I was sick of using plastic bags. I felt guilty creating such waste every time I made a lunch for my daughter to take to preschool, plus I didn’t think the lunch looked very appetizing — piles of plastic that had to be opened to get the food out. I thought, “there must be a better way” and lo and behold, I spotted it: a lunch box that opened up and had compartments for the different foods. I only saw it from afar at a playground, but it caught my eye and I never forgot it. “I must get one of those lunch systems” I thought to myself, and then, there it was again — my sister had a Laptop Lunch System for each of her boys (ages 5 and 7). She gave my girls each a set as a gift.

It was a gift to me, really, as it made my life easier and made my daughters excited about their lunch! And no more plastic bags.

Here’s why I like Laptop Lunches so much as a mom:

• It comes as a whole system, with carrying case (that looks like a laptop computer case, hence the name Laptop Lunch), water bottle and fork and spoon. I didn’t have to add a thing to start packing lunches.
• You can choose from various color options. Kids love color!
• It forces you, the lunch-maker, to be creative because there are 4 little compartments to fill, 5 with the little dipper one (it’s actually kind of fun!)
• It is so easy to wash!

Here’s why I like Laptop Lunches so much as a mom of kids with food allergies:

• Allergic children have to bring their own lunches ALL the time, so anything that makes it easier to pack a lunch is great.
• Most prepackaged foods are filled with allergens — think packs of cheese and crackers, little packs of goldfish, peanut butter and ritz crackers — so these aren’t an option to throw in a lunch. These little compartments make it possible to put in healthier foods and serve them like you would a meal at home, like beans or olives or fresh corn or gluten-free pasta salad.

• Food looks so appetizing when served this way, the allergic kid will not feel he’s missing out on a thing!

Here’s a lunch I made recently. It’s nothing fancy, but somehow looks a lot yummier than if it were in plastic bags.

Don’t have kids? Want to eat healthier? The Laptop Lunch is great for adults too. There are some mellow color options if you don’t think hot pink will work in your office!

You can win a Laptop Lunch System!

This is very exciting… one lucky reader will receive a complete Laptop Lunch System, courtesy of Obentec, Inc., the company that makes them. Just leave a comment below with an idea you have for what to put in the Laptop Lunch before July 4 and I will randomly select one of you as the winner.

For more information and to purchase Laptop Lunches, visit laptoplunches.com

CONTEST UPDATE: A winner has been announced… go here to see who the lucky gal is!

Filed under: Babies & Kids, Food Ideas, Products, Food Allergies | 69 Comments »

You have eliminated gluten from your diet and you feel a lot better. You are very careful about what you eat, but you still have symptoms that you blame on gluten somehow sneaking into your food via cross-contamination or because you were not being careful enough. You may be frustrated or confused as to why you are still have reactions when you can’t figure out where the gluten could be.

Perhaps you are getting traces of gluten, but the reality may be that you are reacting to another food. That’s right — you may be sensitive to more than just gluten! It’s not a pretty thought to have to cut another food (or foods) out of your life, but it may make you feel a lot better.

My discovery

After I was gluten-free and felt dramatically better, my body and especially my digestive system, felt clean… I don’t know how else to describe it, but it just felt like there was no turmoil going on inside, like a glass of water without any bubbles. If I did get a trace of gluten, I knew it, and I would track down the source. But then there were times when I had cooked at home and knew that there was no way I could have gotten glutenized (I am sure they will be adding this word to Webster soon!), but still didn’t feel perfect.

After keeping a mental food diary — really paying attention to when I didn’t feel well and what I had eaten prior — I realized that I was blaming gluten for those days when my tummy was feeling, well, bubbly. But it wasn’t gluten at all. It was… drumroll, please… soy! Yes, folks, I do not eat soy anymore. I do eat a little wheat-free soy sauce sometimes and soy lecithin, but other than that, no soy. My daughter is soy-intolerant also, so there you have it — genes at work. Lucky girl… at least she got some of my good genes too: charm, good looks, etc. — ha ha!

