I thought I'd share some of our experiences at the places we have found to eat out. Granted the list is very short, but we have yet to have problems at any of the following:
Teds Montana Grill
Teds Montana Grill makes everything from scratch when you order it. They offer up Buffalo (for those who are BPI and not just MSPI) as well as Cow and they use Canola Oil in their fryers. This means that platter of fries, side of veggies, patty of meat, and/or steak are all either safe or can be made safe here.
The prices are about on par for a middle to high end lunch/dinner (expect about $6/person at lunch and $8-10/person for dinner). Kids of course are less expensive.
Every time we have been to a Teds the cooks have gone out of their way to make sure Chance gets a good helping of quality food. They even custom make him baked apples for desert (nope, its not on their menu, but that's how much they care about your experience).
Chick Fil A
Ok, can't believe I'm able to recommend a fast food chain, but I can. Chick Fil A uses Peanut Oil for all of their frying and their french fries are made from potatoes (not that powder stuff other places use) thus the fries are safe (and the best fast food fries around if you ask me). The Grilled Chicken is also safe as long as you tell them when you order what your needs are. Make sure you let them know that its a "Glove Change Allergy Meal" so they can take the extra care necessary.
Texas Roadhouse
You can read about Texas Roadhouse in my previous post. It's been a long time since we have been to Texas Roadhouse, but I hear that they are still a quality restaurant. I have heard that it depends on the location as to the quality of your server, but the foods can still be made safe (if you have problems with your server, try asking for a manager they tend to listen better).
Red Robbin
Red Robin's patties can be made safe and so are their veggies if you ask them to make them special. Stay away from the fries and other sides though as they will give you problems. Pricing varies but expect to be in the $8 range.
Dairy Queen
HOT DOG! Seriously, Dairy Queen's hot dogs are safe, add on a bag of Lay's Potato Chips and a drink and you got yourself a $6 meal! I know the last place you would think of would be a Dairy Queen for MSPI safe foods, but truth is you can eat there from our experiences.
Noodle Company
Word of warning if you think Texas Roadhouse or Teds is expensive steer clear of the Noodle Company, average is about $10 a person (including drink). The quality is excellent and they have a special screen that pops up telling the cooks about your allergy needs (It's BIG AND RED so they can't miss it).
If your a light eater splitting a large serving is a great way to go then your cost is down to about $5 per person with a drink.
Denny's
Here in the Mid-west Denny's still exist (don't know about other places). We have eaten at them from Wisconsin to Texas and never had a problem. Breakfast is typically fruit and grits (with jelly mixed in for flavor), Lunch/Dinner depends on the location but they have always managed to find or create something (usually their fish is safe and they will bake it for you if you ask).
General Do's and Dont's
When we eat out we watch the place very carefully! If either my wife or I doesn't think the staff is paying attention we ask for a Manager, if that doesn't work we leave and go some place else.
Tipping (though in some peoples eyes dated) is a good thing, believe me if your wait and kitchen staff are doing their best for you they will appriciate a little something extra. Not to mention that they WILL REMEMBER you then next time (either way).
Taste and Test. If your going with a child with allergies make sure you taste the food, then test it on your child before letting them go to town.
STAY AWAY FROM CRAYONS! 90% of the companies on the market making Crayons are using Soy in their products, in fact the ONLY safe company we can find is Crayola. So, play it safe and stay away from the Crayons (we take our own with us).
Always ASK, REMIND and don't ASSume! Remember, your dealing with people and people forget or change, Recipes change, and so do base ingredients. So, make sure you reiterate and ask questions every time. It may safe you a trip to the Hospital.
Finally, "You catch more flies with Honey than with Salt" is what my mother always used to tell me. We have found that if you are kind to the staff they will go out of their way to help you out (most of the time). While if you demand and push your just asking for problems!
- Jeremy
And now, our typical (or not) recipe
Non-SourCream/Cream Cheese Frosting
1/3 Cup Shortening
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar *
t Tbl Cinnamon
3-4 Cups Powdered Sugar
1/4 Cup Apple Juice (100% works best)
Place shortening, Vanilla, and Vinegar into mixing bowl and mix with a stand or hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add in Cinnamon and mix thoroughly into existing ingredients. Alternate between adding Apple Juice and Powdered Sugar until you have the quantity and/or smoothness that you are looking for.
