I’m very pleased to share my interview with Elizabeth Goldenberg, President of Onespot Allergy, of onespotallergy.com, full of useful information on the topic of food allergies, food safety and children and much more.

Nowadays many people are faced with food allergies, and you provide an incredible website/service which helps people to avoid such allergens. What led you to create your site?

It’s true that many more people have food allergies these days.  The most recent studies report that they affect five to ten percent of the population.  I recently crunched the numbers for peanut and tree nut allergic individuals in the U.S., and the figure was 4,587,905 individuals.

I have two sons, and my younger son was diagnosed with allergies to peanuts and tree nuts in 2002 when he was two years old.  I take things very seriously and I love to come up with custom solutions for everyday problems.  After handling his allergy for one year, I realized that I’d created a system that kept him safe and prepared.  I started my company in 2009 (once he was in school full time), and I now sell those safety products on http://www.onespotallergy.com.

Do you personally have any food allergies?

I don’t have any food allergies, and my husband and older son don’t either.  I’m familiar with restricted diets, since I’m vegetarian and I don’t eat wheat, dairy, or sugar.  Since my restrictions are based on personal choice, I don’t take the precautions to avoid all traces of those foods, which you need to take when you’re Celiac or food allergic.

I’m curious to know, how did the EpiPen come about?  Was this your idea or did you work with another company/person to create this product?

The EpiPen auto-injector has been around for a long time.  It was developed for the military to allow soldiers to inject themselves with medication to treat exposure to nerve agents. Although it’s a patented medical product, the inventor Sheldon Kaplan never received any royalties for his invention and lived a modest life.  Smaller vanity auto-injectors are now coming on the market, but I don’t think they’ll be successful.  People want to stay with what’s familiar to them, what emergency workers are trained to use, and what they trust.  I’ll continue to use the EpiPen brand auto-injector.Please tell me about the EpiPen and how it works.

An EpiPen is an oval barreled cylinder with a super fine needle that slowly delivers adrenaline into muscle when the safety cap is removed and pressure is put on the tip.  A severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) involves either a severe drop in blood pressure or the failure of two or more organ systems.

It’s adrenaline that helps stabilize a person having a severe allergic reaction by increasing blood pressure, and supporting the heart beat and lung function.  Many people are familiar with adrenaline’s use with people who are being revived after a heart attack.

Can you share any life-saving stories regarding the EpiPen that customers have shared with you?

The best time to use the EpiPen is within five minutes of the start of a reaction. I have heard first hand that using one can provide immediate relief.  It’s still essential to go directly to the emergency room after using an EpiPen, since it’s not necessarily the end of the allergic episode.  The medication works for only 20 minutes, and more doses or other medications may be required to stop the reaction.  Anyone who has needed to use an EpiPen tells me that they lost all fear of it, since the relief from their reaction was so profound.

What are the contents of the food allergy safety kit and how does it benefit the consumer?

I think of my safety products in three categories:  EpiPen accessories, training materials, and allergen avoidance products. I make allergy safety videos explaining each product, and my complete allergy safety video library is on my home page www.onespotallergy.com and individual videos are also loaded onto my product pages.

If all of the products in the safety kit are used, you have in my opinion a complete system for living safely with food allergies.  Below you will find a photo of the food allergy safety kit which includes:

• The customer’s choice of EpiPen belt or holster for wearing one or two EpiPens. I also sell belts for Twinject users (another brand of injector). This is to be worn at all times when away from home.
• A super strong magnetic hook to hold your belt in a designated location when you’re not wearing it.  I compare your EpiPen to your fire extinguisher or first aid kit:  You need to know where it is when you need it, not run around looking for it.
• An EpiPen training pen.  This works like a real injector, but doesn’t contain the needle or medication.  You use it over and over to show others how to deliver life saving medication, and to teach allergic individuals how to do it themselves.
• An allergy safety training video which includes a segment on using an EpiPen or Twinject injector properly.
• My emergency protocol and 911 script card and the following three tools to avoid exposure by cross-contamination:
• Color coded food allergy labels to mark items (water bottle, lunch kit, table setting) for the allergic person’s use only.
• Color coded towel clips to mark bathroom towels and dish towels for the allergic person’s use only.
• A single brush toothbrush holder.  This may sound odd, but the bathroom is a huge source of cross contamination both of germs and food allergens.  Anyone avoiding all traces of a particular food should store their toothbrush away from anyone else’s brush.
• A tin storage kit for keeping everything together.

I also sell a basic allergy safety kit, for people allergic to bees, medication, latex, or anything else.  It contains everything but the last three products I mentioned.

I just sent a food allergy safety kit to a woman whose son was just diagnosed with food allergies. She joined my Facebook group too http://www.facebook.com/OnespotAllergy and now has all the products she needs to be prepared plus access to a world wide community of people sharing their knowledge and experience.

Being that I’m Celiac, I’m interested to know if your products also assist those who are allergic to gluten?  Please elaborate on which ones are applicable to Celiacs.

People who are Celiac may be interested in my avoidance products, specifically the labels and towel clips.  Since the gluten-free and food allergic communities overlap, I post articles on my Facebook page about gluten free living from time to time too.

I see that you also carry an organic lip balm that is free of allergens. What are some of the common allergens that are usually in most lip balms?

My lip balm is peanut oil and tree nut oil free.  It’s common to find sweet almond oil or shea butter in lip balm, lotions, and cosmetics.  I obtained the material safety data sheet to verify the source of the tocopherols in the lip balm, since they’re sometimes derived from soy, another allergen.  One member of my food allergy community on Facebook pointed out that beeswax can have corn allergens in it, since bees are often fed corn syrup to get through the winter.  There’s a lot to think about with food allergies, even when it comes to cosmetics.

Do you have a food-allergy friendly recipe that you can share?

I have a nice breakfast cookie recipe that my kids love.  If you’d like to do a gluten-free version, I’d love you to share it with me.  I make amazing crème caramel and brownies (the best you’ve ever tasted), but those recipes are top secret.

What is your favorite overall food-allergy friendly cookbook that you’d like to recommend?

