So, I recently sang the praises of the deliciousness of Nestle Coffee Mate Brown Sugar flavored Oat Creamer coffee creamer, but maybe some of you out there are looking for a more natural coffee creamer.
Jastram Farm, located in St Johns, Michigan has just what you’re looking for! All Natural Pure Maple Cream. Put a dollop or two of that in your coffee and you’re golden. (Although it won’t give you the creamy effect that you traditionally get from creamers.)
You may be asking yourself, why would Brenda take a pic with a jar that is basically empty? Because she wanted to get this post completed and had pretty much used up all of the maple cream she had on hand.
They’re just a stone’s throw from us, participate in many local craft shows, have their own store-front and a Facebook page (Jastram Farm). Check their page out to see ALL of the wonderful products they offer.
Another Friday in Lent… I stared blankly into my fridge, trying to find anything, besides fish sticks, I could make for dinner. I spied my Mission Gluten Free Spinach Herb Tortilla Wraps. I knew I still had my Daiya Mexican Cheeze Shreds. Cheese quesadillas it would be!
Pretty simple. The pictures will tell the story.
This is what the wraps look like. Pic is horrible. The bag is literally twisted and the only way I could straighten it out is if I cut it apart, but I’m still using it so I’m not going to cut it.
I use my cast iron skillet. Brush bottom of pan with some oil and heat it up. Place one wrap in hot pan, sprinkle cheeze on wrap, cover with another wrap. While cooking, continually press the quesadilla down with a spatula to help the cheeze adhere to both wraps.
I use cast iron because it gives me more of an even heat than my non-stick pans do.
Cook first side about 2-3 minutes, then flip – carefully. Cook second side about 2 minutes and you’re done. Slide it out of the pan and onto a plate.
Done!
Cut it up with a pizza cutter.
Serve with rice, refried beans with black beans and salsa.
Bradley’s home from out of state. Recently, I asked him how long it had been since he’d been to the downtown shopping district in St. Johns. He said, probably a couple of years. Time to be tourists in a city near us!
The weather was mild that day, mid 30’s with no wind. We parked the car near the old railroad tracks and set off on foot. We didn’t have to walk far to get to our first stop, the Waypoint Coffee Company. (Hot coffee while walking outdoors in January, was going to be just what we needed.) I got a Vanilla Bean Latte with almond milk and Bradley, the Cardamom Latte.
We walked along the side streets and found “Cupcakes and Kisses”. Inside, it smelled glorious. We asked the salesperson if they carried any foods specific to our food allergies. (It’s always worth a try, you never know just when someone may surprise you.) While we weren’t able to find anything either of us could eat, the place was definitely full of everything Kevin could. We picked him up a treat and headed on our way.
Along Clinton Avenue we window shopped and browsed in some of the open stores. We ran into a couple of “around the section” neighbors who had also stopped downtown for coffee. (Their coffee shop of choice was the Global Coffee Company, located on Clinton Ave., which apparently carries some awesome lemon poppy seed muffins.) At the Clinton County Arts Council Art Gallery, I found some pretty handmade greeting cards and a perfect stocking stuffer for Kevin.
Finally, we arrived at “Oh Mi Organics”. I’d been talking this place up to Bradley for years and I was glad I could finally get him there. Megen and Brent Hurst, owners of Oh Mi, both greeted us as we came in; letting us know they were available to answer questions or to just talk about their products. Walking around their shop, I let Bradley take it all in. (After years of dealing with and eating for your food allergies, it really is hard to wrap your head around being in a shop, particularly a confectionary shop, where you can eat everything they carry.) More than once, he’d point and ask, “I can eat this too?” It was fun to watch him. We also spent a fair amount of time talking with both Megen and Brent, learning not just more about their products, but about the other small businesses that have started to come to the downtown shopping district, the “Eat Healthy, Eat Local Foundation” (founded in 2018) and the plans they have for the shopping district over the coming years. Our visit was finished off with buying a flavored hummus, 2 No Bake Dream Bars (If you haven’t tried them, you have no idea what you’re missing.) and a 6 pack of gourmet chocolates; Neopolitan (a favorite ice cream flavor for both of us), Samoa Cookie (like the Girl Scout cookie), Mint (Yum!), Rose, Baklava and Bavarian Cream. You really can’t go wrong with any of their gourmet chocolates. Before we left, Brent asked Bradley to try their iced coffee; asking how it compared to some of the iced coffees he’s had living in both Chicago and New York City. Bradley said it definitely rivaled those he’d had in both cities.
