Cooking with Camp Blue Spruce
With all of the cooking and special food prep that we do, I often think about how my food allergic son will cook for himself and eat safely in his teen years and once he is off to college. I’ve taught my boy’s knife skills, kitchen safety, and some basics for preparing small meals. I do try to get them involved in the cooking and baking that happens in our kitchen. Let’s face it though, in the midst of our busy family life, I’m randomly prepping ingredients for upcoming meals at all times of the day. It’s their homework, activities, and practices that take priority.
It wasn’t until a fellow food allergy mom introduced us to Camp Blue Spruce that I discovered that cooking classes customized for food allergic kids (grades 4-12) could be possible. At the age of nine, my friend’s food-allergic daughter was adamant about finding an overnight camp experience that could accommodate her food allergies. She wanted the experience of eating freely with other campers. Through lots of research, her mom found Camp Blue Spruce. What she discovered was that the camp not only had an annual summer camp but offered different virtual programs for kids and teens with food allergies and special dietary needs. Of particular interest to me was their cooking classes, developed and presented in conjunction with Joel and Mary Schaefer, Your Allergy Chefs. Joel and Mary have an extensive background in the culinary arts and are passionate about meeting the needs of those limited by food.
Our son has been attending their virtual seasonal cooking classes for the past year now. Each session features a different theme. Classes are offered typically once a month for a few months or you can choose to take an individual class. Our son has expanded his comfort level in the kitchen and confidence in his abilities to prepare a whole meal. Not only is he learning cooking skills, but working through a session along with other kids and teens with similar food allergy challenges, it enables him to identify with others and feel like everyone else. It’s a great sense of community for him and it’s great for me too because the days he’s cooking, I’m not! The cost of attending is generally affordable, but financial assistance is available.
Check it out and maybe we’ll virtually see each other at the next session – let me know and we’ll look for you!