Whether you live with celiac disease or food allergies…whether, as a Member of Singles With Food Allergies, you seek a gluten free man,  a guy with a nut allergy or simply a girlfriend for lunch, please enjoy today!

Of course, we should remember to celebrate our own mothers! For example, Cybele, the Allergy Friendly Cook,  shares how her
mother will turn 70 on Monday. She’s quite happy that her mother is visiting her now. (Read more.)

Motherhood can be far reaching. Be inspired by a global mother of eleven! While we carry Auvi-Qs or EpiPens, Elaine DePrince carried clotting factor. Her life story shows boundless love for her many children and her great resilience. (Read more.)

Newly divorced and missing your children today during “daddy time”? “When you’re juggling all the legalities of your divorce, you might be tempted to just sit out this holiday … but don’t! Holidays and festivals are important rituals and they’re part of what makes a family.” If you don’t have your children this year,  plan to have them in 2014.

Did you buy a gift for your sweetie’s mother? How do you know when it’s the right time to include his mother?

Cheer up! Spring has arrived! It’s time to rediscover your passions! Did you once wander attentively through museums, listen to jazz, rock or disco or bicycle every weekend? Find your interests again! When you are content within yourself, you will be ready for a new and better relationship!

Julie recommends a “Profile Party” with your best friends. Why not join a dating site geared towards singles living with food allergies or celiac disease? “This is a digital statement telling the world that you’re not going to sit home and feel sorry for yourself.” Julie suggests that women “grab a girlfriend or two and let them participate in a Profile Party. After all, your BFF’s will want to hear the juicy details of your dates and they truly want to see you move forward with your life. Find a few outfits with bright colors such as red or bright pink and let your friends snap the photos for you.”

Whether you are a guy or a gal, enjoy your on-line search and make new friends as you move forward!

Who says that Easter eggs are only for kids? Whether you are a single mother or a single father or a child-free single, dying Easter eggs remains a fun Easter tradition to enjoy! As an avid label reader, you may have avoided coloring eggs, after reading the artificial colors listed on most dye sets. With natural dyes, you can create a variety of colors and patterns.

Remember that Easter eggs make cute (& nutritional) gifts, when you nestle them in some Easter grass. Share them with your sweetie, your family, your pastor & your friends!

If you are a single parent living with food allergies, Easter eggs enable you to shift your children’s focus away from Easter candy. Choose from among 11 creative Easter egg activities to keep your family entertained.
Egg allergy? Kristi shared how to make Easter eggs out of jello!

Dairy allergy? Why not enjoy dairy-free hot cross buns as a special treat on Good Friday?

On Easter morning, act like a kid and make gluten free, diary free, nut free, soy free Easter cereal bars.

After church, a highlight of Easter is often Easter dinner. If you enjoy cooking, you may want to prepare gluten free lamb shanks and dairy free Easter bread.

We wish a safe & happy Easter holiday to all Singles With Food Allergies who celebrate Easter!

Today, many divorced, widowed or never married singles will begin to celebrate Passover.

Whether you are Jewish or simply interested in the Jewish culture, we have two allergen-friendly recipes for you:

Gluten free and nut free Mandel bread for Passover (Mandel bread is a Jewish Biscottti) and

Gluten free and egg free meatballs for Passover.

Enjoy!

Tragically, during spring break, while relaxing with a friend, Cameron let his guard down. According to his friend, Cameron ate half of an unlabeled cookie, after saying, “Ah, the hell with it, I’m sure it’s fine”. Shortly afterwards, the Plymouth MA native was dead.

We must be grateful to Cameron for reminding us of 6 important points:

1)      ALWAYS have ready access to epinephrine and use it at the first sign of a reaction!

2)      When eating out, ALWAYS read packaged food ingredient labels or speak to the restaurant’s manager or chef. (Even the presence of small amounts of allergens or cross-contamination is dangerous!)

3)      Enjoy friendships, but we are solely responsible for our food choices!

4)      Never put our guard down around unfamiliar foods.

5)      Enjoy life to its fullest, because tomorrow is not guaranteed.

6)      Help others! (Cameron had chosen organ donation.)

But instead of feeling eager to invite him to your home for a casual visit, suddenly you are panic stricken! Why do you think negative thoughts about how often the kids argue at home? Or how the kids seem to prefer video games to conversation? Hey, aren’t their rooms messy?  Won’t he think that you are a slob too?!

Relax! Anxiety is normal and perfectly ok.  Realize that your sweetie was a kid once and so were you! If he really likes you and really likes your kids outside of your home, he’ll feel the same way inside of your home.

Before he arrives, let the kids choose some non-competitive board games! Online shopping is fun, but nothing is better than going to a local store where you can try a sample game.

When he first arrives, break the ice, by getting everyone busy in the kitchen. (If he asks, “What’s a kitchen?”, count that as a red flag). Tell them that you have a surprise! As a group,  make a delicious allergy-friendly, strawberry, butterfly cake!

While the cake’s baking and sending delicious smells through your home, play the games that the children picked. Afterwards, enjoy cake and then let the kids go wherever they want to go, while you share “adult time”.

If all of your children have identical food allergies, you are very fortunate! (Many single parents who live with food allergic children have a mixture of peanut allergies, shellfish allergies, dairy allergies, soy allergies and more to contend with at home!) Indeed, you have found the perfect time to share your allergy friendly household strategy with your sweetie. Show him how you organize your pantry and refrigerator to protect your allergic children. (Be proud of your efforts!) Have you chosen to combine all of your family’s food allergies into single meals at home? If so, share samples of tantalizing leftovers with him. If not, introduce him to the methods that you use to avoid cross contamination.