* You may have to adjust the amount of Vinegar depending on your taste, you can always start lower and add more later.
This recipe goes great on Apple Cake, Carrot Cake, or really any cake that your looking for that sour frosting taste.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Whole Foods and our bakery
In case you haven't heard about Whole Foods, they are "Whole Foods Market is the world's largest retailer of natural and organic foods, with stores throughout North America and the United Kingdom."
Now, typically statements like make me avoid a place like the plague (screams We are the Walmart of grocery stores). But, in this case Sarah and I took the time to go check them out.
We were amazed to find that their product line (at least we guess it's theirs) 365 is almost completely safe for Chance to have. I would go as far as to say that 80-90% of the products we found in the 365 line were completely MSPI safe. Add to this their great selection of safe sausage and meat selections and the minimal price increase is more than worth it.
Just to give you an idea, Chance is so intolerant to Soy that he can't even have products that are prepared with Soy Oil (some people with MSPI can). We found French Fries in a multitude of shapes, sizes, and styles that he could have and that didn't have an ingredient list a mile long.
Yep, we are sold on Whole Foods.
In other news. We have finally launched our bakery (Dough) from our house and are taking orders. The products section still has a lot of work to be completed, but it is online. The best way to place an order is to figure out what you want and give us a call (phone number is on the contact page). I will say that some of our products do contain Milk, but we have marked them with an * to let you know. Typically these are products that are quite obvious (cheesecake as an example).
Future updates will include the complete ingredients listing for each products online, online purchase, and online shipment calculation as long as we can support the growing costs of developing the site.
- Jeremy
Recipe for this post:
Apple Pancakes
1 cup flour
1 Tbs brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4-1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4-1/3 tsp cinnamon
1 cup apple juice or apple cider (we like cider)
1 egg
1 Tbs canola oil
Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and cinnamon) in a large bowl.
Mix egg and oil together in a separate container bringing to a complete emulsion. Add Apple Juice (Cider) to the egg and oil.
Pour the wet stuff into the dry stuff and stir about 10 times (till it just comes together). Let stand while you heat your skillet up to 300 Degrees Fahrenheit.
Depending on size, this recipe makes about 12-16 pancakes. They freeze well and reheat in the microwave in about 30 seconds.
Now, typically statements like make me avoid a place like the plague (screams We are the Walmart of grocery stores). But, in this case Sarah and I took the time to go check them out.
We were amazed to find that their product line (at least we guess it's theirs) 365 is almost completely safe for Chance to have. I would go as far as to say that 80-90% of the products we found in the 365 line were completely MSPI safe. Add to this their great selection of safe sausage and meat selections and the minimal price increase is more than worth it.
Just to give you an idea, Chance is so intolerant to Soy that he can't even have products that are prepared with Soy Oil (some people with MSPI can). We found French Fries in a multitude of shapes, sizes, and styles that he could have and that didn't have an ingredient list a mile long.
Yep, we are sold on Whole Foods.
In other news. We have finally launched our bakery (Dough) from our house and are taking orders. The products section still has a lot of work to be completed, but it is online. The best way to place an order is to figure out what you want and give us a call (phone number is on the contact page). I will say that some of our products do contain Milk, but we have marked them with an * to let you know. Typically these are products that are quite obvious (cheesecake as an example).
Future updates will include the complete ingredients listing for each products online, online purchase, and online shipment calculation as long as we can support the growing costs of developing the site.
- Jeremy
Recipe for this post:
Apple Pancakes
1 cup flour
1 Tbs brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4-1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4-1/3 tsp cinnamon
1 cup apple juice or apple cider (we like cider)
1 egg
1 Tbs canola oil
Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and cinnamon) in a large bowl.
Mix egg and oil together in a separate container bringing to a complete emulsion. Add Apple Juice (Cider) to the egg and oil.
Pour the wet stuff into the dry stuff and stir about 10 times (till it just comes together). Let stand while you heat your skillet up to 300 Degrees Fahrenheit.
Depending on size, this recipe makes about 12-16 pancakes. They freeze well and reheat in the microwave in about 30 seconds.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Traveling to Family with Allergies
This is something that comes up all of the time and in all Allergy Aware families lives. Its time to go to some location with your allergic child where you don't know what temptations will be around.
