0 Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Cake With Cinnamon Marshmallow Frosting

As my friend Chris said: my cupcake is wearing a "jaunty beret" of frosting

This is less of a recipe for more like semi-barely-not-really-homemade-but-I-did-use-my-mixer-and-bake-it homemade and all delicious.  I’ve always been severely allergic to tree nuts and seafood (and OAS to some fruits and veg) but since becoming intolerant to wheat, dairy and soy ten years ago, my baking from scratch has been curtailed. 

*Here a link to an explanation from AAAAI.org about the difference between allergy and intolerance.* 

Food allergy friendly mixes have saved the day and I have a few favorite go-tos, like Namaste Foods. 

CAKE: For this cupcake, I use the Namaste Foods Spice Cake mix and make the pumpkin variation on the box. Namaste is a lovely company that built their own facility in 2011 that is free from: "wheat, gluten, corn, soy, potato, dairy, casein, peanuts and tree nuts, are carefully manufactured in a dedicated allergen free facility and Kosher certified."

From a Namaste Foods 2011 press release: “Operating under the name of Taylor Gleason Enterprises, LLC, the new facility is virtually a one-of-a-kind allergen free facility. In addition to being free of the top eight allergens (dairy, 
egg, wheat/gluten, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish) the facility is also free of corn and potato. It is estimated that 30 percent or more of the people with food allergies have multiple allergies. Being free of so many allergens demonstrates Namaste’s commitment to people with
food allergies above and beyond other manufacturers."

So yum!

FROSTING: And this is simply my new go-to frosting recipe. It's nut-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free and oh my goodness worthy.

Marshmallow Frosting

By Lori Karavolis and further adapted by me




1 C Domino’s confectioners’ sugar

1/2 C Spectrum organic palm shortening

1 C Durkee’s marshmallow fluff

1 t Nielsen-Massey vanilla extract

2 T hot water

Pinch of kosher salt


Mix well and try not to spoon directly into your mouth.

***

The reviews of this cupcake: 
“Do you have more?”
“You could sell these.”
"The frosting. The pumpkin cake. The frosting. YUM!!!!! So amazing!"

My uncle loved them so much that he created a thank you card featuring me and my mother atop the cupcake!

Detail: Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Cake With Cinnamon Marshmallow Frosting

0 Food Allergy Counseling: How Common Is Anaphylaxis: Study

Some of the most well-respected leaders in the food allergy medical field, including Robert A. Wood, MD; Philip Lieberman, MD; Hugh A. Sampson, MD; and F. Estelle R. Simons, MD
were involved in a new study about anaphylaxis.

The conclusion: "According to the peer-reviewed study, anaphylaxis very likely occurs in nearly 1-in-50 Americans (1.6%), and the rate is probably higher, close to 1-in-20 (5.1%)."

Here's a full text of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI) study. 

Below is a partial of the press release from Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA).

***

NEW STUDY SHOWS NEARLY 1-IN-50 AMERICANS AT-RISK FOR SEVERE ALLERGIC REACTIONS

Anaphylaxis is More Common Than Many Thought, Most Patients are Not Prepared

A novel study by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) published today in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI), finds that severe life-threatening allergic reactions – anaphylaxis – are common in the U.S.  According to the peer-reviewed study, anaphylaxis very likely occurs in nearly 1-in-50 Americans (1.6%), and the rate is probably higher, close to 1-in-20 (5.1%).

The article, Anaphylaxis in America: The Prevalence and Characteristics of Anaphylaxis in the United States, based on AAFA’s study of the same name, provides one of the most reliable estimates to-date of the prevalence of severe, life-threatening allergies in the general population.  It is also helping experts understand how the public, patients and caregivers think, feel and behave regarding anaphylaxis.  For the full text of the article, visit www.aafa.org/AnaphylaxisInAmerica.

Dr. Robert Wood is the lead author of the article, chair of the AAFA research panel that conducted the study, and Director of Allergy & Immunology at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.  “This study provides the first estimate of anaphylaxis prevalence in the United States using a large unbiased survey,” according to the article.  But the authors also pointed out that patients do not appear adequately equipped to deal with future episodes, indicating the need for public health initiatives to improve anaphylaxis recognition and treatment.

“One of the most alarming things we found is that, despite the common occurrence of anaphylaxis, most people are not prepared to do the right thing when emergency reactions occur,” says Mike Tringale, Senior Vice President at AAFA and one of the authors of the article.  “We need to re-double our efforts to make sure that people are informed and have access to the right medication.”


