Having allergies means being vigilant around food. And when you have to know every single ingredient in a dish and how it was prepared, trusting commercial kitchens can be tough and even scary! So today, I'd like to tell you about my experience.
When I was younger it was simple: If my parents said it was safe, I ate it! I trusted that my parents knew what was safe and what wasn't because parents know everything and what is best for you. This made dinner and lunch outings fairly easy as I would ask their opinion on whether a dish was safe. They would often communicate with the wait staff and figure out a safe option for me.
As I got older, I had more choice over what I ate and outings were not always with my parents. Which left me in control of what I put in my mouth. I started to not trust any restaurant or anyone that prepared my food apart from at home. I wanted to watch them make the dish so I could see what was going into it!
I started to get extremely picky! Only eating hot chips or even nothing at all when I went out, for pure fear of eating something that would cause an allergic reaction. The thought terrified me! My parents became slightly frustrated when we would go out and I would refuse to eat anything. Fair enough too! Because they always picked places where I could eat. Here is the thing though, I was too anxious about having food that I couldn't see an ingredients list for, that couldn't show me how it was prepared or what it was prepared near. I was just too scared to eat.
Now this isn't healthy! It was depriving me of trying new things, not to mention depriving my body of food! No matter how hungry I was, I just wouldnt eat.
Some things have changed since then! I'm still very cautious eating out, and I generally just stick to places that I know I can eat, or when I go somewhere different, I try and order a similar dish (e.g. Steak, Chips and Salad) At least I love steak! I always get people in fast food places (like Subway) to change their gloves before they make my food, and to be honest, they are really nice about it! For example: One day I asked the guy behind the counter to change his gloves for my sub, and he made everyone else who was going to touch my sub wash their hands and change their gloves as well! Little moments like that make me smile because others actually understand!
I still don't like eating at restaurants I don't know, or trying new dishes, but I'm getting there! A new Indian place opened up a little drive away and I went there and discussed options with the chef and had my first curry from a restaurant last year! It is a big help when waiters and chef's take you seriously and talk you through options. It makes you feel a little bit safer!
I wanted to write this post so that if anyone else feels this way, know you aren't alone! And if your child is exhibiting this behaviour; PLEASE TRY AND BE UNDERSTANDING! I know it can be frustrating but being frustrated doesn't make the situation any better for the allergy child.
This post wasn't easy for me to write, as it's something I've tried to push away. But I can admit it: I have anxiety about eating food. And do you know what? It's not something I'm proud of, but it's something I'm working on. And that suits me just fine!
Give this post some love in the comments below and share your story with me! Also jump on the facebook page (link is on the left) and like and comment on the page! I can't wait for tomorrow's post, BIG ANNOUNCEMENT TIME! :D See you then!
No comments:
Post a Comment