Kourtney Kardashian's Son has Peanut Allergy

Today, People Magazine reports that Kourtney Kardashian's 11 month old son has food allergies. He was hospitalized yesterday after a reaction from his first peanut butter experience. Click here for Kourtney's blog update.

Bringing Food to someone with Allergies

I’m convinced that bringing food to someone who needs it is possibly the greatest gift ever. But if that person has dietary restrictions, you might have a challenge on your hands. I am quite well versed in food allergies. However, a recent experience cooking for a family with a different set of allergies reminded me what an overwhelming experience it can be to cook outside your comfort zone. Allergy families understand what a big deal it is for you to bring food. If you have a friend with a new baby, illness, or just in need of a TLC, here are a few tips that would be helpful if you are willing to go the extra mile, as you generously consider bringing to someone with an allergy in the family:

1. Do it Anyway – The thought might enter your mind “This is too difficult. Forget it.” Trust me: Whatever you do will be appreciated. Even if it’s not a glamorous meal, you can come up with something that will work for your friend. One friend brought us a simple basket of fresh fruits/veggies from the farmer’s market, which saved me a grocery trip!
2. Ask Questions – If you cannot conceive of how to cook a meal within your friend’s restrictions, just ask! I sent a list of “safe” recipes & easy substitutions to some friends who requested it. Your friend will be happy to answer questions about how to accommodate their needs.
3. Label – Put the list of ingredients on the box, container, or include the recipe. Although your friend understands that you have gone to extra effort to create their meal, people with allergies are instinctually double-checkers.
4. Bring The Box – If you used anything prepackaged, bring the empty box with you! Even those who are accustomed to cooking this way make mistakes, so it’s comforting for us to read labels for ourselves.
5. Don’t Be Insulted – If you are asked questions about an ingredient or food, please don’t be insulted. We are so grateful for your kindness, but must be sure that the foods we eat are safe.
6. Know that we are Beyond Grateful – Many people are frightened by the thought of bringing us food. So we are so grateful that you’ve done it anyway. We know the extra effort required by your generosity, and it means more than we can explain.

When Food Allergies Make Kids a Target

Food allergy and bullying article today on CNN.com.

Back to School: Food Allergy/Gluten-free Store Tour

If you are local, the Whole Foods In Green Hills is doing a Back to School: Food Allergy/Gluten-free Store Tour next Thursday, August 12th from 3pm-4pm

For parents of children with food allergies or celiac disease, the beginning of the school year often means taking a close look at meal options to ensure the health and safety of their children. Join Whole Foods Market, Green Hills and the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) as we provide a store tour on foods that accommodate food allergies and gluten-free diets. Parents from FAAN will also share relevant information. Parents and their children welcome!Location: Meet at seating area at 3:00 p.m. next to coffee bar.

Let's Spread the Word about the FAAN Walk

Our FAAN walk is about a month away (Saturday, August 28th). We need your help spreading the word about the walk around our community. We have about 2,000 brochures that need to be shared with as many people as possible. Many hands make light work, and if we all pitch in, we can spread the word far and wide. Let's get everyone excited about this wonderful event happening in our own backyard!

Here's how you can help (while you are grocery shopping):

Visit either Whole Food at Green Hills OR Whole Foods in Cool Springs. Go to the Customer Service Desk and request some FAAN brochures/posters to pass out. Take as many as you think you can share with others. The brochures/posters are there now and will be there for the next 10 days (probably until August 2nd). Think about businesses that you frequent, doctor offices, dentists, consignment sales that are happening around town (grab bags that they give out), etc. Places that moms go with kids would be perfect :)

Thank you in advance for helping to make the FAAN walk a success. It is so exciting that we get to have the walk right here in Nashville! We are looking forward to seeing you and your family there! Together we can help raise awareness about food allergies.

For more information about the FAAN walk, to form a team or donate online CLICK HERE

The Divvies Bakery Cookbook No Nuts. No Eggs. No Diary. Just Delicious

I am so excited to share THE DIVVIES BAKERY COOKBOOK with you! When I found out my son had food allergies, I wanted to find cookbooks that were specific to kids with food allergies that had yummy, easy recipes, and "normal" ingredients. This cookbook is one of of those. I sat down last night, and enjoyed reading through all of the recipes. I loved the personal touches throughout the book; they were practical and encouraging. I thought of my son, smiled, teared up and was inspired to make treats that everyone wants to eat!

When Lori Sandler’s son Benjamin was diagnosed with severe food allergies to dairy and nuts at a young age, she decided to take action. While she wasn’t trained as a pastry chef, she had many fond memories of visiting bakeries as a child and wanted Benjamin to experience those same warm moments and treats. And so after years of testing, tasting, and refining, the Divvies Bakery was born in 2005, a bakeshop dedicated to peanut-free, tree nut-free, milk-free, and egg-free products located in South Salem, New York.

According to Sandler, eating and celebrating should always be an inclusive experience and nobody should be defined by their food allergies. The very name of her company connotes “divvying up” and sharing. In her Introduction, she writes: “In the spirit of Divvies, I have written a book filled with recipes for delicious, safe treats that everyone will want to share, with or without food allergies, as well as tips, shortcuts, and ‘life recipes’ that will help everyone feel included.”

Featuring more than 70 sweet treats that anyone can easily prepare, THE DIVVIES BAKERY COOKBOOK is divided into sections that focus on the times in our lives when food plays an important role and those with food allergies often feel left out. From birthday parties and family holidays, to schoolroom and travel snacks, the book includes Sandler’s signature recipes, such as: crowd-pleasers like Warm Apple-Apricot Cake, Cinnamon Buns, and Divvies Famous Chocolate Cupcakes; one-of-a-kind treats like Popcorn Snowman, Wafflewiches, and “Brown” Chocolate Bags that you can fill with fruit or sorbet; interactive desserts like her Chocolate Fountain with Dippers; and special sections on sweet beverages, party favors, cake frostings, pie fillings and more!

It’s hard to believe these scrumptious goodies contain no dairy, eggs, and nuts. The ingredients left out are replaced with healthy dollops of natural chocolate, oatmeal, fruit, and molasses. Along with the Divvies recipes, the book imparts Sandler’s handy resources, basics for stocking the kitchen and getting started, and hard-won wisdom for parenting a child with food allergies, with useful advice for communicating with teachers and parents. And the book also features a note from Benjamin, now 11-years-old, in which he shares his personal story and favorite treats.

With the degree of “divviculty” indicated for each recipe, tips for the best birthday parties, perfect picnic baskets, cool cupcake towers, snacks in a cinch, tasty travel treats, and bonus gluten-free recipes, THE DIVVIES BAKERY COOKBOOK is the essential allergen-free cookbook for beginners and kitchen experts alike.

To get a copy of The Divvies Bakery Cookbook go to Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble or a bookstore near you!

Want to win a copy? We will be a Divvies Bakery Cookbook away at the FACT meeting on September 7th

Ban Peanuts on Planes?

I read this article today. I was interested to read the comments the followed, and found that they literally made my stomach turn. Some attitudes were insensitive, downright mean and uninformed.


Are peanuts really that important to people, or does banning them signify something else? Until your child (or someone you love) is affected by this, I truly believe that you cannot empathize. I was there, I did not get it AT ALL before. Life experience has changed my attitude.

Go HERE to leave a comment for DOT (Department of Transportation) under What DOT wants to know from you

If anyone has any other suggestions about what we can do...please leave info/link in the comments

Ban Peanuts on Planes? It's Not Nutty to Allergics
By Russ BynumAssociated Press Writer /June 12, 2010

SAVANNAH, Ga.—Federal regulators are considering a snack attack on the nation's airlines that would restrict or even completely ban serving peanuts on commercial flights.Advocates say the move would ease fears and potential harm to an estimated 1.8 million Americans who suffer from peanut allergies. Peanut farmers and food packagers, however, see it as overreaching and unfair to their legume.

"The peanut is such a great snack and such an American snack," says Martin Kanan, CEO of the King Nut Companies, an Ohio company that packages the peanuts served by most U.S. airlines. "
What's next? Is it banning peanuts in ballparks?"

