Teen from California Dies from Food Allergy Reaction

It is truly tragic and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Natalie Giorgi who died from a fatal allergic reaction to peanuts at Camp Sacramento in California. Natalie was at camp with her family when she took a bite of a Rice Krispies treat that was coated with peanut butter and topped off with chocolate. Even though Natalie was always diligent about her allergies, they believe that because it was dark, she did not notice the peanut butter until she had already taken a bite. She immediately spit it out but she had an anaphylactic reaction anyways and eventually died. Her parents had given her Benadryl and multiple doses of her Epi-pen.

I am always saddened to hear about this tragic accident and a bit frightened because I think that could have been my daughter. I am hesitant to post this because I know that my daughter will read this and because she is the same age as this girl, this news will affect her even more. Natalie's family released a statement, “As our hearts are breaking over this tragedy, we hope others can learn from this that food allergies are life-threatening.” They went on to say, “Caution and care for those (afflicted) should always be supported and taken.”

My mother and sister, who also have severe nut allergies, have skipped many a dessert line because they knew that there was no way to know what the exact ingredients were in them. We have taught our daughter to do the same, she either brings her own dessert or she waits and has something when she gets home. This is why it is so important to make sure you or your child, no matter what the age, is very careful when they are eating something that does not have the ingredients listed. We all know homemade treats are the most tasty but it is not worth the risk!

Again, this is a tragic accident and our deepest sympathy are with the Giorgi family at this time of great sorrow.

It's Blueberry Time!

We have been waiting for blueberry season to open in Michigan and it has finally arrived! We usually let the blueberries rippen a bit before we go out but for some reason I just couldn't wait. So on the second day of picking season, off we went to our local blueberry farm,  Let the pickin' begin!

Lots of green berries but also lots of yummy, ripe blueberries on the bottom. I think it made it more trying to find the good ones. We always have a contest to see who could find the biggest blueberry. Not sure who won because those never made it on our bucket. Straight in to the mouth! Apparently we weren't the only over anxious ones because there were close to 10 other people in this small rows of bushes.

Here's one of my favorite recipes for using blueberries. The melted margarine makes this coffeecake a favorite in our house.

Grand Haven 

Blueberry Coffeecake

  

Coffee Cake

2 C Flour

3 tsp. Baking Powder

½ tsp. Salt

½ C Sugar

1 ½ tsp Egg Replacer + 2 T Warm Water

1 C Rice or Soy Milk

¼ C Melted Non-Dairy Margarine

1 C Blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  To make the coffeecake grease an 8 X 8 glass baking dish then place blueberries in a small bowl and cover with flour. Toss to coat. Next, mix Egg Replacer and warm water in small bowl and set aside. Melt margarine and set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the dry ingredients and slowly add in the Egg Replacer and non-dairy milk. Once the margarine has cooled, slowly add it to the flour ingredients and mix well. Pour into the greased pan.

Blueberry Topping

½ C Brown Sugar

1/3 C Flour

1 tsp. Cinnamon

¼ C Non-dairy Margarine

To make the blueberry topping, mix the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon together. Cut in small pieces of the margarine and mix until the topping resembles a crumble. Sprinkle the topping on the coffee cake and place in the oven. Bake for 35 minutes.

School Prep

Arghh! I just saw my first ad today for school supplies. Seriously, who wants to think about school supplies right after the 4th of July. On the other hand, it did remind me to make my appointment with the allergist so I can have the school medical forms and her 504 plan all finished before school starts. In several states, children with severe food allergies now fall under the 504 plan of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Check with your state to see if your child qualifies for a 504 plan.

I'm thinking of retesting Katie's allergies this year. Maybe, just maybe this will be the year that one of her many allergies has miraculously disappeared. Keep your fingers crossed!

Don't forget to make your appointments today!

A Magical Evening

Nuptials read among a sea of orange Trumpet Vine, a stroll through the Zoo after hours, cocktails with the dolphins and dancing until the wee hours of the night. Not to mention the delicious salted double chocolate cupcake to top off the evening. A very special wedding and a magical night at the Indianapolis Zoo. 

A Teen's Voice

Emily Smith is a 16 year old teenager with severe food allergies to tree-nuts. I found her blog teenfoodallergies by accident when I was researching about teens with allergies. After reading Emily’s blog, I immediately liked her. She is a teenager who is going through her teen years with confidence and a sense of humor in spite of her severe food allergies.

In one of her posts “The Dangers of Chutney” she describes her terrifying reaction one Thanksgiving to some chutney that has walnuts in it. Emily describes her physical and emotional reaction to the chutney with such total honesty that showed a lot of courage. Emily writes “i panicked, texted my boyfriend that i was scared i was going to die.” She goes on to write “My mom and sister surrounded me and hugged me, trying to calm me down, and eventually i did. My mom then informed me that she would have to give me an epi-pen.” They then went to the hospital where she was given meds through an IV and was eventually sent home.

