A Retreat Update

In my last post, I talked about the difficulties of my teen going on a two day trip with her friends to a retreat two hours away. While this may seem like it is not a big deal, it was a big step for my daughter who is allergic to so many different foods.

I am happy to say that it went very well. She had a great time with her friends, met some new ones and didn't have any trouble with her food allergies. The food I packed for her remained untouched but it seemed she survived on fruit and a delicious dinner they made especially for her. The most important thing is she felt just like a normal teenager who is now a bit more confident with her allergies than she was two days before. That is priceless!

Retreat

My daughter just took a big step towards independence with her severe allergies. She has decided to go on a two-day church retreat with her friends. This is a very big step for her because she has never been on a retreat or to a camp in her 14 years. She is going to be off on her own for the weekend—in charge and in control of her own allergy problems.

At first, it was just easy to sign up for day camps and not worry about her going away and how we are going to make sure she is safe with all her allergies. This was fine when she was young but as she has gotten older, she has sat back and watched as all her friends have gone off to one camp or another. She has been patient when they talked about the fun activities they did or the cool new friends they have met.

A couple years ago I started talking to her about finding a camp for her to go to. How about going to a special camp for kids with allergies? No! What about going with a good friend to this camp? No! How about we find a camp where I can work while you are there? Absolutely Not! I don’t blame her I wouldn't want my Mom there either! Still, it seemed quite daunting for both of us!

I think part of the reason she didn't want to go was that she was nervous about what she could or could not eat. Can you imagine watching your friends laughing and telling animated stories at the camp table as they are gobble down their food not even caring about what they are eating? Instead, she is wondered if that same food, someone else had made, would give her a reaction. Or more likely, what on the menu besides fruit, could she even eat?

Our daughter’s list of severe allergies is so extensive, (dairy, eggs, peanuts, all nuts and sesame) that we couldn't even imagine what she would be able to eat even if she was to go. As far as I remember, the “Camp” fare usually comprised of eggs, french toast or muffins for breakfast, and pizza, mac-n-cheese or peanut butter sandwiches for lunch or dinner.

So when her friend asked her to go on a Church retreat and she said yes, I was very excited but also a bit concerned. This was a big step for her and for me. I tried to keep the enthusiasm in my voice as I told her that I thought it was a good idea but I would have to look into the food accommodations. That’s when her face fell. For the first time, she had felt like a normal teenager and hadn't even thought about her allergies getting in the way.

I talked to the Church organization and they were very excited to have her come. We talked about the food they would be serving during those two days. As I thought, there wasn't much she would be able to eat but I didn't want that to stop her from going, so we talked about allowing her to bring her own food. I was very pleased when they seemed receptive to the idea, but was disappointed when my daughter who had been full of jubilance about the trip, told me she didn't want to go anymore.

After a few days, we talked about it again. The reality is that she needs to start taking bigger steps towards allergy independence; after all, she will be going away to college in four short years. Another objection she brought to my attention was that people would know she was different and she would be embarrassed, all because of her allergies. At this stage in her life this was very important to her. According to FARE, 1 in 13 children are diagnosed with a food allergy, so there are a lot of kids out there who may also be struggling with the same issues. We found out that two other kids will be bringing their own food for the trip. That seemed to boost her confidence enough that she once again decided the trip would be a lot of fun.

We also talked about how it isn't bad to be different and that as you get older, you realize that having food allergies doesn't make you unusual, it makes you unique. So my advice to her was to embrace what makes her special and to let others know she is okay with being different.

It’s retreat time!

Vegan Peach Streusel Muffins

Peaches! Peaches! Peaches! What am I going to do without fresh peaches? It looks like this is the last week for ripe Michigan peaches so I bought as many as a could possibly fit in my bag and now it is time to bake!

We are very big into baking breakfast and dessert goods in our house so I went looking for a good peach muffin recipe. Danelle at Let’s Dish has a great recipe for Peach Muffins with Almond Streusel which you can view here. I have adapted it a bit so that it is vegan and nut-free. 

