Five Great Things About Food Allergies

Living with food allergies has its challenges, but there are some definite pluses:
  1. Eating raw cookie dough- No egg in the mixture means no worries of salmonella!
  2. Getting fresh restaurant food- After talking to the chef or manager at the restaurant, your special order is prepared fresh especially for you.
  3. Meeting great people- The food allergy community is a very supportive group who share and care about everything related to food allergies. 
  4. Learning about food labels and the benefits of "whole foods". Most people barely glance at food labels. Those of us dealing with food allergies carefully read every line; and if the list is too long, we often don't buy it. Who wants to eat  azodicarbonamide and tragacanth gum?
  5. Being healthier- Think back to BFA (Before Food Allergy). Your family was probably eating a lot of processed foods containing dyes and multi-syllable chemicals. With food allergies, you know just what you're eating and that knowledge naturally leads to a healthier lifestyle.
So the next time you're up late making a safe cupcake for tomorrow's classroom party or trying to organize the food for a family vacation, take a moment and reflect upon the good things food allergies have brought into your life. I know I appreciate having only six simple ingredients in sandwich rolls.

And I really like a taste of cookie dough every now and then.

5 comments:

Food Allergies Recipe Box said...

This is very true, I can think of so many processed foods that we use to eat, mostly out of convenience. It is horrible to have to worry about so many food allergies but it really makes you think about what you are putting into your body. Eating raw cookie dough is a plus too : )

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the great post! Whenever I talk about my food allergies with people, I always do my best to focus on the GOOD that has come out of my food allergies instead of the scary or the difficult. I eat healthier and happier because of my food allergies, and so do others in my life :)

Catherine said...

This is great, especially the very first point about cookie dough.

A nice reminder that there are certainly benefits to having a food allergy.

Dorothy-Life With Boys said...

#4 and #5 ring true for us. I was not much of a label reader prior to our food allergy journey, but had to learn to keep my son safe. Now we eat whole foods and we ALL eat better. Quite an unexpected result from our diagnosis, for sure.

Diane said...

Another great thing about having food allergies is that every family gathering, birthday party, class event is centered on your allergies and what you can and cannot eat. It must be a wonderful feeling of power and control that 1 person dictates the eating habits of everyone else in his or her world.