Merry Christmas

Hello all,

It is only a few days before Christmas. Us here in the mid west are bracing for an ice storm to bring in the Christmas Holiday. On my way home tonight due to Lynda's asthma kicking up we bought a present for the family of a generator. A few years back we had an ice storm and we were without power for 3 days. A very scary 3 days with Lynda and cold weather. Reminder for all of you that are hosting holiday parties to keep a close eye on your kids with food allergies, especially when you have new people that are unfamiliar with the rules around to celebrate with you.

Safe alternatives to traditional fare is also a good idea so that your child can participate in the holiday. But beware to make sure all things are kept separate so cross contamination does not occur or worse an accidental ingestion.

Check your candy canes- Spangler brand is manufactured in a gluten and tree nut free facility. Lynda enjoys them each Christmas season.

Have a safe Christmas- travel safely, love HUGE and remember the reason for the season!

All our love,


The Taylor's

Matt is coming home from the ARMY

Yes the girls (and us too!) are very excited to welcome Matt home for Christmas. This will be his first (and likely only) leave before he goes over seas as a combat medic! He has been trained on Food Allergies as part of his medical training and it will be interesting to hear what he knows. All our food allergic friends, please be careful during this holiday season! Make sure you know what you are eating! You are your own best advocate!

Happy Holidays!

The Taylor's

Spaghetti for those who can not have egg or wheat noodles

One of the things we try very hard to do is to make mainstream meals for Lynda. One we have done for a while now is Spaghetti. We have a local oriental food store that has great prices on rice noodles of all types- when we go to the local chain store in their health area, a pound of rice noodles can be as much as $4 where we can get them at the oriental store ranging from .85 to $2.35 depending on the type. Lynda likes the thicker Alfredo style noodles.

So here it is:

3 Lbs Turkey ground and browned (or our favorite meat)
1 medium can Tomato paste
1 large can Tomato juice
2 lbs Alfredo style rice noodles-

Boil the noodles as normal- strain and rinse off with cold water- add the turkey and tomato products to the bowl and heat for 10 minutes and enjoy. This is also a great dish for those calorie counters out there.

Hope this helps- we will post more recipies as I remember to right them down.

MN Food Allergy Group Trying to effect change at resturants

I got this from the Minnesota Food Allergy Assocation Newsletter. This would be great to do in any area.

Make Eating Out With Food Allergies Safer!

The City of St. Paul is considering an ordinance to increase food allergy awareness among food service employees. The ordinance will:

1) require a food allergy awareness poster in the employee area of restaurants and;

2) offer a discount on license fees if trained restaurant staff are on site and an allergen plan is adopted.

Due to opposition from the food service industry, the ordinance evolved into these two provisions. Earlier versions also included requirements to keep updated ingredient lists; having ingredient lists to be available to anyone at all times; and public signage.

Although not as comprehensive as earlier versions, AFAA and national food allergy advocates feel that the ordinance is an excellent step and ask for your support.

They also provided their supporters with a listing of contacts, armed them with information and invited them to the city council meeting. This is a stripped down version of what was originally presented due to push back from the food service industry.

Here is the text they provided on the what to say:

What You Can Say:
Share information -
12 million Americans have food allergies
6-8% of children have food allergies
1-2% of adults have food allergies
200,000 Minnesotans have food allergies
30,000 Minnesota K-12 students have food allergies
allergic symptoms include digestive upset, hives, swelling, breathing difficulties, blood pressure drop, and sometimes death
24% of restaurant operators thought eating tiny amounts of allergens was okay*
35% restaurant operators mistakenly thought fryer heat destroys allergens*
25% restaurant operators thought it was safe to remove an allergen from a finished meal*
awareness is essential
reactions you/your child has experienced
your experiences in restaurants
*statistics from an Elliot and Roslyn Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at Mount Sinai School of Medicine 2006 survey of 100 restaurant operators

If you need a contact there to find out how to start this campaign in your area, send me an e-mail through the blog. Knowledge is power- we all just need to help educate the rest of the world!