What I've gained from having a Corn Allergy

When restrictions seem to rule your life, it's hard to keep a positive spin on them.  You go to a party and find yourself turning down delicious dishes, desserts and drinks.  The grocery store is full of off limits food.  You have to call and find out if the school's movie night will be serving popcorn before agreeing to bring your child (or finding someone else to chaperone, so you can continue breathing)
Corn puts specific restraints on life; although it is freeing to know that the rashes and gi symptoms that used to parade as normal aren't something you need to accept and live with the rest of your life, it's also difficult to place restrictions on the air you breathe and the food you consume.
However, when I look back over the past few years since discovering I wasn't suffering from increasingly confusing jumbles of letters that added up to 'just stress', I find that I've learned and gained a lot from living with a corn allergy.
Besides the whole "life really is livable" thing, I think one of the biggest gifts has been learning about our food supply.  It's disturbing, and I'd love to stuff my head back in the sand somedays.  But I've learned a lot about labels and food processing that I otherwise would not have sought out.  I've learned about the plight of small, family farms and a little about political power.  I've discovered that blind trust in earthly matters is generally misplaced.  That's not a bad thing.  It motivates me to feed my family better, to actually make that effort to prepare real meals even if they just consist of organic rice and beans.
I've been forced to re-examine the organic issue.  I've always thought that organic was better, but I didn't really think about why.  Now I know it's much more than a label that I'm concerned about.  Learning about how corn infiltrates our food (thus poisoning my poor digestive tract) led me to an understanding of why there are unknown additions to our food, and why it's so important to support local agriculture.  I've realized that it isn't just organic that I'm looking to support, but foods grown without pesticides or chemicals.  I'm looking for foods that aren't developed in a laboratory. I'm looking for food that is what it looks like, and nothing more.
No compromises.  Everyone says fast food is bad.  But then they get busy and hit the drive through, munching away on those 'paper bag heart attacks'.  I admit, I've fantasized about it myself.  But, with a corn allergy, I can't compromise.  It's poison to me, why would I give it to my kids if it's not even good for them?  Scout night nuggets is not an option, so it's never come up.  I cook.  Maybe not completely from scratch, maybe not gourmet, but still.  It's real food with few preservatives. 
What have I gained from a corn allergy?  A chance to better define my feelings regarding organics and food quality in general.  A better understanding of food politics.  A chance to see how little things that seem insignificant or even wise can really throw a wrench in the bigger picture. 
I have a corn allergy, and it makes me 'that mom'.  A granola mom.  The odd ball out.  But I refuse to do it because I have to.  I'll do it on my terms...I'll define it in ways that make it right for us.  Corn free, naturally. 

Sometimes, it's nice to give in

Some parenting resources claim the tween years (the tumultuous time between childhood and teen years) begin as early as age 8.  Which means that at the moment, I'm living with a child at both ends of the tween spectrum.
And being typical kids, there are moments they each revel in the ability to reduce their beloved sister to tears.  Or break their mother's heart.  And press buttons.
They press buttons my husband and I didn't even know we had, and once they find those buttons...well, some days they're worse than a toddler going after a remote.

Most days, it's a battle to stay calm and focused.  Our mornings are full of "I'm not going to go to school, and you can't make me!"  And various reasons why...generally PE related and involving yelling, collapsing, going to jail for not running fast enough and other hyperbole.  (We've learned it's best not to laugh.  Much better to sive a sympathetic hug, a sincere "I'm sorry you don't want to go," and hand them their shoes.)

But today...today Bumblebee poked her head out of her cocoon, batted her lovely caterpillar eyes at me, and asked to please stay home.  She complained she hurt all over.  Her throat was scratchy.  She was so tired.
I told her I was tired, too.  After all, who gets up every 20 minutes to break up a fight that escalates from soft whispers to reverbrating "I hate you"s that friends 3 blocks away can probably hear?  That's right.  Mom.  And sometimes dad.
I've dragged her crying from the sheets every morning this week.  Dressed her like baby doll, ordered her to the restroom, prepared a breakfast she lay her head down next to and sobbed and then drove her to school.