I think Cybele Pascal has a wonderful bakers’ handbook, and she’s doing a great job sharing information about allergen free gluten free baking.  I don’t have a copy of it yet, but she posts her recipes from time to time, and a lot of them look wonderful.

Please tell me about the food-allergy friendly placemats.

So many people browse the placemats!  It’s important for people with food allergies to eat off an allergen-free surface, and you never know what was on a table before you sat down.  I carry wipes to clean the table, but that can be awkward in someone’s home (imagine sitting down at your mother-in-law’s home and asking if you can wipe down the table).  One way to ensure a clean surface is to bring a placemat along.  I found one that’s reusable, completely non-toxic, and it rolls up to fit in a diaper bag.  I’m going to find a version that’s suitable for older children.

In addition to your website, are your products available via doctors or medical professionals as well as drugstores?

Right now, my products are only available online or by calling my company. I’m refining the product line, and including some wholesale products.  One day I’d like to see my products in drug stores, but that’s a little while away.  I network with doctors, since my site is the best place to send their allergic patients for safety products, safety tips, and personal support.

How might customers in the US obtain your products? Out of the US?

About half of my customers are in the US, and the rest are in Canada.  United States customers hit the US flag in the top right corner of my site to pay in U.S. funds.  Clicking the Canadian flag takes you to my .ca site, where transactions are processed in Canadian funds.  I ship throughout North America for $9.95 or less.  I’m happy to ship anywhere else in the world at cost,  and I do have a repeat customer in the U.K..

This leads me to another question, do insurance providers cover the costs of the food allergy safety kit or EpiPens?

EpiPens are covered by medical insurance usually.  I also keep the receipts and claim any uncovered portion when I file my tax return.  Unfortunately the safety products aren’t covered by insurance.  I’d ask an accountant before making a deduction at tax time, but it may be possible to deduct them as medical expenses.

Through your OneSpotAllergy.com marketing efforts, do you ever visit with schools and/or school conferences or trade shows to enlighten about your products?

I do share my safety tips and products with schools and child care facilities.  I also display at carefully selected events.  I’m interested not only in reaching the food allergic population, but the greater community, to help build more awareness and understanding.

I’m booked to address a conference in October for home child care providers, and I’m donating my time.   I reach a lot of people directly through Facebook and Twitter, where I post constantly about allergy safety.

What does the future hold for OneSpotAllergy.com?

The future looks great for Onespot Allergy!  The company is now in its second year, and sales are growing.  I’m looking into refining and expanding the medication belt category.  Some very significant companies have noticed me, and we’re looking at how we can support each other’s businesses.  I’m adding non-perishable allergy-friendly food to my product line and travel accessories.  I’ll also continue to develop my role as a food allergy safety expert and advocate, and I plan to consult with businesses wishing to break into this market.

I noticed that you lend your opinions and reviews towards other products/books/services.  On which products may one find a review by you?

I have been approached a few times to sample products, and when time allows, I’ll write a review.  They’re usually food allergy related products, like a cook book, allergy safety cards, or a food product.  It’s wonderful that people now come to me to test their products!

I can see that you’re a busy woman, what is the day of “Elizabeth Goldenberg” like?

I’m up very early to walk/feed the dog, hang out with my kids, make them breakfast and get them ready for the day.  A lot of people assume that I work from home, but I actually have office space downtown, and I’m in the office from about 9:30 to 5 every day. Although I leave my office at 5, I’m online and available to customers until about 11 p.m., since people contact me from all over the world. I called one customer back only to learn that it was 12 hours later in her time zone, and I woke her up at 3 a.m..

Some days, my focus is filling and shipping orders.  Other days, I’m writing my blog, newsletter, or an article.  I never know what’s coming in by phone or online, and I need to be very flexible and responsive.  This week a newspaper columnist messaged me while I was at lunch.  Once hour later, she’d conducted the interview, and the photographer met with me the next morning.

Do you have any other projects or activities in the works that you’d like to share?

I’m very involved in supporting the United States Department of Transportation’s proposal to eliminate peanut service from airlines.  Flying with peanut or tree nut allergy is a very dangerous situation.

This is a role I never anticipated filling, but no one else was holding the torch, and I didn’t want the opportunity to be missed for this change to happen.  My previous career as a lawyer really helped me understand the rules and legislation, and hopefully make some persuasive arguments.

I’d really appreciate it if your readers would visit the petition page and complete the 3 second signing process.  On the right side of the petition page, there are buttons to share the petition by e-mail or Facebook with their friends and family.  The petition can be found at: http://www.change.org/petitions/view/banning_peanuts_from_airlines.

And my final question is for YOU – if you could share any one thing broadly with others, what would that be?

Avoid your allergen completely, even in trace amounts.  Wear your EpiPen on your body (rather than carrying it in a bag or keeping it nearby) and use it within 5 minutes of the start of a serious reaction.  Practice emergency drills regularly.  Delay costs lives.

Thank you Elizabeth!

Tina Turbin

www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

When discussing which restaurants are the best at handling food allergies, two answers routinely come up in conversation.

Up here in New England, Ming Tsai’s Blue Ginger in Wellesley, MA is one. Ming has been a pioneer in addressing patrons with food allergies ever since his first son was diagnosed with seven of the “Big 8.” Ming has also been a strong legislative advocate who was a driving force behind the new Massachusetts law pertaining to food allergy training in restaurants.

The second is technically not “a” restaurant, but all the Disney resort locations. Disney understands that they have to cater to kids and their families for their own successful financial future. Most food allergic diners who have visited the Disney resorts come back with glowing reviews of how the servers are very compassionate and understanding, and how the chefs always come to the table to discuss what they can custom-make to accommodate the individual with allergies. (I can enthusiastically endorse this opinion with the experiences of my own family and my two food allergic children.)

Yet when I was looking to discuss what was then the concept of AllergyEats with one or two restaurants that “get it,” one name came to mind both from Ming Tsai himself and from Peter Christie, the President of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association: Legal Sea Foods.

Looking into Legal Sea Foods further and checking the blogosphere, it seems to me that this assessment is right on the money. They get it. I’ll share 2 anecdotes:

First, a woman I know visited a Legal Sea Foods in the Washington, DC area in a party of 4. The FIRST question they were asked after being seated was “Does anyone in the party have food allergies or other special dietary needs?” This question came even before “Sparkling or Still!”

