Homemade Candy Corn and Halloween Goodies

 It's that time of year again! The witch/ghost/bat decorations are out of the attic and adorning the house and I've pulled out some favorite seasonal recipes like homemade candy corn and pumpkin apple muffins. 
 
 I recently had the opportunity to participate in a webinar with Jo Frost in which she shared her experience with her own food allergies, as well as some Halloween tips for food allergy families. Here are some of her seasonal ideas:

• focus on the non-food festivities like mask making, pumpkin decorating, face paint, spooky scavenger hunts.
• remember that different sized treats may contain different ingredients. If you can't read the label, assume it's unsafe (that piece of advice is mine).
• give your child something to eat before going out trick or treating or to a party. That removes some of the temptation to eat without thinking or because of hunger.

For more information about Jo's work on behalf of food allergy families, check out 25 Years of EpiPen, and while you're there, upload a photo showing how you carry your EpiPen and Mylan will donate $25 to leading allergy non-profit groups. 

Another Year of Trick or Treat

Another trick or treat night and all was fine. A few of the neighbors had special, safe treats set aside. I sent thank you e-mails the following day to them because it warms my heart that they get that this is a tough holiday for kids with food allergies.

My son separated his candy into safe and unsafe piles. The safe pile was considerably smaller. I swapped the unsafe pile with some chocolates I made in a Halloween Jell-O mold. I added crushed almonds to the chocolate because my nut allergic child can have almonds. They are a great protein source so I try to add them to baked goods when I can.

We head into the succession of food holidays- Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day. Along the way we'll deal with cooking in the school Family and consumer Science class, a family trip and an overnight school activity. Each event requires planning and a dose of anxiety, but as a family, we've got the hang of this food allergy thing pretty well now. I am excited to read your comments about successful milk desensitization programs for your kids and I'm thrilled that our allergist office will soon start a peanut desensitization program. Strict avoidance may be an out-dated recommendation in the coming years.

Now that would be a treat!

Halloween Can Be Really Scary for Those With Food Allergy

Forget the ghosts and goblins. It's the candy bars and packaged sweets that cause the most fright in our house.

Our rules for trick-or-treating are:

No eating anything until it is checked at home.
Let the giver drop the candy into the trick-or-treat bag to avoid direct contact with the candy.

I have special treats on hand to substitute unsafe candy with safe items. Most of these special items need to be ordered. With only 24 days until Halloween, the time to order is now. Check out:

Premium Chocolatiers
Enjoy Life's boom CHOCO boom bars
Amanda's Own
Chocolate Emporium
Peanut Free Planet
Divvies
Nothin Nutty
Vermont Nut Free Chocolates

All the unsafe candy goes to a local homeless shelter, lest it wind up on my hips!

Food Allergy Twitter Party This Friday

Have you attended a food allergy Twitter party yet? They're fast, furious and fun. The next event is this Friday, October 2, from 9:30-10:30 PM, Eastern time (EST). Friday night's theme is everything Halloween. Come with your questions and your favorite Halloween tips. Here's what you need to do to get into this social event of the year:

Sign up for a Twitter account if you don't have one. It's free.
Register for the party.
Friday night at 9:30 PM EST go to Summize and type in "#foodallergy". Then click the search button. This will take you right to the party. Another way in is through Tweetgrid or Tweetdeck. Tweetdeck needs some advance plannning as it needs to be downloaded.
During the party, use the hashtag "#foodallergy" whenever you type something. That ensures your comments will be seen by others in the party.

Got it? Any questions?

Thanks to Jennifer B. and Ruth for hosting the grand bash.

Hope to see you Friday night!