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 January 2010


In This Issue
New Love Cake mix
New Retailers
Living Without
Specials & news
School lunchbox ideas
Back to school ...
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Greetings!
 
 
 
I hope you have all had a lovely Christmas and a happy & healthy start to the new year.

We have many exciting plans for the coming year and are looking forward to sharing more wonderful Allergy Friendly products & services with you.

This month we have some new products, specials, and a re-run of our ever popular back to school lunch ideas. We send this every January and add to it during the year, and we hope that you file this away and find some inspiration when the kids go back to school and you are faced with filling those lunchboxes with wholesome, satisfying, allergy friendly lunches and snacks. If you have some good old favourites that your kids love, please send me your recipes so I can include them on the list, I don't think you can ever have too many lunchbox suggestions.

We also have an article on how to make life at school with allergies a little easier.

Enjoy!
 
New Love Cake mixlove cake cookie mix


We are very excited to bring you the brand new product from Love Cake - a decadent Love Cookie mix.

Slightly crispy on the outside and undeniably soft, moist and so so (healthily) indulgent on the inside - like a cookie should be...

Once the mixture is rolled into balls they are then tossed in icing sugar (supplied) and baked.
The tops crack open to create a truly impressive looking cookie.
It was suggested we call these our New Zealand earthquake cookies?!

Or try this:
Add a large handful of Enjoy Life choc chips and
make snack size rich chocolate brownies!!


Love Cookies are gluten, dairy, soy and nut free. Just add oil and eggs.. .yummm

Love Cake cookie mixes are in stock now, and all product information and ordering details can be found by clicking here

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New Retailers
 



This month we welcome

The Fruit Store
Shop 12/13
Wattle Grove Shopping Village
Cnr Australis & Village Way
Wattle Grove
NSW 2173
Ph 02 9731 1998



Living Withoutliving without feb 10

The Feb/Mar 10 issue of Living Without is in stock now.

Featuring delicious recipes to keep you satisfied, inspirational articles to keep you motivated, medical news and research to keep you informed, and the resources and product information you need to assist you with your special dietary needs.

Here's to health and happiness in the New Year -- and to living well, living without.

To order, click here

Product news & specials

On special this month only
Lively Lemon cookies from Enjoy Life
normally $11.50, now $8
(these cookies have a best before of end Jan 10)
Enjoy Life logo
 
And introducing our new Starter Pack.

Here is a pack containing a selection of our best selling products - a taste of all the brands and the perfect way to stock your pantry with allergy friendly foods. Even if you are a regular customer, this is a great cost effective way of trialling some of the other product ranges.

The pack contains : 1 can of DariFree Original, 1 box of Snickerdoodle cookies, 1 box of Caramel Apple snack bars, 1 Love Cake cake mix, 1 Crispy rice Boom Choco Boom choc bar, 1 packet of Versatile FreeZ ice cream mix and 1 Living Without magazine.

All of this for $71.50, a saving of over 12%.

To order or view pack and nutritional info please click here


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!!
^        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, Very Berry, Cocoa Loco & 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)
^        Coconut & Date balls (recipe on website)
 
 
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.
 
 
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@allergyfriendlyfoods.com.au
 
Happy allergy-friendly eating! 
 
Thanks & regards
Kris Barrett
Allergy Friendly Foods