Allergy free Cole Slaw

Being that it's Labor Day weekend, I'm sure most of you are getting ready to light up the grill.  That means you'll need some delicious sides to go along with that bbq!  Well here you go!

Here is a light and healthy version of the traditional cole slaw which is also allergy free!



Ingredients:
please omit the sunflower seeds if you are allergic!

• 10 ounces shredded cabbage, about 8 cups
• 1/2 cup shredded carrot, about 1 large
• 1/4 cup roasted and unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Instructions

1.  In a large bowl combine the cabbage, carrot, sunflower seeds, chives and parsley.
2.  In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and brown sugar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the olive oil in a thin stream, whisking to blend.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat well.
4. Chill before serving.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Number of servings (yield):8

A gratitude journal....

With all of the negative things that we can come up with on a daily basis, it's nice to end the day with gratitude for the great things going on in our lives.  I just saw this show the other day of a young boy who was battling a life threatening disease.  Every night before he went to bed he and his mom would write in his gratitude journal that he kept beside his bed.  It was the last thing that he would think of before he went to sleep every night.  I thought that was the most touching thing that I had ever seen.  Here is a little boy who was dealing with the fact that he might be dying, yet he had so much to be thankful for.  How extraordinary!  I thought, what a great idea.  We should try that at my house with Julia!  She always mentions to me how unfair she thinks her life is because of her limitations with food allergies.  Why not remind her of how lucky she is by making her think of what she is thankful for, everyday!

I believe this would really help keep your kids grounded and appreciative for the little things in life.  So, this weekend we will purchase some journals and get started on what we're thankful for!

Food Allergies in School

As your little ones start school this fall, not only are you dealing with "letting them go", but you're probably dealing with fears about keeping them safe in school as well.  It's difficult to trust that your child's Teacher and the staff will do their best to keep your child safe, but the key is just staying involved as much as you possibly can.  You may even consider setting up the "Section 504 Plan" for your child, because food allergies fall under a "hidden disability".  If you are interested in setting them up for the "504" please talk with your school principal and they will inform you about what steps you need to take.  It basically protects your child in terms of keeping them safe at school when it comes to their food allergy.  It really holds the school liable for them, so the school may not be as fond of it as you may be.  Be prepared for them to tell you, "Oh, you're child doesn't need it!"  It really means that they don't want all the paperwork involved and all the necessary steps that they will NEED to follow to ensure your child's safety.  BUT.... I do stress that if you are not able to stick around the school as often as would like due to work or other commitments, you really might want to look into setting up Section 504 for your child.  It will hold the school accountable, which means less work on your end!  Obviously, you will want to keep constant communication with your child's teacher to make sure that you are always aware of what is going on in the classroom. 

For my family, we chose not to set up the 504 plan only because I have been blessed to have had such amazing Teachers thus far who have been incredibly helpful in keeping me posted on classroom activities that might include food.  I also think that if you are busy with work and may not have time to be Room Mom for your child's class, why not ask if you can be Room Mom Assistant?  Be involved somehow, that will really ensure that you will always know what's going on in your child's class.  No surprises!  If you are involved in Room Mom responsibilities, then that means YOU get to plan everything, which kind of puts YOU in control of the situation! 

If you absolutely can not fit volunteering or being Room Mom/ Room Mom Assistant into your schedule, then always keep the lines of communication open with your child's Teacher.  Express your concerns at the beginning of the year and tell your child's Teacher what your expectations are in terms of your child's food allergies.  I was fortunate enough to have my child's Teacher from last year give my daughters current Teacher the whole story ahead of time.  So, when I slipped her my note about my daughters food allergies she whispered to me, "I know, I would love to set up a meeting with you so that we can talk about all that!"  

I am a firm believer that you get more out of life with kindness!  So when beginning your child's school year, don't take the negative approach with your child's Teacher.  Do not express negative past experiences with your new Teacher, start the year fresh.  Stay optimistic, every Teacher is different!  Every approach is different so don't think that this Teacher will be like your last.  Give him or her a chance at making your child's year successful! 

• Remember, stay connected with your child's teacher!  By email, phone or messages in the office mailbox.
• Show up at the school as much as you possibly can.
• Try to make it to parties/field trips if possible.  If you are unable to attend, make sure the proper precautions are being made to ensure your child's safety!
• Finally, stay optimistic!  No Teacher wants a disgruntled angry parent!  Anger is contagious!  Be kind, smile and you'll see that you will get that in return!  Remember it's a team effort!

