The world wasn’t exactly designed for food allergies. Well, that might be a bit harsh. Our society isn’t set-up for food allergies. Maybe that’s better? Maybe not. It still sounds pretty harsh. I don’t intend to be harsh. I really don’t.
But take a moment to think about it. Really think about your week. What did you do this week? What activities did you attend? Was there food involved those activities? Did you rush from event to event? Did you run through fast food or stop by your favorite spot to grab a quick bite? Did you cook at home? Run to the grocery store?
Do you see where I’m going with this? Everything in American society seems to include and/or revolve around food. This isn’t a BAD thing by no means. Part of what I love about being invited to go to parties or events is the food. I’ll be honest, I LOVE food. LOVE food. Let me say that one more time….I. LOVE. Food. Part of what makes me love food is the same thing that has me loving coffee. Well, beyond the caffeine.
I love the bond that comes with food. A party isn’t a party without food. No food, its like a quick drop-by to drop something off. Certainly not a party. Meeting friends at a resteraunt is way more enjoyable. Grabbing a cup of coffee at a local coffee shop, has to be fun. Right?
Society and tradition has us believing we can’t get together without food. But you see, what happens if you’re allergic to food. That one little thing everyone serves? Yeah. Depending on the circumstance, you get left out. Life changes immensely.
My challenge to anyone stumbling upon this little, insignificant entry is consider doing your next event without food. OR better yet, if you serve food. ASK about food allergies. Invite that person/family that NEVER gets invited to things because of their food allergies. MAKE a point to serve as much “safe food” as possible.
Because if you do, you will have made someone’s day a little easier. That person who you did just a little for, will be forever grateful. The emotional response is hard to explain, but TRUST me IT is 100% worth it.. To help someone feel less like the outsider, the problem, lonely, and all those other feelings you get when you’re the only one (or family) not invited. I promise, once you’ve done it once, you’ll realize its a simple task that has a HUGE impact.
Let’s all make the world a better place, one event at a time.
Happy Sunday! I love Sundays. They are usually a slower day in our house. We go to church, I make my menu for the next and I run to the store. Typically we don’t have kids’ activities and we get to spend time just hanging out as a family. I feel like as the world gets busier, its important to spend some time just being as a family. Do you have a day where you just get to be with your family?
Menu Plan
Monday: Tacos
Tuesday: Creamy Ranch Pork chops & rice
Wednesday: Out for supper
Thursday: Tuna Melts, Fries
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: Lunch: Sunbutter and jelly sandwiches, fruit
Supper: Sausage & Sweet Potato Soup
Sunday: Lunch: Leftovers
Supper: Whole chicken, Potatoes, corn
We go to midweek at our church on Wednesday. That starts at 6PM. Its kind-of a rush to pick the kids up from school and get to church. I had been packing the kids lunchables and some applesauce. But since the Little Guy can only eat 1 lunchable, its getting a little old. This week we are going to grab food on our way there. Unfortunately, we can’t do that every week so we need to find something else. Let me know if you have any ideas!
Are you menu planning? I’d love to check out your menu so feel free to share your link in the comments.
Good-evening folks! It was a crazy busy week last week. I started a new job which always makes things seem busier and more stressful. I’m hopeful this next week will run as smoothly as last week! My entry today will be short as 5:45 comes really early!
Here’s our menu plan for next week:
Menu Plan
Monday: Chicken Stir-fry and Rice
Tuesday: Apple Butter Pork Roast with Rice
Wednesday: Lunchables, applesauce and carrots
Thursday: Tacos
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: Lunch: Chicken nuggets and french fries
Super: Ham & Bean Soup
Sunday: Lunch: Leftovers
Supper: Whole chicken (instapot), potatoes, and Corn
You may be asking why we have lunchables for dinner on Wednesday nights. That would be a fair question. We have church on Wednesday nights. Since we have food allergies, grabbing fast food is a bit more limited. So, we just do lunchables and I try to make it seem a bit healthier by serving applesauce and a veggie.
Do you have a night you are running from picking-up the kids to an activity? What do you do for food that night with consideration of food allergies? I would love to hear from you as I’m certain eventually lunchables will get boring!
Do you menu plan? Drop your link into the comments so we can check-out your menu!
A few weeks ago, The Little Guy had his follow-up appointment with his allergist. It really was an incredible appointment. We did the usual history and answering questions about recent allergic reactions. We discussed the BIG wins of being able to go on vacation and actually eat out EVERY meal. That was HUGE for us. We actually vacationed like a typical/normal family.