Bradley and I after out visit to Oh Mi Organics. (Look at those happy faces!)Our Oh Mi Organics purchases. Obviously, we didn’t wait to start eating them before we got home to take a pic.
We’d now spent several hours on our tour and we were hungry. At the time of our “tour”, dine-in still wasn’t an option; so we had to do take-out. We placed an order with the St. Johns Brewing Company. Our food choices, Prime Rib Burnt Ends and the Classic Burger did not disappoint. In fact, they smelled so good, we didn’t wait to eat until we got home; we ate in the car.
This pic doesn’t do our food justice, but we we’re starving at this point and ate in the car.
The afternoon was great. Time spent outdoors, visits to local small businesses and good food.
Thanks for stopping!
Brenda
Disclaimer:
These recipes and tips are not guaranteed to work or be safe for everyone. Allergies are extremely complicated and vary for each individual. It is still your responsibility to read labels to ensure your safety. I cannot be held liable for any ill effects from using my tips to avoid your allergies. (Sorry guys, I don’t foresee any problems, but Momma’s gotta cover her backside, ya know?) Just read your labels! Do your research.
It’s Super
Bowl Sunday, time to think about party foods!
I’ve got a
few simple and quick ideas for party food that should work for almost everyone –
even your friends with dairy, egg and wheat allergies.
Chicken
Wings: For years, I’ve avoided eating or making wings. I thought they always had to have some sort
of breading on them. They don’t have to!
I don’t have a recipe; because I’ve only
made wings twice. I will now tell you
how you can do chicken wings.
Buy
a big ol’ bag of chicken wings and 2 bottles of your favorite BBQ sauce. Google ‘Baked Chicken Wings’. You’ll find plenty of recipes. Bake the wings per the recipe’s
instructions.
Toss
the wings into the crockpot along with 1 ½ – 2 bottles of BBQ sauce. Stir them up a little, turn crockpot on low,
grab a drink and sit down with friends.
Got a sweet tooth, but no time to mix up a batch of cookies? Pick up some “Sweet Loren’s Gluten Free Place & Bake Cookie Dough”. (Find them in your grocer’s refrigerated section with the other pre-made cookie doughs.) Follow the instructions on the back of the package and you’ll be enjoying fresh baked chocolate chip and/or fudgy brownie cookies in no time. So good! www.sweetlorens.com
Got a hankering for a cheeseball? Me too… I don’t have a recipe for a vegan cheeseball, but it’s pretty darn good. “Tree Line Tree Nut Cheese”, a spreadable vegan treenut cheese. Serve it with “Vans gluten free ‘The Perfect 10’ Crackers” or “Glutino Gluten Free Pretzels”. You and your friends will be pleasantly surprised. It pairs nicely with an ice cold beer. www.treelinecheese.com
If none of
these ideas are thrilling you, you can always go back to last year’s Super Bowl
post “Bean Dip for Super Bowl” (Feb. 3, 2018) which is a vegan recipe. Also my post entitled, “It’s a Party & I’ll
Snack if I Want to…..” (Dec. 21, 2017) has a number of snack ideas and recipes.
Enjoy and
thanks for stopping!
Brenda
Disclaimer:
These recipes and tips are not guaranteed to work or
be safe for everyone. Allergies are extremely complicated and vary for each
individual. It is still your responsibility to read labels to ensure your safety.
I cannot be held liable for any ill effects from using my tips to avoid your
allergies. (Sorry guys, I don’t foresee any problems, but Momma’s gotta cover
her backside, ya know?) Just read your labels! Do your research!
