The journalist in me won’t make assumptions until all the facts are out. But I will say that if the school did, in fact decline the mother’s request to keep an EpiPen at school for emergencies, they will be held responsible for negligence and not having an appropriate policy in place for children with severe food allergies. I read the fine print of their “policy” but if a clinical aid refuses the only medication that could save a food allergic child’s life, than all the rest of their policy is crap and BS. The right meds for these kids need to be in the right places at all times. No exceptions.

Which brings me to my son’s school and where they keep EpiPens, medications for children with food allergies. We are fortunate to have a school nurse. She has a big cabinet filled with resealable plastic bags of medications for children with food allergies. The nurse is located down the hallway from the cafeteria. In the event of an emergency in the lunchroom, it would seem there would be enough time to get a child down to the nurse, go through the packs of medications to find his/her specific bag of medication, administer one EpiPen for 10 seconds, maybe two if the first one doesn’t work, call 911 and pray the child responds to the corrective action.

However, I never felt comfortable with this process, because it is assuming everything will go exactly as planned, and that the child’s allergy will be recognized quickly enough to escort the child down to the nurse. I’ve always requested that a second EpiPen package be stored in cafeteria with the lunch monitors who handle the payment/check in. That person is trained on the EpiPen, and the monitors know what to look for in the event of a reaction. This emergency protocol is labeled in John’s 504 Plan. Today, as I was picking up John for his allergist appointment, I asked the office to double check to make sure John’s EpiPens were still stored in the lunchroom. The office confirmed that it was, and out of curiosity I asked if there were any other medicine kits stored in the lunchroom. The nice lady smiled, and responded…”No. Just John’s.”

The proposed School Access to Emergency Act “would enable schools to maintain a supply of epinephrine and enable staff to administer an Epipen to a student having an anaphylactic reaction.” Please read this article for more information about why it is important for you to contact your local congressman or woman for support. In my opinion, every LUNCHROOM should be equipped with EpiPens in the event of a food allergy emergency. There are a number of factors that could affect the child getting the right rescue medication at the right time. We encourage our children to always have their medicine kits on them 24/7, so why wouldn’t we have them available in the lunchrooms, where there is the most risk to these kids? Something to consider when drafting your child’s 504 Plan.

After seven hive reactions in two weeks, I took John to his allergist today to determine why. No new allergies were detected. John’s allergist said recurrent break out of hives is actually common in kids with food allergies when they are exposed to certain viral infections. As long as there isn’t any other respiratory or oral symptoms, it should be fine to treat John with daily antihistamines until the virus has worked itself out. It was interesting to note that John’s skin test and blood result for peanuts is still greater than 100 (KU/L), class 6 (highest class possible), combine that with John’s asthma and, according to John’s doctor an anaphylactic reaction could occur within 1-3 minutes. 1-3 minutes….is all it would take for my son to die if he didn’t have his EpiPens on him. Another variable is possibly how much peanut product would be ingested….the more ingested, the faster the reaction. As we all know, peanut traces could be in breads, cookies, snacks, etc. THIS is the reality parents of children with food allergies have to live with every day when we send our kids out the door. I used to think when John was in preschool that it would get easier when he got older. But I am finding that it is much, much harder. At the end of the day, John desperately wants to be a normal kid, who hangs out, plays sports and goes to 7- 11 with his friends to buy Gatorade. I get it, and I’m letting go as much as possible. But after hearing of another food allergy death…it just makes it all so hard to deal with.

Children are a great gift to us all. As parents we love them more than our own lives, and would gladly give ours to save theirs. We’re fiercely protective of them, and that will never go away. Keep fighting the fight, there’s much more work to be done in awareness, advocacy and prevention. Don’t take no for answer, ever, and believe that your child’s rights at school are just as important as any other child. Believe that homeschooling doesn’t need to be the answer, that your child can adjust happily and even thrive in any environment. And most importantly, believe in the power of YOUR voice, and empower your child to feel the same.

In the meantime, my prayers will always be with Ammaria’s family and loved ones, and hope that we can all help to prevent another child’s death from food. Here’s a great list from FAAN about the Anaphylaxis Do’s and Don’ts. Please read and share.

xo

The clip will most likely be on Martha’s website tomorrow, and it would be fantastic if you all could show your support of these types of segments by posting a comment to the video clip. I know that if Martha’s staff could see how much these types of stories mean to us, and that there is a huge demographic of viewers that want more allergen aware segments, they would possibly be open to even more of them in the future. The more mainstream food allergy coverage is, the better for all of us. When we get people talking about it, we bring awareness. And awareness brings compassion and diligence.

I’m so proud to be a part of such an amazing and support community of parents who are so passionate about food allergy awareness. Simply read my previous post, and all those incredible comments from so many of you, and you can literally feel the positive and warm energy. Your comments brought tears to my eyes, time after time. I’m beyond grateful to have you all to connect with. There are so many advocates, too many to name here, but who are always working behind the scenes and in front of the scenes to get the right information out there. I thank my lucky stars for you every day.

One more thing, my all time favorite site in the world for food allergy info, FAAN is posting another one of my holiday recipes on their blog FAANnotes. I hope you enjoy it.

