Pizza night (without the garlic!)

Every Friday night is Pizza Night in our house. It's a fun activity because we always make our own. I mean, getting pizza delivered is nearly impossible with garlic and peanut allergies. (We have found one option though, see below!)

Make your own pizza night has because a fun tradition for us and something we look forward to throughout the week. And even though Bug is still young, she enjoys playing with the dough and watching the pizza bake in the oven.

After many attempts we have found the perfect dough recipe. It tastes good and it's quick. Let's be honest, I'm not waiting around to let my dough rise for hours. I have an 18-month-old who gets antsy and has a 7:30pm bedtime. Below you'll see our "go to" recipes for dough and pizza sauce. It's a yummy and garlic free way to get your pizza fix. Did I mention it's also cheaper? Much, much cheaper! Win!

Garlic and peanut free pizza dough
Ingredients
2 c. whole wheat flour ( I use 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup white flour)
1 pkg. or 1 tbsp. active dry yeast
3/4 tsp. salt
1 c. warm water
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. honey

Pour flour into a large mixing bowl. Add yeast and salt. Mix well. Add water, oil and honey; mix well. Cover with a moist cloth and place in a warm spot for 10 minutes to rise.
Punch down and press into a greased 14 inch pizza pan or a 10 inch pan for a thicker crust. Spread sauce and other ingredients on pizza crust. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Pizza sauce

I use Hunt's a lot these days because they don't tend to use much garlic. Always check the label for yourself though.
 
1 can Hunt's tomato sauce 
1/2 can Hunt's tomato paste
Oregano, salt, pepper to taste

Mix ingredients together, spread on the pizza dough. It's that easy!

As I mentioned earlier, we have actually ordered delivery pizza since Bug's garlic allergy diagnosis. YES WE DID! One of our local pizza shops is incredibly accommodating. A margherita pizza typically uses olive oil instead of pizza sauce, sliced tomatoes, basil, mozzarella cheese and chunks of garlic. We simply have them leave off the garlic! Easy! And the dough from the local pizza shop does not contain garlic or peanuts. Awesome! Delivery pizza night is reserved for special occasions because margherita pizzas are considered "specialty" thus making them pretty pricey. But, it's so amazing to have food from a restaurant on occasion. I can't even begin to describe the excitement Garlic Free Daddy and I had when we found out about the margherita pizza. You food allergy parents know exactly what I mean!

- Garlic Free Mama

"Well, she's allergic to garlic."

Bug had two reactions in one week at daycare. The first was on a Tuesday. When I saw daycare's number on my caller ID my heart dropped. I knew something was wrong. "Bug is having a reaction. She has a rash on her face and some on her neck," her teacher said. "We gave her Benadryl." I didn't know what to say. I told them to watch her closely, give her the Auvi-Q if it got worse and hung up. I didn't even tell them that one of us would come check on her. I started to cry and called my husband. He could get to daycare quicker than I could. Trying to speak clearly through the tears I called daycare back to let them know Garlic Free Daddy was on his way. The rash had stopped spreading.

Once we knew Bug was ok I started a root cause analysis (my background in patient safety comes in handy quite often with food allergies). She had Annie's Extra Cheesy Cheddar Bunny Crackers. (We just love Annie's!) They contain no peanuts. They are not manufactured in a facility that may contain peanuts. It must have been a fluke. Maybe another kid had peanut residue on them and she somehow came in contact with it.

Photo from www.annies.com

On Thursday I got another call from daycare. I immediately started tearing up when I saw the number (It's great when I get calls in work meetings. Keep it together, mama!) The same thing had happened; localized rash on her face and her eye was swelling. They gave her Benadryl and watched for additional symptoms. I ran to my car as I cancelled a meeting with my company's Executive Vice President that I was supposed to attend. When I got to daycare the rash had already started to go away and the swelling around her eye was going down. This time she had the homemade hummus. The recipe only had chickpeas, tahini (sesame), garlic, lemon and olive oil. It had no peanuts and her daycare's kitchen is peanut free (love this!). My root cause analysis now had more information. Tuesday's reaction was not a fluke. The only common ingredient was garlic. 

I called her pediatric allergist and explained the situation. The allergist suggested the reaction was to sesame even though the crackers did not contain it. She said that sometimes cracker manufacturers have sesame cross-contamination because the seeds "jump".  We scheduled more skin testing but we couldn't get in for a month. We avoided sesame and garlic while we waited.  

Our appointment finally rolled around and I explained the situation to our allergist again. I brought the hummus recipe and the cracker ingredient label. I told the allergist I thought it was garlic. I had called Annie's and they don't use sesame seeds in production so cross-contamination with the crackers was not likely. (They got back to me within in hours. Thank you, Annie's!) The allergist didn't believe me. She even gave me a line about some products being "too acidic" (aka, not an allergic reaction) causing a rash for kids with sensitive skin. She tested for garlic reluctantly. 

While we waited the 15 minutes necessary for the skin test we saw two bubbles pop up. One was the positive histamine control. The other was garlic or sesame. Garlic Free Daddy and I were hoping it was sesame. Sesame is one of the top 10 allergens. It would be easier to avoid than garlic which is an extremely rare allergy.