She wasn't crying.  (yet).
I looked at her for a long time.  I thought about my to do list.  I sighed.
And then I gave in.

I know I shouldn't have.  She wasn't running a fever.  But, we've had some rough mornings.  Some long afternoons.  And lets not even discuss the evenings.  
So, to sum up today...Bumblebee went back to bed with a smile.  She helped me put groceries away.  She finished her big report.  We snuggled up together and read a book.  We chatted about...well, nothing.  And everything.  We watched Seventh Heaven.  We took a nap. 
And when her sister came home, there was no fighting. 
Maybe the only thing I knocked off my intended "To do" list was the grocery store...but I feel as if I got so much more by spending the day with my daughter. 
I know, we can't take days off "just because" and it's irresponsible to keep kids out of school unless they are contagious or about to collapse from exhaustion...but sometimes, once in a very long while, it's nice to give in and spend the day just reconnecting.  Monday, she's back to the old routine. 

Enjoy Life

In the world of food allergies, there are certain companies that stand out.
And in the world of Corn Allergies, company loyalty seems to reach an all-new high.  We thoroughly read every label, looking for minute additives...and then catch the hopeful words "No Corn".  Of course, we know that these two little words simply mean whatever the company has decided that they mean.  Perhaps that there is no unprocessed corn product.  Or that there is no high fructose corn syrup (Post declared it's Raisin Bran corn free because they use regular corn syrup)  Or maybe it means that they actually, *gasp*, know the origins of all of their products...and not one are derived from corn.
As a corn allergy sufferer, I'm always holding my breath for the latter.
Then there are companies who try, really hard, to understand the dynamics of corn allergy.  Who contact FAAN and work with them.  Continually proclaiming their product to be corn free while the supersensitive of us shiver, shake and break out in hives.  "Well, you see, that's very unusual," is the usual response.
But we asked in advance because we knew this was a potential problem.
You can almost hear the shrugging on the other end of the line.

Fortunately, there is one brand that doesn't shrug it off.  Enjoy Life foods does claim their food to be corn free, as per FAAN's standards.  But they will be upfront and admit in letters and email that if you are very sensitive to corn, the only products truly safe are the Cinnamon Crunch Granola, the Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips and the Boom Choco Boom Dark Chocolate Bar.  (Note:  Only the varieties above are safe to my knowledge.  Always read labels, and contact the company directly about any questions.)  Other products have minute amounts of maltodextrin or xanthan or other corn derivatives. 
While some of my fellow Uncornies scorn Enjoy Life for claiming corn free when they use some corn derivatives, I have to give them credit for patiently walking the middle ground.  They are honest and upfront.  As far as the general public goes, these products are corn free.  And for the majority of corn allergy sufferers muddling through the grocery store, the purer derivatives are safe enough.  It's only for a few of us that there is a problem.
And Enjoy Life is kind enough to answer our questions, offer advice, and encourage us to check with a medical professional before taking any risks.
After 7 years (or so) of experience contacting companies and requesting information, I have to say that Enjoy Life is one of the best companies to deal with.  They are responsive, and seem open.  They are encouraging and do their best to really understand, or at least sympathize with what the food allergy patient deals with daily.
Thanks Enjoy Life!!!

Sometimes, as parents, we find ourselves making difficult decisions.  Having to choose between buying our kids things that will make them happy, and keeping to a budget.
Of course, as adults we know they don't need extra toys.  Or candy.  Or other treats.
But everyone else seems to have them, and all the other parents say "Oh, well, it's only $5, $10, $50..."

Every little bit adds up.
Although it's hard to say no sometimes, I'm proud of my dd.
Just the other night she was asking something, and she smiled and said "Mommy, I think we have just the right amount of money.  Because we have enough money for rent, and to eat every day and to buy treats once in awhile. But not every day, like some people.  Because that's not healthy."
I'm glad that she doesn't feel deprived.
As I look around our home I see so many things I want to upgrade.  Replace.  Flat out get rid of!  But I pause.  Practicality sets in.  Anything that I would want to replace in a year, needs to stay.  If it's reparable, it stays.  It doesn't always get tidied up, or repaired in a timely manner, but it's relatively clean and not unsafe.

