Top 8 Allergy Safe Lunch #5

I make this pasta with meat sauce about twice a month these days. The recipe is so forgiving -- if I have things on hand like carrot, celery, onion or red bell pepper, I'll add those in, but it's absolutely delicious with just crushed or pureed tomatoes, garlic, basil and olive oil. We've recently started using a gluten free chickpea pasta, which my family really enjoys. 

The best part of this meal is that my kids love it with their lunches, and yes, they eat it cold. I try to make a menu plan for dinners for the week and my kids keep leftovers in mind when they're choosing their lunch foods with the LaLa Lunchbox app. This lunch has gluten free pasta with meat sauce with salad (and olive oil and vinegar in those little containers), plus apples, strawberries and top 8 free gummy bears. 

Top 8 Allergy Safe Lunch #4

My kids love to roll their own sushi. Check out this video to see my 10 year old in action! We frequently make these with egg, but for this series, we've got carrot, lettuce, avocado and either brown rice or rice noodles. There's coconut aminos - a great soy sauce substitute - for dipping, plus some chickpeas seasoned with gomasio. Naturally, if you have a sesame allergy (rates of that are on the rise), just eliminate the gomasio. All of that plus strawberries, kiwi, raspberries and some gummy peaches which are free of the top 8. 

Top 8 Allergy Safe Lunch #2

Here's a colorful lunch that's filling and balanced! We have roasted sweet potato slices (slice a sweet potato, drizzle with olive oil and roast in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes), plus grapes, apple, dried coconut, sliced ham (I use Applegate ham, which is free of dairy, gluten and casein, but of course any meat will do here), and rice noodles with tomato, broccoli, olive oil and nutritional yeast. 

Nutritional yeast is kind of amazing. It adds a boost of savory flavor (kind of like cheese) but it's vegan. Be sure to read the label to make sure that your nutritional yeast is not made from whey. Here's the one I use. I cooked and drained the rice noodles, and then sauteed some chopped tomato and broccoli in olive oil. After about a minute, I added the rice noodles and stirred to make sure the ingredients were evenly distributed. I added a tablespoon of nutritional yeast, gave it a final stir and that was that - it took all of 5 minutes! 

Top 8 Allergy Safe Lunches

When I was pregnant for the first time (2005-6), I read the alarming data that if one parent has allergies, a child's inherited risk is between 30-50%, but if both parents have allergies, that number increases to 80%!   I've got anaphylactic allergies to certain tree nuts and all fish and my husband is allergic to stone fruit, though he doesn't have anaphylaxis. My allergies have played a defining role in my life. They impacted where I played as a kid, where I went to camp, even who my parents socialized with to some extent (allergy deniers - yes, they existed back then - fell by the wayside). I watched my parents assume the position of grizzly bear while talking to waiters in restaurants. I learned to read labels and to ask questions before taking a bite. I learned how to use the epi pen by myself and to take enough Benadryl to avoid a secondary reaction. In many ways, having life threatening allergies has made me stronger. Tougher. More educated. But it's not something I wanted to pass down to my children. 

My youngest (4) has not yet tried the foods that I'm allergic to, but mostly that's because I can't be near them and I can't serve them to her. She has a mild allergy to berries (hives) and cow dairy (a rash) but in the grand scheme of things given my reality, that's very manageable. I guess I've been too nervous to find a way to expose her to nuts and fish, so I really don't know if she has an allergy to those, but in time, my husband will do so. Fingers crossed. My kids have all seen what happens to me when I accidentally have an allergic reaction and while it's not often, frankly it's enough drama for our family of 5. 

My heart goes out to parents who manage food allergies for their children. I was the focus of that fear as a kid and when I became a parent, I understood the other side in a whole new light. Today, there are supportive communities and helpful, widely available information that enables families to get stronger, tougher and inspired together.

According to FARE, (Food Allergy Research and Education), though any food is capable of causing an allergic reaction, there are eight foods that cause the majority of reactions. These foods are: 
* Peanut
* Tree nuts
* Milk
* Egg
* Wheat
* Soy
* Fish
* Shellfish

These 8 foods (often called the Top 8) are the cause of 90% of all food allergic reactions. I love this article from Eating With Food Allergies which has handy information on each of the allergens and great strategies for how to avoid them.

I've created a series of Top 8 Allergy Safe Lunches to showcase how families can get creative with lunch packing even while managing the top 8 most common allergens. Click the links below (I'll add more every day this week) to find options that are healthy, delicious and colorful but most importantly, safe. They're simple and straightforward. They've got tips and recipes to make things easier. Feel free to comment on any of these on our Instagram feed and let me know if you've recreated one (or part of one) by using the hashtag #lalalunchboxtop8. And of course, drop me a line if you have any questions. 
- Gillian  

Top 8 Allergy Safe Lunch #1
Top 8 Allergy Safe Lunch #2
Top 8 Allergy Safe Lunch #3
Top 8 Allergy Safe Lunch #4
Top 8 Allergy Safe Lunch #5
Top 8 Allergy Safe Lunch #6
Top 8 Allergy Safe Lunch #7
Top 8 Allergy Safe Lunch #8
Top 8 Allergy Safe Lunch #9
Top 8 Allergy Safe Lunch #10
Top 8 Allergy Safe Lunch #11
Top 8 Allergy Safe Lunch #12
 

You might like:
Here's what it feels like (for me, at least) to have an anaphylactic allergic reaction. 
Here's why involving kids in meal planning is best
Recently we launched new dietary specific bundles in the LaLa Lunchbox app (which you can download for free via iTunes!) with allergic folks in mind! 