In our case it was this past mothers day weekend. We went to my parents house, where they "can't live without their milk and butter", for a family gathering. My Brother, his Daughter, my Sister, her Husband, my Parents and of course my family were all there.
We thought ahead, and knowing no stores or restaurants were near by that we could count on for safe foods, packed food with us. Everything we needed for chances diet was packed. We took Palm Shortening, Lard (boy did I get an earful for that one), rice milk, broth (chicken and beef), cookies, you name it we took it.
Of course, we come through the door and my mother is all over the boys. As we are unpacking, I look up to find my mother giving my son a glass of MILK! Ok, time to explain this all over again to the family and take the drink from Chance.
"A little bit wont hurt him" was the explanation I received from my mother with backing from my sister that "Mom just doesn't know better". A few hours of vomiting and calling later everything settles down and I've impressed enough on the family that they should listen to what we say about our children.
This is my first problem with traveling to family events, family are the worst around kids. They think that we are mean parents by not giving our children Milk and cookies (or whatever). Only when they see the evils that come from "bad foods" do they finally decide that they should listen. Thankfully enough, it wasn't enough for a rush trip to the hospital (1 hr drive away).
Problem is, that the next time we go to an event this will probably happen again even though we tell them constantly NOT TO FEED THE BABY! What do I have to do put a sign around his neck?
Anyways, on with my point. Friday night goes past and Saturday starts up. I'm out the door at 4:17 (see my twitter feed) to work a fishing tournament with my father. Wife and I are signed up for dinner.
We made Salisbury Steak with brown gravy. Get the food out and put everything on Chances plate for him (meat, potatoes, gravy, veggies, you name it). My mother comes around the corner grabs the plate throws it in the trash and scalds me for giving my child Milk!?!!
Ok, next up, explaining that our diet doesn't just consist of fruits and veggies. We have learned to modify our cooking style to appear "normal" to the outside world. Also comes the explanation that I do care about my children and know what's best for them to eat!
Of course, my wife is in the corner calming a very freaked out Chance (mom made a bit of a scene and he didn't like it, doesn't help that one of his favorite meals was sitting in the trash).
Re-feed Chance and explain how we cook (yet again) to everyone as they compliment us on some of the best Salisbury Steak (as they put it) they ever had.
For Sunday breakfast we made Biscuits and Gravy. Saturday night's little fiasco meant that no one called us on the gravy this time. Mom was on pins and needles by this time though and ever five minutes was asking "can he have juice, can he have the biscuits, can he have fruit?"
Of course, this went on through the day.
My point? My point is this, your family is your worst enemy. You place your trust in them to believe and follow your directions. At times they will, and at times they wont (a little can't hurt always goes through their minds). They are your family so you don't want to hurt their feelings, and they don't really want to hurt your children but don't understand what can go wrong. They don't live with it day in and day out, so they arn't used to it.
Take everything you need with you, and prove that you eat "normally". If the family doesn't like the idea make sure you have a backup (let them cook their own damned meals) and be ready for a "mistake" to happen. Your family doesn't live with it day in and day out like you do, they don't know better and even if they do they will forget.
- Jeremy
Todays Recipe - Brown Gravy
1 carton beef broth (safe of course)
1/4 cup flour
2 Tbs shortening (Palm Shortening from Spectrum is what we use)
Seasoning to taste
Melt shortening in pan over medium heat. Whisk flour into melted shortening until and continue over medium heat until blonde in color (slightly more brown than yellow/white).
Turn heat up to Medium High and add in 1/2 the carton of broth. It should sizzle, whisk fast until it starts to come together. Once it has add broth until desired thickness. Season to taste and serve warm.
My extended family loves this over "normal" gravy now! Guess they can live without milk :)
In our case it was this past mothers day weekend. We went to my parents house, where they "can't live without their milk and butter", for a family gathering. My Brother, his Daughter, my Sister, her Husband, my Parents and of course my family were all there.
We thought ahead, and knowing no stores or restaurants were near by that we could count on for safe foods, packed food with us. Everything we needed for chances diet was packed. We took Palm Shortening, Lard (boy did I get an earful for that one), rice milk, broth (chicken and beef), cookies, you name it we took it.