Second, I read a restaurant review of a Legal Sea Foods in Paramus, NJ posted on NorthJersey.com. In it, the writer, Bill Pitcher, started his article with two sentences that should sound like beautiful music to those of us dealing with food allergies or intolerances. “I’d never heard these words when I’ve called a restaurant, so I asked the reservationist to repeat herself, just to be sure. ‘Do you or anyone in your group have any food allergies?’ she asked.” (The full review can be found here.) This conversation took place at the time of the reservation! That, to me, shows a level of dedication that must come from the top and be pervasive throughout the chain.

I would also point out that a quick visit to the AllergyEats main site finds that within Legals’ home market of Boston, 4 of the 11 restaurants have already been reviewed (by 7 reviewers in total) in the first 10 days since the site was launched. Of those, Legals has posted a perfect 5.0 rating in each of the units (as it does in some units outside Boston as well).

“Being a chain restaurant doesn’t have to be a stigma,” says Bill Pitcher in his NorthJersey.com article. Apparently not. Leadership comes from the top. Roger Berkowitz, CEO of Legal Sea Foods, has clearly created a culture of accommodation towards those with food allergies and intolerances. We can only hope that others will follow their lead and understand that what is right for all customers can also be good for business. In doing so, we all win.

What have your experiences been at Legal Sea Foods? Do you agree with my assertion that they are a leader in addressing the needs of our community? Please click on the Comments link below to share your thoughts, and be sure to rate your restaurant experiences at Legals’ and elsewhere on the core AllergyEats site. Remember that rating a restaurant only involves answering 3 simple questions and takes under a minute. The more ratings we can accumulate on AllergyEats, the greater a resource it will be for the entire food allergy and intolerance community.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Paul Antico, 41, is the founder and visionary behind AllergyEats. He lives in suburban Boston with his wife and five children, aged 13, 10, 8, 3, and 6 months. After a successful 17-year career in finance, Paul decided to pursue more personal interests. He was inspired to start www.AllergyEats.com because two of his children have food allergies that make dining out challenging.

Read Paul’s previous article entitled “Peanut Shells on the Floor No More”.

You can read part two of this article here.

Tina Turbin
www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

Jamie Stern founder of Allergies and Me has generously offered to share her research and knowledge on the very sensitive topic of gluten-free manufacturing. I hope you enjoy the wealth of information she has compiled for my friends and many visitors on my gluten-free resource site.

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As promised, I am going to cover the issues I have noted on many forums and blogs over the last few months. I started this company based on these open forums populated with comments from the food restricted community. We created our online shop to give stressed out families the ability to shop online for allergy free and gluten free food with confidence and provide as much product and manufacturer information we could.

The first part of this series will be dedicated to answering the question: Why are Gluten Free and Allergy Free foods more expensive? Products made without Gluten, Wheat, Eggs, Dairy, Soy, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Yeast, Casein, Corn and many other allergens or ingredients causing digestive issues are costly to not only produce, but to manufacture, package, warehouse, market and promote.

Today, we tackle the product production and ingredient sourcing itself….

In order to prevent possible cross contamination, these manufacturers use dedicated, single source ingredient suppliers who do all parts of production – from growing, to harvesting, milling and packaging. This provides the least possible risk of contamination of allergens. Most manufacturers require each ingredient supplier to provide written documentation on product specification and analysis, processing conditions, certifications for Kosher, Organic and Vegan…and on top of that, written certification from a 3^rd party that all the ingredients have been tested by an independent lab to confirm they are Allergy free and Gluten free. These tests are not cheap and must be done regularly. Additionally, these suppliers must clean and test for gluten and allergens after every batch produced.  Many manufacturers will also test all the ingredients before they enter their dedicated facilities as well.

The manufacturers are tasked with not only sourcing safe ingredients from specialized suppliers, they must also keep their own gluten free and allergy free facilities up to these standards as well. They must maintain a dedicated plant with no gluten, plus none of the top 8 allergens – in addition to others if they are excluded from their finished products.

These manufacturers will purchase new equipment for their facilities to avoid potential cross contamination. There is a lot of research that goes into these purchases. The equipment must be able to blend and seal. Also, the surfaces should have no crevices or spots that make it difficult to clean for the smallest of particles.

These specialized manufacturers must constantly continue their own employee training regarding cross contamination exposures. Do you realize that if an employee eating an allergen before or during a shift break could cause contamination? The entire facility must be free of allergens, and that means everyone that works there! Mainstream manufacturers do not require all the people in their facilities to be gluten free and allergy free when they walk in the door.

As you can imagine, the cost to this point is much higher than mainstream manufacturing processes. Additionally, many of these companies are a “Labor of Love”. They were started by individuals that either had food restrictions themselves or were tasked with finding safe food for a loved one. These are not the “General Mills” of the world, these are hardworking people that felt they had a mission in life to provide safe food for their families, friends and others in the Food Allergy and Food Intolerant community. To these small and specialty manufacturers, Gluten free and Allergy Free food is a necessity, not just a business.

Next time, we will talk about the cost of stocking and selling these allergy free and gluten free foods…

BIO:

Jamie Stern is the founder of www.Allergiesandme.com , an online store that provides products and resources to those battling Food Intolerances, Food Allergies and many other dietary restrictions. The store carries hundreds of products, many of them gluten free, as well as free from the top food allergens. Check out the website for food news, recalls and great new recipes from cookbook authors and bloggers from around the country.

Tina Turbin
www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

I was reading about Outback Steakhouse and their gluten-free menu the other day when my mind wandered back to my days as a stock analyst.

In particular, I was thinking about the early 1990’s when I was a restaurant analyst. There was a “steakhouse boom” where chains such as Outback, Longhorn Steakhouse, and Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, funded by a seemingly endless supply of money from Wall Street, were fighting fiercely to open more new restaurants than each other.

The standout was Lone Star. It was founded by a man named Jamie Coulter, who came with a reputation as a winner yet a bit of cowboy (figuratively, though maybe literally as well).