Happy Baking everyone and a VERY VERY Happy Holiday Season to you and your families!

xoxox

Finally, after years of debate and efforts to promote food allergy awareness at my son’s schools, the day has finally come where I feel like we have made TREMENDOUS progress. Today I attended our schools’ Room Parent Meeting, to which our principal got up and addressed the room parents about the seriousness of food allergies, and that new procedures will be in place. For example, our school will celebrate birthdays AND holiday parties in a NON food manner for Kindergarten, First and Second Grades. The third and fourth grades will be up to the discretion of the classroom teacher. Grade level parties will be conducted with NO FOOD (remember my 1st grade Spanish Mercado and Thanksgiving Party stories?). Finally, the district has developed a comprehensive list of Food Allergy Policies and Procedures, as well as specific Food In Classroom guidelines. The link is here and I strongly recommend you forward these documents to your schools and preschools so they can further develop their own safe food allergy best practices. There are also sample letters and tips for you to use. During my principal’s address today, she went out of her way to mention that if any parents in their children’s classrooms have concerns about No Food Parties, or are getting any push back about safe snacks, etc. (ie Dairy Free classrooms, etc) that they should contact her directly. She doesn’t want anyone to feel like they have to defend the policy, and that she will take the time address the seriousness of the food allergy policy. As a “food allergy mama” advocate, I have had more than my fair share of parent push back on food policies I’ve advocated for years (thanks to our rights outlined in John’s 504 Plan). Hearing this come out of my principal’s mouth meant the world to me, because it allows me to not be the “face” or take on the burden any more. I’m truly grateful and excited for these new policies, and hope you can use some of the documents in your own schools.

Have a GREAT beginning of the school year everyone!!!

LOLLAPALOOZA: My FA son John attended this amazing 3 day music festival for the 3rd year in row…not bad for a soon to be 9-year-old boy! John is a true music lover, and enjoys everything from rap and techno to reggae and rock. He will sit patiently for hours and listen to a new bad he hasn’t heard before, or roam the enormous festival grounds and take in a view of the masses. I’ve taught him the two most important lessons while attending music festivals; watch where you are walking (in order to avoid stepping on something you don’t want to) and when using the portapottie, focus on happy thoughts and get in and out very quickly. John’s personal highlights included seeing Foo Fighters and Deadmau5 live in the pouring rain and getting a decadent Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cone at the Temptation Ice Cream Booth (Vegan Ice Cream made by the excellent Chicago SoyDairy. It was the coolest thing to witness; a food allergic kiddo ordering his own cone at a music fest:

Big kudos to the Lollapalooza staff because they allowed us to bring in our own safe food for John in a cooler as long as we had a doctor’s note. Security was pretty cool about it, except for one jerk who questioned my note, and said any person can fake a doctor’s note. I looked at him with my best evil “Don’t F**** with me” look, one I think only a mom can really give, and then kindly asked if wanted to “search” the contents of the cooler to make sure I wasn’t smuggling in other stuff I shouldn’t be smuggling in. I was half-joking, but he got all serious and dug into the contents. Once he saw graham crackers and a turkey sandwich I think he felt like a tool. Or at least I hoped he felt like a tool.

So now that summer is winding down, it’s time to shift gears from lazy to crazy. Except this time I’m going to go less crazy and not stress as much as I used to about getting my kids ready for the school year. I’m not buying any new school clothes until it’s REALLY fall, I’m not going to be a room parent for the first time in 9 years, and I’m going to think positively that all the hard work of developing IEP’s and 504 Plans last spring will pay off this fall. But just to be sure, I have contacted my FA son’s school principal to facilitate a meeting with our nurse, assistant principal and teacher. John’s 504 can be carried over annually until 2014 (when we reassess eligibility) but I always like to make sure everyone is on the same page from day one so there is no confusion down the road. Many of you have written and asked me about 504 Plans, and how to draft them. If your child has a life threatening food allergy, he may qualify if he “has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, such as caring for one’s self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, eating, sleeping, standing, lifting, bending, reading, concentrating, thinking and communicating”. Schedule a meeting BEFORE school starts with your child’s principle to determine eligibility. In regard to how to word the language in the 504, it’s simple. Ask for as much protection you think your child needs because it is your child’s legal right, and ultimately your child’s school will want to keep him safe. After many years of tweaking John’s plan, here is what I asked to be written in the document, and what was agreed to by all parties:

Medical 504: John must have medications at school (Benadryl and Epipens) in case of accidental ingestion of allergens above (name allergens, history of reactions, how your child reacts (ie via ingestion, touch) and indicate whether your child has asthma.) John’s classroom will remain peanut free and dairy free. John has the option of eating at the peanut free table in the cafeteria during lunchtime. Care must be taken that John is not given any foods containing milk, peanuts, tree nuts, legumes and or peas. John’s parents must be notified anytime other than usual snack time, that food will be offered in any of his classes. Parents will then come in and examine the food labels to check for allergens. Students, in any classroom John is in, will bring their own snack and there will be no sharing of snacks. Parents of John’s classmates will be given a letter on food allergies at the beginning of the school year. Parents will be given alternative activities for birthday parties (no food will be served). These include reading a book, leading a game or sending non food goody bags. The nurse will provide information regarding John’s allergies and asthma to all teachers that work with John including specials teachers. An extra epi-pen will be kept in the cafeteria. John will wear a medic alert bracelet. The school staff will be trained in the use of the epi pen at the start of the school year. If John has an asthma attack, he will be escorted to the office by an adult and the nurse will administer Albuterol inhaler as per doctor. An Emergency Action Plan is in place. A copy of it is in the substitute file, in the nurse’s office, and attached. John’s reactions to his allergens: hives, itching, mouth hurts and vomiting, difficulty breathing. When staff members observes hives he will be given xx dose of Benadryl immediately. The parent will be called to pick up John. If John complains his mouth hurts, coughing, itchy throat and difficulty breathing, and it appears to be allergy related, the school staff will administer the EpiPen. The school nurse will be contacted and 911 will be called. Then the parent will be called. John’s medication, wet wipes and EAP will go on all field trips with him.

