Fun, allergy-friendly times in Happy Valley

My family and I spent a fantastic weekend visiting my alma mater. All I wanted for my 40^th birthday was a trip to Penn State where I could enjoy with my kids a place I hold dear and spend time with some amazing friends. But traveling with a food-allergic child can be stressful. For me, that anxiety is eased with preparation, consideration and awareness.

I don't allow Joseph, who is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, milk, egg, soy, sesame and mustard, to eat any food that is not prepared by me. So before we embarked on our 8-hour road trip, I loaded up the cooler, insulated bags and lunch boxes with safe food for my 9-year-old son. Lots of wipes and paper towels, along with disposable placemats also are staples. Of course, we don't go anywhere without Joseph's medical pack containing two EpiPens, Benadryl, his inhaler and a copy of his allergy action plan. In addition when we travel, I make sure all of his daily medications have a full prescription, and pack his nebulizer and Xopenex, and two additional EpiPens that are usually kept at home.

Once I booked our feather-free suite (Joseph has asthma and environmental allergies, as well), complete with a refrigerator and microwave, it was time to plan the menu with Joseph. After all, I want him to enjoy his food while he's watching the rest of us sample restaurant fare. My daughter Pamela, 3, also eats only Joseph's food when we travel so that she doesn't create an added risk for him.

I cooked and froze several entrees, generally enough so that they each could get two meals out of each dish. I have included a sampling of his trip menu at the end of this blog post. We also packed plenty of fruit and non-perishable food, such as Enjoy Life granola that both kids like to eat for breakfast or as a snack, single-serve applesauce, Enjoy Life cookies and Green Mountain Gringo tortilla strips that made an easy snack eaten plain in the car and a plate of nachos in the hotel room with a little melted Daiya cheddar and mozzarella. I had frozen some cupcakes and cake slices that we had made for celebrations during the previous month so the kids could have special treats, as well.

The biggest treat for them was spending time with friends. The consideration and kindness of those friends made it possible for Joseph to just safely enjoy himself, instead of being singled out or anxious because of his allergies. Before the trip, my friend Michele asked what snacks would be OK for her kids to eat near Joseph and what they could do to make him safe. I asked her just to avoid anything with peanuts, peanut butter or tree nuts and asked that everyone wash their hands after meals. Not only did Michele and her kids avoid nutty snacks and wash their hands after each meal, but also they did so without mentioning it. Each time we stopped to eat at a restaurant, I wiped Joseph's table area and chair and placed his paper placemat in front of him. As he pulled his own plastic cutlery, juice box or water bottle and safe food out of his lunch box, the happy chatter of friends continued. There were no disparaging comments about what Joseph couldn't eat or begrudging attitudes about washing their hands.

The simple steps they took to help Joseph feel safe without making a big deal about it or making him feel bad about it, means the world to me. Their kindness helped us all to enjoy our time in Happy Valley. Joseph and Pamela were thrilled to meet my friend Stephanie and listen to us reminisce while we walked through campus one afternoon, stopping of course to climb on the statue at the Nittany Lion shrine. They had a blast hanging out with Michele's kids, Jason, Brooke and Ava. Whether they were checking out footballs at the Penn State All-Sports Museum, posing by the Joe Paterno statue, having water battles in the hotel pool or playing mini golf, Joseph got to enjoy himself as one of the gang.

As the summer travel season heats up, it's important to decide and review what steps will result in an enjoyable and safe trip for food-allergic family members. Everyone has different comfort levels about what is safe and what works for him. Food-allergic families can find resources about traveling with food allergies from sources such as the Food Allergy Initiative (FAI), Kids with Food Allergies (KFA), Living Without magazine, Gina Clowes' article, "Food allergy tips: You can take it with you", and The Nut-Free Mom's top travel tips. The AllergyEats website and app also allow people to find ratings regarding food allergies about restaurants in the towns they are visiting.

I'm thrilled that preparation and kindness helped us all to leave State College, Pennsylvania, with such happy memories.