For the full text of the article, visit www.aafa.org/AnaphylaxisInAmerica.

Detail: Food Allergy Counseling: How Common Is Anaphylaxis: Study

0 7 Essential Ingredients for French Toast

I don’t make French Toast often but when I do I make sure I have the best essential ingredients I can get. Due to my food allergy and food intolerant needs, everything on the plate is naturally tree-nut free (food allergy), gluten-free (food intolerant) and lactose-free (food intolerant).* Also, six out of the eleven ingredients are organic.

Eggs – I used extra large organic eggs that have eaten vegetarian feed. Yum.

Milk – I use lactose-free organic skim milk when I can, today was two-percent  Lactaid milk (non-organic).

Vanilla – I use Tahitian vanilla from Nielsen-Massey. It doesn’t get better than Nielsen-Massey.

Cinnamon – I also have been know to grate from cinnamon sticks myself, you wouldn’t believe how more fragrant fresh grated cinnamon tastes and smells. This week I used organic cinnamon from Fairway Market.

Maple syrup – I use the darker, richer tasting Grade B maple syrup.

Bread- If I could I’d use day old egg Challah bread (oy, so good). As I’m wheat intolerant, I maintain a wheat-free diet and I use Udi’s Gluten-free white bread.

Ten-inch Frying pan – You need a great pan, the right size and able to take and distribute heat evenly to brown these slices perfectly. I use an Anolon 10-inch Nouvelle Copper skillet, sent to me by the company and I love it. It fits three slices of bread, just the right portion for a Sunday morning lie-in.

Use your favorite French Toast recipe - and happy eating!

*Here's an explanation of the difference between food allergy and food intolerance from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the National Institutes of Health, and WebMD.*

Detail: 7 Essential Ingredients for French Toast

0 Response to Food Allergies in the New York Times

The last few days have a been a whirlwind of emotions for the food allergy community. First there was the article in the New York Times called The Allergy Buster as well as a Q&A with the author and food allergy mom on the New York Times blog. In the aftermath of The Allergy Buster's publication, there have been some very thoughtful responses in the on-line discussions, in particular from three of my colleagues.

Dr Jennifer Kim of Mount Sinai Jaffe Food Allergy Institute wrote a response and you can read it on the Jaffe Facebook page. An excerpt: "RE: 'mortality rate is estimated at roughly 1 in 1,000' This is not an evidence-based statistic and was a guess for a specific and highly sensitive patient. We don't have good statistics in truth about fatal food anaphylaxis but registries suggest it is much, much less than the frequently touted 100-200 per year."

Dr Michael Pistiner of AllergyHome.org, with whom I conducted an online Webinar last week for Kids with Food Allergies, wrote a response and you can read what he had to say on the AllergyHome.org Facebook page. An excerpt: "There have recently been talk shows and news stories that are emotionally powerful, discuss the challenges of having a food allergy and present a new 'treatment'. Again, these experimental protocols have exciting potential but are experimental and there is still much to learn."

Dr Wayne Shreffler of the Food Allergy Center at MGH (their Facebook page is here) wrote a formal response. An excerpt: "While food immunotherapy is a promising research treatment, it is still burdensome and risk-laden for patients. The anecdotal reporting of outcomes in these two safety studies, encouraging as they may be, removes them from the larger research context. Currently available data from the small but growing number of studies specifically designed to
evaluate the lasting  efficacy of food immunotherapy remain inconclusive and point to the need for more work." You can read the full response here.

All of this to say is that I know many of you were excited by the The Allergy Buster article and the promise it seems to hold and then felt dashed by these responses as well as more stories coming out of the American Academy of Asthma Allergy and Immunology annual meeting, like the one on milk oral immunotherapy treatment wherein "...three to five years after completing an OIT study, Johns Hopkins University researchers said that many participants were more reactive to cow’s milk than they had been early in the course of treatment." (Read more here Allergic Living’s article).

Bottom line still is, as of right now, there is no cure for food allergies.

What we do know is that food allergies are real and serious as is the risk for anaphylaxis

What can arm ourselves by having:

• Clarity about a food allergy diagnosis
• Avoiding the allergen[s]
• Understanding and having a anaphylaxis action plan (Here's an example from AAAAI.org)
• Access at all times to emergency medication, including two epinephrine autoinjectors

Detail: Response to Food Allergies in the New York Times