Cheryl Marks Young
Big (Allergy-Friendly) Snacks for the Big Game
Nearly 124 million people watched the Super Bowl in 2024. While this number was a high watermark, even in its “less” successful seasons, the Super Bowl clocks in as one of the single biggest single-day sporting events world-wide. Whether you’re tuning in to root for a team (or against one) or you’re just there for the camaraderie and the commercials, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re planning an array of super special snacks as part of the experience. Whether your viewing party is a family-only affair or you’re gathering with a larger group of friends, finding allergy-friendly football-ready fare...
Cheryl Marks Young
Pack Your Bags And Your Allergy Plan
Salve! Bonjour! Hola! Konnichiwa! Travelling abroad is a thrilling adventure. Spending time in a new place, experiencing a different culture, and wandering through landscapes you’ve only seen in photographs before is a bucket list item worth checking off. Yet, like most things, travelling with food allergies creates some challenges. These aren’t insurmountable challenges, of course. They are, however, something to consider and plan for before you board your plane. Allergy Vocabulary It’s always helpful to learn some basic vocabulary in the native tongue of the place you’re visiting. Don’t depend on finding hospitality staff and tour guides that can hold...
Cheryl Marks Young
Quick, Filling (Allergy-Friendly) Post-Holiday Meals
The last few weeks of lead up to the holidays have been a bustle of activity. You’ve savored the moments watching your son sing with his choir. You’ve busted at the seams watching your daughter accept an award at her sports team banquet. You’ve sat through corporate year-end meetings and lunches. You’ve submitted your last term paper for the semester. You’ve baked and baked and baked. You’ve endured the mall to wrap up gift shopping. You’ve visited ailing friends or relatives. Sound familiar? And that’s just the stuff we all do. If your family is also juggling food allergies, some...
Cheryl Marks Young
Shifting Holiday Focus Off Food
The holiday season is jam-packed with frivolity and fun and stress and overwhelm. And that’s on a good day. For allergy families, some of the special traditions and joy of the season can be fraught with anxiety. There’s a buffet table loaded with food that likely contains at least some of your family’s avoidance list. There’s the gift basket a vendor just sent, the one your child is attempting to dig through before you can scan the labels of all the goodies inside. There’s the invite to the cookie exchange. There’s the class party and the team dinner and the...