Question about nut allergy

[2rubies]

My youngest is anaphylactic to walnut. He had two reactions before we figured it out. He was skin tested and only reacted to walnut, no other nuts or seeds. He is also the world's pickiest eater, and I've been pondering ways to get some more nutrition into him. I was wondering about the safety of making him baked goods with almond flour. Right now, we have no tree nut products in the house for fear of cross-contamination. If I can assure the almonds are "clean", should I try it? I'm sure he'll eat them. Are almonds and walnuts even closely related? Could he suddenly develop an almond allergy now, if I do this? Would you mamas try this?

Thank you!

I should mention that we are a gluten-free house, and the reason I call him "picky" is because he won't eat meat, cheese, or eggs. It's the protein I'm most worried about. Thank you.

[scsigrl]

I would be concerned with finding totally clean (not CC'ed) source. I wouldn't do it in my home.

[MariaMadly]

I'd be concerned about cross-reactivity; I think the risk of a reaction to any tree nut is higher for someone already allergic to one kind. DS2 is not allergic to cashews but is unwilling to try them, and we're unwilling to offer them (he's 17, but we never felt comfortable with the idea).

Is soy an option? Tofu, either plain or mixed with something he may already like to eat, can be a nice protein boost.

[sbgrace]

I wouldn't do it. You've got the issue of cross contamination. Gluten free flours and products in general have major tree nut cross contamination. Our allergist said one tree nut is an allergy to all.

Beyond that yes my understanding is kids are more likely to react to tree nuts with one tree nut allergy. My son is ana to six. Beyond that statistically I think your son has a 9% chance of outgrowing on tree nut. When you get more than one your chances of outgrowing tree nuts is nill. And then there is the whole anaphylaxis potential. I'd keep with the no nuts in the house policy.

Is the protein a problem? What is the protein source in his diet? Can you do any dairy or is there a dairy allergy? How old is he? I did smoothies with my picky kid. You can blend anything....

[scsigrl]

sbgrace,

What is your source for the GF flours being CC with nuts? We have peanut/tree nut allergies here and just recently a Celiacs dx.

[sbgrace]

Originally Posted by scsigrl

sbgrace,

What is your source for the GF flours being CC with nuts? We have peanut/tree nut allergies here and just recently a Celiacs dx.

My sympathy. I called all the companies when our allergist told me to (he was already gluten free when he got a tree nut allergy dx.). To my shock, all our flours and grains (every single flour and starch had nut cross contamination), most of our other gf stuff (combo of nut and sesame), my spices (sesame there), and all my oils (nut) were either nut or sesame contaminated. Rob's Red Mill runs nut products and flours on the same equipment with their gluten free flours and products for example.

I've got a list of gluten free nut and sesame free stuff. I will post it for you. In some cases I'll note if I remember if it was sesame rather than nut. I did not call about peanut, though. But it will give you a start.

But basically you need to call companies before you buy anything gluten free and ask if the product is produced on shared equipment with nuts.

[2rubies]

Thanks all! I think I just needed someone else to tell me what I really already knew We'll stick with a tree nut-free house. We're getting pretty good at it by now anyway! We call my 4 year-old the "King of Carbs"- he loves crackers, rice cakes, cookies, and potatoes. He eats all fruits and a couple of veggies, but his only real protein source right now is smucker's peanut butter (because they only process peanuts). Up until he was allergy tested in March, we were convinced he was allergic to dairy. He's tried yogurt smoothies a few times now, so I think that will be good for him too. I thought I read here somewhere about a mom that processed a chicken breast into a smoothie- I'm sure that would make ME feel better (not sure about him!).

Thanks again!

[sbgrace]

Ok: Gluten and nut free (and sesame) free when I called. You'll need to call and ask about peanut. That said, the only gluten and nut free things could find (I called every. single. company for most of these products) are either the only thing the manufacturer produces or produced in a facility that is entirely nut free.

Buckwheat(whole, Kasha, etc.) Birkett Mills Pocono line (other lines from the company are likely safe too but I only asked about the Pocono line)

rice (whole, not their rice products though their flour is safe if you can find it)--lundberg. I think their other rice products were an issue with sesame rather than nuts but I can't remember for sure.

rice flour--lundberg though I can't find it and Ms. Robens (pricey but will be safe for you).
Other baking flours and products--Ms. Robens for sorghum, starches, etc. Expensive but the only safe ones I could find.

coconut oil--tropical traditionscoconut oil and some of their other coconut products are safe. This is the only tree nut safe coconut oil--I called every single manufacturer. They do make a peanut product but when I called it was made in another facility. You'll want to make sure this is still true.


millet--I couldn't find a reasonable source for Millet. Montana Mills was safe with nuts but may have had gluten contamination and when it was packaged down by, say Azure Standard, it is packaged with tree nut products anyway. If you got 25 pounds it would be safe but I'm not sure it's gluten safe because I wasn't interested at that point. Azure Standard Millet Flour I have listed as safe but I didn't question much about it so it may not be gluten safe.

teff--all products--The Teff Co.

ghee--purity farms

I think I found some gluten and nut safe oats but I forgot to write down the company as we decided against it. I wouldn't do oats with a new celiac dx. anyway.

