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Specialty Allergy Friendly foods 
 

January 2009

Back to school ....

In This Issue
New Retailers
School lunchbox ideas
Back to school checklist
Miss Roben's update
Shopping Trolley
Quick Links
Join Our Mailing List
Greetings!
 
 
 
Happy New Year to you and your family. I hope it's a healthy & fun year for you all.
 
Lots of info in this newsletter - a stack of School lunchbox ideas which have been collated over time, as well as tips for dealing with the school and your child's food requirements.
 
There are some bargains to be had on some of the Miss Roben's mixes, so check those out below.
 
The Enjoy Life products are proving very popular and we have some new "on the go" cookie packs on their way (perfect to stick in a school lunchbox or in your handbag for emergency snacks). Coming next month will be some new cookie flavours and other products, so watch out for those. We have also placed a downloadable version of the Enjoy Life Food Intolerance Survival Guide on our home page, or you can request a hard copy version in our online shopping trolley. Have a look here
 
 
 
New Retailers
 
 
 Enjoy Life logo
Organic Plus
1 Bonnal Rd
Erina
NSW
Ph 02 4365 0978
Stocks : DariFree & Enjoy Life products 
 
 
 
The full range of Enjoy Life products are available at Allergy Block
220 Elgin St
Carlton
Ph 03 9348 2066
www.allergyblock.com.auEnjoy Life logo
 
 
School Lunchbox ideas
 
 
 
Savoury ideas :
^        Frittata (potato, carrot, spinach, capsicum, garlic, eggs)
^        Rice Slice (rice pressed into base, 6 eggs for topping with spinach/salmon or whatever you're using, + celtic salt), cooked and cut into squares
^        Felafels
^        Leftover sliced chicken and finely chopped coleslaw
^        Lentil & potato rissoles
^        Leftover casserole with mash (potato/sweet potato/pumpkin) sent in thermos
^        For tuckshop day : send along home-made or suitable pie/sausage rolls to keep in the tuckshop freezer which can be heated up for lunchtime. Great for those days when you are tearing your hair out and cannot think of a single thing to pack in the lunchbox!! Gluten Free Bakery have a wonderful range of pies and sausage rolls that are gluten/dariy/soy/corn free (www.glutenfreebakery.net)
^        Nori rolls with avocado, carrot, lettuce, salmon
^        Babaganoush with carrot and cucumber sticks
^        Mild dahl + rice (sent in thermos)
^        Fried rice (veges, ham, egg)
^        Pappadams
^        Home made soup with gluten free spiral pasta (sent in thermos)
^        Eskel crackers with nuttelex and Vege spread (contains soy)
^        Home made pizza leftovers
^        Leftover roast meat and salad
^        Container of salad - let your imagination run wild - quinoa tabouli, gluten free pasta, salmon, veges, rice, lentils, currants, lettuce, chicken, hard boiled eggs, snow peas, celery, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, capsicum, cucumber
^        Rice crackers
^        Quinoa tabouli
^        Tuna pasta salad (rice, amaranth or quinoa pasta)
^        Rice paper rolls with lettuce, carrot, cucumber and rice
^        Chicken drumsticks
^        Cold sausages
^        Left over home made chicken nuggets or fish fingers
^        Ham/zuccini/tomato/spinach muffins made with eggs and almond meal
^        Vege kebabs (capsicum, cherry tomato, mushroom, cucumber, carrots)
^        Bean salad
^        Rice bread with cashew nut butter
^        Rice salad - rice, chickpeas, kidney beans, peas, sweetcorn
^        Leftover spaghetti bolognaise (in thermos)
^        Egg wraps (2 egg omelette cooked very thin, add filling and roll like a wrap. For filling try savoury mince, ham, roast meats, tuna, salad)
^        Home made rissoles
^        Fish fingers and hummos
^        Fritters - pumpkin, zuccini, broccoli, leftover roast meats, eggs + rice flour
^        Lunch cake - like a frittata - lots of veges/spag bol sauce or meat. eggs
^        Baked beans
^        Hard boiled eggs
^        Chicken or sausage kebabs
 
Sweet things and treats
 
Top Pick : Enjoy Life's snack bars - available in Caramel Apple & Sunbutter crunch flavours - individually wrapped and perfect for the school lunchbox! 

