On the shelf

I'm not usually one for e-mail forwards, and I'm still relatively new to the blog world, so when I was "tagged" by my friend Eddy for this game, my first thought was "Hmmmmmm... How can I politely ignore this?" However, I decided to humor him and at least look at what my answers would be to the task. Interestingly enough, it actually dovetailed quite nicely with my purpose for this blog. So here you go, Eddy- and thank you for inspiring this post!

Here is the task:
Go to your nearest bookshelf. On the top shelf (or highest shelf with books) what book is fifth from the right and why did you love it? Now go to the bottom shelf (or lowest shelf with books). Tell us about the fifth book from the left. Then tag five of your blog buddies - link please! - to do the same. Be sure to link to the person who tagged you too.

Top Shelf:

Our computer is in the kitchen, so the closest bookshelf holds my cookbooks and other food-related reference books. On the top shelf, 5th from the right, is my copy of The Parent's Guide to Food Allergies by Marianne S. Barber. This book has been an amazing resource for us. We bought it right after Bryan was diagnosed with his food allergies, and I think I read it cover to cover in less than 2 days. Great information for anyone who needs to learn about food allergies. The first section, Food, is basically Food Allergies 101. It covers the basics of a reaction, symptoms, testing, nutritional concerns, and goes into detail about each of the 8 major food allergens, including "code words" and special concerns for each allergen. It even has a few recipes! Section 2 is called Coping, and provides great information about living in the "real world"- preparing for holidays, advice about school and traveling, and the emotional concerns that food-allergic children and parents may face. Section 3, Itching, Sneezing, and Wheezing, covers the related medical problems that may arise with food allergies- asthma, eczema, and environmental allergies. Overall, this is a fantastic resource for parents (or relatives, or friends) of food-allergic children. I HIGHLY recommend it- it helped me so much when we first learned about Bryan's food allergies, and I still refer to it on a pretty regular basis.

Bottom Shelf:

Fifth from the left is my copy of Rachael Ray's Express Lane Meals. While not quite as relevant to the food allergy world as the previous book, I actually would recommend it as well. Full disclosure- I am admittedly a Rachael Ray fanatic. However, this book has a lot of recipes that are already milk-, egg-, and peanut-free, and I have found that many of the other recipes can easily be adapted as well (omit the egg, or replace the butter with olive oil). Even if you aren't a Rachael Ray fan, I really think this is a great cookbook with lots of really good, easy-to-prepare recipes.

So there's a little insight into my bookshelf. And thanks again to Eddy for helping me write this post!