The Super Allergy Girl Blog

Gluten-Free Diet: Help! Where Do I Start?

I am frequently asked this question and earlier this week I promised a reader that I would blog about it in an effort to provide them with answers as they wade through the myriad of information on the gluten-free diet.  My first recommendation is to take a deep breath and breathe.  There are no easy answers if you are experiencing either health issues or behavioral/emotional issues or even depression, which may or may not be related to consuming gluten, dairy or other foods.  The intention of my cookbook, The Super Allergy Girl™ Allergy & Celiac Cookbook, was to help people with this very question.  I have included in my cookbook 100 pages of helpful information to people embarking on a gluten-free and dairy-free diet.  You will find many helpful downloadable and free documents on my website – information free for the taking.  For that reason, I will be as brief as possible here.  You can purchase the cookbook here on my website.

Where Do I Start?  This is a great question with no easy answers.  I will make some brief recommendations with the understanding that I have already written 100 pages of information in my cookbook to help people get started and be successful.  If you are considering the gluten-free and/or dairy-free diet for yourself or your child due to health symptoms, behavioral issues, emotional problems or cognitive functioning issues, good for you!
 

Step 1:  I recommend that you begin by seeing your primary care physician or pediatrician and ruling out celiac disease.  Celiac disease is currently one of the most under-diagnosed, if not the most under-diagnosed disease in the U.S.

About 97% of the people in the U.S. who have celiac disease don’t currently realize that they have it according to the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Program.  If celiac disease, which is an autoimmune disease with a genetic component, is the underlying cause or source of your health issues, it would be really, really good to know that, medically speaking.  Years down the road, you don’t want to be wondering if you or your child actually has celiac disease.  Because celiac has a genetic component, it would be valuable for you or your relatives to know if you or your child has celiac disease. 

The mistake I made, and it is the classic mistake that many others make, is to go on a gluten-free diet without ruling out celiac disease.  I have been informed by reputable individuals in a position to know, that if you are on a gluten-free diet for an extended period of time that you will invalidate celiac testing in the future.  My recommendation is to rule celiac disease out.  You can find good information on celiac disease testing on the Celiac Sprus Association, USA, Inc. website at www.csaceliacs.org, so I’m not going to go into celiac testing in this piece.

 Step 2:  After ruling out celiac disease, assuming you are agreeable to that recommendation, you can then select one of several options to try to assess what is contributing to your health issues, behavioral issues, cognitive functioning problems or emotional issues.  Here are some of the options you have:

Elimination Diet:  As the name implies, an elimination diet is one where you remove many or most common foods.  Once you have removed most foods, you then re-introduce foods to see if symptoms return or get worse.  This requires diligence and many people find it uncomfortable as the elimination diet offers few foods for consumption.  I have not found many parents willing to do an elimination diet, although if you are willing, this can be a helpful option.

Remove Gluten and/or Dairy from the diet:  In this option you remove either gluten or diary or both.  Gluten and diary are two of the foods that seem to impact many people, so I recommend if you are going to do this to remove both for a period of 6 weeks minimum with 3 months being a preferred period.  Gluten and diary remain in the human body longer than other foods, and if you don’t remove it for a long enough period, you won’t be getting a valid test.  If you are going to do this, by all means get a copy of my cookbook so you don’t have to suffer through it.  You can have outstanding gluten-free and dairy-free foods, so if you are going to try this option, give it a good go by getting resources so it is as easy as possible.  If the symptoms are improved or eliminated by being on a gluten-free and/or diary-free diet, you can then introduce gluten or dairy, one at a time, to see if they bring on the symptoms you are addressing.

Food Diary:  This is another investigative tool that is non-invasive.  It takes time, commitment and patience.  In this option, you write down what you eat, how much of each food and any symptoms, behaviors or emotional states in a journal.  Often by keeping a food diary, people can start to see patterns emerge and they can then make educated guesses as to what might be the source.  If you notice that you feel tired two hours after every meal, that might be helpful.  If you change what you eat and notice that you are energized, that would also be of value. 

Food colorings, additives & preservatives:  In some instances, individuals or parents will see improvements in emotional, cognitive, physical or behavioral functioning by simply removing food colorings, additives, and preservatives.  The rule of thumb here is if you can’t pronounce it, if you don’t know what it is or does, or it says coloring – it falls into this category.  The Feingold Association, www.feingold.org has a program to help parents and professionals in this area.  You can purchase their outstanding program or become a Feingold Association member through their website.  They are a very reputable organization, and I highly recommend their program, organization and website!

