"I fell in love with both products and have completely absorbed them into my life. I don't leave the house without my Meal Mate and won't travel without the Carry-All Kitchen"  Michelle Smith Allergy Sense

A note from our Co-founder:

I have spent many years perfecting the art of traveling to various countries with a child that has severe food allergies.  Our first years of travel upon discovering my son had a peanut/tree nut allergy were limited to say the least.  I have made great strides over the years.  From traveling to only familiar places in close proximity to home...to venturing outside of Canada into the U.S....to braving it on an airplane to the Caribbean staying in a kitchenette facility.  For many years we dared not vacation the way we enjoyed most, all-inclusive.   With the concept being that their guests be pampered with all meals included, they typically don't include facilities for people to prepare their own food.  It simply became a non-issue, we needed to make decisions that kept our son safe, first and foremost.

We thought it too good to be true the day we discovered kichenettes in Aruba with and the option to go all-inclusive.  We were thrilled to have found the best of both worlds!  Prior to my son's allergy, we enjoyed carefree, spontaneous travel.  I couldn't have been more pleased to have back the luxury of all-inclusive vacationing for my family, plus the security of being able to prepare my son's meals  in our room.   We loved our trip and vowed to make this our home away from home.  Two years later we returned and as per the old adage...it had been too good to be true.  The conditions of the resort had deteriorated to an unacceptable level.  It was to be our last year visiting this resort, but we were forever changed.  We would not go back to traveling with the limitations we had once allowed to restrict us.  It was time to show our son that life goes on despite the things we don't plan for.

The next year we took our family to Curacao.  No, we didn't have a kitchenette facility and yes, we had decided that the wonderful Breezes resort with beautiful scenery, fantastic children's activities and all of the amenities we could possibly ask for was to be our destination.  I called in advance to ensure that we would have a mini-fridge in our room (fairly common place, but wanted to be sure).  I visited my local CAA to pick up an electrical converter and packed myself a kitchen to go.  My son ate, like a king as we toted his freshly prepared meals down to the on-site restaurants.  I patted myself on the back for a job well done.   As I reflect back on the progress we have made over the years, we are living in a whole new world.   I will admit, trial and error go a long way in perfecting this concept of a make-shift kitchen.  I can't say I've minded having to take "just one more trip" to get it right ;)  But it's down to a science now and all I have to do when we're ready to head out the door for our flight is grab my compact, prepacked  "Carry-All Kitchen". 

Funny thing, how we can so easily become creatures of habit.  I'll never forget the one vacation where I was thrown for a loop while packing.  My system that normally ran like clockwork was at risk.  I discovered that the backpack I normally used for toting food to restaurants and excursions while traveling was ripped.  The thought of going away without it provoked an anxiety in me that took me back to a time when I did not travel at all.  With a few hours to store closing and a plane to catch the next morning, the panic was palpable.  Ever faithful, my friends stepped it into high gear.  One on the phone and the other on 411 (lucky I didn't call 911).  Every store in the whole of Georgetown was stalked for my replacement bag.  No it couldn't have this and of course, it had to have that...my friends were dumbfounded.  Unless you walk in my shoes, it's hard to understand.  We finally found a comparable bag in the obvious place...our local CAA boutique.  Order was restored  The concept for our "Meal Mate" tote evolved from that experience.  It covers all the bases for easy portability of fresh hot and cold meals, dishes, dining utensils and wipes, while covering off medical concerns with a spot for epipens.

I can't imagine going back to a time when our lives were but a shell of what we knew they could be, anymore than I can imagine giving up my sense of security that my son will be safe.  There is something about travel with anaphylaxis that feels so much more vulnerable than anything else we do in our daily lives.  I am saddened for those that are held hostage by food allergies the way that I once was and intrigued by those who haven't much altered their lifestyles to suit their new circumstance.  I worry when people place their trust in the hands of others when it comes to a food allergy.  Not because anyone would ever be intentionally negligent, but because out of all of the inevitable anaphylactic deaths that occur every year, statistics say that most are the result of accidental allergen contact when dining out.

Our last trip to Florida was spectacular.  We stayed in a beautiful beach front room where we could open the doors and hear the waves of the ocean.  We had no more than our singe hotel room with a bathroom.  I took hostage one of the dresser drawers and voila, a pantry was born.  The rest of my kitchen stored neatly in the closet coming out only as I needed it.  I cooked my son all of his favourites, even cheating and cooking for the family when we wanted no more than to frolic at the beach.  

I've discovered a vacuum insulated food jar that keeps food piping hot for hours (unlike the ones we're used to sending to school that barely keeps food warm).  We've started creating "slow-cooker" recipes that can finish cooking right in this container.  No longer does my son eat before the rest of us to prevent his food from becomming sticky, cold and unappetizing.  His homemade cream sauce penne takes me all of five minutes to prepare, throw in the vacuum jar and let stand for 1 hour, the rest is magic.  I can do this with soups, stews, chili....the list goes on (see our recipes section).  In fact, you could grab lunch at noon, prepare  a "slow-cooked" meal to throw into the vacuum jar for dinner and be done with meal prep for the rest of the day.  Let's face it, vacations are for kicking back and relaxing.  This concept of letting the food jar do the work for me leaves extra time for...working on my tan...going for a pedicure...finishing my cocktail...all while not having to worry about the clock.

It has been 3 years since our first shot at "hotel room camping" and we have traveled that way ever since.  We never stress about having a kitchen on site anymore.  Even if we have one, we take our "Carry-All Kitchen" with us so we don't have to worry about cross-contamination issues in a kichen that previous travelers have cooked in.  We travel where we want, in the accomodations that we prefer and enjoy total peace of mind all vacation long.  Our lives are pretty much what they were  before we were handed the anaphylactic diagnosis.  Our hope is that with our products, yours can be too.