Of course, we come through the door and my mother is all over the boys. As we are unpacking, I look up to find my mother giving my son a glass of MILK! Ok, time to explain this all over again to the family and take the drink from Chance.
"A little bit wont hurt him" was the explanation I received from my mother with backing from my sister that "Mom just doesn't know better". A few hours of vomiting and calling later everything settles down and I've impressed enough on the family that they should listen to what we say about our children.
This is my first problem with traveling to family events, family are the worst around kids. They think that we are mean parents by not giving our children Milk and cookies (or whatever). Only when they see the evils that come from "bad foods" do they finally decide that they should listen. Thankfully enough, it wasn't enough for a rush trip to the hospital (1 hr drive away).
Problem is, that the next time we go to an event this will probably happen again even though we tell them constantly NOT TO FEED THE BABY! What do I have to do put a sign around his neck?
Anyways, on with my point. Friday night goes past and Saturday starts up. I'm out the door at 4:17 (see my twitter feed) to work a fishing tournament with my father. Wife and I are signed up for dinner.
We made Salisbury Steak with brown gravy. Get the food out and put everything on Chances plate for him (meat, potatoes, gravy, veggies, you name it). My mother comes around the corner grabs the plate throws it in the trash and scalds me for giving my child Milk!?!!
Ok, next up, explaining that our diet doesn't just consist of fruits and veggies. We have learned to modify our cooking style to appear "normal" to the outside world. Also comes the explanation that I do care about my children and know what's best for them to eat!
Of course, my wife is in the corner calming a very freaked out Chance (mom made a bit of a scene and he didn't like it, doesn't help that one of his favorite meals was sitting in the trash).
Re-feed Chance and explain how we cook (yet again) to everyone as they compliment us on some of the best Salisbury Steak (as they put it) they ever had.
For Sunday breakfast we made Biscuits and Gravy. Saturday night's little fiasco meant that no one called us on the gravy this time. Mom was on pins and needles by this time though and ever five minutes was asking "can he have juice, can he have the biscuits, can he have fruit?"
Of course, this went on through the day.
My point? My point is this, your family is your worst enemy. You place your trust in them to believe and follow your directions. At times they will, and at times they wont (a little can't hurt always goes through their minds). They are your family so you don't want to hurt their feelings, and they don't really want to hurt your children but don't understand what can go wrong. They don't live with it day in and day out, so they arn't used to it.
Take everything you need with you, and prove that you eat "normally". If the family doesn't like the idea make sure you have a backup (let them cook their own damned meals) and be ready for a "mistake" to happen. Your family doesn't live with it day in and day out like you do, they don't know better and even if they do they will forget.
- Jeremy
Todays Recipe - Brown Gravy
1 carton beef broth (safe of course)
1/4 cup flour
2 Tbs shortening (Palm Shortening from Spectrum is what we use)
Seasoning to taste
Melt shortening in pan over medium heat. Whisk flour into melted shortening until and continue over medium heat until blonde in color (slightly more brown than yellow/white).
Turn heat up to Medium High and add in 1/2 the carton of broth. It should sizzle, whisk fast until it starts to come together. Once it has add broth until desired thickness. Season to taste and serve warm.
My extended family loves this over "normal" gravy now! Guess they can live without milk :)
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Potato Salad and Brianna's Dressings
Enough rants and raves about FF joints for a bit. Today I wanted to talk about a great Dressing ling we found a while back (some time in January). Its called Brianna's Dressings (http://www.briannassaladdressing.com/), if you haven't heard of them or tried them you should. In fact I'll give you a recipe that Sarah and I love to give them a try with at the end of this posting.
When Sarah and I found out that Chance couldn't have anything with Milk or Soy in it we were lost at first. It took us quite a bit of time to figure out how to modify our cooking, purchasing, and eating habits to match the diet that is a necessity to his health. Many hours were spent searching the isles of our local grocery stores (big thanks to the HyVee Nutritionist as she really stepped up and aided us in our searches).
One of the things we though he would have to do without was most types of salad dressings, in fact we couldn't hardly find any that he could have (they all had either Milk, Soy, or a hidden Soy derivative) in them. At our wits end I read the back of a Brianna's Dressing bottle one day and found that they did two things for me: First they clearly marked ALL of their ingredients and second they only used Milk in dressings that absolutely required it (not many). Reading their line I found at least 4 that night that Chance could have. Purchased two (as a starting point) and took them home. The salad was great, but the dressings are what blew my mind! Seriously, these are the best dressings I have ever tasted.