I’m not the only one with multiple food sensitivities. In fact, on the celiac.com forum, there is a whole category called Other Food Intolerance and Leaky Gut Issues with people talking about how they have realized that they are intolerant to more than just gluten. This is no coincidence…

Leaky Gut Syndrome

A reason that people can develop more food sensitivities could be leaky gut syndrome, also known as increased intestinal permeability. A very simple explanation of what happens with leaky gut syndrome is this:

1. Large spaces develop between the cells of the intestinal wall (due to many possible causes — see below).
2. Bacteria, toxins, and incompletely digested proteins and fats leak in. Normally these larger molecules would be kept within the intestines, but because of these holes in the intestinal lining, they leak through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream, where they normally shouldn’t go.
3. The immune system releases antibodies to fight what it sees as foreign invaders in the blood.
4. These antibodies also attack the body’s own cells, causing damage, allergic reactions, pain and inflammation throughout the body.

What causes leaky gut?

Some of the possible causes of leaky gut syndrome are:

• Damage caused by taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like ibuprofen
• Gastrointestinal disease, like celiac disease
• Eating allergenic foods
• Consuming alcohol
• Consuming caffeine
• Taking antibiotics
• Eating too much sugar
• Ingesting toxic chemicals
• Intestinal infection
• Parasites
• Stress

Food sensitivity can cause leaky gut, which can then cause other food sensitivities — it is a vicious cycle.

So, where do you go from here?

If you are gluten-free and you don’t know why you are still having reactions to the food you are eating, I would recommend that you keep a food diary — write down the time that you eat, what you eat, what symptoms you feel at what time of day. If you wake up in the morning and feel fine, and then have breakfast and feel rotten the rest of the day, examine everything you are eating in the morning, from coffee to juice to the milk you pour on your cereal. Once you think you know the problem food, cut it out and see how you feel. You can add it back in later and see if you react (please consult your doctor if you think you are at risk for a serious reaction to a food). In my case, after I cut soy out my diet, my lingering symptoms went away, and I have not wanted to try it again!

And what about that leaky gut? There are a lot of websites out there with advice about how to improve the permeability of your intestines. I am going to start doing some of these things for myself and my family in hopes of preventing more food sensitivities. Here are a few of the sites I found useful:

Liverdoctor.com
The Environmental Illness Resource
Dr. Weil
Leaky Gut Syndrome

Do you have more than one food sensitivity? Let me know in the comments… I’m curious!

Filed under: Celiac Disease, Food Allergies, Gluten Intolerance, Soy Allergy | 8 Comments »

Now that my daughter is in preschool, we are on the birthday party circuit. Telling her she can’t have a piece of cake or cupcake because of her food allergies would be upsetting (for both me and her), which is why I make sure that I always have cupcakes on hand. Here’s how you can do the same and be a superstar mom or dad!

Do this now:

1. Make a batch of chocolate cupcakes, and freeze what you don’t need to use that time, or even double the recipe to make sure you have extras. The easiest thing to do is make a mix, like Pamela’s chocolate cake mix or CherryBrook Kitchen (both good for egg-free). I also like Gluten-Free Pantry and Namaste. Any cake mix can become cupcakes, just cook for less time!
2. Make a batch of vanilla cupcakes too. Vanilla cake is harder to make egg-free, but Pamela has a vanilla cake mix that I have made with egg replacer and they turned out okay (see picture at right) even though the directions say it will not work! Or, if you’d like, make a cupcake from scratch using a gluten-free recipe. And, by the way, muffins magically turn into cupcakes when topped with frosting and sprinkles, so that’s another option!
3. Make chocolate frosting and vanilla frosting and keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Tip: Start by making vanilla frosting, take out half and then add the cocoa to make chocolate — that way, you really are only making one batch of frosting. You can use frosting mixes, like Pamela’s (I substitute softened palm shortening for the butter to make it dairy and soy-free), or you can use good old C&H powdered sugar and follow their easy recipes, some of which are below.