Joseph's trip menu included:

• Baked ziti, using Tinkyada pasta, my homemade tomato sauce using fresh tomatoes, Daiya mozzarella shreds and ground beef;
• Chicken fingers. Cut chicken breasts into strips, rinse in water and coat with crushed Lay's potato chips before baking;
• Pizza, using King Arthur Flour gluten-free pizza crust mix, homemade, fresh tomato sauce, Daiya mozzarella shreds, and bacon;
• Turkey burgers, made with ground turkey, fresh grated zucchini, applesauce and salt. I didn't order his favorite Ener-G tapioca hamburger buns on time, so we made bread using King Arthur Flour gluten-free bread mix. It worked well to have the bread slices anyway, because I could also use the bread to make jam sandwiches using strawberry jam we had made and froze after strawberry picking;
• Banana muffins (with Enjoy Life mega chunks) and applesauce muffins. These are great to have for snacks or breakfast. My favorite recipes for these muffins are in "The Parent's Guide to Food Allergies", by Marianne S. Barber. I just substitute a gluten-free flour mix in these recipes.

Strawberry sweetness

A beautiful, vibrant rainbow greeted us yesterday morning when we looked out the kitchen window. My 3-year-old daughter Pamela was especially excited to see the colorful wonder. I couldn't help but hope the special sighting signified promise for our day.

But as the rainbow faded and more rain sprinkles showered our neighborhood, our hope for strawberry picking later in the morning dimmed. Pamela put on her "strawberry" dress anyway, perhaps drawing hope from the rainbow that we would be bringing home buckets of strawberries before the day was over. It's always good to follow the lead of a young child with dreams and determination. Her middle name is Hope, after all.

We didn't get to the strawberry patch in the morning. Instead we took Joseph to the allergist for his immunotherapy shots for several environmental allergies. I was happy to cross the errand off of our list for the week, but I should have remembered that those shots also exemplify hope. Hope that someday Joseph, 8, will be desensitized to at least some of those allergies that induce asthma attacks and contact reactions. I've already seen improvement in him after more than a year of receiving the treatment. Those shots also spur hope that the immunotherapy treatments currently being studied for food allergies could also someday help my son, who is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, milk, egg, soy, sesame and mustard.

I still wasn't too hopeful that we'd get strawberries when we left for story time yesterday afternoon. But as I wrote recently, a visit to the library always brings smiles. When we left the library after yet another fun story time, the sun was shining and we finally headed to DJ's Berry Patch to pick strawberries.

Joseph and Pamela were so excited to carry their buckets into the field and start filling them with bright red strawberries. Of course, they tasted a few upon picking them to make sure they were just as sweet and juicy as they looked. Pamela loved the tiny strawberries and said they looked like little lights when she picked one with the skinny stem so it swung in her hand like a tiny fairy light. Joseph liked the cool-shaped strawberries that almost looked like little, chubby hands. Both couldn't wait to get home to sink their teeth into more of their juicy haul and had lots of ideas about what we should make first.

First, we just enjoyed the strawberries as they were – delightfully sweet in their own right. Then, we had some chocolate-covered strawberries using melted Enjoy Life Mega Chunks. Today, we made deliciously creamy, dairy-free strawberry ice cream. I also made a batch of strawberry jam for us to enjoy tomorrow on warm bread (King Arthur Flour gluten-free bread mix) that I will bake in the morning with Pamela, my willing assistant. I have fond memories of enjoying my grandparents' homemade strawberry jam as a child. They made and preserved fabulous jam each season, including peach, plum, marmalade and strawberry, which always had a way of bringing me comfort. I make an extremely simple jam recipe – there is no pectin or sealing jars with wax for me. This method works for my low patience level, yet still provides a comforting, sweet addition to our meals.

We still have a bucket of strawberries left from our picking to enjoy. Joseph has requested strawberry shortcake. We made Cybele Pascal's recipe for strawberry shortcake from her Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook last weekend and it was a big hit. But perhaps we will make her allergy-free strawberry cupcakes for tomorrow's strawberry treat.

I am thrilled that such a simple food is so sweet and healthy in itself. It is even more exciting for my kids that there are so many yummy treats we can create with the juicy fruit that are allergy friendly. Even better is the joy I had spending some time in a strawberry patch with two kids who were happy as could be because of a field of fruit. Red has been a prevalent color on my children's faces for us since seeing that rainbow yesterday. I'm so glad that my daughter's hope that was reflected in that rainbow was fulfilled. 

