Restaurants need to take some responsibility

We visited a fast food type yesterday for lunch. As always we brought a full meal for my son who has food allergies. I was disheartened to see a food allergy statement at the bottom of their menu that basically said "any of our food may have come in contact with an allergen such as milk, egg, peanut tree nuts, soy, fish and wheat". That's just not helpful, and frankly- not good enough. Disney restaurants can handle food allergies- even their fast food kiosks. Restaurants need to be held accountable to know exactly what is in their food and how to handle food so that it doesn't become contaminated by other food. That's their business. This issue doesn't only impact those with food allergies. People with diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, pregnant women, those with celiac disease or food intolerances or people who are just trying to monitor what they eat, should know exactly what is being served to them in a restaurant. Perhaps restaurants are worried about lawsuits so it's easier to make a blanket "eat here at your own risk" statement. This isn't about placing blame, it's about working together to give accurate and safe information.

"In Your Prime" Article Published

Check out this article I wrote. It was recently published in the June issue of "In Your Prime". Click on the link and scroll to page 13:

http://www.inyourprimeonline.com/docs/IYPJune08issue.pdf

Allergy Friendly Pre-Packaged Food

When my son was diagnosed with food allergies. I learned quickly that I was going to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Most of the cakes, cookies, breads, muffins and other baked products I make from scratch. It is convenient though to be able to pull some foods directly from a grocery store shelf- especially when traveling. Some of the convenience foods in my pantry are:

Poptarts®- only the cinnamon/brown sugar and fruit varieties are free of milk. All contain wheat.
Pillsbury® White Frosting- no dairy, does contain soy.
Thomas's® plain or whole wheat Bagels- contain wheat, but no other major allergens
Vienna Fingers®- contain wheat, but no other major allergens
Popcorn- just buy a bag of the unpopped kernels. Put some kernels in a pot with a little safe oil (I use canola or olive). Turn on the heat and listen to the sound of a tasty treat.
Fritos® corn chips- no major allergens.
Keebler® Cinnamon Graham crackers- contain wheat, but no other major allergens.

Be sure to check labels as ingredients sometimes change, but isn't it nice to be able to share a Vienna Finger cookie with your food allergic grandchild?