I’m Still Confused:  Where Do I start?  There simply is no easy answer to this question.  The important thing is just to begin somewhere.  You can start with any one of the options I have outlined above.  It depends on your personality, your situation, and your time and resources and what you are willing or unwilling to do.  When parents read the package inserts of some of the ADD or ADHD medications and see some of the serious and/or life-threatening side effects, many of them become willing to spend some time and energy investigating natural, non-invasive dietary changes.   It is unfortunate that there are no easy answers and no one-size-fits-all solutions when it comes to dietary intervention.  Two of my three children require the gluten-free, dairy-free and allergen-free diet for their cognitive processing, emotional well-being, and health.  Two of them are also highly reactive to food colorings and preservatives.  They don’t all react the same to the offending foods.  I wish I could make it easier.  What I have done with my cookbook is to put all the important information about special diets, ingredients, and the basics of what you really need to know in the first 100 pages.  There are over 225 outstanding recipes.  Just because you are on a limited or restricted diet doesn’t mean that you have to tolerate bad foods!  We have great tasting foods free of all gluten, dairy, eggs, tree-nuts, peanuts, and other allergens (Over 75% of the recipes are also free of soy and corn).

Will it affect people in our household who don’t have these issues?  If you are changing your diet because of celiac disease or to improve health issues, you will have control over how it affects the people in your household.  This is an area where not everyone does the same thing.  Some families cook two separate meals, one free of gluten and dairy and one meal that contains gluten.  I am unwilling to cook two different meals, and my children all have different food requirements.  My daughter has life-threatening food allergies to all diary, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts.  My one son will get a nice rash from eggs, but eggs won’t kill him.  I cook to the lowest common denominator, which means that the meals for my children are free of all gluten, diary, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts and coconut (the coconut is for me!).  You may be willing to make two meals as many families do that.  It will be a change for sure.  However what I can say with all honesty is that people do dietary changes because they see the results and it is safe. 

This is a very long blog, but it will make at least one reader very happy!!  Or maybe it won’t make her happy, but I at least kept my promise to answer her questions by today!!  Yikes, better get this published as it is 11:24 PM!!  I’d love to hear your comments and thoughts on this.  What results have you seen by changing your child’s diet?  What thoughts do you have to share with someone considering a change in diet to alleviate health symptoms, behaviors, emotional issues or cognitive processing?

Love,
Lisa

Want Power? Make A Completion List...Here's how

I just did my completion list for 2009, something that I typically do in the first week of a New Year, and I am excited!  Now, I can't remember what year I started doing what I call a "Completion List", but I can tell you it was at least in 1998 because that was the year I did one that had a ton of house projects.  What I do is write down anything and everything that I can think of that is incomplete in my life.  My "Completion List" includes phone calls to make (usually ones that are hanging out there un-done for some reason), house repair projects, other projects that did not get done like organizing things, letters - you get the drift.  If you want power, this is one of the best activities to do as long as you set about to actually complete them.  There is no sense in making a list if you have no intention of checking them off!

My friend, Lanette, started doing this with me a few years ago!!  During the year we will check in with each other to see if things are coming off the list.  Just knowing that I was getting ready to do my list, I got in action and took care of two items so that they didn't even make it on the list!  It is fun to check the items off.  So, you are probably wondering, WHAT is on my list for this year?  Well here is a sample of what is on my list:
1.  Have Diane over for coffee
2.  Visit Sharleen in Maine
3.  Throw a party for the people who have helped us get to where we are
4.  Office all cleaned up and organized
5.  Access to a saltwater pool for the kids this summer so they can learn to swim w/out chlorine
6.  Pictures organized
7.  Find a church that will offer a scent-free mass and 'no germs' zone for us to be able to participate with (Roman Catholic)
8.  Fulfill on my promise to Edith Anderson for Epsilon Alpha Chapter history (and organize her docs)
9.  Be selected for an ABC Extreme Home Makeover OR somehow resolve our housing issues
10.  Clean out the attic

Well, you get the idea.  My 2009 Completion list has a total of 26 items on it, most of them not related to the cookbook because then the list would be 100 items long.  I have one item for business and the rest is in a category I'd call other.  One of the items, having matching dresses for my daughter and I, is a luxury that I have not been willing to spend the money on given our medical bill situation.  But, what I realized the other week was that I could sew the dresses myself for a fraction of what I could buy them ready-made, and if I didn't hurry up and do it soon - she'd be at that age where she was too old to wear a dress that matched "Mommy's".  Yes, they do grow up fast!!  So, now I'm using the matching dresses concept as a reward for completing 7 or 8 big work projects.  Projects that will take hours and hours and did I say hours to complete!!  Projects that I have either been avoiding or for some reason have not managed to finish.  That is providing incentive for me.  I can't wait to get those projects done now.

