Halloween

Here we are.

Halloween........ one of those dreaded holidays for food allergy parents.

What to do?

 Last year we didn't have to much of an issue with Halloween, but I have a hunch that this year will be a different story.

Roe is TWO now, any you know what that means.

Opinionated and strong tempered.

He's still my little sweet, but he def. knows what he wants these days and he likes him some CANDY.

The only candy I have felt safe giving him up until now are smarties.

(source)

But I am feeling pretty comfortable about giving him some more treats off this candy list that I found on PETAKiDS.

As many other allergy moms will agree it's a little tricky when eliminating both dairy and gluten, to find main stream foods/candy that work.

I feel like when you add beef and pork into the mix it becomes a bit more intimidating.

Until now I have been worried about food dyes like yellow #5 and red #40, because many times they are derived from animal sources.

Of course I am also on the lookout for gelatin which is common in many hard candies, gummies, and marshmallow.

I know that I am not the only one dealing with these kind of weird-o allergies/ or sensitivities, and I find comfort that this is completely normal diet/ way of life for a growing number of people in our society.

With well known public figures like Bill Clinton, Ellen DeGeneres, and Brad Pitt embracing a plant based diet I am confident that more mainstream treats will become easier and easier to find.

Did you know that Coretta Scott King was a vegan in her later life?

Once again Allison St. Sure has compiled an excellent list of allergy safe candies and treats.

What an amazing resource.

(Had to throw in this pic of CKA as a LEGO firefighter last year.)

I have a hard time when thinking about Halloween without remembering this time last year when I took Roe to our neighborhood fire station with labored breathing.

It was before we had the first scope which gave us the diagnosis of Eosinophilic Esophagitis, and looking back I wonder how many of the symptoms we were seeing were EE related.

I was so scared, TA was at a football game and Roe was struggling with every breath he took.

Fortunately he was fine and after a dose of benadryl he had a good night sleep and we only had it happen one more time.

Unfortunately for the fire fighters we arrived during overtime of the FL/GA game..... sorry fellas.

they missed the winning touchdown of the big game dealing with us.

I found this short video again while checking out all the other mom's sites on the Top allergy Mom Bloggers website.

I stumbled upon it a year or two ago when Roe was first diagnosed with food allergies, and parts of it really stuck with me. 

Ten things children with food allergies want you to know.

So worth watching.

Also so worth checking out all the amazing mom bloggers that have been nominated.

I am so flattered that you guys are voting for me.

 Thank you.