I resent our expensive allergy friendly diet, and sometimes yearn for blue box mac and cheese, frozen dinners, the ease of a drive through happy meal. 

Then I look around at the world.  The first glance, of course, makes me want to upgrade more.  Get rid of the old sheets!  The plastic toys that look used.  The chairs with tattered seatcovers.  The clothes that I've owned for more than a year.  Go out to a restaurant, if for no other reason than so my kids know what a happy meal toy is. 
The second glance is what gives me pause.  The landfills are overflowing.  As I toss abandoned fast food coffee cups and grease stained bags that end up in our gutter in the trash, I see a lot of overflowing oversized trashcans by the curb come trashday, and although more than half the driveways sport recycle bins, it's far fewer than 90%.  And they're rarely overflowing. 
There's an island of plastic floating in the middle of the Pacific ocean.
Polar Bears in the arctic, who have never heard an airplane or seen an automobile, have discernible levels of plastics and pesticides in their blood stream.
Factory farms are steadily crowding out family farms, and humane (animal) farming is struggling to remain a viable resource in any community.   One quarter of American meals are eaten in restaurants.  2/3 of the remaining meals are take out or pre-prepared.  The remaining quarter or so of meals are prepared using exotic techniques such as spreading condiments onto sandwich bread or microwaving vegetables. 
There's a pipe spewing hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf Coast waters as I type.
It's not that the second glance makes me want to move into a redwood tree like some kind of 60's fanatic (although I remember reading "My Side of the Mountain and dreaming about it.) but it does make me want to...either save the world or go back to bed and stay there. 

And how can we help the world?  By living smaller.  Experts (such as the Sierra Club and National Wildlife Fed, and the Slow Food Movement, and Whole Foods) suggest paying attention to where your dollars go.
With a tight budget, I do that.
Avoid unnecessary packaging.  Avoid excess waste.
Again, from a budgeting perspective, this is paramount.
Don't buy things you don't need.  And keep the things you own in good condition, so you can reuse them or pass them on.
As someone without a lot of money to spread around, I do this.  Garage sales never seem to work for us, and since I rarely have much extra cash to donate where I want to I assuage my conscience by sending used goods to places they can be put to the best use...if not a friend or family member, to a local job rehab center or the Salvation Army.
Reduce.  Reuse.  Recycle.  Respect our resources.

When I'm tempted to buy junk, or feeling bad that I can't, I remind myself of those 4 Rs. 
Like my daughter, I'm glad we're 'poor'.  It's forced us to make hard decisions, to focus on what really matters, and to lighten the imprint we make on the Earth.  Unlike her, I'm surprised that my kids seem to have a greater appreciation for their toys.  They pull out the Barbies and create elaborate games.  Other parents look askance when I talk about the intricate Littlest Pet Shop set up the girls were fighting over. 
Of course, maybe it's healthier to get outside and ride a bike.  But when that's not feasible, I'd rather they have a box of scrap paper to build origami cranes, or a closet full of board games, or a plastic tub of plastic animals to turn to than a TV to turn on.  (yes, we own a TV.  No, it is not hooked up to cable.) 

And I'm really surprised to hear the reinforcement come from her mouth.  She's glad we can't afford too many treats?  For sweets in lunches every day?  She's glad I don't buy her too many toys? 

I'm sure I could do a better job at being green, and raising green kids.  I could walk more, or buy a bike.  I could make a more concerted effort to get to the farmer's market.  And I do intend to work on continuing to lessen my carbon print.  But for now, I'm going to be happy that our budget keeps us (somewhat) green.  And my kids know it. 
I just hope that she continues to see the positive...and not resent the sacrifices. 

Counting Blessings

As the song says, some days are diamonds, and some days are stones.  When you find yourself thinking you need a slingshot to get rid of the stones, it's time to sit down and polish them.  So instead of complaining, I decided to start a list of blessings.