Our Disneyland trip 2011 with food allergies

For this Disneyland trip I promised myself that I would do it differently,  in terms of eating out with food allergies.  When we went in 2007, I took Julia's meals with us everywhere and chose not to trust "the system".  Fast forward to 4 years later and learning about how well the Chefs at Disneyland are well trained when it comes to food allergy safety, I thought why not trust "the system".   The Disneyland "system" of dealing with food allergies is that when you arrive at any of their restaurants, you need to ask to speak to the Head Chef and let him or her know of your food allergies and they will offer you safe suggestions.

For the first day, I packed safe snacks and water bottles, and we were ready! Off we went with a wish, a hope and a dream of a food allergy safe trip....oh and great time with Mickey and Minnie of course!   

We arrive the day after Memorial day, with the hopes of all of those holiday travelers gone by time the we get there.  We couldn't have been more wrong!  The week after school lets out probably wasn't our best bet!  The amount of people there made it seem as if we needed a border collie to heard us in the right direction.  Way too many people!!  For lunch,  Julia ate a turkey sub sandwich and some veggie straws, with a water bottle (that I had packed).  Oh yes...do not forget to pack your own water, that is unless you plan on spending about $5.00 on a water bottle.

The following day we ALL ate at Red Rockets Pizza Port.  My youngest Emma (who is allergic to poultry) ate the cheese pizza and my husband and I  ate some yummy salads.  For Julia who is allergic to (milk, egg and peanut), she ate the spaghetti with marinara sauce.  The head chef El Rey, told us that those two items were free of her allergens.   He even showed me the ingredient labels for both the spaghetti and the sauce!  He also made sure to go to the back and get new utensils for serving her food! We were so pleased to see him take her food allergies so seriously!  Julia felt safe and I felt reassured knowing that she would be safe eating there!!  She had no reaction to the food, it was a complete success!  It was an amazing day and we were thrilled, we even ended the day with Disney's new attraction World of color!  It couldn't have been more perfect!

The next day we woke up and Julia ate some cereal with rice milk in our hotel (that I had packed).  Since we had such a great experience with our pasta at Red Rockets Pizza Port, we decided to .....or shall I say Julia demanded we go back;)  And we did... the day after that and the day after that.  We pretty much figured that we would eat there at least once a day while we were there, to kind of make things easy for ourselves. 

Well, our last day wasn't so eventful.  Our meals at Red Rocket Pizza Port were great, because Chef El Rey always prepared and hand delivered Julia's meals.  So with that in mind, we figured the other restaurants would be safe as well.  Why not try something new, right??  And so we did, unfortunately....!  We decided to go to Ariels Grotto(where previously a couple years ago was safe for Julia). It's a restaurant where you get to experience lunch or dinner with all of the Disney Princess.  The girls were thrilled to say the least!   Well, I did what I was supposed to do and asked to speak to the chef.  She came out and seemed very helpful and offered some suggestions. Although she did mention that with milk in the restaurant, she could not ensure that cross contamination would not occur.  As weary as I was, we decided on tri-tip strips with steamed veggies on the side.  Since I mentioned to the Chef that Julia's allergies were very severe and potentially life threatening(in private), I expected for her to hand Julia her plate just as Chef El Rey did previously.  She didn't, and that should have been my first red flag.  Our server brought out all of our meals at once.  Julia did not feel comfortable about that, and neither did I.  I just felt that she should have brought Julia's meal out personally to ensure safety.  Well, needless to say Julia reluctantly ate her meal because we had no other choice;(  As we were headed out of the park on our way home, I shouted out... YEAH, THANK GOD......what a wonderful trip we had!!  We went back to our hotel and loaded our luggage in the car and headed on back to our home.  Within 10 minutes of our car ride, in the middle of LA traffic, poor Julia vomited all over our souvenirs!!!  And so that was the end of our Disneyland Trip 2011!!  Pretty little Disneyland pins and trinkets covered in vomit...nice!  Obviously there was milk in her meal somewhere!! 

Needless to say, we did have a great time there in Disneyland!  My lesson was that while sometimes you may get great accommodations, it might not be worth the risk.  I guess until food allergies are taken more seriously, we will be packing our food again.   Ahh.....my wish upon a star would be to walk into a restaurant with my family and truly know that my daughter is safe.  Maybe someday that will happen.....

 I always make sure that I have at least 1 or 2 of these delicious chocolate bars in my daughters backpack, just in case something comes up at school!   They are so yummy!  Trust me, you want one of these boxes in your pantry so that when something comes up, you'll always have a goodie for your little "allergy free kiddo"!