The allergist walked in and said, "She is having a reaction. Let's see what that is." And, with a little chuckle she said, "Well, she's allergic to garlic. That surprises me. It's really rare to have a garlic allergy." And when we asked about the severity, "Well, it could be life-threatening." Her tone did nothing to help the situation. Here we are, two terrified parents who just learned that garlic could kill their child and she was less than sympathetic.

The number one rule in pediatric patient safety is listen to the mama. I knew Bug was allergic to garlic but the allergist didn't believe me. I'm just glad the allergist tested for it even though she was reluctant. 

It's safe to say, we're searching for a new allergist. We need someone that listens to our concerns and realizes that Bug's food allergy diagnoses has changed every aspect of our lives. 

And, we're now avoiding garlic like the plague. 

- Garlic Free Mama

Non-food treat Halloween

Halloween officially kicks off the holiday season in our house. First comes Halloween followed by a pile of November birthdays, Thanksgiving, a couple December birthdays, Christmas, New Years and then Valentine's Day finishes off several months of candy, food and celebrations. This year will be our first holiday season managing food allergies and I'm already stressed about it. I've decided, for my own sanity's sake, that I'm going to take on each event individually instead of thinking of the daunting "Holiday Season".

Last year Bug was only three-months-old for Halloween so we didn't trick-or-treat. Instead we took lots of pictures of her cute ballerina costume and handed out candy to the neighbor kids in costume (don't get me started on the teenagers who show up without a costume carrying a pillowcase for their candy...). Of all the trick-or-treaters last year I remember one little girl vividly. The four- or five-year-old girl dressed as a princess said, "Trick-or-treat" and when I dropped some candy in her bucket she said, "Does that have peanuts?" Her mom nicely piped in and said, "It's ok, honey, we'll check everything when we get home."

After they left I remember thinking how cute it was that the little girl asked about peanuts and what a great job her parents had done teaching her to ask. What I didn't know at the time was the terror her parents must have felt that night while trying to make sure their food allergy child had fun but also stayed safe. I also didn't know that my three-month-old ballerina and the cute little princess had something in common. Food allergies.

Bug isn't old enough to trick-or-treat this year but we've decided to take some steps to make food allergy kids feel more included during a holiday focused almost completely on candy. We're participating in a non-food treat Halloween and I couldn't be more excited! This year we'll hand out glow sticks and glow-in-the-dark bouncy balls instead of candy. I ordered them online using Amazon Prime and spent about $20. In years past we've spent way more on candy and I usually eat my fair share before the evening is over. We're also displaying this sign on our mailbox so parents know we have non-food treats. Not only is this great for food allergy kiddos that may feel excluded but it's a healthier option for all kids! We all know childhood obesity is on the rise so why not provide non-food treats for all kids?

I'll keep you posted on how it goes. Fingers crossed the neighborhood kids don't protest and egg our house!

Awesome glow bracelets!

-Garlic Free Mama

Food allergy awareness week

I didn't know it was food allergy awareness week at the time. All I knew was my beautiful nine-month-old daughter was covered in hives and vomiting.

My little lady bug had been playing on the floor when she accidentally got into some peanut butter. She took a handful, wiped it on her face and then took a big bite. Immediately she started getting hives on her face and her lips were red. Within 30 minutes the hives had spread to her neck and chest. I called the doctor and they instructed me to give her a high dose of Benadryl and watch for more symptoms. By the hour mark Bug started to throw up. She was acting very clingy and just wanted to be held. I called the doctor again and made an appointment for her to see the doctor that night.

Not long after I hung up the phone she threw up again and I noticed that the hives had spread to her stomach and back. My husband got home from work as I was cleaning up from the second round of vomiting. Bug started to act tired and we decided we needed to go to the emergency room.

That was the scariest 10 minute car ride I've ever been on. Bug was in her rear-facing car seat and her image was slightly distorted in the baby viewing mirror. She was lethargic and kept trying to fall asleep. We keep talking to her and shaking her a bit to keep her awake until we got to the hospital.

We finally arrived in the ER parking lot and I rushed Bug inside while my husband parked the car. As soon as I said, "she's having a reaction to peanuts!" The ER door flew open and we were immediately in triage. A nurse first looked to make sure her airway was clear. Luckily, it was. They took her temperature and it was 103.2. I could feel the heat radiating from her body.

Within minutes we were in a room and an ER doc was again checking Bug's airway. Again, it was still clear. Once we determined her airway was not in jeopardy, everyone calmed down a bit. She was given Motrin for the fever and a steroid to lessen the hives. After 4-5 hours in the ER, Bug was discharged and we made the trip home not fully comprehending what had happened that night. We knew Bug had peanut butter and we knew this was an allergic reaction.  But what we weren't mentally ready to understand was that our lives changed forever that day. Our sweet little girl had an anaphylactic reaction to peanut butter.

May 14, 2013 fell in the middle Food Allergy Awareness Week and we were suddenly far too aware of food allergies. Since then, we've been in a journey of avoidance, allergy doctors, epinephrine and research.

- Garlic Free Mama