Our church is sponsoring its’ annual food drive, now through Thanksgiving weekend. For years I’ve donated the same foods: canned fruits & veggies, cake mixes, frosting and birthday candles. (Even when times are tough, there are still birthdays to be celebrated.)
This year I’m changing it up a bit; I bought foods that are allergy friendly. While everyone has not been tested for food allergies, most of us can agree that we’re well aware if there’s a food that doesn’t agree with us. Who hasn’t heard at least one of the following: “When I eat pasta, I feel like I have a big knot in my stomach.” Or “I like cheese, but it doesn’t like me.” Or “Every time I eat corn, it feels like someone punched me in the gut.” Any one of these comments tells someone they’re having issues with that food and they probably try to avoid it. With that in mind; I figured I’d donate foods that could address those sorts of issues for people, just in case.
This is what I picked up: cake mixes and frosting that do not contain dairy, gluten free pasta, gluten free/dairy free Scooby Fruit Snacks & Kind bars, vegan Quinoa Puffs, unsweetened applesauce (no corn syrup) and red beans not canned in corn syrup. I marked all of my foods individually with tags saying what they were free of. This should be helpful to the people distributing these foods, so they are aware they’re available, if needed. That’s it, nothing too difficult and maybe I’ve helped someone.
The foods I picked up.
Labeled foods.
Happy Thanksgiving!
p.s.: If you’re looking to make my wheat free & dairy free stuffing for your Thanksgiving dinner; check out my very first post, entitled ‘Surviving the Minefield of Holiday Party Food’. To find it easily, go to the Categories section of my blog, click on Holidays and the post will come right up.
Thanks for stopping.
Brenda
‘For it is in giving that we receive.’ Saint Francis of Assisi
Disclaimer:
These recipes and tips are not guaranteed to work or be safe for everyone. Allergies are extremely complicated and vary for each individual. It is still your responsibility to read labels to ensure your safety. I cannot be held liable for any ill effects from using my tips to avoid your allergies. (Sorry guys, I don’t foresee any problems, but Momma’s gotta cover her backside, ya know?) Just read your labels! Do your research!
I’m a lover of all things fall. The crisp air, the colors of the changing leaves, the smell of the fallen leaves in the woods, homemade soup, baked squash, hot apple crisp and my favorite – Halloween! I love to decorate my front porch with scary ghouls, skeletons, cobwebs and a skull & cross bones chandelier. I enjoy watching little kids eye my porch’s inhabitants; debating if the bag of candy on the other side of the porch is worth the risk. (Wow! When I read that out loud, I sound sort of horrible. I’m really not that bad.) If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m talking about trick or treating; a time that should be fun for all kids, even those with food allergies.
This is how we do Halloween in our small town. We live a couple miles outside of town, on a dirt road. Parents drive their kids from house to house in the country, because there are usually only 5 or 6 houses per mile. Since houses are so far and few between, it takes them a long time to make a good night’s haul. We typically only have around 12 or 15 trick or treaters stop at our house, so we load those kids up with candy. Because we’ve dealt with food allergies at our house; I’ve modified the contents of my treat bags over the years. First off, I’m a realist – kids love chocolate. So, each of my treat bags contains 2 or 3 chocolate candy treats, a couple Laffy Taffy, a box of Nerds or a small packet of Starburst or Skittles and maybe a box with a Halloween tattoo. That way, if one of the kids that stopped at my house has a food allergy, chances are pretty good they’ll be able to eat at least some of the candy I’ve given them. If they’re lucky, maybe they can get a sibling or a friend to trade the candy they can’t eat, for candy they can.
Our typical Halloween treat bag.
Maybe you’ve thought that it would be nice to have candy options for kids with food allergies, but how do you know what candy you should buy? Also, it’s probably difficult to find and expensive. It’s not difficult and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Below I’ve included two different links, listing candy free of the Top 8 allergens. Both are great sites. You’ll be happy to see some familiar name brands that you can find in your local grocery and department stores.
So whether you give out one piece of candy or several, it’s really quite easy to brighten up a kid’s Halloween night when you give them the option of choosing a piece of candy they can eat.
(Right click on each link and you will see the option to open the link in a new tab.)