Feel free to use this 504 Plan for John as your own guide in developing your child’s specific plan.

Finally, I wanted to share a link for you to check out, and go vote for me as a “Momimee” at Babble. The winner with the most votes gets $5,000 to go toward their favorite charity (which would be FAAN and FAI for me). My BFF in Arizona nominated me (unbeknownst to me), and I’m thrilled and honored. Pass the word along in the food allergy community and vote HERE . Every dollar for food allergy awareness counts!!

Have a great last few weeks of August everyone and totally looking forward to working a little harder in the fall! xoxox

Contributor for the super cool Robot Vegan: I can’t scream loud enough about how much I LOVE and ADORE this site and group of cool chics. The site recently went live and already has so much fabulous information, recipes and articles. Take a minute to browse through their site and get hooked. I will be doing some recipes and Ask the Expert Column for them, and will have something on their site VERY SOON. Work in progress and can’t wait!!

Cooking Light Tried and Tested Blogger: I’ll be testing some new recipes (see below for my first one) for Cooking Light, a longtime favorite magazine of mine, and posting the results and recipe for y’all to try as well.

Expert Blogger at Martha Stewart’s Whole Living: I’ve already done a few GF Friday posts for Whole Living, and have a brand spankin’ new Gluten and Allergen Free one coming your way in the next few weeks.

Top 100 Mom Food Blogger Bites Contributor: As a Babble Food Blogger I’ll be sharing my favorite tips and tricks to get in and out of the kitchen fast. When you have a minute check out all the bloggers, I’ve already scooped up some fabulous ideas from these superwomen who like to cook and love to eat!

Guest Blogger for Williams-Sonoma’s company blog “The Blender” : I’ll be doing some kid friendly and allergy aware recipes and meal tips…not posted yet but coming very soon. I love this blog; it’s filled with some great tips and recipes, and just love WS in general.

Yet to be named Screenplay:  Totally off topic from my normal writing duties but boy am I having FUN with this! In my previous life before kids, carpools and writing cookbooks I used to be a news producer/writer and dabbled in screenwriting then too. Though I never sold a script, I hope to finish a couple of stories that have been brewing in my mind for a long time. It takes time do this sort of thing, but slow and steady wins the race I guess, right?

But the most time-consuming thing I have been doing lately is simply enjoying the sunshine and lazy days of doing nothing with my kids. We’re not doing anything fancy, just catching some fireflies, digging for worms and eating lots of popsicles. I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer, keeps sending me your ideas and suggestions, and let me know what you think of this new Cooking Light recipe!

SHREDDED CHICKEN TACOS WITH TOMATOES AND CORN courtesy of Cooking Light

This recipe has quickly become my newest favorite dinner to make for my family, and with the hot and humid weather, one I am making a lot. I don’t have to fire up the grill If I don’t want to slave over hot coals in 100 degree heat, and the entire dish can be finished in under 30 minutes. A few personal modifications:

• I used Gluten Free/Wheat Free tortillas instead of the suggested corn tortillas with excellent results.
• Broiling the corn using shredded rotisserie chicken is a HUGE time saver, but I’ve also used leftover grilled chicken and corn with excellent results.
• I love the addition of extra veggies, and have successfully used leftover roasted red and yellow pepper as well as some grilled zucchini. The more veggies the better.
• If you don’t want to use any tortillas this is a fabulous dinner “salad” as well. Add fresh basil for more flavor.

This recipe is healthy, fast and delish….a keeper for sure.

Finally, I’d love to know what kind of recipe you want to see here next. I am looking for YOUR fabulous ideas and inspiration. Thanks so much everyone as always for your amazing support!!

Just wanted to give y’all a heads up that I will be doing some blogging for Martha Stewart’s Whole Living site. I’m very excited as it is another way to reach a whole other audience with great allergen friendly recipes and tips. I’d LOVE LOVE LOVE for you to show your support for my posts on her forum by clicking here and leaving a comment or question for me. You guys have all been my biggest support system and have helped me so much with your limitless helpful comments and supportive words. So many of you have helped me with every recipe I develop through your testing, reviews and even fabulous hints and substitutions. I can’t thank you enough for making this blog as great as it is…it’s only as good as the wonderful people who read and contribute to it. I hope my contributions at Whole Living will be just as helpful.

In addition, if you are in the Chicago area please come tomorrow to the Gluten & Allergen Free Expo in Lisle, IL. I will be there doing a demo on how to bake for Allergen Free Parties on the Public Stage in the Vendor Fair at 11:45 a.m. I really hope to see some of you there!! The event runs through Sunday and it is not to be missed. So many of your favorite authors and bloggers are going to be there and I can’t say enough about the founder Jen Cafferty, who never ceases to amaze me with her creative spirit and energy. This is a HUGE event to pull off, and she does it so flawlessly.

Finally, Food Allergy Awareness is week is only a couple short weeks away. This is a fantastic opportunity to get into your child’s school to read a story about food allergies, talk to your school administration and lunch staff about safer and healthier food practices at school, telling friends and neighbors and writing letters to your local media. EVERYONE can contribute their time and talent to get people talking about food allergies, and what we can do about them. FAAN has done a stellar job in putting together easy school presentations and more. Go here to find out more and how you can help.