After all the housekeeping, we talked about expectations and goals. We talked about one of The Little Guy’s goals was to be able to get wheat back. We talked about how far The Little Guy had come. She also stated for the first time EVER that she felt pretty positive he would outgrow ALL of his allergies. Yes you read that correct. My little allergic baby, may some day NOT be an allergic baby!
Following his appointment we got even better news! He will be doing a wheat challenge in December! He was very excited but disappointed. Disappointed because he wanted to do it earlier! We will be impatiently, patiently waiting for this day to come. We will also be praying that it goes well and he has a safe and successful wheat challenge.
The last two weeks of my part-time work life went fast! The kids are back in school and life is crazy and busy. My son is playing soccer which he loves and my daughter is dancing which she also loves. I’m also started working full-time this week outside of the house. Prior to this I had a work at home job. So, I think I made the case for us being busy!
At any rate, I’m looking for menu ideas that are not overly complicated but bring in a more complicated feel…if that makes any sense. Basically, I want to be able to make something quick but not feed my kids chicken nuggets and french fries. I’m certianly not there yet…after all, we’re eating tuna melts and french fries for supper tonight.
Menu 7
Monday: Tuna Sandwiches/Melts, french fries, green beans
Tuesday: Loose meat sandwiches, fruit cups
Wednesday: lunchables, Applesauce, carrots
Thursday: Lunch meat sandwiches, chips, fruit
Friday: Pizza, salad
Saturday: Lunch: fish sticks and french fries
Supper: Mac-n-cheese, green beans, chicken
That’s our menu for this week. What’s on your menu? I’d love to hear from you.
This week school starts! I’m mostly excited about the beginning of the school year. I’m in a different place this year for the beginning of the school year. I typically a working full-time and the kids are going to daycare. So really, the transition into school just consists of going to school instead of daycare. This year though, I’m working part-time and the kids are not going to daycare. Being essentially a stay-at-home mom this last 1/2 of summer has me somewhat conflicted about the start of the school year. I’m gonna miss those buggers but yet am really looking forward to some quiet.
My menu plan will go back to suppers. Breakfast during the school year depends on what we have that’s quick and easy and how much time the kids have after getting dress. This means its a lot of toast, cereal, oatmeal, etc.
Supper Menu for 8/21
Monday: Chicken with chicken seasoning, Mashed potatoes and Corn on the Cob
Tuesday: Tacos
Wednesday: Pasta with tomato sauce
Thursday: Eggs and Toast
Friday: Pizza, salad
Saturday: Lunch- Beanie/weanies Supper- Bar-B-Que Chicken
Sunday: Lunch- Leftovers Supper-Grill-out hamburgers, Grilled Veggies, potato salad
That’s it. Nothing to fancy this week. I’m hoping now that house guests are gone and I’m feeling better my menu will be a bit more excited next week.
What’s on your menu? I’d love to hear what you’re eating this week!
We had a great week last week. We enjoyed the sunshine almost every day. We took one day and went to the Omaha Zoo. It was a lot of fun. If you’ve not gone to the Omaha Zoo, I highly recommend it. Assuming of course, you live near Omaha or are driving nearby.
This week I have three days to hangout with the kids and am not certain what we’re doing yet. But I’m sure I’ll come up with something fun.
I’m struggling a bit coming up with some variety. Its been two years since I’ve menu planned. I’m in desperate need of some new ideas. This is especially true for lunch. I’ve always worked full-time. So having the kids all the time coming up with decent lunches that won’t take a lot of time to make, is a bit challenging. I’d love to hear what lunches you’ve made and have been a success with your family.
Menu Planning
Monday
AM: Almond Butter Toast with honey
Lunch: Chicken Salad, French Fries, Veggies
Supper: Pot Roast w/veggies
Tuesday
AM: Muffins
Lunch: Sack lunch in the park
Supper: Tacos
Wednesday
AM: Cereal
Lunch:Grilled Cheese, Tator Tots, Fruit
Supper: Beef & Broccoli
Thursday
AM: Cereal
Lunch: Chef Salads
Supper: Chicken thighs, Baked Potatoes, Corn
Friday
AM: Smoothies
Lunch: Almond butter sandwiches, Fruit, Yogurt
Supper: Pizza w/salad
Saturday
AM: French Toast
Lunch: Beanie Weanies
Supper: Spaghetti
Sunday
AM: Doughnuts
Lunch: Left-overs
Supper Grilled Bratwurst, Potato Salad, Fruit
So that’s it! Nothing too great. I did get an Instant Pot recently so I’ve really enjoyed experimenting with it. I’ve put a couple of items on this menu which will use it.