Do this later:

1. Before the day of the party, talk to the host of the birthday party to find out what food they are serving (in case you also need to bring your own snacks or lunch) and what kind of cake or cupcakes they are having. It is usually always some combination of white or chocolate cake and white or chocolate frosting. Try to match what they are having.
2. The night before or the morning of the party, take some cupcakes out to thaw. I bring 2 for my daughter just in case, but she usually only has one. Also, I like to have one on hand in case someone else needs an allergen-free cupcake (hasn’t happened yet, but when it does, I will make someone’s day!) If it is really last-minute, you can thaw the cupcake in the microwave.
3. Take out your frosting to thaw also. Or, you can microwave it just as you would to soften butter (don’t melt it).
4. Frost and decorate the cupcakes. If you want to get fancy, you can use decorating tools. It is actually really easy and you get to feel like a pastry chef for a minute! For sprinkles, I like India Tree brand or Let’s Do Organic Sprinkelz, which are gluten-free (most sprinkles contain wheat). As long as you’ve got yummy frosting and sprinkles, the cupcake part doesn’t even really matter that much!

Now SMILE and pat yourself on the back because your child has not been deprived of that age-old birthday treat - the CUPCAKE!

A few allergy-free frosting recipes adapted from C&H website:

Basic Decorating Icing (good for piping)
Ingredients:

• 4 cups powdered sugar (a one-pound box of C&H)
• 1/2 cup butter or shortening (palm if you want to make it soy-free)
• 1/4 cup water or milk (rice milk works well)
• 1 tsp. vanilla or other flavoring
• food color (optional)
• add 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder if you want to make chocolate

Instructions: Beat all ingredients until smooth. Keep icing covered to prevent drying. Store in refrigerator. Thicken with powdered sugar or thin with a few drops of water or milk, if needed. Makes 2 1/2 cups.

Vanilla Glaze — a traditional glaze for coffee cakes and sweet rolls, but good on cupcakes too!
Ingredients:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp. milk (you can use non-dairy milk — rice milk works great)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Instructions: Beat all ingredients until smooth. Makes 1/2 cup.

Chocolate Glaze — A smooth, rich glaze for cookies, cakes, cupcakes and more!
Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup chocolate pieces, semisweet
• 1 tbsp. butter or margarine (or shortening)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp. milk (or rice milk)

Instructions: In small saucepan, melt chocolate with butter (or shortening). Remove from heat and beat in powdered sugar adding milk gradually until mixture is a pourable consistency. Makes enough glaze for a layer cake.

Filed under: Babies & Kids, Food Ideas, Products, Food Allergies, Dairy Allergy, Recipes and Cooking Tips, Gluten Intolerance, Egg Allergy, Soy Allergy, Holidays/Special Events | 6 Comments »

Knowing that I helped someone keeps me motivated to keep raising awareness about the effects of food on people’s health and happiness. Yesterday I received an email from a friend of mine thanking me. Here is what she said:

Now you’re probably wondering what I’m thanking you for. Well, in the last 2 weeks, my son has been an absolute angel. He is like a different child. Last night, he slept 8 hours and he’s not even 8 weeks old yet. After cutting dairy out of my diet, he was still a little bit fussy, so I experimented a little more and cut out soy & nuts (I was eating a lot of both) too and it’s been a miracle AND I would have never done any of that if it weren’t for you. He’s not congested anymore either. It makes me so happy that my little guy isn’t uncomfortable anymore. So that is why I’m thanking you.”

That makes me so happy! And confirms why I don’t believe in colic or that some babies are just really “fussy” (I never liked that word!)

Colic is a term that describes a set of symptoms in an infant with no apparent cause.

