A few costume ideas

Here are pictures of the bee costume and Mario and Luigi.

Dairy-free Halloween Tips

I know that Halloween has already passed, but I wanted to post what we did for Halloween to make it fun AND safe for my kids.

1. I purchased extra candy that was dairy-free. I let the kids go door to door and accept the candy given. When they got home, I went through all their candy and sorted out the dairy-free candy and the non-dairy-free candy. I then let them trade for dairy-free candy. This way they didn't feel left out or excluded and still had fun. Some neighbors know of our allergy and were very kind to provide something extra special for my kids:) I love great neighbors!!! (Note: Due to too many dental bills, I keep their candy up high and give them a little bit each day. At this rate, we may never get through it!!! Maybe I'll send some with my husband to work:))

2. Make meal time fun! For our Halloween festivities, we celebrated the entire day. (I LOVE Saturdays!!!) Here was our menu:

Breakfast: Pumpkin Pancakes with chopped pecans and Apple Spice Syrup (found in my cookbook: www.milkallergycompanion.com)

Lunch: Tomato Soup ("blood"), Bone Breadsticks, Fingers (carrots with hummus and almonds as finger nails), Spiders (cucumber slices with pretzel sticks stuck on with hummus), Swamp Juice (green Kiwi/Strawberry Juice with swedish fish)

Dinner: Toes (hot dogs with ketchup as toe nails), Monkey Brains (potato salad), Salad, and Water

Dessert: Dairy-free Chocolate cupcakes with fun decorations (recipe on my website)

Other ideas: "Teeth" - apple slices cut in teeth shapes stuck together with peanut butter, "Bats" - baby carrots with lettuce wings, grape tomato head stuck together with toothpicks.

3. Focus on the fun of dressing up and making fun family memories! For costumes, I made a Mario and Luigi costume for my boys. My daughter was Princess Leia. We also had a bee and a spiderman (store bought). We carved pumpkins and played the Bone game (we cut out a skeleton and hid the different pieces). We also watched some Disney Halloween short movies on You Tube. Overall it was a great day!!!

A new chapter

Over the last few weeks, I have seen a remarkable difference in my baby. We have been able to take her off of all of her medication for reflux. I have also tried little bits of dairy (yogurt, cheese - occasionally) and thus far she has been fine. She no longer screams all day and I have been able to meet her needs better. I am so grateful for this change in her temperament. I am still off of all soy products (allergic), however, I have tried soy lecithin, soy oil, and soy sauce with no adverse reactions. I really like using Rice Milk and Oat Milk and like baking some things with Almond Milk. Since Earth Balance has the soy protein in it, we have switched to using Fleischmann's Unsalted Margarine (dairy-free) as well as Smart Balance Light. I also heard that Smart Balance Organic is dairy-free, so I'll have to keep a look out for that to try it out. We had a great Halloween (too much candy...) and are looking forward to the fall/winter holidays:) I'll post what we did for Halloween to keep it safe!!!

Soy & Dairy allergy update

I've been off soy now for over a month. Thus far we have been trying out alternative forms of milk for my family. My favorites thus far are rice milk and oat milk. Almond milk is okay alone, but DELICIOUS in blueberry muffins. I also liked it with Honey Nut Cheerios and bananas. I didn't really care for goat milk. Our favorite pancakes thus far have been made using oat milk. I'll post the recipe soon!!! As of right now, I've been able to tolerate Soy Lecithin and Soy Oil just fine. I also had soy sauce with no adverse reactions (yeah!!!). I tried dairy the other day and my baby (now 4 months old) had no reactions that I could tell. She has developed a small rash, however, under her chin. I think it's from the constant drooling, but if it doesn't go away, then I will continue to stay off of dairy for a little while longer to see if it goes away. As far as dairy-free and soy-free margarines go, I tried to order the soy-free and dairy-free Earth Balance, but my store hasn't gotten it in yet. Right now I am using Fleischmann's Unsalted Margarine (has soy lecithin) for baking and Smart Balance LIGHT (regular has dairy) for spreading on toast, etc. So far, so good!!!

Camp T.A.G.

Just passing along this information:)

Hello VA/MD/DC Groups,

I hope all is well. I know many of you have wondered about Camp T.A.G.'S future since I made the move to FAAN. I'm so happy to share with you that Camp T.A.G. has been approved by our Board of Directors and will be a FAAN program.

Camp T.A.G. will launch Summer 2011 in 10 locations. The locations are:

NOVA
Silver Spring, MD
Raleigh, NC
Philadelphia, PA
North NJ/NYC
Long Island, NY
Oak Brook, IL
Joliet, IL
San Francisco, CA
Houston, TX

Also, in Summer 2012, we will pilot a one-week sleep-away camp for ages 10-17. The sleep-away camps will be held at colleges and universities in 3-4 locations throughout the country. The kids can stay in the dorms, it is less contained, and closer to a hospital should we need one. We are planning on doing the pilot sleep-away camp at Johns Hopkins University and then add areas to the midwest and west.

This is very exciting news! I will be sending out a formal announcement to all US Support Groups soon, but I wanted to give you all the heads up.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I'm happy to come speak to your groups to tell you more about Camp T.A.G. and the other educational programs we are working on, including the 2010 Food Allergy Conferences. They have been totally revamped, and we'll be giving the members more of what they want. There is also a 4th location that has been added for our conferences...Las Vegas. The conferences are going to be GREAT!

I look forward to seeing you all soon.
Best,
Eleanor

In the News

I got this from another group I belong to and thought I'd pass it along:

In the News

The Johns Hopkins Children's Center on Facebook sent out the follow link on an upcoming episode on Nickelodeon, Sept 27th.
It features/references Dr. Wood.
http://www.nick.com/all_nick/tv_supersites/nick_news/stories_weekly.jhtml?pollId=470824536&wstory=0

Oprah.com, addressing the increase in food allergies in our children.
http://www.oprah.com/article/relationships/parenting/20090918-orig-food-allergies-children

FAAN responds to Slate article by Meredith Broussard
http://foodallergy.org/media/HotTopics/slate.html

Protein post-workout drink options

As I've been looking for more ways to increase my protein (without dairy and soy), I have run across a few options for a quick post-workout drink.

1. 1/4-1/3 c egg whites (you can buy pasteurized egg whites for safety) + 1 c orange juice or pineapple juice. Blend together. You can add fresh fruit and ice to make a thicker drink (banana, strawberries, blueberries, etc.)

2. Buy a pea, hemp, or rice based protein mix from a health food store or online at www.vitacost.com.