Love of the library

I admit I was not a happy camper this afternoon when I pulled out of the driveway with my two kids strapped in their seats in the back of the car. My miserable cold was making me, well, miserable, with absolutely no sympathy from my son and daughter. Though, I've made it clear that I'm sick of going through boxes of tissues and clinging to mugs of hot tea, one child wouldn't put on her jacket and the other had to be reminded again to bring the library bag with him to the car – little things that can sometimes irk this mom. But there was hope. I knew that in only 4 minutes I would find relief because I would be walking through the doors of one of my favorite places – West Regional Library.

In honor of National Library Week, I'm happy to say that I have always loved the library. There is something about being surrounded by books that is like a salve. Bookshelves and baskets overflowing with books fill my home and I'm only happy with a couple books and my Kindle on my bedside table. If I'm in a great mood when I go to the library, the prospect of meeting new characters or becoming reacquainted with old favorites, finding new adventures and learning more information makes me even happier. When I'm not in such a great mood, like today, my negativity seems to dissipate as soon as I walk into the home of thousands of stories.

Books have inspired for as long as I can remember. Whether I was listening to stories at home and during story time at the Northport-East Northport Public Library, using a flashlight to read in the backseat of my parents' car during evening rides home from my grandparents' house or working at the library while I was in high school, books played an integral role in my life. The library has changed since I was a kid. I order books through the library's online catalog so they are waiting for me to pick up, I check out books using the library card on my key ring and computers fill large areas of the building. But the joy that comes from perusing the shelves and jumping into adventures from around the world remains.

My kids love going to the library, too. Joseph, 8, is a voracious reader, who loves going to check out stories and page through nonfiction books. He recently was thrilled to attend a writing workshop, during which an author provided tips on crafting a story. Joseph also got to hone is Scrabble skills at the library thanks to the kindness of a 14-year-old Scrabble whiz I wrote about for The Cary News. When Erik Salgado heard that my son enjoys playing the board game, he offered to share some tips. Joseph was so excited when Erik, who won the National School Scrabble Championship this week with Andy Hoang, and his mom spent a couple of hours with Joseph in a study room at the library teaching him the ins and outs of the game. We even caught a showing of "Kung Fu Panda 2" on the library's big screen. These opportunities are all free and free of food.

Because there is no food or drink allowed, the library is a place where Joseph, who is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, milk, egg, soy, sesame and mustard, feels safe. He doesn't spend his time looking over his shoulders to make sure no one is eating ice cream or peanut butter sandwiches near him. Sure our love of the library has been tested over the years. For example, when Joseph was younger the kids munching on cheesy fish-shaped crackers (which inevitably made it onto the floor) during story time made him uncomfortable. When I mentioned the issue at the library we now frequent to prevent cheesy crumbs inhibiting our fun when Joseph comes with us to Pamela's story time, they nicely announced it at the start of story time and we've not had any food issues at this library. He's also had to stop reading a few books because his eyes got itchy or he had an asthma flare-up while reading them. Yes, the fact that library books can accumulate dust or go in homes with pets and other various allergens can pose a risk for Joseph. As always, we are prepared to deal with the risks Joseph's allergies pose. But for the most part, his library experiences have been fantastic. And those books that do cause issues are simply returned to the library and replaced with other adventures for Joseph to jump into.

Today, story time helped wash away the last of my bad mood.  I couldn't help but smile as soon as Pamela, 3, and the other kids stood up to sing about gardening and pretend to dig. Although there is no registration required, the weekly 25-minute gathering where preschoolers can enjoy books, music and flannel board stories is on our calendar just like ballet, tennis and all of our other activities. Each week, Pamela listens intently to Miss Sue and participates in all of the interactive fun. Today, she was excited to hold up a picture of a bunny with the number 8 on it when her number came up during the reading of "10 Hungry Rabbits" by Anita Lobel. After story time, she enjoys selecting books then claiming a spot on our favorite funky red bench to discover new stories.

