In this installment of the video series Megan’s Minute, food allergy mom Megan Lavin takes on the challenges of soccer and other sports. The big issue: keeping things allergy-safe when it comes to those after-game and after-practice snacks.
Megan’s two sons with multiple allergies take part in several sports – from soccer to baseball, football and basketball. So Megan’s has lots of experience with dealing with the snacks issue. In this video, she shares her own helpful system.
The first thing she does? “I keep the mindset of ‘don’t let food ruin sports’.” She knows that sports “are a great way for my kids to learn dedication, teamwork, life lessons, exercise, and so many positive things.”
Megan, who you may know from her blog Allergy Awesomeness, has developed a system to keep things safe with snacks and allergen and cross-contamination risks.
As she explains in the video, this starts with getting the coach’s contact information and reaching out to explain the allergy situation. She likes to speak to the coach directly, and makes clear “these are life-threatening food allergies, not intolerances.” [See also: Megan’s template coach email and text for communicating allergy issues here.]
In the video, she describes her two methods of reaching out to parents, to help educate them on the allergen issues and to make them aware of safe after-soccer snack options.
Does it always go perfectly? While mostly she has success, this is real life. In one instance, Megan encountered a few parents who, despite being notified, opted to bring along a box of allergenic doughnuts for after the game. But with her precautions in place, this happens only rarely. And naturally, when it does happen, resourceful Megan has a workaround to share for that, too.
Join us monthly for a new installment of – Megan’s Minute. If you missed any, check for them on the Allergic Living YouTube Channel here.
Megan Lavin is the creator of the Allergy Awesomeness blog, which features great Top-8 free recipes and articles. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook.
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