Characteristics of colic:

• episodes of uncontrollable, extended, shrieking crying often after a feeding
• episodes occur at a predictable time of day, usually late afternoon or evening (”the witching hour”)
• physical changes during the episodes such as a distended belly, clenched fists, curled up legs or arched back
• passing of gas after an episode
• difficulty falling and/or staying asleep

Hmmm… what could it be? Nothing, nothing, nothing comes to mind… oh, wait, could it be something the baby is eating?? No, that’s silly. It’s probably just NOTHING. You just need to jiggle the baby for a few more hours and he’ll be fine.

Why doesn’t every new mother get some forewarning: if your baby has excessive or uncomfortable gas, or reflux, or excessive spitting up, has congestion, or is cranky or crying all the time or not sleeping well, you may think about the possibility that something in your diet is affecting your baby.

I don’t expect the pediatrician to have the time or the ability to work with the mother on identifying the problem foods and changing her diet, but rather than automatically switching from breastmilk to formula (which often doesn’t solve the problem), or telling the mother that it’ll all get better eventually, how about at least giving a heads-up, and then handing out a list of resources, either for local dietitians, breastfeeding experts, or even websites that offer help in this area.

Being a mother for the first time is hard enough as it is, and then you are left to think that you and your baby being completely miserable is normal, expected and incurable! Don’t believe it!

Thanks, Beth, for the inspiration for this post!

Related reading:
Gluten Free Babies & Kids
Four Hidden Medical Causes of Colic by Dr. Sears

Filed under: Babies & Kids, Food Allergies, Symptoms, Emotions | 2 Comments »

Know anyone with a food allergy? Watcha doing on September 20? How about joining Team Sure Foods Living on the Walk for Food Allergy in San Francisco? September is usually a beautiful time of year in San Francisco, so come on out to Golden Gate Park and show your support for food allergy research. You don’t have to have food allergies to participate and there is no fee to walk (but hopefully you will donate too!). If you can’t walk, please donate on behalf of my team.

Living with food allergies is an every-day challenge. There is currently no cure for food allergies, but The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) is working to change that. Their national fundraising event, Walk for Food Allergy: Moving Toward A Cure^™ . consists of walks in many different cities from August to December to raise awareness about food allergies and sponsor education and research. I for one do believe that a treatment can be found for people with food allergies, and I have hope that it will be in my daughter’s lifetime.

I hope to walk with you on September 20! To join my team, click here.

Walk details:

When: Saturday, September 20, 2008
Time: Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m.; Walk begins at 10:00 a.m.
Location: Golden Gate Park, 501 Stanyan Street, San Francisco, CA 94117
Distance: 3 miles

Thank you!
Alison

Filed under: Events, Food Allergies | 2 Comments »

Nobody wants to have a food allergy or gluten intolerance and have to eliminate something from their diet. But what I find interesting is the reaction that people have if it is suggested that their or their children’s health problems (like rashes, eczema, asthma, stomachaches, gas, colic, reflux, headaches — the list goes on) or behavioral/developmental problems in kids (clinginess, tantrums, excessive, crying, delayed speech, attention deficit disorder, and more) or emotional/psychological problems in adults (depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsiveness, addiction) could be due to a food sensitivity.

I have observed people having the following three types of reactions:

Reaction #1: “No way, not me”

For most people, believing that food could cause the above symptoms is difficult. Why is it so hard to believe that what we put into our bodies could actually affect our whole bodies, including our brains (last time I checked, this was part of the body)? Food is our nourishment — we need it to survive — so surely it can’t be harmful. I have heard people argue, “but food is natural.” OK, I say, but some mushrooms are poisonous — go ahead, I dare ya!

Sometimes a person tells me about a problem and how it is affecting his/her life or the life of the child. When I gently suggest gluten intolerance or food allergy, suddenly the problem is “not that bad.” Let’s see, so the problem is bad enough to go to a doctor, it’s bad enough to take medicine for it, it’s bad enough to see a specialist, it’s bad enough to make someone miserable, but it can’t be bad enough to have to change one’s diet… that would be AWFUL!

