Category Archives: Gluten Free

I can’t eat that, no I won’t.

Posted on by

Back to school is a time when parents around the world buy new character themed backpacks, tennis shoes two sizes larger and pour that first glass of wine while waiting for the familiar rattle of the bus to pass by.

However, parents of kids with food allergies face tougher preparation. Regardless of the age of your child, you must first equip them with personal advocacy. This isn’t so daunting at the age of twelve or fifteen but with a five year old, you are placing a lot of faith in the system.

Kids are taught to listen, follow directions and go with the flow. They need to learn these valuable lessons. Life isn’t about them and their special needs, or is it?

Both of my kids learned in kindergarten that they had allergies that previously didn’t represent themselves. Both children had to learn that I would not be with them at school and they needed to speak up, ask questions and refuse food. Whoa. Do you mean defy the system? Yes, that is exactly what I am saying.

My son was sick three times in kindergarten from being fed things that he wasn’t supposed to eat. The challenge for kids is being able to have a voice in an environment where they are seen as defiant if they do.

People ponder the best way to send kids to school when they have allergies. I say arm them with knowledge and your support. Send them with a lunch filled with yummy alternatives to the normal elementary options, teach them it’s ok to say no when their health is on the line and give them permission to go to the nurse for support.

The more your children know about why they can’t eat it, what it does to their body and how you are their advocate, the more they will be comfortable doing the same in your absence.

Life is like a box of brownies…

Posted on by

It was like having a little chocolate coated candy angel come from heaven to make yummy treats. Just. For. Me.

It is admirable, not to mention understandable when people start food companies out of necessity for their (or their children’s) allergies. 

What you don’t seem to find is people starting companies to bring phenomenal tasting, quality products to the market when they don’t have a personal need for that product. Shy of the big box companies creating mirror products because they already have millions of users they can tap into for sales, of course.

Let’s be honest, Cheerios did not go gluten free because the board members at General Mills were emoting in the form of food, it was all about market share and returning some of the love to home base. And since my household has consumed about 18 boxes in the last three months… I’m ok with that.

The wow factor is based in companies that have little to no understanding of the need for an allergen free product, who are not looking at the market share, but rather see a group of people that could hugely benefit from their gifts.

When I first sat down with my friend Brooke and began explaining my bizarre eating habits she gave me a crazy look, wrinkled her nose like I’d done something foul and said, “what on earth is gluten”? This lead into a long discussion on what it is, where it comes from, what food it’s hidden in and why some people can’t eat it.

Having the gift of candy making and having started a company of her own, she returned home to do research. Intense research. Amazing research. When we met again, she told me what she had learned, what she was focusing on and what an exciting challenge this was to her.

What? You care? I was so floored. How could someone who can eat anything care so much about what I can’t eat? No one else had.

She began an exhaustive overhaul of what she had been doing and eliminated all gluten containing ingredients from her facility. She revamped some of her recipes to include ingredients that were gluten free. And then… she started mixing. She started creating. A waterfall of tears streamed down my face when she came up with a mix for brownies that was both gluten AND rice free. My allergens.

It was like having a little chocolate coated candy angel come from heaven to make yummy treats. Just. For. Me. (ok, so they weren’t just for me, but it felt like it)

She flew into high gear with her sampling team (her young boys who have no allergies) and before long created a chocolate chip cookie mix, banana bread, carrot cake, white cake, and chocolate cake mix. If it wasn’t good to them, it wasn’t good enough for us. Yes, it was actually important that it tasted good too. Novel thought, and it worked.

Suddenly she was in multiple top retail outlets! Last week she opened a new store front. I’m so excited for Brooke and her family. This venture was truly from the heart and from my heart I say thank you. Brooke’s really does Send the Best.

Visit @brooke.sendthebest http://www.brookescandyco.com pick up one of their mixes (or chocolates! at a local grocer) or go visit them at their new shop in Terre Haute, IN at 10 N. 5th Street.