Lots of Good Food!

I don't know about you, but I use the holidays to splurge and try new recipes that I wouldn't necessarily make throughout the rest of the year.  I've spent lots of time in the kitchen these last few weeks and have a few new favorite recipes that I wanted to share.

Hands down, my favorite new recipe was the Easy Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Dip that I made on a whim for Christmas Eve afternoon.  It's a Kraft Foods recipe, but I found some great, healthy substitutes for the brands they list in the recipe.  I could not stop eating it.  I had to make my husband put it away in order to stop.  I will definitely be making this again sometime soon.

Also, for the first time, I made cinnamon buns, the kind you roll out the homemade dough, spread with butter, cinnamon and brown sugar, then roll the dough to form a tube shape and slice.  We ate those topped with a powdered sugar drizzle on Christmas morning, the morning after Christmas, and the morning after that.  I think this was Abigail's favorite of the season.

I shared a favorite at a large family Christmas gathering.  I love this recipe because I can easily get my kids to eat not only sweet potatoes but butternut squash as well.  It's also extremely easy to make.  It's a Butternut-Sweet Potato Streusel (almost anything tastes good with a Streusel topping) that requires just the dish to bake it in and a small bowl to make the topping in.  Here's an online version of the recipe.  The topping was a little too sweet for us the first time I made it so I cut it in half and it's perfect.  And, of course, I didn't add the nuts.

Also, appropriately named, White Christmas Chili (we did have a white Christmas this year...the first in many, many years) was really tasty.  I tore this recipe out of a Southern Living Magazine years ago, 2002  according to the date in the margin, but never got around to trying it until this year.  I was able to find the recipe online so you can have a copy too.  I used 1 less can of chopped green chiles than the recipe called for thinking it would be too spicy for the kids, but next time I'll definitely use the 3rd can.  It needed just a little more heat...besides, the kids didn't eat it anyway.  They opted for chicken nuggets. Go figure.

Those were my favorite of the season.  I had several opportunities to open the jalapeno pepper jelly I made last month, and wasn't disappointed in my efforts.  I served it with cream cheese and crackers.  I'm also looking forward to next weekend when I can try a Mac and Cheese with Goat Cheese and Champagne recipe that I came across.  Just got to remember to save 1/2 cup of champagne from New Year's Eve to use.  I think it's going to be fabulous.  Afterall, it's got champagne, goat cheese, parmesan cheese, gruyer cheese and heavy cream in it.

I love the food this time of year.  Hope you too have had fun cooking and trying some new dishes.  Send me a link with your favorite recipe.  Now...time to hit the gym!

A Few Updates.....

I wanted to give a quick update on our trip to Duke last week.  It was our 12th visit and completely uneventful.  We drove a little over 2 hours there, got an increase in dosage (2 drops up from 1 of the highest concentrate), waited for the required 1 1/2 hours while they monitored Abigail for a reaction (she did have a little more severe tingling in her ears and throat) and then we drove the 2 plus hours home with a stop to visit my dad and sister and then again farther down the road for a little shopping and dinner.  We are down to just 2 more visits before we hit the maintenance dose.  Then we'll go every 8 weeks instead of every 2.  That's pretty exciting for us.

We had a safe and fun Halloween.  Hope everyone else did as well.  It's great to have neighbors who understand Abigail's allergy.  Many of them have safe candy set aside just for her.  As seen in the picture, this year her pile of safe candy was much bigger than the unsafe candy.  We packaged up the smaller pile along with her excess safe candy and added it to a collection going to the Charlotte USO who will send it with deploying troops to Afghanistan.  Thinking positively, I'm hoping in a year or two, we'll no longer need to sort candy.  I'm hoping Abigail will be able to eat whatever she receives.  Selfishly, it means the rest of us can also eat those forbidden candy bars.  I snagged a few Kit Kat's after she went to bed, but packed up the Reese's Cups and other peanut base candy bars.  The risk outweighs any enjoyment I might have by eating one.

