Reading Labels

Reading labels. It's what I do whenever I go to the grocery store. I don't care as much about calorie count, fat, etc. What I care about are the ingredients. Why? Because I have multiple food allergies/sensitivities, have always had them, and have added to them over the years.

I grew up in a family where I was the only one with food allergies. But I was lucky. My mom made sure I never felt different. When I was a child I didn't know French toast was made with eggs. I didn't realize I got special French toast made with milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Not knowing is not always good though. I spent the night at a friend's house and her parents took us out for breakfast. In my ignorance I ordered French toast and promptly got sick.

Having food allergies and sensitivities means always being vigilant. I am sure servers get annoyed when I want to know what ingredients aren't listed on the menu but are in a dish. I've learned from experience that not all ingredients are always listed. I've learned to tell a server upfront about my dietary restrictions and ask them to check with the kitchen about what is safe for me to eat.

image by Ann Halpin

So what can't I eat?  I'm allergic to wheat, onions, raw tomatoes, with a high intolerance to eggs. Before you say, poor thing, I will tell you that I feel that I am fortunate to just be allergic/sensitivities to four. I've met people who have a whole laundry list of forbidden foods. And, although I find traveling sometimes challenging with these, I always find things to eat and new restaurants to try.

I've never been able to eat eggs or onions, so no, I don't know what I'm missing. The taste of an onion to me is so vile that I don't wish I could eat them. What I do miss are tomatoes, my most recent food allergy. While there are now many excellent gluten free options, there is no substitute for a perfectly ripe, juicy tomato picked fresh from the vine. Growing up in Ohio, in the summertime sometimes we would just eat fresh corn and tomatoes for dinner. No more insalata caprese or tomato juice.  

In this blog I'll be sharing some tips for cooking, eating out, and traveling with food allergies, as well as what I consider to the best gluten free products. If you have food allergies, I would love to hear your tips and suggestions as well as your favorite products.