Keeley McGuire Q & A
We will be introducing you to the speakers and attendees of the Food Allergy Bloggers Conference by sharing their responses to a few questions. We have asked them to choose to answer 3-5 of these questions:
1. Who do you look forward to seeing/meeting most at FABC and why?
2. Which of your blog posts are you most proud of and why?
3. Which panel topic do you look forward to hearing most and why?
4. What is the best thing about food allergies?
5. What motivated you to start blogging about food allergies?
6. What is the best thing about the online food allergy community?
7. What other blogger would you most like to meet and why?
8. What other blogger has inspired you?
9. What is one of your favorite posts written by another blogger and why?
10. If you didn’t have or deal with food allergies, what would be your 3 favorite foods to eat/try?”
Thanks Jenny for allowing me to share with everyone today. I cannot thank you, and the amazing team that has been planning feverishly for this, enough for making the conference happen.
Hi everyone! I’m Keeley of KeeleyMcGuire.com. Our website features Allergy Friendly Fun Lunch Boxes – we focus on making food fun for kids with food allergies or intolerances.
I say “our website” because it really belongs to my daughter, Little Miss, as well. She is anaphylactic to peanuts, avoids tree nuts, and cannot eat gluten due to intolerance. I myself am now dairy free to help with side effects of a medication I take for an autoimmune neuromuscular disease (it’s been helping immensely). I’m also a contributor to MOMables.com where I share gluten free & allergy friendly recipes.
Enough about that let’s get onto the questions!!
Which panel topic do you look forward to hearing most and why?
Do I have to choose just one? As a foodie, I am excited for “The Art of Recipe Development” with Colette and Kelly. I have had the opportunity to meet Colette twice in person now and I feel like every time I should bow down to her greatness! I love her realistic approach to baking and family friendly recipes. I have not had the chance to meet Kelly, yet, but I often find myself drooling over the photos in her book on my kindle. Do you think there will be food samples during the session? Yum! Lol, hands on session!
I’m also looking forward to “The Company You Keep”, “Picture This” (since everything now is so visual thanks to Pinterest), and “Getting Heard”. Particularly “Getting Heard” since it will focus on becoming an effective advocate within your community. Something I am hungry to learn more about! Hungry… see, I can’t get food off the brain. 😉
What motivated you to start blogging about food allergies?
My daughter began schooling full time just before the age of two. She was already diagnosed with her peanut allergy and began a special needs school for ASD. I remember feeling completely lost when I had to start packing her lunches. She was only a toddler, had sensory issues and was super picky. Not to mention it had to be easy for her to eat on her own and safe for her allergy.
My sister was such a strong support! I was a single mom and struggling. She would send me information on products she found, ideas from friends with kids with allergies, and introduced me to kyaraban bento making. I was hooked! By making foods more fun using shapes, different colors, and tools I could help expand my daughter’s food palette. Not to mention it was also a waste free eco-friendly approach to lunch packing.
Again, it was my sister who urged me to start a blog of my own. It was really a creative outlet but I soon realized I was not alone in my lunch packing struggles. I quickly had a nice following of other food allergy parents, or parents of kids in nut-free classrooms, looking for fresh ideas.
What is the best thing about the online food allergy community?
That it’s just that – A Community. There is no competition… cattiness… just love and support. I’ve found nothing but friendship from my fellow gluten free and food allergy peers. We all face similar struggles. It thanks to the sharing, the support, the words, and the truth that gets us through those tough days.
I’ve learned so much thanks to other bloggers, to my No Nuts Moms Group, to FARE, KFA, news articles that have been shared, etc. And I continue learning more each day!