These recipes and tips are not guaranteed to work or be safe for everyone. Allergies are extremely complicated and vary for each individual. It is still your responsibility to read labels to ensure your safety. I cannot be held liable for any ill effects from using my tips to avoid your allergies. (Sorry guys, I don’t foresee any problems, but Momma’s gotta cover her backside, ya know? Just read your labels! Do your research!)
On a recent Friday in May, Kevin and I flew to New York to spend five days with our son, Bradley. We had a 3:05 p.m. flight scheduled to land in Newark, NJ about 5:00 p.m. Bradley would meet us at the airport. Because it would be close to dinnertime, our commute to his apartment would be one and a half hours and it is difficult to find something I can safely eat at an airport, we agreed I should bring food. Friday morning I packed 2 sandwiches, apples and a couple corn chip & guacamole snack cups. I put them in the fridge and proceeded to forget about them – until we were halfway to the airport. I texted Bradley, asking him to bring food to the airport. Next, I sent Brent a text, telling him to grab the sandwiches when he stopped at our house that evening. (He later sent me a message saying the sandwiches “were good, even the one made with your bread.” High praises for sliced gluten-free bread. (I use Schar Gluten Free Artisan Baker Bread.)
Bradley met us at the airport with an orange and bananas, which we ate while waiting for the train. When initially planning our trip we’d agreed, because of our food allergies, we would prepare the majority of our meals. Also, for the next five days our only mode of transportation would be either on foot or subway. (Bradley does not own a car, typical when living in New York City.) Every place we planned to go would be at least 45 minutes from the apartment. So, with the logistics involved and our food allergies, it would definitely be wise to pack a small cooler with food for each outing.
We dropped our luggage at his apartment and walked to the corner grocery store. We bought fresh chicken, roast beef, bacon, sandwich meat, carrots, celery, onion, peppers, lettuce, potatoes, bananas, apples, grapes, gluten-free bread and bagels, regular bread, cheese, dairy-free yogurt, corn chips, salsa, Lara Bars and almonds.
Back at his place, we made chicken stir fry and planned our meals and snacks for the next 5 days.
Breakfast: We would eat the breakfast foods we’d bought, every morning before leaving the apartment.
Snacks to Pack: Celery, carrots, grapes, apples, almonds and Lara Bars.
Lunch: We made chicken salad for sandwiches. Sandwich meat could be used for sandwiches or lettuce wraps. Because we would be sight-seeing and the weather was favorable, we planned to eat lunch at outdoor seating areas or parks. (That worked well for us.)
Dinner: We planned to eat a second dinner at home – beef stew. We’d also been invited to a cook-out on Monday, which would cover another meal. To finish out the trip, we figured we should be able to find a restaurant or two, that would accommodate all of us.
Bradley said he wanted to make omelets for Sunday brunch on Mother’s Day. On Saturday, we would make a trip to the Union Street Farmer’s Market for duck or quail eggs. {SIDEBAR: Bradley and I are both allergic to chicken eggs. Four years ago, I learned that some individuals with an allergy to chicken eggs are able to eat other bird eggs. Bradley and I both researched this for about a year before feeling confident in trying a duck egg. Neither of us had a reaction. Bradley has also had good luck with quail eggs. I have to STRESS here, that neither he nor I has an allergic anaphylactic response to eating egg. I get migraines, he gets hives and swelling – nothing life threatening. I am not advocating, nor suggesting to anyone to go out and try different eggs. I am simply recounting our experience. If you are intrigued by this subject – please, do your OWN research, and talk to your doctor before trying another bird egg. Below are 3 sites to begin your research.}
Union Street Farmers Market: On Saturday by the time, we got to the Farmer’s Market, it was raining and many of the vendors were packing up. We were unable to find duck or quail eggs, but did find gluten-free Vegan Sheperd’s Pie. We bought two. Kevin passed on the pie, saying he’d order take out. As we were leaving the market, Bradley spied a sign reading – “Ostrich Eggs”. He’d researched ostrich eggs as well as duck and quail eggs finding favorable results for each when it came to us being able to eat them. We paid the vendor $35 and carefully wrapped it for the ride home.
