Food Allergy Living Blog

As some of you may know, we have recently launched our newest and most flavorful Neocate Junior product, Neocate Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla.  One concern we have heard from some families is the use of artificial sweeteners in products. Some families have asked if our new Neocate Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla product has any Aspartame. The answer to that is ‘no!’  Families will then inform us that another Vanilla flavored elemental formula on the market actually uses three different types of artificial sweeteners in its formula!

Neocate Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla only uses one type of artificial sweetener, Sucralose (Splenda®), as well as natural table sugar.  There are a few sweeteners on the market in the US and have been approved by the FDA. Here is a list of some of those sweeteners:

·         Aspartame -  Equal®

·         Acesulfame Potassium – Sweet One®

·         Sucralose -  Splenda®

·         Saccharin – Sweet ‘N Low®

We will turn our focus to Sucralose, which, based on the Center for Science in the Public Interest is the safest of all the sweeteners listed above. Sucralose passed all safety tests in animal studies and has the least amount of reports of intolerances.

You may also note that in Neocate Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla, Sucralose is toward the end of the ingredients list meaning very little is used in the product.

In developing the Neocate Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla, Nutricia North America was conscious not to pack it full of artificial sweeteners. The majority of the sweetening we used comes from natural table sugar, which you can see in the ingredient list towards the top.

Have you tried Neocate Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla yet? How did you like the taste? We always enjoy hearing!

Christine

Source:

http://www.cspinet.org/nah/05_04/sweet_nothings.pdf

Picture source

In honor of spring, we recommend baking these allergy-friendly sugar cookies and taking them on a picnic.  Also, if you’re feeling really festive you can use festive cookie cutters!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup Crisco
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup natural organic applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Blend sugar, Crisco, canola oil, applesauce and vanilla extract together with mixer on medium speed.  In a separate bowl, blend flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.  Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix together with mixer.  Dough will be thick.  Press dough into ungreased 9 x 13” pan and bake for 20-30 minutes or until slightly golden.  Cool and cut into squares and serve.

Submitted by: Katherine M. Hull

Makes 15 bars

• Calories: 270
• Protein: 2g
• Carbohydrates: 36g
• Fat: 14

Also, as a reminder, be sure to consult your healthcare professional to determine if this recipe, ingredients and consistencies are appropriate for your child.

Ingredients:

• 4.25 scoops (35g) Neocate Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla
• 3 fl oz Old Dominion®Root beer (Diet Root beer may be used)
• ¼ cup of ice (may water down taste a bit)

Directions:

Add ingredients to blender and blend.  Pour and serve.

Serving size: about 12 fl oz

Nutrition Information per serving:

Calories: 205 Pro: 5.5g CHO: 29.5g Fat: 7.3g Fiber: 0.9g

Neocate Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla is an aspartame-free, hypoallergenic and nutritionally complete medical food for children over the age of one.  And as a reminder, be sure to consult your healthcare professional to determine if this recipe, ingredients and consistencies are appropriate for your child.

 Hi there!  My name is Irene Czapary  and I am happy to be joining the Food Allergy Living blog!  I have been working with the Nutrition Specialists at Nutricia as a consultant for the last year, helping to answer your questions about Neocate by email and over the phone.  So perhaps we have already had an opportunity to chat!

I completed a Bachelor’s of Dietetics at the University of Maryland, followed by a Master’s of Herbal Medicine at the Tai Sophia Institute in Laurel, MD.  I have been working as a Registered Dietitian for the last 5 years in a variety of settings, however working with children with food allergies and intolerances is one of my favorite areas, as it hits close to home.

As a child and teenager I coped with digestive issues that were never diagnosed, and it was only with my training in nutrition that I discovered that I too have food allergies; once I eliminated these problematic foods from my diet I felt like a whole new person!  So I know how tricky it can sometimes be to get the medical guidance you need, how challenging it can be to follow an allergen-free diet, and also how life-changing it is when you find the right diet that works for your (or your little ones) unique body. 

For the last year I have also had the opportunity to work with a pediatric gastroenterologist, learning even more about children with food allergies, intolerances, and feeding challenges.  I hope my experience will be of help to you and your little ones!

- Irene

Last week, the Neocate team had the pleasure of exhibiting atthe American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) annual conference in Orlando, Florida.  This year’s conference had more than 5000 allergists and healthcare professionals from around the world covering topics from T Cell regulation to Eosinophilic Esophagitis.

More than 300 healthcare professionals (HCPs) visited our stand during the show to learn more about Nutriciaand to try samples of the new Neocate Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla.  Also, for the first time we introduced our new range of services offered to the families that use our products.  The new range of services includes:

1. Our Nutricia Product Coverage Navigator – a service to help residents of Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Texas gain reimbursement coverage of Nutricia products.

2. Our Nutritional Specialist helpline manned by professional experts to help both parents and healthcare professionals use and understand all of our products.

3. Our new and improved website Neocate.com with many new services for parents including our online diary and symptom checker.

4. Our Neocate online store where we offer customers the cheapest prices.

5. Our new Nutricia Learning Center (NLC), which provides new and specialized education for HCP’s to help understand the complexity of the many issues that a cow’s milk allergy can cause.