When I have suggested to someone that they might be gluten intolerant, I have heard the no-way-not-me variation of “Well, I don’t really eat that much wheat anyway.” I challenge anyone to see if they are not eating wheat at least 3 times a day, including snacks. People eat so much wheat! And dairy! And now soy because it’s in everything. Most people are simply not aware of what they are eating. Before I was diagnosed with celiac disease and had to begin to carefully read labels, I thought I ate a very healthy diet. I now realize that I didn’t really know what I was buying or eating.

Some no-way-not-me people do come around after a while and begin to have Reaction #2 below. Many do not (and continue to be miserable).

Reaction #2: “Hmm… I’ll think about that.”

These people know that something is not right and once food allergy is suggested, they are open to considering it as a cause. They may sit with it a while, observe, talk about it some more, read about it, and/or plan it out, and then they may get testing done or do their own elimination diet. However they approach it, sometimes a change is made and ultimately, hopefully, an answer is found. Most people with the I’ll-think-about-it type of reaction feel that changing the diet is a sacrifice that they are willing to make for their own, or their children’s, health.

I’ll-think-about-it people often end up having Reaction #3 below, although some waffle between Reactions #1 and #3.

Reaction #3: “I’ll do it!”

I am always surprised by the people who are willing right away to try eliminating something from their diet. They just do it. They don’t make a big deal about it, they don’t stress over it, they just do it. I don’t know why I am surprised, since I was one of those people. Once I knew that celiac disease and gluten existed (from reading about it on the web), I began eating gluten-free that very minute. When my doctor told me not to go gluten-free until I took a blood test (because it could affect the test results), I cried. I didn’t want to eat gluten ever again!

Still, I am impressed by the mother who stops eating dairy while breastfeeding to see if her infant becomes less colicky, the guy who stops eating gluten to see if his eczema goes away, the mother who stops feeding her baby gluten and dairy in hopes that it will help with seizures, and the many others who removed something from their diet in an attempt to feel better. They decided it was worth a try — if it worked, then hooray! If it didn’t, they were no worse off than before.

Why these reactions?

I have wondered, does the severity of the problem determine a person’s reaction? In my experience, not necessarily. Yes, some people with very serious health problems may be more willing to try a change in diet because they haven’t found answers elsewhere. But I know parents with sick children — and I mean very sick — and people who are suffering with undiagnosed health problems who will not try a gluten-free diet, will not try eliminating dairy, will not make any dietary change to see if it makes a difference.

What drives these reactions, I think, is whether one believes or not. This is also true of doctors — if they themselves don’t believe that food can cause ill health, then they don’t suggest it to patients, and in many cases make patients feel silly (stupid) for asking about it.

So what’s your reaction?

Filed under: Babies & Kids, Food Allergies, Gluten Intolerance, Symptoms, Emotions | 6 Comments »

Yes, it was my idea that Starbucks should carry gluten-free foods… mine and a thousand other people’s!

I’m sure that every gluten-intolerant person has gone into a Starbucks and thought, “they should have gluten-free stuff here — they would get so much business!” Well, enough people wrote into the My Starbucks Idea website that the idea is now either “coming soon” or “under review” according to the latest post on the website on April 18.

You too can vote for the gluten-free food idea! And if peanuts are a concern, you can vote for the peanut-free food idea. If dairy or eggs are your problem, vote for the vegan food idea, and if you need to avoid it all, vote for the allergy-free baked goods idea.

Maybe soon we will be able to pick a muffin from the case, just like all the normal people! If you do see something gluten-free at a Starbucks near you, please report it here!

Filed under: Food Allergies, Gluten Intolerance, Restaurants/Bakeries/Stores | 5 Comments »

A dog that can sniff out peanuts — yes, it’s true! In Texas they are training dogs to detect peanuts to keep peanut-allergic people safe. In addition to accompanying you to public places, your dog can sniff guests who enter the home and “discreetly scan them for peanut residue in order to minimize the chance of contamination.”