Twelve years after Congress ordered it to back off peanuts, the U.S. Transportation Department gave notice last week that it's gathering feedback from allergy sufferers, medical experts, the food industry and the public on whether to ban or restrict in-flight peanuts.The peanut proposals were listed in an 84-page document including several other proposed consumer protections for air travelers. Three options were given: banning serving of peanuts on all planes; prohibiting peanuts only when an allergic passenger requests it in advance; or requiring an undefined "peanut-free zone" flight when a passenger asks for one.

While those options only pertain to peanuts served by flight crews, the document also states "we are particularly interested in hearing views on how peanuts and peanut products brought on board aircraft by passengers should be handled."

Spokesman Bill Mosely said the department is responding to concerns from travelers who either suffer from peanut allergies or have allergic children, "some of whom do not fly" because they're afraid of exposure.

"We're just asking for comment on whether we should do any of these three things," Mosely said. "We may not do any of them."

Peanut allergy can cause life-threatening reactions in people ingesting even trace amounts. Just breathing peanut dust in the air can cause problems -- though usually minor ones -- such as itching, sneezing and coughing.

A few limited studies on airline passengers with peanut allergies found a number of people reporting symptoms while flying, but few were severe or life-threatening, said Dr. Scott Sicherer, who studies food allergies at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

"But there's discomfort," Sicherer said. "It's sort of like if you were allergic to dogs and all of a sudden they brought 50 dogs onto the plane."Why worry about peanuts on airplanes, as opposed to other public spaces?

Advocates with the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network say the answer's simple: planes are confined spaces where the air and dust particles get re-circulated. And there's no way to stop and get off during a severe reaction during flight.

"It's a different environment when you're basically 30,000 feet in the air," said Chris Weiss, the group's vice president of advocacy and government relations. "If you're sitting around a bunch of people and all of a sudden they're all handed packages of peanuts, that could release enough peanut dust into the air to trigger a reaction."

The Transportation Department previously weighed imposing peanut-free zones on airliners in 1998. The agency retreated after getting a hostile response from Congress, which threatened to cut its budget.

Several airlines such as Continental, United, US Airways and JetBlue have voluntarily stopped serving packaged peanuts as mile-high grub. Delta and Southwest still hand out goobers as in-flight snacks. American Airlines doesn't serve packaged peanuts, but it does offer trail mix and other snacks that can contain peanut ingredients.
Not surprisingly, government regulation of peanuts on planes is a woefully unpopular idea in Georgia -- the nation's top peanut producing state and home to former President Jimmy Carter, who grew up on a peanut farm.

"The peanut industry feels like we're being picked on," said Armond Morris, who grows peanuts on about 270 acres in rural Irwinville and serves as chairman of the Georgia Peanut Commission. "If we're going to go targeting food products, maybe we just need to ban all food" on planes.

Arlene de Armas of Miami sees things differently as she makes plans for her family to fly to Pennsylvania for a summer vacation. Her 7-year-old son, Leandro, is allergic to peanuts.She's already planning on what precautions to take -- calling the airline ahead to request no peanuts are served on her son's row, bringing sanitary wipes to clean the folding table in front of his seat and packing epinephrine -- or adrenaline -- to administer if he suffers a severe reaction.

"It's the added stress of knowing, God forbid, you could have a situation where he has a reaction and you have no way of getting to a hospital," de Armas said. "Peanut allergies are severe enough and common enough. Why not serve fruit?"

Food Allergies "Inexact"

CNN again repeats the frustrating notion that food allergy diagnosis' is "an inexact science." It turns out that the term "food allergy" has no universally accepted definition, nor are there well-accepted criteria for diagnosis, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Read the full story here.

Food Allergies Impact Budgets

A recent The New York Times article discusses the financial strain that many families with food allergies incur because of food allergies. The reasons include the constant monitoring which leads one spouse to often quit working, high expenses for specialty food items, including many online grocers, and stockpiling epi-pens.

When specialty food bills become excessive, Dr. Tamara Perry (a researcher at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute) suggests writing a formal appeal to your insurance company for coverage — especially if it is for something as specific as baby formula.

