Fantasy Foods Contest
Ends March 10th

Send a photo of your favorite Fantasy Food using this form or post it on my Fantasy Foods Facebook page. On March 10th, I'll choose my two favorite foods.

If you win first prize, receive a free copy of FEEDING EDEN, scrumptious cupcakes “made to share” (free of nuts, dairy & eggs) from  Divvies, and a gift set of brownies, lemon squares and coffee cake from Mariposa Baking.

Second prize receives a free copy of FEEDING EDEN, plus gourmet, sweet treats basket from Divvies, “made to share.” (Don't forget to like their Facebook page!)

Oh, and tell me or tweet me what you think of FEEDING EDEN!

In honor of National Chili Day (yesterday) Brooklyn Allergy Mom submitted her Healthy Turkey Chili Recipe on my Fantasy Foods Facebook Page. It's my Fantasy Food of  the week (see right).) I love a chili that's more like chunky soup than stew. And I like how the tomato base provides a nice red color.  The recipe is on her site as well.

In honor of National Chili Day (yesterday) Brooklyn Allergy Mom submitted her Healthy Turkey Chili Recipe on my Fantasy Foods Facebook Page. As I wrote there. I love a chili that's more like chunky soup than stew. And I like how the tomato base provides a nice red color.  The recipe is on her site as well.

February and March are low energy months for me. I'm not a winter person and even though we've had a mild one in NYC this year, I still find myself looking for recharges. When my body feels dull I try to move it (just a bit.) And when my brain feels dull I do the same. Instead of pushing myself in areas I'm already pushing - like writing and preparing for my book launch - I try to find snippets of new knowledge.

And I love learning about words – their origins and historical usage. I like exploring their sounds. Technology has provided one more venue for exploring words. Here are three sites I've been using this winter for modified mental push-ups.

Wordnik.com - I receive the "word of the day" emails.

Visuwords.com - This is an online graphical dictionary and thesaurus. It teases the brain into "seeing" words. Great for kids when they don't understand a new vocabulary word.

Rhymes.net – an online rhyming dictionary that also has a new and terrific Lyrics component. When I'm stuck in my writing, reading lyrics seems to help.

Help! I Don't Know What Kind of Parent I Am

In the years since my son Eden was born and diagnosed with life threatening food allergies there has been a counter trend towards laid back parenting, often called "slow" or "free range" parenting. Lenore Skenazy championed this movement a few years ago when she wrote Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Take The Subway Alone, which turned into a blog, a book and reality show. Free Range parenting backlashed against both the "Tiger Mom" types who bring up protégées first, children second and the new generation of educated, over-aware, anxious parents. Ms. Skenazy is a child-safety myth buster and her central idealogy is that children will gain when parents worry less.

However, when parents begin swimming amongst all these labels the water can get murky and it's difficult to see true wisdom without involuntarily confining oneself. For example, I am vigilant about Eden's allergy safety protocol ... (Over Protective Mom?) and yet I continually teach him allergy self-management techniques ... (Empowering, Free Range Mom?)

Read on at Psychology Today

This is a photo of homemade butter with fleur de sel from dashandbella.blogspot.com

The photo is a perfect example of how I like to eat my butter...meaning the bread looks great but only because the butter is piled on. I can't remember the last time I ate truly fresh homemade butter. The idea of Eden one day eating butter or seeing how much it can change the taste of food is a definite fantasy for me.

Just last week I got a call from a friend of a friend whose child was just diagnosed with food allergies. Phone calls like that remind me of how helpless I felt when Eden was diagnosed. One of our biggest issues was finding Pediatric Allergists to help us manage Eden's allergic condition, for the long haul. And sure enough, when I speak to other parents most often their concern is this: "I don't know if we have the right doctor . . . "

Which is why I wrote Finding the 'Right' Doctor for Your Allergic Child on The Huffington Post, last year. In the past eight years I've come to realize that all newly diagnosed food allergy parents share the same concerns and fears.

This recipe is from smitten kitchen ("inspired by the Martha Show") I know some people, like my husband, get grossed out by under-cooked eggs. I used to feel that way but now I love them. The other reason I chose this dish as a Fantasy Food is that my son has been outgrowing his egg allergy steadily. He has progressed from tolerating baked and egg cooked under high temperature to almost medium cooked eggs. Means a lot when you are dealing with multiple food allergies.

Many people assume Twitter attracts users around common health care issues for content sharing and information. After Tweeting about #FoodAllergies for several years, I've learned that Twitter is a place where I can go to feel better. Why? The conversation below illustrates.

Note: The real-time prelude to these Tweets took place a few minutes prior. My daughter had just opened a to-go container of profiterole pastry topped with ice-cream topped with whipped cream that I had allowed her to bring home.  Because of Eden's food allergies we had, as usual, opted to have dessert at home after eating out in our one trusted restaurant. But I was taken by surprise at the extravagance of her dessert and more than a little devastated at Eden's envious gaze. "Bad call," I thought to myself as I prepared his dairy free ice cream topped with powdered sugar (Eden's favorite substitute for whipped cream.) It looked lame.

But his sister instinctively proclaimed, "Eden! Your food looks awesome!!" Eden believed her of course.

I Tweeted:

ME: incredibly beautiful when your un-allergic child tells food allergic sibling that his food looks AMAZING when it truly does not #parenting

AtopicGirl T@susanweissman That's so sweet. Now, my sisters are always genuinely jealous of my allergy-free meals when we eat out together. #parenting

ME: so happy to read it! I hope someday my son's food will look that good. @AtopicGirl

AtopicGirl @susanweissman I know it will. Having multiple food allergies has made me a pretty good cook & I appreciate good food more than most.

I do not "know" AtopicGirl outside of Twitter. But now I know a little something more, something hopeful about my son's health condition. I know that someone like Eden embraces - is proud of -  her food despite her allergies. And that kind of sharing has been happening to me for years. It's a timeless kind of solace experienced while scrolling through time.

Last week, in Psychology Today, I wrote about an unforgettable evening when I should have administered an Epipen to Eden -- but I did not. That notion may seem strange or even careless but after reading my piece, Raise An Allergic Child And You May Be Haunted By Food, then again, it may not.