Parties, Friends and Food Allergies

Thank God for good friends....the ones who may not understand the details of your food allergies, but are willing to do anything to accomodate.

Our good friends had a birthday party this weekend and they didn't flinch as I stood in front of the grill-master identifying exactly how to grill the allergen-free hotdogs and hamburgers.

The conversation was something like, "Do you mind if I take a look at the spray used on the grill?" "Oh, I didn't even think of that."

And, "When you cook the hotdogs, could you use a separate spatula so that the cheese from the hamburgers on the other side of the grill doesn't cross-contaminate?" "Ahh, ok we'll use the thongs instead."

And then, there were questions about the potato salad and dressing used with the spinach strawberry salad.

And last but not least, the cake. This time we brought a gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free cake to share. Aidan and I were very happy and so were some guests who desperately wanted a chocolate fix.

So, Aidan and I had plenty of safe foods to enjoy the party with others and our friends so graciously learned more about allergic-living.

The Proverbial Lemonade Stand

Periodically we encounter the neighborhood kids with their makeshift lemonade stand. I feel the need to stop and support them and yet I have an immediate hesitation about whether the lemonade is ‘safe’ for my allergic son.

Could their possibly be peanut, treenut, egg, dairy or shellfish contamination…in lemonade?

If anyone has read the Pinkalicious and the Pink Drink story by Victoria Kann, you may remember it as an engaging read.

Without her mom’s knowledge, Pinkalicious decides that the perfect ingredients for coloring the lemonade pink are watermelon, pink grapefruit and pink frosting. Hmmmm?

I certainly don’t want to grill the kids as to what their ingredients are, nor do I want to ask for an adult to come speak with me, but can I really be sure it is safe?

Kids are creative so I always air on the safe side and avoid it for Aidan while dropping them a few coins to support the effort.

Parents of Children with Food Allergies: Join the Club

It’s Food Allergy Awareness Week…FAAN, AAFA and the numerous support groups and schools across the country are making it a priority to think and act on behalf of all who suffer with allergies.

For many of us, food allergy is on our mind on a daily basis. We create awareness of food allergy just by interacting in our social environments.

In a way, I feel that those of us with allergies and children with allergies are in a club of our own. A club we never chose but we find support from nonetheless.

I recently attended another of our local support group meetings. Regardless of our varied backgrounds, we are united in one mission- to keep our children safe. In doing so, we feel the need to keep others safe.

Yes, I do believe that making others aware of allergies is vital to the overall effort to find a cure.
And yes, if you are looking for encouragement or just like to keep up on all things allergies then join the club; literally, join a local food allergy group or do what our leader did…start one yourself!