I'm thankful that I have a curious child, who chooses complicated self-created (or adapted) science projects instead of the typical "model of a solar system" variety.  And that she at least tries to clean up after herself. 

I'm thankful I have another child who refuses to go with the crowd, read what other kids are reading or watch what other kids are watching simply because "everyone else is".  She needs a reason.  It's frustrating, but it's a good quality that might keep her out of trouble someday.  

I'm thankful for food allergies, that keep us from falling into the pizza practice, make us aware of the ingredients of our foods, and help us to focus on whole foods rather than fake "food like substances".

We have an opportunity to begin with new doctors and a new slate, not square one.  Maybe the new doctors will be more informed about corn allergies and gluten intolerance and migraines and all our myriad of issues.  And if not, this is a great opportunity to educate them.  Hopefully with a minimum of discomfort and expenditure.  (Note that I'm working hard on this diamonds out of stone theory.)

Our kids are blessed with people who love them enough to fill our house with toys, and our kids are grateful enough to appreciate these tokens of affection.  To play with them, love them, and use them often.

Even if my car did die, I'm blessed with the ability to borrow spare family cars until the time when I find a car that meets all my personal needs (will run for several years without needing major overhaul repairs, will seat at least 5 safely, decent gas mileage, and is within our low budget.)  

The rose Bumblebee helped me plant a few years ago is still alive and appears happy, if not bush like.

The library is chock full of books I've never read, and my body ensures I take the time to enjoy them.  (Or at least that I have time to read them)  I'm next on the waiting list for "Her Fearful Symmetry", and just returned "Graceling".

We may eat an awful lot of rice pasta, but we manage to gather around the table and eat as a family fairly regularly.

Chocolate.  I'm eternally grateful for chocolate, especially Enjoy Life chocolate chips which not only hit the spot on their own, but make a perfect addition to baked goods. 

Beauty is...

Every year, our school participates in the National PTA contest called "Reflections". Each child is encouraged to create a work of art; literary, visual, or photographic; share it with their classroom and submit it for judging.
We're always on the lookout for inspiration and excuses to get creative. So we eagerly anticipate the theme's unveiling, and then we spend September brainstorming ideas.
This year, we started working as soon as the signs proclaiming "Beauty is..." went up at the school. And by we, I mean that Ms. Bumblebee sat down to color and I tried not to complain about the crayons left on the floor, or the scraps of paper strewn across the living room for a week.

Then she said she wanted to take a picture.
Wonderful, I said, and took her to a park.
She frowned and said she meant a picture of the sign at the gas station.

Not just the sign, the hinge that holds the sign.

It makes a letter, she told me, it's awesome.
My thoughts were along the lines of a rusty hinge not being the epitome of beauty. However, out loud I told her that was fine. But, maybe we could just look around the park and see if maybe there was something beautiful there.
You might be inspired. You don't even have to plan it, I told her. Play with the camera settings, lets see if you can do black and white, or that cool color swap thing. Penguin wished out loud that her school was participating.
Bumblebee just rolled her eyes at me. And then she found an "R" hidden in tree roots.
Okay. I want to be encouraging, tree roots are definitely a step up from a rusty hinge. Penguin pointed out a knot hole "o". I mentioned that the gorgeous fountains formed an "i".
She took a picture of a crack in the sidewalk.
And a single, fallen leaf.
That was laying on a litter-strewn ground.
With a piece torn off.
Beauty is?
"We need to go to the gas station," she grumbled.
Shall we say I was a bit disconcerted and more than a bit frustrated?

But this was her project. So I encouraged her to keep snapping pictures. I didn't let her see me shudder when she tried a close up of our trash can. "The theme is 'beauty is'" I reminded her.
"I know," she calmly stated, playing with the focus as she trained the camera on the bricks of our fireplace.
"Um, at least use an uncracked brick," I said unhelpfully. She just shook her head then cocked it to the side, grinned and clicked the button.
I quietly thanked the powers that be for digital cameras and (almost) limitless exposures.

