Tasty Tidbits  - The Allergiesandme.com Blog

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

I hope this finds you all healthy and getting ready to welcome family and friends for the Thanksgiving holiday.
There are many things to be thankful for this year...( I know...and some not so much!)

I have a few links to share with you before I head out for a family reunion in Texas...yeehaw!

Kids with Food Allergies has come out with a great guide for new and not-so-new parents of children with food restrictions. Please take a moment to check it out, or share with your family.

An article in MedicalNewstoday.com that discusses the increasing numbers of children diagnosed with food allergies.

And finally, one more mention of our walk for FAAN
 Here is our Corporate Mascot with our Honorary Walk Chair, Kristy Kiernan...




I tried my hand at "movie making" and put some video footage on YouTube.
There were too many cute kids to include everything, but I did my best. Check it out: Tampa Walk

P.S. FAAN's new website is up too!

That's it for this week. Please enjoy this time with your loved ones. Allergiesandme.com has some great new products and recipes coming online in December...so check back.

Have a fantastic holiday!

Jamie

The walk last Saturday was awesome.
 
We ended up with close to 430 walkers ( final numbers tbd) and think we are near $40,000 raised!
It was such a wonderful atmosphere with happy kids, relaxed parents and supportive family members. As the co-chair, I ran around like a "chicken with my head falling off", but managed to get some great video of some of these gorgeous kids. As soon as I have my video edited, I will share this as well.
Andrea of FAAN was a great support and really pitched in to help.

Here's a couple photos that my Walk Chair sent me...I look a little "worn" at this point!

 
Wearing my FAAN award on my head...it had been a long day!

 
Wrangled my hubby to help us with the "bouncy houses"...it was hard keeping him out of them!



Thanks to all the volunteers and sponsors that participated!

Have a wonderful and happy weekend!

Jamie

The Whole Foods 5% Day benefiting our local FAAN Walk was a success. We don't know the total donation amount yet, but store traffic was brisk!
 I am also promoting the FAAN Walk tonight at the store for another fundraiser "Taste of the Seasons". Please come by if you are local.

Here's are some photos from yesterday, the cute kid in front is Billy,one of our Honorary Ambassadors for the Walk. He has a severe Peanut Allergy. Also, I got to meet Remy, his Peanut Dog. I was told not to touch the dog, but as you can see, she needed attention, and I just couldn't help myself!

Thanks to all the volunteers for helping yesterday!
Jamie





                                      

That day the Walk Chair and I have been waiting for is this Saturday, FAAN Walk Toward a Cure in Tampa, Florida. We have a great lineup of sponsors and entertainment...I am sure all the kids will love it!  It's not too late to join us, so come on down. The website for information is www.foodallergywalk.org/tampa_fl.

I am featuring a new cookbook author in our recipe page on the website too...The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook. Check out the Pumpkin Cheesecake and Cranberry Sauce - Gluten Free and Vegan!

Here's a picture just to make you hungry       

Have a great week...and eat healthy!

Jamie

Local chapters of Food Allergy support groups had a fundraiser this past weekend for the FAAN Walk for Food Allergy: Moving Toward a Cure in Tampa, Florida. The family fundraiser provided a “food and drink free” play day at a local Gymboree Play & Music.

I was a "worker bee" and also provided a big "Allergy Friendly" basket for the raffle. I had such fun and really enjoyed watching all these wonderful kids have such a good time. I took tons of photos and got a great one of our Cute Corporate Mascot, Jack!

The event raised almost $800 dollars and hosted more than 50 families. There were over 65 children enjoying the play floor during the afternoon. We had a brief visit from an honored guest celebrity, a “peanut dog”. This trained service animal helps a local boy to avoid a potential deadly exposure to peanuts. The dog will be one of the ambassadors at the FAAN Walk on November 14th.

A special thanks goes out to Gymboree and their employees for donating the space and their whole Saturday to support this great cause.Just as a reminder, the Tampa FAAN Walk will be November 14th in Lowry Park, at Lowry Park Zoo, at 9:00 a.m. The website is www.foodallergywalk.org/tampa_fl.

One more reminder, if you are local (or feel like taking a long drive!) we are having a " FAAN 5% Day" at Whole Foods on Dale Mabry. The store is donating 5% of their sales on November 11th to the FAAN Walk! Come hungry! I will be there to introduce you to the "Peanut Dog" and pass out information.

Please show your support for these great kids!

Have a safe and wonderful weekend.

Jamie

FAAN recently came out with some great tips for having a safer Halloween for all those families dealing with the scary prospect of Trick-or-Treating.
Check out here and for even more information, go to their website at www.foodallergy.org.

Enjoy the upcoming goblin filled evening, but be vigilant!

Jamie

Well, I have finally found a use for my Bachelors in English! I will be contributing articles to the online news service, Examiner.com. They have asked me to be the new Tampa Allergy Examiner. Here is a link to my first article: Tampa Allergy Examiner

This will be a great way to get information out quickly to the Food Allergy community and those not personally affected that need to have a better understanding.

I welcome any article ideas you might want to see.
Hope you all have a safe and fun Labor Day weekend!

Jamie

As an update to my prior post about the FAAN Food Allergy Awareness week.

We contributed a great "Water Weekend" in Florida and it was a big hit. I am looking forward to meeting our winning bidder soon.

We are happy to be able to help this very worthwhile organization that works hard to assist everyone suffering from food allergies.

Also, stay tuned for the announcement of the date our website will launch...it is just around the corner!

Have a wonderful day.

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Our Opening Day for Allergiesandme.com online store is fast approaching! We are working hard to bring our customers some great products. We have found the most highly requested items through extensive market research for the store opening and will continue to add more outstanding items over the coming weeks.

Once our "doors are open" for business, we will be striving to build our network of non-profit organization affiliations to help them, help all of you. Our goal to "give back" will be accomplished through pledging our volunteer time and a significant portion of our sales profits to organizations like FAAN, Kids with Food Allergies and Celiac Sprue.
Keep watching our Featured Articles for progress in this area.

Behind the scenes, we are also working to create some new and exciting products through another not-for-profit group...more information on that to come!

The Team at Allergiesandme.com is looking forward to providing a positive shopping experience, as well as, a resource to assist you in your daily struggles to stay healthy with food allergies and food intolerances.