Thanks again everyone and hope to see many of you over at Whole Living!

xoxox

Here’s what has been going on in a readers digest version:

VACATION: Our entire family of 7 took a much-needed vacation to Scottsdale, Arizona for spring break. It was warm, beautiful and mostly relaxing. I have to say that the food allergy part always throws a wrench into some of our plans, but overall everything worked out just fine. Both flights were non eventful; we showed up early, brought our own food and sat on the plane with no worries at all. Of course I had several packs of Epi Pens in my carry on so I felt pretty good about being prepared in the event of an emergency. Even baby Michael did pretty well for each flight. We stayed in a condo, a must if you have a large family and if you have food allergies. We cooked most of our own meals at home, and it saved a ridiculous amount money, worry and stress. The vacation revolved very little around food in general, and more about the experiences together.

IEP SEASON: For those of you that don’t know what an IEP is, it is an Individualized Educational Plan, a state mandated document that outlines and lists the educational goals and accommodations for children who have learning challenges, etc. I have three children with IEP’s and one with a 504 Plan, so the spring season is usually pretty stressful for me personally. In addition to the normal IEP meetings, my kids are up for their three-year reevaluation, which basically means a lot of additional testing to determine their eligibility. It’s a long and somewhat stressful process, and one I never look forward too. In fact, I just had conferences for three of my kids last Friday, and I usually walk away reminded of the fact that our educational path isn’t the typical one, nor is it easy. Advocating for them in school is one of the most important ways I can spend my time. All children have various learning styles, challenges and gifts, and it is important that their spirit is never broken because they learn “differently”. As I often tell my kids, there is always a solution to every problem.

GO FOR THE GOLD: This month I had the good fortune to present a nutritional workshop to two classes of first graders in Chicago as part of Michelle Obama’s Go For the Gold campaign for healthier eating in schools. Check out the link to find out more information, perhaps there is something you can take back to your own schools. I’ve always found that the best way to promote change in food policies at schools is to approach it from a wide-reaching perspective; increased childhood obesity, higher numbers of children with ADHD, diabetes and food allergies, all whom could truly benefit from healthier eating at school. Another great organization to get on board with is Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. They are tackling the food issue in schools and working hard to limit the amount of icky processed food that is being served to kids all over the country. Better food policies at school in general is a must. Kids rely on us to look out for them and their general well-being. Serving healthier food is an important part of that equation.

FAAN CONFERENCE CHICAGO: I was fortunate to attend FAAN’s amazing and powerful food allergy conference in Oak Brook, IL this past Saturday. I also presented an Allergen Free Baking Workshop which was LOADS of fun. I LOVED meeting so many of you, hearing your stories and answering your questions. Every year I attend, I am astounded by the amount of new information I learn, and inspired by all the incredible stories I hear from FA parents all over the country. If you live on the West Coast, consider attending the June 11th Anaheim conference. FAAN did a stellar job as usual, and we should all be so grateful that there are fabulous organizations like FAAN supporting all of us and our FA children.

GLUTEN AND ALLERGEN FREE EXPO CHICAGO (APRIL 29-MAY 1ST): If you live even remotely close to the Chicago area, this event is not to be missed. There are going to be so many fabulous vendors, authors, and speakers from all over the country sharing their products and expertise. I personally can’t wait to see all the cool chefs and authors (see the full rundown here). I will also be one of the presenters (though I’d hardly call myself a chef!) on Saturday, April 30th at 11:45am. I will be doing a demo on Allergen Free Parties. Hope to see many of you there!

Finally, I just came across this story today, and am sure many of you may be as well. As with all the other recent stories of a child dying from a food allergic reaction, this one hit me just as hard. I cried, and felt every muscle in my body ache. It is such a helpless, sad and terrifying feeling that confirms our fear and reality; our children could die if they eat the wrong food, if they have a life threatening reaction, if they don’t happen to have their medicine on them, or in this case, the medicine wasn’t administered fast enough. My heart breaks for this family. The minute I read the story, I wanted to reach out to my son John at school and give him the biggest hug I could. I wanted to look into his big brown eyes and freckled face, and tell him how much I love him, and how grateful I am to be his mother. I’ve experienced great loss in my life, but I NEVER want to know THAT kind of pain….the loss of your child. I am praying for this family and their friends, and pray their hearts and souls recover and mend, though I don’t know how that is possible. Until we find a cure, this is the fear that drives me to do whatever I can each day to raise awareness and keep our kids safe. NEVER apologize for that, to your schools, teachers, principals, other family members, whomever. Do whatever you have to do to keep your child safe.

I hope you all have a blessed Easter with your families.

xo

So many of my fellow food allergy bloggers have done a beautiful job of commenting on this story, and shared great perspectives on a story that hits so close to home for all of us. For me, the whole story is senseless and unfortunate. There was a real opportunity here to teach love, empathy and compassion for fellow students that aren’t exactly like them. That moment was lost, and instead was replaced with petty anger and the motivation to protest an innocent little girl’s legally mandated health accommodations. I cringed when I heard soundbites such as “Where’s our rights? Where does it stop? This takes too much time out the educational part of our kids’ day? That child should be homeschooled!” These parents are misguided in their comments. I’m not even that upset that they don’t get it. What pisses me off more is that they don’t seem to CARE to get “it”. Because if they really wanted to know what this food allergy thing was all about, they would do their research, read the statistics and come to the conclusion that food allergies are a real disability with no cure.