And that is the inner workings of a self-motivated person.  I set up my own rewards for completing X or Y amount of work or certain projects.  It lights a fire under me - assuming I have the right motivating rewards.  At any rate, I have digressed.  Writing up your own Completion List could provide you with lots of power if you will work to complete items on the list.  And now you can create your own "reward" program for doing such.  I hope that I have not bored you to death with my little motivational tricks!  Thinking about doing a completion list?  If you do, let me know!!  What gives you power?  How do you motivate yourself?  Let me know.

Have a wonderful and productive week.  I'm off to LA on Wednesday.
Love,
Lisa

My Apologies- I was duped on my last blog entry!! Ouch!

I offer my sincere apologies for not checking on the www.snopes.com website before posting my last blog on the cell phone do not call list  (which has now been deleted).  I know better and should have double checked.  I had heard people talking about this issue, so when the e-mail came from a reliable source, it all made sense to me.  Here is the link to the snopes page:  http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/cell411.asp

In order not to further this "urban legend", I have deleted the previous post so that other people do not come upon it and think it is true without reading the retraction.  It is a lesson in double checking, even that I believe to be a reliable source!  And we wonder why people have trouble sorting out what is the truth in health care?  It is no wonder.  My apologies on my mistake!  I'll take 50 lashes with a wet noodle!!  Any comments?  I'd love to hear how you have been duped!  Have a wonderful weekend.
Love,
Lisa

Consider Giving Toastmasters a Try in 2009

I was the Toastmaster for our most recent club meeting.  We were all delighted that our club had three visitors come to check out our club and what Toastmasters International is all about.  I don’t know if you realize this or not, but the general public fears public speaking more than death!!  Toastmasters International has been around for decades (since the 1920’s) helping people overcome their fear of public speaking.  But that is not all that Toastmasters does.  Toastmasters also helps people learn how to run effective meetings, and grow and develop leadership skills.

Participation in Toastmasters can also help people with their listening skills, interpersonal skills, learn how to give feedback and the list goes on and on.  Clubs have different personalities and styles.  Our club is friendly and fun.  We genuinely enjoy each other and it shows.  We have diversity in every category: age, religion, profession, beliefs, and stage of life.  What we have in common is a sincere desire to improve ourselves and to help others improve in their speaking, listening, and leadership.

I have been in Toastmasters International for over 5 years now.  I have earned what is called the Advanced Toastmasters-Silver level with the Competent Leader award as well.  Now, I am working on my Advanced Toastmaster-Gold award level.  All that means is that I have completed over 30 speech projects and the first leadership track, which is a bit more involved than I have time or space for now.  It is a rewarding organization with fabulous people who all want to help others.  Or at least the people in our club do.

If you have never tried it, or if it has been years or decades since you visited Toastmasters, perhaps it is something worth considering.  Are you a Toastmaster?  How has it helped you grow and develop?  If you have never been to a Toastmasters International meeting, are you interested?  I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject!!  If you live in the Western New York area, and would like to visit my Toastmasters Club, please do.  You can come as my guest although you can attend any club meeting all on your own!!   Many blessings, and let me know your comments.

Love,
Lisa

 

Gluten-free/Casein-free & Egg-free White Cake Conundrum

This blog is due in full to Gloria Tilley's phone call to me yesterday asking for help with a gluten-free, casein-free and egg free white cake!!  Gloria is an expert gluten-free and casein-free baker whose children also can't tolerate eggs.  I explained to Gloria yesterday that I had too many failures in attempting to create a GFCF (that's short for Gluten-free & Casein-free) cake that was also egg-free to even think about trying it again.  I had tried many times to perfect a GFCF and egg-free white cake, but the results were always a huge disappointment.  How many failures do you withstand before you just give up?  For those of you who don't know Gloria Tilley, she is quite enrolling.  And yes, she did eventually enroll me into trying it AGAIN!!  I know, am I a glutton for punishment?  No, Gloria needs a white cake recipe for a family wedding this year, and I promised to work on it for her.