Speaking of food that we can't eat, it seems that so much of the healthy, organic food I would like to purchase for our family is manufactured in plants that also process tree nuts/peanuts.  I was very disappointed during my last trip across town to Trader Joe's.  It's one of our favorite stores, and for the last year, a place where I did a great deal of our grocery shopping.  For a while now, our family has been eating foods without high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated soybean oils, trans fat, artificial sweeteners, and of course, all nuts.  We drink organic milk and purchase organic meats.  I'm also trying to remove foods from our grocery list that contain artificial dyes. Trader Joe's had a lot of products at a really good price that met all of our restrictions.  I say "had" because the last time I went, a good many of the products that I buy were labeled "manufactured in a plant that processes tree nuts/peanuts."  While I can commend Trader Joe's for their great labeling practices, I was disappointed that there were yet more unsafe, healthy products that I could not purchase.  I asked the manager about all of the new labels, and he told me that they had recently changed distribution centers.  The new one was closer and while stocking the same Trader Joe branded products, they used different manufacturers to produce those products.  Unfortunately for us, those manufacturers also produced more products with tree nuts/peanuts in the same facility.  An important lesson here is that you should always read the label even if it's a product that you've purchased for years.  But, back to thinking positively, after the Duke clinical trial we might be able to eliminate "may contain" or "processed in a plant with tree nuts/peanuts" from the long list of food ingredients that our family chooses not to consume.  A very long list of organic products would then be on my "safe to purchase" list.

In the coming posts, I want to finish discussing IgE numbers and also discuss a great book I'm reading.  It's called "The Unhealthy Truth" and is written by Robyn O'Brien.  She discusses how our food is making us sick from food allergies to ADHD to cancer.  She brings up a whole new topic for me which is resulting in yet another food that I want to eliminate from our diet, food that has been genetically modified.  I was repulsed to read about the effects of rBGH on our dairy products and disheartened to read about the lack of regulation on genetically engineered crops of soy and corn, to name just a few.  I've added a few links over in the margin if you want to start doing your own research.  I'd add a word of caution though, it'll change the way you think about your food.

Nature's Path Foods

We're a fan of the Nature's Path Toaster Pastries, i.e. an organic Pop Tart.  Recently I contacted the company regarding their labeling policy and was pleased by not only their response, but also the Canadian government's stance on product labeling (I've put that section in bold).  Here's their e-mail:

Thank you for your query regarding the use of nuts in Nature’s Path products. We endeavor to always provide a good quality product.  Nature’s Path is committed to producing quality organic foods, using the best ingredients available, while adhering to strict quality control procedures.

Nature's Path Organic Toaster Pastries are made in a nut free facility.

Government regulators have advised us that because we utilize peanuts, nuts, soy or dairy in some of our facilities we are strongly recommended to put the disclaimer "may contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts, dairy or soy" on Nature’s Path products made in those factories. Government regulator opinion is that if there is a remote chance of cross contamination that the consumer should be advised of this possibility.

At Nature's Path we have an extensive planning and cleaning schedule which includes protein testing, for all our production facilities in order to prevent any cross contamination of our products with non-declared ingredients. All of our products that do not contain peanuts, nuts or soy  or dairy – as listed on the ingredient label are theoretically dairy, soy, peanuts & nut-free. However because of the remote chance of contamination from machinery or peanuts, nuts & soy or dairy in the plant we can not imply that there is no possibility of minute amounts of these allergens in our products.

No matter how small the chance, we feel it is our obligation to inform customers of this possibility. Our main concern is the health risk to any of our customers who may have a life-threatening allergy. We feel that consumers must make the final choice in consultation with their healthcare provider about eating Nature’s Path products.

Nature’s Path does manufacture some of its products in a dedicated nut free facility. Here is the list of Nature’s path products made in a peanut & tree nut free factory

Nature’s Path Frozen Waffles – all flavors- Share equipment with dairy, egg.
http://www.naturespath.com/products/waffles?tid=9&brand=All&nutri=All
Nature’s Path Puffed Bagged cereals – Puffed Rice, Puffed Corn, Puffed Millet, Puffed Kamut- Share equipment with wheat. No egg or dairy in facility.
http://www.naturespath.com/products/cold%20cereals?tid=5&brand=All&nutri=All
Envirokidz Animal Cookies –vanilla –Share equipment with egg. Contain soy. Casein/ dairy free.
http://www.naturespath.com/products/cookies?tid=94&brand=All&nutri=All
Nature’s Path Toaster Pastries- Frosted Toaster Pastries contains dairy. Unfrosted Toaster Pastries share equipment with dairy. No egg in facility.
http://www.naturespath.com/products/toaster%20pastries?tid=All&brand=All&nutri=All
Nature’s Path FlaxPlus Flax Seed and Flax Seed Meal
http://www.naturespath.com/products/vegetarian/flaxplus-flaxseed-meal
Nature’s Path Buttermilk Pancake Mix
Nature’s Path Flax Plus Pancake Mix
http://www.naturespath.com/products/baking%20mixes%20and%20ingredients?tid=All&brand=All&nutri=All

Please also check our website www.naturespath.com for more info on all of these including ingredient lists and store locations. (Updated & valid as of August 2009)

NB: people with life threatening peanut & nut allergies, it is still advisable to check back periodically with food companies over time because recipes can change.

