my ranter :P

The reason I wanted to share was to show what a pantry of family with severe allergy's looks like.


Living with a child who has anaphalaxis towards eggs and nuts isn't easy...every shopping expedition becomes very interesting.

Diving into a world of "may contain......" or "made in the same factory as.." can be somewhat frustrating and expensive.


Needless to say 1 3/4 out of my 6 pantry shelves are dedicated to baking alone.

It's been over a year since we found out about Declan's allergy's and it has changed our family's daily life in more than one aspect. We are very fortunate to have a few friends that also have allergy's in their family's and can understand, share recipes, brain storm how to convert that oh so yummy recipe to make it safe and so on.

We are also blessed that their are company's out there that make safe food for people like us...."HALLELUJAH!!!"

Yep, I'm that crazy woman standing in the isle of your local food store who smiles quietly to herself and does a happy dance while pure happiness, excitement and relief flows though her veins....over a new found safe ingredient or product. :)

There are also some very good benefit's of all the jazz that goes with living a allergy life.....baking (a forgotten skill and activity for all ages in past years), knowing exactly what's in your food (preservatives, chemicals etc), becoming more aware of your surroundings and probably much more that I can't think of at the moment.

On decluttering my pantry over the last few days and emptying boxes I saved 2 empty boxes for a specific purpose.
A bit of background information: For part of Thalia's Christmas present she will be getting some play food and play kitchen items and then for her birthday in Feb. she will get a play kitchen to go with them.
The play food we have brought has pretend eggs in it which made us think...do we let them play with it? should we take it out of the pack? leave it in?

After a few chats with some friends we have decided that yes we will leave the egg's in with the presents for the children to play with as a educational tool.
Obviously Declan isn't allergic to a plastic egg, we know that but we were worried at the age of 3, Declan might be confused with the whole concept that it's safe to pretend but not safe to eat the real thing etc..

So the egg will be their to show our children what an egg is,what it's used for, where it comes from, that other people can eat them etc
then as an addition to the play food I will place the 'orgran no egg' box pictured above for the children to pretend to use when they are "baking a cake" to make it safe etc. The no egg box and the safe biscuit box will also show and hopefully educate the children when they are a little older how to read labels and identify safe foods.

Well that's a day in the life of my beloved pantry....

remember eat, live, love and learn :)
ox