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When the words “food allergies” first become part of your family’s health vocabulary, your mind starts to run through all the various ways food is an integral part of our culture. You think of holidays and parties and snacks after little league games and school cafeterias and dinner dates and on and on and on. How will you keep you or your loved one safe in a world that centers its socialization around food?  Understandably, your focus becomes navigating that part of your world. You learn to read labels. You develop a list of questions to ask hosts about the...

While the rest of the US is scrambling to find breakfast alternatives that don’t involve eggs, those of us managing the diets of a food allergic family already have a leg up on the process. We’re already well versed at adapting recipes to avoid specific common ingredients. We scour the internet for alternatives. We experiment to see which options work best. We think beyond the cereal box and the gallon of milk.  We may not have all the answers, but we know where to find them. For example, the following recipes for breakfast nix not just egg, but also other...

We are, by nature, social creatures. Humans are designed for community. Even the most fiercely independent of us has some measure of dependency on others. Living with food allergies is a great example of this. We own full responsibility for reading labels, making informed choices, and carrying our own epinephrine, but we are also reliant on others to comply with our requests, to be truthful about what they’re serving us, and in assisting us in securing medical help if the worst should happen.  Sometimes our community shares information and helps us learn more about food allergies (or other issues). That...

Life is full of milestones to celebrate. From births to birthdays, graduations, weddings, and all sorts of stuff in between, we may mark these special moments by gathering family and friends around us. There’s often cake, balloons and gifts involved. Sometimes there’s a full meal. That means, of course, that for individuals living with food allergies, celebrations come with an added layer of preparation to ensure the joyous occasions aren’t dangerous occasions for us.  This is the key – managing life with food restrictions does not mean we can’t attend that birthday party or throw the graduation bash. It does...