I came across a blog writer a while ago (the blog has lots of writers, but this one in particular has amazing recipes free of the 8 major allergens) and I'm in love. If you have food restrictions, check her out.
The recipes are easy enough to substitute back in what you don't need to avoid (like normal flour for us or maybe egg or milk or nuts or something for somebody else) but are all really inclusive. Which is nice because she has made it possible to give Bravo some of the things that other wise he couldn't. Like Mayo (and therefor honey dill dipping sauce!) or Christmas Eggnog.
Bravo obviously didn't have the added rum, but I made this for him today and he LOVED it. I mean loved. I think his 8 oz cup of it was gone in less than 30 seconds. The downfall is it doesn't store long, but it was really really easy to make so it won't be hard to make this every few days for the season. I just need to remember to make it ahead of time because it needs to get nice and cold.
So here it is, copied right out of the blog.
A delicious “creamy,” rich eggnog that’s much lower in fat and cholesterol than the traditional beverage---and allergy-friendly to boot! It’s also free of refined sugar. This recipe may be made with or without rum.
3 cups rice milk (or other vegan milk of choice)
2 Tbsp. tapioca starch
1 ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
¼ cup maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (preferably freshly grated), plus more for garnish
¼ cup dark rum (optional)
1. Combine ½ cup of the rice milk with the tapioca starch. Whisk well until frothy. Add vanilla extract. Whisk well to combine.
2. Combine 1 ½ cups of the rice milk with the maple syrup in a heavy pot. Whisk. Add nutmeg and whisk well to combine. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring often with a wooden spoon. Add tapioca starch mixture to pot. Heat, whisking continuously, until it reaches a simmer. Once it's slightly thickened, add the remaining cup of rice milk. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring continuously, until rich and creamy, about 4 minutes.
3. Pour into a pitcher or large mason jar. Chill for at least four hours and up to 2 days. When ready to serve, stir or shake eggnog, mix in rum, pour into glasses, top with Rice Whip, and garnish with ground nutmeg.
Allergy-Friendly, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Refined Sugar-Free “Eggnog”© 2010 by Cybele Pascal
Yummy!! Happy Christmas season!!!
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Thursday, 1 December 2011
thankful for canadian health care
I was going to mope on here today. I'm having a really hard time emotionally with Saturday's events. The emotional impact of them hit me yesterday and hit me hard. I was a wreck. It feels sometimes like I'm just waiting for Bravo to die. Maybe soon, maybe when he's 4, maybe when he's 8 or 15 or 37, but this could get him anytime anywhere. And I'm having a hard time with it.
But then I did some looking around the Internet. 6% of kids under 3 have anaphylactic food allergies. 6% is scary. That's a lot of kids. 3% of all Canadians have them. This is not rare to me and my family, even though sometimes it feels like it. And anaphylaxis is deadly when epinephrine has either been delayed, not given at all, or given in inadequate amounts. If you get that epi pen in quickly, and have a back up in case the reaction is still severe in 5-15 minutes and call an ambulance then chances are that the person will be fine. So we make sure that everyone in contact with Bravo knows about his allergies and knows what to do if he starts up with a reaction. Reactions happen. I can minimize the risk, but I can't control it. As much as I would like to put him in a plastic bubble and feed him plastic food and never let him or his food out of my sight, I can't do that. It wouldn't be good for me or for him or for anyone else involved. But I can prepare and still protect him. And eventually teach him to protect himself.
And I am thankful that we live in a time and place where there is epi pens. And 911 and ambulances and paramedics and medicine and hospitals and public health care. And I'm thankful that I don't need to worry about insurance companies and filing claims to get crazy hospital bills covered. I'm thankful that Bravo will not need to face being denied coverage because he's a "high risk" individual. I'm thankful for benefits that pay for ambulances ($380!!!) and for epi pens. I'm thankful that there are people that care about my boy and go out of their way to keep him safe. I am thankful there are people who are paid to help him when he's had a reaction. I am thankful for my little boy. And that he's still here with me. Because in another time or place he might not be.
So as much as being Allergy Mom really sucks some days, it's not necessarily a death sentence for him. And I know that other families face much harder struggles on a daily basis.
I am thankful that when he eats something and gets very sick and it could be deathly if not treated that he's back to being normal old Bravo 8 hours later. Allergies are strange.
And I'm thankful that there's a LOT of research going into allergies. And that there are smart people trying to fix them. And I'm hopeful that by the time my little Bravo has babies that maybe, just maybe, he won't have to be on the parent end of this and and they will have found a cure for allergies.
But then I did some looking around the Internet. 6% of kids under 3 have anaphylactic food allergies. 6% is scary. That's a lot of kids. 3% of all Canadians have them. This is not rare to me and my family, even though sometimes it feels like it. And anaphylaxis is deadly when epinephrine has either been delayed, not given at all, or given in inadequate amounts. If you get that epi pen in quickly, and have a back up in case the reaction is still severe in 5-15 minutes and call an ambulance then chances are that the person will be fine. So we make sure that everyone in contact with Bravo knows about his allergies and knows what to do if he starts up with a reaction. Reactions happen. I can minimize the risk, but I can't control it. As much as I would like to put him in a plastic bubble and feed him plastic food and never let him or his food out of my sight, I can't do that. It wouldn't be good for me or for him or for anyone else involved. But I can prepare and still protect him. And eventually teach him to protect himself.
And I am thankful that we live in a time and place where there is epi pens. And 911 and ambulances and paramedics and medicine and hospitals and public health care. And I'm thankful that I don't need to worry about insurance companies and filing claims to get crazy hospital bills covered. I'm thankful that Bravo will not need to face being denied coverage because he's a "high risk" individual. I'm thankful for benefits that pay for ambulances ($380!!!) and for epi pens. I'm thankful that there are people that care about my boy and go out of their way to keep him safe. I am thankful there are people who are paid to help him when he's had a reaction. I am thankful for my little boy. And that he's still here with me. Because in another time or place he might not be.
So as much as being Allergy Mom really sucks some days, it's not necessarily a death sentence for him. And I know that other families face much harder struggles on a daily basis.
I am thankful that when he eats something and gets very sick and it could be deathly if not treated that he's back to being normal old Bravo 8 hours later. Allergies are strange.
And I'm thankful that there's a LOT of research going into allergies. And that there are smart people trying to fix them. And I'm hopeful that by the time my little Bravo has babies that maybe, just maybe, he won't have to be on the parent end of this and and they will have found a cure for allergies.
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