I remember at 6 months of age, when Lucas got first diagnosed with his food allergies, my world crashed. How was he ever going to lead a normal life? My mind immediately went to how much this severe medical condition would steal from him. I got a crash course of that impending life of his, when I choose to continue to breastfeed. His allergist said that if I continue to breastfeed him after this diagnosis, I had to immediately cut dairy and egg from my diet. As much as I give my husband a bad rap sometimes, he will go above and beyond for his family and I'm reminded of that when life hands you a bowl of sour lemons, he was the sugar. He took us to Wegmans that night and left me buy whatever my little heart desired. That was our first taste of reading food labels. While it sucked!!!! I was pleasantly surprised at the selection. Granted, 3/4 of the store was still filled with our poison but if we stuck with the specialty aisle's we were golden. We are fortunate to live in an area that has a Wegmans, Wholefoods, Kimberton Wholefoods and Amazon.. Fast forward to when he was off the boob at a year old and got diagnosed with a pea, pea protein, and tree nut allergies. (He can have almonds though but for the sake of the public and when he's out of the house, he's strictly tree nut free). His choices got cut down even more but I was more equipped to handle the news.

When you find allergy friendly products, you stick with them! Moms do non-stop research and in the age of social media and the internet, you really see how many products are out there in this day and age! Here are the products that we buy and LOVE! (I'm not paid to say any of this). These products have helped me, soooooo much in this allergy journey!


Enjoy Life- Their products are free from gluten and the 14 common allergens. Their facility is also nut-free. Enjoy Life Website

FreeYumm- Their products are free from the Top 8, sulphites and sesame allergens. They also have a dedicated allergy free facility. FreeYumm Website

MadeGood- Their products are free from most common allergens and are made in a facility free from peanuts, tree nuts and more! They also sneak in a full serving of vegetables into their products. Go check them out MadeGood

Better Bites Bakery- Their products are free from dairy, eggs, gluten, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, no fish and no shellfish. Their facility is not certified tree nut free due to their use of coconut (FDA classifies coconut as a tree nut). Better Bites Bakery Website

Abe's Muffins- These muffins are seriously AMAZING!!!! Between my son and I, we can eat a whole container in a day! I try to keep my hands off of Lucas' foods but I can't with these! They are free from dairy, egg, soy and no nuts!!! Other than coconut (FDA classifies coconut as a tree nut), their facility is 100% free of all other tree nuts and peanuts. Abe's Muffins Website

Amanda's Own Confections- They ship and Amanda is seriously the most amazing person ever! I have never personally met her but we've had some correspondence. I believe in supporting small business and she is one I will support over and over again. Her chocolate is out of this world! Her products are free from Top 8 allergens and her equipment is dedicated free from Top 8 allergens. Amanda's Own Confections

MomPops- MomPops MomPops MomPops! We love MomPops!!!!! Another great (local to us) small business! I will get into fights with my toddler over MomPops! He wants to eat the whole box of MomPops in a sitting. I say "No" and he screams even louder and cry's. He has even resorted to going to the freezer and opening it to get to the MomPops. MomPops we NEED to hide. They are free from gluten, NonGMO, vegan, dairy free, soy free, peanut free and kosher. They are mini-sized frozen pops. Perfect size for a toddler and no guilt for mom because they aren't loaded with sugar! Let him eat 3 at a time. I don't care. Go check them out! MomPops Website

Food Challenges can be a challenge in more ways than one! When your little one is made to eat and it's imperative that it's done in the allotted time frame. It can be stressful on them and you, thus making the whole appointment nothing but a fight. I don't know about you but making my toddler eat, when he doesn't want to or eat something he doesn't like, leaves momma having to think on her feet and FAST!

