Living with Food Allergies, 2013 and on

[ajasfolks2]

Spending free time wherever we can having kids do the cooking and/or actively watching/learning.

They are teens.  One off to college in 2 years.

Where did the time go?

[LinksEtc]

Going through my twitter feed, seeing "Fifty Shades of Grey" stuff & thinking, of course, this reminds me of ...



http://foodallergybitch.blogspot.com/2012/07/50-shades-of-food-allergies.html

[Macabre]

Twice this week I have seen bars that are deceptive.  One is called "No-Nut Bar." The website does day it's manufactured on shared equipment with nuts.  The other uses the term "Nut Free" but then says it's made in a shared facility with nuts.  Indeed--all the other bars have tree nuts in them. 

[Janelle205]

I hate misleading labels.  I want to say that there should be a rule against stuff like that, but then I worry that the company would just not label for shared equip/facilities, since they don't have to.

And my relatives wonder why I won't just give them a list so that they can buy and make safe food.

[guess]

hooboy... the number of ways we could rename this event

Blind-Tasting Bingo

Come test your mouth-mind connection![/size]OMSI is bringing Blind-Tasting Bingo back to Portland! A program started by Ecotrust and Edible Portland, this is a game of sensory deprivation and heightened exploration that was first unveiled at the 2012 Time-Based Art Festival. In the game, Executive Chef Ryan Morgan of Bon Appetit will present 12 distinct bites that players taste with their eyes covered, seeking to identify the items on a non-traditional bingo board that includes both correct and false options. A few lucky winners will take home 22oz bottles of Ninkasi beer! Prizes generously donated by Ninkasi Brewing Company.

[Janelle205]

Well, you know, they do say that death can sneak up on you...

[SilverLining]

Reminds me of one of the most popular experiments at The Science Centre when I was a kid, and also when my sons were kids.

You were given two candies that were coloured "wrong" and had to guess the flavour.

Eating a red candy blindfolded, you would guess it was lemon flavoured. But, when you see it is red, it is more difficult to place the flavour as lemon because your eyes and taste buds don't agree.

It was weird.

[PurpleCat]

Took the kids out to lunch today at an Ale House DD has not been to yet.  She is so done only getting a burger with no bun for lunch....so she and the waitress chatted and DD said if she could have anything, she'd like chicken quesadillas.

The waitress left and came back after speaking with the manager and chef.  They could not find ingredient labels for the tortillas and were not sure of their spices.  So they came up with a plan.  Using pizza dough spread thin with herbs, and then peppers, onions, cheese and chicken and flat, not folded over.  The chef used minimal spices and only straight spices, no blends.  DD loved her lunch!

[Macabre]

Oh, that is great!!!  I love it when they can do stuff like this.  It does get so, so old not being able to have bread at a restaurant.  I'm glad your dd had a great lunch!

[GingerPye]

PC, that is very wonderful!!  Worth a big tip!

[Macabre]

At DS' speech tournament next weekend, he'll have an overnight with no good food options at the tournament itself.  He could make his own, but they have to suit up, pack, eat breakfast and get out the door by 7:00 am.  I was at this tournament last year, and they served PB sandwiches on rainbow multi-colored bread.  ICK.

So I ordered him a couple of Go Picnic things from amazon--better than driving Target to Target to look for them.  I've not seen teh Sunbutter one in stores in a while:



He's had this one before.  It has Enjoy Life Mambo Munch in it: 
Ingredients
Sunbutter® Creamy Sunflower Seed Spread: Sunflower Seed, Evaporated Cane Syrup, Palm Oil to prevent separation, Salt, and Natural Mixed Tocopherols to preserve freshness.
Enjoy Life® Mountain Mambo® Seed & Fruit Trail Mix: Raw Sunflower Kernels, Roasted Hulled Pumpkin Seeds (Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Oil [Sunflower Oil, Citric Acid], Salt), Raisins*, Dried Apples*, Chocolate Chips (Evaporated Cane Juice, Natural Chocolate Liquor (Non-Alcoholic), Non-Dairy Cocoa Butter), Cranberries* (*Sulfite-Free).
Sweet Perry Orchards™ Tropical 100% Fruit Peel-A-Part™: Concentrated Apple Puree and Juice (Contains Ascorbic Acid), Concentrated Mango Juice, Concentrated Pineapple Juice, Natural Flavor, Natural Color, Gelling Agent (Pectin).
Crunchmaster® Multi-Grain Crackers: Brown Rice Flour, Whole Grain Yellow Corn, Potato Starch, Safflower Oil, Oat Fiber, Evaporated Cane Juice, Sesame Seeds, Flax Seeds, Millet, Sea Salt, Quinoa Seeds.
Enjoy Life® Double Chocolate Crunchy Cookie: Flour Mix (White Rice Flour, Buckwheat Flour, Millet Flour), Chocolate Chips (Evaporated Cane Juice, Chocolate Liquor, Non-Dairy Cocoa Butter), Palm Oil, Brown Pure Cane Sugar, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Light Buckwheat Flour, Natural Process Cocoa Powder, Natural Flavors, Vanilla, Salt, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Baking Soda, Xanthan Gum, Rosemary Extract.

And I ordered a six pack of these.  He's not had them yet.  And then what do I think to look for?? CUMIN  But wait--there's more! Chips are same facility as.  Lovely.  His allergist said he can now eat same facility as, but I'm not going to risk it away from home and at a tournament. 


INGREDIENTS:
black beans, water, tomato paste, anaheim chili peppers, extra virgin olive oil, cane sugar, onion flakes, roasted garlic, citric acid, sea salt, lime juice concentrate, cumin, cayenne pepper.

ALLERGEN INFORMATION:
none.

Confetti Tortilla Chips


INGREDIENTS:
organic blue, white, and yellow corn flour, organic sunflower oil, sea salt, trace of lime.

ALLERGEN INFORMATION:
packaged in a facility that also processes peanuts & tree nuts.

[SilverLining]

I am ready to just through in the towel and allergies be damned.

I contacted a few spice companies, including McCormick and have yet to find anything that doesn't have sesame seed on site. They follow safe cleaning, they follow legal requirements.  But IMO, they are all a risk to me.

[PurpleCat]

SL, DD is class 6 for sesame.  Too high to count.

I have not found any spice supplier that is sesame free.  I use to try to grind spices with one of those grater sticks and a coffee grinder................no more, way too much work.

We use McCormick.  Any time I call they are great answering my questions.  With garlic on her list too, but garlic powder being safe, I call them often.

I avoid their blends.  I do use their grill-mates with caution.  I figure that is where they might "add" sesame seeds or dehydrated garlic. 

DD has done fine with their products.

[SilverLining]

PC, thank you.  As you may have guessed, I'm really feeling at the end of my rope right now. I think it started with the cumin recall....and suddenly....I felt the need to verify spice safety. And there's none.

mccCormick is what we usually buy.

[ajasfolks2]

*sigh* so tired of the swinging pendulum:

So, now, it's again all the mom's fault for not feeding peanut to baby kiddo.

Right.   

I didn't feed my baby peanut directly.  I f***ing poisoned him with the peanut protein in breastmilk.
Too bad I didn't think to videotape those hours-upon-hours of miserable baby and exhausted mom.
Too bad I didn't use my cell phone to photograph the eczema ad nauseum and post it to Facebook.

oh, right.

Didn't have any of that then.


~ ~ ~

ETA:  Link to our discussion here at FAS as to this latest "news":
New Research Shows Peanut Allergy May Be Prevented Early in Life