Food Allergy Friendly Snacks

Enjoy Life is introducing their first salty snack chip. They're called Plentils and they are free of the top 8 major allergens. The best part? One bite and you'd never believe this chip is free of the top 8 allergens.

I mean how can Magherita Pizza Plentils be free of wheat? And, how can the Garlic and Parmesan Plentils or the Dill and Sour Cream Plentils be free of milk? I don't know how they did it, but these are really tasty chips! It gets better too...they are made with high protein lentils. For those of us avoiding several major allergens, finding sources of protein is a big deal. I love a snack chip that offers some benefits!

Plentils are available through online stores, including Enjoy Life's e-store, and will soon be available in grocery stores.

Enjoy Life Cookies for the Holidays

Believe me, I know it's tough to bake your traditional holiday cookies while needing safe choices for family members with food allergies. Fortunately, Enjoy Life just made holiday baking easier. We recently sampled their new crunchy cookies, which are free of the top 8 allergens. The great news? No one else would ever guess that these cookies do not contain wheat, eggs, dairy, soy, or nuts.

The best part? They are really yummy! My family was partial to the chocolate chip, although I really liked the double chocolate. The sugar cookies and honey grahams would be great for the holidays- a little frosting and some sprinkles on top.

Years ago when our family had to avoid wheat, baking was the biggest challenge. I made some pretty awful wheat-free cookies, cakes and brownies. I was able to find substitutes for dairy, eggs and soy, and I could just avoid peanuts and tree nuts. Substituting wheat flour was a whole new area of baking. While items and options have vastly improved during recent years, there is still a science to baking without wheat. We also have many more options when it comes to allergy-friendly packaged foods. Enjoy Life has filled this niche very successfully.

If you're looking for a delicious cookie to serve at home or to take to a holiday party, these cookies will just blend in with other holiday treats. They are also a great option for classroom parties where there may be multiple allergies among a group of children.

Trust me, no one will realize that these cookies are special- unless you tell them. You can find all four flavors of Enjoy Life's new crunchy cookies at many grocery and natural food stores. Go to their site for some money-saving coupons.

Enjoy Life Helps Food Allergic Consumers

"Don't Worry, Eat Happy" is Enjoy Life's slogan. I love it and wish I could feel that free most of the time. It's hard to find safe food for someone with food allergies. Enjoy Life has created a Survival Guide to help anyone who follows a special diet.

Check out their great information on a variety of food allergy topics.

While I'm at it, I'll plug their great dairy-free chocolate chips, available in the specialty section of my local grocery store. Now that makes me happy!

Food Allergy Family Fun Event and Expo

North Wales, PA, just outside of Philadelphia was the location for a fantastic event for families with food allergies. Yesterday's Expo featured singer Kyle Dine along with vendors, raffles, coupons and lots of free allergy friendly food. The highlight of my experience was watching my food allergic son and his non-food allergic sister enjoying chocolate lollipops they got from Premium Chocolatiers. Priceless. It felt so freeing to move among vendors where our WHOLE family could enjoy the samplings.

Some of the vendors we visited yesterday:

Whole Foods

Enjoy Life

Cherrybrook Kitchens

AllergyFree Foods

Pamela's Products

Sunbutter

Cookies for Me?

So Delicious Frozen Desserts

Angels in the Kitchen (e-mail: angelsinthekitchen@hotmail.com)

I.M. Healthy Soynut Butter

EpiPen®

Twinject®


A HUGE congratulations to Kids With Food Allergies for putting this event together. Great job!

Friday Feature: Harriet Picker- Asthma and Food Allergy Activist and Educator

Harriet is a mom of two food allergic children in New York City. Learn about how she educates and advocates for those with allergies and/or asthma through our Q&A below:

FAA: What is your food allergy background?
I grew up with food allergies and asthma. Before having children, I was a teacher and then a health educator, focusing on teaching kids and parents about asthma. My older son was diagnosed with an egg and a dairy allergy at 15 months. My younger son who is now 2, is allergic to dairy, wheat, beef, nuts, soy, eggs, and legumes.

FAA: What are you passionate about in the food allergy field?
I am passionate about educating people about food allergies; I am also passionate about schools creating plans to deal with food allergies.

Many people only think nut allergies are the dangerous ones, I have to convince people that dairy, egg, soy and other allergies can be just as dangerous.

FAA: What else are you working on in the food allergy area?
My main goal is to get the NYC public school system to acknowledge the need for food allergy protocols.

I am not a fan of banning foods. However, precautions need to be put in place and a protocol established. I believe allergy tables, frequent hand-washing, and table wiping are a start. Concerning snacks, which is an issue in my school, I would end the “Shared Snack“ policy. For many reasons parents should send in their own snack for their own child. I would also suggest a birthday party notification policy. That way the parent of an allergic child can bring in something if needed.

Most importantly, staff development is necessary to teach all school staff about what food allergies are, what to look for, and the use of epi-pens. Each year teachers should ask incoming parents about food allergies and a class should establish its own policy.

Currently, I am discussing these ideas with a few allergists in NYC and with my school’s nurse. If anyone wants to contact me about this issue, find me on Twitter @Harriet75 or e-mail me at "Alisaha2@aol.com".

FAA: What are your favorite food allergy friendly food staples?
I have so many! I love rice flour, Vans wheat-free waffles, Southern homestyle corn flake crumbs, Enjoy Life boom-choco-boom dairy free rice milk crispy rice bars, all of the gluten-free Cherrybrook Kitchen cake and cookie mixes, potatoes, and rice pasta, My new favorite item, but it's hard to find, is Ricera rice yogurt.


FAA: What are some of your other interests/hobbies?
I love theatre, performing and directing! I studied theatre in college and I have a Masters in Educational Theatre. I developed an asthma program that went into NYC schools in which I combined my love for theatre and knowledge of asthma to teach kids about asthma. I love being able to combine my passions.

Thank you, Harriet, for working with schools, children and parents to create awareness around food allergies and asthma!