As we packed our extremely worn library bag full of new selections today, my love for the library was once again reaffirmed. As the three of us walked out into the windy day, we talked about which books we would read first and of course, how soon we would return.

Filling our baskets with fun

Little hands were reaching into the box as soon as I opened it, grabbing for the cute little Easter-theme bags of colorful Gimbal's jelly beans. Pamela yelled out, "Pink, pink!" as she clutched a bag featuring the pink confections, while Joseph quickly found the bag full of flavors for honey lovers. Immediately, I started wondering if the jelly beans' arrival last week meant there would be none left for Easter.

My son Joseph, who is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, milk, egg, soy, sesame and mustard, was thrilled to enjoy jelly beans just like so many others during the Easter season when we were introduced to allergen-friendly Gimbal's jelly beans last year. We can find bags of them at the local Wal-Mart, but when I saw the specialty packs for Easter and other varieties on the company website, I couldn't resist making an order. Our Easter desserts will be more festive with the pastel jelly beans and sour bunnies.

Our kitchen is showing signs of Easter's approach this week. My daughter Pamela had fun making Easter cookie shapes and pressing jelly beans into the frosting. Next, we plan to turn red velvet cupcakes (using our favorite recipe by Cybele Pascal) into mini Easter baskets with jelly beans and sour bunny in the middle of the frosting. Then we will place each cupcake into an Easter basket cupcake collar. Chocolate-covered strawberries and homemade chocolate eggs featuring melted Enjoy Life Mega Chunks also will make it onto our Easter celebration menu. Both kids enjoy deciding what desserts to make for the holiday so that the unsafe confections that abound on Easter are not missed.

While we make lots of safe treats to celebrate the holiday, a majority of the enjoyment is without food. Even just hopping around like bunnies, elicits giggles. They both had a blast over the weekend collecting eggs filled with trinkets at the NC FACES (Food Allergic Children Excelling Safely) annual food-free Easter egg hunt over the weekend. They both were thrilled to run through the field, baskets waving in their hands as they hurried to pick up their eggs. No surprise that Pamela grabbed mostly pink and purple eggs, while Joseph leaned toward the orange and yellow hues. It is such a pleasure to watch them happily open each egg to discover something new, such as a rainbow-colored ball, sparkly pink ring or bottle of bubbles, without a worry that a deadly piece of candy will pop out with the potential to ruin their fun outing. Instead of candy, the Easter bunny hides baskets in our house that are full of toys, books and other trinkets. Joseph is hoping the bunny will hop on over with a set of Hexbugs, while Pamela hopes the furry friend will grant her wish for a swimming doll.

The wood eggs the kids color each year also help us safely enjoy the Easter tradition of coloring eggs. Joseph and Pamela loved painting their eggs last week and we continue to admire their handiwork, featuring colorful swirls and polka-dots. Their creative juices will continue to flow this week with more crafts and fun school activities, including those plastic eggs and several printables featuring Easter and spring themes. For example, 2 Teaching Mommies provides an Easter symbol set of printables that features adorable little chicks and bunnies that Pamela has enjoyed using for patterns, counting and letter sorting. Both of my children love playing the roll and graph game that has them cheering to see if the chick, the bunny or even an egg will have the most rolls to make it to the top of the graph first.

I hope Easter day is as enjoyable for my kids as the week leading up to it has been. Now, if only I could make sure my little bunnies don't hop off with too many jelly beans during the next few days before Easter. 

A bit of Irish fun

My Irish eyes were smilin' today. As I watched my kids, donned in various shades of green, bite into their green-frosted, chocolate cupcakes I reflected on a fun St. Patrick's Day. We didn't go to any big events, but we did activities at home to celebrate and pay homage to the Irish part of our heritage.

We started our day with green waffles (Cherrybrook Kitchen Gluten Free Dreams Pancake & Waffle mix) with a side of fresh strawberries, just before the kids discovered the shamrock trail a leprechaun made after he escaped from our leprechaun trap. At least that sneaky little Irish fella left coin-filled "golden" pots behind in the trap.

Leprechauns, rainbows and shamrocks colored our little world today. Pamela and I baked the yummy cupcakes (King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Mix) — of course, Joseph made sure he taste-tested the batter. We played various games, (such as "Roll a leprechaun") did a rainbow science experiment and used a green pepper to make shamrock paintings. Both Joseph and Pamela enjoyed the rainbow shamrock treasure hunt the best (a great printable from The Crafting Chicks) They had fun reading the instructions on each colored shamrock and then finding the treasure — a green bucket filled with trinkets, such as bubble pens, pencils, lollipops and punch balloons. For dinner, I made a family favorite – shepherd's pie, using the pie crust recipe from Cybele Pascal's Allergen-Friendly Baker's Handbook. I thought about dying the mashed potatoes green for the shepherd's pie. But when I remembered how grossed out everyone was when I tried that a previous year, I placed a shamrock cookie cutter on top of the pie to give it more of an "Irish" feel.

As Pamela was starting to hide the twinkle in her eyes for the night, she was ready to hop to the next holiday. "When are we going to paint the eggs for Easter, Mama?" Both of my kids are so excited to paint the white, wooden eggs we get each Easter from Oriental Trading. I love them because they give my food-allergic son a chance to safely enjoy the tradition of coloring eggs. But also, I enjoy adding them to our growing collection of colorful egg creations each year. Indeed the wooden eggs we will paint for Easter arrived this week, along with the prize-filled eggs we will contribute to the annual food-free Easter egg hunt our local support group NC FACES (Food Allergic Children Excelling Safely) will host next weekend. Easter can be dicey for food-allergic kids, who might feel like they have to be as sly as leprechauns to escape the chocolate bunnies, peanut butter candies and yes, eggs, that seem ubiquitous this time of year. That is why we are thankful to skip the candy-filled egg hunts and enjoy an afternoon searching through a park for brightly colored eggs filled with trinkets — not food.    

Not once during any of our activities or meals today did Joseph worry or feel bad about his food allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, milk, egg, soy, sesame and mustard. Instead he enjoyed the many fun holiday activities that can be done without food. Plus, we are blessed to have many safe food options to make that we didn't have to count on Irish luck for our family to enjoy yummy meals.

Sweet holiday demands yield full bellies

Joseph is happy to have a full cookie jar!

"Empty." That is what the sign on our snowman cookie jar has read since we took it out with all of the other Christmas decorations during Thanksgiving weekend. Each day, the lonely snowman has stared at me from its perch on the kitchen bar, silently urging me to add some sweet treats. My kids, however, have not been so silent.

It's not like they are lacking for sugar. After all, we just enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast free of peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, milk, egg, soy, sesame and mustard — all of the allergens to which my son is allergic. Joseph, 8, and Pamela, 3, helped me make turkey-shaped sugar cookies, pumpkin pie and a turkey-shaped red velvet cake (I used my favorite recipe for Red Velvet Cake with Velvet Frosting from Cybele Pascal) for the meal. Though it was yummy, the cake provided some entertainment when its head fell off seemingly in slow motion as I set the cake on the table. Just a couple of days ago, we were enjoying the last of the Thanksgiving bounty with the turkey noodle soup I made using the carcass I had frozen from the Thanksgiving bird and we made yummy pumpkin, chocolate-chunk muffins to go with it. (I add Enjoy Life Mega Chunks to the pumpkin-apple muffin recipe in the "The Food Allergy News Holiday Cookbook").

But Christmas treats provide a different kind of pleasure. My kids have been poring over the big stack of cookbooks and Christmas baking magazines that we consult each year, and analyzing last year's Christmas Eve menu to decide what to bake this year. For example, Cybele Pascal's recipe for chocolate thumbprint cookies that were featured in Living Without magazine in December 2009, were a big hit and certainly will make a return for this year's Christmas Eve dessert-fest. Joseph and Pamela reminisce about favorite treats from years past, and then they start asking which dessert we would bake first, and of course, "Can we bake now?"

Pamela agrees the orange cookies are delicious.

