Back to School Again... Tips for Parents of Nut Allergy Kids

As a mom to three kids with nut allergies, the start of school is always a little stressful for me.  At Meet the Teacher, I always make the teachers aware of their allergies and talk about how to help them at school.  I like to also send a "Safe Snack Bag" to keep at school, just in case someone brings in a class snack for a birthday party, etc. so that my kids will have a treat they can eat :) 

Even though we have lived with nut allergies for 6 years now, as the start of school approaches, I still remind my kids about how to avoid nuts at school.  We even practice what to say if someone offers them food at school. so they'll know how to respond. 

Here is a letter I also send to my kids' teachers with a list of safe nut free foods.  It's helpful to have on hand to refer to through the year... You can find nut free lists online.  I made mine from a list I found and mainly included snacks my kids like. So these are definitely not the only nut free snacks available :) You just have to double check labels  :)

(This list is NOT gluten free, only nut free :) )

Hi,

Since ___________ is allergic to all nuts, I thought it might be helpful if you had a list 
of some snacks that are safe for him if you need snacks for class, etc. Since ingredients 
can change, we always double check labels too. He cannot have anything that contains 
nuts and we also stay away from products that have any mention of nuts 
("manufactured in a plant with nuts", "may contain nuts", etc.) We also do not let him 
eat baked items brought in from students or from bakeries.  If you ever have any 
questions please let me know :) 

Thanks for all your help!

Skittles

Hershey plain chocolate Kisses

Wonka Nerds

Laffy Taffy

Air Heads

Tootsie Pops and Tootsie Rolls

Junior Mints

Lifesaver Gummies

Smarties

Whoppers

Sweet Tarts

Dum Dum lollipops

York Peppermint Patties

Twizzlers

Starburst

Kraft Marshmallows

Oreos (Original, Name-Brand)

Chips Ahoy (Original Name-Brand)
Goldfish Crackers (Name-brand)

Cheez-its

Lunch Ideas for Kids with Nut Allergies

All three of my kiddos have nut allergies. They are allergic to both peanuts and tree nuts, so we avoid anything with any mention of nuts ("contains nuts", "may contain nuts",  "manufactured in a plant with nuts", etc.)

This can make packing lunch a challenge. Unlike me though, they CAN eat gluten.  

So here are some simple school lunch ideas that I use for my nut allergy kids....

(These items are NOT all gluten free)

Ham or turkey sandwich (we love Boars Head!) 

Jelly biscuit

Blueberry muffins 

(Here's a simple healthy recipe http://glutenfreesimplygood.blogspot.com/2015/02/gluten-free-blueberry-muffins.html or you can grab the Udi's Blueberry Muffins, which are quick and yummy too!)

Carrot slices

Strawberries

Sliced grapes

Cheese sticks
Celery sticks
Apples

Applesauce (my kids LOVE strawberry applesauce!)
Original Cheerios

Snack Pack Chocolate Pudding or Vanilla Pudding 

Honey Maid graham snacks

Goldfish brand crackers

Oreos

Betty Crocker gummy snacks
Smartfoods White Cheddar Popcorn
Gogurt yogurt

(Always remember to double check labels too, as ingredients can change)

Back to School with Nut Allergies

Back to School this year was even tougher than usual for me.  My baby girl started Kindergarten! I knew she was ready...she's been begging to go with her brothers for years! :) My biggest concern was and is her nut allergy.  Now, since all my kiddos have nut allergies, we've been through this before with both boys. So we explain to all teachers about their allergies and how to keep them safe.  But she has the most severe allergy. And, as I've shared before, we've already had to use the EpiPen due to a reaction....so this was my main concern for her.  I prayed that God would give her a teacher who would take care of her and be mindful of her allergy.  And those prayers have definitely been answered! We explained to the teacher about the allergy, and together have taken steps to keep my daughter safe :) The teacher has been great about accommodating the requests I've made.  Baby Girl is in her second week of school and is doing great!

