Ok the no cake mixes thing bugs me too....what gives nowadays?? Geesh!!

I would be very surprised if the whole "No box mixes" rule came from an allergy scare. It just seems like there's more to it than that. It would be much easier and accurate to list what the box's ingredients are than to make a list of scratch ingredients and their individual components.

[quote="fondantgrl"]WOW when I was young, we never had issues about allergies on this or that in school. Too much paranoia nowadays. /quote]
I agree!

If it was about having a specific list of ingrediants then would'nt the list on the box be sufficient ? Then all you would have to add was 1 1/3 cup water (H20 for you Science teachers) 1/3 vegatable oil, and 3 eggs (the kind that come from a chicken.) That about covers the ingrediants in a box mix, Seems pretty cut and dry to me?

And I find it interesting that so many kids are allergic to so many thing, when I was in school, everyone ate the cupcakes the room mom brought in, and everyone ate the brownies the teacher made for us and everyone ate the cakes they won in the cake walk, whether they were home made or store bought . There was alway the one kid with a peanut or bee allergy but now it seems every kid is on some sort of special diet because they are allergic to something? Are people just being over cautious or is almost every kid in Amerca really allergic ?

I am really surprised at the no-box mix rule. I would think they'd rather have box mixes because all of the ingredients are listed. Who know what they're thinking.

Sadly, I too live in the State that does not allow homemade food at school. Our district has even gone so far as to ban candy and sweets altogether at school. So we're not even allowed to bring in store-bought cookies or treats. Everything has to be "healthy." For my daughter's holiday parties they can have popcorn and apples. And birthday celebrations are not allowed either.

"Are people just being over cautious or is almost every kid in Amerca really allergic?"

I think it is a little of both!

I've got 2 little ones...and there are more kids their age with allergies than when I was little.

And I do agree that liability is probably a big issue.

Still waiting for a response to my email for more information...I'll let you know when I hear something.

" We do have to include the "recipe and/or ingredient list"
and it states that "all items must be homemade. No store bought items, please."
Okay, now THAT makes sense...... it doesn't say "scratch".... what they are saying is that if you are planning on picking up a cake or package of Oreos, just forget it...... The list of ingredients is a good idea.....

The list doesn't specifically say "scratch"...but it DOES say "no box mixes".

[quote="yourstrulytx"]

I am definitely not an overly cautious mother. My kids usually don't even see a doctor unless something is broken or needs stitches. That being said my oldest son is allergic to red dye. Whenever he consumes anything with red dye40 he gets headaches and vomits until it's out of his system. The only reason I even noticed is because red vomit is very noticeable, if you know what I mean lol. It was like, "why is this kid always throwing up red?" Then I had the "AHA!" moment.

In educating myself on his allergy or "sensitivity" I have read a lot about preservative and dye allergies in kids. They are linked to learning disabilities and hyperactivity. Many parents who have had children labeled as ADD or ADHD have put their children on specialized diets (removing dyes, preservatives, etc) and have seen symptoms disappear.

Actually my nephew can't eat box mix cakes. He is extremely sensitive to artificial colors, flavors and preservatives.


And it is interesting the new links they are finding between all the artificial stuff and autism and ADHD. Not to mention all the new allergies from the genetically "enhanced" foods!

guess we typed at the same time about!

Gotta say I agree with fondantgirl. My cake buddy told me the other day that her nephew (will be a year old soon) is not going to be allow to have a cake! WHY? Because, and I quote "His mother THINKS he might be allergic to milk and they don't want him to have sugar" Now, she doesn't KNOW he's allergic to milk, because, well, the kid has never HAD anything but soy milk! Whew! Wears me out!

Poor little kid...I can see it all know they will be singing Happy Birthday to You while he chews on his lactose, sugar-free Zwiback (sp) wafer! LOL

Beth

PS As an RN I TOTALLY understand food allergies and the need for meticulous efforts on the part of moms. But, this is not the case here.

My guess would be that the bake sale would sound more impressive if they used it for advertising purposes... all from scratch, nothing purchased or from a mix. It would definately make me more likely to purchase and try the baked from scratch goods. Or maybe they're trying to cut down on the amount of items coming in if they've received too much before... I'll definately be watching to find out more of their reasoning... it's fascinating!

I should add that what I have done for him is make him special cupcakes that are just for him and whenever there is a birthday I bring two (so if he wants seconds! ) I make all the family cakes and he can't eat any of them because of all the fun colors! I have even told my SIL that if he is ever invited to a B-day party she can come and get a CCake from me to take with them so he can have party food!

WOW, I am shocked that schools still have bake sales. I have a 9 and a 7 year old in Public school and they have krispie kremes donut sales when they have fundraisers. I bet they didn't see that little note on the side of the box mentioning food allergies.
Still with the way schools are now I'm surprise they would even have asked for anything from the home!

I wish schools would stop with these fundraisers period. They are getting ridiculous. Especially when they try to pressure the kids into selling stuff with promises of parties and gifts. I feel like my kids are getting pimped out sometimes. If they really need money then send an envelope home and let me put some cash in it.

I about flipped my lid the other day when my son brought home his new Longaberger Basket fund raiser. I thought to myself, "they have lost their damn minds". And of course he comes in with his eyes bright with hopes of winning that xbox360 for selling the most. I hate it!

I have three in elementary and it seems like every week it's something. I refuse to do any of them.

I get the whole allergy thing, but people come on. I've got two little ones 2 & 3 and they were always getting sick! I couldn't understand why until I figured out I wasn't letting ANY GERM GET NEXT TO THEM! I calmed down on the cleaning and when they started licking the floor, guess what they didn't get sick anymore. I also have a really clean floor because of their licking lol!

