American Girl Boutique & Bistro Experience

This past weekend, Abigail, a friend, her friend's mom and I took a road trip to Alpharetta, Georgia to the American Girl Boutique & Bistro in celebration of Abigail's 8th birthday. What a great experience!

We had lunch reservations at the Bistro. Just a hint, you need to make them weeks if not months in advance. The online reservation system asks about food allergies so I was able to indicate that there was a nut and wheat concern.  Abigail's friend has Celiac disease and cannot eat anything with gluten.  As an extra precaution, the friend's mom also called the Bistro in Alpharetta directly and spoke with the chef.  She felt comfortable that there were going to be options on the menu that our daughters could eat.

After all of us, including the dolls, were seated... late (which is my only negative comment), the chef came out to talk with us personally. He went over the menu to let us know what items were peanut/tree nut free and gluten free. The bakery they use for most of their bread products also produces other products with peanuts. That eliminated several Starters and Main Course sandwiches. No problem there because Abigail had already decided she wanted the Macaroni with Lots of Cheese with a fresh fruit skewer on the side for her entree. She did want the Warm Pretzel Bites with honey mustard dipping sauce for her Starter, but the pretzels were from Pillsbury and had a warning label for cross-contamination. Instead, she got the Cheesy Cheddar Fondue with the gluten-free bread (which was surprisingly very good).  The gluten-free bread came from a different bakery and was peanut/tree nut safe.  Both girls ended up with the fondue. There were other options, i.e, the Very Veggie Platter, the Salad Skewers, the Fresh Fruit with Yogurt Dipping Sauce, etc., but they were deemed too healthy and not near as fun as fondue.

Abigail's friend was able to get the Perfect Picnic Time entree which is a mini hamburger and hot dog.  The chef subbed the buns with gluten-free bread and the curly fries with the fruit cup and yogurt dipping sauce.  For the adult Starters, we got the Fresh Fruit with Yogurt & Mini Muffins and the Warm Artichoke-Spinach Dip and shared it.  We were also going to share a sandwich and a salad for our main course. We managed to eat the Turkey and Provolone Panini, but were way too full to touch the Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing.  If you're wondering why we ordered so much food in the first place, the price for lunch is $14.50 per person and includes the Starter and Main Course.

Because it was Abigail's birthday, we also had to have a special dessert.  All of the cookie and cake desserts used ingredients from Pillsbury and were not peanut/tree nut safe.  There was one chocolate cake that was gluten free, but I chose to order each girl a Celebration Milkshake with birthday cake flavored ice cream, whipped cream, sprinkles and a cherry on top.  I was not expecting them to bring Abigail's out with a candle, but they did.  The waitresses also all gathered around and sang "Happy Birthday" to her which was really nice.  Abigail was more than a little embarrassed by the special attention.  I was pleased that they did so without me asking.  FYI, you can order a special birthday package meal that includes a tiara, certificate and special white "signature" cake and ice cream, but the cake is neither peanut/tree nut or gluten free so I didn't pay the extra.  I think that lunch runs $28.00 a child and $18.00 an adult.

We shopped, we ate and the dolls even got their hair done and ears pierced in the salon.  When we finished at the American Girl Boutique, we checked into our hotel, and the girls spent the evening swimming in the indoor pool.  What a fabulous adventure.  We've made memories to last a lifetime.

A Great Find

I was recently doing a little shopping when I came across this cute cupcake container.  What a great find!  I just had to buy one for Abigail.

This CupCake To-Go container is absolutely perfect for a child with a food allergy, food intolerance or Celiac.  For 6 years now, I've sent cupcakes with Abigail to almost every peer birthday party she has attended.  Most of the time in containers either too small for the cupcake resulting in mushed frosty or too large also resulting in a rather messy cupcake from all that bouncing around.  Now, she can take her "special" cupcake and take pleasure in eating it because 1. it's no longer unsightly, and 2. it came out of such a adorable container. 

Abigail, of course, loved it.  I knew she would.  I went back to the store and bought more just in case you guys loved them and also wanted one too.  I bought them in 3 different colors: pink, white and blue. They're about 4" x 4", the perfect size to hold a large cupcake or even muffin.  The lid twists on/off and there are interior side anchors to keep the cupcake in place (assuming your child doesn't drop it and send it bouncing).  My resell price is $5.00, and I still have to figure out actual shipping cost.  If you want one, send me an e-mail at peanutallergyfree@gmail.com, and I'll let you know what that cost is once I've packed it in a shipping box.  I use PayPal for billing, and I don't ship outside the U.S.

This cupcake container just makes me happy.  It's so hard to see your child or loved one have to struggle with something like not being able to eat a piece of their friend's birthday cake.  It makes me happy because it's a simple object that makes a huge difference.  If you've got to be different and made to stand out in a crowd, you might as well do it with style!

Immunoglobulins

I've thrown around the term "IgE" quite often in my posts and felt it time to take a closer look.  If a person's Immunoglobulin E (IgE) level, derived from a simple blood test, is elevated, it usually indicates a food allergy and increases with the number of allergies a person has.  I don't know Abigail's total IgE number. I just know her peanut specific IgE number.  It's the number that tells us the percent chance of her having a reaction if exposed to peanuts and is the number that will tell us if her tolerance to peanuts is improving on the study.

There are actually several Immunoglobulins, or antibodies, in our blood.  According to WebMD, antibodies are substances made by the body's immune system in response to bacteria, viruses, fungus, animal dander, or cancer cells. Antibodies attach to the foreign substances so the immune system can destroy them.  There are 5 different types:

• IgA antibodies are found in the nose, breathing passages, digestive tract, ears, eyes, etc., and protect the body surfaces that are exposed to the outside.  Celiac disease is diagnosed using IgA antibodies as a starting point.

• IgM antibodies are found in blood and lymph fluid and are made in response to infections.

• IgE antibodies are found in the lungs, skin and mucous membranes.  They cause the body to react against foreign substances like pollen, dander or food.

• IgD antibodies are found in the tissues that line the belly or chest. WebMD states that it's unclear how they work.

• IgG antibodies are found in bodily fluids and are the most common making up 75 to 80% of all antibodies in our bodies. IgG antibodies help fight bacterial and viral infections.

According to the literature that Immuno Laboratories provided me, the majority of negative reactions to foods, or food sensitivities, with delayed symptoms are caused by IgG antibodies.  The literature states that 90% of immune reactions to foods are non-IgE.

I've been so fixated on IgE numbers that I never really paid attention to anything else.  It wasn't until I started looking closer at the difference between food allergies and food intolerances, that I realized that IgG numbers were quite important.  In my quest to now understand my own food sensitivities and those of several family members, I've been doing more research into the difference between allergies and intolerances.  In the next couple of posts I'll look closer at the symptoms of food sensitivities and the Immuno 1 Bloodprint test that identifies which foods a person is sensitive to.

On a more personal note, I went to my physician last week to discuss my symptoms which I believe are directly related to an intolerance to one or more foods.  I mentioned IgG antibodies, and she said it was something she wasn't familiar with.  She ordered an IgE food allergy test and Celiac test and then indicated that the most she could do to help was to refer me to an Allergist.  While not surprised, I'm frustrated that I have to go through the process of finding a doctor that is more knowledgeable on the subject of food sensitivities.  I haven't received the results of either test yet, but am expecting both to come back negative.