SafetyTat Temporary Safety Tattoo Give-Away!

Have you seen these temporary tattoos from SafetyTat?  I love these things. What a fabulous idea!

 

 

Just peel and stick them to your child's arm, write their allergy and your phone information and the tattoos stay in place up to 2 weeks. They're also available for specific allergies and can be pre-printed with your cell phone number. Those require a damp cloth for application and last 1 to 5 days.

I, of course, love the Allergy Alert tattoos, but SafetyTat also make tattoos for lots of other situations.. medical alerts, special needs and "If Lost" for crowded places. They even make a "kiss" tattoo for those occasions where your child needs a little TLC.

Just think of the uses...first day of school, vacations, summer camps, trips to theme parks, sporting events. I would have loved to have these for the preschool years, birthday parties and field trips when Abigail was younger and not as verbal.  Even at 7 though, she thinks they are way cool and wants a reason to wear one. She's got a school field trip coming up which will be the perfect occasion to try out the allergy alert tattoo.  And, next trip to a large, crowded event, my 2 year old will be sporting an "If Lost" SafetyTat.

Love these as much as me?  I've got great news!  SafetyTat is going to give 2 of my lucky readers a sample pack of the Quick Stick Write-On's.  Winners get their choice of either the boy, girl or multi-design.  There's more! Through the end of the month, you guys also get 10% off all orders of $15.00 or more if you use the following coupon code (it's case sensitive): PeanutClinicalTrial.  Find all of their products on their website, www.safetytat.com or follow them on Facebook at "SafetyTat:Kids Temporary Safety Tattoos."

This give-away is limited to U.S. and Canadian residents only. Entries must be received by March 31, 2010.  Want to earn extra entries?  Earn 2 extra entries for becoming a "Follower" and 4 extra entries for linking this post to your blog, website or Facebook page.  Just make sure to leave a comment with the link to your blog or website.

Good luck!  Be sure to take advantage of the 10% discount!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Christine R. (Entry #6) who commented on January 12th!  You won my first ever product give-away...a multi-purpose blender valued at almost $50.00!  I hope you're reading.  I need you to get back with me via e-mail by tomorrow evening, Friday, January 22nd.

If I don't hear from Christine, then I'll randomly select another number.  If you entered and didn't win, please check back again on Saturday morning to see if Christine claimed her new blender. 

Thanks to all of you guys that entered!  I appreciate each of you taking a minute to leave a comment.  I got a bunch of great ideas.  Julie, I want to hear how you make blender yeast rolls.  And, Mishi, I'm definitely going to try your "banana un-nut fake-out ice cream".  Thanks for leaving the recipe.  We too use a ton of sunflower butter!

I'd also like to thank Cookware.com.  They really do have a lot very nice products.  I hope they'll considering sponsoring another give-away sometime soon!

Healthy Change #1: Buy rBST/rBGH-free

As I mentioned in previous posts, one huge and very positive side effect of Abigail's peanut allergy is that I've started reading food labels and researching the food our family consumes.  It's a task that feels quite over-whelming at times!  I'm learning so much about how the quality of food we eat impacts us day to day from allergies/asthma and ADHD to long term diagnosis of diseases and cancer.  I'm also finding that big business and our government aren't doing much, if anything to protect us. 

There is no way I can cover in a couple of posts all of the information out there that should make us all consider every bite of food we put in our mouths.  I can however try to summarize briefly a few of the top changes you can make for yourself and your family that will have the biggest impact on your overall health.

Change #1:  Buy rBST/rBGH free dairy products.

What is rBST/rBGH?  In the 90's Monsanto derived an artificial growth hormone using DNA technology.  This hormone (rBST/rBGH, hereafter referred to as simply rBGH) is given to cows to increase their milk production by about 10% (I've also seen it as high as 20%).  According to GreenerChoices.org, as of 2007, approximately 17% of dairy cows are given this hormone.  The FDA has ruled this hormone safe, but it has not been approved for use in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and all 25 members of the European Union. 

What are the affects?  I turned to the Cancer Prevention Coalition for an explanation on the impact of rBGH on IGF-1 which is a normal growth factor in both cows and humans.  However, excess levels of IGF-1 are linked to cancer, specifically breast, colon and prostate cancer.  The rBGH hormone causes cows to produce more IGF-1 which is then further increased by the pasteurization process.  IGF-1 is easily passed through the human intestines into the bloodstream where it can promote transformation of, for example, normal breast cells to breast cancers.  Personally, that's enough for me, but there's more and it's just gross.  The rBGH hormone increases the rate of mastitis, an udder infection.  According to the Cancer Prevention Coalition, "industry data shows up to an 80 percent incidence of mastitis in hormone-treated cattle, resulting in the contamination of milk with significant levels of pus."  Yuck...pus!  Guess what is then given to cows to treat the mastitis.  Yep...antibiotics.  Guess who then consumes the antibiotics.  Yep...us.  Cancer, pus and harmful antibiotics....

