Dining Out with Your Young Food Allergic Child

Guest Blogger, Melanie Potock of MyMunchBug.com, lends some advice on eating out with your little ones.

Do You Dine Out?

Many parents feel overwhelmed at the thought of bringing their child with food allergies to any restaurant for fear of exposing him/her to an allergen that could make them horribly ill or worse.  Yet, according to Restaurants USA Magazine,  Americans eat out for 4.2 meals per week! Dining out with our families and friends is part of our social routine.  It’s possible to enjoy this time together as a family, but it requires a bit of planning. One strategy that may soothe some fears is assembling your own “Restaurant Backpack” filled with everything you need to create a safe and fun dining experience for your entire family.

Setting Up

While it might be tempting just to wrap the chair in your coat, as this parent has done (above picture), start instead with a washable highchair cover to shield your little one from those germy, possibly allergy-laced wooden restaurant highchairs.  Fisher Price™ makes a padded version that includes tether straps to attach to toys so they won’t fall on the equally dirty floors.  The carry pouch is included.  Tuck a package of sanitizing wipes in the carry pouch so that when you arrive at your seat, the first thing you do is wipe down the table, highchair and anything that is within reach of your child. Then add the cover, then add the kid. Speaking of toys, it’s ideal to bring quiet toys that won’t disturb the other patrons, lightweight toys that keep the backpack manageable and socially interactive toys that focus on you and your child being together and enjoying the moment.  My top three favorites?

Mess-free Creativity!

Aquadoodle Travel N Doodle  is a soft, mess-free, portable and foldable drawing mat that includes a refillable “water pen” that magically makes red appear on one side of the mat and blue appear on the other.  The most your child gets on him/herself is a bit of water.  One suggestion: store the pen in a re-sealable plastic baggie or empty it before going home.  It can leak in the backpack.

Flexible Fun!

Wikki Stix™ are colorful, bendable, reusable, knitting yarn coated with non-toxic, microcystaline  wax for hours of endless-fun!  They stick to almost any smooth surface, including the Wikki Stix Book of Wiggles, Squiggles and Curlicues. (Gotta’ love that title!)  This hands-on board book has adorable illustrations that all hava a little something missing.  For example, piggy has no tail!  Wikki Stix can be repositioned over and over to give piggy a tail or perhaps to add a curly-cue of smoke to the top of the train’s smokestack.  According to their website, Wikki-stix “do not contain gluten, latex, no peanut or other nut oils and byproducts.”   For your child’s unique allergens, be sure to check with the manufacturer.

A Rainbow of Possibilities!

Beyondplay.com offers a set of 6 multi-colored, durable and transparent plastic paddles bundled on a ring and sized just right for little fists. Your little munch bugs will be thrilled to play “I Spy”,  watch their food change colors or peer at the waiter while he takes your order!

Safety when Ordering

Foodallergy.org is an excellent resource for a Chef’s Card, which is becoming commonplace in restaurant kitchens today.  Please don’t be shy and ask your waiter to give it directly to the chef, so that he/she may see in writing the exact ingredients and preparation methods that he/she must be aware of in order to keep your child safe.  Foodallergy.org offers a template for your Chef’s Card and recommends printing it on brightly colored paper and laminating it so it will stand out in the chaos of a restaurant kitchen.  Make three cards so if one gets lost, you always have a spare.

Emergency Safety

Include an epinephrine auto-injector in an outside pocket of the back pack that is clearly marked so you can easily find it in an emergency.  This is an ADDITIONAL auto-injector and not the one you carry day to day.  If you have the capability in your phone, program a reminder 2 weeks prior to expiration to replace this auto-injector with a new one.

 

Key to Success

The key to the success of the Restaurant Backpack is ONLY using it for dining out.  It’s not to be brought out for “Mommy needs 5 minutes to make this phone call” time, or for “Play with this while I do laundry time” or in response to Mommy, I want to do Wikki Stix!”.  If you truly want your kids to be enamored with what is in the pack, save it for dining out.  That way, it’s always new and fresh and, the essential safety items remain in the pack, like the Chef’s Cards and the epinephrine auto-injector. Once you return home, toss the high chair cover and carry pouch in the washer, refill wipes and other necessities and hang the backpack in an easy to reach spot for the next outing!  Be sure to store the backpack where it will remain at room temperature to ensure the viability of your epinephrine auto-injector.