Rice Pasta Tinkyada is safe. (get this brand of pasta to try--it's really good!)

Rice Syrup--lundberg

Spices only McCormick but it was sesame that knocked out most companies if I remember correctly.

olive oil--Bionaturae. Their Balsamic Vinegar is safe too but their other products are not.

Cherrybrook Kitchen mixes and products are (were when I checked) safe. I used this for his brithday cake last year because I was so overwhelmed with losing all my flours and stuff.

There are other specialty allergy free lines like Cherrybrook Kitchen which are nut and gluten safe but we don't use that type of food stuff regularly and I didn't keep track. I found some cookies for a special treat once, some vacation prepackaged foods that traveled well (pricey but he liked them and they were safe), and also chocolate for Christmas for example.


We basically just eat naturally gluten free stuff. It's healthier than gluten free baking anyway and gluten free stuff doesn't seem the same especially at first anyway. So I'd recommend you take that track at least for a while.

[sbgrace]

Originally Posted by 2rubies

Thanks all! I think I just needed someone else to tell me what I really already knew We'll stick with a tree nut-free house. We're getting pretty good at it by now anyway! We call my 4 year-old the "King of Carbs"- he loves crackers, rice cakes, cookies, and potatoes. He eats all fruits and a couple of veggies, but his only real protein source right now is smucker's peanut butter (because they only process peanuts). Up until he was allergy tested in March, we were convinced he was allergic to dairy. He's tried yogurt smoothies a few times now, so I think that will be good for him too. I thought I read here somewhere about a mom that processed a chicken breast into a smoothie- I'm sure that would make ME feel better (not sure about him!).

Thanks again!

That mom is me. (Ducking, I always feel whatever mentioning it) You really can blend anything if you get desperate enough. My son was egg, dairy, soy, nut, seed allergic and wouldn't eat meat at the time. He eats meat now.

[momofmine]

Enjoy Life makes products that are GF, nut, soy, egg, dairy, and peanut free.

[sbgrace]

Originally Posted by momofmine

Enjoy Life makes products that are GF, nut, soy, egg, dairy, and peanut free.

That's true. Their products wil be safe. Most are prepared products but that is where I got those special treat cookies. Also, I don't know why it's not on my list but they acquired Perky Rice Cereal (and I think a flax too) that is safe. Their products are the only nut, sesame, and gluten safe cereal type things I could find. Their other cereals and such will be as well. I don't like the others because they have added minerals and ingredients we can't do for other allergy reasons but the Perky Rice is just rice and some rice syrup if I remember right. Also, enjoy life chocolate chips are good and allergen free!

[lnitti]

Originally Posted by momofmine

Enjoy Life makes products that are GF, nut, soy, egg, dairy, and peanut free.

I've tried some of their cookies and such and they are just nasty! But we love their chocolate chips - the only ones I have found safe for us. Might try the chocolate candy bars too that are made with rice milk.

[JaneS]

Barney butter is almond only - no other nuts - nut butter that tastes like peanut butter. Even yummier than SunButter.
http://barneybutter.com/about.html

[2rubies]

Originally Posted by sbgrace

That mom is me. (Ducking, I always feel whatever mentioning it) You really can blend anything if you get desperate enough. My son was egg, dairy, soy, nut, seed allergic and wouldn't eat meat at the time. He eats meat now.

Well thank you for that idea Rachelle! I may just give it a try! You are such a treasure trove of information, and I appreciate that you've done so much of the work for me. We love the Enjoy Life chocolate chips- the chocolate bars were a little too sweet for us though. And for some reason, that Perky Rice cereal is one of our favorites-it reminds me of toast

I know the King Arthur gluten-free flours are expensive (!), but they are processed in a dedicated allergen-free facility (no nuts, gluten, dairy, eggs, fishes, peanuts, soy, or sesame) and so may be worth the price for just the flours in bulk.

I take heart in the fact that your son eats meat now. Maybe there's hope for us in the future?