food allergies

No Biggie Bunch Book Giveaway

October 22, 2014 by Holly Yzquierdo 7 Comments

If you have a kid with food allergies you’ve probably already heard of The No Biggie Bunch. If you haven’t you are in for a treat!

Last month I went to the Food Allergy Bloggers Conference and bought the whole No Biggie Bunch Collection. They were sold out of a couple of the books so they had to be shipped to me. There was an error and I got sent an extra copy of Trade-or-Treat Halloween. I emailed the No Biggie Bunch headquarters and asked if they would like me to mail it back or if I could give it to a reader. Guess what, I’m doing a giveaway and one of you is going to win this book! You will love it!

I’ve been wanting these books since I learned about them last summer. This one, Trade-or-Treat Halloween follows the No Biggie Bunch as they go trick or treating. The kids talk about their food allergies and what they need to do with their candy. I’m not going to give all of the details away.

Since Halloween is almost here this is going to be a quick giveaway and will end Friday at midnight (AZ time). I’ll email the winner Saturday, they will have 24 hours to respond or I’ll pick a new winner. I want to mail this book out on Monday morning!

Since I’m paying for shipping this giveaway is for US only. I’m sorry to all of my Canadian readers. I got some shipping quotes and it is VERY expensive. I’ll try to make it up to you one day!

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You can also buy the books from the No Biggie Bunch website or from Amazon! In addition to The No Biggie Bunch Trade-or-Treat Halloween you should also check out The No Biggie Bunch Peanut-Free Tea for Three, The No Biggie Bunch Sports-Tastic Birthday Party
and The No Biggie Bunch Dairy-Free Dino-Licious Dig. If you have Amazon Prime shipping is free.

This page contains affiliate links.

The Elimination Diet Workbook GIVEAWAY

July 30, 2014 by Holly Yzquierdo 30 Comments

Yesterday I wrote about allergies, intolerances and sensitivities. There is often confusion, dare I say frustration and misunderstanding when it comes to this world. Yes, those living with food allergies (and intolerances) often feel like they are in their own world that doesn’t make sense to those on outside.

Because we live in that world I am always on the lookout for information and products that make living with food allergies easier. When I find things I like I try to tell you about it. I spend way too much time reading books, researching lunch boxes and medical ID bracelets along with lots of other items. If you find good stuff feel free to email me about it.

One of my recent discoveries is The Elimination Diet Workbook: A Personal Approach to Determining Your Food Allergies by Maggie Moon. I was given a free copy to review and a copy to giveaway.

This Book Is Not For

This book is not for someone who has experienced anaphylaxis or children! It does not cure food allergies but it can help you understand which foods may be making you sick. The author strongly encourages people to seek medical guidance and use this to supplement information from their doctor.

Allergies and Intolerances

I learned a lot about food allergies from this book. It goes into a lot of detail on the common food allergies (think big 8 plus nickel, corn, banana/latex) and food intolerances that I wasn’t really familiar with like sulfites, benzoates, tartrazine, monosodium glutamate, lactose, and others. Each item discussed is written as a stand-alone section (within a chapter) explaining the allergen and how and where you would come into contact with it, what typical reactions could look like, how to diagnose an allergy or intolerance, and how to get the nutrients you could be missing after eliminating the offending food.

The Elimination Diet

The book walks you through how to prepare for an elimination diet and helps you determine what type of elimination diet is right for you. It’s important not to rush the process. As you eliminate foods then later add them back in you should be able to get a clear picture of which foods are causing problems.

For example, I noticed when I would eat Italian food I would feel bad. Headaches, achy joints, and other random symptoms. I assumed I had a problem with wheat, after all my son had a known wheat allergy. I later learned that I have an intolerance to basil (among other things). Since I would eat wheat pasta and basil together I blamed the wheat without thinking about the basil. By eliminating wheat and still experiencing the same symptoms I can deduce that wheat wasn’t the problem.

