Crunchy Oat Cookies and other Worry Free Treats

Worry Free Treats is a recipe book, written by Vera Zakher, that contains more than 60 egg-free, milk-free, nut-free and peanut-free sweet treats. Vera has been a tremendous help to my family and I as we've taken on the challenge of going meat free this month. Her book, Worry Free Treats, in which all recipes are prepared from vegetable based products, is also vegetarian friendly. Vera has aloud me to share with you her Crunchy Oat Cookies recipe. If you enjoy a crunchy cookie these are very good and extremely easy to make. My kids and I made them a few days ago and I have to admit, they where gone by the next afternoon.

CRUNCHY OAT COOKIES (24 Cookies)

Crunchy Oat Cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 3 tbsp. soy beverage mixed with 1 tsp. vinegar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup rolled oats

PREPARATION
• Preheat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C) or to 325 °F (160 °C) for a convection oven.
• Mix the ingredients in the order of the recipe until smooth.
• Take 1 spoonful of the dough in your hand and flatten into a cookie shape.
• Bake for 11 to 13 minutes. The baking time is the same for a convection oven.
• Transfer to a plate to cool

Vera's Delicious Brownies

Visit Vera's website www.worryfreetreats.com for more allergy and vegetarian friendly recipes such as Vera's Delicious Brownies.

Worry Free Treats is also available on Amazon.com

Update on Florida School and Peanut Allergy Regulations

Despite the protests and what I, and many, have considered to be harassment and bullying of a peanut-allergic first grader by her classmates parents, a Florida school is standing behind their peanut allergy regulations. These regulations set in place to protect the peanut allergic girl require students at Edgewater Elementary to wash their hands and take a drink of water before entering the classroom and after lunch because of the severity of the girls allergy. The school has also banned all peanut products, eliminated snacks and outside food from being brought into the classroom, and makes an effort to wipe down desks with Clorox wipes periodically throughout the day. Unfortunately some of these regulations have been misconstrued by both the media and other parents at the school.

The following is the list of accommodations set in place by the school that the Bailey's are aware of. These where given to me by Tracey Bailey, the girls mother, via Food Allergy Families Facebook page.
1. No nut products in classroom
2. Kids wash their hands and wipe face off with water or take a drink from water fountain but not rinse mouth out or wipe with Clorox wipe. In the morning & after lunch
3. our child does not eat in the cafeteria.
4. She carries an epi pen on her at all times
5. She is granted access to the clinic whenever she is in need of medical assistance.
6. She is not allowed in cafeteria without one of her parents present.
7. No faculty will give her food without prior permission from parents.
8. Her classroom is nut free

According to Tracey, "This is it! So EVERYTHING else is either a lie or we did not know it was happening!"

I have to say I was very shocked and confused by allergist Dr. Scott Sicherer's comments in yesterdays article by Fox News saying, “There are many guidelines on how to manage food allergies in schools… things like no food sharing. There are plenty of relatively simple things the school could put in place that aren’t burdensome.” What? Does this mean he does not agree with the regulations in place? The smell of peanuts alone can trigger a deadly reaction for this girl. I have to disagree that something as simple as no food sharing would be enough to keep her safe.

The fact that these parents are taking an issue with the loss of education their kids are receiving from this makes me laugh. It has been stated that 30 minutes of classtime is wasted in hand washing and a sip of water. I find it hard to believe that these 30 minutes are going to take away any sort of academic achievement from these children. Come on people, its not Harvard Law School, its the FIRST GRADE! Is this girls life not worth a mere 30 minutes of their time? Judging by their parents, I would be willing to bet that some of these kids could use this experience as a lesson in humanity by teaching them that they are not the center of the universe but rather a part of it.

I applaud the school in their decision to continue their efforts in keeping the peanut-allergic girl safe stating that, “It may seem like an inconvenience but this student registered her disability at the beginning of the school year and we have to do these things to give her a safe learning environment.”

Read also, "Finding an Allergy Aware school" and "10 School Safety Tips for Children With Food Allergies: Insight From Food Allergy Parents, Experts & Advocates"

Harassment and Bullying of Peanut-Allergic Girl in Florida

The recent story of the young peanut-allergic girl in Florida being harassed and bullied by the parents, yes parents, of her fellow classmates just breaks my heart. I feel for the family and the child whom I can only imagine, having a food allergic son myself, already struggles with feelings of being "different". Food allergies are not something any child, or anyone for that matter, asks for. These "parents" should be ASHAMED of themselves!