I think this is a great idea, especially for peanut-allergic kids who (unfortunately) always need someone to scan their environment to make sure it is safe. Who wouldn’t want the extra protection? Unless you don’t like dogs or are not a dog-person, like me (boo, hiss! — sorry, when you grow up with asthma and allergies, dog hair plastered to your clothing and being licked in the face aren’t the most appealing things!) I think even I might consider a dog if it meant keeping my child safe. What do you think — good idea?

For more information, visit Peanutdog.com.

Filed under: Peanuts/Nuts Allergy, Food Allergies | 7 Comments »

It is 1992 and I am on a train heading from the south of Spain to Madrid, where I am living and studying for the semester. I have just spent 5 days in Morocco, eating cous-cous, drinking mint tea and staying in beautiful mosaic hotel rooms. I am 21 years old and I am having trouble breathing and it is the first time it ever crosses my mind that I could actually die from an asthma attack.

Inhaler in hand, I take a puff every hour, then every half hour, eventually every few minutes and I am watching the clock to see how long I have until we arrive in Madrid, where I will have to take the subway and then walk to the boarding house where I live. It is taking so long. And I can only breathe short breaths, I can’t get air deep into my lungs. I am starting to feel panicky which only makes asthma worse. I talk to myself — you’re ok, you’re ok, we’re going to get there.

We arrive at the train station. I take the subway, and then a friend carries my duffel bag in addition to his because I can barely even carry myself up the steps of the house. I make it. I take the prednisone that I had left behind, never suspecting that I would need it. I lay sick in bed for 2 days, exhausted from trying so hard to breathe.

I have asthma, or as I now say, I had asthma. Since I was a kid I carried around my inhaler, taking a puff or two at the halftime of my soccer game or if I got a cold. Mine was not serious enough that I ever had to go to the hospital, but in my 20s, it got worse to the point that my doctor recommended I take a steroid inhaler every morning and every night to prevent attacks from happening.

It wasn’t until my diagnosis of celiac disease at age 32 that it ever occurred to me that my asthma could be triggered by food. Not one allergist had ever suggested it. It was my own idea to stop inhaling the steroid medication after 3 months on a gluten-free diet… I have not used it since.

I now know that my asthma was caused by gluten. It got worse with other triggers such as the flu, dust and exercise, but these weren’t the causes, they just made it worse. All those years I believed I had exercise-induced asthma, but within months of changing my diet, I ran an 8 mile race — without a puff!

To those of you out there suffering from asthma or whose kids are suffering from it, think about food being a cause. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) website, “asthma symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, or difficulty breathing due to narrowed airways, may be triggered by food allergy, especially in infants and children.” According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America website, “babies in particular may have food allergies that can bring on asthma symptoms. Some of the foods to which American children are commonly allergic are eggs, cow’s milk, wheat, soybean products, tree nuts and peanuts.” Even adult-onset asthma could be caused by food.

It’s up to you: try a change of diet or be on medication the rest of your life. If you decide to try it, look at which foods are being consumed the most, usually gluten and dairy, and trying cutting one or both out for a few months. Of course, consult your doctor before reducing any medications (not like I did), but also know that your doctor may not believe that food could be the cause of asthma. But it can. Just look at me.

Filed under: Babies & Kids, Celiac Disease, Food Allergies, Gluten Intolerance, Symptoms | 2 Comments »

I admit it, I used to watch The Apprentice years ago. And I liked it. (Yes, I was a Survivor fan too!)

It’s been a while since I have tuned in, but this Thursday, March 27, I might just have to watch The Celebrity Apprentice to see if Trace Adkins, country singing star, wins in the finale. If he does, his chosen charity, The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), will receive a check for $250,000. It’s great that he is raising awareness about food allergies!

Watch this video to see why he is personally motivated to win the challenge:

Filed under: Food Allergies, Publicity | 1 Comment »