Shopping and Checking Labels
Never assume – always check and re-check your foods. Always have a list of bit-products handy wherever you go. And if you read a label and you’re not sure what it is, write down the name and research it before you consume it. Trust me, don’t ever assume you know, sometimes ingredients can change without notice, like the time I ate jelly beans, after eating 2 jelly beans I experienced anaphylaxis not realizing that there was apple juice in the jelly beans which I was severely allergic to.
So, I used to carry a pad and paper and spent hours in the grocery store, kind of ironic, I know, I’m allergic to food, but I spent hours near and around it. But it was worth it, I came to know about many food ingredients and bi-products. To the extent that when I went to a nutritionist I ended up giving her a list of bi-products because she missed a few on the list she gave, yes a waste 100 dollars was all I got from my visit.
Honestly, your own research is far better sometimes, because only you know what you can and cannot tolerate and to what degree.
Okay example time, did you know the word “Carageenan” is actually found prepackaged chocolate milk, it’s an extract from a plant, want to know which one? It’s actually from seaweed! Ew right? I know, it’s amazing what people put into their foods, apparently it’s to make it look smooth and silky. I was just happy to know that it wasn’t a food allergen J.
The best place to look for foods is a larger grocery store that has a health food section. I’ve been to a lot of health food and “naturopathic” stores as well, but I find they are much more expensive, they have limited varieties, they’re high on the dairy alternatives, but limited on the gluten free or soy free alternatives, most of their stuff is soy based. In addition, they don’t have many grocery items, so going to a larger store like Loblaws gives you “one stop shopping”.
Unfortunately any way you look at it, the cost of alternative foods is always much more than regular store items. For example a box of regular cookies with at least 20 cookies costs $3.29 , the same cookies but a pack of 3 or 4 cookies made from alternative ingredients would cost $3.29 or more.
Things to look for in the Grocery Store
Dairy free – generally these items are soy based, but if you’re allergic to soy like I was, then look for almond or rice based substitutes. Note: Lactose free milk is also a good alternative when you’re trying to reintroduce milk into your diet…
Gluten free – Usually made of brown rice and occasionally with corn. You may also find people using sorghum or millet flour.
Wheat free – Kamut/ Spelt, Oats, Rye are all wheat free, but not gluten free. Gluten is the sticky consistency in flour, so although wheat contains the most gluten among grains, these foods still have small amounts of gluten in them; so if you decided to go with any of these options, just be aware that you may be in for a minor reaction while you try to introduce these products into your diet.
Egg free – these products are generally soy based as well, they say silken tofu works well as a scrambled egg alternative. Other alternatives also available if you’re looking to do some baking… check out the baking/ cooking chapter for details.
Nut free – in order to be nut free, basically just stay away from any products with peanuts, nuts or peanut butter of any kind. In addition, if you’re allergic to one kind of nut and not the other, for example you can eat cashews, but not peanuts, be sure to check the labels on roasted cashews, as they are often roasted in peanut oil as I once painfully discovered. Also, try staying away from chocolates and ice creams when having a nut allergy, and make sure you check your cereals as well. Because the Nut allergy has become so common, usually items are labeled showing that there are nuts or that traces of nuts may be found in the items.
Rice Free – Generally people are not allergic to rice; they say it’s the rarest allergen one can become allergic to, this is why children are given rice cereal when they are born to reduce the amount of allergen they encounter at first. However, in my case, I developed a rice allergy as well. Unfortunately it wasn’t a pleasant experience, especially coming from a south Asian family where rice is consumed 3 or more times a day.
Some alternatives I found to rice are Quinoa – seeds that are from a plant similar to the spinach plant, these seeds are from the ancient Peruvian time. Another alternative is “millets” or bajra in south Asia, these are seeds also from a plant, but one that is used to feed live stock and the flour is used by the extremely poverty stricken in 3rd world countries. Once again, always appreciate what you eat, there’s always someone suffering somewhere far worse than you are :D.
Soy free – Dealing with a soy allergy can be tough, because there are over 20 bi-products to soy, some of which don’t even appear to continue soy in them. E.g. “Vegetable Protein” that’s found in hot dogs and other processed meats can contain either soy or corn. There are some “rice based” products but these are used for people with dairy allergies, so be careful soy may still be present. Also, if you’re allergic to soy then chocolate is out of the question, unfortunately the only way to solidify chocolate is by using soy lecithin which is a derivative.
