Thanks a Lot(s)!

The end of January has crept up on us, which means... it's Girl Scout Cookie time! For me, Girl Scout cookies are more nostalgic than anything else. When I was a Girl Scout, my mother actually volunteered as Cookie Mother several times- which means that we gathered up our entire troop's orders from the delivery station and sorted them for each individual to pick up and deliver to their customers. Hundreds of boxes of Thin Mints, Samoas, and Do-Si-Dos sitting in our living room, just waiting to find their way to their new homes...

In any case, the Girl Scouts in our area now sell their cookies at booths or door-to-door, rather than taking orders ahead of time. One troop had set up just outside my grocery store last weekend, so as I left I bought a box of Thanks-A-Lots- a biscuit-like cookie that has chocolate on one side that my husband really likes. Of course, when I got home, Bryan saw me carrying the box and asked what they were. I told him that they were cookies for Daddy, and he asked if he could try one. When I told him that I didn't think they were safe for him, he said, "Well, can you just check?" So I did- and much to my surprise, I found out that Thanks-A-Lots are actually Bryan-safe! And so Bryan happily sat down with a Girl Scout cookie- and I received yet another lesson on the importance of reading labels.

New year, new... food?

Most people know that it is very easy to get stuck in a "food rut". Same things for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, day in and day out. It's a problem that a lot of families have, certainly, but the problem is compounded when you are also dealing with food allergies. Granted, I am the first to admit that my household is full of picky eaters to begin with. However, I definitely feel limited in the scope of foods that I can start with to serve to my son Bryan (because let's face it- there are only so many ways that you can substitute for an egg in a recipe). Plus, since it's such a relief whenever I do find something that Bryan can eat, it's very tempting to go back the same things again and again that I KNOW are safe. All of that to say- my family is defintely stuck in a food rut.

Which brings me to my New Year's Resolution: Armed with several new cookbooks that I received at Christmas, I am going to try to make at least one new Bryan-safe recipe each week. I know that it doesn't sound like much, but that works out to 52 new recipes over the course of the year- which is certainly more than I have done lately. I am planning to keep track of each week's results- where the recipe came from, modifications, degree of difficulty, and how it was received by my family- on a separate blog at http://myfoodallergytable.blogspot.com. (I know, some of you probably think I'm trying to recreate Julie and Julia, but honestly- it's just my way of getting myself to actually keep this resolution!) For anyone interested, the new blog will be dedicated exclusively to the recipe resolution, while I will continue to share food allergy stories and experiences here.

Thanks to all for stopping by- have a safe and happy new year!