Here at Nutricia we really believe in educating all of our HCP’s about the services we offer so they can pass that information onto our Neocate families.

We wanted to say a special thanks to the HCP’s that visited our stand and AAAAI for a very busy but very rewarding weekend in Orlando!

Ingredients:

• 8 scoops Neocate Nutra
• 2 fl oz Neocate Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla (mixed at standard dilution)
• ¼ tsp Cinnamon

Directions:

Pour Neocate Nutra into bowl; add Neocate Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla and blend till evenly mixed.  Add cinnamon, mix and serve.

Serving size: about ½ cup

Nutrition Information per serving:

Calories 236 Pro: 5g CHO: 32g Fat: 9.6g Fiber: 0.7g

Neocate Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla is an aspartame-free, hypoallergenic and nutritionally complete medical food for children over the age of one.  And as a reminder, be sure to consult your healthcare professional to determine if this recipe, ingredients and consistencies are appropriate for your child.  

Not only is March National Nutrition Month, but Wednesday, March 14^th is Registered Dietitian Day in the United States! (Wednesday, March 21^st is National Dietitians Day in Canada.) You’d almost think they planned it that way.


What do Registered Dietitians need a “Day?”

Registered Dietitian Day, or RD Day, is a chance to recognize RDs for the hard work they do throughout the year as food and nutrition experts. Many Neocate families have worked closely with a dietitian because of their little one’s medical conditions, so they may realize more than others how important dietitians are. Many RDs put in long hours doing difficult work to help others lead healthier lives. The majority of dietitians work in hospitals, clinics, or in the community. Having a day to thank them just makes sense! We at Nutricia are especially thankful for RDs. Our products are practically in a field of their own - specialized medical nutrition – and require the help of RDs. We also employ quite a lot of RDs, since they have such specialized medical nutrition knowledge.


How can we celebrate?

The best thing to do on RD day is to thank your RD! If you’re looking to do something more, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has some suggestions, such as a handwritten note or flowers. Maybe you have a family friend who is an RD? Take a few minutes to write them an email thanking them for their hard work. If your family has worked with an RD, this is the perfect time of year to thank them for all of their help. And, of course, if you can’t thank them on actual RD Day, just thank them the next time you see them!

Is there an RD you’ll thank who has been particularly helpful to your family?

- Rob

[Image: http://www.eatright.org/NNM/content.aspx?id=5189]

Did you know that March is National Nutrition Month^®? No joke! This year’s theme for National Nutrition Month is “Get Your Plate in Shape.”


What is National Nutrition Month?

National Nutrition Month is a chance for Americans to set goals for healthy eating and ultimately develop positive habits for life. These healthy eating habits, along with regular physical activity, go a long way to reduce the risk of preventable diseases and illnesses and promote general wellness. Dietitians and other public health professionals often see March as the perfect time to host educational events and community activities that focus on healthy eating. Activities often support the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, hence this year’s “Get Your Plate in Shape” theme, which supports the new MyPlate messages for healthy eating.


How can Neocate kids celebrate?

What does it mean for a child who’s on Neocate to get his or her plate in shape? Well, it really depends. For a child who is getting all of his or her nutrition from a Neocate formula, there’s nothing else to do! That’s because Neocate formulas are nutritionally complete, providing all of the essential nutrition that growing children need to be healthy. To celebrate National Nutrition Month with an all-Neocate diet, you might choose to focus on physical activity instead, since it’s such a key part of good health, along with nutrition. You could also talk about how Neocate contains all of the great vitamins and minerals that would ordinarily come from the major food groups.

For children who use Neocate in combination with other foods, you can work toward trying to meet some of the goals within each of the food groups that your child tolerates. For instance, look for foods, recipes, and dishes whose main ingredients are fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein. You could focus on foods from a different food group each week this month!

What will you do to celebrate National Nutrition Month?

- Rob

[Image: http://www.athensisd.net/]

Ingredients:

• 4.25 scoops (35g) of Neocate Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla
• 3 fl oz filtered water
• ½ cup of Luigi’s Real Italian Ice®, lemon
• 3 scoops (15g) Super Soluble Duocal®

Serving size: about 10 fl oz

Directions:

Add ingredients to blender and blend. Pour and serve.

Nutrition Information per serving:

Calories: 324 Pro: 5.6g CHO: 50.8g Fat: 10.6g Fiber: 0.9g

Neocate Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla is an aspartame-free, hypoallergenic and nutritionally complete medical food for children over the age of one.  And as a reminder, be sure to consult your healthcare professional to determine if this recipe, ingredients and consistencies are appropriate for your child.

IMAGE SOURCE

 Back in October we introduced you to our newest product — Neocate® Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla!  The first and only flavored amino acid-based medical food with soluble prebiotic fiber for children with GI conditions.  

So, for the month of March, we’ve decided to celebrate Neocate® Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla and every Wednesday we will be featuring a different vanilla recipe from our soon to be launched Neocate® Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla cookbook.

And, as always, if you have questions about Neocate Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla or the whole Neocate family of nutritionally complete amino acid-based medical foods, please visit www.Neocate.com or call the toll-free number at 1-800-365-7354, Monday through Friday, 8:30 am – 7:00 pm EST.