2010-12-02

Hot and Cold Lunchbox

Here's a lunch with a split personality from a few weeks ago.  The Kid was headed back to school after recovering from an ugly cold, so I packed him a thermos with chicken and rice soup, saltines, blue Jello, apple juice and a couple dino stickers.  (He got an extra T. Rex, because my little bug hadn't been feeling so great.)  The monkey at the bottom is an ice pack to keep the Jello from melting.

I don't usually pack multiple containers, simply because the odds of all the pieces making it home again are slim to none, so he also got a few extra reminders to pack it all up again!  (He remembered.)  You may also be wondering why on earth I'm feeding Jello to a child allergic to beef and pork, gelatin being derived from, well, beef and pork bones.  The reason is simply that he had eaten Jello without incident before we discovered his meat allergies the hard way, so I continue to let him have some on occasion.  (The occasion is usually when my little boy's sick and I'm trying to get liquids into him.)  I have a theory that the process of extracting the gelatin from the bones may denature the protein so that it's less recognizable to my son's overactive immune system.  It's only a theory, though.  If you have any other thoughts, please speak up in the comments!

Update:  I noticed a few people making their way over here from the Kids with Food Allergies forum because of a beef/pork allergy vs. gelatin discussion.  Please, please don't give your meat allergic child gelatin based on my experience.  Talk to your child's doctor first!

Also, if you have a moment, I'd really appreciate it if you'd take the time to click on the badge below and vote for my entry in the "Chili & a Spoon" contest.  If you are into spicy food there's a treasure trove of creative entries to check out while you're there.  Thanks so much!

A Chile & A Spoon. Check out My Hot Recipe! And Vote for your favorite

1 comment:

Raising a Sensitive Child said...

I find your lunches so inspiring! My son's not in school yet, but once he is, I'll be coming back for some inspiration.