Making lunch is nuts!

I recently found out the PC brand of hummus "may contain tree nuts". I guess this means I have to make sure I do not buy this brand anymore, since my daughter's favourite lunch meal is hummus and grated cheese in a wrap. This got me thinking about the food I prepare in my home. No one in our family is allergic to nuts, or peanuts. I often grab a handful of pecans or walnuts for a snack, and might be making dinner, or my daughter's school lunch at the same time. So, inadvertently, I have created a lunch that "may contain tree nuts".

My best friend is very allergic to peanuts, but her husband loves peanut butter. They have it in their home, which amazes me. I often think, when I am cooking with peanut butter, it's a good thing she is not here. Wouldn't the proteins get on the dishcloth I am using to clean up after my food prep? Have I now contaminated everything in my home with peanut butter? If she were to visit, would I send her into anaphylactic shock? I do not know how easily the allergen can be passed along, and I do not know what removes it from surfaces. I have no idea if it loses its potency if it dries out, or is exposed to air. Does washing my utensils, and dishes in soap, and hot water remove the threat?

If you do not live in a nut free home, odds are your child is bringing some sort of nut contamination to school. My daughter's school has a no food sharing policy. I would hope the parents of children with allergies are also warning their kids not to eat other children's lunches. You can never be too careful, and even if we are ensuring we buy ready-made products from peanut free facilities, our homes are likely the place where most contamination will occur.

I have another friend whose son is allergic to soy. She says she spends so much time reading labels in the grocery store, and sometimes still comes home with something he cannot eat. Soy is in everything. You would think the solution would be to avoid all processed food, but good luck with that. This means making your own bread, your own crackers, your own lunch meat, and your own chocolate. Almost all commercial chocolate contains soy lecithin. Like I said, soy is in everything, and if you have a sensitivity to it, you are in for a challenging life.

She said recipes for products change often. She bought 25 boxes of Ritz Cheddar flavoured crackers because they were soy free. When they went back to buy more crackers, the new ones contained soy. HoneyMaid graham crackers were soy free once, but not anymore. They rarely go out for dinner because many restaurants use margarine made with soybean oil.

Her son does not want to go trick or treating this year because he cannot eat 99% of the candy he receives. His siblings gave him all their soy free candy last year, which consists mainly of Skittles. Even sugary candy has soy. Other nuts sold in the grocery store, are tossed in soybean oil. He has to eat peanuts in the shell to avoid soy.

Food allergies are tough to deal with, but it seems unfair when you are allergic to an ingredient that is not essential to making a whole food product. Often soy is used because it is the inexpensive oil at the time. Would the taste, texture, and structure of these foods change so much if we did not use soy when making them? We are able to make many products in our homes, to avoid allergies, but sometimes even base products, such as margarine, breadcrumbs, and chocolat, (or hummus) contain allergens we do not realize.

Food preparation is becoming more of a challenge these days. And, you have to not only consider your family, but anyone you decide to cook for. How goes your attempts at allergen free cooking?

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/Dessert/recipe.html?dishid=12872

I have included a link to Michael Smith's Allergen Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, but he does not consider soy or coconut allergies. I find gluten and lactose free tend to be the buzz words in allergies, after nuts.

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