I contacted Brianna's using their published contact form saying just how impressed with their product. Didn't expect any response, but instead got a very detailed and personal response (including some swag that was actually useful).
Longer story short, we use Brianna's for almost everything now and after some learning we have found that we can make everything from an excellent Coleslaw to some of the best Potato Salad you ever had.
Everyone should try Brianna's and the recipes on their site. Again big thumbs up guys (and gals)! And thanks for the top notch products that honestly tell you whats included.
- Jeremy
Our Favorite Potato Salad
This isn't a complete recipe with exact amounts as we find that it depends on our mood as to how much we put in, but this is the basic that is easy to expand:
5-6 medium red potato's
1 cup Brianna's Dijon Honey Mustard
1/4cup Fresh Green Onion's (of course you can cut this down if you like)
5-6cloves Baked Garlic (just take a head of garlic and bake it in the oven at 350 until umpshis)
1tsp+1tsp Paprika
2-4Tbs Yellow Mustard (your choice)
Fresh Parsley and other herbs to taste
Cube and boil the potatoes till they are fork tender (meaning they don't resist a fork too much, about how you would expect them in tater salad).
While your boiling your potatoes; chop (mince, dice, whatever) the garlic and onions. Add them to a small bowl along with the herbage. Give this all a stir to bring it together (its easier if you stir before you add wet stuff). Add the Dijon Honey Mustard, Yellow Mustard, 1tsp of Paprika, and any other spices you so choose. Stir this all until it comes together getting a good coating on all of the herbage, onions, and garlic. You will have to adjust the mustard to your likes, but remember that the tastes come out the longer the salad sits.
Bring the dressing mixture and the potatoes together with a large rubber spatula and place in the fridge. Let this sit at least overnight for the best flavor. You can eat it right away but it's like a fine wine, it gets better over time (well not too much time).
Stays good for about a week (+/- a few days depending on the potatoes).
Before serving sprinkle the top with more Paprika for that finished look. Everyone so far has loved it!
When Sarah and I found out that Chance couldn't have anything with Milk or Soy in it we were lost at first. It took us quite a bit of time to figure out how to modify our cooking, purchasing, and eating habits to match the diet that is a necessity to his health. Many hours were spent searching the isles of our local grocery stores (big thanks to the HyVee Nutritionist as she really stepped up and aided us in our searches).
One of the things we though he would have to do without was most types of salad dressings, in fact we couldn't hardly find any that he could have (they all had either Milk, Soy, or a hidden Soy derivative) in them. At our wits end I read the back of a Brianna's Dressing bottle one day and found that they did two things for me: First they clearly marked ALL of their ingredients and second they only used Milk in dressings that absolutely required it (not many). Reading their line I found at least 4 that night that Chance could have. Purchased two (as a starting point) and took them home. The salad was great, but the dressings are what blew my mind! Seriously, these are the best dressings I have ever tasted.
I contacted Brianna's using their published contact form saying just how impressed with their product. Didn't expect any response, but instead got a very detailed and personal response (including some swag that was actually useful).
Longer story short, we use Brianna's for almost everything now and after some learning we have found that we can make everything from an excellent Coleslaw to some of the best Potato Salad you ever had.
Everyone should try Brianna's and the recipes on their site. Again big thumbs up guys (and gals)! And thanks for the top notch products that honestly tell you whats included.
- Jeremy
Our Favorite Potato Salad
This isn't a complete recipe with exact amounts as we find that it depends on our mood as to how much we put in, but this is the basic that is easy to expand:
5-6 medium red potato's
1 cup Brianna's Dijon Honey Mustard
1/4cup Fresh Green Onion's (of course you can cut this down if you like)
5-6cloves Baked Garlic (just take a head of garlic and bake it in the oven at 350 until umpshis)
1tsp+1tsp Paprika
2-4Tbs Yellow Mustard (your choice)
Fresh Parsley and other herbs to taste
Cube and boil the potatoes till they are fork tender (meaning they don't resist a fork too much, about how you would expect them in tater salad).