Dutifully, I helped her hook up the camera to the computer and upload (download?) photos. I opened adobe for her. I helped her figure out how to open whichever picture she wanted to for editing. And then I stepped back and tried not to think about the trash can photo.

At any rate, I consoled myself, it's unique.

She carefully edited each photo, playing with tools I didn't know we had. She smudged up backgrounds until I could hardly recognize them. She used funky cutters to trim the photos down and focus on the letter she saw.

Her vision began to manifest.In the end, she had an alphabet of hidden letters. Including the rusty hinge of the local gas station sign, her friend's leg in flamingo-pose, a variety of rocks and tree branches and bushes. Not to mention that sidewalk crack. All lovely, viewed in the right perspective.

I discovered that beauty isn't confined to the big picture. Beauty is letting go. It's a 7 year old creating her personal vision. Beauty is listening to laughter and plotting and 'Yes!' as she discovers a letter hidden in an unexpected place. Beauty isn't simply found in the things poets write of. It isn't bigger or better. Sometimes its smaller, subtler. (Sometimes, much subtler.)

As Bumblebee said as we filled out the paperwork together, "With your imagination you can see anything, anywhere."

As I look at the images she created from the bits of real life most of us overlook, either intentionally or unintentionally, I also realize that like the old adage says, beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder.
Beauty is everywhere, if you look through a child's eyes.

Lessons from corn

Although I'd like to say that corn is pure evil, my sensible side keeps intervening.
It isn't corn that's inherently evil. It's what we're doing with corn, nature and everything else.

To paraphrase St. someone: The love of money is the root of all evil. And hence, the quest for money is at the root of all corn. That's what it all boils down to. Money talks.
Right now, money appears to grow in cornfields across the United States.

I've learned more than I wanted to about our food system. I've discovered that the FDA is a business, much like any other. And it's run by humans.

FAAN may have made a difference for thousands, but with all their knowledge and power, they still have an awful lot to learn. I'm only one of many learning from their mistakes.

Safety nets are often made of red tape.

I've learned that there are things I don't want to know or learn. Food was supposed to be easy. You browse the grocery store, you choose new items. It doesn't bite back. You don't worry about what it's doing to your child's hormones or brain development. That's what the FDA is there for...right? Right? RIGHT???

I've learned that experts have tunnel vision. Not only do they have tunnel vision, but it's rewarded with money. And they want to stay in the dark as desperately as I do.

I've learned that women are slightly more prone to food intolerance...or maybe they just admit it more readily than men do.

And I've learned how easy, and satisfying, it is to live outside the box.

As Halloween approaches, a reason to be Thankful...

Halloween is always tough around here.
For oldest, no dye, no dairy, no gluten. Not much sense in trick or treating!
For youngest, it used to be no nuts, but this year it's no dye (and she passed the peanut challenge! Yay! Although she claims they still smell disgusting.)
Really, there aren't all THAT many options out there.

Of course, the kids made do. And adore our yearly ritual of sorting out the candy into safe piles, and then into piles by type. Then we trade in the junk for safe candy and cheap part favors. This year, they even want to use it in experiments. (As in, how long does it take a skittle to dissolve? An M&M? Jolly Rancher?)

We even have a yearly outing to a local zoo, where various local businesses set up stations and give out non-candy items. (Flower seeds are always a big hit, and they actively seek out the Apple Juice booth. No candy, please, just the juice!)

Anyways, despite the fun it's still hard to go to school and see kids gorge on multicolored confections on the beloved sugar fest we call "Halloween". We know in our heads that junk food tastes good to your tongue, and real food tastes good to your tummy, but in practice, it's hard to pass up sprinkles and gummies and frosting. (even if you have your own delicious treat waiting.)

My oldest even watched a woman bribing her son with skittles in the library, "Just be good. Here, what color? Any color. Good boy. Now be good. Fine, another color. Any color. Come on, yummy. Choose a color. Now be good, stay with...No, come back, fine. Look. Candy! Yummy!" And thanked me for not being that kind of mom. (Thankfully, not many of us are. The kid wasn't even misbehaving, just looking at the books on the shelf.)