Sunday: We spent part of our morning Googling our questions about ostrich eggs. (One egg is equivalent to 15-24 chicken eggs, weighing 3.5 – 5 lbs. Ours weighed approx. 2 ½ pounds so we surmised it was about 15 eggs worth-give or take.) We took pictures of the egg alone, with other foods and with me. We filmed ourselves cracking the egg open. We had a blast. We made a large omelet for brunch. Ultimately, we got another omelet and 2 meals of French toast out of it. It was definitely worth the $35, for both the deliciousness and the entertainment. That evening we ate the Vegan Sheperd’s pie. While it looked yummy, I was a bit disappointed. I like beans and all, but, in my opinion, there is such a thing as “too many beans”. Also, it was kind of dry. We both said we thought it might taste better with chicken gravy. lol (Kind of defeats the purpose of the whole “vegan” thing.) Overall, Bradley said the pie wasn’t bad.
Shell was so hard, we just took the top off and poured into bowl.
Look at that yolk!
Brunch is served.
Vegan Sheperd’s Pie
The three of us did find one restaurant we could all eat at; Noon Mediterranean, a fast food restaurant. (It’s like a Mediterranean version of Qdoba.) It was good. I’d never heard of anything like it before and then last week Brent and I were in Southfield, MI and we found Shwarma Grill – same concept. Yay!
Hoping I gave you some ideas, again, for eating while on vacation. It is more of a challenge when flying, especially if you are staying in a hotel. Individual serving size packets of nuts and seeds, Glutino gluten-free pretzels, Lara and Kind bars all travel well. If your hotel has a mini fridge, you’re golden. If not, utilize your phone for finding food specific restaurants to meet your dietary needs. When traveling with food allergies you just have to plan ahead and be creative.
Safe travels everyone, as we begin the summer vacation season!
These recipes and tips are not guaranteed to work or be safe for everyone. Allergies are extremely complicated and vary for each individual. It is still your responsibility to read labels to ensure your safety. I cannot be held liable for any ill effects from using my tips to avoid your allergies. (Sorry guys, I don’t foresee any problems, but Momma’s gotta cover her backside, ya know? Just read your labels! Do your research!
In the past three weeks, we’ve been gone more than we’ve been home. While we enjoy traveling; traveling with food allergies can be challenging. Because two of our last three outings were spent driving to see out-of-town friends, I’ll touch on a few tips/hacks for road trips.
Can you eat breakfast before you hit the road?
Breakfast, by far, is the most difficult meal for me to eat at a restaurant. Whenever possible, we eat breakfast before we leave for a road trip. If we can’t eat before we leave, I bring Kevin’s Greek yogurt and my coconut milk yogurt and muffins or a coffee cake that I’ve made. We bring our own coffee so I can use my coconut milk coffee creamer.
Pack food for the road, so you don’t have to stop for snacks or meals while driving to your destination.
I pack a small basket with bananas, Lara Bars, Kind Bars, Glutino pretzels, Van’s crackers, maybe a few Starbursts or Skittles. I also pack a small cooler with carrots and hummus, celery and peanut butter, apples, grapes and water. Not only are these foods handy for the drive, they also make for convenient snacks to enjoy throughout your trip. If we will be driving through lunch, I pack sandwiches to eat as we drive. (Side note: When we do our annual fall color tour with our friends, the Kleins, we pack foods that we can grill at a roadside park.)
Additional items I like to pack.
In my little cooler I also pack my Natural Bliss Coconut Milk creamer, a small container of Earth’s Balance Buttery Spread, almond milk and “Just” Ranch Dressing. I put each of these items in containers that are small enough to carry in my purse so I can take them to a restaurant or down to the hotel breakfast. I also pack a couple So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurts. I can never be sure what my breakfast options will be, so I always have my yogurt if needed. Even if we’re staying with friends, not at a hotel, it’s still nice to have these items with me so I don’t have to make a grocery stop immediately.
Check out the local grocery or health food store(s).