While your boiling your potatoes; chop (mince, dice, whatever) the garlic and onions. Add them to a small bowl along with the herbage. Give this all a stir to bring it together (its easier if you stir before you add wet stuff). Add the Dijon Honey Mustard, Yellow Mustard, 1tsp of Paprika, and any other spices you so choose. Stir this all until it comes together getting a good coating on all of the herbage, onions, and garlic. You will have to adjust the mustard to your likes, but remember that the tastes come out the longer the salad sits.
Bring the dressing mixture and the potatoes together with a large rubber spatula and place in the fridge. Let this sit at least overnight for the best flavor. You can eat it right away but it's like a fine wine, it gets better over time (well not too much time).
Stays good for about a week (+/- a few days depending on the potatoes).
Before serving sprinkle the top with more Paprika for that finished look. Everyone so far has loved it!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Don't always believe your allergist
I've talked with many families in my local community about our son and MSPI. In many cases the story is the same;
This is due to the fact that a Food Intolerance doesn't affect the entire system and instead is a form of Gastroenterology (a disorder of the stomach, intestines, gallbladder, etc). This means that only a Gastroenterologist can diagnose these problems.
This testing usually requires an Upper or Lower GI were a die or camera is sent though the system that allows the specialist to view what is going on within the system. In the case of our son we didn't want to have these procedures ran just yet (hard to put a 2 year old though such a traumatic experience). Instead we keep a DETAILED food journal anytime we introduce something new into his diet. The overall outcome is that Chance has a sevear reaction to anything with Milk or Soy Proteins in it.
This is good enough for our local doctor, pediatrtion, and ER. The schools all recognize it, and the pre-schools are the most accepting of it. We have informed all of them of the negative results from the Allergy Test, and shown them the documentation (its all over the place, and if enough people ask I'll go track down the links and post them back up here) to backup our claims that this isn't a typical allergy that can be diagnosed via blood/skin tests.
When Chance gets older (if he wants to) or if it is challenged by the schools later in life he can have the GI performed and final validation of the problem in medical writing.
In case you are curious if we have tried whole or real milk, yes we have. We went to a local organic farm and got Milk straight from the cow (local farmers are more than willing to help families out we have found). Result, well lets just say that he could paint the barn without a brush. Similar when we went to a local farmer with organic Soy plants.
Long and short of what I'm saying, do your research and don't always believe the specialist. The problem may not be in their area of specialty.
- Jeremy
We noticed that there was a problem and that anytime our child received Milk or Soy products (by keeping a food diary and comparing ingredient listings) there was a problem. A visit to our local allergist resulted in testing (usually blood work, but pin prick testing is also common) with a negative result.Remember there are two forms of your body fighting back against an intrusion when it comes to food; a Food Allergy and a Food Intolerance. Food Intolerances typically CAN NOT be diagnosed by an Allergist. They will not show up in the blood work and in most cases will not show on a skin test.
This is due to the fact that a Food Intolerance doesn't affect the entire system and instead is a form of Gastroenterology (a disorder of the stomach, intestines, gallbladder, etc). This means that only a Gastroenterologist can diagnose these problems.
This testing usually requires an Upper or Lower GI were a die or camera is sent though the system that allows the specialist to view what is going on within the system. In the case of our son we didn't want to have these procedures ran just yet (hard to put a 2 year old though such a traumatic experience). Instead we keep a DETAILED food journal anytime we introduce something new into his diet. The overall outcome is that Chance has a sevear reaction to anything with Milk or Soy Proteins in it.
This is good enough for our local doctor, pediatrtion, and ER. The schools all recognize it, and the pre-schools are the most accepting of it. We have informed all of them of the negative results from the Allergy Test, and shown them the documentation (its all over the place, and if enough people ask I'll go track down the links and post them back up here) to backup our claims that this isn't a typical allergy that can be diagnosed via blood/skin tests.
When Chance gets older (if he wants to) or if it is challenged by the schools later in life he can have the GI performed and final validation of the problem in medical writing.
In case you are curious if we have tried whole or real milk, yes we have. We went to a local organic farm and got Milk straight from the cow (local farmers are more than willing to help families out we have found). Result, well lets just say that he could paint the barn without a brush. Similar when we went to a local farmer with organic Soy plants.