 

This is What It Feels Like to Have an Anaphylactic Allergic Reaction

This post is dedicated to the parents of kids with life threatening allergies. I've managed my fish and nut allergies pretty successfully all my life, and was raised to read labels and question ingredients. But accidents happen. In this post, I've laid out some strategies that have worked for me personally, and explanations about what it feels like with the hope that it provides a bit of clarity to parents whose allergic kids may not be able to fully communicate during an allergy attack.

When I created the LaLa Lunchbox app, I made it completely customizable so that people with allergies or eating preferences of any kind can be accommodated. Allergies are serious. We get that. We have also launched various dietary-specific food bundles inside of our app to provide more safe lunch inspiration for LaLa Lunchbox users. 

The nuances of allergies can be complicated to explain to outsiders. For example, the reaction my body has to a walnut is far more severe than the reaction to a Brazil nut and yet they both cause anaphylaxis. Same with various fish. Over the years, I've unfortunately had the opportunity to gather this detailed data and have listed my top tips below for eating out of my home. During holiday season, navigating the allergy waters can be particularly challenging. Sometimes, even after four decades, I make mistakes and eat something that causes a bad allergic reaction. I have to live with the burden of guilt and regret when this happens and at the same time, I'm incredibly grateful just to live. 

My strategies for eating out 
1. Avoid. There are many foods that I avoid completely and only eat if I've made myself because I've been burned in the past. This includes foods like pesto (walnuts), banana bread (walnuts), barbecue sauce (anchovy) and marshmallows (fish gelatin). If I'm at all doubtful that a food is safe, I don't eat it. There are plenty of other options in the world.
2. Clean Hands and Utensils for All. When I'm at the grocery store, the bakery or anywhere else that I may be purchasing food where there are known allergens and potential cross contamination, I ask whomever is helping me to put on a fresh pair of gloves. I request newly washed ice cream scoopers, newly washed tongs, you name it. These days, many people are accommodating to the request. If it's an issue, however, you should question whether you want to spend a penny at that establishment. At restaurants, I always let my waitperson know about my allergies with a no-nonsense, frank chat. This hasn't always been successful; unfortunately there are still people who just don't understand that "no nuts" means "not one teeny tiny bit of a nut anywhere."
3. Bring Extra Tissues. For holiday parties, restaurants, pot luck dinners and the like, I use a spare tissue to open doors and turn on faucets. I have gotten hives on occasion just by touching something that has been touched by someone who has eaten nuts or fish. Better safe than sorry, and tissues really take up no room. 
4. No Kisses. Hello and goodbye kisses are out of the question. For sensitive allergies like mine, it's just not worth risking the hives on my cheek from someone who has eaten something I'm allergic to. Folks who don't know me, likely won't be kissing me, and folks who do, understand that I'm not being cold, I'm being safe. 

Note: these are things that have worked for me, but always listen to the advice of your allergist. This is not clinical advice by any means. 

photo courtesy of WebMD

The fear of an anaphylactic reaction
The fear is one of the most difficult parts of an allergic reaction for me. Allergic reactions are painful, sure. But it's terrifying to feel something going wrong inside of your body and not be able to see any of it. 

The physical reaction
Beyond the panic, the first few moments of an allergic reaction make my mouth burn. My tongue feels prickly and I get hot throbbing hives on my lips and on my face. After about five minutes, I start to feel an ache in my esophagus as the hives move down my throat. I try not to panic, but it's hard not to. My legs feel weak and I want to cry. My hands start shaking. 

If I have accidentally swallowed something I'm allergic to, I get what feels like a golf ball stuck inside of my esophagus, my throat feels scratchy and it's painful to swallow. I worry about the hives. I worry about my blood pressure plummeting and going into shock. I try to contain the worry in my own head, but it's almost impossible. I'm afraid to alarm the people around me because I need them to stay calm on my behalf, just in case. My stomach aches with both a sharp and dull pain that makes me want to close my eyes and sleep so that it will stop aching. Benadryl is my first line of attack, followed immediately by two sprays of my ventolin inhaler and the epi pen. Once the Benadryl kicks in, everything seems to be moving in slow motion. After about ten minutes, the hives on my lip go down, my tongue doesn't feel as swollen, numb and prickly but my stomach still aches. I am overwhelmed with feelings of regret and guilt. I want to crawl out of my own skin from the knot in my stomach. I tell myself over and over that I can get through this and I'm grateful for supportive people around me. 

The safest plan if you have an anaphylactic reaction is always to go straight to the emergency room to be checked out by a doctor, even after you've administered the epi pen. 

photo courtesy of surefoodsliving.com

The After Effects 
The epi pen makes my body jittery and uncomfortable. After the Benadryl and the inhaler, I feel drugged and uncomfortable in my own skin. Within two minutes of getting the epi pen injection, I feel jittery and woozy all at once, but incredibly relieved that help is on the way. Everything feels like a monumental effort and yet I feel so speedy, like there's a highway full of race cars inside of me. 

It took me years to come to terms with the fact that I had to visit the ER with every anaphylactic reaction. The ER can be an overwhelming place, but it's part of the life-saving protocol for an allergic person. It goes without saying that if you ever have an anaphylactic reaction and do not have your epi pen, call 911 or go immediately to the ER. 

The day after
After an anaphylactic reaction, I feel bloated and out of it the next day. I need extra sleep. I try and put it behind me and thank my lucky stars that I got through it. I've never discussed the details about having a reaction with anyone so I don't know if this is standard. I haven't met many people of my generation who have allergies like this, and when I have in the past, we've mostly compared notes on what we're allergic to and what medications we rely on. Do you have life threatening allergies? Is this generally how you feel during an attack? 

For nut-allergic families, I've compiled a Guide to Safe, Nut-Free Lunches. If your family or a family that you know has a child with life threatening allergies and you think they may benefit from speaking to an adult who has been through it, please email me. I'm not a physician, but am always happy to provide emotional support.