Wednesday 30 September 2015

Time to order your Kinnerton Advent Calendar!

Time to get your skates on folks!

If you saw the post about Kinnerton Advent Calendars the other day, you will know that their dairy free Advent Calendars are limited edition (only 500 are made). If you didn't see it, you need to know the following:

  • They are the ONLY dairy free chocolate Advent Calendar that will feature the following characters:



  • At £6.50 each, they are not the cheapest dairy free calendars, but proceeds go to the Anaphylaxis Campaign.

  • This year Kinnerton will personalise them, with your child's name.
  • They are dairy, gluten egg and nut free.
  • You have only got until 19th October 2015 to get your order in.
  • Payment will need to be made via Pay Pal.


If you have got yourself on their mailing list - using the 'Contact Us' form on their website, you should have got an email today, giving you the opportunity to order one of these calendars, if not, and you want one of their calendars, I'd get on there quick!

If you need a calendar that is soya free, these are not the ones for you - unless you're okay with soya lecithin. Technically, those with a soya allergy should be okay with soya lecithin, as the protein (which is usually the allergenic bit) has been removed, however, some still can't tolerate it, so exercise caution and seek advice from your Health Care Professionals, if you are not sure.

I will be posting about other dairy free Advent calendars before long (as I have done in previous years), some of which will also be soya free,but am posting this one early, due to the deadline!


Best Wishes for a Happy Dairy Free Christmas!!

xx


Please note: 

This post is not an advert. I have not been paid to write this post. I am not sponsored in any way, even by advertising. I do not receive products free to review, although I have often been offered them. This is to try and maintain an unbiased approach. All views expressed are my own (unless I've asked for The Hub's or Kiddo's).



Tuesday 29 September 2015

What happens when your dairy free kiddo starts taking risks...???

Well I never thought I'd compare my daughter to a recovering alcoholic - well definitely not at the age of five anyway, but there you go...

It's not that she has developed a chemical dependency exactly, but she's suddenly developed a bit of a devious streak - that is rather out of character with her usually honest little self. Normally, she can't keep a secret from Mummy, but now she is also showing signs of denial and of course, it's all related to her milk allergy!

I find myself a bit bewildered, really, as I've tried to be open with her about her milk allergy and explain things as much as I can, so I thought, that for her age, she was kinda clued-up - as much as she could be - but recent events have proved me wrong!

'Mummy,' she said to me the other day, 'I had a dairy free custard cream at school today. It was nice!'

My ears pricked up a bit. 'Oh,' I said, 'really, are you sure? I've not come across any dairy free custard creams,' I said. Actually, I'd forgotten that the Lovemore Custard Creams are dairy free -also gluten free, egg free and nut free - but I always forget about them because they're made of soya flour (which I can't have) and also because they aren't that easy to get hold of (except via Holland and Barrett online, see here).

'Oh yes!' she replied airily, 'it was! And I really, really liked it!'

'Hmm!' Thought I. 'I don't think so!' Suspicious? Moi??

'How has your tummy been?' I asked. This, I thought, might help me understand a bit more about what's going on here. 

'Well,' she replied, 'I had a bit of a tummy ache, but...' she recovered herself most adroitly, 'it was because I was too hot, and I always get a tummy ache when I get too hot.'

GRRR!!! Too hot!! No!! Being too hot has never caused her a problem like this before!! 

I realise that she's on to me and lying to cover herself!! She knows I'm likely to start say the biscuit can't have been dairy free and that I'm likely to take some form of action to prevent her having one again. Having clearly enjoyed the biscuit, she's trying to head me off at the pass - 'cos although it may have caused her discomfort, as far as she's concerned, it was worth it!

This isn't the first time this kind of thing has happened - the most notable occurrence to date was the result of her having tried 'real'  pizza with 'real' cheese at school last year. Watching her friend's enjoy 'real' pizza had prompted her to ask for some. Somehow, someone in their wisdom thought that, even at the age of five, she must know what she's allowed to have (or not have) and therefore gave it to her!!

Well, theoretically, she probably did know, but chose not to - if you get my drift!

