Very allergic little boy

Logan has food allergies (wheat and egg) and I often find myself apologetically asking about ingredients when we're out (ice cream often contains egg, sausages and burgers are sometimes bulked out with flour, the list goes on!). Kids' menus particularly seem to favour wheat products - burgers, sausages, chicken nuggets, pasta for the healthy ones - so we often end up paying for an adult meal when we know he'll only eat half.

So it's refreshing to read a blog post on the Guardian Word of Mouth site today and see that we're not the only ones. G2 has even taste tested some of the top brands (gluten free is all very well but soggy pasta is a sad trade-off!).

When Logan's allergy first emerged, I felt almost as if I was jumping on the bandwagon - so many babies seem to have allergies these days, and I was wary of being seen as an over-protective mother. But there is no denying the telltale spots that appear whenever he eats wheat or egg, or the breathing problems they caused when he was tiny.

Thankfully food manufacturers seem finally to be recognising that people with allergies don't want to survive on a diet of brown rice. The Free From section at our local supermarket has tripled in size since Logan was first diagnosed, and birthday parties will be a breeze when he's older, with gluten free breadbuns, cupcakes, caramel slices and even jaffa cakes to choose from.

Check out the Allergy UK and Coeliac UK websites for advice and a list of safe gluten-free products.