I love these muffins because not only are they very light; they also have just the right mix of cinnamon and nutmeg. I find the peaches are not over powering if you chop the peaches a bit on the small size. I did this so that my teen, who hates cooked fruit, would hopefully not notice the peaches as much. I think we have finally converted her because she loves these muffins! If you prefer your muffins less sweet, simply add a cinnamon sugar mix to the top instead of the streusel. 

Muffin Mixture:

1/2 C vegan margarine, softened

1/4 C packed brown sugar

1/2 C granulated sugar

2 equivalent egg replacer 

1/2 C dairy-free sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 3/4 C all-purpose flour

1 T baking powder

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

3 T rice or soy milk

1 1/2 cups peeled, chopped peaches (2-3 medium peaches) + 1 T flour

Streusel Mixture:

1/3 C brown sugar, packed

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

1/4 C butter, melted

2/3 C all-purpose flour

Glaze:

1/2 C powdered sugar

1 T milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with paper liners.

In a mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg replacer, dairy-free sour cream and vanilla extracts and beat until well combined. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Slowly mix into the margarine mixture and beat well. Slowly add the rice or soy milk. Toss the peaches with one tablespoon of flour and gently fold into the batter. Divide among the 12 muffin tins.

Next, make the streusel in a medium bowl combine sugar, cinnamon, salt and melted butter. Stir in flour. Top each muffin with streusel topping and press lightly down lightly into the batter.

Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool slightly. While muffins are cooking, make the glaze mixture. Whisk all of the ingredients together and drizzle over warm muffins.

She's 14!

My teen just turned 14!

Her choice of fare for her special day; crab legs, red potatoes, corn on the cob, and her favorite chocolate cake.

I am very proud of my beautiful, creative, confident and super-sweet  daughter.

Every young girl deserves flowers for their birthday!

Remembering 9/11

Seeing the tributes to 9/11 today has brought back those same feelings of helpfulness and sorrow that I felt earlier this summer on our trip to New York City. Seeing the holes in the ground where not one but two towers once stood. The same towers that my soon-to-be husband and I visited on my first trip to New York City over 20 years ago.

On that first trip, we were in awe of the view from the observation deck of the Towers as we were able to seeing the beautiful and ever-changing landscape of this vast city. We proudly took pictures of each other on the outside deck as we were virtually alone up there, it was our little secret haven in the sky. And then onward to the Statue of Liberty for a hearty climb up to the crown of old Liberty.

This summer, many years later, we spent time in New York City with our two children. Our first stop was to see Lady Liberty herself. She seemed so majestic is all her glory on that beautiful, sunny day. As we headed back to Manhattan, we were trying to decide what was next on our one day tour of the Big Apple.

We knew the 9/11 memorial was close by but both my husband and I felt a bit hesitant to go there. We wanted to keep our memories of that day the same, especially after what happened when those two planes flew into the Towers and forever changed history. I know it was naive of us to think that "our" history should stay the same and that we could somehow block what happened. But we both knew that we had a story to tell our children. A story about how beautiful those Twin Towers were to us that day and how that memory will always have a special place in our heart.

We remained mostly silent as we wandered around the two fountains where each of the two Towers once stood. Each one of us lost in our own thoughts, listening to the soothing sounds from the water cascading slowly down to the bottom and back up again, almost like the cycle life; from death a new life begins.

And so as we walked around the memorial, our fingers slowly traced the names of those who died that day as if to better to remember them.

For us, this anniversary has a new and very special meaning. One that will include special prayers for those men and women who lost their lives and a special thanks to those very brave people who tried to help them. Rest in peace.

Vegan Blueberry Peach Strudel

Our family spent the last weekend of summer soaking up the sun and enjoying the waves in Michigan. We spent Saturday morning walking from farm stand to farm stand sampling and buying the many fruits and vegetables grown by the local farmers. We picked up an abundance of corn, red peppers, lettuce, ripe peaches and the last of the seasonal blueberries.

