Welcome!

In March of 2004, the day my son tried rice cereal for the first time, he had his first allergic reaction. Of all things, to rice cereal. Then it was oats, barley, peas and milk, all between the ages of 6 and 10 months. To top it off, he's also allergic to penicillin and prednisone! After a trip to the allergist, we were also told to steer completely away from peanuts, tree nuts, and shellfish as well. We already had an epi-pen from his pediatrician, so at that point, life seemed to be at a standstill. Can we all say FRAZZLED?

To say that it was overwhelming is a grave understatement, but 5 years later, I can tell you that it does get easier. Easier maybe because we're used to it, and family is still getting used to it, so they're not as argumentative as they were in the beginning. We recently cleared the biggest hurdle when we sent Mr. Preston off to kindergarten in August- me, a basketcase, borderline nuerotic mom, terrified of a reaction. He had his Medic Alert necklace, clearly stating his allergens. He had his snacks and lunch box, with strict orders not to eat anything that I didn't send with him. So far, so good! I'm actually very pleased with the school's handling of his restrictions, and have recently begun to relax... as much as you can with an allergic child.

So what will you find here? Hopefully, lots! I love to cook, and since having an allergic child means that I really have to cook a lot from scratch, you'll find lots of recipes that have been adapted to be safe. Most will be dairy, peanut, tree nut, and shellfish-free since those are the items we have to do without. I"ll also share tips on cooking for allergic children that will save you time and money- something we can all appreciate! There will also be quips about life with food allergies. Overall, though, there will be support. When you first get that diagnosis, you seem so lost and isolated, and completely overwhelmed. I know I was! So jump on in, leave me comments on what you would like to see, and we'll make this a fun place to be!