Quick Allergy Friendly Dinner-Rack of Lamb with Ratatoille style zucchini

My version of a simple, easy, delish dinner:  Roast Rack of Lamb with Ratatouille style zucchini.
Ingredients:
1 Rack (7-8 ribs) lamb-Frenched.
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil (2-4 Tbs)
3 medium zucchini's
1 can Stewed tomatoes
Shredded Italian Cheese (of your choice or Italian blend)
3 tsp Grey Poupon or similar Dijon Mustard

Preparation:
Lamb:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees
liberally salt & pepper the lamb rack on both sides
place 2 tbs of olive oil in an oven proof pan and heat until just hot.  Add lamb rack and sear all sides to a nice golden brown.  When all sides are browned place the pan with the lamb into the oven and cook lamb an additional 12-15 minutes or to your desired doneness. (you can use a meat thermometer if you prefer).  Take lamb out of oven and let rest on cutting board for 5-8 minutes before cutting into chops.

Zucchini:
place 2 tbs of olive oil in pan.  cut zucchini into 1/2 inch (or thinner) rounds.  Place zucchini in pan and saute for 5-10 minutes.  When zucchini begins to soften add 1 can stewed tomatoes (I used Del Monte), stir, cover and cook until zucchini is soft but not falling apart. (about 5 more minutes).

Presentation:
Place 1-2 chops on each plate.  Mound a spoonful of zucchini next to the chops and top the veggies with a sprinkle of the italian cheese.  Place 1 tsp of Grey Poupon next to chops for dipping.  Serve and enjoy!

Divvies, Dylan's Candy Bar and FAI put on a GREAT event!

I simply MUST take a moment to thank Divvies, Dylan's Candy Bar  and the Food Allergy Initiative(FAI) for an amazing Halloween event this past Saturday.  We arrived at Dylan's Candy Bar and were greeted by a very nice woman (didn't get her name) who asked us our name and then reviewed Alexa's allergies against the ingredients list for each item at the event.  I was thrilled to find that Alexa could eat everything at the event!!  Also each item was clearly marked with a card containing the ingredients.   Alexa participated in the "guess the flavor" Jelly Bean contest,  decorated and ATE a Divvies Cupcake and made a Halloween craft with Jelly Beans.  All the candy was allergy friendly and there were even cookies that were safe for her! I can not tell you how fabulous it was to watch my little girl safely and happily enjoy a Halloween event at a CANDY STORE where not once did I have to say "sorry honey, but...".  I truly had tears in my eyes watching her and choked up while thanking Lori Sandler, the author of The Divvies Bakery Cookbook and founder of the Divvies products for such a fabulous party.  If you are not familiar with Divvies-you should be...the food is delicious and their new products include Jelly Beans, Jelly Stars, Cupcakes, Chocolate chips, cookies and Carmel Popcorn.  They are a BIG hit in our house! I'm so happy to see that they are now have a larger selection of cookies with out soy flour in them!  I use to avoid them for this reason but now we can enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
Our daughter finally had the opportunity to attend a Halloween Event in "the land of Yes!" as Lori would say.  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

The smiles I saw from the parents and children on Saturday will warm my heart for weeks to come.

Thanks for your support

I need to take a moment to thank anyone who has taken the time to read my blog and/or post comments.  I just realized today that I've received comments and I did not see them so I did not respond.  If you took time to post a comment and I did not respond, my apologies and THANK YOU for reading about our life with food allergies.  To the Mom who posted to me "anonymous" about her struggles with food allergies and asthma, thank you for reading and please know that I would have responded if I had known!  I hear your stress, anxiety, and concern and want you to know I'm there for you.  It gets better, it gets easier and some how, despite the challenges, we manage.  If you post again, I promise I will respond!

Please feel free to share my blog with any friends or family who may also be living the allergy life.  It's so helpful to hear from you and to have support.  Thank you.

Our 1st Food Challenge and success!!