I do this for a number of reasons. First off, while I’ve brought some food with me, I still need to pick up a few more items for the trip because it’s just a pain to bring it all from home. What do I buy? It depends where we’re staying. If we’re staying at a hotel, that means we will be eating most of our meals out. Because I don’t know what I will be able to order at the restaurant my grocery purchases usually consist of fruit, sandwich meat, lettuce and maybe a bag of chips. I buy these items in case my food options were limited at the restaurant, and at least I’ll have something I can eat when we return to the hotel. When staying with friends in their home, we eat in most of the time. In that situation, we pick up the fresh fruits and vegetables, meats and whatever else we will use to prepare our meals. If we do go out to dinner at some point, I still have food at the house if I couldn’t get much at the restaurant.
Second, I’m curious. I like to see what allergy-friendly foods they may carry. It’s interesting to see how different the selection and variety are from one store to the next, depending on the location you are visiting. You may find something new you’d like to try. Maybe they carry an item you’ve been unable to find for a long time or they have something you’ve run out of. (Last summer we were camping up by Coldwater Lake for a week and I ran out of beer. The little party store across the street actually carried my “Red Bridge” Gluten Free Sorghum beer. Winner, winner, chicken dinner! You have no idea how very few places sell that particular beer. I bought a 6-pack.)
Grocery store visit:
One of our recent road trips took us to the East Tawas/Tawas area to stay with friends. My friend, Julie, and I stopped at Neiman’s Family Market to pick up food for the two days we were staying. I was pleasantly surprised by their large selection of “allergy-friendly” foods. Some of the items were placed throughout the store and they also had a section devoted to gluten-free foods. The large variety of brand names was impressive. We picked up a box of “1-2-3 gluten free Sugar and Spice Pan Bars” for dessert that night, a bag of “Full Circle Gluten Free Waffle & Pancake Mix” and some fresh blueberries for Saturday’s breakfast. We all enjoyed the pan bars for dessert and the blueberry pancakes were delicious. Saturday afternoon, Julie and I went back to Neiman’s so I could take pictures of their gluten-free section. – Yes, I’m that person. – (The pics are below, be sure to check them out.) Also we stopped because I wanted to pick up two more boxes of the “1-2-3 gluten free pan bars” for home (Julie bought one also), and a number of items I’d never tried before. I bought a “Simple Truth Organic Gluten Free Cornbread Mix”, a “Simple Truth Organic Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix”, “Ken’s Steak House Apple Cider Vinaigrette Dressing” and two different brands of yogurt. One was almond milk and the other coconut milk and both were yucky, and I put their names out of my mind. (Doesn’t really help you much, or me for that matter, because now I can’t remember what I should never buy again.) I think I will stick with my “So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt” – which they also sold; as well as the “So Delicious” ice creams. Hopefully you can zoom in on my pics enabling you to see everything they had.
Neiman’s Family Market (image 1)
Neiman’s Family Market (image 2)
Neiman’s Family Market (image 3)
I’ve preached enough. Hoping maybe you can come away with a nugget or two of knowledge to use when planning your next road trip vacation.
Thanks for stopping!
Brenda
Disclaimer:
These recipes and tips are not guaranteed to work or be safe for everyone. Allergies are extremely complicated and vary for each individual. It is still your responsibility to read labels to ensure your safety. I cannot be held liable for any ill effects from using my tips to avoid your allergies. (Sorry guys, I don’t foresee any problems, but Momma’s gotta cover her backside, ya know? Just read your labels!)
My last post talked about sometimes feeling a bit left out in “group” eating situations. Kevin said I sounded a bit like a hater in that last post. Well, here’s a positive follow-up on that last post.
First a little background: When we go to a wedding dinner/reception I never know what foods will be served, how they were prepared, if I can enjoy a cocktail or two or if I can even partake of a party favor or snack on the table. I come prepared. I fill a small purse with a slice of bread, a small dish of butter and another of ranch salad dressing, a bottle or two of my gluten-free beer – RedBridge Gluten-Free Sorghum Beer (an Anheuser-Busch product) or two small (indiv. size) bottles of Barefoot wine, a snack-size bag of pretzels or crackers. I’d hate to go hungry. (lol) (Obviously if the wedding you are attending is a cash bar, you can’t bring your own drinks. Of course, if it’s a cash bar, chances are likely you should be able to find something you can drink if you’re looking for a cocktail.)
