Parent support group – N16

OK! Date and place are finally set for the second parent support group in north/east London. So if you are parent to a food allergic child, would love to swap experiences, tips and recipes, ask questions of an allergy doctor over a cup of tea, and can get to Stoke Newington, N16, then here’s the info you need:

Support group dates…

I’VE BEEN very remiss in blogging about these but the food allergy parents’ support group is trundling on happily, with different get-togethers happening in different parts of London. The next two are in Ealing and at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, but there are plans for another north London one, hopefully in November. I’ll keep you posted.

Sort-of-Moroccan-style meaty lamb stew

Wheat free, gluten free, egg free, nut free, dairy free

WITH AUTUMN’S crisp chill setting in, and Sid landing his first attack of the snuffles in months, I decided it was high time we concocted a good warming stew to see us through the winter.

To be frank, the only thing that gives this Moroccan-style stew its Moroccan style is the apricots and sultanas. Most genuine Moroccan recipes call for all manner of banned substances, from almonds to cumin seeds. Although I can’t be sure that cumin is out for us, given nuts and sesame are vetoed I’m erring on the side of caution and waiting to test all seeds at the hospital before adding them to our repertoire.

This recipe doesn’t need a huge amount of prep but it does require about an hour’s bubbling on the stove to give it proper depth and richness. I made up a huge batch to freeze in individual portions, thinking I’ll defrost them overnight as needed and then heat in a mini casserole dish in the oven before serving.

A dirty weekend

THIS weekend, for the first time in nearly two years, my husband and I had a whole night away from Sid.

I’d booked a surprise hotel stay for his birthday, so we deposited the prodigal grandson for a sleepover at his Nanny and Nonno’s.

And, my, what a naughty weekend we had. I’m not talking nookie in the afternoon. I’m talking Snickers in the mini bar. Allergy porn.

Grandma’s ridiculously quick & fruity flapjacks

Wheat free, egg free, nut free (optional: dairy free)

SID’S Grandma (my husband’s Mum) is a master baker of lovely cakes – deliciously moist Victoria sponges, boozy sherry logs at Christmas, butterfly “buns” (as Yorkshire idiom would have ‘em), coffee sponges, pies, meringues, crumbles…

Obviously, Sid has never been able to sample any of these concoctions although, luckily, he’s too young to know any different. But as he nears two and is starting to notice (and care) what other people are eating, I’m delighted to say that Grandma’s traditional flapjacks have been reinvented to fit his silly dietary demands – wheat free, egg free and, as ever, resolutely nut free.

Lovely beetroot & carrot fritters

Egg free, wheat free, nut free, gluten free (optional: dairy free)

A SHORT while ago I posted about the wonderful barbecue at my Mum’s house, where, for the first time ever, we were able to turn up with Sid in tow but NO FOOD.

This was huge. It never happens when you’re parent to a food allergy kid. But everything Mum made was suitable for Sidney to eat, and it was amazing. Amazing for us not to have to cart over our tupperwares of pre-prepared safe snacks, and amazing for Sid to pilfer from our plates for the first time in his little life.

These beetroot and carrot fritters went down well, and with the addition of a sprinkling of salt the adults tucked in happily, too.

It’s all of them

RECENTLY I posted about how the ludicrous blanket “nut, sesame, blah” trace warnings on just about everything in Sainsbury’s had driven me to tears.

Well, in the interests of fairness I’ve just come across the exact same thing in Waitrose. I can understand it on the baked goods and cakes, and even the olives and deli bits. But, again, I ask you: fish?

I nearly got kicked out of the bloody shop for taking this pic. Can you believe it (big security guard hulking over to tell me to cease and desist)? But I told him to bugger off.

Labelling labels doesn’t help, much

I SHALL share a very quick gripe, something that made me groan if not (this time) break down blubbing in the supermarket.

Browsing the shelves for some olives fit for Sid to eat (not easy, given the plethora of “nut” warnings) I came across Sainsbury’s Moroccan dry black ones. And the labelling was even less helpful than usual – largely because someone had seen fit to plaster over the allergy info box with another label, warning that the olives “may contain stones”:

They may contain nuts, too, I suppose, but who would know? (And, yes, I tried to peel the label off, but it ripped the paper beneath to shreds). *holds head in hands*

A rare treat

FELLOW food allergy parents will know what a rare treat it is to go out without a sackful of pre-prepped meals for the tot. You get so used to it, it barely registers sometimes – until that moment when you don’t have to do it.

No, I’m afraid I can’t announce a miraculous new dining spot where allergy kids get to eat freely and safely… unless, that is, you come round to my parents’ house for a barbecue one weekend this summer.

Embarrassing moments #1

TODAY I cried in the fish aisle at Sainsbury’s. Yes, I’m vegetarian, but it wasn’t out of pity for the poor dead mackerel. And I know it’s ludicrous. But this is what did it: