Sunday, May 30, 2010

Annual Allergy Friendly Tasting Party

It is that time of year again, for me anyway. Time to start scouring the internet for new and unfamiliar foods that allergic consumers would appreciate. We food allergy families often find our comfort zone in safe and familiar foods, and settle in to a routine.

And who can blame us? With the research that needs to be done to determine if a product is safe, followed by the expense of buying unfamiliar foods. All to get it home to the ultimate test, your allergic kiddo. And allergic kiddos? Tastebuds like Vegas, baby. It's a crapshoot. (Hmmm. Come to think of it, even my non-allergic kiddos are a gamble.)

When you win, you win BIG. Product loyalty comes easily to us when a product is safe and enjoyed by the family. Having more options for dinner in the house? Major win.

But when you lose? Let's be honest, allergy friendly products aren't cheap. It's no fun to bring home a parade of foods that your child refuses to eat. Wouldn't it be great to try it before you buy it?

Enter: Me. Once a year I round up samples of the hottest allergy friendly foods on the market and offer them in a safe and expense free at a meeting of parents with food allergic kiddos. So parents can taste it and decide if they think it's worth serving to the little ones. And sometimes we even send samples home! And coupons! It. Is. Wonderful.

Says me.

So, if you can think of an allergy friendly item that you would share, please tell me. Friendly for any allergy, we have all of them represented. Thanks for helping me out!

4 comments:

  1. Wow, what a seriously neat idea! As an adult new to the food allergy world, I often think of all the things I had not had a chance to try, and now cannot.

    This is the really the coolest thing I've ever heard!

    I don't see a way to subscribe by email to your blog, but I would like to. I would love to know what foods you end up partying with when you do this!

    ~ Sharon / corn-free & egg-free
    www.LiveCornFree.com

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  2. My best find of the past year has been the So Delicious line of coconut milk products by Turtle Mountain. The Allergic One really loves their coconut milk yogurt! And I can make smoothies for her (just like on Jungle Junction, sigh) with their Kefir. Hubby is hooked on the coffee creamer. And I use the (red container) coconut milk for EVerything...works MUCH better for baking than rice milk does.
    :)

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  3. My new favorite dessert is schmooze pops from whole foods. You buy then off the self (not frozen) stick them in the freezer and then eat when you want. They are single serve. It might be a good alternative to the ever un-allergy-friendly ice cream truck.

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  4. Sharon- Thanks, it was a hit last year! I'll let you know what we end up with.

    Elissabeth- We live on So Delicious around here. I cook with the green carton to avoid extra sugar though.

    Katie- Smooze is new to me! I had to look it up, and it sounds fabulous!

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Always happy to hear from you, but please remember to play nice!