Food Allergy Awareness Week

I am convinced that no one leads more creative lives than the allergic.

Really.

Ask any mom faced with cake-baking without eggs (or milk, or wheat flour!).  Ask any girl who needs to accessorize with a bag that can fit her epi-pen.  Ask the parents, teachers, and school administrators who try to keep our children safe from (potentially fatal) allergens.  Ask any boy or girl who needs to explain to their new date how to keep them safe when kissing them by avoiding allergic foods.

I’m almost convinced that food allergies are starting to develop a culture all their own.  Cultures have food, art, and traditions.
The food-allergic have “nut free” and “gluten free” products, books like those about “Alexander the Allergic Elephant” and music by Kyle Dine, and things they share in common like reading food labels and developing close relationships with their local restaurants.

In honor of Food Allergy Awareness Week, here’s some links I hope you’ll find helpful or fun– whether you have food allergies, know someone who does, or not!

http://www.foodallergy.org/  Lots of info on awareness, research, and practical tips.

http://nut-freemom.blogspot.com/  Just found her a few weeks ago– her facebook updates are great as well!

http://www.vermontnutfree.com/ Amazing Nut Free Chocolate!  Worth a try even if you don’t have allergies– there’s never a bad reason to eat chocolate anyway (Whole Foods often carries their chocolate bars– but there’s so much more online, including holiday candy and jelly beans!)

http://www.kyledine.com/  Music about food allergies!! Great activist.

http://www.enjoylifefoods.com/  Goodies free of all 8 top food allergens! (I like their Boom-Choco-Boom bars! I find them in Shoprite and Whole Foods as well as online).

http://www.divvies.com/ While I haven’t tried them yet, I’m looking forward to it! Chocolate, baked goods, candy, and popcorn!

Finally, http://www.peanutfreesweettooth.com/ .  Just saw this on the Nut-Free Mom’s blog.  Looks like one-stop shopping for safe goodies!

Enjoy!  And feel free to comment if you have questions or comments about the topic of food allergies– or a site, tips, or safe food to share!