I would like to think that the parents in the Florida school talked to the teachers and administrators, visited the FAAN website, and really tried to understand why this sweet little 6-year-old girl needs special accommodations in her school and classroom. Maybe they did, I don’t know. But what I do know is that they chose to take whatever information they had, and decide the best solution in keeping the food allergic girl safe was to protest like crazy. They protested hand washing and mouth rinsing. They protested the elimination of snacks. They made big poster boards for the world to see. They got riled up on camera. It’s all good stuff for the newsroom. But it’s bad news for our already heavy hearts. This issue is much closer to us than what the soundbites are saying. It’s hard to watch and even harder to process logically. Because there is no logic in this protest. It is just a wasteland of a story.

I will say this, I think in some ways the parents who protested so loudly on this issue did the rest of us a big favor. The media heavily covered it, got great experts on to give the facts and good advice on allergies, and friends emailed and called me to talk about this story. This is a great opportunity to educate others and raise awareness. People are talking about it, and that’s a very good thing. I hope the little girl in Florida isn’t too traumatized by all the media attention. She’s so young and vulnerable, and I hope those pesky parents back off and do their protesting in private, leaving their signs at home. She didn’t deserve any of that nonsense, and no child ever should have to face that kind of scrutiny.

Finally, I wanted to pass along an email a good friend of mine sent to her family members after a child in her daughter’s class suffered a severe reaction during a school field trip, and didn’t have their medication. I think it serves as a good reminder that you can never be vigilant enough….

I was in Springfield yesterday on a 5th grade field trip with Laney when one of her classmates had a allergic reaction to peanut butter. He is 11yrs. old and has never had a bad reaction before. His mom did not have her epipen with her. He was sitting next to a boy that had peanut butter and they think he somehow touched his hand or the table and was exposed. He started out with hives and then started coughing and his throat was closing up. We called 911 and they were there within minutes. I went in the ambulance to the hospital with the mom and child and they were able to get him the epipen, oxygen, etc… in time.

As you can imagine it was a very scary experience for everyone involved. I send this to you as a reminder that we need to carry Maddie’s epipen with us at all times, no exceptions. Yes, the chances of it happening to her are extremely rare but I would never want to be in that situation without it.

I asked him, after he was feeling better, what it felt like and he actually said he thought he was going to die or suffocate.. It was really sad and the fear in his eyes is not something easily forgotten.

Finally, everyone was hesitant to call 911, thinking that the benedryl he was given would kick in. Never wait, every second counts in these situation.

On a separate note, my good friend Lori Sandler, owner of the famous Divvies Bakery and gorgeous cookbook The Divvies Bakery Cookbook is hosting Navigating Food Allergies, a cooking/talk show about how to cook for food allergies, shopping for ingredients and how to bring your food allergic kiddos into the kitchen with you to have some fun cooking! The show is sponsored by The Motherhood and ConAgra Foods (the maker of those miraculous Fleischman’s Unsalted and Dairy Free Margarine Sticks that I so heavily rely on). I will be joining her as co-host, as well as many of my other favorite food allergy bloggers, to join in the discussion with our own tips and tricks. The show is today, 1 pm EST/12 pm CST, and you can link in through here. Come with your questions and comments and I REALLY hope to see many of you there! Happy Baking Everyone!

DAIRY, EGG AND NUT FREE CHOCOLATE SUGAR COOKIES

1 c. dairy free margarine (I use Fleischman’s)

1 1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce

2 1/4 tsp. good quality vanilla (I use Nielsen-Massey)

3 c. unbleached all purpose flour

3/4 c. cocoa powder (I use Hershey’s)

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the dairy free margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the applesauce and vanilla, and mix well. In a separate medium bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Add dry mixture to wet mixture and mix until well incorporated.

Chill dough at least one hour in the fridge, or quick chill in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface. Dip cookie cutter into a small bowl of flour and cut dough into desired shapes. Add sprinkles or leave plain, and bake 10-13 minutes or until set. Cool completely on cookie sheets.

Reaction to this article was strong. People in and out of the food allergy community were stunned to hear that elected board members would make comments so offensive. However, there are always two sides to every story and to be fair I asked Dr. Swoboda to provide a statement to give others peace of mind that Gurnee schools are putting their food allergic children first, and keeping their safety top of mind. For the record, my conversation with Dr. Swoboda was candid yet positive. She opened the conversation by first recounting her own experience with food allergies; watching her child suffer an anaphylactic reaction to egg. From one mother to another, I could hear the vulnerability in her voice as she shared the fear and horror that so many parents of food allergic children have had to face. Watching your child gasp for air, wondering if they would recover. It’s something you just don’t ever forget. She gets it.

Catherine Campbell doesn’t get it. Lawrence Gregorash seems to get it, since he actually suffers from life-threatening food allergy. But the damage was done, and the public outcry was fierce. It prompted Gregorash to respond by saying ““Let me be clear that the board and this district are completely supportive of educating our staff and students regarding life-threatening allergies and taking necessary precautions to ensure the safety of all our students.” Gregorash told residents and staff at the meeting that unfunded mandates mean “more work, more time, more effort, more expense to the district and no additional funding from the state to pay for it.”

