Friday, May 14, 2010

Food Allergy Awareness Week

This past week has been Food Allergy Awareness Week and I've been in Dallas with very limited internet, otherwise I would have posted before the week ended :-)

Funny thing is, I'm sitting in the Lobby of Prestonwood Baptist Church writing this while the final session of the Dynamic Church Conference is taking place ... because for the final snack of the conference popcorn was the choice, which means I need to stay far, far away.  But, its given me an opportunity to share a couple things I hope you will find helpful when around anyone with any type of food allergy.

1. Know them for WHO they are
Often, when meeting new people, I find that my food allergy becomes the subject, not who I am. Get to know the person and if they want to share about it, talk ... but if they don't that's ok too.  Get to know THEM, not the allergy.

2. Realize that they CAN eat
One of my biggest pet peeves ... "You can't eat ANYTHING!"  ACTUALLY, I can make almost anything and it probably is better than what you eat ... at least its healthier than processed foods.  You just have to know the brands.  Simply because one brand of spaghetti sauce contains the allergen, doesn't mean that all brands of spaghetti sauce contain it.

3. Be FLEXIBLE
It's hard enough to speak up and say "I can't eat there" or "I can't go in there", so when it does ... just say ok and move on.  Help select places to eat, but don't be frustrated when menus have to be checked, etc


4. "It's a SECRET"
Those three words are the MOST frustrating three words that can be heard when attempting to gather ingredient information.  What's really more important ... a secret recipe or someone's life?  Realize that the person asking who has a food allergy doesn't want to copy your recipe ... they want to enjoy your recipe!

5. Show you CARE
The best way to show someone you care who has a food allergy is to get to know them and not make a big deal about the allergy.  One of the best ways to do this is to learn how to read food labels and take the initiavtive and the time to do so.  Invite them over for dinner and let them know you'll be serving "safe" foods.  Offer ingredient listings the first few times to make sure you're getting it and let them know that they can trust you to serve allergy-friendly foods.

If you'd like to learn more about food allergies and support the millions of americans affected by them check out this website: www.foodallergy.org

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