Food Allergy Book Giveaway

Sloane Miller, aka Allergic Girl, has been the stand-out voice for adults with food allergies. Her new book, Allergic Girl: Adventures in Living Well with Food Allergies, is coming out March 1. To celebrate, she is offering one lucky Food Allergy Assistant reader a free copy.

Here's what you need to do to be eligible to win:
In the comments below, share your positive food allergy love story. It can be:

Any loving act you did for a food allergic family member or yourself,
Your best date with food allergies,
Your food allergic dream date,
A date you planned for a loved one,
Or what your dreams are for your food allergic child when they date.

Get the Valentine's Day theme? Just sharing the love.

I'll get this party started with my food allergy love story...

People have said, "I don't know how you do what you do". They are referring to the dozens of rolls, breads, cookies and cakes I make from scratch. They are talking about all the planning that goes into every trip we take so we can make sure there will be safe food away from home. They mean how do you manage all of the doctor appointments, meeting with school officials, and writing to legislators about food allergy issues?


You know what I say? "I do all of this because this is my child and this is what a loving parent does for their child. I hope I am being a good role model to my kids as I guide them along the path to be responsible, caring adults. I also hope I am sharing my knowledge with others so we have appropriate guidelines in place in our schools, restaurants, food manufacturing plants and our laws to protect everyone- food allergic or not. I will continue to do all of this until the phrase "food allergy" is no longer needed.

Check out the book trailer and comment below sometime this week for a chance to win. Winner will be announced next Monday, Feb. 21, 2011

Good luck!

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Food Allergy Cookbook

I love cookbooks. I really love cookbooks with fabulous pictures. I really, really love a cookbook with fabulous pictures that is free. Even better, this free fabulous cookbook is filled with healthy, allergy friendly recipes.

It's a blue ribbon winner.

We have Alisha Fleming at One Frugal Foodie and Go Dairy Free to thank. She whipped this book together in two weeks after putting out a call for recipe submissions. An amazing accomplishment...

So, what are you waiting for? Check it out, download it and start creating your fabulous dishes.

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Allergy Book for Children

Allergy Tales: Making Friends

I recently had the opportunity to read Allergy Tales: Making Friends. This book is one of several written for, and about, children with food allergies. Author, Carey Shoemaker is the creator of ALLERGYONBOARD, an organization dedicated to promoting empowerment and positive self-esteem for children with food allergies.

Making Friends is the story of a young boy who moves to a new town. He worries that his food allergies may get in the way of making new friends.

I love the positive message in the story. Elementary school children will be able to read this book themselves- and it's not directed only at children with food allergies. It helps all children understand that food allergies are just one part of a whole person.

I think this book would be a great classroom or school library gift. It would also be a great tool for school nurses, guidance counselors or teachers who may be educating a classroom about food allergies.

We all work hard to balance the risks of food allergy with the message that our food allergic kids can, and should, participate in regular childhood experiences. Books like this one help show all children that food allergies are manageable, and that everyone has special things about them.

Has anyone else read Making Friends with their child?

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Monday Review: "Flourishing With Food Allergies", by A. Anderson

This Monday Review is brought to you by Papoose Publishing, publisher of A. Anderson's book, "Flourishing With Food Allergies".

When my son was diagnosed with food allergies in 2001, I was fortunate enough to pick up a copy of Marianne Barber's book, "The Parent's Guide to Food Allergies". My copy has yellow sticky notes protruding from three sides and white papers covered in notes written by me and my husband. It was our guidebook as we struggled to understand and deal with this stunning diagnosis. The book was copyrighted in 2001, making it timely for us. I haven't come across a book like it, so this has been the one I've continued to recommend to parents shocked by a food allergy diagnosis...until now...

The new guidebook has arrived.

A. Anderson managed to capture the sensitivity and need for practical information that parents must have. By incorporating her own story, and giving a glimpse into the lives of 14 other families from around the world who deal with food allergy, readers quickly realize, "I am not alone". Ms. Anderson devotes the second half of the book to "Solutions". She includes perspectives from top allergy docs, school teachers and a psychologist. The book progresses to practical solutions for dealing with social situations, school and travel. The conclusion of the book is devoted to a plea that we come together and ask government officials to devote more funds for studies to test, treat and eventually cure food allergies. This is a topic near and dear to my heart.

I did find the resource section of "Flourishing With Food Allergies" to be rather light. In the aforementioned "The Parent's Guide to Food Allergies", I found it helpful to have names and contact information for food manufacturers and restaurants. That said, it is a sign of the times that much of this information can now be found on the internet through blogs and websites and inclusion in a book such as this one, may make the book outdated more quickly.

"Flourishing With Food Allergies" has the most up to date information for parents and would also be a great gift for your child's teacher or school nurse.

To order, go to Flourishing With Food Allergies.com

For other food allergy information, visit the Food Allergy Assistant.

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Monday Review- "Matters of Faith" by Kristy Kiernan

This Monday Review is brought to you by author Kristy Kiernan, and her award-winning novel, Matters of Faith. The story revolves around the Tobias family. When 12-year-old Meghan has a medical crisis related to her peanut allergy, the entire family is forced to dig deep and deal with issues that have been bubbling below the surface.

"Genuine" is the word that came to mind as I read this book. I too have had people say, “if it’s organic peanut butter, than it’s safe, right?” We too removed carpets, curtains and stuffed animals from our home in an effort to control allergic symptoms. Kristy Kiernan really understands what it’s like to live with a food allergy in the household. I was certain that she must have a food allergy or be close to someone who does.

“Not so,” said Kristy when I recently interviewed her by phone. “This story really began when I read about 15-year-old Christina Desforges." (You may remember this Canadian teenager reportedly suffered a fatal allergic reaction after kissing her boyfriend, who had recently eaten a peanut butter snack.)

” I started thinking about how scary it must be for parents to raise a food allergic child. Then I started wondering what would happen if the parents didn’t believe in medical intervention for religious reasons, . My interest in faith and religion just kind of collided with this interest in food allergies," Kristy told me.

Kristy’s empathy shines through her writing as she expertly weaves the story. It will be tempting to peek at the end, but try to refrain and trust that Kristy will give closure and allow us a glimpse into the future of the lives of the characters we’ve come to care about.

I hope every parent, grandparent, relative, teacher, neighbor, anyone who knows someone with a food allergy, has an opportunity to read Matters of Faith. Kristy admits that she didn’t set out to write a book to educate others about food allergies.

Fortunately for us, it does just that, in a beautiful and compelling way.

Learn more about Kristy Kiernan at her blog.

For more food allergy information, go to the Food Allergy Assistant's website.

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