Blueberries and peaches happen to be two of my favorite fruits. I spend most of June wondering when they are going to be ready to be picked and ready for me to eat them all up! With an abundance of both succulent fruits on hand, I went looking for a recipe that combined both blueberries and peaches, and that could be adapted to omit any dairy, eggs or nuts at the same time. I found this recipe for Blueberry Peach Strudel from Donika on Mom What’s 4 Dinner.

Thankfully, Pillsbury Puff Pastry sheets are dairy and egg free so they worked out perfectly for this recipe! Instead of the peach jam mixture Donika used, I opted for fresh peaches and then added more brown sugar to sweeten them up a bit. I don’t like mine too sweet so you may want to add more sugar to the recipe if you like your strudels a bit sweeter. I also used vegan cream cheese instead of ricotta or regular cream cheese and no egg, just vegan margarine in the wash.

I think my strudel turned out pretty well and both of my kids loved them. Even my daughter who normal doesn’t like cooked fruit ate a whole strudel as soon as they were out of the oven!

Vegan Blueberry Peach Strudel (no dairy, eggs, nuts) 

2 sheets of thawed puff pastry sheets

1 cup frozen organic blueberries or fresh

2 T brown sugar

1 1/2 T cornstarch

2 ripe peaches, peeled and diced

10 tbsp of Vegan cream cheese (5 tsbp for each sheet of pastry); soften

1 T vegan butter or margarine; melted

Peel and dice the peaches and place in a small bowl. Add the blueberries, cornstarch, and brown sugar to the peaches and mix well.  Roll out dough; spread on the softened cream cheese about 5 tablespoons on each sheet of dough, and spread half the fruit mixture over the cream cheese. Repeat with other sheet of dough and ingredients.

Roll and cut each puff pastry dough in half. Seal both sides and cut a couple slats on the top.

Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, brush with melted vegan butter and bake at 400 degrees until golden (about 20-25 minutes). For a more golden crust, place under broiler for a minute. Dust with icing sugar. Perfect for breakfast or a snack. Enjoy!

Teachers Notice on Allergies

A couple years ago, right before my daughter was to start middle school in a brand new environment, I started feeling a bit panicked. How do I keep her safe when there will be so many more students and teachers to worry about?

The first thing I did was to have an open dialogue with the school nurse, my daughter's adviser, and her teachers. Medical forms had to be filled out and signed by the doctor and then sent to the school nurse. All medicine had to be ordered and labelled properly before dropping them off at school and 504 Action Plans needed to be created and signed by the parents and teachers.

Even with all the paperwork and all the details, I still felt there was something else I could do to help ensure the safety of my allergic daughter. That first year and every year since, I have sent her teachers a separate e-mail explaining her allergies and asking for their help. You see, on the first day of school, when they call on my daughter's name, I want them to look at her face and know that she is the one with severe food allergies. That way if they notice anything out of the ordinary, they will hopefully send her to the Nurse's office to be checked out. Another reason is that I know students often spend their lunch time getting extra help from teachers in their classroom. That means that they may have eaten their lunch (possibly a yummy peanut butter sandwich) on your child's desk. For some allergic kids, this could be a very sticky situation! For this reason, I kindly ask them if the teacher or the student could please wipe these desks right after lunch. This keeps the learning environment clean and allergy-safe. It's a win-win situation for all!

Here is a sample of the e-mail I sent out this year:

Hi! I usually send out an e-mail at the beginning of the school year to all my daughter's teachers. She is going to be in your class this year and I just wanted to let you know that she has severe food allergies to dairy, eggs, peanuts, all other nuts and sesame. 

My daughter is very good at managing her allergies so if you are going to have a party that involves food or any experiment or class activity that involves food, please let her know so she will be aware and can plan accordingly. Also, I know students frequently come to classrooms during their lunch to make up work. I little wipe of the desk would help us out greatly.

Let me know if you have any questions. Thank you for all your help.

While this has worked out very well for us these past three Middle School years, I think our daughter will need to come up with a different plan during her High School years. So we will stick with our plan for the time being and next year will be a new year.