SCHILLER PARK, IL - A single, innocent parent oversight resulting in a child’s anaphylactic reaction to one of its allergy-friendly foods recently prompted one company to voluntarily strengthen the food allergy labeling on all of its products.  “As the U.S. leader in allergy-friendly AND gluten-free foods, we take very seriously our responsibility to our customers,” says Scott Mandell, President, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Enjoy Life Foods.  “So we want to do everything in our power to ensure that what happened with that child doesn’t happen again,” he adds ...

Congratulations to Miranda Lund, she will be receiving a copy of “The Raw 50” by Carol Alt, and Kristen Kauke, who won a copy of “Allergen-Free Baking” by Jill Robbins. Thank you to the hundreds of responses we received for this month’s giveaway, and for letting us know your favorite cookbook of all time. We read them all … some were a fun surprise, like “the one we received for free from Costco” and “the cookbook my boyfriend made for me,” some met a special diet need, and others were tried and true cookbooks etched into American history.  Curious?  According to the Go Dairy Free newsletter readers, the best cookbook of all time is …

Alisa Fleming, www.GoDairyFree.org ~ The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network is spreading the word about “Living and Learning With Food Allergies’ during the 11th Annual Food Allergy Awareness Week (FAAW), May 11-17, 2008. They urge people to get involved in a variety of ways, such as visit a local ambulance provider to learn about epinephrine, hang posters, have a fundraiser, or talk to legislators.  As they state, everything helps. Visit the FAAW webpage for more ideas on how to get involved.  According to the FAAN, there are approximately 12 million Americans with a food allergy. Allergic reactions result in 30,000 emergency room visits and 100 to 200 deaths each year.

Alisa Fleming, www.GoDairyFree.org ~ Decades ago, you could easily throw together a quick breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast for a breakfast in bed treat on Mother’s Day.  But today, moms are asserting their dietary individuality out of desire or necessity.  With each passing day, there are a growing number of moms who may eat vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, or raw for their personal well being.  However, this does not mean that your precious mother isn’t deserving of some breakfast in bed … heaven’s no!  On the contrary, your mother (or wife) would be that much more appreciative of a breakfast, brunch, or treat that she did not have to lift a finger for, but that catered to her special diet.  Short on ideas?  Well, I’ve got a few:

Hannak Kaminsky, My Sweet Vegan ~ When is a brownie not a brownie? Sounds like a stupid question, but I might argue that the color is generally the key, and perhaps the richest, darkest brownies of them all should actually be “blackies.” However, there’s a different reason entirely why I might suggest that these humble bar cookies above get a new name. You would never guess from looking at them, or even tasting them, but these are indeed the infamous black bean brownies that everyone was talking about ages ago. Upon first seeing this creation, I reacted in the same way that I would imagine most of you are right now; shock and horror. Beans, in sweet baked goods?! What horror, what torture!  Flicking quickly away from the recipe, I tried to cleanse my mind of the idea. How could it possibly be any good, after all? Those poor, misguided food bloggers…