Much to everyone's relief, I could finally give in to my children's sugarcoated demands. Yesterday, we decided to bake a cookie we hadn't tried yet. We all agreed that the "Orange These Delicious? Cookies" from Enjoy Life's "Cookies for Everyone!" cookbook were delicious. We freeze half of each batch we make to serve on Christmas Eve or to take out as needed for holiday events. We get to turn the snowman's sign to "Full" and enjoy the rest of the cookies until it's time to taste the next batch. Next, we will be making sugar cookies in lots of Christmas shapes.

The tasty Christmas treats are just one part of our holiday cheer. I have always loved this magical season and enjoy it even more as my husband and I experience it with our children. Both children love looking at all of the special ornaments that grace our Christmas tree, delight in the stories they pull each day from our huge basket of Christmas books, excitedly dance to yuletide tunes, enjoy watching the holiday specials, and look forward to their advent prize each day as they countdown to the big day. I think all of those experiences make the Christmas goodies taste even better, plus it is a joy to create smiles by making those Christmas confections.

Now, back to baking. I don't want to see that "Empty" sign on my snowman again!

To get a flu shot, or not

Well, we tried. I took Joseph to his allergist yesterday morning to get a scratch test for the flu vaccine and possibly the flu shot for the first time in his 8 years of life. My chest has been tight with worry and I've been quicker to snap at family members since I made the appointment a week ago. I was concerned about the possibility of Joseph having a life-threatening reaction if he received the vaccine, yet also worried about yet another stressful flu season for my asthmatic son if he couldn't receive the vaccine's protection.

When talk of the flu begins each season, I can feel the anxiety building. I had never considered getting a flu vaccine for Joseph because he is allergic to egg, along with peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, milk and soy. Of course, as an asthmatic he unfortunately also is in the high-risk group for complications from the flu. My husband, 3-year-old daughter and I each receive the flu vaccine to try to provide some protection for him each year. But for the past few years, both children have had rough winters with the flu and other respiratory viruses.

This year's venture into the land of flu shots was based on the latest recommendation from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) that many people with egg allergy could safely receive the seasonal vaccine. I read the recommendation and many people's stories about successfully getting the flu shot even with an egg allergy. But, with all we do to ensure Joseph avoids all of the allergens that threaten his life, it freaked me out to think about letting something that contains egg be injected into his body. So, after his allergist suggested we try it out with certain precautions, I turned to my local support group NC FACES (Food Allergic Children Excelling Safely) for a bit more advice. As always, they delivered. It was because of their tips and support that I was able to walk into that office yesterday, knowing that it could be a rough visit either way.

The plan was that if Joseph didn't react to the scratch test, he would get 10 percent of the vaccine and then the other 90 percent if he didn't react from the first part of the dose, as recommended by the CDC. Because he hadn't had his food allergies tested in more than a year, the nurse did a scratch test for several foods and the flu vaccine. As Joseph lay on his stomach, playing his Nintendo DSi, I watched the hives develop. This is nothing new for us. I'm used to watching big hives grow on Joseph's back during allergy testing. He's used to it, too, and never complains about how bad his back itches during the 15 minutes the allergens are creating an itchy design on his back. But this time, I was looking for a specific result to see if he could receive the vaccine.

The flu vaccine spot wasn't a huge hive like the spot with egg and the other spots with Joseph's known allergens, but it also wasn't a completely negative reaction. Joseph's doctor decided that the flu vaccine would be too risky in light of the scratch test results.

Joseph smiled and jumped off of the exam table, ready to head to the lab for his blood work. He was happy not to get the flu shot. He wasn't worried about the needle since he receives regular immunotherapy shots for his environmental allergies, but he, too, had been a bit worried about how his body would react to the vaccine. I was partly relieved about not dealing with a potential reaction. But the tightness in my chest did not go away as quickly as I had expected after the appointment. After all, my asthmatic son is still facing a long flu season. 

But both of my kids are healthy right now and they are excited about the fun things going on in their lives. Joseph played a great tennis match tonight and both kids can't wait to put on their costumes tomorrow to attend a fun Halloween party hosted by NC FACES. My Harry Potter and fairy princess will get to parade through the park, make a craft and trick-or-treat for food-free prizes. I plan to enjoy an event that is safe for my food-allergic child, while that anxiety in my chest dissipates even more.