Meltdown in the Bread Aisle

This title might bring to mind an all-too-typical trip to the grocery store with a toddler, but I was the one who had the meltdown. Our favorite bread, Oroweat's Whole Grain 100% Whole Wheat, added milk as an ingredient. Out of the 100 or so bread options, this was the only dairy-free sliced bread that was tasty enough for my kids and healthy enough for the parents. This had been such a reliable standard for us that I haven't felt the need to read the label for quite some time. It was even on my son's "Safe Food" list. Recently, however, I read on FAAN's website not to make such a list and to check labels every time since manufacturers change their ingredients. With that sound advice on my mind I flipped the Oroweat loaf over and what I saw nearly floored me: whey and nonfat milk in bold, black letters at the end of the ingredient list.

I'm used to checking labels and the frequent disappointment that comes with that necessary task but this was too much. A healthy, allergen-free food that everyone likes is just too hard to come by and this one was now being taken from us with no warning, no bright yellow banner stating, "Now Containing Dairy!" or anything of the like.

After gathering myself and inspecting all other options only to read milk, milk, milk on all of them, I finally found another Oroweat bread: Dutch Country 100% Whole Wheat. It, by the way, isn't nearly as tasty. I called Oroweat to complain thinking that they need to hear from their dairy allergic customers. The nice lady at customer service sympathized and promised to pass on my concern to the powers that be. She also sent me coupons for any of their products . . . excluding Dutch Country.

A Review of Food Allergy Children's Books

We've been looking for books to help our son prepare for preschool. We wanted to increase his awareness, help him become an advocate for himself, and hopefully find a book that his teacher could read to his class to help them understand and be supportive.

Here's what we got through interlibrary loan and Amazon:

Cody the Allergic Cow by Nicole Smith

This is our favorite of all of the books. Though Cody is just allergic to milk, food-allergy issues like symptoms, being careful about what foods "hide" the allergen, feeling different than non-allergic friends and family members, and having the epi-pen close by are all covered. There are other books in this series that deal with peanuts and nuts. This book is great for my preschooler and it would be great for his teacher to share with the class as well.

The BugaBees: Friends with Food Allergies by Amy Recob

This beautifully illustrated rhyming children's book features 8 characters with different food allergies. Since my son shares 6 of those, we have plenty of opportunity for discussion about foods to which he is and is not allergic. This book is appropriate for children in the primary grades and would be great for a teacher to share with the class.

The Day I Met the Nuts by Mary Rand Hess

This is a cute book that describes nut allergies from a child's perspective. He goes through all the emotions: He's sick, scared, frustrated, he feels different and left out, and eventually he learns how to adapt. This book is appropriate for nut-allergic children of any age.

Food Allergies by Jason Glaser

This is more of a reference book for kids than it is a children's book. Teachers could effectively use this book to share with a class what food allergies are, what reactions look like, what causes them, etc. This book could be used from preschool through most of the elementary grades.

A Day at the Playground: A Food Allergy Awareness Book for the Young by Tracie Mulari-Schrand

This book is not specific to any particular food allergy. It's geared toward helping children be aware of food allergens in a play setting. It's age-appropriate for my 3-year old boy. It is a good cautionary read.

Taking Food Allergies to School by Ellen Weiner (Part of Kim Gosselin's Special Kids in School Series)

This book is very good at explaining how foods with an allergen make a food-allergic person sick, complete with talk of white blood cells, antibodies, and histamines. This is a great book to read and discuss with my food-allergic 8-year old but not with the 3-year old.