When I first met Jamie, he was explaining the concept of Lone Star to me as I had yet to visit one. As opposed to Outback’s more “traditional” casual dining restaurants (read: Applebee’s, Chili’s, etc.), a Lone Star Steakhouse was supposed to have a real Western saloon feel, right down to the loud music, the yellin’ and hollerin’, and the peanut shells strewn about the floor. Yep – free peanuts on every table with the expectation that diners would just chuck the shells on the floor. This added to the ambiance Lone Star was trying to create.

Wow, what a difference 18 years makes. Many of you are probably aware of the statistic (put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) that self-reported food allergies increased 18% from 1997 to 2007. As a result, given the profit motive of restaurateurs, I would be surprised if Lone Star still had peanut shells on the floor.

So I did a little calling around – a random sampling of some Lone Star units strewn across the U.S. Sure enough, the message was virtually the same at every unit. Peanut shells are no longer tossed on the floor. (Most units say that practice was stopped 2 or 3 years ago.) Free peanut buckets are only put on the table if requested (though sometimes the server will proactively ask if you want one) and, if so, a second bucket is also brought out for the empty shells. One unit, however, said that many patrons still toss the shells on the floor despite the extra bucket and despite the fact that it is no longer encouraged.

When I mentioned to these Lone Star hosts and managers that I had a son allergic to peanuts and I was considering bringing him to their restaurant, each had a different suggestion: they could wipe down the table very well, they could seat us away from patrons with peanuts, and other similar less-than-comforting options.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t blame them – there’s not much they can do so long as they continue to offer peanuts to their guests. And I think that’s still too important to the image they’re trying to create. However, I have to wonder if they’ve thought about the potential profits they’re leaving on the table (see“How much are we worth? – The “Veto Vote”.)

I guess every restaurant concept has to grow up. Lone Star went from the rebellious, wild bad boy to a more mature, predictable restaurant chain. They, as with Outback and Longhorn, now also offer a gluten-free menu (which you can find on their websites or next to their listings on an AllergyEats search result).

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you know of an existing Lone Star Steakhouse or other restaurant that still has peanut shells as part of the atmosphere? What would make you feel comfortable taking your peanut-allergic self or child to a place such as the current Lone Star? Do you think they’ll eventually decide that the sacrificed profits are too large to ignore and take peanuts out of the units altogether? Click on the Comments link below to share your opinion on these questions or anything else in this post.

And as always, please remember to use the main AllergyEats site to rate restaurants where you’ve recently eaten. The process only takes a minute and each rating makes AllergyEats a more valuable tool in helping everyone in our food allergy and intolerance community.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Paul Antico, 41, is the founder and visionary behind AllergyEats. He lives in suburban Boston with his wife and five children, aged 13, 10, 8, 3, and 6 months. After a successful 17-year career in finance, Paul decided to pursue more personal interests. He was inspired to start www.AllergyEats.com because two of his children have food allergies that make dining out challenging.

Read Paul’s previous article entitled “Food Allergies-Response to “Times” Article”.

Tina Turbin
www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

I meet up with a number of wonderful people as a children’s author and due to being celiac myself this adds a whole new element to my wide range of friends. Jamie Eppenauer has a lot to offer the gluten-free community and I’d like to share some of that with you. Please enjoy what she has to share and I am sure you can learn from this. I did.

As a parent of 3 children with food allergies, I am often asked “How do you manage it all?” Here are my Top Five Tips:

Never Let Them See You Cry – Number one and most importantly, never let them see you cry! When our oldest daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease, I was relieved to have a diagnosis but overwhelmed with what seemed like the mountain I had to summit to provide her with safe food.  This was back before Gluten Free had become a household term, but even today navigating the ins and outs of finding safe food can often feel like a part-time job.  Rejoice in the fact that you know what is making your child sick, but then take your private time to grieve.  For me, I spent a day locked away in our guest bedroom, mourning what I perceived to be the loss of our “normal” diet and watching a documentary on the evolution of life.  At the end of my pity party, I emerged from the guest room determined to make the best of our new diet.  I still have moments when I just wish we could go out to eat and order off the menu, but I do not let those moments show.  How can I expect my kid not to have a bad attitude about our diet if I do?  Luckily, this approach has worked so far.  It would be a lie to say that my daughter loves her diet, but she deals with it and does not let it get her down.

Educate, Educate, Educate – Consider yourself enrolled in a Food 101 class to learn about whatever diet restrictions you may have.  The internet is an amazing resource of information.  Perform a simple Bing search with your diet restrictions and you will have more than enough information.  For a list of resources on the gluten free diet, go to GlutenFreeMom/GettingStartedGlutenFree.com In addition, if you are following other specific diet restrictions check out these websites:

www.allergicchild.com

www.peanutallergy.com

www.autismweb.com

Learn to Read Labels – You may have successfully negotiated life without ever reading a food label, but those days are over.  Life will be a little bit easier if your child suffers from one of the top 8 allergens, as the FDA requires food manufacturers to label containers with these ingredients.  Thus, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews, and walnuts), fish (such as bass, cod, flounder), shellfish (such as crab, lobster, shrimp), soy, and wheat will be labeled.  Unfortunately, it is not as simple as it may sound.  For instance, the parent of a child with a dairy allergy also needs to avoid foods that contain butter, butter fat, butter oil, butter acid, butter ester(s), buttermilk, casein, casein hydrolysate, caseinates, all cheese, cottage cheese, cream, curds, custard, diacetyl ghee, half-and-half, lactalbumin, lactalbumin phosphate, lactoferrin, lactose lactulose, milk (including condensed, derivative, dry, evaporated, goat’s milk and milk from other animals, low-fat, malted, milkfat, nonfat, powder, protein, skimmed, solids, whole), milk protein, hydrolysate pudding, Recaldent®, rennet, casein, sour cream, sour cream solids, sour milk solids tagatose, whey, whey protein, hydrolysate, yogurt.  You get the picture – and the important point is

Educating Yourself!  For safe eating, our motto is When in Doubt, Go Without. For more on understanding food labels go  to food allergy.org.