Now I know everyone is going to say, how disgusting, but really when I let my kids go out and get dirty and play in things they aren't supposed to, nothing happens to them. Holy Smokes stop the presses! Headline reads "Mom let her son play in the dirt and eat rocks and yes bugs and lives to tell about it!"

Now I ask did we all wear helmets and pads when we rode our bikes? Nope, not me and I have a very cool looking scar under my chin to prove it! Now we wrap our kids in bubble wrap and charmin and put more pads on them then the NFL players, to go ride 10 feet.

If the bake sale only wants scratch items then it would be a lot easier and less expensive to just give them the money.

SOOOOO true Indydebi! I, too, use mixes most of the time. I can do a few things, from scratch, but, only at the holidays! But, I LOVE to COOK from scratch when I have time. But, some people....I just want to say "Hon, why didn't you just swing by Kentucky Fried Chicken on the way to the church potluck?" LOL

Beth in KY

I don't have the time to make scratch recipes (and I am not real good at it to boot)........I would not be able to donate

Ladyellam: SO TRUE!! You know, my younger niece used to have tummy aches a lot a couple years ago and was told it was because she had a dairy allergy. Dairy was struck from her diet and she didn't get significantly better. My mom insisted that my brother give her a small serving of plain yogurt once a day in the morning and keep her diet the same as the rest of the family, but keeping her portions of dairy small. Sure enough, the yogurt did the trick and now she could drink a gallon of milk in one sitting if left to her own devices.

Like many parents, my brother and sis-in-law bought into the "NO GERMS AT ALL" idea and their house constantly smelled like Lysol when they girls were babies. Needless to say, they were always sick and had every allergy you could think of. Once they gave up trying to keep the house as sterile as a operating room 24/7, almost all of the girls allergies have gone away and they are much healthier overall. They also play outside a lot, which seems to be unusual now. Tho there's a lot of kids in their neighborhood, you don't see anyone outside during the day. It's sad.

But, this is exactly why "No Box Mix" doesn't surprise me. Box Mix is made in factories or contain nuts, milk, and gluten, all three which are taboo at schools nowadays (including my nieces, which allows no sweets of any kind, especially homemade). If everyone used a box mix, then 90% of the kids couldn't eat them apparently.

I'm way more surprised that a school fund raiser is allowing homemade sugary goods period instead of pre-packaged healthy items like apple or carrot snack packs and 90 calorie granola bars.

My guess is that whoever is in charge of this bakesale just thought that from scratch was what was most appealing to them. I've been involved in enough school activities to know how one person's will can be imposed on everyone.

Don't be too hard on all the allergies. There is something going on here we just haven't figured out yet. I was 32 years old when I suddenly developed a life-threatening allergy. It could happen to any of us. My daughter was four when she developed a life-threatening allergy. I highly doubt it was my general cleanliness that contributed to either. My hunch is something is having its way with some of our immune systems, especially since I have since developed a serious auto-immune disease.

Majority wins

I agree that there is no way kids can have so many allergies now when we grew up eating everything including dirt and swallowing our gum and we're still alive! I know there are some severe cases out there that should definately be given high attention (peanut allergies, etc.) But I once had a mom tell me that she was convinced her son was allergic to dairy because he had a runny nose.

My dd can't handle red food dyes in large quantities as they make her very hyper but that's not something that we ask other people like a future teacher to watch. It's something that we take care of by ourselves. If her friend has a party where the cake has pink icing then we know that for the rest of the day she cannot have anything else with red food dye in it or she'll be crazy the next day. I'm not going to ask anyone to compensate for it. It's not a severe reaction and it's something that my DH and I can control the amounts that she receives. My dad also has celiacs which is gluten intolerance and he has a severe case of it. He can't eat anything that was prepared on a board that was not properly washed in warm water and soap after anything involving gluten was prepared on it. But with all that being said, I don't understand why 70% of kids in schools today now have allergies. Yes some of them are properly diagnosed and severe but others I think are just home diagnoses that aren't always correct.

I really don't have to worry about it with schools though because we live in a distric where no homemade food may be brought in.

No box cake mixes is just too much.....I'm sorry. I have a recipe that I can whip out in about 10 minutes using box cake mix and mint chips (to make cookies) and it actually won first prize when my friend took them to a contest (she burns water....I'm her baking 'beard').

If I saw that, I would pass. A good portion of the 'homemade' party & wedding cakes that some of us sell here start from cake mix....what are they thinking?

And Indideb - holy cow do I agree about the whole 'homemade must be better' thinking. I will first saythis; I realize we are seriously spoiled and snobby when it comes to baking....but every Christmas, we get trays of dry, crumbly cookies and grainy fudge. Okay....I'm going to hell, I just know it! I am complaining about holiday goodies! But seriously, they were dreadful. I of course rave but I am embarassed to admit even Casey turns her nose up at them......casey is the dog.

** edited to add: I'm sorry - this wasn't meant as an "oh, I can bake so much better then anyone else post". I burn water too

I'm not so sure that everyone is coming down with allergies, I think it's because we are putting things in our food that just do not belong in our bodies, too many chemicals and preservatives, and they can't handle it, but maybe it's not an allergy.

Add our district to the list of schools that do not allow homemade goodies.

Our school doesn't allow homemade goodies either, but for Christmas last year I brought the teachers some of my cookies...well, needless to say, every holiday since, my name has been on the "volunteer list" to bring homemade cookies for all of my kids classes. I guess exceptions can be made?!