I stumbled across this blog giveaway this morning and I immediately thought of my friend Mandy’s son Andy, who has a whole lot of allergies that make it hard for him to get to eat the same things other kids eat.
One of the things that sticks in my mind is Mandy once telling me that he was being separated from the rest of the class during snack time or mealtime, because of his allergies, so he didn’t see the other kids’ treats that he couldn’t eat. How terribly sad and isolating that must be for a young child, don’t you think? It makes me a little choked up to think about it, actually.***
I’ve mentioned before on this blog that Brianna has dairy allergies. I find that challenging enough. This winter, we’ve been struggling with her having eczema and I’m sure some of that is because more dairy has been slipping into her diet as her allergies get less severe (we were told she’d probably grow out of them and she has, but they’re still there and we’ve had to learn not to ignore that). But while I find dairy allergies challenging, I can’t imagine having a child who has dairy, soy, gluten, wheat, peanut, egg protein and other combinations of allergies. Being a kid is hard enough without getting to enjoy the same foods your friends are, the same treats they’re getting.
So when I saw Mod Mom’s giveaway for Divvies cupcakes, which I had never heard of before, I immediately entered–Andy so needs those! and then shared the link to the Divvies with Mandy. But now I want to share it with you all in case any of you have kids who are in the same situation as Andy.
What are Divvies?
Enjoy all of Divvies tasty treats for people who have food allergies and those who don’t. Try our gourmet popcorn, bakery cookies, candy, and cupcakes all made using egg-free, nut-free, dairy-free recipes. Especially great for children and adults with food allergies and those on a special allergy diet. Also perfect for those on a vegan diet.
Don’t stop at one. Try all our delicious products. Cookies: chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and molasses cookies. Gourmet Popcorn: caramel corn, kettle corn, and chocolate caramel corn. Candy: chocolate chips, rock candy, gumballs, jawbreakers and jelly beans. Cupcakes: mix and match chocolate and vanilla cake and icing, sold by the dozen.
How cool is that? For a chance to win some, visit Mod Mom’s blog giveaway. Or just go ahead and buy a few things. You know you want to 
***Since this is my blog I’m going to step on my soapbox and gripe about something for a minute–Those moms who complain about not being able to pack peanut butter and/or dairy items for their kids’ lunches or when it’s their turn to bring snacks, because it’s inconvenient for them and makes it harder to find something. Yes, it does happen and people do complain about something so freakin’ minor, amazingly enough. When it comes down to a child’s life, five more dollars or five extra minutes of your day (and not even, just buy soy butter for crap’s sake. You can get it at Walmart), you’re going to look like a total asshole for complaining. And you should feel like one too. Shame on you.
Wow, cool! My nephew is deathly allergic to eggs (Epi-pen allergic if he so much as touches the stuff). We have to be so careful what’s in the house when he comes to visit. I’ll have to send my sister this site. :blue:
I hope you’ll excuse the long comment, but I hope it’ll make you feel better. I have a 21-year old nephew with the same set of allergies that your friend’s son has. Zac is a healthy (and handsome!) young man who navigates a treacherous food world with incredible panache and self-assurance. I asked him once if it bothered him to be unable to eat all of the stuff that others so obviously enjoy. And he told me that he’d rather feel good than get temporary enjoyment from something that might taste good, but make him sick later. He’ll probably go to a Super Bowl party tomorrow and there won’t be a single thing there he can eat. Knowing this, he’ll eat beforehand, or take something with him he can eat. It’s fun to go out to dinner with him. He gives his menu instructions politely, but clearly to the wait staff and does not hesitate to send it back if his instructions are not followed. What he can and does eat is very healthy–lots of protein, fruit, and fresh veggies.
With a different set of pitfalls is my 11-year old son who has Type 1, or Juvenile Diabetes. The staff at his school and the other moms have been incredibly gracious to us and the other little boy in his class who also has the disease. Sugar-free snacks and diet sodas are provided along with other treats during school parties. On an overnight school camping trip, meal plans were provided to us parents so we could monitor insulin dosages ahead of time.
For my nephew and my son it is what it is. Honestly, I think it bothers US more than it bothers them that they can’t have what the rest of us have. And frankly, they’re healthier than the rest of us. And admittedly it’s a pain to have to shop special, cook special, and haul special food around. But here are 2 kids going through life with grace and maturity missing in lots of adults I know. I wish the same for young Andy.
Phyl’s last blog post..Virgin Slave, Barbarian King / Louise Allen. 2007
I wish other allergies were taken as seriously as peanut allergies. I have horrible asthma problems from wood fires — it’s the same thing. I *could* die. I probably will wind up in the hospital, needing massive amounts of steroids just to breathe.
But God forbid the Good Southern Baptists who lie about having a burn permit for their campfire take any of that into consideration.
