Pinterest Monday: Recipe Roundup

Happy Monday everyone. Have you ever sat down at your computer or phone and opened up Pinterest, and then all of a sudden you look up and its three hours later? I hope I'm not the only one. Like most people, I have figured out that just because you see it on Pinterest, doesn't mean it is a good idea, but sometimes it ends up being a great idea! Being able to find recipes online at the click of a button is wonderful but you always run the risk of it not ending up as pretty as the picture made it seem like it would.

Today I am doing a fun roundup of recipes I have tried online that ended up being huge successes! 

• Crockpot BBQ Ranch Chicken from The Frugal Girls: I actually made this chicken last night for dinner. We are in the middle of packing and wanted something easy for dinner so I just threw some chicken in the crockpot. The recipe originally said to put the chicken in the crockpot for 3 hours on high but I switched it to low for 6 hours. When I drained the chicken to add the BBQ sauce, it literally was falling off the bone, so our meal went from chicken legs to just pieces of chicken, but it tasted delicious. Alex loved it and even said it was something he could make for himself when I'm not here! 

• Bacon Wrapped Chicken from Artys Fartsy Mama: Okay, this is one of my favorite recipes that I have made. I have made it multiple times and it is always delicious. Usually, I just get the chicken tender/thighs that are smaller than the chicken breasts so that they cook better and it isn't such big pieces. This is a delicious recipe that only requires a little prep and cooking it in the oven is nice because its easy cleanup, just one pan. 

• Buffalo Chicken Dip from All Things Mamma: Alex actually introduced me to this recipe, because it is one of his favorites. He probably makes this recipe once a month, though he makes it in the oven. If you don't like hot sauce (like me) you can just add more ranch and less buffalo sauce. I have also seen it done with sour cream if you aren't a big ranch person. This is the perfect dip for a party/football game/gathering with food. 

• Easy Ravioli Bake from Betty Crocker: Another recipe that I found on Pinterest that is quickly becoming a staple dinner for Alex and I. Literally you just layer some frozen ravioli, cheese and pasta sauce, throw it in the oven, and then enjoy! Made this at home with my family one night and added some cooked ground beef to it which made it taste even better. Though we found if you add any type of meat to the dish, use more pasta sauce. 

These are just a few of my favorite Pinterest finds that turned out to be great recipes. Do you have a favorite Pinterest recipe? Share a link to it below!

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Living with a Peanut Allergy

Hi, my name is Felecia and I am allergic to any form of nuts.

I am one of the 4% of adults who have a food allergy and one of only the .6-1% of people who are allergic to peanuts. I had my first reaction when I was eleven months old when my mom tried to feed me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, it ended with my face super swollen, the advice nurse telling my mom that she wasn't a good parent because "all good parents have Benadryl" and my dad getting pulled over because he was speeding to get the medicine back to me. The first reaction was just the start of one of the most influential parts of my life. Especially as a young child, a big part of my life was learning what I could and couldn't eat, touch and be around, and telling a small child that she can't have the same candy as the rest of her friends is hard. But when you puff up and look like a balloon and your throat swells so much you can't breath, it is important to know what you can and cannot eat. Now that I am getting married, I pray that when I have children that they don't get this trait from me because I know how difficult life is with it. I mean, my children will probably never be able to have a PB&J anyway.

The photo on the left is a picture from me in the hospital after a reaction and the one on the right is me normally. Both of these pictures are from high school, I don't remember when exactly but it was around 2009 I think. 

Here are some facts about food allergies and peanut allergies:

Children who are going to outgrow food allergies usually outgrow them by the age of four.
        A lot of times very young children will be allergic to a variety of foods; i.e. eggs, milk, peanuts, etc. but outgrow it by the time they start school. But if a child hasn't outgrown it by that time, they probably won't. For people like me who didn't out grow their allergy, it has the potential to get worse with age. This is what happened to me. Every reaction I have, is worse than the one before. What started as "simply" my face swelling up has now escalated to my face swelling, breaking out in hives,  vomiting, blood pressure plummeting, throat swelling and blacking out. So believe me when I say that these reactions can be life threatening.

There is no cure for peanut allergies.
          While there has been talks about a drug called TNX-901 for years that increases the amount of peanuts that would have to be eaten to trigger an attack, it does not cure it. TNX-901 has also been talked about for almost 10 years now and is still not on the market. Some people who don't have a sever allergy have had success by being exposed gradually to their allergen but it never completely gets rid of the allergy. It only allows the person to be able to be exposed to more of the allergen before having a bad reaction.

If I have a reaction there are certain steps that must be taken.
          Every reaction is different and every person reacts differently to their reactions, but this is what happens to me when I have a reaction. First, I start to just feel weird. I get chills throughout my body, my ears tingle and something instinctual just kicks in so that I know something is wrong. When this happens I first take benadryl. While this won't stop a sever reaction, it can sometimes slow it down. Liquid benadryl is the best because it gets into your blood stream faster and starts to work.  If I can tell it is going to be a reaction that requires me to go to the hospital, depending on how far the reaction has progressed, I will either go straight to the hospital or use the Epi-Pen.

Once the Epi-Pen has been injected, you must go to the hospital ASAP.
          Epi-Pens are designed to speed up your heart rate by giving you a dose of Epinephrine that counteracts the reaction. Because one of the side effects of going into a life-threatening reaction, commonly known as anaphylaxis shock, is a massive drop in blood pressure. You can go here to look at more information about Epi-Pens and anaphylaxis.

Everyone needs to know how to work an Epi-Pen.
          It is not hard to learn how to work them, and who knows one day it might save someones life. Teachers especially need to know how to work these life-saves, not just because of peanut allergies but all allergies. Children are more likely to not completely understand their allergy and have a reaction. It surprised me as a kid when I had a reaction and the school nurse didn't know how to work the epi-pen! Here are some videos that teach a little bit more about how to use an Epi-Pen.

 

I hope that you understand the severity of a peanut allergy and what to do if you see someone having a reaction. And please be considerate, people with allergies didn't choose to have them, they don't ask for "special treatment" just to be difficult, it is to save a life.

I would love to answer any questions you might have about peanut allergies or Epi-Pen.

Felecia

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