Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Brunch can be difficult when catering to a variety of food allergies including eggs, gluten, nuts and dairy.
I’m having a brunch party this weekend and my friends’ daughter has an egg allergy. It’s hard to find breakfast or brunch recipes without eggs, but I don’t want her to be excluded. Do you have any advice? —Cindy, College Park MD Cindy, You’re absolutely right. Many breakfast foods do contain eggs in the recipe, but as with most food allergy challenges, if you plan ahead, think creatively and substitute ingredients, you’ll have an amazingly diverse brunch that your guests will appreciate. I know about this specific scenario first-hand, as I recently planned a large brunch in my home. I got a few emails from guests mentioning specific allergies. The first was an egg allergy. The second was a nut allergy. The third was a dairy allergy. You…
Monday, October 29, 2012
How to keep your kids safe from their food allergies when they trick-or-treat.
Q: My 5-year-old daughter, Grace, is allergic to everything under the sun – including peanuts, strawberries and apples. I'm nervous about taking her trick-or-treating this Halloween, but she's really looking forward to it! How do I keep her safe when going door-to-door? -Mercedes Severn, MD A: Dear Mercedes, The only things that should scare you this Halloween are the haunts, not trick-or-treating with your child with food allergies. Rest assured, there are many ways parents can plan and be creative to guarantee that you are an anxiety-free mummy and that your pumpkin is safe and has a lot of fun this Halloween. If you think your child is up for it, you may want to simply plan an alternative activity, such as having your own party where …
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Making the lunch staple possible for all.
One of the biggest challenges of having a child who has multiple food allergies, has been figuring out how to make the kid a sandwich. I’m all for thinking outside the box, but when it comes to kids’ lunches, sandwiches are king. They’re easy, fast, inexpensive, and you KNOW he’d eat them. A nice lettuce wrap around some chicken and veggies sounds delightful, but my son wouldn’t have it. Not even going to try. I mean, if you were given the choice between a meatball sub smothered in provolone, and a salad, what would you go with? Even a veggie concoction sounds more enticing if you put it on some thick seven-grain bread, no? Sadly, every element of a sandwich is off-limits. My son’s allergic to wheat, barley, and oats, so bread is out. …
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Including the whole family in summertime ice cream rituals.
In last week’s column, I talked about the holy grail of fun summer activities… a trip to the ice cream shop. It’s likely that if you grew up in this country, you have fond memories of eating ice cream somewhere that was considered special, whether it was a counter, a drive-up window, a stand, or even in your front yard after the ice cream truck drove by. If you are like me, these are the experiences you want to give to your children as well. And, if your kids are like mine, the interest in ice cream seems practically innate. Which could be a problem, if like my son, your child is allergic to dairy. Earlier this summer, we checked out a children’s book from the library about the history of ice cream. At the very end of the book, there …
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Your child's food allergies can change with age.
My son, who is approaching five years old, has extensive food allergies. Navigating this unexpected and often difficult path began when he was seven months old and had a severe rash on his face (which was ripe for commenting on by complete strangers – everything from “You should have that looked at” to “Someone had carrots for lunch!” implying that a) we hadn’t considered medical attention and b) we did not wipe his face before heading out to Target. Genius.). After extensive testing, we discovered that he was allergic to eggs, milk, nuts of all kinds, and (here’s the real kicker) grains, meaning wheat, barley, and oats. Oh yeah, and corn. So anything with corn syrup, corn starch, or corn solids was out. I was thankfully still nursing…
Naba Sharif, M.D.
1:59 pm on Tuesday, January 29, 2013
The article was limited in terms of word-count, but my thoughts on being gluten-free aside from solely Celiac disease and wheat allergy: I know there are many following this diet for a variety of reasons that may not inform others and simply look for the obviously gluten-free foods. For my recent brunch, once I informed the group that there would also be gluten-free foods, I received a number of … more ›