Today was Alexa's first official "in office" food challenge.  We were challenging sesame since her numbers were low and she had never been exposed (that we are aware of anyway).  I brought along things to do since we knew we would be there for 3 hours but they had a special food challenge room with books, toys, games and a TV!  For the challenge itself, we brought Tahini (pure sesame seeds) and chocolate pudding to mix it into.  We arrived at 8:30 a.m.  They weighed her (in case they needed to give her meds), examined her lungs, took her blood pressure and pulse and then gave her the first dose.  She received 1/4 tsp in pudding.  She liked it and said it tasted like Sunbutter.  They waited 10 minutes then checked her lungs and skin and gave her the next dose.  They continued to do this until a full 2 tablespoons of sesame had been eaten.  I'm fairly sure that was the most chocolate pudding she has EVER eaten!  After the last dose they had us wait 2 hours and then did a final lung and skin check and since everything was clear we were free to go!  I will say that the first dose was very stressful, since I knew what could happen, but overall it was a very pleasant experience and I'm pretty certain this was the first time in a long time Alexa has had an undistracted Mom all to herself for 3 hours! We even played Monopoly the first time-which was pretty fun. 

I'm SO thankful that she passed the test and extremely thankful that we did not need to give her any Epinephrine.  So now we can eliminate sesame from her list of allergens! Thank you GOD and thank you to the nurses and Dr. Kim at the Jaffee Food Allergy Institute @ Mt. Sinai Hospital! 

Team Alexa's 1st FAAN walk for Food Allergies

We participated in our first FAAN (Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network) walk for Food Allergies yesterday in New Rochelle, NY.   The location was Glen Island Park and it was really beautiful.  We were right on the water and we were fortunate to have a sunny comfortable day.   The walk was just the right length for the kids (just under 2 miles) and there were vendors, bouncy houses, music and a fire truck the kids could climb in.  I think all in all it was a great experience.  I will definitely go again next year.  Alexa seemed to enjoy it, I later heard her telling her friends about it and saying "it was SO fun!".  Hopefully next year we'll be able to raise a little more money for the cause.  Thanks to all who supported Team Alexa!!  

Walk a Mile in my shoes....

WARNING ranting ahead! I need to start by saying,  if your child does not have a life threatening medical condition and you are NOT a Dr., please, plleeaase-keep your "advice" and helpful "comments" to yourself.  This morning I was given a lecture by a mother in Alexa's class.  I left the school wondering what makes some people think they can offer up unsolicited advice/comments on other people's lives when they have no idea of the realities they face every day.  This morning, I was speaking to a friend (who has a child in the same class) about Alexa's recent behavior at home.  She's been well behaved at school but at home she has been angry, unkind and down right nasty towards me and her baby brother.  As I was speaking with my friend, I said "She seems to be taking it out on me".  A woman behind me piped up and said "I wouldn't call it 'taking it out' on you, she's just exhausted and adjusting to kindergarten." ok, harmless enough and probably true.  She then went on about how I need to provide Alexa with a safe outlet to vent her feelings and gave specific ideas.  I wanted to ask her if she was a psychologist but instead I nodded, smiled and thanked her for her advice.  Then I said,  "I've been wondering if she's feeling anxious about being in a school where they serve peanut butter.  This is her first time dealing with it and I'm wondering if that may have something to do with it."  She immediately said "Whatever anxiety she's experience is coming from you and it's being transferred to her." WOW!  Now, I'm not saying this woman is wrong.  Actually, she probably has a valid point.  I do need to be more careful about showing my anxiety to Alexa but what bothers me most about her comment is that other parents often label parents of food allergic children as "anxious" or "overprotective".  I believe most parents of a child with a life threatening medical condition have some level of anxiety about it, whether it's food allergies, seizures, diabetes or some other condition.  It's only natural and frankly, it's to be expected!  I wish that parents would support each other more.  I little understanding and compassion can go a LONG way in this world!

Thought and feelings about this article?

This article makes me frustrated and concerned for the safety and emotional well being of my daughter.  It also makes me a little angry.  Waving a peanut butter granola bar at a child who is deathly allergic reminds me of a child waving a weapon at another child.  This type of bullying should be treated very seriously.  Alexa has been struggling with her emotions lately, now I'm wondering if being at a school where they serve peanut butter during lunch is causing her anxiety.  What are your thoughts? Comment below please!
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/09/28/food.allergy.bullying/index.html?hpt=Sbin