Spring In Your Step Playgroup & Children's Clartin

 

I'm unlucky to be an allergy sufferer.

But, lucky to be a member of the Children's Claritin Mom Crew.


I recently hosted a "Spring in Your Step" Children's Claritin Mom Meetup to celebrate the coming of spring and share allergy related health and wellness tips with some of my playgroup buddies. 

We had a great time, letting the kids play while we talked about both our own, and our children's  experiences with allergies.

It seemed as though most of us were really feeling our seasonal allergies in full force this month, and it made sense after finding out our local pollen count was quite high at www.claritin.com/allergy-forecast/ .

I shared an informational sheet with the moms on how to manage seasonal allergies - tips like checking the pollen count, keeping windows shut, not laying on freshly cut grass, etc. 

Put this headband in the fridge, and ahhh headache pain is gone! Plus you look super cool while wearing it!

If you're wondering what the new fashionable headband is that I'm wearing is, it was a giveaway prize from Claritin that I offered my guests after they took this fun "Allergy Trivia" quiz that I created with helpful info from the web. 

What's Your Score? 

1. Eating grapes can help protect against allergies. TRUE or FALSE

A study found that eating grapes, which contain large amounts of antioxidants and resveratrol, can help reduce inflammation in the body and protect against allergies.

2. A good way to manage outdoor allergies (eg, allergies to pollen or weeds) is to move to a location with little vegetation, such as the southwestern United States or Alaska. TRUE or FALSE

Unfortunately, changing climates won’t really help your allergies. The allergy-prone usually develop new allergies to the local plant pollens.

3. All allergy treatments are basically the same, and the only difference is the strength and delivery method (spray, pill, shot, etc). TRUE or FALSE

There are several different types of allergy treatments, including antihistamines, intranasal corticosteroids, and decongestants.

4. Pet hair isn’t an allergen. TRUE or FALSE

The allergy culprit isn’t hair or fur—it’s an allergen found in the animal’s saliva, dander, and urine! Ewww.

5. Nasal allergies are easy to distinguish from other conditions. TRUE or FALSE

This is because symptoms like runny nose and nasal congestion overlap with some common conditions, such as colds and sinus infections

6. Significantly more people have nasal allergies than food allergies. TRUE or FALSE

Food allergies get a lot of notice, but they only make up about 6% of all allergy sufferers—approximately 3 million out of 50 million people. By contrast, about 80%, or 40 million out of 50 million people, suffer from nasal allergies!

 * * * 

Okay, on to the most important part of any of our playdates......THE FOOD!

We each brought a healthy recipe to share with the group.  I made some easy as pie, strawberry yogurt parfaits with granola & local honey (great for those with seasonal allergies).

 

 One of my favorites was goat cheese stuffed dates and cantaloupe with balsamic drizzle. Yum. 

And one of the other moms brought a homemade feta cheese, and garlic herb dip that packed a savory punch, which was perfect to spread on pita chips! 

It was so fun to try and share new and healthy snacks with eachother, and encourage our children to try these new healthy foods as well!  Gotta start 'em early, I always say!

* * *

We finished off the afternoon by going over some Spring Cleaning Tips and a checklist for preventing mosquito breeding around the home (so important here in Texas)! 

I really had a great time with these mommies, sharing our experiences and tips for keeping healthy families and homes in this "Spring In Your Step" Children's Claritin & MomSelect playgroup.

Until next time! Keep sneezing. Wait............grab your Children's Claritin and......don't!!!