Remember what’s most important of all: have fun (and don’t forget to send him home with an extra piece of cake)!

Today, as citizens of the United States, we celebrate Presidents’ Day! As we do, let’s forget about whether we identify as a Democrat, as a Republican, as an Independent or as another.

Today, as we shop for our food and consume it, we should recognize that we owe thanks to our current President. Early in 2011, President Barack Obama signed the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act (FAAMA) into law. Food shopping is much easier now that the 8 top allergens are boldly listed on food containers.

Of course, a lot of people may have a food allergy other than a milk allergy, egg allergy, peanut allergy, tree nut allergy, fish allergy, shellfish allergy, soy allergy or wheat allergy. The 8 top allergen list is not conclusive for everyone. For example, due to a sunflower seed allergy and a sesame seed allergy, I still need to read the ingredients’ list of a food product. However, I do save a lot of time, since both milk and nuts are readily identified on containers as food allergens.

Less than two months ago, the United States Justice Department and Lesley University in Cambridge, MA agreed to ensure that students with celiac disease and other food allergies can equally enjoy the university’s meal plan and food services as dictated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). What an important step forward for college students with food allergies!

My blog challenge was to relate Presidents’ Day to Singles with Food Allergies and it turned out to be a surprisingly simple task.

Does anyone else know how a previous President helped people with food allergies?

Your emails indicate that what makes Valentine’s Day (or Happy Hearts’Day) even more frustrating are the varied challenges of living with food allergies. It is not that you don’t want to be in love, but it’s just that you haven’t found the right person to love yet!

My response is: be patient! We are a steadily growing, niche dating site. Keep telling single men and women about us! Visit us often to keep your profile fresh.

My last blog provided tips to help singles with food allergies organize small parties for Valentine’s Day (or Happy Hearts’ Day). Another fun option is to take your BFF to the movies! Treat each other to safe snacks!

Jessica shares some upbeat ideas in 5 Clever Ways to Enjoy Valentine’s Day Alone. My favorite of her suggestions is how “escaping to the gym can be both a way to sidestep the masses who celebrate Valentine’s Day, and it can also be a retreat to sweat out any stress, issues or heartache you are feeling.” A good workout, followed by a relaxing shower, is healthy enjoyment for any single man or woman!

Does anyone have any more suggestions for a great Valentine’s Day, when you are NOT dating one special person?

Your Invitation: Get your friends interested early! Whether you create an evite or use the postal system, utilize a distinctive red font for your invitations. Ask your guests to wear red, but leave the details to them. One may wear a single red carnation, while another may come in an entirely red outfit!  Ask them to confirm all food allergies, in case you’ve forgotten one food allergy or that someone has celiac disease.

Your party: Music sets the mood, so pick your favorite tunes or station. Keep the volume low to stimulate, not to overwhelm, conversation. You may want to ask each guest to bring a favorite CD. Dancing might be great exercise, later in your party.

Everyone loves food, so why shouldn’t your small group fix dinner together? After you get your final guest headcount, write down cooking roles on pieces of paper and let everyone pick from a bag or a hat. Have fun as the host! A good-humored example is “as the head of the lettuce department, wash and cut lettuce into bite sized pieces”. As the party host, you have total control the menu, enabling you to keep the meal 100% food allergy friendly!

Dessert? Who doesn’t enjoy making messy & delicious sundaes? Have an array of safe fruits and toppings available! (NOTE: If anyone has a milk allergy, don’t use ice cream. Cross contamination dangers exist.) I use Rice Dream or Trader Joe’s sorbets as dairy free alternatives, but I am sure that many choices abound. Have a contest for the most creative sundae, the highest sundae and more!

Choose a few party games, but don’t be concerned, if they don’t get played. When you pick your party games, remember what you’ve enjoyed the most over the years. If your guests are relaxing after eating and having an enjoyable conversation, that’s fine. You can suggest playing a game and gauge the group’s response, but don’t force a game!

Of course, dancing is a fun option too.

Any more suggestions, Singles, for a small Valentine’s Day (or Happy Hearts Day) party?

This is still the start of a brand new year! Have you started a fitness program that you are determined to stick with? Read Bonny’s ten good New Year’s Resolutions for Singles. Her first is my favorite, because it is simple, but leaves a powerful first impression. “Smile and say ‘Hi’ more often”!

Have you decided that it’s time to update your dating attitude? Maybe it’s time for you to step outside of your “comfort zone” when dating? For example, Margeaux fell in love with a man with celiac disease 1 ½ years ago. Since then, she’s learned to bake gluten-free. (Enjoy her delicious recipe for gluten-free white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.)

Focus on the individual! For example, instead of thinking “height”, think  “hobby”!  Bonny’s third New Year’s Resolution is to “give your dates a chance”.

As you review profiles on www.SinglesWithFoodAllergies.com, try a different approach. Instead of trying to match your own interests, read about his or her interests and then ask yourself, “Is this something that I would enjoy learning about this year?” Hey, remember that if you put your date in the position of being your teacher, you will learn important information about that person’s ability to communicate and about that person’s patience!

Amy writes in her blog, “Who are you looking for in a serious relationship? Would you be willing to look beyond the superficial “what do you do” and look at “who are you as a person” and not let this be a big relationship issue?

Use this weekend to improve your own profile and to reach out to a new friend.

On our end, throughout January, we are deleting profiles that are “flat”, in the interest of those who are actively seeking new friends in 2013. This means that if you don’t have a photo or a thoughtful profile, we will probably delete your profile.