SAFE CANDY!!!

I also get so nervous when it's time for Halloween time because of the focus on candy.  It can be hard to know what is safe for your allergic child.  As always, we took the kids around but in the end they traded their candy in for a toy of their choice.  I did however come across a few brands that say they are totally safe from many allergens.  Here is my list:

Smarties - The bag contains an allergen free statement.  They do not use nuts in their factories and they are also free of most other allergens.  If the barcode on the back begins with 0 11206 they say that they are safe.  They do not however guarantee that smarties in mixed candy bags are safe.  They are also gluten free.

Dum Dums - Also contain a no nut and other allergen statement.

Enjoy Life Candy Bars - These chocolate bars are amazing!!  They are free of all the top 8 allergens.  They come in rice milk and crispy.

Starburst Jelly Beans - I stock up on these every Easter!  I called the company and was told that they are not processed in a factory with nuts or eggs.  May want to call this one first though, because it doesn't contain a label and as we know, things can change.  I call for every bag just to be sure.

Tootsie Roll Pops - I just called about these and was told that they do not have any kind of nuts in their factories whatsoever.  They are also egg free.  They do have some products that do contain eggs though, however she said that with the tootsie pops there is no chance of cross contamination.  Their Charleston Chews contain egg and therefor some products that are run on the same machine will have the "may contain" statement. 

Skittles and Starburst - I also just called about this one and was told that they are nut and egg free.  They are also made in a factory without nuts. 

As always, please use your best judgement and call to double check if you are worried.  I call about everything!! :)

Disney World!!!

We just took an amazing trip to Disney World, but along with all the excitement comes worry.  Feeding my allergic son at the condo with a kitchen was easy, but being at the park for a full day was more difficult to plan.  I emailed Disney ahead of time and they sent me a lot of helpful information on where my son could safely eat and what items were offered at each location.  They have Amy's mac and cheese, Amy's pizza and allergy friendly chicken nuggets. We decided to bring what food we could and use what they had at the park only if we had to.  I packed a backpack full of safe cookies, muffins, bananas and other snacks.  The bad news is that it all melted and became mush from the heat!  Luckily there are tons of places that serve bananas, apples, yogurt and grapes.  Most are prepackaged. 

My son was just fine with eating fruit and yogurt all day, with a sprite as a special treat at lunch.  I knew that there were better meal options there, but he insisted on grapes and yogurt.  He was satisfied, so that's what mattered.  While we were having lunch my husband overheard a lady asking the manager of COSMIC RAY'S CAFE about what was offered for food allergic individuals. He seemed very helpful and when the child's meal arrived he received a special Disney button. 

The best find of the day was at the MAIN STREET BAKERY!! They have a rack of items from Divvies!!  Their products are free of a lot of the top allergens, most importantly nuts!!  They had jelly beans, caramel corn, cookies and more! My son was so excited to have these special treats and jelly beans are his favorite.  By the way, their jelly beans are AMAZING!!

Overall we had a wonderful experience and next time I hope I'm less paranoid and can take advantage of how well Disney seems to cater to those with food allergies.  I advise anyone who is going to any of the parks to email them for information beforehand.   They are so helpful!!

Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

I was so excited to find these chocolate chips in the aisle at Whole Foods.  They are so yummy and very affordable! My son just had his first chocolate chip cookie ever and loved it!  The thing I love about this brand is that not only is it free of eggs and nuts, but also of all the other top allergens.  They also make cereal bars, cookies, bagels,ect. You have to give them a try!

Holidays are over and we made it through!

We just made it through out first holiday season of having food allergies.  I was so worried that every place we went I would have to follow my son around everywhere. I couldn't take the chance on him ingesting food he was allergic to or coming in contact with a child who just gobbled down a peanut butter cookie.  I didn't want him to feel left out at my inlaws house, so I baked him a few different safe cookies and brought a plate with us. My inlaws are great about his allergies, so they had plain foods set aside for him. He had green beans, applesauce and yogurt. Perfect for my little man. The other part of our holiday was here at home, so that was comfortable for everyone. I baked lots of safe treats. The only scarry encounter that we had was an event in which there were multiple bowls of peanuts on the counters and tables. I know that I can't expect everyone to always put his allergies first and remember them, since it's still new to us.  I think they noticed my fear of him touching anything there, so they were put up shortly after we arrived. Of course there will always be tables of foods and drinks that are not safe for him and he will need to learn to ask before he eats ANYTHING!!  I know it will get harder as he gets older and wants to try all the yummy treats, but for now we made it through!!