This is the second in a six part series that SnoWhite and I are doing on nut and peanut allergies. Today we are talking about the seriousness of nut allergies. I hope you visit Finding Joy In My Kitchen, to hear SnoWhite’s thoughts. She has lived with a nut allergy since the age of five, so this is a subject that she knows well.
What can I eat?
I was quite overwhelmed when I first started to rid my kitchen of nuts. Besides that obvious things like peanuts, trail mix, and peanut butter, nuts and peanuts are hidden in so many things. I really had no idea how many thing contain nuts or are contaminated by nuts until I started reading labels.
Things like granola bars, cold cereal, many candies, sauces, and even ice cream either contain some sort of nut, or are very high risk to eat. Even if they do not contain nuts, they have a very high risk of contamination. These were things I had not really thought about until I had a child with nut allergies.
I can no longer just take an item off the shelf in the grocery store and put it in my cart. I have to read labels. Not only that, I have already learned that items change. What was safe a few months ago, may no longer be safe. So, reading labels is a continual thing when dealing with nut allergies.
As far as cold cereal and granola bars, I have found a few labeled nut free at the health food store. They have been good and my daughter enjoys them. However, they are very expensive. So, I have found it much easier and cheaper to make my own granola bars and granola at home.
Really, I am finding it easier, cheaper, and safer to make anything I can at home. I try to make almost everything from scratch and have cut out almost all packaged items from my kitchen. At times this can be overwhelming and time consuming, however, it is worth it.
Learning what my daughter can and can’t eat has been, and continues to be, a learning experience.
What tips and advice do you have?
Disclaimer: I am not a Doctor. The information in this series is simply my experience in dealing with, and learning to deal with, a nut and peanut allergy. My desire is not to give you medical advice, but to share our journey with you.
“What was safe a few months ago, may no longer be safe.”
What you’ve written is so true!! And, one of the more annoying parts of eating with a nut allergy. Just when I think I’ve found a food that works, they change the labels.
.-= SnoWhite´s last blog ..What CAN I eat? =-.