Susan Helene Gottfried’s last blog post..Booking Through Thursday: Quirks
I’m constantly amazed at how hateful people can be. In my middle son’s preschool there was a child who wasn’t just mildly allergic to peanuts but so severely allergic just the whiff of peanuts had sent her to the hospital. Like I’m going to complain that I can’t send cookies with nuts? Instead of being thankful my kids didn’t have to face that?
Lauren’s last blog post..Words
The way I look at it, my kid isn’t going to die from not having a peanut butter sandwich. Can’t say that about some with peanut butter allergies. It’s never bothered me when I can’t send in stuff, although with the oldest it is hard because that’s the only sandwich she’ll eat. We made do though when we couldn’t.
I have a step niece who has PKU. She’s very limited on what she can eat because her body will not metabolize some proteins. She’s a spitfire, beautiful and smart with a sense of humor already at almost 3. My kids and their cousins have all gotten an education in not sharing food with her.
But as her parents said, she’ll never eat some things so hopefully she’ll never know what she’s missing.
Great blog. I may have to send the site around and see if the food is PKU friendly.
:hips: Sorry hadn’t seen that one before and just had to click. I love the name of you blog and your design! Thanx for stopping by my blog. :hiney: Now maybe if I did all the wiggling that these thigns do I’d lose 20 lbs. :0)
Lisa’s Chaos’s last blog post..diet buster
I agree with your “***” comment: It’s ridiculous that some parents would balk at keeping a child safe. If it were their kid with the allergy? You can bet they’d be squawking about how selfish the other parents were. Sometimes people make me crazy.
Megan’s last blog post..Talented Friends
I completely agree with your *** comment and with Phyl. My son and I both have celiac disease. He and I were dx’d at the same time. He doesn’t care about things he can’t eat and doesn’t feel deprived (he’s now 4). And I wish someone had told me when I was growing up that I had this. I would have had so much better time of it.
Occasionally it bugs me that people comment on how “healthy” I eat and how they wish they could do the same. Yeah, they can and I have no choice (unless, of course, I’d like to be ill)
So, thanks for your post. It won’t work for us, but that’s OK we have plenty of gluten free places on the web to get goodies.
Helen, you might enjoy this blog:
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
Their family is gluten-free and every day it’s a different crockpot recipe.
Thanks, Angie. The site looks cool. My DH actually does most of the cooking in the house, but I can crockpot.
I’m sure if I did some of those recipes, he’d be happy.
Ya know, I’ve been sending in non-peanut/ non nut snacks since my oldest was three. He’s now twelve. It is just habit.
Neither of my kids have allergies, but the rule at all the schools they’ve been at is no nuts in anything.
What’s the big deal?
Oooh, thanks for the link and info.! A co-worker of mine has a daughter who’s allergic to wheat products, so she’ll be interested in this.
My son is on a casein-free (no dairy) diet because milk products seem to worsen his autism. He’s been on soy products forever, but I’m always on the lookout for places that sell cool foods that kids will like and eat.
Interestingly enough, I was talking to my BIL earlier today about a few butt-munch moms bitching and complaining about not being able to send up Nutter-Butters or PB&Js up to school. One of my daughter’s classmates has a severe peanut allergy–so severe she can’t even be in the same room with a peanut product. The school sent home a note asking us to avoid sending these items in lunches. That night I went out to Wal-mart and bought the soy butter that’s processed in a nut-free plant (another thing you have to look out for on the back label). No biggie. My kid loves the soy butter, even more so than the PB&J. Even if she didn’t she’s out of luck. She can have another type of sandwich. A PB&J isn’t worth another child’s life.
Some people really need to get their priorities in order, get over their own self-absorption and show a little compassion.
My 3 year old son developed a sudden allergy to peanuts just last month. (I say sudden because he had peanut butter just 6 months ago and was fine.)
I’m so excited to finally find allergy-sensitive sites! I have a range of digestive issues myself so I can’t eat most regular goodies, so I’m going to shop for me too! (Angie, thanks for the gluten free site btw. Most people have never even heard of this.)
Minx
Minx Malone’s last blog post..Rent a…what?
Hello! I just stumbled across your blog for the first time and landed on this post, and I must say: I’m impressed! I had NEVER heard of Divvies before but they definitely are worth a shot.
I just started up a digestive disorder website actually (I found this site by searching on “gluten” in Google), and invite you to stop by and share your experiences and tips. The site is located at http://www.joyfuldigesting.com/ .
Once I try Divvies, I might be posting about them, and of course I’ll give you credit for the introduction! Thanks a million, and best of luck to your friend’s son and your daughter with managing their allergies – I know it can be tough, and I know people can be insensitive and complain about their own very minor and inconsequential inconveniences.
Take care! And consider yourself bookmarked!
Tee’s last blog post..Watch the Gluten Intake, Celiacs!
It has been found that modifying your diet is the first and foremost thing that you should do. You should start eating foods that contain alkali.