 
^        Home made biscuits and muffins that suit your child's diet are a great morning tea/afternoon tea snack
^        Trail mix. Experiment with what nuts/fruit/seeds suit you, make a big container and keep in the fridge and scoop into smaller containers to put into lunchbox. Try : Enjoy Life choc chips, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, hazelnuts, sultanas, dates, figs, sluphur free dried fruit (cut into small bits), dried cranberries. Sometimes I also chop up some gluten/dairy free marshmallows in it as well.
^        Pineapple/coconut cups (can crushed pineapple, can of coconut milk with tablespoon honey thickened with tapioca starch). When cooled put pineapple on bottom and coconut on top
^        Home made pikelets (try banana + honey or apple + cinnamon)
^        Date and pumpkin scones
^        Fresh fruit salad
^        Fruit juice jelly
^        Popcorn
^        Plain potato chips
^        Vege chips
^        Preservative free dried fruit
^        Fruit kebabs
^        'Annie's' fruit bars
^        Orgran little animal biscuits
^        Leda fruit bars
^        Pieces of fresh fruit
^        Raw veges + dip of tahini or peanut butter
^        Coconut bread + honey
^        Rice crackers or carrot sticks + humos
^        Chicknuts (roasted chickpeas)
 
This information is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical or nutritional advice.

Back to School
 
 
Managing allergies and intolerances can be tricky when the kids are at school and you don't have direct control over their environment.
Make sure you establish good communication with your child's teacher right now, in the beginning of the year. Request a meeting to explain your child's situation and have it all put in writing for the teacher to have handy in the classroom, as well as being readily available for any relief teachers. Put a photo of your child on the top of the sheet, so new teachers can readily identify them. Find out from the teacher where the closest fridge/freezer is, and take along a lunchbox full of allowed foods they can call upon for birthdays and other celebrations. Cupcakes and muffins usually freeze well. You will need to monitor the levels in the box to ensure there is a good supply on hand.
Request that you be notified in advance of any cooking lessons/excursions/special occassions so you can provide allowed alternatives. On days where the class needs to bring a plate to share, remind the teacher that your child will eat from their own plate. It might be helpful to buy a special lunchbox that is only used on these special occassions. We have one that is called the party lunchbox, and it only comes out on these special days when I pack it with things my son doesn't eat regularly, so both the food and the packaging is novel and he doesn't feel he's missing out.
Go and see your tuckshop convenor and go through the menu of the tuckshop with them. You can make a list of what your child is allowed to buy over the counter, and have that stuck up in the tuckshop (with a photo of your child) so all they need to do is identify themselves at the tuckshop and their choice will be cross-referenced to the list. This gives them a great sense of never missing out, being allowed to get things at the tuckshop like all the other kids. You can also provide your own food (I make party pies and sausage rolls and take them to the tuckshop where they store them in the freezer) for lunches. Then my son puts his tuckshop order in as normal and they heat up his special food and put it in the bag - voila - tuckshop order just like the others.
If ingredients in art & craft materials are likely to cause any problems, either request that the school buys a brand that you know is safe, or give them the recipe to make their own if that's what you do at home. Most teachers will be accommodating in this situation, however if they are not as a last resort you may have to take in your own materials for your child to use. Make sure your teacher knows how to take necessary precautions to prevent any cross contamination.
If your child suffers life threatening allergies, ensure you have an emergency action plan at both the school office, in the classroom and any other ancillary classrooms (music room, library etc) and that all staff are trained the in the use of medications/epi-pens. Have your numbers as well as your doctor/pediatrician/hospital handy for the school staff.
 
Forward planning and lots of communication with your child's teacher will be the key to managing your child's food requirements at school. Good Luck !
 
This information is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical or nutritional advice.
 
 
Miss Roben's update
 
Miss Roben's logoON SALE UNTIL ALL SOLD OUT
Savoury Biscuit/Dumpling mixes
now only $7.50 Still a few left in stock, so grab a bargain while they last.
 
BEING DISCONTINUED :
Sweet Sorghum flour.  Now available for $7.95 per packet. This is a wonderful, versatile flour packed full of protein. Works well when combined with rice flour in muffin/biscuit recipes, and can be used anywhere you need a flour substitute. Will last for months in the freezer, so great to stock up before we see the last of them.
 
SUPER SPECIALS :
We have some Carrot Cake & Brownie mixes with shorter than usual shelf lives, with 'best before' dates of early March 09. Again, kept in the fridge or freezer, these mixes will last for months longer with no compromise to their quality. While stocks last on these short dates mixes super prices of :
Carrot Cakes - now $10 (normally $14)
Brownie mixes - now $10 (normall $12.50) 
 
 
Shopping Trolley 
 
 
Remember to take a look at our online shopping trolley where you can place orders with us 24/7.
 
Once you have ordered from us, your credit card details are kept on file and can be used for future orders. Please be assured these are kept locked in a safe here in hardcopy, and are not stored on a computer.
 
Of course you can still pay by direct deposit or cheque/money order as well. We hope that the trolley is a quick and convenient way for you to order, so if you haven't already tried it have a look next time you're on the site or click here to take a look.
 
 
 
That's it for now, don't forget that if you have any tips or stories to share I would love to hear from you, and we welcome any feedback any time - kris@gcfree.com.au
 
Happy allergy-friendly eating! 
 
Thanks & regards
Kris Barrett
gcFree