To her absolute credit (and Gloria gets a ton of credit- she actually deserves her own blog entry), Gloria took the Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin recipe in my cookbook and deleted the lemon flavoring ingredients as well as the poppy seeds to come up with a white cake (adding vanilla extract), but it was a bit more of a pound cake.  So Gloria suggested that in addition to trying it myself, that I ask you, my readers, if you have a gluten-free, dairy-free (casein-free) and egg-free white cake recipe.  It also needs to be free of peanuts and tree-nuts and coconut.  O.K. now I actually can't remember if Gloria's children are free of peanuts, tree-nuts and coconut, but we are and for me to test a recipe that is a must.

I'm traveling to Penn State to meet with my interns next week and then it is off to Los Angeles, so I won't be experimenting in the kitchen until early February at the earliest.  If you have a cake recipe that meets these criteria, it would be greatly appreciated.  I'll let you know how the great white cake conundrum unfolds.  Until then, happy baking and enjoy the week!

Love,
Lisa

Heartfelt Sympathy and Prayers for the Travolta Family

The death of John Travolta and Kelly Preston’s 16-year old son, Jett, has hit me hard for at least two reasons.  I ask for your most loving and compassionate prayers for the Travolta family as they grieve the loss of their beloved son.  As someone who has had my fair share of loss, there can be no easy way to deal with this sudden and tragic death.  If you believe in prayer of any form, I ask that you pray that God gives them the Grace and strength to get through the difficult days and months ahead.

As those of you who read my blog regularly know, I do not typically blog about things like this.  When I heard the news of Jett’s death last night, I had to go and look it up in the newspaper immediately.  I’ve had just a bit over 24 hours to ponder why this hit me so hard when I don’t even know John Travolta or his wife, Kelly Preston.  And I’m not one of the people star-struck over celebrities or VIP’s.  The first reason that came to mind what the sheer number of people that had instructed me countless times in the last four years to contact John Travolta.  He was one of the people that more than a handful of people advised me to contact for help- second only to Hilary Clinton- for help with my daughter’s health crisis.  I never bothered to take that advice rationalizing that he was a busy man with this or that movie, and he had other things to concern himself with.

The thinking of the people who recommended John Travolta as a contact was that he had played a role as the boy in the plastic bubble many years ago, which was a fact that I was not aware of.  So, that was the first reason it hit me so hard.  I think the second reason that it hit me so hard was that it was a harsh reminder that no matter what you do; you can lose a child in a heartbeat.  There are no guarantees for safety, well being and health.  No matter what you do, things can happen.  It was only 4-1/2 years ago that I almost lost my daughter in a hospital visit.  Had I not stopped the nurse from giving my daughter an injection (which contained the wrong dose of medication), my daughter would not be here. 

Tragic and sudden loss results in a different kind of grief and grief processing because you don’t have the weeks or months or preparing yourself for an impending loss.  And it is simply un-natural for a parent to lose a child.  That is another reason that this probably has hit me so hard that it takes my breath away.  I have lost a daughter, who would be 14 years old now.  Christina was her name.  I lost her when I was six months pregnant.  Surprisingly, she had her fingernails and eyelashes, which I will never forget.  We were in the midst of planning a geographic move, and I couldn’t bear the thought of buried in a plot that I wouldn’t be able to visit after we moved.  So I have her ashes in my nightstand in a plastic box that the funeral home provided.  Yes, one day she will be buried, but then was not the time. 

I have found that we really don’t talk about the death of children in our society, or so it seems to me.  It is uncomfortable and easier to avoid.  We attended a support group and had an excellent grief nurse at the hospital, who was especially trained in early loss.  One of the things that I remember from the support group was how most of the sympathies and comments offered were directed at the mothers.  Fathers feel the loss just as completely and deeply, yet we often ignore the Dad’s when a child dies. 

I know I will be praying for this family as they mourn the loss of their dear son.  I will be praying that each day it gets a little easier and that they have all the love and support that they need in their time of sadness.  I hope that you will offer up some special prayers for them too.  God Bless.

Love,
Lisa

My Penn State Interns

This Fall I submitted an internship program that I created to the College of Communications at Penn State University for students majoring in Public Relations.  My program for interns was immediately accepted and posted for the PR students.  Within 24 hours I had my first intern.  I completed the fall semester with 3 wonderful students, who were hard working, eager to learn, and just as precious as they come.  This is the primary reason that I disappeared on the blogging front for some of the fall.  I was thinking that I would start the internship with PSU in the spring, so it all came together fast.  I made several trips to Penn State to meet with the interns to provide individual mentoring and guidance.