True, we live in a state that can’t pay its bills and our schools are suffering terribly. Everyone is feeling the crunch. But this has nothing to do with budget cuts. Gregorash’s comment that this means “more work, more time, more effort, more expense to the district” is not accurate. The IL Board of Education’s Food Allergy Managment Policy is already available for schools to use and requires minimal, if any money to enforce. In fact, Children’s Memorial Hospital’s Katy Schmeissing, MS, RN, Food Allergy Community Educator (FACE) goes to schools for FREE to educate and train about food allergies. This incredible program is funded directly through a grant by the Food Allergy Initiative. By the way, if you live in Illinois and want to have Katy come to your school, camp, day care, etc. have the appropriate staff member contact FACE at FACE@childrensmemorial.org.

Read below for Dr. Swoboda’s thoughts on this. And be assured that I let her know that I while I understand sometimes things are said in jest, and not always meant in the way they are spoken, this was different. School board members are elected to serve our community and their children. Their comments were reckless, uninformed and just plain stupid (yes, I used the word stupid). As I told Dr. Swoboda, one of the first things I learned in journalism school is “the mike is always hot”… in other words, someone is always listening…

From Gurnee School District #50 Superintendent Dr. Joy Swoboda:

I very much appreciated our conversation last week. Thank you for taking the time to discuss the district’s food allergy policy and our stringent efforts to ensure the safety of all our students.

As a mother myself, I faced similar challenges when my daughter had life-threatening allergies to eggs and tree nuts. I can clearly remember the fear as a parent and a family, little things too like not being able to go to a restaurant because of her allergies,  and overall,  how much her health encapsulated our family life. I have a deep respect and understanding for those families that have to manage their childrens’ special health concerns on a daily basis. Our school district has worked in partnership with our parents for many years as we developed and implemented proactive safe guards for our students with have food allergies.

I thought you would find this article of interest. It was featured in today’s Gurnee TribLocal.

I contacted our Board Member regarding speaking with you, but have not heard back from her at this time.

As of this date, I have not heard from Catherine Campbell or Lawrence Gregorash, but of course will keep you posted if I ever do.

But it gets better. The PRESIDENT of the school board, Lawrence Gregorash commented “This isn’t the dumbest thing I’ve seen in my 64 years…but it sure ranks in the top 10.” Although he also said “I think members of this board are very concerned about children and they’re very concerned about allergies”. But he apparently isn’t a fan of being required by the state to have a policy in place that is unfunded.

Like many of you reading this, I’m beyond incensed by these irresponsible and downright ridiculous comments by elected school board officials in Gurnee. I could rattle off lots of statistics to back the statement that food allergies harm and kill children. But I won’t waste too much energy on people who clearly haven’t taken the time to read WHY the state did this. Shall I remind them that a 13-year-old Chicago girl just lost her life two weeks ago because a food allergy policy wasn’t in place for her at her school?

It is a silent disability that can’t be seen, but it is there for these children 24/7. Their lives are put in serious danger every time they come in contact with food they are allergic to. School board members who blatantly disregard a state law and calls it “absurd” should be questioned, as these are the people who make the policies and decisions that affect the safety and well-being of children in their school district. Perhaps these two board members simply don’t understand the seriousness of food allergies. In that case, act as an educated grown up and do a little research.

These children need to be protected and advocated for, and if the very people who were elected to serve in this capacity can’t respect and follow a law that protects food allergic children, then they should reconsider their purpose in serving. What’s next? Cutting special education services because you don’t understand autism? Or perhaps you don’t think sensory integration disorder is a real diagnosis? Or maybe you think kids with learning disabilities will do just fine without any additional help in the classroom? ALL these kids have rights, including those with food allergies. Disregarding a law because you don’t understand or perhaps just disagree with it is totally irresponsible.

People like Catherine Campbell and Lawrence Gregorash, who make “dumb” comments without considering the safety and well-being of EVERY child in their school district, really should get with the program and at least attempt to understand the growing problem of food allergies in schools. And as the saying goes, the train is leaving the station….either you’re on it, or you’re not.

Just last month, there was a severe reaction that occurred at my son’s school in the first grade. It occurred after a first grade child inadvertently ingested food with dairy at a Thanksgiving party. Ironically, I happened to be driving by the school that day when I saw a fire truck and paramedics out front with their lights on. My heart stopped as I looked down at my phone to see if the school nurse had called me, which she hadn’t. But after my initial sense of relief, I saw one of my friends running down the sidewalk toward the school. Her child has food allergies, I put two and two together, and started praying. A lot.

Her child recovered, but any parent who has seen their child in life-threatening distress carries that fear forever. I contacted our school district to determine if, once and for all, they planned on taking food away from birthday parties, etc. I received response that they planned on removing food from all birthday and holiday celebrations in the first grade for the remainder of the year.

I immediately thought, that’s great…now what about the rest of the food allergic children in the other grades? Isn’t their safety important too? I felt that while this is a step in the right direction, it doesn’t address the bigger issue of having set guidelines that are consistent across the entire district. I’ve also always said I don’t necessarily believe in food bans, because they promote a false sense of security that everything is safe, clean and free of allergens. All I have ever asked for from my school district is:

1. Food Free Birthday Celebrations. Notice I didn’t say Holiday, just birthday. I have always tried to start small with something that is doable for schools. But for some unknown reason, my school won’t make it a policy. They will only make a recommendation.

2. Not to use food as a reward at school.

3. Require that every food allergic child have a 504 Plan filed at school. This document would require, all teachers who deal directly with the FA child to comply.

4. Make classrooms free of the food that the FA child is allergic too. This could include: Dairy, Peanut, Tree Nut, Egg, etc. In other words, even snacks with those allergens are not allowed in the classroom. In addition, letters detailing this, along with a “suggested safe snack list” should be sent home to all students in the child’s class.