Long and short of what I'm saying, do your research and don't always believe the specialist. The problem may not be in their area of specialty.
- Jeremy
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Allergies and Intolerances, missed opportunities?
In our family we have multiple food allergies (Blueberries, Bananas, Fake Sugars, etc) and a child with Milk Soy Protein Intolerance (MSPI). Why does this matter at all? For one thing restaurant's and fast food joints are missing out on our business. If we can't identify at least one product on the menu that our MSPI child can eat, we don't eat at the location.
The typical scenario goes something like this;
In fact, a few companies already do this; Yum Foods places ingredient listings for all of their companies (A&W, KFC, Long John Silvers, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell) as a downloadable word document (as long as you have MS Word installed your ok) and Churches Chicken places a listing of "Potential Food Allergens" on their website:
Unfortunately, all that this does is make it known to us that we can't eat at these locations (notice that Milk or Soy is in just about everything).
What these companies fail to realize is that they are missing out on a very large market share of people that would become buyers if they could. It is a well known fact that most families will eat out 2-3 times a week when there is a provider of foods that they enjoy near by.
For an Allergy Aware family this drops down dramatically (about once a month if not less). Why, simply no one wants little Billy barfing all over the place or worse yet having to make a mad dash to the hospital because their peanut allergic child ate fries cooked in peanut oil.
Many establishments have changed their cooking oils to a Vegetable Oil instead of Peanut Oil, but this only resolves one of the major allergy groups. Most Vegetable Oil contains Soy and even though "common belief" is that Soy Oil doesn't contain active proteins that affect MSPI individuals, it does in many cases (it all depends on what protein your allergic/intolerant to).
There are some solutions though, if food providers would switch to using Canola Oil or Vegetable Oil that doesn't contain Soy this would take care of many of their products. In the listing from Churches anything marked X** (in the Soy column) would be safe for my child to eat (as long as it doesn't have Dairy in it).
Up till this point I've talked about my family and our points of view. The fact is that we are strong members in Allergy and Intolerance groups online and in our community and we hear the same stories over and over again.
There are some good restaurants out there though. Best in show (in my mind at least) is Texas Roadhouse. We have been to Texas Roadhouse's across the country, and the story is always the same:
If you think we are crazy, just remember, its the only place in town we can go out to eat. Problem is, we would love to be able to go out to more places and have a few fast food joints added to our listing.
Enough ranting for now, hopefully someone up the food-chain reads this and understands what I mean :).
- Jeremy
The typical scenario goes something like this;
My wife or I are too tired to cook something for dinner. We would consider going out, but since none of the local restaurant's or food joints can tell us whats in their products we can't go to them. Instead, one of us sucks it up and makes something for dinner.It would be easy enough for most food chains to at least provide the information that we need to make our decision (the government makes all those primary manufactures distribute ingredient lists with their products). Simply take the listing on all of the primary ingredients used and cross reference it with the top 10 allergies and intolerances, then use that information to generate a listing.
In fact, a few companies already do this; Yum Foods places ingredient listings for all of their companies (A&W, KFC, Long John Silvers, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell) as a downloadable word document (as long as you have MS Word installed your ok) and Churches Chicken places a listing of "Potential Food Allergens" on their website:
What these companies fail to realize is that they are missing out on a very large market share of people that would become buyers if they could. It is a well known fact that most families will eat out 2-3 times a week when there is a provider of foods that they enjoy near by.
For an Allergy Aware family this drops down dramatically (about once a month if not less). Why, simply no one wants little Billy barfing all over the place or worse yet having to make a mad dash to the hospital because their peanut allergic child ate fries cooked in peanut oil.
Many establishments have changed their cooking oils to a Vegetable Oil instead of Peanut Oil, but this only resolves one of the major allergy groups. Most Vegetable Oil contains Soy and even though "common belief" is that Soy Oil doesn't contain active proteins that affect MSPI individuals, it does in many cases (it all depends on what protein your allergic/intolerant to).
There are some solutions though, if food providers would switch to using Canola Oil or Vegetable Oil that doesn't contain Soy this would take care of many of their products. In the listing from Churches anything marked X** (in the Soy column) would be safe for my child to eat (as long as it doesn't have Dairy in it).