It was a fantastic learning experience for the students and for me in learning what they know and what support I needed to provide.  I am sharing this with you now because I will again have Penn State Interns in the spring, and I am sure that some of them will choose to be “guest bloggers” so that they can get a feel for the experience of blogging, which is part of public relations in this day in age.

My intention in creating the internship program for Penn State was to give the students in PR a real hands-on learning experience that they would find to be very valuable.  My second intention was that it not be stressful for them (I can remember how stressful college was).  And my third intention was that they enjoy themselves.  It was a wonderful experience for me.  Many of you know I’m a graduate of Penn State University, so I got to go back to Penn State!  Woo-hoo!  My Mom and Dad and two of my siblings also live in State College where Penn State is located (also called “Happy Valley”) so that was the icing on the cake.

I’m giving the students plenty of choices on what they can work on so that they can powerfully select areas that they want to learn about and work in as opposed to what I would direct them to.  In addition to guest blogging, I’m working on getting pod casts recorded to help people who are new to the gluten-free and dairy-free world.  It is exciting and fun and just what I want in my life.  If you have public relations connections with any type of media and you would be willing to share that with the interns that would be a gift to these young people.  They are sharp, savvy and young.  They deserve guidance and support.  If you can provide any contacts in the media, by all means do so.  I know they will be really excited.  More on this once the spring semester starts in Mid-January.  Can you believe that tomorrow is only Sunday? With the extra holiday, it feels like today is Sunday.  Have a powerful day!
Love,
Lisa

Happy New Year!

I don't know about you, but I am always ready to ring in a New Year!  There is something about starting fresh with a New Year that appeals to me.  Typically this means transferring the birthdays from one kitchen calendar to another.  Why I do this I'm not quite sure since I gave up trying to keep up with birthdays many years ago.  I think I do it hoping that one year I'll get back into the swing of remembering birthdays.  It is a time to clean out my planner and put the new one in along with dates of upcoming events for the year.  For me, it is also a time for reflection and laying out the plans for the year and looking at what I had intended for the year coming to a close. 

Last year at this time I wrote out a five-year plan for myself and my life.  While I attained some of the items on the plan, many will be carried over into 2009.  And then there were the unplanned items.  I had not planned on doing one of the new "Living Well With Montel" shows that I ended up doing in October.  I had not planned on starting an internship program with Penn State until January 2009, but I ended up starting that in October.  It is acknowledging the ground covered, even if the whole goal wasn't attained.

I had intended to lose 40 pounds this year, yet only managed to lose about half of that.  I did manage to change some life-style habits, and I am clear that I'll lose the remaining 20 (or more) this year.  I'm very excited about the New Year!  I'm working on some fun and dynamic projects, which I'll share more about as they unfold. 

I love a New Year because it allows for reflection and planning, two things that I love.  What do you love (or hate) about a New Year?  What are you planning for yourself in 2009?  More of the same, or something different?  What personal areas in your life will you take on?  I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject.  How can I support you in having a great life and in what you are up to?  Do let me know.
Love and Blessings,
Lisa

Gluten-Free Diet: Not a Fad Diet or for the Fainthearted

Gluten-free is making the news at a record pace in case you have not been following some of what has been written in the last few weeks.  Recently, JWT, which apparently is one of the largest advertising agencies in the world, released a list of 90 things to watch in 2009.  And you guessed it, gluten-free was one of those things.  (Source: http://www.jwt.com)  A story in The Houston Chronicle quotes Ann Mack, director of trend-spotting for JWT, as saying that gluten-free products are now considered chic.  (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/food/6185469.html)
Along with this publicity are web articles and media stories questioning the validity of a gluten-free diet and calling the gluten-free diet a “fad”.

This is a pretty interesting turn of events for those of us who have been cooking and baking gluten-free for 9 or more years.  It is a complete turn around.  Is the gluten-free diet for everyone?  Certainly not.  Can many people benefit from a gluten-free diet?  Yes, many people can benefit from it.  There are several health symptoms that are or can be relieved by eliminating gluten and dairy from the diet.  Celiac disease not withstanding the most commonly listed conditions (non-celiac) include: gluten intolerance, food allergies and food intolerances or sensitivities, ADD, ADHD, irritable bowel, Crohn’s disease, depression, gastrointestinal symptoms including gas, discomfort and bloating, anxiety, fibromyalgia and behavior issues.