That also means that anything “veggie” such as veggie burgers, hotdogs and stuff are off limits. And finally something that is very rare but happened to me, one can become allergic to “vegetable oil”. The truth about vegetable oil is that it’s made from a combination of canola and soy oil. Some say that you shouldn’t be allergic to soy oil, because people are allergic to the protein and there isn’t any protein in the oil, however I beg to differ, I’ve experienced this and have learnt the hard way that soy oil can be a very difficult allergen to overcome. So take my advice, unless you’re absolutely sure that you can eat soy oil, don’t try it. I have had my share of near death experiences with soy and soy based products, so take my word for it.
Corn free - Okay you’ll often find corn in processed meats, processed spreads like cream cheese and Cheese Whiz as well as in many potato chip flavorings. Oh yes, and not to state the obvious, but pop corn will be out of the question, as well as corn based chips such as Cheetos and Doritos. Finally, depending on the severity people sometimes develop allergies to salt which can be derived from corn, or baking powder or baking soda, and even items that contain these ingredients in them, luckily my corn allergy didn’t get to that point, but I know people who cannot consume salt or baking powder/soda at all.
Fruit Free (Oral Allergy syndrome sufferers):
Avoid all fruit juices, Granola bars, many cereals and a number of cookies and ice creams. Basically if it says fruit flavored I would suggest avoiding it. I great alternative to the juice issue is the recent development of flavored water J. Try using canned fruits, sometimes depending on the severity of the allergy, you may be able to tolerate this.
Citrus free – well nothing is exactly citrus free, but things to avoid are canned foods and carbonated drinks for sure. Try using fresh foods instead.
Sesame, Pepper or Other spices – this is tough one, basically packaged foods are out of the question, most packaged foods say they contain “spices” but they’re not specific on which spice they’ve used. It may be just a trial and error process, but that’s quite dangerous, I’d recommend avoiding items that are pre-packaged unless you’re sure it is spice free.
You can try looking for alternatives in the regular food aisles, but it’s a frustrating and, complicated and depressing task. I would suggest going to a health food store if there really isn’t a health food section at your local grocery store. There is also a chain of stores in north America called “The Wholesale Food Market”, I found a number of alternative and organic products there. Great place to shop.
Oh and finally, make sure you book mark the “Canadian Food Inspection Agency” website. Check this website out frequently for recalls or undeclared allergens in foods. I called them once for Indian sesame sweet which didn’t declare their use of peanuts.
Never assume – always check and re-check your foods. Always have a list of bit-products handy wherever you go. And if you read a label and you’re not sure what it is, write down the name and research it before you consume it. Trust me, don’t ever assume you know, sometimes ingredients can change without notice, like the time I ate jelly beans, after eating 2 jelly beans I experienced anaphylaxis not realizing that there was apple juice in the jelly beans which I was severely allergic to.
So, I used to carry a pad and paper and spent hours in the grocery store, kind of ironic, I know, I’m allergic to food, but I spent hours near and around it. But it was worth it, I came to know about many food ingredients and bi-products. To the extent that when I went to a nutritionist I ended up giving her a list of bi-products because she missed a few on the list she gave, yes a waste 100 dollars was all I got from my visit.
Honestly, your own research is far better sometimes, because only you know what you can and cannot tolerate and to what degree.
Okay example time, did you know the word “Carageenan” is actually found prepackaged chocolate milk, it’s an extract from a plant, want to know which one? It’s actually from seaweed! Ew right? I know, it’s amazing what people put into their foods, apparently it’s to make it look smooth and silky. I was just happy to know that it wasn’t a food allergen J.
The best place to look for foods is a larger grocery store that has a health food section. I’ve been to a lot of health food and “naturopathic” stores as well, but I find they are much more expensive, they have limited varieties, they’re high on the dairy alternatives, but limited on the gluten free or soy free alternatives, most of their stuff is soy based. In addition, they don’t have many grocery items, so going to a larger store like Loblaws gives you “one stop shopping”.
Unfortunately any way you look at it, the cost of alternative foods is always much more than regular store items. For example a box of regular cookies with at least 20 cookies costs $3.29 , the same cookies but a pack of 3 or 4 cookies made from alternative ingredients would cost $3.29 or more.
- Energy levels – vitamins, supplements. Most of derived from plants. Could cause a reaction. One a day worked for me, it’s derived right from the minerals etc.,
Things to look for in the Grocery Store
Dairy free – generally these items are soy based, but if you’re allergic to soy like I was, then look for almond or rice based substitutes. Note: Lactose free milk is also a good alternative when you’re trying to reintroduce milk into your diet…
Gluten free – Usually made of brown rice and occasionally with corn. You may also find people using sorghum or millet flour.