Up till this point I've talked about my family and our points of view. The fact is that we are strong members in Allergy and Intolerance groups online and in our community and we hear the same stories over and over again.
We are taking a trip to [Insert Destination] and would like to know where we can eat along the way. Our family has the following list of allergies/intolerances: [listing]The group then has several responses depending on the listing of allergies/intolerances. If, say for example, only peanuts are listed you will see many locations listed. If MSPI, Milk, or Soy are listed then the listing is usually in the range of "your screwed unless you know specifics".
There are some good restaurants out there though. Best in show (in my mind at least) is Texas Roadhouse. We have been to Texas Roadhouse's across the country, and the story is always the same:
We tell the waiter/ress that we have a son who is allergic to Milk and Soy (always followed by some sort of what does he eat dialog). He/She realizes that since Texas Roadhouse makes ALL of its food on site they can accommodate the issue and we place our very specific order for the youngest on a separate ticket so it gets attention: child's Steak no Seasoning AT ALL, Steamed Veggies with no Oil/Butter, Side Salad with vinaigrette (please check the oil type first and let us know) and Juice.The food always comes exactly as we ask for it, and we have never had a problem. This means that when we go out, we eat at Texas Roadhouse. We spend a LOT of money there, and we tip our Waiter/ess and the cooks very well (usually in the range of $15 since we are a family of 4 on our $30-40 ticket).
If you think we are crazy, just remember, its the only place in town we can go out to eat. Problem is, we would love to be able to go out to more places and have a few fast food joints added to our listing.
Enough ranting for now, hopefully someone up the food-chain reads this and understands what I mean :).
- Jeremy
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Smile, it makes people nervous?
I've heard this time and time again, and truth be told I don't agree with it one bit. In fact, I'd say that you have two choices in this world; Laugh or Cry. I find that when I smile at someone their reaction varies. They either smile back or wonder what crazy scheme I have up my sleeve.
This, I use to my advantage. Any time I walk into a meeting (client, internal, personal, any meeting) I try and remember to smile. If I don't get a pleasant response I walk back out of the room and try it again. Usually after the third try people are smiling back at me or laughing because they can't figure out the joke.
If their is a party in the room that still doesn't get it, I hit them with a comment such as "Did I kill your dog in a previous life or something?" After a very bad experience I stay completely away from statements like "Who died?" You can fill in the blanks on that one.
By this point they have figured out that I'm going to be happy even if they are not. This has worked to my advantage on many occasions and only once has it got me into "Sensitivity Training" (apparently one member of the room though I was "too flirty", my though is screw them).
Many clients and people that I've heard referred to as close minded or strong willed suddenly become open to suggestions and interested in what you have to say. Obviously if your so happy all of the time you must be doing something right.
This isn't to say that I'm always happy, quite to the contrary I find myself aggravated or disappointed especially when I fail to make a connection with a person. Many times when I feel the worse is when I put this practice to work the most. Getting the people around you to enjoy their day will most times improve your own view of how your day is going.
After all, if you can't laugh about something then you simply have no choice but to cry about it and no one likes a cry baby :).
This, I use to my advantage. Any time I walk into a meeting (client, internal, personal, any meeting) I try and remember to smile. If I don't get a pleasant response I walk back out of the room and try it again. Usually after the third try people are smiling back at me or laughing because they can't figure out the joke.
If their is a party in the room that still doesn't get it, I hit them with a comment such as "Did I kill your dog in a previous life or something?" After a very bad experience I stay completely away from statements like "Who died?" You can fill in the blanks on that one.
By this point they have figured out that I'm going to be happy even if they are not. This has worked to my advantage on many occasions and only once has it got me into "Sensitivity Training" (apparently one member of the room though I was "too flirty", my though is screw them).
Many clients and people that I've heard referred to as close minded or strong willed suddenly become open to suggestions and interested in what you have to say. Obviously if your so happy all of the time you must be doing something right.
This isn't to say that I'm always happy, quite to the contrary I find myself aggravated or disappointed especially when I fail to make a connection with a person. Many times when I feel the worse is when I put this practice to work the most. Getting the people around you to enjoy their day will most times improve your own view of how your day is going.
After all, if you can't laugh about something then you simply have no choice but to cry about it and no one likes a cry baby :).
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