Click here for the full story.

Doubt is Cast on Many Reports of Food Allergies

Take a look at this article from The New York Times and see what you think...thank you Sohnia for sharing it with us!

Doubt is Cast on Many Reports of Food Allergies

Food Allergies and School

Thank you Amy for compiling this information for us!

These are just my opinions and research as a parent. My position is as a teacher, not counselor, nurse or special education teacher. I contacted counselors and nurses at several schools to get some feedback for this project.

First and foremost, understand how schools are similar, no matter which part of the country or which grade level:


1. The principal is in charge and responsible for everything at the school. At some point I would contact the principal—see my suggestion later in this handout.

2. Federal laws must be followed. By the way, if a private school accepts any federal funding, and I understand that most of them do, then they must also follow all federal education laws. If your child is on a “504 plan” (see below) then there is no question about how his or her care will be handled.


3. The school and its employees truly do have your child’s best interest in mind. That’s why we are in the profession!

There are many ways, though, that schools differ. Here are some of my suggestions:

1. Start in the spring. Contact the school nurse to set up plans and procedures. One nurse I talked to said, “The earlier that I know about an incoming child with food allergies, the happier I am.” Another nurse told me, “It is up to the parent to inform us what they want. We have some that want everything and then send in the allergen with their own student and others who want their child to not have any of these precautions.”
In spring most schools will not have student schedules set up yet for the next year so it may be difficult to contact the actual teachers who will see your student. You could ask to meet with the student’s counselor. Some schools’ administrators work during the summer and others don’t.
A few weeks BEFORE school starts, I would contact the nurse again to touch base. I would then talk to the guidance office to find out who the teachers are and try to set up meetings as soon as possible. We always have teacher work days before the first day but they are already PACKED with meetings. Understand that this will make it difficult to meet with the teachers. Perhaps a detailed email will do. If you don’t get a response from a teacher, call the school as well so that you absolutely have personal contact with all of your child’s teachers before the first day. Don’t forget study hall, lunch monitor, etc. My tip: offer to bring in lunch for the teachers of your child if they will meet with you during their lunch period one day during the teacher work days.

2. Time spent with your student per day varies based on grade level and on type of class at the elementary level. At the middle & high school levels, as well as for elementary music, etc. teachers, we can see well over 100 students per day. We learn the names as fast as we can but it helps to send reminders that very first week along with a picture of your child to help us!

3. At some point, contact the principal directly. I would probably do this a few weeks before school starts, after you make contact with the nurse again. He or she is SWAMPED with emails, so make it brief and to the point. Introduce yourself and let him or her know that your child will be in the building. Note the seriousness and potential negative health effects if health procedures aren’t followed correctly. This would be a great opportunity to give credit to the nurse if he or she has been wonderful, or to ask for help getting the message across if you don’t feel that the school employees have been helpful. The principal is the boss.

4. Most high school teachers are NOT epi-pen trained through the school and may have very little knowledge about food allergies. I sent an email to the entire faculty at my school a few months ago from a parent’s perspective. I just gave them an overview of the types of situations that could happen in their classrooms. I explained things that are terrifying to a parent. For example, obviously I mentioned classroom parties. Food is a great prop to use in some types of activities, games, or labs. Students could bring (or sneak) outside snacks in. I just wanted them to have a general awareness. You could draft something like that and request that the nurse or principal send it to help inform the staff.

5. Prepare a handout for the teacher to specifically leave in the substitute teacher folder. Technically the sub folder should include important health information about the students already, but I wouldn’t take a chance with this. Ask the teacher to leave it with whatever paperwork or folder is left for the substitute teacher.

6. Consider asking for a “504 plan,” especially if the allergy is life-threatening. The 504 won’t technically change the care your child receives. However, it is a legal document which states how your child is to be treated medically. Parents would have the right to sue if the procedures aren’t followed. Schools pay close attention to following 504 plans, needless to say.

The law: To put it simply, “To be protected under Section 504, a student must be determined to: (1) have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities” http://ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/504faq.html Typically students who are on these plans have some medical condition. Deafness or anatomical abnormality would be examples.


