We came across this cereal after searching for a cheerio substitute that was gluten free, dairy free, peanut free, tree nut free, and non-GMO. That's when I found Quinoa Queen! They are a ONE ingredient cereal... quinoa. They are exactly what we needed. This company is dedicated gluten free, dairy free, nut free, non-GMO, vegan, whole grain, no trans fat and preservative free! The quinoa comes from the Andean mountains of Ecuador. Quinoa is the most protein-rich foods available; it contains all nine essential amino acids and it has almost twice the fiber of other grains. Most kids with Food Protein induced Enterocolitis Syndrome (FPIES) can have Quinoa Queen, especially since it only has quinoa as the ingredient. Here is the link to my recipe using Quinoa Queen original cereal!
We have never put our daughter on a plane due to my oldest's airborne peanut and treenut allergies; airplanes use recycled air. On our recent trip to San Francisco it occurred to me to share our experience and steps we take to prepare and enjoy a safe and fun get-away!
In October of 2016, I drove to Nevada for an Allergy Summit. A lot of planning went on for that trip. Not only for myself, but for both my girls. I had to arrange for my mom and aunt to go with me to help care and keep both my babies safe. I took all pre-cooked meals, asked the hotel for a refrigerator to keep our food fresh. There are many hours of planning and preparing. These are things that must be taken: toaster, rice cooker, safe milk, safe snacks, safe food (some pre-made meals are frozen then placed in the rice cookers and steamed to reheat), cutting board, hand soap, dish soap, toiletries, MEDICATION, 6 Epi-Pens, Benadryl, Tylenol, Nebulizer, baby formula, etcetera. I also research our nearest Whole Foods for fresh salads, fruits and water. I take enough of everything to last while on the trip. I usually overpack snacks. We also take tons of disinfecting wipes, our own pillows, blankets and towels. It has been 3 years since we took a family vacation. It's very stressful, to say the least, because I pack for two young daughters that have completely different allergies. One is medically dependent and the other one is allergic to 65 % of foods! Once everything is packed in the car and ready to go , ALL the stress goes away. Always when arriving to our destination we wipe down the most common things our daughters can touch- the door knobs, handles to cabinets, toilet handle, kitchen and bathroom sink handles. A MUST! If we stay in a hotel, we always ask for our sheets to be changed (so that way we know our sheets get changed and we ask for the room to be vacuumed again). We also ask for extra bed sheets and place over the carpet if our girls are playing on the floor. It's a must for those who have a child with severe asthma. Another thing that helps us to eat out safely is a great app called Allergy Eats. It compiles a searchable database of restaurants that try to accommodate to the best of their knowledge for people with food allergies and those that suffer from Celiac's. This app helped us while we were on our trip to San Francisco. We logged on, entered our location and a list of restaurants were at our fingertips...so Rainforest Café was chosen.
It manages to turn the cheapest wine or whiskey that tastes better than the most expensive option. It improves whiskey by 30 points–example: a $30 Johnnie Walker Red Label can turn into tasting better than the $60 Johnnie Walker Black Label. This Oak Bottle also turned a $5 Yellow Tail Merlot wine into tasting better than a $40 St.Francis Merlot– that's 43 points!
I knew right away that this was perfect for my husband so he can create his own signature cocktails for his own menu and other restaurant's too. I finally found the perfect gift for my amazing, hard-working husband. I decided to buy him the biggest Oak Bottle size they have; he'll most likely use it for work. On top of that, I bought my husband the Oak Tumbler, which is a perfect size individual cup made from Oak, allowing him to use this at home. My appreciation for my husband never stops. Working twice as hard to provide for our family, always making time for us, and treating us with the most love ever. I know you'll enjoy this, every sip is better than the last! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MY LOVE, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO! Alternative eating because of food allergies and auto immune disorders is VERY expensive, as many of you may already know. It's also very difficult to do when living on one income.
About 3 years ago I bought a yogurt maker for the great deal of $20–but i NEVER used it! Until recently, I got into this "Julia Child Mode" and wanted to make everything from scratch. So I bought a pressure cooker, crockpot, ice-cream maker that attaches to my Kitchen-Aid, a bread maker, etc. You get the picture right? Anyway, back to my yogurt story. I read tons of recipes and finally tried one out. Let me tell you...it was a total FAIL! I didn't give up though. I threw it out, read more recipes and made my second batch–SUCCESS! Perfect texture, amazing taste, no additives, no preservatives and no junk! Why did my first batch fail? It wasn't the recipe in itself, but I only let it sit for about 8 hours when in reality yogurt should sit from about 24 hours. Letting it sit for 24 hours gives it a greek yogurt taste and texture. I used unsweetened coconut milk from a carton (it should be high-fatty content) and I let it come to a boil (A BIG NO-NO). On top of those mistakes, I didn't add any sugar; no sugar means there is nothing for the probiotics to feed on. I definitely learned my lesson. So I've made it and now I'm sharing my recipe and knowledge with you. Hope you enjoy! I wanted to give you all insight to who I am as a mother and as someone who grew into becoming more knowledgeable of the "allergy-scene." This is where my life as a food allergy parent began!
Starting this new, abstract life was really tough for me; it was even harder doing it alone. At the time I had no one to turn to, no one to support me- I was a single mom that lost her, at the time, husband to a murder. But I didn't give up. I knew that I had to keep my baby safe. My mom really supported me at such a difficult time in my life. We learned what we had to in order to keep Aeverie safe. We learned to read labels, although it was a very tedious task. We called companies to make sure products were safe, we advocated for Aeverie, and I started running a support group for moms whose children have peanut allergies. My sisters were also a great support and even changed the ingredients they ate. For example, they stopped eating peanut butter and switched to sunbutter. When I met my now amazing husband of 3years, he jumped right in to our way of life: no nuts and no endearing kisses to Aeverie after eating dairy, fish or shellfish because of her contact reactions. He learned to read labels and call companies as well. He also restricted his diet and changed his lifestyle (such as no shoes in the house and no more nutella- poor Italian man)! Now that we have our 1year old daughter in the mix, we have discovered that we are facing new challenges. She has GERDS and FPIES and may possibly have EOE and/or MCAD, but we continue to do what we can for her too. She has no safe foods and is on a medical formula called Neocate Infant. As a family we have grown to love our new lifestyle and we wouldn't have it any other way. It makes us who we are. From the recipe creating, to food allergy walks, to an improved version of the support group "No Nuts Moms" which now includes any member of the family for kids with any food allergy. We go to allergy summits, allergy friendly expos and we advocate. I know what it's like to have no knowledge and to grow in this allergen-free community. I want to help you with what I can because it can be a struggle to do it alone. I don't want you to have to be alone in this. Support in any way is a great friend. Let me be a support for you, whether you are new to this, have been in this for longer than I or have friends/family members who need support too. We can all support each other! Please visit my recipes page for yummy delicacies! I will soon have reviews posted of different companies so you have more information on them. Also, please feel free to contact me about anything: concerns, questions, and/or comments; you can also subscribe to my newsletter that will keep you up to date on what's new! With Love, Stephanie Labile |
AuthorI'm Stephanie, mother of 2 daughters. I'll be sharing my day-to-day life and give you insight on how my family and I function. Archives
March 2023
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