Cheese being much further up the milk ladder than a well-cooked biscuit, the resulting tummy cramps were far more severe than we've experienced in quite some while. Confusingly for me, instead of the usual diarrhea, she was constipated for several days. I suspected milk, but could prove nothing. 

The true cause only came to light because eventually kiddo complained to me, most indignantly, that someone had prevented her from having pizza for lunch... 

AGHHHH!!!!! 

Good job, she's got a Non-Ige mediated allergy and is not anaphylactic, then!!!! Even though she'd experienced crippling stomach pains (that were strong enough to cause her to cry out involuntarily and double up with pain in Waitrose) she was in denial and was desperate to have more pizza - simply because she liked the taste of it! 



This pizza's dairy free!

'Well,' you might say, 'so all that happens is she gets a tummy ache, it's not going to kill her, what's the problem?'

Thing is, the first noticeable reaction (to a small amount, processed and cooked - we're not talking a full-on uncooked milk exposure here) is the tummy ache, followed now, it seems by constipation, rather than diarrhea, BUT unchecked I've noticed (as I watched helplessly through most of last year, when school said she wasn't having dairy at school, even though I knew she must be having some somewhere) that let alone the fact that it causes extreme discomfort, her immunity drops, she looks kind of greyish, tired, washed out and starts catching every little bug that comes her way - meaning she's not on form. Basically it detracts from her well-being and constrains our movements (you can't go anywhere/do anything when she's crippled up with pain). 

Now obviously, this has all been discussed with school, and I think I've communicated with them as carefully as I can, about it all, but what I find tricky is that I'm still relying on staff who don't live with this on a daily basis - staff whose knowledge, understanding and experience of this is therefore somewhat more limited than mine. If their knowledge fails, I really can't rely on her (at the age of five) either to know the difference or even now to keep asking the right question - 'Is it dairy free?' Because now, she has begun to realise that by being dairy free she may be missing out.

DOH!!! That wasn't part of the plan! 

I've heard of allergic teenagers taking risks - due to peer pressure and the like, but a five year old?!? Not for the first time, am I hugely grateful that her Non-Ige milk allergy is non life-threatening!! If they were, I suspect I'd be withdrawing her from school!!


However, at the end of the day, the good news is that her reactions are not as strong as they used to be, so onwards and upwards! Cue a new milk challenge - she was due one anyway - well once her stomach has been given the time to recover a bit!!


Related Posts:


Is this an allergic reaction?



Living with Cow's Milk Allergy - how I try to keep the 'Dairy Free Baby' milk free!



Challenging Baby


Thursday 24 September 2015

Kinnerton Dairy Free Advent Calendars

Don't know if you're new to being dairy free. I well remember the first Christmas I was dairy free. I was SO relieved when The Hub found that I could still eat chocolate! The first dairy free chocolate I ever ate was a bar of dairy free Kinnerton. Unused as I was to dark chocolate (I usually prefer milk chocolate). I soon adapted and grew to love it!! 

If like me, you love your chocolate and you're looking for a dairy free Advent calendar, well there will be more options hitting the shops before too long, so don't panic, but if you're particularly interested in Kinnerton (not the normal Kinnerton ones, you'll see them everywhere, but they're NOT dairy free), you can only get the dairy free ones via mail order direct from Kinnerton and they only make 500. 

These are the ONLY dairy free chocolate Advent calendars to feature well loved children's characters (see below for the range) and this year, they are prepared to personalise them with YOUR chosen name!

The other thing you need to know is that you need to get your order in by 19th October (2015) which is why I'm publicizing them ahead of my usual dairy free Advent calendar round-up (see here for last year's post). They're £6.50 each and £5 of the money is donated to the Anaphylaxis Campaign (what a great cause).

If you'd like to get your hands on one of these, make you sure you visit their site and use the 'Contact Us' form to get yourself on their mailing list (probably the sooner the better). Alternatively, keep watching this space for further details!




Please note: 

This post is not an advert. I have not been paid to write this post. I am not sponsored in any way, even by advertising. I do not receive products free to review, although I have often been offered them. This is to try and maintain an unbiased approach. All views expressed are my own (unless I've asked for The Hub's or Kiddo's).


Related Posts:


Oo! Ah! Christmas Chocolat 2014



Dairy free ways to decorate your tree



Tasty Treats