Brotherhood of the World Blogger Award

I was honored earlier this month to be nominated by the lovely Tracy Bush of Nutrimom fame for the Brotherhood of the World Blogger Award!

I’ve never done much in the way of pass-it-on awards, or maybe I’ve just never been nominated before. But this was a nice treat, a great honor from a woman I consider a personal friend and not just a food-allergy acquaintance, and it put a big smile on my face. Thanks, Tracy!

The Rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you and post a link to his/her blog
List the rules of the award and post a picture of the award
Answer the questions from your nominator
Nominate other bloggers and be sure to let them know
Write a list of questions for your nominees to answer

Here are the questions Tracy asked me:

How long have you been blogging about allergies/food allergies? – I blogged from 2010 to 2013 about writing science fiction, with one post about food allergies when I fed my own personal poison to my son for the first time. But I started blogging about food allergies in September of 2014. I had begun paying more attention to this online community, and I felt my perspective was different–I was managing this for two generations and I’ve been dealing with it for longer than most. I wanted to bring that unique perspective to the blogosphere and the food allergy community.
Which family member (including you) has a food allergy? – There are three of us in our house! I’ve had anaphylactic allergies since 1982, first to egg (outgrown) and later to tree nuts (still with me.) Statistics say my kids only had a 30% chance of getting food allergies since my husband doesn’t have anything, but both of them ended up with food allergies anyway. “Zax,” my older son, is allergic to peanuts and eggs. “Kal,” my younger son, is allergic to peanuts.
What 3 books have you found to be most helpful on your journey?
1. Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl by Sandra Beasley was the first food allergy book that I ever read, and it was part of what catapulted me into this world of food allergy sharing. I know many FA parents take exception to the perspective and opinions that she shares, but I saw so many parallels to my own experience in that book that I felt an immediate kinship.
2. Another Person’s Poison: A History of Food Allergy by Matthew Smith was very appealing to me because I find the subject of food allergies in the past to be fascinating. I’ve often thought that just a few generations ago, my chances of survival would have been very slim–but until this book I haven’t had much information on what food allergies were really like in the past. (I’ll confess, which is rather embarrassing, that I’m not done with this book yet. But I’ve loved it so far!)
3. The No Biggie Bunch books by Heather Mehra are my favorite kids’ books I’ve read about food allergies so far. While not perfect, I like the attitude presented in the books–the kids are prepared and navigate social situations involving food without missing a beat–showing the world (and food-allergic kids) that, with proper planning and the right attitude, food allergies are “no biggie.”
Is there a recipe that you have tried & failed to make an allergy-friendly version of? – My husband’s favorite cake is Angel Food, which is almost completely made of egg whites. This means that Dean and our egg-allergic child have never shared this treat. The discovery of aquafaba in the spring of 2015 made me hopeful that an egg-free version could happen! However, the last time I checked, the wonderful folks in the Aquafaba: Vegan Meringue Hits and Misses facebook group had not cracked the code. Their frequent “misses,” coupled with the work of running my own business, have moved this one to my backburner–but I do hope to make an egg-free version eventually!
On your darkest day, what inspired you to pick yourself back up? – Sleep. When things seem just overwhelmingly insane, I usually have to admit that I’m tired and will do no good until I’m fresh. Surviving until bedtime (and allowing myself to accept that I shouldn’t bother working until the next day) can be difficult, but all problems seem easier to handle the next day.
What is one thing about you that very few people know? – After Zax had his first food-allergic reaction to eggs at 10 months old, our new allergist tested him for the top 8 and peanut was also positive. I knew immediately that I wanted him to challenge peanut when he was old enough to communicate better–partly because I’d had a false positive skin test to peanut when I was a child, but secretly also because my gut reaction was that I didn’t want to have one of “those peanut allergy kids.” Why would a food-allergy sufferer feel that way? Breaking down this emotion could probably be a post of its own, but I think it was largely because I thought I knew everything about food allergies at the time, and the “peanut allergy bad press” that had reached my ears went against what I thought I knew. I did ultimately have a peanut allergy kid though (two, in fact), so I was forced to adapt, and doing so has shaped the resources I share today.

My nominees:

Stephanie of Turn it Teal
Nicole of Allergic Child
Kathleen of Allergy Bites
Kate of Busy Bee Kate
Lindsey of Lindsey Lee and Co

My questions:

What positives have you taken away from the food-allergic/celiac/free-from life?
What is your biggest motivation to continue blogging/working in this community?
What is your favorite allergy-friendly restaurant, and have you rated it on Allergy Eats?
What do you love most about the state you live in?
If your/your family’s dietary restrictions magically disappeared tomorrow, would you still contribute to this community?
Describe your perfect day.