£15 for a two sentence letter! But invaluable to us ... as it enabled us to take on board some soy milk and food for The Allergic One.
We needed to show our letter to Security who were manning the X-ray scanners just before you go through to Departures. I informed them about the letter - and they did read it - as I loaded the cool-bag onto the conveyor belt and they were thereafter fine with me taking through the 250ml cartons of soy milk, yoghurts and all of the food pictured below. I was very happy about this. My boy will have food to eat after all!
Here's what I packed:
We are going away, on holiday, by aeroplane!
Neither of our boys have ever flown before.
The airline are unable to accommodate our allergies. I rang them to confirm my hunch that we would 'be on our own' in the catering department. We are able to take our own food, they will microwave anything that needs to be heated. We need a doctor's note to confirm why we need to bring our own food and medicine. All food should be in clear, plastic boxes. We are unable to take the little 250 ml cartons of soy milk as passengers are restricted to 100 mls of liquid only. I might ignore this advice and see what happens when we get to the security gate. I'd like him to be able to have some soy milk for brekkie. Unless the airline have soy milk on-board? Might check.
We are taking an Emirates flight from London to Dubai (7 hours) , then a two and a half hour wait, then flying from Dubai to Perth (10 and a half hours). So, I need to pack almost a whole day's worth of food.
I am thinking the following might be good, packed into a cool bag with an ice pack:
Breakfast
Mini box/es of cereal
Marmite sandwiches - pre-made ... so probably will be limp and soggy
Soy yoghurt
Banana
Soy milk
Lunch
Sticks of carrot and cucumber - pre-cut ... so probably will be dried out
Mini pots of hummus
Bread roll
Packet of crisps
Chunks of melon - pre-cut ... so probably will be dried out
Supper
M&S Spag bol! Very pleased with this find.
Soy custard dessert
Snacks
Organix rice cakes
Mini party rings
Breadsticks
Cereal bars
Chocolate buttons
Again, wish us luck, I'll keep you updated as to how all this goes!
Just using up leftovers the day before we fly ... one butter nut squash, two sticks of celery, two shallots, five bendy carrots and a handful of red lentils plus chicken stock. Tastier than it sounds.
We are going away, staying with relatives, so ...
Friday - Last meal at home, will be 'bottom of the fridge' soup ... I know we have a butternut squash, some bacon and some lentils so I think will be this made into a soup served with some scones
Saturday - I don't know
Sunday - I don't know
Monday - I don't know
Tuesday - I don't know
Wednesday - I don't know
Thursday - I don't know
All this strikes fear into the heart of the mother of the allergic child. One of the ways I find it easier to cope with the problems that allergies present is to be as organised as I can. Another way I find it easier to cope is to take on the responsibility for keeping The Allergic One allergy free myself. This week, and the week after I will be delegating to my in-laws, although I will be there of course. They - my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law - are only too aware of the allergies we need to deal with and have kindly and generously asked the right questions about what he can and can't eat, what he likes, what he doesn't. I am very aware of the extra work involved for them and am also aware that we are now well and truly stepping out of our 'allergy comfort zone'. Wish us all luck, I'll keep you posted!
We are preparing to go away at the end of the week so I've planned a few days of easier suppers. I bought some huge, thick Sainsbury's British Ultimate Steak Burgers which the boys ate on wholemeal burger buns, dusted with flour ('Mummy, what's this white stuff on top?'), a soy cheese slice, some tomato ketchup and some bits of salad. Two plates cleared.
Fish fingers, bits of salad and mashed potato in a heart-shape ... a bit twee yes, a bit lazy yes, but the boys loved it ... 'Mummy you made us a heart' ...
I used some lamb, veggies and lentils from the freezer - made here, added some mashed sweet and regular potato and used corn and peas from the freezer.
Just using up my freezer stash of lamb, veggies and lentils. Nothing fancy here.
A lovely recipe for oaty and raisin muffins which used up some leftover vanilla soy milk which no one wanted to drink. The boys made these with the husband.
I am giving myself a low-effort week in the kitchen this week as a) it's the week before half-term and b) we are preparing to go away. So ...
Friday - Salmon fishcakes, sweet potato wedges, steamed carrots and green beans
Saturday - Lamb, veggies and lentils (from the freezer) with pasta
Sunday - Bacon, courgette and basil pasta
Monday - Lamb, veggies and lentils (from the freezer), with sweet potato mash, corn and peas
Tuesday - Fish fingers, jacket potatoes, salad
Wednesday - Steak burgers, soy cheese slices, wholemeal bread rolls, salad
Thursday - Jacket potatoes, tuna and sweetcorn with vegan mayo, salad
The scones were delish, very simple to make and loved, warm from the oven, by the children. They used them, halved, to scoop up the sort-of non-spicy lentil dal ... just finely chopped (in food processor) onions, celery, carrots, sweet potato and garlic all sautéed for a few mins, then lentils added and cooked in chicken stock and some finely chopped chicken added at the end. Like a really thick soup I suppose.
Six portions of pizza sauce from one tin of tomatoes - sautéed onion, garlic and the tomatoes simmered with some sun-dried tomato purée a splodge of ketchup, salt, pepper, dried mixed herbs, a splash of balsamic and lots of basil added at the end. Blitz in food processor and freeze.
There were two more birthdays in the boys' class this last week, the children at the school bring in cakes to share with others on their special day. Not wanting The Allergic One to feel left out because of his pesky allergies I made a batch of allergy friendly cupcakes ... chocolate fairy cakes with glacé icing and jelly sweets.
My top tips for classroom treats:
1) Ask the teacher to tell you when birthdays are, ideally the week beforehand!