Go Healthy – When first tackling food allergies, you can choose one of two paths – you can spend a lot of time reading labels and searching the web for “safe” allergy friendly food, or you can spend that same time cooking wholesome food for your family that you know is safe.  You will have to find the approach that works for your family, but for us simpler is better. Thus, if something has more than five ingredients and is not clearly labeled, I will not buy it.  I would rather go without than spend all the time it is going to take to find out if it is gluten free.  I have also found that in most instances it is quicker and easier to make it myself and find reassurance in knowing what all of the ingredients are and where they came from.  So instead of searching for a box of processed crackers that are free from all of your allergens, feed your kids an apple smeared with peanut butter (if they can have that) or a slice of cheese.  You will all be better off in the end.

Do Not Stop Living – Some people live to eat – we have learned to eat so we can live.  Eating out, traveling, school, birthday parties, etc., will be little mountains that you will have to summit over and over again.  For us, we would rather go and have to deal with the challenges presented by our special diets than to not go at all.

Bold statements to be sure, having lived with kids with multiple allergies for five years, but I have to admit we did not eat out for the first six months on the gluten free diet.  I just wasn’t prepared enough to handle that yet. The first time we did go out, it was a disaster!  We went to a chain restaurant, during the busy lunch hour, at a very busy mall.  We were not sure what we were doing and our waiter was even worse.  When the food finally did arrive – the burger was on a bun.  We sent it back.  Of course, while we were waiting for the new burger the other kids (who were starving by this time) gobbled all of their lunch and they were more than ready to go by the time the Gluten Free Kid’s burger arrived – then, in tears, she refused to eat the burger.  Just a hunk of hamburger meat was not too appealing to her.  So we went home and cooked lunch.

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It was months before we went out again.  This time we were armed with information, called before we went to confirm they could prepare a GF meal, picked a gluten friendly restaurant, and went before the dinner rush.  Most importantly we had a great time – they were so nice they even gave us complimentary desserts.  No – we do not eat out as much as we used to.  But we have had many terrific gluten free dining out experiences since then and have had friends also successfully prepare us meals in their homes.

Because living with diet restrictions will not stop you from living the life you choose!

Jamie Eppenauer www.glutenfreemom.com

Jamie is a forty-something gluten free mom, cook and blogger currently residing in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband and three children. She is just a Mom who is raising her family and living gluten free. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in Political Science and then from the College of Law, Order of the Coif.  After law school, she moved to Chicago where she married her husband of 15 plus years and practiced law for five years.  They then spent two short years in Kansas City where their first daughter was born. It was not long until Microsoft came knocking on their door, and so the move to Woodinville, WA which is on the Eastside of Seattle.  Their second daughter was born in Seattle, and then they adopted our son from Guatemala.

Their oldest daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2005.  After being on a gluten free diet for a week herself, she suddenly felt better than she had her entire life.  Subsequent tests showed that she carries the gene for celiac disease. Jamie considers herself extremely lucky to be able to stay at home and raise her kids. They are her greatest blessings from God. When she isn’t strolling the aisles of Whole Foods looking for the latest and greatest gluten free item, she enjoys oil painting, running, boating with her family, skiing, reading and hiking.

Tina Turbin
www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

By Paul Antico, AllergyEats.com:

Generally, I use the AllergyEats Blog solely to talk about food allergy and intolerance issues related to restaurants. However, the issue I bring up today is relevant in that it calls into question the prevalence of food allergies, which can have a direct effect on how seriously your waiter takes you the next time you dine out.

Last Monday, the New York Times (and others) reported on a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) which had as one of its conclusions that the number of people who have food allergies is much less than the population of individuals who believe they do. The major claim of the Times article is that food allergies affect 5-8% of Americans versus the 30% who believe they are affected. (Note, however, that the study itself never mentioned this 30% claim.)

This point regarding a 5-8% prevalence of food allergies is relatively accurate according to “conventional industry wisdom” (and confirmed by the Food Allergy Initiative and the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network in a response statement). However, who has ever claimed that 30% of the population had a food allergy? Who would believe this? I’ve never heard that statistic. And again, the study itself never mentioned it.

However, by using that figure, the Times was able to put a sensationalistic title on the article: “Doubt Is Cast on Many Reports of Food Allergies.” (Compare this with the study’s title, “Diagnosing and Managing Common Food Allergies: A Systematic Review”.) This title, not the article, is the problem. It is misleading, deliberately overdramatic, and very concerning. Why concerning? Reading the title alone will further fuel the fire within those who do not want to believe that food allergies are a real and serious issue in our society today.

Don’t believe me? Read the 242 responses posted on the New York Times website (actually, I saved you the trouble). They range from the “I told you so” deniers, to the closet scientists, to the fact clarifiers, and to those I believe may cancel their Times subscription over this article.

Want to see your blood pressure go up? Read this first set of comments.

• I think most of these afflictions are psychosomatic, a reaction to all sorts of anxieties.
• I strongly suspect that a large number of mothers are imposing an allergy diagnosis on their children because it is (was?) the latest “fashion.” Who wants their kid to be “left out” when all of the other kids are participating?
• Half of these “allergies” are made up by people who want some sympathy. And to you overbearing parents that scream when your child sits next to their friend who is eating a PBJ sandwich at school… shame on you. If you’re allergic, you’re allergic, but please spare the rest of us.
• Some people clearly, clearly have a need to show how special they are by what they can or cannot eat!
• I have long thought that most food allergies were false. I blame it on a combination of things: it’s “trendy” to have food allergies, it will get you special consideration, empathy, special foods, and attention; and also it’s a great money-making scheme for naturopaths and other non-science-based “health” practitioners.
• My fellow waiters and I would pour beers down our throats after our grinding twelve hour days and exchange “most ridiculous allergy of the day” stories – the most freakish allergy would earn a free drink.

Of course, there were some equally passionate reactionary comments to the deniers.

• If you do not have a child with food allergies, or if you, yourself, do not have food allergies, then be quiet!!!
• What’s your point, really? Just because someone isn’t ‘allergic’ to a food they need to quit whining about their pains and symptoms and eat it anyway? Should I tell my four year old to suck it up and eat his corn even if it does give him horrible migraines, “because it’s just a simple intolerance and not a REAL allergy?” This ticks me off because so many people are very callous towards us who have food sensitivities. They act like we’re just trying to cause problems. We’re just trying to avoid pain.

