3 Stellar Food Companies

I want to talk about the food industry and FPIES. Having a child with FPIES to corn has been an incredibly eye opening experience.  Jack is GMO free and organic and while I am thrilled to be gaining so much knowledge about food and how it is cultivated and manufactured in this country, it's also appalling. However, that is a blog topic for another day. Today I want to give props to 3 amazing companies that have risen to the top for our family.

The first one is © Cream Hill Estates. © Cream Hill Estates is a company in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  They produce incredibly pure rolled oats, oat flour and whole oat kernels called groats. Jack can safely eat their rolled oats. (They are the only Cream Hill Estates product we have tried so far, but I am in no way worried about anything they produce being an issue for him.)

"© Cream Hill Estates Purity Guarantee

We guarantee that our oats are pure and free of cross-contamination with wheat, barley, rye, triticale, kamut, spelt, corn and other grains that are closely related to wheat.(Kosher Certified and Gluten Free.)

We protect and check our oats at all critical stages:

• as seed
• at planting
• while growing in the field
• at harvesting
• during transport
• in storage
• during processing and packaging

We certify purity through seed lab and R5-ELISA gluten test results."  And they also have a three step purity process for checks and balances. http://www.creamhillestates.com/en_purity_process.php
© Cream Hill Estates

The President or Vice President of the company responded to me within 24 hours about the purity of their product and allergen guarantee. I cannot say enough good things about this company.  I want everyone who likes oats to support this amazing organization by purchasing their product.  We buy in bulk from Amazon.com and you should too!

The second company is © Cheecha Puffs of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

© Cheecha Puffs are Potato Puffs that we also order in bulk on Amazon.com

They produce 5 gluten free flavors and Jack can safely snack on the original flavor. They are not misted with sunflower oil and only sprinkled with sea salt.  

"© Cheecha Puffs are "Gluten Free* • Nut Free • Cholesterol Free • Trans Fat Free • MSG Free • Non GMO • Dairy Free • Egg Free •  Soy Free  •  Vegan

Gluten Free CheeCha Potato Puffs were developed at the special request of our gluten intolerant customers who still love to snack. Our Gluten Free Puffs have always been cooked and bagged on a separate line, and batch tested to ensure no cross-contamination. Now, the gluten free puffs have their own separate cooking room, dedicated exclusively to producing the purest of gluten free snacks.
All CheeCha Puffs begin with wholesome potato flour and potato starch. They are then air puffed using to release the natural potato flavour, lightly misted with sunflower oil and sprinkled with the finest seasonings."

© Cheecha Puffs customer service is awesome.  They are knowledgeable, kind and even offer free trial samples if you ask nicely. ;o) Let me tell you that both of my boys LOVE their Cheecha's!

Please take a moment to check out the © Cheecha Puffs website and try these yummy snacks and buy some for your family. http://www.cheecha.ca/about-cheecha-puffs-low-calorie-snacking/ © Cheecha Puffs.

The third company is © Ancient Harvest out of Boulder, Colorado, USA and we buy on Amazon.com, yes, they get a lot of our business too! © Ancient Harvest produces many great products including super grains, polenta, and quinoa flakes.  Each product is produced in separate facilities so there is no cross contamination between quinoa and the polenta for example. Jack can have the quinoa flakes.

"100% Whole Grain Hot Cereal Flakes

Good mornings become exceptional ones when you cook up a bowl of our gluten-free, whole grain Quinoa Hot Cereal Flakes. Sub them in for oatmeal or wheat-based options and jump-start your day with complete protein, great taste and filling satisfaction.

Ingredients: Organic Whole Grain Quinoa Flakes." © Ancient Harvest

Once again this company has A+ customer service.  The woman I spoke with knew the products inside and out and the importance of allergen free environments and immediately alleviated my concerns regarding potential for cross contamination with corn during any part of the production and packaging process. © Ancient Harvest

I highly recommend checking out the © Ancient Harvest website and consider ordering any one (or several) or their delicious and health conscious products.  You will not be disappointed.

http://ancientharvest.com/products/hot-breakfast-cereal/quinoa-cereal-flakes/

These 3 companies have my utmost respect and my business.  Not only do they produce healthy, clean, and allergen friendly products but they understand the importance of quality customer service.  I can't tell you how many other companies I have had to engage regarding "corntamination" as we call it and have had just a horrendous experience.  As anxiety producing as food trialing is, with these 3 companies and their products it was less stressful because we knew we were starting from a clean place.  It makes a huge difference as a parent of a child with a serious and potentially life threatening allergy. 


Disclaimer: This writer does not guarantee that anyone with corn allergies or other food allergies will be safe to eat the above mentioned foods.  Each company's guarantees are posted at each respective website.  Contact company representatives directly for further product information.

3 Passes in 3 Weeks!

Jackson is on a roll! He’s passed organic pears, Ancients Harvest Quinoa Flakes and finally we had a clean, no teething Cheecha Puffs trial and they were a pass too. We are very excited about this as Cheecha Puffs are really the only textured food he can tolerate and HE LOVES THEM! Jack is still only really eating pureed foods at the age of 17 months.  This is not uncommon in FPIES children so on Monday we go back to our feeding therapist Jean in the big city.  Jean is great and has lots of great suggestions.  Jack has made progress since our last visit with her and they say slow and steady wins the race right?

Jack and Sean recovered from that terrible stomach bug and this week we are battling nasty colds, welcome spring – UGG. FPIES kiddos seem to get slammed when illnesses creep into the family.  Since the cause and general diagnostic guidelines are still being debated it’s unclear why illnesses are so tough for them.  They do know that FPIES is a t- cell response disease so the immune systems of these kids must often be compromised in some way. I don’t know, I’m certainly not a doctor but I listen to and talk with other moms of children with FPIES and we all seem to be saying the same things.

My ongoing life’s lesson this last month, it’s so important to have a sense of humor. FPIES of course isn’t funny, nothing about food allergies of any kind is funny at all, however my life with twin 17 month old boys – it’s pretty hilarious most days! The boys make me laugh all the time.  They are getting silly, coy and performing for attention. Being a mom is such a blessing.

So once these colds are gone it’s time for another food trial for Jack.  On the table is kale, grapes and raspberries, all organic of course. Not sure what order we will go in or if something we take precedence like a safe probiotic which I am currently researching.  If anyone out there in blog reading land knows of an excellent corn free, dairy free, gluten free infant/toddler probiotic, I am open to suggestions.

Thanks for reading friends! May all of your hearts be full, always.