At this point, we've become seasoned food challenge participants ::sigh:: My hubby and I learn something new after each appointment. Like the last food challenge, baked dairy. Cupcakes. You'd think a toddler would LOVE to eat cupcakes, he eats the vegan ones at home and it's a non-issue. He can't get enough of them. Put him in a doctors office with a cupcake and it's like WWIII. It's him against all of us and the 2 year old is clearly #winning. We were almost done with the eating part of the challenge, he had half a cupcake he needed to eat and he needed to eat it within the next 20 minutes, after spending 10 of those minutes fighting with him, I said we need to put this in something. He loves pouches, sucks them down without even thinking and then I had my light bulb moment. So, I made my husband run across the street to the CVS and buy pouches. I asked the nurse for scissors and paper tape, then waited with baited breath for my husbands arrival because if this didn't work the whole last 1.5 hours would've been a waste and we'd have to do this all over again, on another day. I did surgery on the pouch, inserted that half-cupcake-from-hell, used the paper tape to close the bottom and handed it to my strong willed child, hoping for the best. We literally had 5 minutes left, hubby and I were both sweating it. He took a taste of it, though about it, but he continued to eat it. SUCCESS! With a minute to spare! Phew. Mom pulled a fast one and it worked! His doctor and nurse were clearly impressed and asked if they could give other parents this idea. I was shocked that I was only parent who thought of this. I said sure! Food allergy parents have to help each other out.

So here is quick list of helpful hints to make food allergy challenges less of a challenge:

1- Pouches, Pouches and more Pouches: Take several different kinds of pouches that your child already likes to eat. You could even get these WeeSprout Reusable Pouches. I always take both. Just make sure that if you take regular pre-filled pouches, you bring scissors and tape with you.

2- Yogurt: Yogurt is another go-to snack that my son will eat without thinking. Perfect for hiding stuff in. Extra perfect, if there is fruit in the yogurt. That helps masks the textures of whatever you're trying to hide.

3- Ice Cream or in my case Coconut Ice cream: Ice cream in our household, is that extra special treat that my son always asks for but I often say no. Just so I can keep it 'extra special'. I haven't tried taking ice cream before and it's not for the faint of heart but I'm packing it on ice and will try it, if this mom needs to pull out all the stops.

4- Toys and lots of them! I will pack toys that he hasn't played with in awhile. A few of his favorite toys and books. The hours go extremely slow when you're in a small room.

5- iPad: He only gets to use the iPad on special occasions. A small room with paper thin walls, yes, he will be given the iPad. I think of others and their ears.

6- Pack your patience: Just like animals, toddlers can sense your energy. I'm good at keeping my cool in front of my child, my husband on the other hand, will have a full-on man-sized meltdown if things start going south. Plan for the worst, hope for the best.

7- Always take your EpiPens

8- Remember the diaper bag

9- Wipes and more wipes: Food allergy challenges can get messy, especially with a toddler or an infant.

10- DO NOT forget the food you're challenging!!!



I hope these helpful tips and tricks make your challenges, less of a challenge!! It takes a village and it takes a City to raise a food allergy kiddo.

DF, EF, TNF, Pea Protein Free Peanut Butter Blossoms

1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup Earth Balance, Whipped, Organic- (Always double check to make sure ingredients in this product are safe for your allergies!!!!) 
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

Additional granulated sugar (about 2 tablespoons) – If you want to be festive use Red or Green Sanding Sugar

About 30-40 Chocolate Kisses- Recipe below


Steps for cookies:

1.Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat granulated sugar, the brown sugar, peanut butter, earth balance and applesauce with mixer. Add in flour, baking soda and baking powder and mix until dough forms.

2. Roll dough into 1-inch balls; roll in additional granulated sugar or sanding sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on parchment paper.

3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are light brown, use your best judgment. Baking time varies.

4. Immediately press 1 chocolate kiss in center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack and place in fridge. (I found this worked best to keep the kisses in kiss form, until cookie cools).


Chocolate Kiss Recipe:

1 package Enjoy Life Semi-sweet Chocolate morsels (Always double check to make sure ingredients in this product are safe for your allergies!!!!) 
Kiss Molds from Amazon


Steps:
In double boiler, melt down chocolate. Stirring frequently.

Once chocolate is melted, pour into molds and place in fridge until hard. Use a toothpick to get out any air bubbles.


Tag @the_alherrgy_mom and #thealherrgymomblog so I can see all your lovely allergy friendly cookies!!