Here are what I consider some of the practical comments.

• I have celiac disease. Yes it’s an intolerance not an allergy. It’s also a disease. Eating gluten doesn’t just make me feel ‘uncomfortable,’ it destroys my digestive system. Calling it an allergy is a quick and easy way to get the unenlightened to take my condition seriously.
• It shouldn’t be surprising that people resort to saying “I’m allergic” about foods they’ve learned to avoid. It’s less likely to invite further questions and doesn’t require listing unpleasant symptoms.
• Articles like this downplay the seriousness of this increasingly common condition – and makes those lucky enough to NOT have allergies more callous to our plight.
• People with complex self-directed dieting regimes that they call allergies to get concessions at restaurants are muddying things for people like me who could actually die. Please stop doing that!
• Unfortunately, this article will be used against parents trying to keep certain foods away from their children in school cafeterias.

I think the following comments can help clarify the study and the article.

• True, many people with intense food sensitivities aren’t technically allergic to a food. BUT, sufferers from food sensitivities don’t have to have a severe anaphylactic reaction to know that particular foods give them blinding headaches, body pain, digestive pain, joint pain, exhaustion, etc.
• Does it matter if it’s an allergy or an intolerance? At the doctor’s office, YES, it matters, because the diagnosis may affect treatment. But out in the world, the only word people understand is “allergy.” Therefore, at the doctor’s office, two members of my family have “milk protein intolerance.” On school forms and social situations, though, they have “milk allergy.”
• The term “food intolerance” does not hold the same level of familiarity in everyday language, so it is probably more common for people to use “allergy” to explain their symptoms.
• The title of this report is very unfortunate. Given that the population of the United States is in excess of 300 million, the percentages do tell us that tens of millions of children and adults suffer from genuine food allergy.

There were also many more comments I wasn’t comfortable reprinting!

The bottom line to me is that the New York Times did a disservice to our food allergy and intolerance community by taking a valuable government-commissioned study and sensationalizing it to attract more attention… and so it did, judging by many of the derisive comments of the online readers. It will obviously continue to be incumbent upon us as a community to educate others and to remain vigilant for ourselves.

Meanwhile, I would encourage those who want to learn more about food allergy research to simply read the study themselves. It is actually a relatively interesting read, if you don’t mind scientific study literature (and I would warn that most concl
usions can be summed up as “We don’t know.”) It can be purchased for $15 from the JAMA website (click here to view the online Abstract). And no, I do not have a financial incentive to get you to buy the article!

As always, please remember to use the main AllergyEats site to rate your restaurant experiences. Hopefully, AllergyEats will not only prove to be a valuable tool in helping our community find more comfortable places to dine, but also to give incentive to restaurants to take food allergies and intolerances more seriously.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Paul Antico, 41, is the founder and visionary behind AllergyEats. He lives in suburban Boston with his wife and five children, aged 13, 10, 8, 3, and 6 months. After a successful 17-year career in finance, Paul decided to pursue more personal interests. He was inspired to start www.AllergyEats.com because two of his children have food allergies that make dining out challenging.

Read Paul’s previous article entitled “How much are we worth? – The “Veto Vote”.

Tina Turbin
www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

By Paul Antico, AllergyEats.com:

In a prior blog entry entitled “USA Today survey suggests food allergy sufferers find socializing tricky,” I suggested that restaurateurs would cater more and more to the food allergy and Celiac Disease community due to simple economics and the natural profit motive. So I thought it might be worthwhile to use my financial analysis background to estimate how much power (dollars) our community can influence.

First, some assumptions. Roughly 4% of Americans have food allergies and 1% has Celiac Disease. We’ll use Applebee’s as an example of a “typical” restaurant (since they seem to be on every street corner anyway!). Note that I am not suggesting anything, one way or the other, about the allergy-friendliness of Applebee’s.

The average Applebee’s store has annual sales of roughly $2.3 Million. On each of these sales dollars, they earn about 13.5c of profit. Since there is a lot of fixed overhead in a restaurant, every ADDITIONAL sales dollar generates closer to 25c (or more) in profit.

Now back to that 5% of the population with food allergies and/or Celiac Disease. Let’s make an assumption that 1% will never eat out and another 1% will go where they please and figure out what to order when they get there. This would leave 3% of the US population “up for grabs.”

Here’s where a very key factor comes in – the “veto vote.” The veto vote refers to the fact that if just one person in a party has food allergies, then the whole group will likely go to a restaurant that can cater to that one individual. (How many of your family members dine in allergy-friendly restaurants despite THEM not having an allergy?) So let’s make a very conservative assumption that the average “food allergy party” includes only 3 people, 2 of whom do not have food allergies. Thus the 3% of the US population with food allergies who are “up for grabs” can actually translate into a 9% increase in business for a restaurant that makes the necessary changes to become allergy-friendly! (Incidentally, a small restaurant chain in the Boston area, Burton’s Grill, claims they have sales 8-10% higher than they otherwise would by thoughtfully catering to JUST the Celiac community!)

A 9% increase in sales at a hypothetical Applebee’s equates to roughly $207K. Thus, if each additional dollar of sales is worth roughly 25c in added profits, then an allergy-friendly Applebee’s would earn over $50K more than an unfriendly one! Fifty-thousand dollars!

This is the math the smart restaurateurs are seeing and why more are providing gluten free menus and allergen information, having their employees trained in allergy safety, and in some cases seeking industry certifications.

For those still reading and still with me, I hope this demonstrates that, as a group, we can have a tremendous impact on pressuring more restaurants to become allergy-friendly.

I hope www.AllergyEats.com becomes a powerful resource for those of us seeking new allergy-friendly restaurants as well as a tool to help demonstrate to restaurateurs the value of the food allergy and Celiac Disease community. Please help in this effort by going to the main AllergyEats site and sharing your restaurant experiences (it takes less than one minute per restaurant).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Paul Antico, 41, is the founder and visionary behind AllergyEats. He lives in suburban Boston with his wife and five children, aged 13, 10, 8, 3, and 6 months. After a successful 17-year career in finance, Paul decided to pursue more personal interests. He was inspired to start www.AllergyEats.com because two of his children have food allergies that make dining out challenging.

