It’s been years since I’ve been diagnosed with food allergies.  We adapted pretty easily to home cooked meals.  I had to get rid of regular flour in the house because otherwise someone would invariably use it in a sauce or in a meal.  We found that the gluten-free flours we keep in the house work just as well and now we substitute them for wheat flour.  Once in a while my husband will forget and use something I can’t eat, but then we all give him a hard time and he makes amends!

I cook pretty basic meals that we all can eat.  They include a protein (meat, chicken, fish) and vegies.  I like thin rice noodles and my kids have discovered them now and like them too. But that doesn’t mean that I deny my kids the foods that they can eat, like pizza, sandwich breads, tacos, spaghetti, ice cream, “regular cookies”, etc.  Why shouldn’t they eat these foods just because I can’t? They still make “regular” pancakes too.  They know that when I make waffles or crepes for the family from scratch that that I am using my recipes and my gluten-free flours and that they taste delicious too.   In fact, we  “discovered” fruit crepes this summer.  We packed the crepes with fresh berries for a delicious breakfast treat.  Of course my kids added in whipped cream, which I can’t eat, or spread nutella on the crepes first, and said that those crepes were delish too!

There are a few types of meals that I really can’t handle, for example those involving shellfish.   I have had anaphylactic reactions to lobster so I keep away from all shellfish (which is unfortunate since I used to love it).  Once a year we might have a shellfish dinner with lobster or crabs, but the preparation and clean up is so involved that my family really dislikes it.  First, they cover the table with newspapers for easy clean up.  They know that I will sit at the other end of the table from them and that I can’t touch anything they use to prepare or eat the shellfish.  I can’t even smell it without getting a reaction so I leave the kitchen when they prepare it.  After dinner they have to clean and sanitize the table, the silverware and dishes, the pots and pans, and throw away the sponges.  And they are always worried that I am going to get sick. They won’t touch me or kiss me until they have washed up and brushed their teeth. It kind of takes the fun out of the meal for them.

Another meal I can’t have is Chinese food.  It’s usually made with peanut oil and/or there are many nuts in the food.  There’s no way to prevent cross contamination.  I stopped eating Chinese food years ago because I got sick every time I tried.  I still get it for the family, and prepare myself something else I can eat.   I also stay away from restaurants that use peanut oil or have peanuts all over the place.

The only scare I had in recent memory was when we were out for Japanese food and ordered several rolls.  They put the lobster roll next to my dragon roll so I did not eat anything near the lobster.  During that meal  I ate a piece of sushi that I thought was yellow tail only to find out that it was scallop, which is off limits for me.  I ran to the bathroom to spit it out, and my youngest daughter was very upset that I might get sick.  I took an allergy pill and drank lots of water and was ok.

My family is very sensitive to my food allergies, especially my kids who are always looking out for me.  I think that my kids are more sensitive to other people’s needs than they might have been if I hadn’t developed food allergies.  They are empathetic and compassionate about it and they “get it” when someone they meet can’t eat certain foods, has a disability or is somehow different.  My son has also developed several recipes for me.  They worry that they might develop food allergies one day, and I tell them that even if this happens they will surely have tons of options and the ability to create meals that they can eat.  And, they will know what is happening to them, unlike me when I first started having symptoms.