Necco All Natural Candy Wafers

Through TwitterMoms.com I was able to participate in receiving a free bag of Necco wafers. As one of the first 50 people you had to send an email to Necco with your address. When I did so, I asked if the wafers were peanut-allergy friendly. If they weren’t I simply said to disregard my email.

A week or so later I got an email stating that I was one of the first to respond and that the wafers were peanut-allergy safe! Yay!

When we got home from Disney our bag of Necco’s were waiting for us. Neither of my kids liked the Clove flavor but I kind of expected that, the orange and lime however were big hits! We also got a few rolls of the chocolate wafers and they were very tasty!

Pick up a bag the next time you see them, the rolls are small so they fit nicely in a diaper bag or purse. It’s great when you need that quick treat for the kids so you can get through the grocery store!

Disney World and Peanut Allergies

We just got back from a trip to Disney World and it was wonderful! I wish that I could say that I had tons of fabulous information for you but the truth is that we didn’t eat all that many meals *in* Disney. However, they are very knowledgable of food allergies and cater to those people extremely well. Here are some standout things that Disney does/has for food allergy sufferers:

1. Every Disney theme park has an information center. At this information center you can ask for a stapled packet of papers that lists their restaurant and food vendors in that park. It then is broken down by types of food and what allergens/cross-contamination possibilities exist at certain places to eat. A great little packet to keep with you during your stay at the park.
2. Each restaurant is well versed in the plight of the food allergic patron. However, Chef Mickey’s was an all-star  restaurant to eat at with a peanut allergy. The chef came to our table and took me around the buffet letting me know what was and was not safe. He explained that they are trying to go as peanut-free as possible. They are even trying to become a self-sufficient restaurant so they control everything that goes into the food. There were only a few breakfast items my son could not have that included granola (the only item left with actual peanuts in them), French toast (chance of x-contamination at the bakery it’s made at) and a couple of the desserts such as brownies. The highlight for my son was the Krispy Kreme doughnut which is peanut and x-contamination free.
3. T-Rex Cafe was another great restaurant to work with. Again, the chef came out and told us what was and wasn’t safe and that the only peanut product they had was not used anywhere near the kids meal station. While I realize that a peanut product (a dip I believe?) being in the kitchen could cause x-cont. issues, I felt comfortable with the chef’s knowledge of food products to trust him. My son was fine and even got to have a slushey for a drink.
4. Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Pops. If you’ve ever been to Disney you know what I’m talking about. The popsicle is shaped like Mickey’s head and is vanilla ice cream covered in a hard chocolate shell. Yum-O! These are made by Nestle specifically for Disney and are free of peanut and tree nut allergens. My son had one at each Disney park we went to. He loved it.
5. All (pretty sure that’s what the paper said) Disney restaurants used a Canola oil in their kitchens. No peanut oil used at all.

So there you have it. My top five reasons to spend your next vacation at Disney!!

Halloween or in other words “Food Allergy Nightmare Night”

Halloween has always been a source of worry for me. To trick-or-treat or not to trick-or-treat, that has always been the question.

When Alex was first diagnosed Boscov’s department store would give children with diabetes a $10.00 gift card to their store. I approached them about Alex’s peanut allergy and they let him participate also. All you had to do was give your candy bag to the customer service desk and they give you the card. Awesome! That worked until Alex was about 4. When he turned five he wanted to TOT and not give away his candy. Hmmmm. That’s a problem.

So we tried TOT’ing and denying candy with nuts. That left very few houses to receive candy from. It also got old telling people “he’s allergic to peanuts but thanks anyway”. Several times I got the “but this one doesn’t have peanuts” and then I would have to quickly explain that he still can’t have it.

This year we are getting home from Disney the night of TOT’ing. I’m hoping that is my saving grace. I have explained to Alex that he can dress up and give out candy while enjoying candy that is safe for him. Then the following night they can dress up and go to our parents’ homes and TOT there. As of now he seems ok with this. Whether that still holds true on the 30th remains to be seen. Fingers crossed!

New School Year

Wow, I had no idea it was this long since I last posted. We are now into a new school year. The one where he eats at school. And everything is fine!

We have an action plan in place and he sits at a separate table in the lunchroom. By separate I mean it is his table only. No other children sit there, not even during other lunch periods. Then each day the teacher asks if anyone has a peanut-free lunch and if they do then they can sit with Alex. The only problem is that it only sits four kids and usually more want to sit with him! He loves it.

The school is not peanut-free but the two first-grade classrooms are. I made a list of safe snacks the teacher can use to buy snacks for the classroom. At the beginning of the year they asked for a $10.00 donation to buy snacks for the year. That way everyone is eating the same thing and it is safe to eat.

Other than that things have been uneventful. We leave for DisneyWorld in 10 days and I have been hearing wonderful things about their food allergy awareness. Hopefully that holds true. I’ll have a full report when we get back.

Hope everyone out there is having a wonderful fall!