Read Paul’s previous article entitled “Allergy Eats-a User Friendly Guide and Site”.

Tina Turbin
www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

This is one of my favorite, standby desserts. It’s a Flourless Chocolate Cake that is super-simple to make and never fails to please guests, whether they’re gluten-free or not.

Carol Fenster

Read Carol’s in depth and personal interview now!

Printed with permission from 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes by Carol Fenster (Wiley, 2008)

2 cups whole almonds (measure before grinding)

1 cup packed light brown sugar

4 to 5 large eggs, at room temperature

½ cup canola oil (or melted butter)

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder – Dutch process

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

½ teaspoon table salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease an 8-inch nonstick (gray, not black) springform pan. Line the bottom with wax paper or parchment paper and grease again; set aside.

2. Grind nuts with brown sugar in a food processor to a fine, mealy texture.

3. Add the eggs, oil, cocoa, vanilla extract, and almond extract and process 30 to 40 seconds. Scrape down the side of bowl and process 30 more seconds.

4. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. (The cake rises as it bakes, then falls slightly as it cools.) Let cool 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Cut around the edge to loosen the cake from pan edges. Release the pan side; remove the paper liner. Serves 10 (small slices) Garnish with your favorites such as whipped cream, powdered sugar, chocolate syrup, ice cream, or caramel sauce.

Printed with permission from 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes by Carol Fenster (Wiley, 2008)

Tina Turbin
www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

1. First of all are you Celiac? No, I have non-celiac gluten intolerance. I don’t have the celiac genes; nonetheless, I get sick when I eat gluten.

2. How did you become interested in his area – gluten and celiac? I was told to avoid wheat in 1988, after decades of sinus infections. I realized that my converted gluten-free recipes could help others and I published my first cookbook in 1995.

3. You have a lot going on. What a woman! What is a full day with “Carol Fenster” like? A full day starts with checking email and filling orders for books. Then into the kitchen to develop recipes for my 10th cookbook (due in 2011) or for my consulting clients, such as Bob’s Red Mill. In between, I answer calls from customers, do interviews with the media, and plan my next speaking engagements. Right now, I’m speaking to the Canadian Dietitians Annual Conference in Montreal next week and the following week I‘m speaking to the Gluten Intolerance Group annual conference in Minneapolis.

4. Tell me about Savory Palate, Inc.? Can you explain in detail what this is, please? This is my educational and publishing firm that I founded in 1995 to teach people how to eat when they have food sensitivities.

5. You are quite an author! Prior to your terrific gluten-free cookbooks, did you have any “traditional” cooking training, background or expertise? I have always cooked and baked, even as a child. My first favorite recipe was a cornflake/coconut cookie and I was probably about 10 years old when I first started making it. I have never attended cooking school, but learned “on the job.” There has never been any formal training available for chefs who want to specialize in gluten-free cooking. Hopefully, that will change as the gluten-free market grows.

6. Which of your cookbooks would you recommend as the best one to provide to a person who is new to the gluten-free diet and why? I wrote Gluten-Free 101 with the beginner in mind. It contains simple, basic recipes that are written in extremely easy-to-understand terms.

7. Do your cookbooks include an assortment of recipes that span the globe ethnically? If so, what research did you have to do? Yes, across all 10 cookbooks, especially the big one— 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes— I have quite a few ethnic recipes. I travel quite a bit, eat out frequently, and read a lot of food magazines. All of them inspire me.  Once I understood the different gluten-free flours and how they perform, adapting a recipe to be gluten-free became fairly easy.

8. Out of the many 1,000s of recipes you’ve created, which is your best and #1 crowd pleaser for even the trickiest of palates, even the non-GF eaters? It is a Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe.

9. Your idea to create an activity book for kids to explain the concept of gluten-free is truly wonderful.  What inspired you to write this book? Actually, I published this book for the author Nancy Falini, a dietitian who specializes in celiac kids. That was another reason I founded my company…to make sure books like this are published. At the time we published it (2003) I doubt that any big New York publisher (the ones who publish my cookbook) would have been interested because the market was still considered fairly small.

10. I read you are a consultant. In terms of your work as a consultant, what exactly do you provide as part of this service and can you explain how this fits into your role? I offer my recipe development expertise, so I develop either recipes or mixes for companies. Right now, I’m developing recipes for a Canadian client who wants gluten-free recipes made with beans, peas, and lentils. I love the challenge and the food is turning out fantastic.

11. You’ve consulted for Bob’s Red Mill which is terrific. Can you share what this role of yours comprised? Since 2000, I have developed nearly all of their gluten-free products, particularly the mixes for bread, cakes, cookies, pancakes, and brownies. I also keep them abreast on gluten-free trends and teach gluten-free classes in their cooking school. They are a terrific company to work with (check out the May 24 issue of People Magazine, which describes how the owner gave the company to his employees.)

12. Any other companies which you’ve consulted or consult currently? A few that I can mention, in addition to Bob’s Red Mill, are the U.S. Grains Council in Tokyo, Canadian Pulse Association, Western Commerce, and National Sorghum Growers. There are others that I can’t mention due to our contractual arrangements.

13. Do you provide consultation for companies that cater to any other “special” diets?  If so, which diets are those? I have worked with Enjoy Life Foods in their early days. Their products are devoid of all the major food allergens.

14. For those who are allergic to eggs and dairy products, common in many traditional recipes, what are some of the substitutes that you suggest? In place of eggs, I use either egg-replacer powder, soft silken tofu, or flaxseed meal instead of eggs.

15. What about sugar substitutes and what are the conversions for these? There are many, many sugar substitutes… too many to list here. They all have their pluses and minuses. One of my favorite is agave nectar, also called agave syrup. In baking, I use it 1:1 in place of sugar, but each recipe has to be individually tailored to reduce the liquid since agave is a liquid.

