Chocolate Hearts

We were at Trader Joe's yesterday and they were giving out samples of their Dark Chocolate Hearts. I asked to see the label and was so surprised that they are peanut, tree nut & egg free. MG was shocked when I handed her one and said they were safe. "Yummmmmy," she sang out. They were scrumptious and would be a special treat to anyone on Valentine's Day. MG wants to give some to her daddy... shhhh... don't tell. I think she knows daddy will share some with her. Here is what the Trader Joe's website says about this new product:

Dark Chocolate Hearts

As Lucy Van Pelt of Peanuts fame once said, “All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!” Here, here! Especially, we say, if it’s a little Dark Chocolate Heart or, for that matter, 15 Dark Chocolate Hearts busting in the center with rich, creamy milk and dark chocolate truffle filling. Made in Belgium from only the finest quality ingredients, these luscious heart shape treats are great for expressing your love or eating it. And at the great price of $4.99 for a 7.05 oz. box, they are everything your heart desires.

The irony of them mentioning the Peanuts show does not escape me.

As always I recommend you double check the label of your own box. Unfortunately Trader Joe's is only in the USA and even then they aren't everywhere. Hope you can find one by you or someone kind enough to mail you a box!

A Little Great

I'm guest posting at A Little Great today, come on over and give me some comment love! I'd love to hear about what got you to take allergies seriously. After you've read my guest post take a look around. A Little Great is new and already filled with gems. (click on sidebar button)

Chocolate Cheerios

I was nervous when I saw an ad for the new chocolate cheerios. I was worried they would have peanut flour just like the new chocolate and strawberry chex cereals. I've been searching for them in the cereal aisle all week and they finally arrived. I'm happy to say that the box I checked was free of all but one of the the top allergens, wheat. They would be fun to add in a batch of rice krispies for a special treat.

Meatball Day

We have a little family tradition of watching a movie together once a week. Last Saturday we decided to make the moment extra special. We called it meatball day. We ate spaghetti & meatballs for lunch and then watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

(Warning, Movie Spoiler) I knew little about the movie. I'd just heard it was kid friendly and silly. I was surprised when the character Anna said she was allergic to peanuts because MG has never seen anyone on screen that she could relate to, in regards to her nut allergies. "She's just like me!" MG squealed happily! When Anna went into anaphylactic shock I was pleased that they showed how quickly it happens. However, when the character Anna finally received her epinephrine shot (epi pen) I was disappointed that she made a quick 100% recovery so quickly.

When MG went into anaphylactic shock after eating a tiny bite of a peanut butter and honey sandwich within minutes her checks were out as far as the tip of her nose. Her face was completely unrecognizable. While she did start to improve after her epi shot in the ambulance and continued to improve after treatments in the ER, it took a full 48 hours before her face completely recovered.

It's a challenge to get people to take MG's allergies seriously. I know people have wondered why I don't just relax and give her an epi shot before we go to the park. This goes to show how uneducated people are about nut allergies.

^{An epi pen is a life saving miracle. Something you hope you never have to use and yet something that you carry around 24/7 to give yourself a bit of peace as you venture out. I worry that the portrayal in the movie is only going to continue to confuse those who don't understand. Did anyone else see it and what was your feeling and perspective of Anna going into anaphylactic shock?}

Egg Free Royal Icing

Thank-you to Yummy Allergen Free for posting your recipe for EGG FREE ROYAL ICING. We did Gingerbread houses two years ago with MG's cousins and she instantly reacted badly to the egg in the frosting. I wondered if we'd ever be able to do gingerbread houses again until I found your wonderful recipe which worked like magic. Beware that if we ever meet I'll be resisting the urge to hug and kiss you. Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!!

Egg Free Royal Icing
from: Yummy Allergen Free

1 c Powdered sugar
1 T Ener-G egg replacer (dry)
1 t Cream of tartar
1/8 t Xanthan gum
2 T Water (approximately)

I quadrupled the recipe for our house and we ran out of the frosting but it was enough to cover most of the house and we had a lot of fun.

It's been awesome to let MG nibble at her house with 100% safe candy and frosting. What a blessing!

SunButter Cookies

MG prefers soybutter over sunbutter but when I read a review of this recipe from the Peanut Allergy Kid Blog I knew we needed to give it a try and we weren't disappointed. This recipe is from the SunButter Website.

SUNBUTTER COOKIES

Ingredients
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 cup Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 cups Creamy SunButter
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
2 Eggs-Large Whole (I replaced the eggs with Ener-g Egg Replacer)
3 tsp. Vanilla Extract
3 1/4 cups Flour
1 cup Nonfat Dry Milk

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a bowl, combine flour, dry milk and salt.
3. In a different bowl, blend margarine, SunButter®, white sugar, brown sugar, eggs (or replacement) and vanilla until smooth.
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well.
5. Take about 1 1/2 tbsp of cookie dough and roll into a ball. Place the ball onto a cookie sheet and flatten dough with a spatula. Repeat process for the rest of the dough.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly brown.
7. Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet.

These were really fun to make and eat. I had to add about 1/4 cup water because my batter was too crumbly. I then rolled them into balls and squished a dark chocolate hershey's kiss in the middle before baking. They were a special treat and one we'll be making again. MG rated them with two thumbs up!

Gift Giving

I know it's a challenge to select a Christmas gift for an individual or family that deals with food allergies. I was impressed at one friends thoughtful gift to us:

An offer to babysit MG in our home while we spent the night away!

It's so hard for me to leave MG with a sitter. To trust someone else to keep her safe. To teach them how to save her life with an EPI-Pen. It's scary. Yet there is a small circle of those I trust and to have one of them give me a worry free night away was such a treat!

Other thoughtful gifts MG & our family have received around the holidays:

*Sparkling Cider

*Apples with Carmel Dip

*Safe Candy in a bowl
*Toys

I think the key is verifying what is safe and not safe in the household before you decide on your gift. Read labels carefully. A store bought item is always safer than one made at home where cross contamination can easily happen. In the end it's the thought that counts and your gift receiver will be grateful they weren't forgotten even though they have severe allergies!