When we get to the reception hall, I like to find the kitchen right away so I can talk with someone about the food. I tell them that I have food allergies and ask if we can go over what foods I can or cannot eat. I also explain that it’s not only what foods they’re serving, but also how the foods were prepared. They’re generally more than happy to talk with me. Some apologize. Others offer to make a small pan of vegetables or an individual salad for me. At one wedding, held in an Italian restaurant, when I talked with one of the staff, they went above and beyond. They apologized that they hadn’t been told of my allergies ahead of time. There were several others, also with food allergies, in attendance and they’d prepared their foods accordingly. I would be able to eat those same foods, although I would only be able to enjoy a 5 course dinner, not 7, which was being offered to the majority of the guests. I suffered through (lol). The food was amazing – I couldn’t have eaten another bite. I always think how disappointing that dinner would have been for me if I hadn’t taken the initiative to inquire about the food. People can be very accommodating if you’re polite and not making demands. Explain your situation – “I have food allergies, I’d love to eat the foods you’ve prepared, but I have to be sure I won’t get sick”. Lastly, remember, these people were hired by the bride and groom; the evening’s menu is based on choices the couple made.
So, here’s the Pleasant Surprise part of my blog. The last two weddings we recently attended confirmed for me that people are starting to pay attention to food allergies.
Wedding #1 was out of town and catered by a restaurant. When I asked about the foods and their preparation, I was told the potatoes were mashed with Lactaid Milk. (I couldn’t eat them, but others could and that’s forward progress in acknowledging food allergies.) They also had individual packets of a vegan buttery spread (I could eat) and the salad had all of the toppings in side dishes so nothing was touching the lettuce (I could eat). The seasoned, baked chicken was served with a choice of two toppings – each on the side. (I could eat) I thanked her more than once for all of their extra effort. The food was delicious and I ate well that night. Bonus: They served wine. I didn’t need to crack open a brewski.
Wedding #2 was local and the dinner was prepared by local cooks. I know some of the girls personally, so when they saw me getting my food, I was called into the kitchen. As they looked at my plate containing only roast beef and green beans, I was told, “We’ve been waiting for you. Throw those beans out, they have butter on them. We have lettuce and tomato ready for you because you can’t eat the salad we’re serving.” While I couldn’t eat a lot of the food, I was still able to eat some and because I’d brought my food stash from home, I was all set. Once again, a delicious dinner. Bonus: They served wine.
So, there are two things to remember. First, come prepared with your own food. I bring it in a purse, which I keep at the table. (See pic below.) No one, other than the people at my table, is aware of what I have in my purse. Once everyone starts eating, very few notice if you pull a small dish of ranch dressing or a slice of bread out of your purse. When I plan to open a beer or wine, I go to the bar and ask for an empty glass. Back at my table, I pour my drink into the glass and tuck the empty bottle back in my purse. No one is the wiser. I’m not the only person doing this. I have a friend who has a very cute cooler which looks like a handbag. Everyone just assumes she carries a large, but cute, – and slightly heavy – handbag. Secondly, don’t be afraid to ask the kitchen staff questions. They would prefer you ask. They don’t want you getting sick from their food. We can never assume that we CAN eat something, so it’s also silly for us to assume we CAN’T eat something. Ask questions, you may be pleasantly surprised. I was.
This is actually my purse I carry regularly, so I have to empty it before I can fill it for the wedding. It’s a good size for bottles.
Thanks for stopping.
Brenda
Disclaimer:
These recipes and tips are not guaranteed to work or be safe for everyone. Allergies are extremely complicated and vary for each individual. It is still your responsibility to read labels to ensure your safety. I cannot be held liable for any ill effects from using my tips to avoid your allergies. (Sorry guys, I don’t foresee any problems, but Momma’s gotta cover her backside, ya know? Just read your labels!)