2) Have the teacher look after a few allergy friendly treats (chocolate buttons and mini party rings have a long shelf life!) for her to stash in her desk in case of impromptu celebrations ... or for when you forget to bake ...
3) Try and make your allergy-friendly creations look as good (or better?) in the eyes of a three or four year old as the other cakes might do ... in my experience this depends almost solely upon the sweeties or sprinkles that perch atop it ... not much to do with the actual cake itself.
Another weekend, another exciting birthday party for the little ones. I had made the mistake of not speaking to the mother of the birthday girl to ask what would be on the party menu. I had presumed it would be the usual party fare, as it had been at the party the week before. So I packed non-nutritious rubbish, as below, namely, cocktail sausages, mini party rings, crisps and a cupcake:
However, after arriving at the party it became clear that the rest of the children would be eating fish fingers, sausages, french fries and pizza. Oh ... The Allergic One would gobble all that lot up if it was dairy and egg free. I asked the typical 'annoyingly detailed questions of the mother of an allergic child' to the hostess who kindly looked at the food packets for me to check. Sadly we found out that the chips contained milk - what the? Yes, Aunt Bessie's Homestyle Chips contain 'skimmed milk powder'!
So, the 'Allergic One' sat at the table eating his cold sausages and crisps whilst the others ate a hot meal. I am annoyed at myself more than anything, if I'd been organised enough I could have spoken to the mother of the birthday girl in advance and easily brought dairy/egg free versions of the party food for The Allergic One to enjoy. A lesson learned.
This month's edition of Good Food contains a recipe for chocolate gingerbread! The list of ingredients does not include eggs but does call for both butter and milk which of course are easy to substitute for vegan margarine and soy milk. The flavour improves if you can leave it for a day or two after baking.
The cake has more than a hint of that taste of 1970/1980s British childhood picnic, the McVitie's Jamaica Ginger Cake, about it ...
Friday - lamb, lentils and veggies with fusilli (from freezer)
Saturday - tuna, red pepper, basil and soy cheese pizza with potato wedges and salad
Sunday - Jools' favourite beef stew (from freezer) with garlic bread
Monday - tuna, red pepper and basil sauce with fusilli (leftovers from Saturday)
Tuesday - lamb, lentils and veggies with sweet potato mash (from freezer)
Wednesday - home made minestrone soup and home made scones followed by apple crumble (from freezer) with soy ice cream
Thursday - pancetta risotto with oven roasted ratatouille
It's great to have a freezerful of this sort of food - I can defrost and use with pasta, rice or jacket potatoes or as a filling for little pies or calzones. It's just sautéed onion, celery, carrots, lamb mince, red lentils, veggie stock and passata with a touch of fresh sage, rosemary and thyme. Plus Worcester sauce and sun-dried tomato purée for a bit of extra flavour.
Tasty little pies filled with leftover roast chicken, leftover stuffing, leftover sweet potatoes and leftover gravy plus I added some sautéed onion, carrot, sweetcorn and green beans.
This is a quick, easy and cheap accompaniment to a roast chicken. It makes a lovely leftover sandwich the following day with slices of cold chicken and vegan mayo.
Sage and onion breadcrumb stuffing
Ingredients
1 onion, finely chopped and sautéed
100g breadcrumbs
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
salt and pepper
Method
Combine above ingredients and add to the cavity of the chicken - roast as per usual
So ... invites to birthday parties eh ... the kids love it of course but they do worry me ... all that rogue dairy and eggs all over little faces and hands. The Mum of the birthday girl very kindly advised what would be on the main menu so I was able to try to replicate.
I packed a 'safe' meal. We took ham sandwiches (crusts off), Pom Bears (now suddenly made without milk), Freefrom White Chocolate Buttons and some home made chocolate cakes. He ate the crisps and the cakes. Typical.
Here's me, trying to squirrel away a freezerful of spiced apple and oat crumbles ... although quite a few have been eaten before making their way to said freezer, they are very good with ice cream and even nicer with soy custard.
Friday - penne with leek, corn and pancetta in a creamy sauce
Saturday - salmon and spinach in puff pastry, served with mashed potatoes, steamed carrots, green beans and baby corn ... recipe here
Sunday - sausage, tomato and pea risotto
Monday - chicken, sweet potato and coconut soup, home made savoury scones ... apple crumble and soy cream
Tuesday - tuna meatballs, tomato and vegetable pasta sauce with linguine
Wednesday - sweet potato cottage pie with broccoli
Thursday - leftover sweet potato cottage pie with baked beans
Unbelievably tasty, wholesome and cheap ... ideal for two little tired boys on a cold and rainy day ... served with doorsteps of warm home-made wholemeal bread ... so delighted to hear 'mmmmmm, Mum can we have this again'.
Ingredients - serves 4 adults and 4 toddlers
500g free range chicken thighs and drumsticks (remove skin)
2 small onions - finely chopped
5 carrots - finely chopped
Half a large butternut squash - finely chopped
4 sticks of celery - finely chopped
2 litres of chicken stock
Salt, pepper and parsley, to serve
Sauté chicken and veggies for a few minutes
Add stock and simmer for an hour
Remove bones from chicken
Blend and serve
To mark Harvest Festival the boys' school were baking bread with the children. I checked the ingredients that the class would be using. Thankfully the teacher confirmed that the bread would be made with vegetable oil, not butter or milk-containing margarine. So, The Allergic One joined in with the fun and made himself a bread roll hedgehog with raisin eyes ... as you do.
It was an early lunch, so early in fact that the sandwich was from their breakfast menu. Starbucks sausage sandwiches are apparently both dairy and egg free. Nothing on their lunch menu was suitable sadly ... except for the ubiquitous plain crisps of course.
Tuna and basil pizza, with soy cheese and a vegetable-filled tomato sauce.