16. Please briefly explain the www.GFreeCuisine.com website and what it offers. This is a weekly, online cookbook that offers 10 entrees/sides per week. You choose 5, and get the recipes and shopping list organized by grocery store departments. In addition, you get access to a lot of additional recipes for breads, desserts, snacks, and appetizers. All recipes are dairy-free and at least 3 of the weekly choices are vegetarian to meet our growing demand for meatless meals. It is really quite inexpensive, at only $10 per month.

17. What is your mission behind this site? After two decades, I have learned that there are some people who want help in planning meals and knowing what to buy when they go grocery shopping. For some of us, this just comes naturally. For others, a little guidance is all they need and they’re able to feed their families each week with a minimum of effort. And, increasingly, there are people who want their information digitally rather than in cookbook form.

18. In terms of the recipes that are offered through the site, are these your recipe creations or are you including recipes created by others as well? These are all my own recipes.

19. If there are others that help you on your recipe site, would you like to share any details about them? I have two partners who are responsible for the technological side of the business, such as managing the database of recipes, posting the weekly menu choices, etc. They are wonderfully creative, savvy women who are a joy to work with.

20. What if one’s local grocery store selection doesn’t contain many of the gluten-free food products that you recommend
to purchase? Can you provide customers with appropriate gluten-free shopping resources?  If so, which ones?? I use the list from www.ClanThompson.com to find gluten-free brands. I only make suggestions for brands; there are usually many other brands that might work and we know that there are regional variations in product availability.  I always try to suggest the brand that is most widely available, e.g., Tinkyada pasta seems to be in both grocery stores and health food stores so I mention that brand. However, there are many other good brands of gluten-free pasta.

21. It’s terrific that you’ve streamlined the task of gluten-free meal-planning/grocery-shopping for busy families and individuals. What kinds of responses have you received for the services provided by the GFreeCuisine site? Our customer base continues to grow and subscribers are pleased to have guidance at such a low monthly price. But this service is only appropriate for those who use their computers to get information. We don’t send out the recipes in paper form.

22. You truly have a sincere desire to help others with their particular dietary needs.  How can anyone best stay connected and track along with your releases, helpful tips and recipes? Read my weekly blog at www.GfreeCuisine.com/blog or my monthly newsletter, Carol’s Culinary Cues, at www.glutenfree101.com.

23. There’s a wealth of terrific celiac support groups as we both know. Which ones do you work with and in what capacity? I support them all in one way or another; I donate cookbooks to them for raffles at their meeting, I place ads in their publications, and I am also a sponsor for others. Next week, I’m a speaker at the Gluten Intolerance Group annual conference in Minneapolis. So, it varies from group to group.

24. I understand that you’re involved in speaking engagements at many celiac conferences and events. How might one stay up to date on your speaking schedule? I list them in my monthly newsletter, Carol’s Culinary Cues, which you’ll find on my web site at www.glutenfree101.com.

25. Your contributions to the celiac community are undeniable, what are your plans for future gluten-free cookbooks? I have a healthy gluten-free cookbook coming out in 2011; it is not titled yet.

26. Any other specific plans for expansion we can look forward to? No expansion plans in the near term.

27. Any other activities, books or causes you are involved in which you’d like to share today? I host “Cook for the Cure” dinner parties as fundraisers for breast cancer research.

28. Any my final question is for YOU – if you could share any one thing broadly with others, what would you like to say or share? There is a substitute for almost every “problem” ingredient, so don’t let food sensitivities get in the way of enjoying your food.

Thank you Carol!

ABOUT CAROL FENSTER: Carol Fenster is the author of nine gluten-free cookbooks, including the award-winning 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes (Wiley, 2008) and the forthcoming 100 Best Gluten-Free Recipes (Wiley, 2010). She offers a weekly gluten-free menu planning service at www.GfreeCuisine.com, one of the first of its kind. She develops the gluten-free products for industry leader Bob’s Red Mill and appears on PBS, the Health Network as well as many radio, newspaper, and web sites. She is a guest speaker at the American Dietetic Association, International Association of Culinary Professionals, Whole Grains Council, Disney, National Product Expo, FoodEX in Tokyo, and the Institute for Biophysics and Genetics in Italy. She is the former associate food editor at Living Without magazine, and her articles, recipes, quotes, photos, and reviews of her books appear in USA Today, Saturday Evening Post, Reader’s Digest, New York Times, Washington Post, Woman’s World, Vegetarian Times, Delicious Living, Today’s Dietitian, Living Without, Gluten-Free Living, Energy Times, Better Nutrition, Taste for Life, Women’s Health, Yoga Journal, and Edible Front Range.

Tina Turbin
www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

By Paul Antico, AllergyEats.com:

AllergyEats is a comprehensive, user-friendly guide to allergy-friendly restaurants across the United States.  It is a peer-reviewed directory of restaurants – rated by people with food allergies, for people with food allergies.

Our database comprises every restaurant in the country – from large chains to small mom and pops, from gourmet to greasy spoons. We’ve laid the groundwork by providing you with menus – including kids’, gluten-free, and allergy-specific – where available, as well as any other relevant information from restaurants.

The rest is up to you. Use AllergyEats to help yourself and others by identifying restaurants that can or cannot accommodate your needs. Then rate the restaurant by answering three quick questions. It takes less than a minute!

Our ratings are driven by you the user; restaurants do not participate in these ratings. However, AllergyEats does strive to work with restaurants, allergy networks and the public to increase the amount of information we can share with you.

We’re thrilled to see an increasing number of restaurants responding to the growing concern about food allergies and intolerances. Increasing numbers of restaurants are training their staff about food allergies and publishing allergy information on menus. With more than 12 million of us (one out of 25 Americans) living with food allergies and over 2 million with Celiac Disease, we’d like to see this become standard practice. In the meantime we hope AllergyEats can serve as a valuable guide to allergy-friendly dining on the go.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Paul Antico, 41, is the founder and visionary behind AllergyEats. He lives in suburban Boston with his wife and five children, aged 13, 10, 8, 3, and 6 months. After a successful 17-year career in finance, Paul decided to pursue more personal interests. He was inspired to start www.AllergyEats.com because two of his children have food allergies that make dining out challenging.

Read Paul’s previous article entitled “Food Allergies & Eating Out”.

Tina Turbin
www.GlutenFreeHelp.info