Your email tells us that you are passionate about your health and wellness. If you would like to get more involved and share your opinion with us, please accept our invitation to join our research panel, The Cereal Bowl, at https://www.naturescerealbowl.com/R.aspx?a=23

Kind Regards,
Consumer Service

Wow, to have a government make such a suggestion as to protect the well-being of the consumers as opposed to catering to the large corporation.   How much easier it would be for parents with allergic children if we could look at the food packaging and have it tell us the whole story.  I've not purchased any of the other Nature's Path brands, but I've added them to my shopping list.  I also joined their research panel.  I'm not sure what that will entail, but the more I research the food we eat, the more I'm leaning toward going all organic.  I will say, there is one positive to Abigail's allergy.  Her allergy forced me to take a close look at the food our family is eating, and I'm appalled.

Like my other posts regarding food manufacturers, it's been my choice to endorse the company.  I've not been compensated for my review.

Note:  Wal-Mart has the best price for the Nature's Path Toaster Pastries.  They come in 6 or so varieties and are less than $3.00 a box.

To Chick-fil-A or Not To Chick-fil-A?

When Abigail was first diagnosed with a peanut allergy it was recommended by the Allergist that we also eliminate all nuts from her diet and to not eat anything cooked in peanut oil. Our pediatrician also confirmed that it was best to not take the risk of eating foods cooked in peanut oil in case a small portion of peanut would make it through the refining process and end up in the oil. That eliminated one of our favorite fast food restaurants, Chick-fil-A. For my readers not familiar with Chick-fil-A, you guys are really missing out. Next trip south, you should make a point of finding a restaurant and stopping for a meal. For several years it was a place where I would occasionally treat myself to a chicken biscuit or sandwich only when I was by myself. We hated to not have it as an option for Abigail because as far as fast food was concerned, it's relatively healthy, and back in 2004 when she was diagnosed, it was one of the few fast food chains that served trans fat free food.

We avoided all restaurants that used peanut oil to cook with for years until I started asking around. More and more moms with children that had peanut allergies were letting their kids eat at Chick-fil-A and stating that their doctors had okay'd it. I even researched Chick-fil-A's website and they only use a heat processed, fully refined peanut oil. According to the International Food Information Council Foundation, commercial oils are highly refined which removes the protein from the product. Further, it states that "research has shown that individuals with severe peanut allergy have not had reactions to heat processed oils. However, people with a food allergy should avoid “gourmet” or cold-pressed oils because they may contain allergenic proteins, which provide the flavor to the oil. For the same reason, allergic individuals should avoid oils that have been used to fry potentially allergenic foods."

When we started the clinical trial, one of my questions was whether we were going to have to stop eating at Chick-fil-A again because of the peanut oil. Dr. Bird confirmed that hot pressed peanut oils were safe and that we could continue eating at our favorite fast-food restaurant.

Recently, a post was made on an allergic kids group of which I'm a member warning of a friend that had a reaction requiring a visit to the ER after eating at Chick-fil-A. The follow up posts came fast with all types of dire warnings like playing Russian Roulette every time you eat there (this coming from a patient's Allergist).

We just happened to have an appointment at Duke that next day so I again asked the question to our new doctor, Doctor Kim. He also agreed that it was 100% safe (I got the impression it was the entire department's stance). He said from a scientific perspective it was not possible to react to highly refined peanut oil. His reason (if I can reiterate this correctly) is that peanut protein is a lot of amino acids linked together. A person with a peanut allergy reacts to this group of amino acid. With high heat and pressure, those amino acids are broken into so many pieces that the body can't recognize them and therefore doesn't react. Was it possible to have a small particle escape the refining process? He said not from a very large oil producer with huge vats and a tremendous heat source. He did recommend staying away from gourmet restaurants and higher end grocery stores that use peanut oil saying that it may not be as refined or could even be cold pressed oil.

As far as the person that did have a reaction he said you really had to look at other causes, i.e. wheat or milk which would be much more likely or even something consumed several hours prior. I also asked that very telling question...if your daughter had a peanut allergy would you eat there...he responded absolutely.

As I'm doing more and more research, I'm finding it very confusing and at times very difficult to know what to believe. There is so much contradicting information all from very credible sources. Our Allergist and Pediatrician recommended against it, Duke says it's fine. And, it is my daughter's life at stake. Bottom line, I believe you totally have to go with your gut, what you are comfortable with. You have to be your family's own advocate. If you are at all hesitant, don't eat at Chick-fil-A. If you have a great trust in the doctor that's saying it's not worth the risk, don't take it. For us, Chick-fil-A is still a family favorite!