I have a couple of recipes I’ve tried in the last couple of weeks I will share this week.
I’d love to see your menu. Please feel free to share a link to your menu plan or just share it in the comments.
Wow this week went fast! We kept ourselves pretty busy this week with a trip to our local zoo, the botanical center to see the corpse flower, music lessons, and cleaning out some of our clothes. It was incredibly, hot this week so I did not really follow my menu plan last week. Hitting 100 a couple of times did not have me wanting to turn on the oven or even cook.
Next week, we’ve got a slower schedule and it looks like we will be a few degrees cooler. I’m hoping that’s correct.
Menu 7/23
Monday
AM: Muffins
Lunch: Sack Lunch
Supper: Pasta with meat sauce
Tuesday:
AM: Smoothies
Lunch: Fish sticks, Fruit, Fries
Supper: Pancakes and eggs
Wednesday:
AM: Cinnamon Toast
Lunch: Hot dogs, Salad, Fruit
Supper: Chicken Stir-fry
Thursday:
AM: Almond Butter Toast w/honey
Lunch: Chicken Salad
Supper: Salsa Chicken
Friday:
AM: Cereal
Lunch: Grilled Cheese, Applesauce, Jell-o Cup
Supper: Pizza
Saturday:
AM: Smoothie
Lunch: Beanie Weanies
Supper: Lemon Chicken with rice
Sunday:
AM: Cereal
Lunch: Leftovers
Supper: Grilling out
Well, that's it! Nothing to exciting but I am trying out a few new things.
I also made biscuits and gravy last week and will post that recipe soon.
What's on your menu this week? Share a link to your menu plan.
I have two kids, one with food allergies and one without. My eldest has no food allergies and my youngest allergies have improved greatly. He is now down to only two main allergies: Wheat and Nuts/Peanuts. Its amazing to have seen his progress.
I often talk about our food allergies and the struggles with food and finding food when away from home. I try to share a balance of struggles and successes. Sometimes I find this balance hard. Its easy to look at the negatives and a bit harder some days to find a positive.
We were out and about earlier this week and it was lunch time. We’d stopped by Target for the ICE waters, they were on sale for $1.00 and my kids were asking for one. I was starving so thought I’d look for something quick we could eat that would save me from cooking. Unfortunately, the Target wasn’t a Super Target so it wasn’t looking overly hopeful.
As we wandered, we found ourselves in the Lunchables aisle. My daughter suggested we get one. I gave my usual reply, “No. We need to find something Little Guy safe”. She excitedly said, “Mommie there’s a Lunchables he can have!” After a few times back and forth, I processed what she said. And, she was correct! He can have exactly 1 Lunchables.
The Nacho Lunchables is safe. It does not contain wheat or nuts. Its basically corn tortilla chips and salsa with cheese dip. So it works for his allergies. We were all super excited. Little Guy was excited to try out something new. He wanted to wait to eat until he got home while his sister ate in the car. After eating it, he decided the salsa was better than the cheese sauce.
I know, to the average kid, eating a Lunchables isn’t a huge deal. Its hardly blog worthy. For some its even a monthly, weekly, or daily substitution for school lunch. But for a little guy who has grown up with many limitations its exciting to eat something other kids eat and enjoy.
You see a simple Lunchables is so much more than a Lunchables. Its an opportunity to be a typical (because I’m trying hard to stop using normal) kid. To blend into the background instead of to stick out. To be like his friends. A Lunchables is also freedom. If we’re out and about and lunch time hits. We now have another option to run into any grocery store and grab him lunch. Prior to this, we had to be selective which grocery stores we stopped at in order to increase our chances of finding food for him. Then, we had to search for something that would work. This is simplified. This is easier and faster.
So yeah, this is so much more than a Lunchables. And we are beyond excited about this.
I am a nurse practitioner by profession and mother of two wonderful children, a daughter and a son. I am a Christ follower who am doing my best to follow Jesus and point my kids in that same direction. I'm very lucky to be married to the love of my life and a man who is incredibly supportive to all my crazy ideas. I enjoy hanging out with family, cooking, baking, and reading to name a few. I am working toward self-sufficiency for my family. Life around here can get a bit crazy and busy but it leaves my heart full. I am grateful for every day God grants me.
Food Allergy Experience 