Our 11-year-old daughter had a sleepover!
That’s typically not big news, especially in the summer when there’s often quite a few “extras” at our house. But this time, our 11-year-old, Katie, finally hosted a school friend, Megan, who was on her very first sleepover.
See, Megan has food allergies, including nuts, eggs and dairy. And dog allergies. Like most moms, Megan’s mom is careful about her child’s activities. Unlike other moms, she is extra vigilant to keep Megan safe. Understandably, sleepovers were out of the question.
Until now.
It was a long process, beginning four years ago. That’s when Megan moved here. Megan loves to tell the story that Katie was the first classmate to talk with her, the first to ask if she could join her at the “nut-free” lunchroom table (where our daughter often brings SunButter® and jelly sandwiches), the first to partner with her at a school field trip.
That’s when I first met her, since I chaperoned that trip. She’s a gorgeous little girl with huge blue eyes, a shy smile and quiet but wicked sense of humor. I liked her right away. I also liked her mom, who I met at a school event. Her mom told me Megan wanted Katie to come over for a play date, but it would require some preparation from me.
Nut-free play date
I made sure Katie didn’t eat peanut butter then washed and dried her clothes carefully to remove dog hair. They had a great afternoon at Megan’s house, the first of many.
Two years ago, Megan spent her first afternoon at our house. Her mom coached me on what to keep away from her and how to identify if she was having a reaction. She brought her epipen and Megan taught me how to use it. Thankfully, we didn’t have to. These get-togethers continued, too, until Katie and Megan really wanted a sleepover at our home.
I was 11 once. I know the magic of sleepovers, the whispers, wonders and looking through teen magazines. The junk food and no sleep.
SunButter® snack recipe
So I worked with Megan’s mom to make it happen. Again, she guided me through preparations. I also checked out some online resources, including:
Forum on Allergic Living
Forum on Food Allergy Support
The day Megan’s mom dropped her off, her mom admitted she was nervous. I admitted I was, too, but I was also confident and prepared. Megan arrived for dinner, and we had chicken, corn on the cob, pasta with SunButter® and market-fresh watermelon.
The girls took our dog, a hypoallergenic labradoodle, for a long walk through the woods. They had a good laugh since our Katie’s pollen allergies acted up, and Megan was the one we were all worried about with allergic reactions. They didn’t stop laughing all night. They curled up with magazines and a movie. I brought them apples, Ezekial cereal and SunButter® for Raw Crunchers, lemonade and animal crackers (I learned most don’t have eggs or milk).
SunButter breakfast
I’m not sure when they went to sleep. I do know they woke up at 6:10 a.m., still laughing about something and “so hungry, mom!” I made them berries and pancakes, made with a special recipe from Megan’s mom that includes rice milk and no eggs. They piled more SunButter® on the pancakes. The girls made an interesting coffee, SunButter® and rice milk drink in the blender. I’m pretty sure there are still drops of it on our ceiling since they neglected to put the blender cover on. More laughs…
Megan’s mom picked her up just before lunch, and I’ll forever remember what Megan whispered in my ear when I hugged her. She said: “Thanks for making me feel normal.”
Katie’s birthday is next week, and I’m already having fun planning the party sleepover for a gaggle of girls, including Megan—and of course SunButter®.
We’d love to hear about how SunButter® fits in your nut-free recipes. What works for you?
Releated posts:
Food can be fun for children with food allergies
Food is fuel. Food is also fun! One of our weekly highlights is seeing photos of what Keeley McGuire packs in fun bento lunches for her lucky daughter, who also happens to have a peanut allergy. We’re proud Keeley shares her story here, and we love watching her daughter thrive. Thanks, Keeley! Look at this lunch: My name is Keeley and I have a little site called Keeley McGuire Blog. When I started blogging last year, I didn’t really know what direction I was headed – I just knew I needed a creative outlet. I started sharing some crafts, recipes, my love affair with my crockpot, and what I called “silly sandwiches” for my daughter, aka Little Miss. If you’re a mom looking to spice up your kiddos’ lunches, start simple. Use a cookie cutter on the sandwich! It takes the same amount of effort to cut a sandwich into a fun shape with a cookie cutter as it does to cut it in half. Then, get as clever as you’d like.
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SunButter balls with homeschooled kids
I saw a peanut butter balls recipe a while back from Christy at Southern Plate. I immediately thought, “We can do that with SunButter®!” And, so, this morning, we finished up school and that’s exactly what we did.
Guest Blogger: Back to School with SunButter
We’re grateful when parents of kids with allergies tell us how SunButter® helps them. Jenny is the mother of two girls, a freelance writer and the author of “The Nut-Free Mom” blog, where she writes about parenting with nut allergies. SunButter® makes school lunch fun again It’s back-to-school time and like every other mother of an elementary school child, I’m asking myself what to pack for lunch. And since I’m the mother of a child with severe peanut and tree nut allergies, I’ve had to be creative at lunchtime. This isn’t always easy with a busy schedule. While I’ve done my best to offer non-peanut butter lunch alternatives (all kinds of deli products for sandwiches, pasta salad, veggies and yogurt dip, etc.), sometimes I’ve found myself wishing I could turn to peanut butter. Of course, that’s not an option for us.
Tags: nut-free lunch, nut-free school lunches, nut-free snacks, peanut allergy school lunch, peanut butter alternative, sun butter, SunButter, SunButter nut-free, SunButter recipes, SunButter where to buy
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