I know that many of you are outraged, as am I, and want to reach out to this family in any way possible so I am sharing this post from The Allergic Kid blog in which you will find an update on the story, the appropriate contact information for voicing your opinions as well as a request from the girls mom. Please also feel free to leave any sort of words of encouragement for the family in the comment section below or on our facebook page for them to see. I know that your kind words are very much appreciated!

Shabtai Gourmet Gluten Free Review

Last week I received a package from Shabtai Gourmet, a gluten free bakery, containing several of their baked goods to review. Unfortunately these products all contained tree nuts. However, all of Shabtai's products are peanut free, gluten free, dairy free, soy free, corn free, and certified kosher. Their Florentine Lace Cookies and Bon Bons are egg free and kosher as well, both of which I had the opportunity to try. All of their products ingredients and nutrition information are available on their website at www.shabtai-gourmet.com

 

Because my son is allergic to nuts my husband and I waited till the kids went to bed before we dug in. Let me tell you, my husband was not the least bit disappointed that he didn't have to share with the kids, as desserts are his weakness!

The first night we tried the Florentine Lace Cookies, which ended up being my favorite out of all the goodies we tried. I love almond roca and this is the closest thing Ive had to it since we became a nut free home when my son was diagnosed with his allergy over two years ago. Gluten free, dairy free, peanut free, soy free, corn free, and awesome! Oh, and my husband enjoyed them too, but then he enjoys anything with the word cookie in it so he's a bit biased. Haha!

The following night we tried the Bon Bons. When I hear Bon Bon I think chocolate covered ice cream, but these where different. I would describe them as a thin chocolate cake like cookie, topped with creme and covered in chocolate. My husband, with his sweet tooth, liked them, but I on the other hand thought they where too sweet. They reminded me of these chocolate covered marshmallow cookies I used to get as a special treat when I was younger. And let me just warn you, the packaging is less then ideal on these ones and they are very messy!

Finally my husband and I tried the Swiss Chocolate Roll, a chocolate sponge cake rolled up with creme and covered in dark chocolate. This is also gluten free, dairy free, peanut free, soy free, corn free, and certified kosher. Again this was a little on the sweet side for me, but though a little dry my husband liked this as well. I think he hit the nail on the head when he said, "they taste like a Ding Dong".

I also received their Raspberry Roll, a sponge cake rolled up with raspberry jam and covered in coconut. This looked so good, but I unfortunately can't stand coconut so my husband, who works part time with a catering company, brought this in for the owner and another chef to try. Apparently I missed out on this one, they all agreed that the raspberry roll was awesome!

Visit Shabtai Gourmet Gluten Free for a complete list of products and retailers or to place an order online with $5.95 flat rate shipping on orders across the US!

Epi's and Oranges

If you are lucky, you probably have a few expired EpiPens laying around. We happened to have four of them recently. Yeah! Another year with no major reactions :) Now the question is, what to do with all those expired EpiPens? If you have never used one or its just been a while, you may want to consider practicing using an orange or a grapefruit.

Of course, if you have an EpiPen you are probably familiar with the training device that most likely came with your EpiPens. These devices can be useful and are ideal for practicing with young children or used for a quick review with the sitter, but there are some subtle differences between these trainers and the real thing.

If you do not own a training device, I would recommend getting one so that you are able to familiarize anyone at anytime with the use of you or your childs EpiPen. This is a great educational tool. If multiple trainers are needed, they can be purchased from Onespot Allergy for a small fee, or you can contact Dey Pharmaceuticals (manufacturer of EpiPen) at 1-800-869-9005 and request a free training device through their automated ordering system. Do to high demand, Dey asks that you limit your requests to only one or two trainers. This will also allow for faster delivery of your training device (usually within one week of ordering).

Differences between the EpiPen and the Training Device

• The EpiPen of course, is for single use only, whereas the training device can be used multiple times.

• Strong pressure is needed when using the EpiPen, as it is designed to be used directly through clothing such as heavy denim, while the trainer requires only moderate pressure.

• The EpiPen has a large "kick" as the needle presents itself and begins dispensing the medication. The trainer does not produce this kick-back.

• When the injection is complete the small window, used to view the solution of the EpiPen, will be obscured. This window is not present on the training device.

• A green or yellow label appears on the EpiPen and a blue label along with the words, "Training Devise" is present on the trainer which contains no needle.

How to practice using your expired EpiPen 

You will need either an orange or a large grapefruit. The thick skin of the orange is similar to the thigh muscle covered in heavy jean-like material, while the slightly thinner skin of a grapefruit resembles a thigh muscle either bare or covered with a lighter material.