5. Train staff about food allergies. I am deeply comforted by the fact my son’s school nurse is VERY knowledgeable and concerned for the safety of our food allergic children. But I am also aware many school districts across the country can’t afford a full time school nurse on staff. This is when it is especially critical to make sure every staff member is trained on the use of epipens and how to treat an allergic reaction.

6. Finally, don’t let the burden of keeping our children safe and alive at school fall only on the parents of FA children. Take the initiative and develop policies, so these parents don’t have to roll up their sleeves at the beginning of every school year, ready to fight for a safer environment for their children (and have to endure the silent eye-rolling in the process). These children should expect their classrooms to be a safe haven, not a place that causes anxiety or bullying.

Tonight, my heart is heavy for this family who lost their sweet daughter to a senseless accident. Let her death not be in vain; contact your child’s school and let them know this happened, and ask them how they plan to develop policies for managing food allergies. Ironically, effective January 1, 2011, Illinois will be one of the few states to require school boards to develop food allergy management guidelines (thanks to all the amazing FA pioneers who happen to live in our state). Read more here and share the link with your school district.

I met so many of you, my incredible blog readers. You truly lift my spirit and inspire me with your stories. I met many amazing children, big and small, who have learned to live with their food allergies with such grace and courage. Their huge smiles spoke volumes to me, and can see they believe a cure will indeed be found someday.

Cybele Pascal, author of the bestselling books The Allergen Free Bakers’ Handbook and Whole Foods Cookbook flew in from sunny California to emcee and act as Honorary Chair. I wish all of you could meet her. She’s truly one of the coolest people you’ll ever meet, and has done so much in spreading the word about food allergies and creating yummy recipes for so many families. Every time I meet her I wish I had more time to hang out with her! So many other fantastic ladies who work tirelessly in helping promote food allergy awareness were honored; Denise Bunning, Mary Lenahan, Anne Thompson, Kristin Miller, Christine Szychlinski, Kellee Konieczny, as well as Child Ambassadors Alex Simko and Andrew Thompson.

Two other food allergy mamas I got to hang with for a bit; Joyce Davis, the mom who started the FB page and petition to bring a peanut free game to Wrigley Field and Jenny Kales from The Nut Free Mom Blog. These are two of the nicest food allergy mamas I know, and always love running into them. Kim Holstein, co-owner and Chief Inspiration Officer of Kim & Scott’s Pretzels was handing out her signature dairy, egg and nut free delicious pretzels. Kim is a very dear friend of mine, and know how committed she is to providing safe pretzels to families with food allergies. Kim and Scott celebrated FAAN Day at their super chic Cafe Twist in Lincoln Park; 10 percent of sales today were donated to FAAN.She’s always the first to ask “How can I help?” and even though she’s a busy mama of three kids, is always there to give back to her fans. LOVE Kim and Scott, and am always inspired by their generosity.

But can you believe that John actually suffered a minor reaction while at the walk? I know I shouldn’t laugh, but I couldn’t help but think that there wasn’t a safer place for him to be while having a reaction then in that park. Hundreds of epipens were on hand. But a little Benydryl actually did the trick and we were able to continue on with the walk. He reacted to Lucy’s Cookies (the ones sold at Starbucks) because it is made with fava bean flour and John is allergic to legumes. John walked over to me with an opened bag of the cookies saying his throat itched. My husband was handling the kids on his own for a bit, and don’t think he was aware to double check the ingredients. I’ll cut him some slack as his hands were full with my five kids running around. But the irony of having a reaction at a food allergy walk can’t be beat. More work needs to be done in finding a cure.

Have a great week everyone!!

I’ll also be at the event signing books, but apparently you’ll need to pre order copies and bring them to the walk. All proceeds to go FAAN. Or, if you have one at home, bring it! I’ll be happy to sign it as well.

Finally, if you’d like to join my Team Food Allergy Mama and walk with us (which is really just me and whatever child of mine doesn’t have an activity or game that day!) or to make a donation on our behalf, visit my team page here.

I also just want to give a HUGE THANK YOU, to all of YOU, my readers, who truly inspire me every day through your comments and emails. Your stories about your children and families often move me to tears, and I feel so fortunate to have gotten to know you, either personally or virtually. I love how we are all working together in ways big and small, to make food allergies a thing of the past. Thank you again for everything. XOXO

Date: Monday, August 30th 2010 vs. the Pirates

Time: 7:05 pm

Place: The Batter’s Eye Skybox (In center field, go to www.cubs.com for more information)

Price: $50.00 per ticket (There are a limited number of seats in the designated suite so call asap to reserve your tickets)

Contact: Samantha, Cubs Ambassador who is in charge of this event. Phone: 773-388-8273 or email: fanserviceassistant@cubs.com

I urge any Chicago-area families to PLEASE call Samantha and reserve your tickets this week. This is something that, if successful, they will try to implement on a more regular basis next season. But it’s up to us to make it a MUST ATTEND event for families who struggle with peanut allergies.

We have two tickets reserved and I am beyond excited to take John. His 8th birthday is the next day, and can’t imagine a more perfect birthday present for him.

Finally, a huge thank you to Cubs Owner Tom Ricketts, a fellow resident of my neighborhood and whose son played baseball with John last spring. He’s an incredibly nice and down-to-earth guy, and it was his idea to implement an Ambassador Program responsible for listening to fans’ needs, and wish lists. How cool is that? Thanks Tom, Samantha and to the Cubs organization for truly making a difference in our food allergic children’s lives.

