You don't have to be birthday cake-free when you are egg-free

One of the hard parts of having a kid with allergies is birthday parties. At first I would sneak out of a party before the cake or run to the bounce house for cake time. But once the girls were old enough to "know" I had to act. I found vegan recipes or added egg substitute to boxed cake mix. The egg substitute never worked that well, though. The cake was flat and fell apart. The vegan recipes were almost always too complicated for someone who was not a chef. So finally after years of searching (which is why I am writing a blog-to help you avoid years of searching) I found +Cherrybrook Kitchen mixes. They have box mixes that only require a few added items (like water and oil) and you have a delicious dessert in 30 minutes. I bring dessert everywhere!!! I bring cupcakes to every single birthday party and I bring cookies or brownies to every get together. I stock my house with these mixes so an hour before a party when I have that "Oh S%$T, I forgot to make a dessert" moment, it only takes 3 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to bake. All of their mixes are egg, nut, and dairy free and half their mixes are gluten-free.

And do not forget school birthdays! At first I tried to find out every time a parent was bringing in a birthday treat but most of the time I would be dropping my kids off and see a parent walk in with the colorful foot high with icing cupcakes from Publix. I swear I would get angry, like, "How dare you not tell me you were bringing in dessert today!" But then when I realized parents who do not have kids with allergies do not always think about allergies, if at all. So I started leaving boxes of Everything-Free cookies with the teacher for moments like this. +Enjoy Life brand has many flavors to choose from (Snickerdoodle, Chocolate Chip, Brownie, and some others). Their treats are "free of the 8 major allergens". Emma likes the +Nanas Cookie Bars. There are egg, soy, and dairy-free and Nana's does make some desserts that are also gluten-free. My advice is make it something your child does not have at home, so it is "special" (like the colorful foot high with icing cupcakes all their friends are eating).

I must say, I was very proud when a boy in one of the girls' class said, "Its not fair! You get a different dessert than us!" That is what I hope for. Not that kids are jealous, but that my kids aren't always jealous of everyone else and what they eat. I want my kids to feel somewhat similar. When other kids get a treat, they do too. When other kids eat birthday cake, they do too.