This came over from FAAN today:

WHEAT ALLERGY ALERT
December 7, 2009

College Inn is recalling “College Inn® No MSG Chicken Broth” due to undeclared wheat.

The product was distributed nationwide.

The 14 ½-oz. cans are mislabeled “No MSG” and bear any “best by date” with UPC 2400032230.

Consumers may return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may call (800) 552-7684 or visit www.CollegeInn.com.

Labels: Alert, FAAN, Food Allergies, wheat allergy

I had no idea! But while doing research for WEGO Health today I came upon this post from Allergn Free Please and that's what she said. So I went to the website and in the FAQ section it says :

What are the ingredients in The HoneyBaked Ham®?
Ham Cured With Water, Salt, Sodium Lactate, Sugar, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Diacetate, Sodium Erythorbate, Sodium Nitrite.
Glazed With Sugar, Gelatin, Paprika (Color), Maltodextrin, Food Starch - Modified, Dextrose, Spices, Natural Flavor [With Brown Sugar. Invert Sugar], Natural Flavoring.
*** You are now free to enjoy any of our signature meats (HoneyBaked Ham, Sliced & Glazed Turkey, HoneyBaked Deli Style Boneless Ham) without wheat gluten!


SWEEEETTTT!!

I'm not sure I'm going to try this on Christmas (I have a fear of spending Christmas in the ER). But we will be trying this out for future reference.

Just thought I'd pass this along for anyone else who'd like to be lazy and buy a ham instead of make one (which is actually really easy).

Labels: christmas, Food Allergies, gluten free, honeybaked ham

With Thanksgiving behind us as a not so distant memory (I promise to share successful recipes soon. There were some good ones!), I've started getting serious with my Christmas decorating and planning. Both trees are up and most of the decorations. It did feel a little like National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation though (minus Cousin Eddie). It took about 2.5 hours and 4 very painful phone calls to "Santa's Best" for some new bulbs to get my "ever lit" pre-lit Christmas tree lit. But it's working for the time being and hopefully the new bulbs will be here soon. I'm waiting for the ones I bought and rigged up from Target to give out any minute now. The young man from "Santa's Best" (that's how it came up on the caller i.d.) thanked me for not yelling and cursing at him since he really had no idea what he was doing and since he hung up on us twice. Apparently that was how all of his other calls went that day. I wanted to. I really did. But I had to remember the reason for the season...
The lights on the deck are up too. I had to buy all new ones since our old ones refused to work. One set of the new ones only half lit. I tried everything to get the other half to light but after shocking myself, decided it was best to return them and get a new set (Now I know why our GE stock is worth nothing. Can you say shoddy product??). But the tree, the deck and the house is finally all a glow with the Christmas cheer.



I am just about done with my shopping for the boys. I did most of it on-line this year as I felt time slipping away from me. Apparently I'm not much of an on-line shopper. My credit card company decided that it wasn't my "usual pattern". It must have appeared to them that someone must have stolen my card and had gone to town buying toys on-line. They decided that it was best to cancel card. At least they're pro-active...

The planning of the "corporate Christmas party" for my husband is going OK too. I say "OK" because I've had a few issues with the caterer but I think things are ironed out now.

I'm hoping to start wrapping this week. I always wait until the last minute for that and the hubs and I are usually scrambling on Christmas Eve to get things wrapped after the kids go to bed. I vow to be more organized this year! Things may have gotten off to a bumpy start, but they can only go up from here, right? RIGHT?

Labels: christmas, holiday decorations, keeping my holiday spirit up

Originally posted on WEGO Health:
My son was diagnosed with his food allergies at 10 months of age. When the allergist told me that he was allergic to wheat, rye, barley, oat, eggs, dairy, peanuts and tree nuts my first thought was "What am I going to feed this child"? I was so lost and so scared and I had no idea what to do. No one else I knew had a food allergy child and I didn't know where to turn. Unfortunately, as wonderful as our allergist is, he is not very helpful in this area. He showed me pamphlets from The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network and I did get in touch with them and purchased as much information as I could, but I did not find all the answers I was looking for. Not knowing where to turn or what to do is one of the chief complaints that I hear from parents with a newly diagnosed child. That is one of the reasons that I started my blog. I wanted to let others know that they are not alone. And that even though I'm not a physician or an expert, just a mom that has "been there, done that", they could feel free to contact me with questions and I would try to point them in the right direction.
To continue reading and to see all the helpful links, click here to go to WEGO Health

Labels: allergies, Food Allergies, Newly diagnosed, Wego Health

Yesterday morning we woke up to this:






It's gone now. But it will be back.

I'm not ready for snow and Old Man Winter.

Labels: snow

(photo from Microsoft Clip Art - this is not my table. I'm not that talented)

Wishing you all a wonderful and blessed (and allergy safe!) Thanksgiving Day!

Wishing: Safe travels to those that are on the road, safety always to those that are spending Thanksgiving keeping our country safe, and happiness to all.

I am thankful for too many things to list here. My life is so full and God has blessed me with so much. I may not always remember to say "thank you" and I may not always seem appreciative, but in my heart I always say a prayer of thanks for all the blessing I have been given.


Happy Thanksgiving Day!!

Labels: blessings, Food Allergies, giving thanks, Happy Thanksgiving

I mentioned in yesterdays post that my buttermilk has "modified food starch" in it. I'm so naive that I thought buttermilk was just milk. Goes to show you, you can't get lax on that label reading. But I called the dairy this morning at 7:30 am to see if they knew (at this point I'd throw out the buttermilk, but I'm just curious) and the receptionist had no idea so she put me through to the plant. They didn't know either, so "Mike" told me to call back later as he had to go look it up. I just spoke to Mike and he said that it's corn. Good for us, bad for the corn avoiders.
I think from now on I'll go back to making my own (I thought I was being pro-active by buying it this time. I think I outsmarted myself).
But THANK YOU Colteryahn Dairy for going to the trouble for looking it up for me.
Just another reminder to take nothing for granted...

Sorry for the ramble. That is all. Resume normal activity.

Labels: always read the label, buttermilk, Food Allergies, ramblings