My daughter is allergic to eggs and peanuts. It is amazing how many things have either one or both of these items in them. Also, its difficult because so many items are processed on the same machinery as peanuts. As difficult as it is you just have to be aware and be creative with alternatives. Sunflour seed butter as opposed to peanut butter is good. Unfortunately there is no good alternative to eggs as egg replacer has not given the best results. I do have a great recipe for eggless french toast. All in all, it seems to bother my wife and I more than it does her. One other issue is knowing what type of oil fried foods go into…some restaraunts use peanut oil.

My son is lactose intollerant. Nothing earth shattering but the poor kid gets really gassy and the most god awful poops. I couldnt believe how expensive Lactaid is…and how bad it tastes.

One really cool thing was when we went to Disney last year we told the chef of her allergies. He sat with us for a half hour and formulated a menu around her allergies. She was able to have waffles and pancakes…thanks to Arrowhead Mills products. Each restaraunt at the resorts have a seperate kitchen for prep of products for those with food allergies.

quote:

Originally posted by lunasatic

Has anyone found a problem with restaurants (especially upper-end) complying with allergy-related requests? I’ve had several instances in the DC area with chefs not being cooperative with requests for no dairy, lo-fat, etc. Also, a diabetic friend requested a diet cola and was given a regular cola and was told it was diet. Thankfully, she could taste the difference. Usually we just eat in to save the hassel.

I’ve run into it several times in restaurants where they use a slice of cantaloupe as a garnish on the plate. I cannot eat anything on the plate and must have a new one.

A restaurant here in town paid for a trip to the emergency room (I didn’t have any Bendadryl on me) because they lied and said they’d made a new plate when they’d just brought it back to the kitchen, removed the cantaloupe, re-arranged the food, and brought it back to my table. Wasn’t enough juice to taste it over the rest of the food, but it was enough to close my throat completely off. In addition to them picking up the ER tab, I ate free there for a year. Apparently, they were worried I was going to sue. [8]

Re: in the previously mentioned diet cola instance the waiter owned up to his "mistake" and stated that the diet cola was "out of service" when my friend confronted him directly (but politely).

Has anyone found a problem with restaurants (especially upper-end) complying with allergy-related requests? I’ve had several instances in the DC area with chefs not being cooperative with requests for no dairy, lo-fat, etc. Also, a diabetic friend requested a diet cola and was given a regular cola and was told it was diet. Thankfully, she could taste the difference. Usually we just eat in to save the hassel.

I’m so glad I was not diagnosed with Celiac desease until recently. I’ve had 60 years of eating everything, so I guess a few years of reading every single label won’t kill me.

I would get the egg thing diagnosed professionally. This effects more than eating. If you are allergic to eggs you are supposed to avoid the flu shot. There could be more.

This goes along with the Gluten Free diet with Celiac Disease wheat type products can turn up in the strangest places.
This is another life long thing for a parent/child to deal with.

I wasn’t diagnosed with lactose intolerance until my mid 30’s. The good news is that I have become very knowledgable about how to cook and what ingredients I can substitute and still make food taste good. I have had to train myself to read all labels and know what I am reading. You’d be surprised what kinds of foods have milk solids in them.
Also for any LI people who dont know it, peas are loaded with lactose. Dont ask me why but they are.
The down side? After 34 years of diarrhea [:I] my digestive sytsem is a mess.

I know I’m allergic to eggs, but there’s no way I’m giving up eggs unless they kill me. I’ll just put up with the sneezing and the subsequent diarrhea, because I love eggs and I know it’s good protein. [;)]

quote:

Originally posted by tcrouzer

Wow, felix! I did not know cantaloupe was a member of the ragweed family! Which, of course, I am very allergic to! I still think it is odd that it only bothers me if I eat it at breakfast? I had some cantaloupe at lunch today even! No problems.

I quizzed the heck out of the allergist when I finally got to go in for testing a couple of years ago. Luckily it doesn’t require an epi-pen (which I also asked about), I just have to quickly take a double dose of Benadryl (and then sleep for several hours [:D]).

As long as it doesn’t kill you to eat it other times of the day, good onya! Enjoy it while you can. [:)]

The only thing on earth to which I am allergic is mushrooms.

Wow, felix! I did not know cantaloupe was a member of the ragweed family! Which, of course, I am very allergic to! I still think it is odd that it only bothers me if I eat it at breakfast? I had some cantaloupe at lunch today even! No problems.

A friend of mine can’t even be within arms length of a mango. She has to carry an eppi pen at all times during the spring and summer because of possible bee stings. She was stung twice in the wilds of Scotland last year.

When I was young (60-70 years ago) I was allergic to most foods, along with pollens, molds, animal fur, etc. At the start, I could only eat 2 vegetables: peas and asparagus, no chicken or chicken eggs (but I could eat turkey and turkey eggs), no beef (but I could eat pork). I had hundreds and hundreds of "scratch tests" all up and down my back and arms to see what all I was allergic to, and what I had to avoid. I reacted in some odd ways to some of the foods: eating carrots produced black and blue spots on my arms and legs as if I was bruised. Thankfully, I outgrew almost all of my allergies by the time I was 21, though even today I try to avoid "fungus foods" like blue cheese and mushrooms (and of course, penicillin).

Scott, if you have a farmer who raises turkeys in your area, see if you can buy some turkey eggs from him (they are about one and one-half to two times the size of a chicken egg) and see if they are reaction-free eggs for you.

quote:

Originally posted by tcrouzer

I never thought I had any reactions from foods except for a slight throat irritation if I ate cantaloupe first thing for breakfast. I could eat it any other time of day and have no reaction.

Finally, someone who won’t think I’m a freak because I’m allergic to cantaloupe (and honeydew…watermelon is fine)! If it touches me I break out in hives immediately. If I accidentally eat something that was next to it on a plate, my throat closes off almost completely. The doctor assures me I won’t actually die if it happens, I’ll just wish I had.

Cantaloupe and honeydew are in the ragweed family, by the way. My allergist told me people who have a severe seasonal ragweed allergy are very likely to be allergic to them.

Oh yeah…wanted to add, because you said you could eat it sometimes…my mom used to be like you. Started out she couldn’t eat it after lunch, then not after breakfast. Now she can’t eat it at all, but her reaction is much less severe than mine. Took her until she was almost 60 before it got to that point, though.