Pre-teens and Teens

FAAN has some excellent videos specifically for pre-teens and teens.  Check out the video of this independent teenager being responsible for her own health when dining out with friends.

Tell me some of your ideas to make dining out memorable and safe!  I would love to hear from you!  Until then, here’s to creating happy memories dining out as a family… bon appetit!

About Melanie

Melanie is speech language pathologist who specializes in feeding.  Her work brings her into the homes and schools of her clients, kids, who for various reasons have difficulty with food or with eating. She works with kids and their parents to develop effective strategies that help children become “more adventurous eaters”.  At least 50% of her clients have food allergies or intolerances, and for them, “adventurous eating” takes on a special meaning.  Melanie is also the author of Happy Mealtimes with Happy Kids” and the executive producer of “Dancing in the Kitchen.”

More Posts from Melanie

The 12 Days of Christmas -- My Favorite Lunchtime Things (Part 1)

Tips to Help Your Food Allergic Child Belong During the Holidays

How to Talk Turkey (and Food Allergies) at Thanksgiving

How Can Parents Feel Less Stress with a Food Allergic Child in School?

After Success at San Chez, Tender Foodies Gear Up for Next Event

Take Our Survey About Dining Out with Food Allergies

==>    TAKE THE 10 Q RESTAURANT SURVEY

it's just 10 questions!!

Even LIttle Foodies Could Read the Menu

Photo Courtesy of WZZM13 (pictured Baby Depenbrok & Anicia Rauwerda LatterAs I think about our first Tender Foodies Eat!  Event in May, I can't wait to plan our 2nd event in July.  About 20 Tender Foodies (foodies with food allergies) & their Friends stopped by San Chez Bistro in Grand Rapids.  WZZM13 made a surprise visit, too, and did a little story on the event. 

We all had a great time chatting about everything from food, life events, and of course dining out on a restricted diet. 

San Chez Bistro is a pioneer in serving people wtih food allergies.  They have several allergen-free menus - including those that eliminate each of the "Big 8" and also a few less pervasive allergies, such as garlic and capsicum (peppers).  They include a vegan menu, which pleased some of the non-meat eating folks in the crowd. 

My personal experience with San Chez was a good one and I was probably the most difficult patron.  The manager patiently walked me through the menu to find something that would work for me (reading across several menus is a challenge).  One of the difficulties was that, along with gluten and dairy allergies, I have a strange reaction to white pepper.  In light of this, the manager conferred with the kitchen and found that their "chef salt", which was used in preparation of most items, contains white pepper.  This narrowed down my choices considerably, but at no point did the staff or manager become impatient or annoyed.  I left hungry, but what I was able to sample was very tasty.  This inspired an immediate plan  to return, but next time I'll call ahead to expand the options on my plate.

The highlight of my own experience was the drink.  The bartender had suggested, a Caipirinha, a cachaça (pronounced [kaˈʃasɐ]) (sugar cane rum), sugar and lime.  Distillation is supposed to break down any gluten in grain alcohol, however, this is an ongoing debate in the gluten-free community of Tender Foodies. I've not had a great deal of luck with grain alcohols, myself, so the bartender did a little on the spot research with the brand of cachaca.  He found that it was, indeed, 100% pure sugar cane rum.  No grains.  He cheerfully and carefully double-checked.  This is what I like about San Chez.  They know their ingredients.  They work with you, they care about their food, and they care about you.  And they make great drinks.

Another Chance to Take the Survey!!

Our next event will be in July and I'd like to ask the Tender Foodie Community for some feedback. 

===>   TAKE OUR 10 Q RESTAURANT SURVEY

We always choose restaurants who have experience, care and know-how in serving people with food allergies (but remember, only you know your bod and allergies best).  We'll let you know when our next event will be (in July) and we'd love to have you join us.