Last May was Food Allergy and Celiac Disease Awareness Month. Food allergy and Celiac disease are serious life-threatening conditions if they’re triggered by highly allergenic ingredients in certains foods, especially if the reactive symptoms are not addressed quickly.
Let me share some things that we all need to know to make us more aware and sensitive towards the people we care about:
- Did you know that kissing someone who has eaten an allergenic food may trigger an allergic reaction?
- More than 330,000 Canadians are believed to have Celiac disease, but only about one-third of this number are diagnosed. (Ipsos survey)
- About 300,000 Canadian children under 18 have certain food allergies.
- People with food allergies struggle every day. They need to read all food labels before buying, and check every dish in the menu when dining out. We need to give them respect and support.
So here are the top 12 known allergens that we should all be careful with when offering food to someone:
- Wheat (bread, rice, cereals, anything with gluten)
- Milk (dairy products)
- Peanuts (peanut butter, chocolates with peanuts, etc.)
- Tree nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, chestnuts, etc.)
- Mustard
- Sulfites (any ingredient in a packaged food with the word sulphite or sulfite, mostly in wine and dried fruits)
- Egg (also in baked goods)
- Sesame
- Soy (tofu, soymilk, soy sauce)
- Fish
- Crustaceans (shrimps, crabs, lobsters)
- Shellfish
Now that we know the culprits behind food allergy, we need to make healthier food choices and find wholesome substitutes that are tasty and healthy as well. Here are some of my allergen-free favorites from Enjoy Life, which I hope you could also share with people you know who have certain food allergies:
For gluten-free baking and cooking, the All-Purpose Flour Mix and Pancake + Waffle Mix are made from ancient grains like millet, teff, and buckwheat, and whole grain brown rice. They have probiotics too! These mixes are awesome not only for a gluten-free diet, but also for those who are allergic to eggs too. No need to add egg. Just water and your healthy oils and sweeteners of choice!
For a nut-free trail mix to boost your mornings, the Mountain Mambo Seed & Fruit Mix is made with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, raisins, apples, cranberries, and chocolate chips! Of course, the dried fruits are sulfite-free and the chocolate is non-dairy!
If you’re making chocolate-chip cookies or any chocolatey dessert, the Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Chips are made with non-dairy cocoa butter. Make them gluten-free with the All-Purpose Flour Mix too! Or you could just sprinkle them anywhere or munch the choco chips on their own.
For instant sweet snacks, the Vanilla Honey Graham Handcrafted Crunchy Cookies and Caramel Apple Baked Chewy Bars are heavenly and gluten-free and nut-free!
And I can’t live without a savoury snack. The Dill & Sour Cream Plentils are made from lentil starch, which is of course healthy and once again gluten-free so anyone can eat this as “plentil” as they like.
Fulfill your own cravings without risking your health and your loved ones’ allergies. Aside from it being an allergen-free food product line, Enjoy Life has “no artificial anything” so there are no preservatives, colourings, and other unnatural food additives. I must stress that the taste and nutrients in these Enjoy Life goodies are never compromised. It’s not just for people with food allergies. It’s for anyone who wants natural, clean and wholesome food!