But when 'everyone else' is eating something that looks good, smells good, and you know tastes good; and they keep tempting you to just take a tiny taste; it's hard to say no. And it's hard to watch your kids struggle with that self control. Self control that many adults have failed to master. (Just ask anyone whose ever tried a fad diet how often they cheated.)

However, there is a reason to be grateful for forced moderation. British studies show that kids who eat an excess of sugar in their formative years actually may be at increased risk for arrest due to violent crimes. Of course, the next question is why those kids ate so many sweets to begin with. Was it a parenting issue? A chemical imbalance? Were the sweets a cause or a symptom? And was it sugar itself or the rise in the use of petrochemicals in sweets over the past 20 or 30 years? (This is purely my speculation, but clearly an avenue investigators will have to explore further, as you can see in the article.)

At any rate, maybe it will be easier to ignore those naysayers who 'tsk, tsk" and tell me that my poor kids are so terribly deprived. Not only are they missing out on sugar highs, migraines, stomach aches and mood swings, their risk of acquiring a violent criminal record is dropping.

Maybe we should celebrate.
Candy, anyone?

What we DO eat

Sometimes it seems as if we get caught up in the complicated labrynth of foods. We focus on what we CAN'T eat. Pizza. Ice cream. Corn chips. Those big chocolate chip cookies from Trader Joes. Frozen dinners. Nothing like a trip to a crowded grocery store to make one wish to wallow in self pity.

It's time to take a moment and count our food blessings.

Top 10 foods that I (and the rest of my family) can eat in moderation without regrets.

10. Baked Apples: And who doesn't like a brown sugar and cinnamon topped baked apple? Just because I rarely get around to making them...well, that just makes them all the more special.

9. Trader Joe's applesauce: No one in my family will actually eat this out of the jar (except on latkes, where applesauce belongs) But, it's corn free. Which means that when I want to bake anything that needs a little extra acid, or fruity flavor, or a touch less fat, I don't have to start by peeling apples to simmer for a homemade version. You can imagine how giddy the storebought variety made me the first time I realized this freedom!

8. Onions: Yeah, I know. Not raw, not by themselves. But just about any dish that begins with a few onions, lightly sauteed in grapeseed oil, makes mouths water. :-)

7. Ginger: Candied ginger to be exact. Baked into muffins, cookies or eaten out of hand, it settles the stomach and satisfies my sweet tooth. (okay, fine, so the kids aren't overly fond of it. But, technically, they can eat it. And I love it.)

6. Peas. Yes, I know, kids are supposed to hate peas. But they're green, I can eat them, and the kids love to smother them in margarine. Once they're on their own plate, that corny junk won't hurt me. I can eat them plain, and they satisfy that "not rice" craving. And it feels good to serve veggies to ALL of us. At one time. With only one pot to wash.

5. Dagoba Chocolate bars: Okay, so different members of the family need to eat different varieties. The point is...it's candy. And it's sinful. And it doesn't hurt (well, it pinches the checkbook a bit)

4. Sweet Potatoes: Roasted or fried, a special treat I'm simply forced to indulge in, since I can't eat prepackaged fries, oven potatoes or even chips.

3. Chebe Bread: The garlic and onion variety is to die for, even if you CAN eat gluten.

2. Tinkyada Spaghetti: Just like real s'getti. But better.

And number one, the best, most wonderful food that we have on our collective plate: Homemade Chocolate Chip cookies. Enjoy Life chocolate chips and ener-G rice flour sure do make up for a lot.

And now I'm off to pre-heat the oven...

In which the world becomes a better place...

I swear, the way to a mom's heart is through her kids.
Yesterday brought Penguin's elementary school years to a close. Of course there were tears. (I was a bit surprised, even a few boys were hauling tissues around.) But what touched me most wasn't the slideshow, or the farewell song, or the little "graduation ceremony".