"504" is a section of the federal Rehabilitation Act, which is part of a group of federal laws known as Disability Rights Laws (I know we don't consider our kids disabled because of an allergy, but if you can get past the wording, you might see the benefit of a 504 plan. In fact, in the 2008 amendment of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the definition of disability was broadened to include "any impairment which limits a major life activity.")

"Section 504 states that 'no qualified individual with a disability in the United States shall be excluded from, denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under' any program or activity that either receives Federal financial assistance…” http://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm
Here’s the interesting part: The school decides, for each individual student, whether or not a 504 plan is deemed necessary. There is no blanket list of health conditions for it. There was a case in Gloucester, Virginia where a school denied a peanut-allergic child a 504 plan because they didn't feel the allergy would interfere with learning. The Office of Civil Rights suggested that because not breathing would interfere with learning, a 504 plan should be in order. The court stated that it was up to the school to make the decision. I talked to one school counselor who said “absolutely” a nut-allergic child would get a 504 plan. Most counselors and nurses said that they usually do not use them, though. One said that “we have been able to work informally with students and teachers without having a formal 504.” As a parent, I would push for one but realize that the child may be just as safe without a formal 504 if the school is very cooperative about the procedures.


The law “requires that school districts ensure that the determination that a student is eligible for special education and/or related aids and services be made by a group of persons, including persons knowledgeable about the meaning of the evaluation data and knowledgeable about the placement options. If a parent disagrees with the determination, he or she may request a due process hearing.” http://ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/504faq.html

Also, depending on the school, different people handle the writing of the 504. At the high school level I have often seen an administrator in charge of it. One school told me that counselors do it. If you would like one, you should ask around to find out which person in the school you need to talk to about it first. The plan would describe the condition and the specific procedures to be followed in prevention and in case of an incident.

Register for the FAAN walk!

The FAAN walk will be HERE IN NASHVILLE this fall! We got to hear Kelsey Morgan, our 10 year old local ambassador share her heart with us at our F.A.C.T. meeting. What an inspiring young lady!

Let's sign our teams up (in honor of our children or others dealing with food allergies) and start raising awareness within our communities and raise money to help find a cure. The earlier we sign up, the more time we will have to share with others.

It is free to register, FAAN asks that we instead collect donations to raise money for food allergy research and education programs. By registering online, you will receive an e-mail confirming that you are registered and information about setting up a personal fundraising webpage (how cool is this!). You will also be able to make secure online credit card donations.

Click HERE to get started

Save the Date
Date: Saturday, August 28, 2010

Time: Check-in begins at 9:00 a.m.; Walk begins at 10:00 a.m.

Location: Centennial Park, 2500 W. End Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203

Distance: 2 miles

Restrictions: No pets, glass bottles, bikes, roller skates or skate boards. Baby Strollers and wagons are welcome.

I can't wait to see you all there. It is going to be a wonderful event full of hope!

Parents Speak About Their Children's Food Allergies

This is an amazing video...it will touch your heart. Thanks Shannon for telling us about it at the F.A.C.T. meeting.

Turtle Mountain: Providing Dairy Free Indulgence

Thank you Turtle Mountain for sponsoring for our F.A.C.T. (Food Allergy Community of TN) meeting last night. We were able to sample DELICIOUS coconut milk ice cream sandwiches (contained coconut, gluten and soy).

All Natural So Delicious made with coconut milk non-dairy frozen dessert

• Agave sweetened center



• 100 calories per serving



• Dairy free



• Rich in medium chain fatty acids

Click HERE to print a coupon

I have to tell you, I LOVE Turtle Mountain! On all of their products, they state this

Allergen Information: Turtle Mountain applies strict quality control measures in an effort to prevent contamination by undeclared food allergens. To assure our preventive measures are effective, we sample test our products for the presence of dairy, peanut and almond allergens using state of the art testing methods. To learn more about our all allergen prevention program visit us at http://www.sodeliciousdairyfree.com/

They also have great dairy free ice cream....our favorite is Mint Marble Fudge, and we buy the vanilla to make milkshakes with :)