To someone who is new to the health issues that food can cause in human beings, this list might seem unreasonable and not believable.  To those people I might gently suggest reading a brief history of food allergies, which I can promise you will be enlightening and fascinating.  I have provided one on my website, which you can download or just read: http://www.thesuperallergycookbook.com/history.htm

Over 2,000 years ago Hippocrates wrote about how food could be “injurious” to human health.  As the father of medicine, Hippocrates research and teachings have held up very well over time.  After looking at the brief history of food allergies that I have written, the next recommendation I would make would be to visit the Feingold Association and see some of their research pieces on food additives, food preservatives and food colorings and how these components can impact children’s health, behavior, learning abilities and demeanor.  The Feingold Association is a non-profit organization that have been around for over 30 years.  Their website is excellent and can be found at: www.feingold.org. 

It takes something to be gluten-free and even more to be gluten-free and dairy-free.  It is not for the fainthearted, although I must say that in the last 9 years it has become 1,000 times easier to be on the gluten-free and dairy-free diet.  There are more pre-packaged foods and mixes than ever before.  There are non-dairy ice creams, sour cream and cream cheese (if you can do rice or soy).  There are a multitude of choices like never before.  But even with these new products and more and more restaurants adding gluten-free menu items, it takes something to be gluten-free (and dairy-free). 

Is the gluten-free diet a fad?  If changing your child’s diet converted C’s and D’s in school work to straight A’s, I think you would be hard pressed to give your kids gluten on a regular basis.  Or if your overly emotional, hard to manage child became a easy to take, joy to be around child- would you really indulge in foods that caused such havoc?  No, you would probably not or at least not very often.  The more educated people become on this topic, the more they realize the gluten-free, dairy-free diet has already surpassed the “fad” requirements.  It’s just that more people are now in the know. 

Eat well, be well.
Love,
Lisa

Traveling & Dining out with Gluten-Free & Food Allergy Children

Many people take dining out for granted and do it on a weekly basis without so much as a thought.  Today I traveled with my three gluten-free & food allergy children (that means gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free and peanut-free plus a few other miscellaneous foods) from Buffalo to State College, PA to visit Penn State University where I have meetings scheduled over the next two days.  And yes, I am, by the way, a Penn State graduate!  You wouldn't believe the foods I had to pack into the car to make sure that my daughter could have the foods that she needs without me having to spend the entire time in the kitchen!!  We had more food and food ingredients in the car than anything else!  I brought pre-made rolls, waffles, bagels, meatballs and more.

We also brought what Montel Williams referred to last month as our "industrial air purifier" with us.  No, it's not really "industrial", but it does have a high rating for the volume of air that it will purify.  All this to make sure that my daughter does not start with her asthma or have an allergic reaction to a food that puts her in the hospital or necessitates the use of Benadryl™ or an Epi-Pen™.  Is it worth it?  Well, if you watched your child nearly die from a food reaction, it would probably alter the actions you were willing to take to make sure they were safe.  But, I digress...

Tomorrow we are dining out for breakfast which is a treat for the kids and a lot of work for me.  Tonight I made the organic, nitrate-free, nitrite-free, hormone free, preservative-free bacon my daughter can have, which I will take to the restaurant for her to eat.  I also made her home fries with organic potatoes and the organic oil she can tolerate.  More work for me.  Then, amidst the hustle and bustle of getting out the door by 7:45 AM, I have to remember to TAKE her food with us!  And her beverages, too!  Sometime I should post a picture of my daughter's swollen eye which was caused by a preservative.  Who know preservatives could cause such havoc on a child?  I sure didn't know that.

Luckily, the two boys are not so sensitive or allergic.  They can have the bacon with nitrates and nitrites and some eggs.  Yes, it is a lot of work, which is why we don't do it very often.  Who would go out to eat if they had to prepare a whole meal before they went?  Not many people I suspect.  I look forward to the day when restaurants serve a soup and chili made by Kettle Cuisine™, which my daughter CAN have!! Then she could actually order off the menu!!  Now, wouldn't that be a dream come true!  It sure would be for me!  How do you manage going out to eat with your gluten-free and/or food allergic children?  I'd love to hear what you are doing!  Happy dining!

Love,
Lisa