Be A Part of the Houston FARE Food Allergy Walk for FREE

Are you walking in a FARE Food Allergy Walk near you?  This is something my family and I have participated in every year…almost since the walk’s institution.  It is truly a fantastic family event that does not cost for you to participate in (although fundraising is encouraged and welcome).

Here are just some of the fun and exciting events related to the Houston FARE Food Allergy Walk.  Read all about it and then COME BE A PART OF IT for FREE by joining The Food Allergy Mom team!

1) Houston FARE Walk for Food Allergy. Our annual Houston FARE Walk for Food Allergy will be on Sat., Oct. 22, 2016 at Minute Maid Park – Diamond Lot. This family friendly 1-mile Walk will include these FUN activities: a DJ, a rock climbing wall, face painting, a gaming truck, a photo booth, access to Minute Maid Park’s Squeeze Play Area, 20+ vendor booths, 11 Poke Stops (NEW) & Pokemon Lures (NEW) set along the walk route, a Silly-String-Your-Allergist station (NEW) and so much more! Registration is FREE (www.foodallergywalk.org/Houston2016). We also have a Get-Your-Team-Name on our official Walk shirt contest going on right now. Teams will be recognized on our Houston shirt at different team levels based on the amount raised by our deadline: Silver Level Team ($1K), Gold Level Team ($2,500), Platinum Level Team ($5K), & Presenting Team ($10K). Our original deadline was this Fri, Sept 16th but it has been extended to next Wed, Sept 21 to allow our teams this weekend to get those fundraising numbers up!

*The Food Allergy Mom team sure would love to have a corporate sponsor if you work for a company or know of a company that is interested in supporting us!  They can donate online here.*

2) Elaine Turner Kick-off Party.

Invitation graphic courtesy of FARE Houston

Will be this Sun, Sept 18 from 3-5pm at the Rice Village location (2439 University Blvd, Houston, TX 77005). 15% of all sales go back to our Houston FARE Walk. Elaine Turner is providing sips & bites and we will have fabulous DOOR PRIZES to give away. Can’t make it? Telephone orders made from 12-5pm also count toward our total! RSVP: https://www.facebook.com /events/1054515667936602/.

 

3) Mad Potter Teal Pumpkin Painting Night.

Invitation graphic courtesy of FARE Houston

Come join us on Wed, Sept 28 from 4pm to close at The Mad Potter in the River Oaks Shopping Center (1963 W Gray St, Houston, TX 77019) and paint your very own teal pumpkin! Mad Potter will have a variety of pumpkins with removable lids available to paint. 10% of all pottery sales (not just pumpkins) from the evening will be donated to our Houston FARE Walk. We will also have more FUN door prizes to give away! RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/ev ents/1774384559499183/.

Hope to see you on walk day!

Blessings,

Kimberly

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Wizdy Diner App A Fabulous Tool For Food Allergy Awareness

It is less than a month until school resumes here in Texas and food allergy parents everywhere are scrambling to fill out school forms, secure proper prescription medications, and prepare their children for going to school with food allergies.  And I’m one of them!

One of the things I hear parents say they struggle with is how to educate their children’s classmates and friends about their allergies.

Many parents opt for donating books to their child’s classroom.  One of my favorites is Nutley, The Nut-Free Squirrel by Stephanie Sorkin!  It is a great addition for any school library or classroom.

Want to take it a step further?

In this increasingly technological world, wouldn’t it also be great to have access to technology that could educate classmates and friends about food allergies?  Turns out, there’s an app for that!

Wizdy Games now offers a FREE app called Wizdy Diner that is perfect for creating awareness of food allergies among children.

The game is set up like a space diner in which you can choose what foods to serve.  The player seats alien customers, takes orders, serves up dinners, and collects payment.

photo courtesy of Wizdy Games

Some customers will have food allergies that the player must accommodate.  The goal is to serve as many customers as possible in a timely and safe manner.

The player earns points for successfully serving customers and can use those points to redecorate and personalize their diner.

photo courtesy of Wizdy Games

photo courtesy of Wizdy Games

The game also features some fantastic learning challenges that earn the player extra points.  One of my favorites is the Epi game which teaches the player how to correctly administer epinephrine.

photo courtesy of Wizdy Games

If the player accidentally serves an alien customer food that contains their allergen, the player then follows the prompts to alert  for help and administer epinephrine.  The affected alien generally coughs and shows evidence of hives until help arrives and whisks the patient away for medical attention.  The error will cost the player points, but continuing to play the game earns the player more points and should increase their knowledge about allergens so they don’t make the same mistake again.