What can you do?  Buy rBST/rBGH free products.  Organic milk is rBGH-free, free of pesticides or antibiotics and is more expensive than conventional rBGH-free milk.  You can expect to pay $1.00 to $3.00 more for organic and $.50 to $1.00 more a gallon for rBGH-free conventional.  On average, that's anywhere from $25 to $150 more per year depending on the product you choose and your market.  I waiver back and forth between organic and conventional rBGH-free milk.  A lot depends on where I'm shopping and what's on sale.  Yes, we're paying more now for milk, cheese, yogurt and other dairy products, but we see it as an investment in our health.

Lastly, manufacturers are prohibited from completely labeling the benefits of rBGH-free.  We can thank Monsanto and their influence with our government for that.  A manufacturer may label a product rBGH-free if they also include a statement that there is no significant difference found between milk produced with rBGH and milk not produced with it.  Some states have even stricter laws and many brands don't include anything about being rBGH-free.  For a long time, I didn't purchase any of Trader Joe's cheeses because their label just had the statement that there is no significant difference.  I assumed that meant it was not rBGH-free.  It's very confusing especially now that more and more brands are switching to rBGH-free.   I've attached a link at the bottom for a NC rGBH-free buying guide.  You can find a state specific guide by doing a Google search.

So, drink a big glass of rBST/rBGH-free milk and think about how much healthier you already feel!

Don't forget to enter my blender give-away!

For more resources:

First Ever Product Give-away!!

Well, it's finally here, my first ever product give-away!  I'm so excited to be able to team up with Cookware.com and offer one of their fabulous products to one of my fabulous readers!  I've been browsing their extensive online selection for days now looking for the perfect give-away item.  They carry a ton of name brands including Rachel Ray Cookware (I'm loving the colorful cast iron collection), Cuisinart, LeCreuset, Paula Deen, All-Clad and J.A. Henckels to name just a few.  I should say that I'm not receiving anything from Cookware.com.  This is all about you!

In celebration of the New Year and a new you, I've selected this great multi-purpose blender from Back to Basics. With 2 interchangeable blade bases, 2 blending containers and 2 drinking tumblers, this is the perfect kitchen tool for a nutritious breakfast, fun and healthy snack, or quick and easy dinner.

Here's how to enter for a chance to win this great kitchen tool: 

Starting Monday, January, 11th, simply leave a comment sharing your favorite blender concoction.  Think shakes, smoothies, salsa, soups, dips, cocktails, pie fillings, sauces, etc.  I'm looking forward to getting a bunch of great ideas to try.  You can can enter once a day for ten days.

Want extra give-away entries?  For 5 additional entries, copy this text (www.peanutclinicaltrial.blogspot.com is giving away a Blender Express Plus from Cookware.com. Post a comment with your favorite blender concoction for a chance to win.  Last day to enter is January 20th.) and link to my blog from your blog, website, Facebook page, etc.  Make sure you post back with your site link so I can check it out.  For 2 additional entries, become a Follower of my blog. 

All entries will go into a hat and one lucky reader will be randomly selected.  I'll announce the winner on January 21st so make sure you check back then.  The blender will be shipped to the winner directly from the great folks at Cookware.com.

Also, during that ten days, I will be doing my own Top 10 list of changes to make this year for a better, healthier family.  So, look for that post after you leave your daily comment.

Good luck!

The fine print:
There is no purchase necessary.  Shipping is included in the give-away.  Due to international shipping fees, the give-away is limited to U.S. and Canadian residents only.  Cut-off for entry is 12:00 a.m. EST, January 20th.  The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the notification e-mail or a new winner will be selected.

New Year's Eve

Happy New Year!!  I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday season.

We spent New Year's Eve with friends.  My best friend/neighbor came over with her family.  Our kids have grown up together, and our girls are "BFF's".  For those without young girls, that stands for "Best Friends Forever."  We had a nice dinner, played Rock Band on the Wii and the kids managed to stay up to watch the ball drop.  They were having an easier time of it than us adults.

Planning the dinner menu was a bit challenging.  Not only were we accommodating each others' family traditions, but also accommodating Abigail's peanut allergy and her son who has Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EE) which is an allergic inflammation disease that occurs in the Esophagus.  Their family always does fondue on New Year's Eve so she brought a delicious cheese fondue for our appetizer and a chocolate fondue for dessert.  She had a time finding a bakery bread for the cheese fondue that was safe for Abigail and ended up also having to bake a scratch pound cake for the chocolate fondue.  Thanks to my dear friend for doing that!  I usually put a beef brisket in the crock pot and make a really good tangy barbecue beef dish.  By using her barbecue sauce and substituting ginger ale for the beer, it was then safe for her son. There is so very little he can eat and my friend had to bring over most of his food.  If we could make what we were eating safe for him, we did. In the end, the food was fabulous, everyone stayed healthy and we had a great evening!

Here's a link to some more information on Eosinophilic Esophagitis.  My prayers are with my friend, her son and the rest of their family today.  Her son who is just 7 has been on an elimination diet for months now with no significant improvement to his condition.  They are starting an elemental diet today and he will be drinking his meals for the next 8 weeks or so.  That's got to be extremely tough for a 7 year old, but he's a brave little boy!  We love you guys!  Hang in there!

Coming soon, my first ever give-away and my own Top 10 list of healthy eating habits for the new year.  And, I'm still waiting anxiously for the food challenge results for the first Sublingual Peanut Clinical Trial participants.