Joci's Tips
Most of the tips I have to share about how to be safe even after “Conquering Food Allergies” is mostly what I have learned from all my accidental exposures throughout the years.
Tip #1 -Always have your meds with you!
Never leave home without your medications in case of accidental exposure. I always carry with me Zyrtec or Benadryl and my Epipen.
Tip #2 - Do a visual inspection. If unsure, just ask!
Always do a visual inspection of what you are eating. Also, when in doubt, just ASK if you are not sure if a dish contains an ingredient that you are allergic to! In my experience, I learned that you cannot just assume a certain familiar dish contains something you’re allergic to. Recall from my story page that I ate a burger that had a walnut sauce in it, assuming that burgers don’t normally have any nut ingredients in it. I also bit into a sandwich that had peanuts in it assuming that that particular type of sandwich usually do not contain nuts.
Tip #3 - Read the ingredient labels.
Always READ the ingredient label. Some snacks look the same but can be very different. One example, is the Mint Oreo Cookie versus the Pistachio Oreo Cookie. They look exactly the same if served on a plate without the packaging. Luckily as of 2023, I think they no longer make the Pistachio flavored Oreo Cookie.
Tip #4 - Beware of different dessert flavors.
Navigating desserts, especially ice cream is always a challenge. Beware of the multitude of ice cream flavors. As with Tip #3, many ice cream flavors can LOOK the same.
I have friend who was at a camp and they were serving spumoni ice cream. The counselors at the camp were not aware that Spumoni ice cream is traditionally made of 3 flavors – cherry, pistachio, and vanilla or chocolate. It can EASILY be mistaken for neopolitan ice cream – which is also made of 3 flavors – vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.
Tip #5 - Beware of Pesto dishes.
Beware of Pesto dishes. Traditionally, pesto sauce calls for pine nuts. However, a chef may use cashews as an alternative to make a creamier pesto sauce. Also, as I have learned from my experience, commercially sold jarred brand Barillo Sauces also uses cashews instead of pine nuts.
Why? Cashews resemble pine nuts in color, texture and mild sweetness, and can be used as a substitute in just about any recipe.
Tip #6 - Learn how to ask about nuts in another language.
Before traveling internationally, make sure to have Google Translate App (or similar) on your phone. For me, my family always made sure to know how to ask “Are there any kind of nuts in this?” in the foreign language.
Tip #7 - Check airline policies before you fly.
Before flying, check your particular airline website to see what kind of policy they have implemented to help nut allergy sufferers. As it turns out, the US government can’t impose peanut restrictions for airlines, so different carriers have developed their own policies and accommodations for allergy sufferers. Some no longer serve peanuts and may create peanut-free buffer zones.
You can also check the different US airline policies on the US Department of Transportation website here: https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/nuts-airlines-policies
Here’s a website updated 11/23 regarding different airlines and their allergy related policies.
https://travelsort.com/best-and-worst-airlines-for-peanut-and-nut-allergies/
