I have had a difficult time focusing on writing my blog posts. I am not sure what is going on other than I am still grieving. I have been watching many episodes of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives with my husband. Despite all my food allergies, I still enjoy watching the cooking shows. I keep thinking I might see something that looks so delicious I might want to spend hours in the kitchen trying to rework it to make it safe for me. It doesn’t happen too often. Quite frankly I get frustrated too easily. And summertime does not exactly conjure up a longing to spend hours in the kitchen slaving over a steaming pot on the stove or in front of a hot oven.
A few nights ago Guy Fieri was at a restaurant where the chef was making Mole. I have never had it. In my non-food-allergic world I might give it a try. Then the chef began tossing ingredients into the pan. The first ingredient was peanuts (a definite no for me). Then she added mushrooms (another no especially with my fungal infection). This was followed with plaintains (anaphylactic to those) and avocado leaves (very allergic to avocados and I am sure the leaves wouldn’t be any safer than the avocados themselves). I think there was alcohol in there as well.
So where am I going with all this? Imagine you have a peanut allergy. You go to a restaurant and by a dinner that has sauce. Because peanuts are not mentioned anywhere in the description, you think you are safe. Then WHAM, your throat swells shut! We have to be so very careful! Food allergens can be hidden in everything!
When was the last time you ate something you thought “was safe” and found out the hard way it wasn’t?
allergictolifemybattle 
Kathy: Grieving is a long process. As much as we grieve in our own way, we still have to move through the process in stages. We all understand. Your head needs to clear before you can plan and write your blog as regularly as you had been doing. Jennie
Thank you Jennie. I have these ideas and I have some saved in drafts but can’t seem to go from point A to point B.
I know Kathy how hard it is with food allergies- People don’t realize that just one peanut (not a whole jar)or whatever you are allergic to can really get you sick. We just have to keep trying to educate the public.
Yes, one little smidgeon can be a big big issue. We do need to continue to educate.
KATHRYN—- I AM FINDING THAT FOOD I HAD NO PROBLEM WITH BEFORE– I AM HAVING PROBLEMS WITH NOW—- SO IT IS AN ON GOING PROBLEM— TRIAL & EXPERIENCE—EVERY TIME YOU EAT SOMETHING– I THOUGHT WAS SAFE IN THE PAST– DOESN’T MEAN IT IS NOW SAFE FOR ME!!!
AND YOUR GRIEVING PROCESS– IS YOURS & YOURS ALONE— JUST KNOW YOU ARE LOVED– & SUPPORTED!!!
Yes, I had a reaction a while back at my daughter’s house. I am still not sure if it was food, something outdoors, or what. Thank you for your support.
Hi! Stopping by from Indies Unlimited. My son had a milk allergy that thankfully he outgrew by age 1 but we had to restrict a lot of things that first year just to be safe. It’s always interesting to hear other people’s stories. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Vicki. I am glad he outgrew the milk allergy.
OMG….I went to a “diner” in Turlock and asked for a salad. I asked if it is “fresh only ingredients” and was told yes. My mistake? I assumed the dressing that was tossed in with the salad was preservative free and made with fresh ingredients. NOPE!!! 20min later I had a blazing Migraine. I had to stay at the clients office I went to see for another 2hrs until I felt safe to drive home.
I think even if we were to ask the chef, they wouldn’t be able to give us a correct answer. Even asking for the product label doesn’t always ensure it is safe. I am sorry you had such a bad reaction.
Stopping by from IU and saying hi.
Thank you Lita.
I got a ham sandwich from the school cafeteria when I was a teacher. Luckily as I raised it to my mouth to eat it, a bit of lettuce fell out, on the lettuce was a piece of shaved carrot. If I had eaten it my throat would have closed off. I never dreamt to check on a ham sandwich for carrots. 😀
CARROTS???? COLLEEN –YOU ARE THE FIRST PERSON I HAVE HEARD OF WHO CAN’T EAT CARROTS!!!! WE LEARN SOMETHING NEW EACH DAY!!!! 🙂
I am only allergic to raw carrots. I am okay if they are cooked.It started right after my son was born.
Who would of thought? Glad you noticed!
I was glad except of course that I have low blood sugar and that was my lunch.I bet I was a bit cranky that day. 😀
COLLEEN— I AM GOING TO ASK A WEIRD QUESTION– BUT YOU KNOW ME– SO CONSIDER THE SOURCE– 🙂 HAVE YOU TRIED ORGANIC RAW CARROTS– OR GROW YOUR OWN WITH NO CHEMICALS –RAW CARROTS– OR IS IT JUST STORE BOUGHT RAW CARROTS??????? AND ARE YOU AFRAID TO TRY ANYTHING THAT LOOKS LIKE A RAW CARROT NOW?????????? 🙂 I CAN’T EAT THOSE STORE BOUGHT BABY CARROTS– AS WE ALL KNOW THEY ARE FULL OF CHEMICALS!! BUT I CAN EAT ORGANIC RAW CARROTS!!!
I have had oral allergy syndrome symptoms and reacted to raw veggies and not cooked.
I offer you my empathy. ❤ I have a list of raw fruits and veg I am allergic too but carrots are the ones that are tough to avoid. ❤
I never realized how hard it is to avoid raw carrots until I was allergic. They are on all salad bars. They are put as garnishes. I was at a friends house and there was a buffet laid out with meat trays and the store had put little curly cue carrot strips all of it. And I’ve reacted because people pick up carrots off a buffet. And then say put their hands in a bowl of potato chips and then I eat the chips and then the party is over for me. 😀 Isn’t life fun?!
I buy organic carrots. I haven’t tried eating one raw — the reaction was nasty enough before I was disabled with MCS. The allergy has improved. At first if I held the carrot, my hands would swell up and itch. Now I can clean the carrots as long as I wash my hands right after. I know what you mean about organic though. I can only eat organic oranges. I have a horrible reaction to the dye they put in oranges. I tried getting the oranges they ship directly form Florida so there is no dye. I still reacted (a different reaction) to the pesticides. So I buy organic. ❤
WE BUY ORGANIC FOR EVERYTHING WE ARE EATING— BUT YA KNOW MY BACK YARD BUNNIES– I FEED EVERY DAY— WELL I BUY THEM THE CHEAPEST CARROTS I CAN FIND!!! AND THEY DON’T SEEM TO MIND– AS THEY STILL HAVE ME TRAINED TO FEED THEM EVERY DAY!!!! 🙂
I too try to buy organic. The critters just help themselves to my garden except the beans those they leave for me. 😀
Oh that is awful and I can definitely relate..
I know what you mean about peanuts. I have a peanut allergy but it is not severe. I am diligent about asking if peanuts are an ingredient in the food especially with Thai, Indonesian, Indian, and Mexican cuisine.
I still remember my last flare up when I ate some homemade granola and the person told me she did not think her friend included peanuts. My hands were so swollen that I could barely bend my fingers. After that, I knew I could not take any chances with any food.
Thank you for sharing Amaryllis. Having your hands swell is bad. You have to be careful because next time it could be worse.
I was one of those people who believed that allergies were psychosomatic. If I thought hard enough, my allergies would go away. Yeah. That did not work. I had to come to terms with the fact that there were foods I had to avoid before it becomes a matter of life and death. So now I am careful and I make sure I tell everyone of my allergy so that they are aware.
There are times when I wish I could have a snickers bar, but the consequences are not worth it!
I’m sorry you felt this way, but I can relate! I cry over every single travel program you can imagine. It always amazes what can trigger the grieving process for me, too. It can be something so seemingly insignificant.
Thank you Christine.