Yesterday morning a PTA mom approached me with a box of popsicles and asked me to double check it. They were, indeed, free from artficial dyes, dairy and gluten. She was happy and went to give Penguin her treat (which made me happy, of course) and after school, Penguin catapulted herself towards me with eyes shining and said "Mommy, Mommy, I got a popsicle! They brought me a popsicle with everyone else! And it was my favorite flavor! It was soooo good!"

She went on to tell about the popsicle party, but what stood out in the story was how safe, and included she felt. That's when my eyes welled up with tears. I hugged her tight.

She's a good kid, and she's good about dealing with her allergies. But it's hard to be different, and she vents that at home sometimes. Earlier this week she was pleasantly surprised to find a safe sorbet on the 5th grade ice cream table, and her girl scout leader thoughtfully provided safe treats for the last meeting of the year. But it was this last touch, a popsicle that looked like everyone else's and was provided with everyone else's without much ado that really made her day.

Things are changing. Yay!!!!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...

Despite my aforementioned physical issues at the moment, I did want to include a happy post today.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! Baking has rejoined our Christmas routine, and there is just something about my youngest helping me in the kitchen that makes things brighter. She takes great pleasure out of baking, and the stress involved is generally worth it.

Our latest creation is sugar cookies. We took a regular recipe, adapted it to suit our needs (with oil and rice flours), chilled it and broke out the cutting board and rolling pin. This was my first time using this rolling pin...bought brand new so that I could have the pleasure of baking again, but I haven't been motivated enough. (See, I'm not really depressed...)

I warned her in advance that new recipes don't usually come out that great the first time. That there would be some tweaking involved. That she should not dissolve into tears or throw anything if it wasn't working out the way she imagined. I shot my oldest a "look" and informed her that gluten cut out cookies are just as frustrating, the only difference being that "normal" flour has many more experimenters and is, well, a lot cheaper to fail with!

She huffed at me. My youngest opened her eyes very wide, nodded solemnly and promised not to get upset if we could only experiment. And we did!!!!They're just as nummy as they look...even better; since they don't hurt my tummy and my husband claims they're better than regular sugar cookies. (With the caveat that he only eats regular sugar cookies because the snickerdoodles or oatmeal ones are gone.) We did lose a few angels to pan-sticking and other breakage...but I was very impressed and walking-on-air happy. You might need to try a few gluten free, er, "goodies" to fully appreciate the sensation.

Now, if only they'd lasted long enough to decorate with mini chocolate chips...Or, something else uncorny...

Girl Scout Fun

This week end my daughter went on her very first Girl Scout overnight.

Like any Brownie, she was nervous. But unlike most Brownie scouts, she also had to be concerned about what she could eat. She has to avoid dairy and blue dye in order to avoid a nasty migraine.

I must admit, I was concerned as well. I feel so caught up in the whole food allergy jungle, that I'm never quite sure what "normal" is anymore or where we all fit in. And there are many nights when I look at the clock, know the kids are hungry and just can't fathom what to fix. (My youngest is allergic to nuts. I need to avoid gluten, corn, potato, squash, beef, most legumes, cruciferous veggies and olive oil. Maybe more, it gets overwhelming.) There's not a lot left, especially when you want it to taste good enough for a picky 5 year old palate.

How was this trip going to happen without her feeling that much different?

Thankfully my worries really were for nothing. There is another girl in her troop avoiding dairy (and gluten). The leaders really did provide the food; for everyone. In fact, my daughter came home with not only her own emergency snacks (I hid some granola bars in there, hoping that if worst came to worst, she could at least have her own calories on hand.) but a bag full of leftovers. There were Newmans dairy free cookies, dried fruit and koala crisp cereal. All items that are uniquely special treats in our household...she fared quite well!

Most precious to us, however, is the fact that the troop cared enough to make the trip safe for her. The one thing she did not bring home was an upset stomach, which she assures me time after time is much worse than any peer pressure or feeling of being singled out her 9 year old mind can imagine. Thank you Girl Scouts!