• Hold the fruit securely against a flat surface.

• Remove the blue* safety release on your EpiPen and place the orange* tip gently against the area of the fruit where the needle will go as a way of visualizing your target spot.

• Keeping a firm grip on the orange/grapefruit and holding the EpiPen 2-3 inches from the fruit now, quickly and firmly push the orange* tip of your EpiPen against the fruit. Be prepared for the kick-back and listen for the click as the needle comes out of the orange* tip.

• Hold the EpiPen steady for approximately 10 seconds. Remember, the small window on the EpiPen should be obscured indicating the injection is complete.

• Remove carefully. The orange needle cover will extend to cover the needle. (Note: The older style EpiPen does not have a needle cover. After removal, the needle will be exposed with possible medication dripping from the tip. Return the EpiPen to its protective case. If you do not have the protective case a cork can be used to cover the needle.)

• Used EpiPens can be brought back to your physicians office for proper disposal. 

*The older style EpiPens will have a gray safety release and a black tip.

If you have several expired EpiPens, use them to educate family and friends. I recently brought in an orange for my son's teacher to practice using one of his expired EpiPens she had in the classroom. It's funny, people actually get pretty excited about doing this so take advantage, get people involved and enjoy the opportunity to teach!

Other related posts:
The cost of EpiPens

Girl Scout Cookies

It's that time of year again. Girl Scout cookies are everywhere! I wanted to share the manufacturing information I received for these popular cookies. Please share any additional information in the comments section below.

Girl Scout cookies are manufactured by two different companies depending upon your region, ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers. The manufacturer is labeled on the side of the cookie package. You can also determine the manufacturer for some of these cookies by the name of the cookie itself. At ABC Bakers, cookie names include Caramel Delites and Peanut Butter Patties, whereas Little Brownie Bakers refers to these same two cookies as Samoas and Tagalongs.

ABC Bakers are extremely knowledgeable about food allergies having worked with the Food Allergy Research & Resource Program in association with the University of Nebraska as well as partnering with the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN). Information is available on their website or you can call them at 1-800-221-1002.

Information for Little Brownie Bakers can also be found on their website. Be advised that all products from this manufacturer contain, milk, wheat and soy.

You may also be interested in "15 Cool Facts About Girl Scout Cookies".

Other related posts:  
Finally some answers from Silk
Food Allergens In Unexpected Places
Could your Duraflame be more then just a fire hazard?
Reminder in the midst of the Hostess recall
Energy/Enhancement Drinks and Milk Allergies 
Beware: The Maraschino Cherry

Beetle Juice: New Label Requirements for Foods And Cosmetics Containing Red Food Dye

Important labeling requirements have been made which will effect those with allergies to carmine, or red food dyes, and people who choose not to consume any or certain animals, such as vegetarians, vegans, and followers of certain religions. 

 

Deriving from the dried bodies of crushed beetle carcasses known as, Cochineal (Dactylopius coccus), parasites of the prickly pear cactus, Carmine and cochineal are natural red dyes found in many foods that are shades of red, pink, and purple. Sometimes termed "Natural Red #4", these dyes have been around for hundreds of years, but it wasn't until the 1990s that a preference for foods without synthetic ingredients had lead to increased use of these natural colors.

Neither carmine nor cochineal extract are Food and Drug Administration certifiable (synthetic) color additives which is why, up until now, they have been acknowledged as "color added", "artificial color added" or simply, "artificial color". In January 2009 the FDA passed a new regulation in which foods and cosmetics containing carmine and cochineal to be listed by name on the label, a regulation that became effective earlier this month.You can view the final rule here.

The use of carmine in foodstuffs has been discouraged by European food safety authorities and yet, the FDA considers them as safe food dyes even though they are causing anaphylaxis in some people as well as reports of hyperactivity. A request from the Center for Science in the Public Interest to require ingredient labels to explicitly state that carmine may cause severe allergic reactions and anaphylactic shock was declined by the FDA. 

A second request from the Center for Science in the Public Interest was also made to require ingredient labels to clearly state that carmine derived from insects was also declined by the FDA. Food industries were understandably against the idea of writing "insect based" on the label, thus they finally agreed to simply putting "carmine".

A Few Common Foods, Cosmetics and Drugs That May Contain Carmine:

Candy, Ice Cream, Fruit Juice, Yogurt, Artificial Crab/Lobster (Carmine cannot legally be added to meat products in the USA), Cherries, Liquor, Vitamins, Lipsticks, and Blush.