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Books, Gifts, Culture

Itโ€™s Curtis Sittenfeld Day

By May 1, 2018May 3rd, 2018204 Comments


This is a very exciting day for me.
Not only do I get to tell you about Curtis Sittenfeldโ€™s brand new short story collection โ€” You Think It, Iโ€™ll ย Say It, myย favorite of all the books sheโ€™s written โ€” it is the day that the real life Curtis Sittenfeld makes a cameo on Dinner: A Love Story. Yes, thatโ€™s right. This blog, this post in fact. In You Think It, Sittenfeld, whose writing we all fell in love with when we read Prep a decade ago, follows a menagerie of female protagonists navigating the most ordinary of circumstances โ€” running into grown-up high school queen bees, hooking up with Trump supporters, crushing on other kidsโ€™ dads at school.ย Sittenfeldโ€™s characters are my favorite kinds of characters: They are never exceptional, though they are often funny or smart without being pretentious. And they hate people who think theyโ€™re exceptional, believing this to be a serious flaw.ย Sittenfeld is the master of the withering observation, and no one is safe from it here in the best, most entertaining way. Please doย yourself a favor and order her book for yourself today. (And when it arrives, read โ€œA Regular Coupleโ€ first. Or maybe โ€œGender Studies.โ€ Or maybe โ€œVolunteers Areย Shining Stars.โ€ I canโ€™t decide, but whatever you do, savor each one!) Until then, hereโ€™s Sittenfeld chiming in my Top 10 Series with her list of her top, uh, almost ten allergy-friendly foods for kids. Thanks Curtis!

โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€“

Did you know that Oreos are vegan? If you did, thereโ€™s a decent chance youโ€™re the parent of a kid with allergies to milk and eggsโ€ฆand youโ€™re delighted that your child can actually enjoy these junky favorites. (That creamy filling is, well, not cream. I believe itโ€™s canola oil and/or palm oil.)

After my second child was diagnosed in 2012 with allergies to milk, eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts, I became a scrupulous reader of ingredients on food labels. I also ended up embracing foods I hadnโ€™t previously been in the habit of eating or even necessarily ever tasted. My daughter can now eat milk and eggs, which has significantly expanded our options for family meals, but Iโ€™ll always be grateful to the products and brands that have in the last six years allowed us to enjoy tasty foodโ€ฆ and one another.

SunButter At this point, I eat more SunButter, which is made out of sunflower seeds, than anyone else in my familyโ€”I have it for lunch on a rice cake a few times a week. Itโ€™s easy and delicious and protein-filled, like peanut butter without the peanuts. Iโ€™ve even traveled with a 16-ounce jar, so when I learned that SunButter had started selling single-serving cups, I was actively excited (sometimes you have to take your thrills where they come).

Cherrybrook Kitchen Cake Mix and Frosting My daughter has taken her own treat many times to birthday parties, and for years, our go-to was a cupcake my husband would make with this mix and frosting. Together, they make a cupcake look and taste likeโ€ฆa cupcake!

Dum Dums Lollipopsย Dum Dums are made in a facility free of the top eight allergens, a fact they mention on their packaging. Because theyโ€™re portable and donโ€™t get mushed or stale, I usually keep a baggie with four or five in my purse, and if weโ€™re out and about and unexpectedly find ourselves in a situation where other kids are eating treats, I give one (or all four) to my daughter. Dum Dums are also our usual offering for Halloween (I aspire to be the curmudgeon who gives out dental floss, but Iโ€™m not all the way there yet).

Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chipsย My husband had barely baked before our daughterโ€™s allergy diagnosis, and he became a whiz at making pancakes and cookies that didnโ€™t include eggs and milk but did often include these chocolate chips.

Made Good Granola Bars Itโ€™s tough to find granola bars without nuts, but this Canadian brand is like Dum Dums in being produced in a facility free of top allergens. Unlike Dum Dums, Made Well granola bars actually contain a serving of vegetablesโ€”some almost magical mix of spinach, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, beets, and mushrooms that does notย affect the barsโ€™ taste. The most popular flavors at our house are apple cinnamon and chocolate chip.

Fritos Okay, I wonโ€™t pretend I was unfamiliar with Fritos prior to 2012. But Fritos and I certainly didnโ€™t used to enjoy the very close relationship we do now. I like that Fritos have just three ingredients (corn, corn oil, and salt), meaning I donโ€™t need to spend 45 minutes checking their label. I like that, unlike nichey granola bars, theyโ€™re sold everywhere so if my daughter needs a snack on the fly, we can grab a pack from a gas station. And I like that theyโ€™re delicious. As a Fritos connoisseur, I prefer the larger Scoops version.

So Delicious Coconut yogurt, Coconut milk, vanilla bars, and vanilla sandwiches : Oh So Delicious, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways! First, I love that these foods contain a satisfying richnessโ€”the vanilla bars, for example, can proudly go toe to toe with Dove bars. I also love So Deliciousโ€™s labeling so much that I still almost weep upon reading it. Food labels and warnings are not created equal in terms of clarity, and some of the ones that say โ€œMay contain nutsโ€ฆโ€ feel as if theyโ€™re saying, โ€œYou have allergies? Tough shit! This food might be fine for you, but we donโ€™t want to go to the trouble of making sure.โ€ By contrast, So Deliciousโ€™s label, which I consider the gold standard, is almost a paragraph long and feels like the voice of a sympathetic and responsible friend: โ€œProduced in a facility that processes other tree nuts and soy. We have a rigorous allergen testing program and apply strict quality control measures in an effort to prevent contamination by undeclared food allergensโ€ฆโ€ It might be an odd thing to say about a food safety disclaimer, but So Deliciousโ€™s labels are for me a beautiful affirmation of my own outlook about food allergies: Having them is a lot more complicated than not having them. But even with them, life can be, yes, so delicious.