Here is a letter I sent to all my kids' teachers about nut free foods.  It's helpful for them to have on hand to refer to through the year... You can find nut free lists online.  I made mine from a list I found and mainly included snacks my kids like. So these are definitely not the only nut free snacks available :) You just have to check labels  :)

(This list is NOT gluten free, only nut free :) )

Hi,

Since ___________ is allergic to all nuts, I thought it might be helpful if you had a list 
of some snacks that are safe for him if you need snacks for class, etc. Since ingredients 
can change, we always double check labels too. He cannot have anything that contains 
nuts and we also stay away from products that have any mention of nuts 
("manufactured in a plant with nuts", "may contain nuts", etc.) We also do not let him 
eat baked items brought in from students or from bakeries.  If you ever have any 
questions please let me know :) 

Thanks for all your help!

Skittles

Hershey plain chocolate Kisses

Wonka Nerds

Laffy Taffy

Air Heads

Tootsie Pops and Tootsie Rolls

Junior Mints

Lifesaver Gummies

Smarties

Whoppers

Sweet Tarts

Dum Dum lollipops

York Peppermint Patties

Twizzlers

Starburst

Kraft Marshmallows

Oreos (Original, Name-Brand)

Chips Ahoy (Original Name-Brand)
Goldfish Crackers (Name-brand)

Cheez-its

Real...

The Gluten Dude shared a touching letter he received from a 12 year old with Celiac Disease.  You can read it here... http://glutendude.com/celiac/celiac-attitude-is-everything/

The letter made me think about our family, and I wanted to share this...

I love this quote from Shauna James Ahern's book Gluten Free Girl...

   "I have a confession to make.  I used to suspect that people who claimed they had food allergies were making it up--or, at the very least exaggerating. 
   How could anyone get so sick from a little wheat?  Or some milk? A handful of walnuts?  It seemed to me that people who ate wheat-free bread were just looking for attention.  Granola heads. Pale people with no real vitality.  
   Watch out for what you doubt.  It might just become you."

 Before my oldest son was diagnosed with a nut allergy 6 years ago, I might have said the same thing.

 But food allergies are real.

Our younger son was diagnosed with the same allergy 4 years ago, and our daughter was diagnosed 2 years ago.  Then I was diagnosed over three years ago with Celiac Disease.

For our family, food allergies are real.

My husband and I have said many times, unless you have a food allergy or a child with a food allergy, you just aren't going to think very much about ingredients and labels. We meticulously check labels on everything,  and for us it's just become a part of life. And thankfully there are lots of safe foods my kids can enjoy.

Last year, my son brought home a treat bag from his Valentine's Day party, and before I could check the candy inside, my daughter had eaten one of the chocolates from the bag.  She became very ill; I had to administer an EpiPen and we spent the rest of the day at the hospital.  That day, food allergies were very real.

It sometimes makes me sad that my kids have to take their own snacks to friends' birthday parties or miss out on things because of their allergy.  And, yes, their nut allergy scares me... Earlier this year, on a school field trip, we were all eating lunch when one of the kids pulled out and started eating a bag of nuts.  My 7 year old son commented that he couldn't eat nuts.  The child started asking me about my son's allergy; what would happen if he ate nuts or touched nuts...I explained that it could make him very sick.  The child then got up, ran over and rubbed his hands all over my son's shirt. I was horrified!  It broke my heart that someone could do something like this to my child!

Now, with Celiac Disease, it's different.  No, for me it's not immediately life threatening, as the peanut allergy could be for my kids.  But still, it's something I have to watch extremely carefully in order to stay healthy now and to avoid more serious health problems in the future.

Yes, food allergies are real...and sometimes even overwhelming. I suppose until you or someone you love has an allergy, you don't fully understand how serious it can be.  But food allergies are no joke.  They are a part of everyday life for our family and for so many others too.

   

EpiPen Co-Pay Offer

As a mom of three kids with nut allergies, I am never without EpiPens! I wanted to share this info, just in case you don't know about it... On the EpiPen website there is a discount voucher you can download just by answering a few simple questions.  In some cases I have paid $0 co-pay when presenting this at the pharmacy!  Sometimes I have had to pay a few dollars, but it's still a drastic discount from the full price of the EpiPens.  Here's the link.

https://www.epipen.com/en/copay-offer