Taking Care of Your Child’s Special Food Needs
by
Barrie Silberberg 
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Taking Care of Your Child’s Special Food Needs
In the age of technology, where everyday another computerized item seems to be popping up on the market, we have to look at some of these advances as helpful tools to help us in our daily life.
Cell phone companies are profiting daily. They continue to offer gimmicks and deals so that everyone is in competition to have the best plan, the best prices, and the biggest networks. If cell phones weren’t enough, now we have tablets from many manufacturers.
What does this have to do with food? Plenty! Shopping, discovering brands and comparing prices, literally, is at your fingertips. There are 1000’s of apps and the selection grows daily! Some are free, some you have to pay a small to medium amount.
You have to do the research to find out which apps are the most useful for you and your family. Remember, many are free!
iEatOut Gluten Free & Allergy Free
Price: $2.99
Related: Health & Nutrition Apps for Family Fun
Even if you chose not to use apps, web sites that are at your fingertips are also extremely helpful. You can look online for products, read reviews, check ingredients, see a variety of flavors and locate products; all with a few finger strokes.
If you are in the store and the product is in front of you, you can still look and compare different brands and flavors to see which received the best reviews.
You can also access assistance with web sites that offer help with allergies.
Related: Health & Nutrition Apps for Family Fun
This site has wonderful guides to help you maneuver the world of food allergies:
LINK: www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/resourcetopic.php?topic=freeguides
This site includes a guide to help you read labels for hidden names of foods you might not recognize, such as Lysozyme (means the food contains eggs), or Arachis(avoid if you are allergic to peanuts). This site offers full sized lists and cards that you can carry to receive information about the following allergies: milk, peanuts, soy, wheat, and eggs. In 2006, the FDA passed a law that packaged food products must have ingredient labels, and that the top 8 allergens (besides the aforementioned, it also includes shellfish, fish, and tree nuts) must be notated somewhere on the package if they are contained in the product. But, there ARE some products that are NOT covered by this law. The items that are NOT covered by the law are: cosmetics and personal care products, prescription and over-the-counter medications or supplements, pet food, toys and crafts. PLEASE check these important pages if allergies invade your family life! Many people do not realize that there is gluten in play-dough! Gluten is NOT one of the top 8 allergens, just wheat. Gluten is contained in wheat and also rye, barley and most oats.
Food Allergy Guides:
LINK: www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/resourcetopic.php?topic=food-allergens
Here are some other allergy friendly web sites to assist you with your shopping, meal planning and becoming more educated to the world of food allergies and intolerances:
LINK: www.foodallergy.org/
Eating out? This site allows you to check off all or any of the top 8 allergens, as well as gluten and sesame to see what restaurants can accommodate your special food needs. https://www.allergyeats.com/
Eating out can be very risky, so please be careful! There are zero guarantees that your food will be safe. Be extremely clear with your wait staff.
This year is a wonderful time to discover the world of technology and how it can help you with your meal planning, grocery shopping and eating out. Even if you do not have access to a smart phone or tablet, use your computer, or find one at the library. You can investigate all of the possibilities available to you, and your family, to make your life easier, healthy and, most importantly, safer!
Barrie Silberberg is the author of The Autism & ADHD Diet: A Step-by-Step Guide To Hope and Healing by Living Gluten Free and Casein Free (GFCF) And Others Interventions. Her web site is: www.puttingyourkidsfirst.com
Helpful Articles
- Traveling with Special Dietary Need
- Most Popular Gluten Free/Casein Free Products and Where to Find Them
- Finding GFCF Baked Goods While You are Traveling
- Ways to Advocate for Yourself While on a Special Diet
- Focus on Color
- Self-Advocating While on a Special Diet
- Staying Healthy with a Proper Diet
- Ditch The Chemicals Start The Year Off Healthy
- Taking Care of Your Child’s Special Food Needs
- Eating Breakfast When You Are on a Special Diet
- Family Fun Doesn’t Have to Stop Because of Special Diets
- Handling a Special Diet at School
- Special Diets: Food Allergies
- How To Achieve A Healthy You
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This post originally appeared on our May/June 2015 Magazine