Meal Plans and Recipes

This book stresses the importance of meal planning. You know I completely agree the Meal Planning is important and everyone can benefit from it.

They try to make it easy for you by including meal plans (and recipes) you can follow but they include a lot of meat and would not work for us. Since I’m a Meal Planning Extraordinaire (self-proclaimed) I can create a Meal Plan that would work for me but you may need a little help if you are a meal planning novice.

Helpful Tips and Worksheets

There is also a lot of helpful information to help you avoid foods that make you sick. For example, if you need to avoid corn this book has two pages of foods that may contain corn including cough drops, luncheon meats, spaghetti sauce, etc.

The Elimination Diet Workbook takes a lot of the guess-work out of navigating an elimination diet to discover food allergies. I think it is a great first step for those who have experience chronic systems with no known cause.

Win a Copy

You can win a free copy of The Elimination Diet Workbook: A Personal Approach to Determining Your Food Allergies by entering this Rafflecopter Giveaway. This is open to residents in US and Canada. The winner will be notified by email.

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I am not a medical professional and do not give medical advice. Seek help from a medical professional if you are ill.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book to review. This page may contain affiliate links.

Food Allergies, Intolerances, and Sensitivities

July 29, 2014 by Holly Yzquierdo 5 Comments

If you suffer from seasonal allergies, hives, eczema, digestive issues, painful joints, chronic headaches, reoccurring ear infections or a host of other issues you could have food allergies, food intolerances or food sensitivities.

Food Allergies, Food Intolerances, and Food Sensitivities

Food Allergies are characterized by an abnormal or inappropriate response to specific foods that are triggered by the immune system. These range from mild responses to life threatening anaphylaxis. Food allergies can only be managed by avoiding the food.

Food Intolerances are generally less severe than food allergies but can cause similar symptoms. Typically food intolerances are thought to cause mostly digestive issues. Food intolerances are often related to the amount of food eaten. For example someone with a wheat intolerance may be able to eat a cookies but would become sick from a large bowl of pasta.

Food Sensitivities means a person has a negative reaction to a food but that reaction could vary with each exposure. Food sensitivities are largely misunderstood. Food intolerances and food sensitivities are usually grouped together.

Aren’t They the Same Thing?

People often use the terms food allergy, food intolerance and food sensitivity interchangeably. Many people in the food allergy community get very upset if people say allergy instead of intolerance. While I understand that they are different I don’t get upset. I have a dairy intolerance, if I eat something that contains a lot of hidden dairy I could be in severe pain for days. Dairy won’t kill me but it will cause serious joint pain that will prevent me from taking care of my kids.

If you suspect a food allergy or intolerance it’s important to find a doctor and/or an allergist who can help you learn the extent of your issues. Medical professionals often take food allergies seriously but not all understand or believe in food intolerance. It’s important to find a doctor that will listen to you and help you make sense of your symptoms.

The Giveaway

Tomorrow I’ll have a very special giveaway for The Elimination Diet Workbook: A Personal Approach to Determining Your Food Allergies. If you have a lingering feeling something in your diet may be making you sick check back for my full review and your chance to win your own copy.

If you are interested in allergy-friendly recipes check out my Recipe Page! All recipes are dairy and egg-free. Most recipes are wheat and nut-free as well.

Top 8 Allergen-Free Cookbook

Don’t forget that the Top 8 Allergen-Free Cookbook is available for only $2.99 for a very limited time. All proceeds will benefit Gabriel Schock who is at Mayo Clinic due to food allergies. This book contains 40 delicious recipes!

You can also read more about my son’s Adventure in Allergies. We see an allergist on Thursday so I’m sure we will be updating it soon.

Do you (or someone in your family) deal with food allergies, intolerances or sensitivities?

This post contains affiliate links.

Guest Post at Beauty Through Imperfection

June 24, 2014 by Holly Yzquierdo Leave a Comment

I recently shared an open letter about our recently flight with my peanut allergic son. Food allergies are huge part of our life. If you or someone you love has food allergies you know how it touches every part of your life.