Wheat free – Kamut/ Spelt, Oats, Rye are all wheat free, but not gluten free. Gluten is the sticky consistency in flour, so although wheat contains the most gluten among grains, these foods still have small amounts of gluten in them; so if you decided to go with any of these options, just be aware that you may be in for a minor reaction while you try to introduce these products into your diet.
Egg free – these products are generally soy based as well, they say silken tofu works well as a scrambled egg alternative. Other alternatives also available if you’re looking to do some baking… check out the baking/ cooking chapter for details.
Nut free – in order to be nut free, basically just stay away from any products with peanuts, nuts or peanut butter of any kind. In addition, if you’re allergic to one kind of nut and not the other, for example you can eat cashews, but not peanuts, be sure to check the labels on roasted cashews, as they are often roasted in peanut oil as I once painfully discovered. Also, try staying away from chocolates and ice creams when having a nut allergy, and make sure you check your cereals as well. Because the Nut allergy has become so common, usually items are labeled showing that there are nuts or that traces of nuts may be found in the items.
Rice Free – Generally people are not allergic to rice; they say it’s the rarest allergen one can become allergic to, this is why children are given rice cereal when they are born to reduce the amount of allergen they encounter at first. However, in my case, I developed a rice allergy as well. Unfortunately it wasn’t a pleasant experience, especially coming from a south Asian family where rice is consumed 3 or more times a day.
Some alternatives I found to rice are Quinoa – seeds that are from a plant similar to the spinach plant, these seeds are from the ancient Peruvian time. Another alternative is “millets” or bajra in south Asia, these are seeds also from a plant, but one that is used to feed live stock and the flour is used by the extremely poverty stricken in 3rd world countries. Once again, always appreciate what you eat, there’s always someone suffering somewhere far worse than you are :D.
Soy free – Dealing with a soy allergy can be tough, because there are over 20 bi-products to soy, some of which don’t even appear to continue soy in them. E.g. “Vegetable Protein” that’s found in hot dogs and other processed meats can contain either soy or corn. There are some “rice based” products but these are used for people with dairy allergies, so be careful soy may still be present. Also, if you’re allergic to soy then chocolate is out of the question, unfortunately the only way to solidify chocolate is by using soy lecithin which is a derivative.
That also means that anything “veggie” such as veggie burgers, hotdogs and stuff are off limits. And finally something that is very rare but happened to me, one can become allergic to “vegetable oil”. The truth about vegetable oil is that it’s made from a combination of canola and soy oil. Some say that you shouldn’t be allergic to soy oil, because people are allergic to the protein and there isn’t any protein in the oil, however I beg to differ, I’ve experienced this and have learnt the hard way that soy oil can be a very difficult allergen to overcome. So take my advice, unless you’re absolutely sure that you can eat soy oil, don’t try it. I have had my share of near death experiences with soy and soy based products, so take my word for it.
Corn free - Okay you’ll often find corn in processed meats, processed spreads like cream cheese and Cheese Whiz as well as in many potato chip flavorings. Oh yes, and not to state the obvious, but pop corn will be out of the question, as well as corn based chips such as Cheetos and Doritos. Finally, depending on the severity people sometimes develop allergies to salt which can be derived from corn, or baking powder or baking soda, and even items that contain these ingredients in them, luckily my corn allergy didn’t get to that point, but I know people who cannot consume salt or baking powder/soda at all.
Fruit Free (Oral Allergy syndrome sufferers):
Avoid all fruit juices, Granola bars, many cereals and a number of cookies and ice creams. Basically if it says fruit flavored I would suggest avoiding it. I great alternative to the juice issue is the recent development of flavored water J. Try using canned fruits, sometimes depending on the severity of the allergy, you may be able to tolerate this.
Citrus free – well nothing is exactly citrus free, but things to avoid are canned foods and carbonated drinks for sure. Try using fresh foods instead.
Sesame, Pepper or Other spices – this is tough one, basically packaged foods are out of the question, most packaged foods say they contain “spices” but they’re not specific on which spice they’ve used. It may be just a trial and error process, but that’s quite dangerous, I’d recommend avoiding items that are pre-packaged unless you’re sure it is spice free.
You can try looking for alternatives in the regular food aisles, but it’s a frustrating and, complicated and depressing task. I would suggest going to a health food store if there really isn’t a health food section at your local grocery store. There is also a chain of stores in north America called “The Wholesale Food Market”, I found a number of alternative and organic products there. Great place to shop.
Oh and finally, make sure you book mark the “Canadian Food Inspection Agency” website. Check this website out frequently for recalls or undeclared allergens in foods. I called them once for Indian sesame sweet which didn’t declare their use of peanuts.
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