Hawaiian Pizza Pineapple (Gluten Free Egg Free)

Pizza and kids will always go hand and hand.  And kids love sweet.  So it’s a no brainer that kids would love this gluten free hawaiian pizza with pineapple.  Pizza can be difficult with a child that suffers from food allergies.  Virtually every birthday party serves this special treat since everyone likes it.  Although pizza may not be an essential allergy food, I believe an allergen friendly version is essential for including children with special dietary needs to make them feel like a ‘normal’ child eating the different (but the same), food as their peers…  I’ve heard that Daiya dairy free cheese is a decent substitute for real cheese as well and truly make this allergen friendly and free of the top 8 food allergens.

I’m going to break away from my usual light conversations to share something important.  Something near and dear to me that still haunts me to this day.  This post a bit longer than my typical but please read our real story of an allergic reaction.

It’s a memory that will forever haunt me and that changed the course of my family’s life.  As part of National Food Allergy Awareness Week or #TealTakeOver, real stories are being shared in hopes of raising awareness regarding the seriousness of food allergies.

It was 3 years ago when Sir (now 7) was about 4 1/2 years old had an allergic reaction.  Sir was diagnosed with a peanut allergy at 1 year of age through a blood test due to a familiar history on my husband’s side.  We were scared but thought we could manage it carefully.

If we ate at a restaurant, we’d look at various items and alert the staff about the allergy.  I learned to read labels.  As long as it did not contain actual peanuts or tree nuts, we deemed it ‘safe’ to eat.  Even the manufacturers disclaimer of “may contain nuts…” didn’t phase us.

Eating out wasn’t a problem except bringing our very fussy 6 month old Mr. Naughty (his pre-allergy diagnosis).  One particular night we ate at an Asian buffet with some friends.  Sir decided to eat just about everything on the menu but I was careful to avoid any food containing cashews or almonds.  I actually remember skipping the entire hot section surrounding those foods to avoid cross-contamination since buffets are notorious for cross-contamination.

During mid bite into an egg roll, he clutched his throat and stopped eating.  I immediately suspected a reaction.  He then said he was fine and then went on eating.  A mere 5 minutes later he became irritable and acted out with crying saying he and a tummy ache and was tired.  My husband and I thought he had eaten too much, (he never knows when to stop), and was just tired.  We quickly paid and went home.  It was another 15 minutes before we arrived home and Sir was still crabby and said he was too tired and decided to lie down on the couch.

I decided to put Mr. Naughty to bed and went upstair to nurse him.  My husband got Sir ready for bed but he decided to stay with him until he fell asleep.  From across the house, I heard an awful sound of vomiting followed by my husband screaming.  I was so scared I literally almost tossed Mr. Naughty on the floor and ran across the hall.

Almost 1 hour after eating, Sir had a massive vomit that seemed to expel his entire dinner.  He said he felt much better and wanted to sleep.  We took him downstairs incase he got sick again, so he could be near us (and so we could clean up the mess in the laundry room).  While I was changing him, I noticed he began scratching his legs.  I looked for any hives or redness over his body and found none.  By the time we finished changing his entire upper thighs and belly were covered in large red hives.

Instead of administering his epi-pen,  I called our after hours pediatric hotline for guidance on Benadryl dose for a child his age.  I explained all that happened and mentioned it’s more than likely a food allergy reaction.  They said I could administer an epi-pen, take him to the emergency room or watch him.

And so we watched him for another hour after administering some Benadryl.  We cuddled on the couch, all the while checking.  Nothing changed, so we took back to bed and stayed with him again until he fell asleep.  Within 5 minutes of falling asleep he vomited again.

We finally made the decision to head to the emergency room (now a full 2 hours after his symptoms started), but still did not administer and epi-pen.  We were greeted and taken back immediately for an evaluation.  The doctors decided to not wait any longer and gave him a dose of steroids and zyrtec.  And then more waiting…

I remember waiting for hours while the staff diligently checked for any progression of symptoms.  After 5 hours of being symptom free, we were sent home with steroids and zyrtec.

No more bakery items, homemade classroom treats, foods labeled with a may contain/processed with nuts, rarely eating out but the main change was living in fear for his life.

It’s strange but in a way we didn’t believe how severely allergic he was to peanuts, in part because he had never ingested any nuts or had a previous reaction to anything.  His blood test was also very low with only 1.03 kU/L which could be a false positive.  The next day I had my friend call the restaurant and speak with the management (they only spoke Chinese) to ask them specific questions regarding peanuts.  The staff promised they did not cook with peanut oil or any peanuts but the desserts were brought in from a bakery (which he did not eat).

In the week following his reaction, we had a follow up visit to our allergist to try and pin point what triggered the reaction, which we never found an answer.  Both skin and blood tests were ordered and the results were scary.  Sir’s severity of peanuts had jumped from a mere 1.03 Class 1 to 93.65 Class 5.

The guilt of this day forever remains in me after countless opportunities were lost to administer an epi-pen.   We knew we should have administer epinephrine but we failed to act.  We did not know how to manage it properly.  We thought watching the to see if the symptoms worsen would be better than jamming his leg with a needle and calling an ambulance if he really didn’t need it…  Our story shows that a severe reaction may not present immediately after ingestion like movies and other stories have.  It was close to a full hour before vomiting and hives occurred.

This failure to act wasn’t because my husband and I didn’t think to use administer an epi-pen…

It wasn’t because we’re not educated in medicine (both of us worked/works in the medical field)…

It wasn’t because we were afraid to traumatize him…

It was because we did not think his reaction was severe enough.

According to the FARE website, Epinephrine should be injected IMMEDIATELY with any severe symptoms like hives or repeated vomiting, and call 911.  The handout goes on to say when it doubt, administer epi and call 911.  

The moral of this is do not wait to administer epinephrine if you suspect a reaction—even if you think it is mild.  Reactions can rapidly change to the point that epinephrine will not be able to stop a reaction.  The allergy world has plenty of tragic stories of children who have died from eating the wrong food.  The story of Natalie Giorigi holds a special place in my heart since her story was similar to our with waiting to see if the reaction would get worse.

As a reminder always check your expirations dates on all set of injectors at home or away at school.  Both the Epi-Pen and Auvi-Q sites have reduced rates ‘cards’ you can sign up for on their sites.  You could infact receive both for $0 if your insurance covers auto injectors.

Auvi-Q $0 Co-pay
Epi-Pen $0 Co-pay

If you are not familiar with newer talking Auvi-Q, here is a demo video I created.  Unlike the Epi-Pen Jr’s real injector, I’ve heard you cannot open the red guard surrounding the real Auvi-Q.   Removal of the guard will trigger the mechanism for being used.  Only open and educate with the Trainer injector.

Please share this post if you know someone with a food allergy.  We lived in the “it won’t happen to us” ignorant world for far too long and it almost cost us our son’s life.  Recognize the signs and symptoms of an allergic reaction and act accordingly.

Gluten Free Hawaiian Pizza ( Egg Free )
Author: Laura @ Petite Allergy Treats
Ingredients
1/2 of batch of gluten free vegan dough crust
1/2 cup favorite pizza sauce
1- 1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup bite size thin sliced pineapple
10 slices Canadian bacon
oil for parchment paper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees with a pizza stone or regular baking sheet for at least 20 minutes.
2. Oil parchment paper and press dough into an even circle.  Press with fork to remove air bubbles.
3. Bake dough for 8 minutes or until just beginning to turn light golden brown.
4. Pour sauce and spread thin.  Add topping in this order: half the cheese, pineapple, canadian bacon and remaining cheese.
5. Bake an additional 9-10 minutes or until crust is browned.

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