“When I was in journalism school I lived and breathed all things Edward R. Murrow. In case some of you don’t know who Murrow was, he was the pioneer in broadcast journalism who set the highest standard for other journalists. Two of my favorite Murrow quotes came to mind when reading Mr. Stein’s piece:

“Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences. No one can eliminate prejudices – just recognize them.”

“To be persuasive we must be believable, to be believable we must be credible, to be credible we must be truthful”.

Truthful Mr. Stein was not. Instead, he was outrageous, uneducated and quite frankly an embarrassment to the code of ethics set forth by journalists. Check your facts, be truthful, put your own agenda aside and respect the power that has been granted to you. The freedom of the press is so important we protect it in the constitution, but when wannabe journalists like Mr. Stein abuse their platforms to write stupid articles it is an abuse to all journalists. Viewers and readers across the country are losing their trust in the media. We expect more. And as Newton Minnow once predicted that TV would become “a vast wasteland”, the print media is just as guilty.”

Fast forward to a column written by Mr. Stein in the August 9, 2010 edition of Time Magazine titled “Aw Nuts! I had an airtight, zero-tolerance stance on nut allergies. Then my son developed them”. Yes, you read that right, Joel Stein, the same person who ridiculed every food allergic parent in America just over a year ago recently discovered his 1-year-old son is allergic to nuts. He writes “Sitting up at 3 in the morning, I found myself totally believing in the nut-allergy epidemic.” Yes, Mr. Stein, many of us know precisely what that feels like, lying wide awake in the middle of the night thinking about all the ways our seemingly normal lives have changed in that moment our children got their diagnosis of a food allergy. It’s earth shattering and life changing.

I am not going to go down the road of “Karma’s a bitch” with this one. Having a child with a life threatening food allergy is something I would never wish on anyone, even my worst enemy. I honestly feel terrible for Mr. Stein and his wife. But the food allergic children are the innocent victims of this disease with no cure, and they are the ones who have to endure a lifetime of exclusion, anxiety and living with a special set of needs than other children. Of course, these food allergic children NEVER say “woe is me”. These kids are the real heroes, because they never complain about their food allergies.

Instead, I would love to see Mr. Stein use his journalistic platform to raise awareness about food allergies, about what it is like to send your child to preschool, birthday parties, field trips, camps, plane rides, the list goes on. It is in this moment that I think of Edward R. Murrow again, and how he took his platform as a journalist VERY seriously, and demanded everyone else around him do the same. And in the meantime, the rest of us will keep doing what we do, raise our children to be aware and raise money for a cure.

While I am not a fan of the media’s play on words with these food-ban type stories (“It’s not nutty to allergics”) I do appreciate that this issue is getting some serious attention from the USDOT and mainstream media. It’s always amazing to me that food ban stories get non FA people so riled up. They think their rights are violated, and respond accordingly with verbal fights for the right to eat nutty trail mix and peanut snacks. People are so afraid of banning peanuts because they think other food bans will follow suit, and soon everything and anything will be banned.

I don’t advocate food bans in general environments (exception is my son’s classroom, which isn’t a lunchroom and shouldn’t be. It’s a learning environment, but that’s another story). Food bans provide a false sense of security that there are no allergens present. One cannot know if someone just wolfed down a PB and J and failed to wash their hands before stepping into the “banned room”. Also there are so many types of allergies (milk, soy, legumes, eggs, etc. ) that if you start eliminating one food, there will be arguments wanting to eliminate others. I understand this and have always made sure my FA son knows how to keep himself safe when eating at school, camp, play dates and even restaurants.

But I feel very differently about peanuts on planes. Peanuts and peanut products should be eliminated from the snack choices on commercial flights. Peanut particles in reciruculated cabin air can cause reactions, and a severe reaction 30,000 feet is a much different story than a severe reaction at a baseball park. Seriously, there is no comparison. Martin Kanan, CEO of King Nut Companies (a major supplier of peanut products on U.S. airlines) commented “What’s next? Is it banning peanuts in ballparks?”. It’s an ignorant comment that has no relevance to banning peanuts on airplanes. It’s clear he’s worried about his company’s profitability, and I completely understand that. But if he happened to have  a child with a life-threatening allergy to peanuts and nuts, I’m sure he’d think differently.

All the major airlines have cut  back on food service in general, and if they do offer an in-flight snack, why not just swap it for a less hazardous one, like fresh fruit, or carrot sticks, etc.? Is it really that big of a deal to make this simple change, that could potentially keep millions of food allergic people safe, and possibly bring more families back on planes who have been avoiding them?

It seems so simple, yet it is so controversial. What are your thoughts?

*Rudnicki, Kelly. The Food Allergy Mama’s Baking Book: Great Dairy, Egg, and Nut-Free Treats for the Whole Family. Surrey. 2009. 112p. ISBN 978-1-57284-102-4. pap. $19.95.

This hot-off-the-presses gem is a baking basic for moms raising kids with food allergies. The whole family will enjoy the recipes, though there’s a focus on dealing with birthday parties and allergy-free treats for school.

I’m so glad that this book is available in many local libraries, and hope that other food allergy mama’s will enjoy the recipes as much as I have. I ‘m also thankful for you, all the amazing moms and dads, who often write me, sharing your family’s experiences with my recipes. I probably won’t be able to post as many recipes in the next several weeks as it looks like I’ll be having baby #5 in a week or two, but I promise I will do my best. After all, I can’t go very long without baking something.

Happy Baking everyone and thank you again for all your amazing support!!