For most people with food allergies, their reactions to food allergens is few and far between, which is a good thing, but when a reaction does occur, panic sets in. It helps to have someone there to help you calm down and administer the Epi-pen. Emily has advice for those teens with food allergies.

1.  “Freaking out” is not a good thing. You should take deep breaths and stay calm.
2.  “Trust your gut.” If you think you are having a reaction, then you probably are having a reaction.
3. If you can, find someone to help you (friends, family members).
4. The Epi-pen does not hurt that much so do not be afraid to use it if you need it.

I read this post to my daughter and told her that I now have a better understanding of what she goes through when she has a reaction. I also told her to please listen to Emily’s advice if a reaction does occur. We need to have more teens expressing the struggles they go through on a daily basis. I hope Emily continues to post to her blog so that other teens, including my daughter, can learn from her.

How Are Allergies Like Getting a New License

The night our son got his license, he wanted to drive to his friends’ house to hang out for the evening. Yeah, I was so excited that he was starting to become more independent. This excitement lasted about 5 minutes and then the panic set in.

Admit it, those of us with driving age teens know what I am talking about. Or maybe you can still recall those years when your children started to lean to drive. You start out with this feeling of excitement. Imagine a fist pump here. Yes, now I can send someone else to the grocery store for milk or luncheon meat or a sister pick up from horseback riding.

Then reality sets in and you start realizing that your child will be driving by themselves or with friends and you are no longer in control. Thoughts like where are they going, will they be able to drive in this weather and is the other driver paying attention start bombarding your brain. It’s like a game of ping pong in your brain. Thankfully he and I both survived his first and many trips out since. Although, I no longer feel panic when he goes out, I still have a sense of worry I know will probably never fully go away.

That got me thinking about another time that I felt that total and complete lack of control and this brain ping pong of worry that comes with being a Mom. It was last fall when my daughter was invited to join her youth group to a corn maze and cookout an hour away from our house. Hot dogs, s’mores and a night time race through the corn maze sounded awesome to my daughter. It was the first time she was going to be that far away for close to 6 hours. She was truly on her own and would have to be able to check the food ingredients and make sure that she knew what to do in an emergency.

Katie was thrilled. She wasn’t thinking about the details, she was thinking about how much fun she was going to have. On the other hand, I was trying to figure out what foods she could and could not eat and how to make sure everything was covered for any kind of emergency. So I contacted her leader to tell her about the allergies, got a list of food they were having and where they were going. Next, I made sure she had her phone, Benadryl and Epi-pen and we made sure she was confident using them.

On the day of her trip, I sent her with her special buns, potato chips she could eat and her non-dairy chocolate for the s’mores. That’s when the panic started to set in. How was she going to do this all by herself? What if she eats something she is allergic to and they are in the middle of nowhere? How am I going to make it through the whole day without worrying?

I have to admit that I did text her a couple of times just to make sure she was having fun. That’s what cell phones are for, right?! As it turned out she had a great time and with no problems at all. As a parent we need to realize that, just like with my son, there are times that we are not going to have control of our kid’s lives and that’s okay. While it is our job to worry about them, we must also let our children have the opportunity to develop their own independence and confidence to make the right decisions on their own.

Three more years until Katie drives……urghh!!

The Best Cookie EVER!

I’m in love! This is what my daughter said after tasting one of these cookies for the first time. How could she not be in love with the Chewy Gooey Chocolate Goodness you get from the rich cocoa powder and the chunks of non-dairy chocolate with every bite. These are so good that I cannot stop eating them. Which is very bad, very, very bad!!

I found this recipe by Joanne and Adam Gallagher on the Inspired Taste blog. Here is the link is you would like to take at look at their recipe http://www.inspiredtaste.net/19084/chewy-double-chocolate-cookies-recipe/. 

I added some whole wheat flour and changed the ingredients so that it has no dairy or eggs in it. Give it a try!

Ne eggs, No dairy Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies

Serves: 40

Ingredients

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons Non-dairy margarine at room temperature (2 1/4 sticks)

1 cup sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

2 Egg Replacer (3tsp Egg Replacer + 4T luke warm water)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cups  unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

12 ounces non-dairy chocolate chunks (about 2 1/2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In the mixer, add butter and sugars to a large bowl and beat until creamy, light and fluffy. Add Egg Replacer or other egg substitute, then add the vanilla extract and mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine the flours, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and the salt with a whisk. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. The cookie batter will become very thick. Mix well.

Using a large knife to chop the chocolate into small chunks. We used Mega Chunks from Enjoy Life which taste great and are easy to chop. 

Add the chocolate to the batter then use a spoon or spatula to gently stir in the chocolate. Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheets (or use a medium cookie scoop). Bake 9 to 12 minutes or until the cookies have puffed a little and the tops are dry. 

Cool on baking sheets then transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely. These are ridiculously good!!!