Today I’m honored to be a guest at Beauty Through Imperfection and share a little more about life as a food allergy momma. I would be thrilled if you would click over and read it. I’m also sharing tips that will help YOU help food allergy momma’s in your neighborhood.

If you are a food allergy momma feel free to leave your top tips in the comments.

An Open Letter: To the Couple eating nuts on our flight

June 12, 2014 by Holly Yzquierdo 39 Comments

This post was written about our recent trip and flight but the feelings behind it play out every day for families with food allergies. I’ll admit that it’s tone is much more serious and maybe even desperate. It was written from a mother’s heart. I was sitting across the aisle from the rest of my family and this letter details what I observed.

To the couple eating nuts sitting behind my son on the airplane,

You don’t know me. I’m the hyper-vigilant momma on board your flight who is more than slightly nervous you may kill her child. I saw you hide your ginormo bag of nuts when the flight attendant came over the speaker and announced that “a person with a peanut allergy” was on board. That person is my son. He is sitting directly in front of you.

I also saw you hide the bag of nuts every time I looked back at you and AGAIN when the flight attendant asked you to put them away.

You know it’s wrong or you wouldn’t hide it. Trust me, I have little kids, they don’t hide what they are doing unless they are breaking the rules.

Did you hear that? It was my heart pounding, not because of the “flight” but because of your snack. What if my son has a reaction, or worse?

A food allergy momma doesn’t just see a bag of nuts, granola or candy bar. We see a loaded weapon.

I know that may sound a little dramatic to you. Every 3 minutes someone experiences an allergic reaction that sends them to the ER. What do you think happens if you can’t get to the hospital?

The airline (Thank you Southwest) was nice enough to offer nut-free snacks. From where I’m sitting I could see you have several other bags as well. As a Food Allergy Momma I had a whole backpack full of snacks I would have happily given you for the added peace of mind of keeping my son safe.

I may be a little extra cautious. The night before the flight my son’s face was covered in hives, his face was swollen and red from an unknown allergen. He has never had that reaction. I wondered if his immune system is overburdened already.

My husband thinks I’m crazy for never deleting pictures or videos of my kids. This is why. One person, not following the rules, could cause me to lose my baby. I’ll admit, I didn’t give food allergies that much consideration before I found out my kid was allergic. However I was always accommodating. I would ask questions and go out of my way to keep people safe, I call it being considerate or human.

In case you are wondering, it’s not the sight of peanuts that will hurt people with food allergies (hiding them doesn’t make a difference). For some people just being in the same room as a peanut will cause their throat to swell shut. Other people have to eat them to have a reaction. We don’t yet know the severity of my son’s allergy. He seems ok when in the same room as peanuts. The last time he ate something with peanuts his face and neck turned red, he started crying, and scratching his neck. He was 1-year-old and we’ve been diligent to keep him away from nuts.

One in 13 children have food allergies. There is no cure. I don’t want my son to be a statistic. More than 200 deaths occur each year due to food allergies. We carry two Epi Pen’s everywhere we go. Epi Pen’s are life saving during an allergic reaction (anaphylaxis). If you watch the news you know that some people don’t survive even when they use multiple Epi Pens.

My son and the 6 million other children affected with food allergies are delightful, precious, beautiful, talented and brilliant. They deserve to grow up without fear of getting sick or dying. Even though my son is only 3 years old he is very careful about what he eats. I hate to say it but he has had bouts of anxiety about food. Sadly, that anxiety keeps him safe.

We are not so different, you appear to be health conscious and natural minded people. I’m only guessing that because of your snack choices like nuts, seaweed and dry roasted veggies. We may even shop at the same stores or read the same blogs.

Truthfully I don’t think you were being malicious. I think that you just didn’t realize how dangerous your actions could have been. My hope is that now you do. Next time please realize that my son’s life is more important than your snack.

Sincerely,

Holly, a food allergy momma

No Biggie Bunch Book Giveaway