This is a fantastic space-based food allergy awareness game that is perfect for creating awareness among young children.  And it’s FREE…so don’t delay and download Wizdy Diner today!!!

In fact, if you love it, be sure to mention it to you child’s teacher and school staff so that they can incorporate it into the school setting.

Education is the key to creating understanding about food allergies.  So go ahead, be a part of the movement and pay it forward by telling your family, friends, and school about these great tools that might just save lives!

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Order Enjoy Life Foods Products Using Amazon Dash

Do I have any Enjoy Life Foods fans out there?  I am about to seriously make. your. day.

Really, I am!  Well, actually, it’s a team effort…mostly between Amazon and Enjoy Life Foods.

Ever get to the bottom of the box of your Enjoy Life cookies with just crumbs and realize you need more for your child’s lunch this week?  Or do you ever empty that last spoonful of Enjoy Life seed mix into your yogurt and then realize you need more for your son’s campout this weekend?  That word to describe that feeling, P-A-N-I-C.

Until the Enjoy Life Foods Amazon Dash button…

Here’s how it works:

• Log on to amazon.com.
• Search for dash button.
• Click on the Enjoy Life dash button and order it for $4.99 (for Prime Members only).  Here is what the Enjoy Life Dash Button page should look like.
• Then wait eagerly by the front door anxiously awaiting that little button that should make your Enjoy Life Foods ordering a total walk in the park!  It is so simple it kind of reminds me of the “Easy” button Staples commercials.
• When the packages arrives, break the seal on your dash button box and then you are ready to get started.
• Get your phone and open up your Amazon app.  Then follow the simple directions included with your dash button.

 

Essentially, once the dash button setup is complete, you can hit the large white circle on your dash button and it will automatically order your specified, preferred products.

This means it is automatically charged to your Amazon account (although you can set it up to see notifications every time an order is made) and your order will soon be on its way!

Still not sure how it all works?  Check out this short tutorial from Amazon.

Feeling a little better about this new technology now?  I’m all set and ready to go.  Yippee!

Love me some Mountain Mambo seed mix!!!!

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“Now Find Gluten Free” App A Great Resource

Are you new to eating gluten-free?  Have you recently been diagnosed with celiac and need to learn what it is to eat gluten-free?  Are you already gluten-free and just want to have gluten-free product information at your fingertips?

I have a fabulous resource for you: the Now Find Gluten Free app.

The app is $4.99 on iTunes and offers a TON of gluten-free information useful to almost anyone at any point on their gluten-free journey.

Here are some of the things the Now Find Gluten Free app offers information about:

• Starting out on the gluten-free diet  (links to their webpage)
• Stocking a gluten-free pantry  (links to their webpage)
• Celiac disease  (links to their webpage)
• Items that contain “hidden” gluten  (links to their webpage)
• Hundreds (and counting) of gluten-free foods

The app itself contains a list of gluten-free products that you can search alphabetically, by brand, or by type of food.  This feature allows you to “like” products so you can remember which products you’ve tried and liked.  The user can also hit a shopping basket icon to add it to their grocery shopping list.

So how accurate is the app’s product information?  The app founders say they list only products that are certified gluten-free or have been claimed gluten-free by the manufacturer and they cross-reference the product information regularly as a quality control check.

My favorite perks of this app?

• No apparent in-app purchases or hidden fees
• No sharing of email address required
• No sign-in or registration required
• Being able to create and manage my favorite gluten-free product lists

This is a fantastic tool for gluten-free newbies and veterans alike!  But don’t take my word for it, look it up on iTunes and see for yourself!

Thank you, Now Find Gluten Free!

88 Acres Craft Seed Bars A Treat For The Food Allergy Community

I was blessed to be sought out by Amanda at 88 Acres, a company that “creates healthy snacks, free of the most common food allergens, that are crafted with simple ingredients and designed for every body to enjoy.”  She asked if I’d be willing to taste their craft seed bars and do an honest review and after reading more about the company, I was happy to oblige.

88 Acres was co-founded by a woman who truly gets it.

photo courtesy of 88 Acres

Nicole Ledoux grew up on an 88 acre organic farm that inspired her love for food.  She had no way of knowing how instrumental that connection to food would be later in life.  When the love of her life, Rob, nearly died after consuming a dinner that was cross contaminated with nuts, she became inspired to create healthy, convenient, allergy-friendly snacks they could eat together.  This is where 88 Acres’ story begins.

Keep reading to find out how you can get 15% off your first order from 88 Acres…