Thank you Curtis!ย 
And now, a GIVEAWAY.ย (I know, the day just keeps getting better!) Comment below for a chance to win a signed copy of You Think it Iโ€™ll Sayย It. There will be TWO winners and the contest ends Thursday, May 3, 2018 at noon ET. Good luck everyone. UPDATE: The winners have been notified. Thanks for playing and congrats Stephanie and Asia!

204 Comments

  • Avatar Stephanie Olson says:

    My favorite Curtis Sittenfeld book is Eligible, a modern day retelling of Pride and Prejudice. Hilarious.

  • Avatar Dianne says:

    As the parent of a child with type 1 diabetes, we need to know the carbs in each and everything he eats. I share your pain โ€“ I am an expert at food labels and in digging through other peopleโ€™s garbage at parties to find the labels ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Avatar Corrie says:

    Huge fan of Fritos, Curtisโ€™s books, and of course DALS recipesโ€“we made bean burritos last night and Tonyโ€™s Steak is a family favorite. Thanks for this great post

  • Ashley D. says:

    Curtis, Iโ€™ve loved your books ever since I read Eligible! Pure brilliance. Thanks for the helpful allergy-free food list too โ€“ you rock!

  • Avatar Kelly McCarthy says:

    I looooove a good short story collection- and Iโ€™m excited to finally read this one!

  • Avatar Heather says:

    I would love a signed copy of this book so much. Curtis Sittenfeld is my favorite.

    And thank you for this list! I have to pack tree-nut free lunches for my son for summer camp and I was running out of ideas. Oreos and Fritos all the way!

  • Molly Spence says:

    Fun post! Iโ€™d love to win a copy of the book. ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Avatar Jennifer says:

    That information about Fritos has just blown my MIND!

    Also blowing my mind โ€“ my favourite food writer and favourite author blogging together.

  • Matilda says:

    Fritos FTW! I had no idea the ingredient list was so simpleโ€ฆ

  • Avatar Sally says:

    I already finished her book and canโ€™t WAIT to meet her in Boston tomorrow. Her books are such a treat โ€“ so well-observed and sharp.

  • Avatar Jenifer Brunner says:

    Just finished reading Eligible, which I loved and looking forward to her book of short stories!

  • Avatar Molly says:

    One of my favorite writers with one of my favorite writers!

  • Avatar Mary Todd says:

    And now Iโ€™ll never look at Fritos the same way โ€“ who knew how simple and special they are?!

  • Andrea Ballard says:

    I LOVE CURTIS!! Her books are the best.

  • Alli says:

    I read Prep for the first time (I say first time, because Iโ€™ll probably read it again) last year after not knowing why I waited so long. This story collection sounds perfect.

  • Avatar Asia Frey says:

    Cross Sugarman 4 life

  • Avatar Ali says:

    Thanks for the snack list, as a mom with one kid allergic to peanuts and the other allergic to eggs Iโ€™m always interested in seeing what kind of treats are out there for my kids. Oreos and dumdums are a staple in my house! By the way the tiny fudge covered Oreo thin bites are ridiculous, I actually hide them away for myself.
    Would love to read the new book too!

  • Avatar Kathryn Porterfield says:

    Love Curtis Sittenfeld. I first met her at a reading in St Louis where she was living at the time. Our county library has a wonderful authors series and she appears almost every year. I especially love when she writes about locales I can drive by.

  • Avatar ND says:

    I am a big fan of Sittenfeldโ€™s writing, so am excited to read this book. I have a child with a severe peanut allergy. I highly recommend the Trader Joeโ€™s brand of sunflower butter (the one with the sugar in it, because please, who wants the sugar-free) which I think is the best. I never thought I could live without peanut butter but it turns out I can. My son hates it, which is more proof that it is a lot like peanut butter! Thanks for the granola bar recommendation as this has been very tricky. If I can get my non-allergic kid to eat them then Iโ€™ll have solved the vegetable problem too. Our trick for avoiding peanuts is to look for European products as they donโ€™t use many peanuts in Europe and so there is little chance that they are a cross-contaminant.

  • Avatar Audrey says:

    Loved Prep and American Wife!!! Thanks ladies!!

  • Avatar Emma says:

    love all of her books! so excited to see her featured here

  • Avatar Amy Glancy says:

    Always so happy when there is a new Curtis Sittenfeld book to read! Prep, American Wife. Sisterlandโ€ฆall favorites.

  • Avatar Margo says:

    Those granola bars sound tasty! And I love her books so so much. Eagerly waiting to read this one!

  • Avatar Angie says:

    I love Curtis Sittenfeld and winning a signed book would be amazing!

  • Avatar Johanna says:

    As the person tasked with organizing birthday celebrations at my office, this Oreo news is revelatory. Once again, Curtis Sittenfeld is changing lives.

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