My Date with Jerome Bettis "The Bus" {Football Legend & Severe Allergy Advocate}

My Date with Jerome "The Bus" Bettis: NFL Running Back, Super Bowl Winner, Future Hall-of-Famer, & Severe Allergy Advocate.
Okay, it wasn't a real date but rather an interview. Never the less, this "NFL junkie of a Mama" was SO stoked to be speaking to such an amazing person about his own journey dealing with food allergies and anaphylaxis, as well as, the new The Severe Allergy & Anaphylaxis Playbook he developed with Auvi-Q.

Auvi-Q.com

Lunch Made Easy: 6 Ways to use Salami for School Lunches

My Little Miss loves salami. So this week, I challenged myself to come up with 6 creative ways to use it for lunch! These delicious ideas are great for both school or work. They also all happen to be fun non-sandwich ideas!
As always, our lunches are Allergy Friendly: Gluten Free, Wheat Free, Tree Nut Free, Peanut Free, & more (see notes below for Dairy Free, Egg Free, & Soy Free options). 

Lunch Made Easy: Allergy Free School Lunchboxes + Crockpot Sloppy Joe Recipe!

This week was another hodge-podge week of delicious allergy free school lunches for my Little Miss!
Some non-sandwich ideas, simple flowers of SunButter nut free spread, allergy friendly muffins, and leftovers. 
Make sure to read through to the bottom of this post to also get our yummy Crockpot Sloppy Joe recipe. You'll love it - trust me - and nothing is better than using your slowcooker and coming home to a meal done at night!

My Weekend at the GFAF Expo in Chicago

Whew! Sorry this has taken so long to post - It has been nonstop around here since... well, Easter it feels like!
I was fortunate to be invited the weekend of April 20th & 21st to the GFAF (Gluten & Allergy Free) Expo in Chicago as an official blogger for the event.
It was a weekend of education, friendships, delicious food, and fun!

Lunch Made Easy: Chebe Gluten Free Mix - One Box, Five Lunches

When it comes to buying allergy friendly or gluten free foods, it can get expensive. I'm always trying to find new ways to share uses for products that can be budget friendly and also add fun to you or your child's school lunch box. 
We have packed gluten & allergy free lunches with Chebe mixes before (click here to see previous posts including a pizza muffin recipe), but this time I wanted to show what you can do for a week with just one box! 

Lunch Made Easy: Allergy Friendly Lunch Box Ideas

I hope you all had an amazing week!  It's been one of ups and downs, with a side of busy busy busy at our house. TGIF!
No matter how crazy our days are, we always manage to find time and have fun with our food. :)  If you gotta pack it, might as well enjoy it - right!? 
This week in lunches, we had everything from Earth Day, to Allergy Free, Pandas, and even leftovers. Yummy!
As always, our school lunch box ideas are gluten, wheat, tree nut, peanut free & more: 

Lunch Made Easy: Happy Earth Day 2013!

Little Miss and I had a lot of fun making these Dye Free, Gluten Free, and Top 8 Allergen Free Muffins to celebrate Earth Day today for her school lunch!
They're simple to make and packed full of nutritious ingredients - None of those icky artificial colors or expensive natural dyes! Just spinach and blackberries. That's it! Keep reading to see how we did it...

Lunch Made Easy: @MOMables Gluten Free School Lunches

My love of MOMables is deeper than my weekly recipe contributions to their blog. 
The menu plans, tips, and bonus recipes are amazing inspiration and are used regularly in our household! 
This week, we put MOMables to use in different ways each day. As always, our school lunches are gluten free, peanut free, tree nut free, & more! 

Today I choose HOPE. I want to live in a world of LOVE.

Just today a friend sent her daughter to school with a heavy heart, after there were threats made against the schools in her county fearing their safety.

People after training for months, even years, conquering personal goals and battles ran today... family members stood by cheering them on... not knowing that their lives would change forever in a few short moments. Left with unanswered questions and serious injury to many.

There is a problem with the world we are living in.

We may not all agree - worship the same God, fight for the same laws... look the same, talk the same, have as much money or education as another, and so on and so on...

It’s time to end this. Now.

Lunch Made Easy: Robots, Wraps, & Rocky Mornings

I love when I look back on school lunches from the week and there's such a wide variety - creative robots, simple and cute pinwheels, and the slapped together last minute! lol It's real. It's our life. I love every day of it. 
I was also thrilled to try a new brand of gluten & nut free sandwich wraps this week (more on what that brand was in just a minute).
Here's what we packed this week in our {Allergy Friendly Fun Lunches}: