I cooked with Chef Curtis Stone! I’m still trying to let that sink in.  Check me out on season one, episode two of the new cooking show “Cooking With Curtis.” The show’s focus is to create a meal for a deserving person in your life. We prepared wine-braised short ribs, carrot puree, and pommes dauphinoise (a creamy and cheesy potato) for my boyfriend Laron who always supports me in my quest to find food allergy friendly foods. The entire experience was phenomenal. As we prepared the delicious meal in the test kitchen above Curtis’s Gwen restaurant in Los Angeles, we discussed my journey w ..read more

Written by Joana Hoffman In the U.S., a striking number of people suffer from serious food allergies. The Big 9 — milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat, soy and sesame — causes 90% of food allergy reactions. And while allergies to milk, eggs, wheat and soy are frequently outgrown, others remain with you for life. Living with food allergies can be an all-consuming task. Going out to eat, for example, requires asking the chef and/or wait staff a lot of questions. Cooking at home also poses its own challenges; you have to work with a limited number of ingredients to avoid al ..read more

Many people who have food allergies also have asthma, and I am one of them. While some of my food allergies are classified as severe, my asthma is considered mild. I see an allergist regularly, and I always carry an epinephrine auto-injector and inhaler because asthma left uncontrolled, like an allergic reaction to food, increases the risk of severe anaphylaxis. While I regularly write about my experiences with food allergies in this blog, I decided to partner with Med-IQ for this post to help generate awareness around the importance of regular asthma treatment. Med-IQ is an accredited me ..read more

I can hardly believe that it’s been five years since I started this blog. And in that time, I’ve interviewed world-renowned chefs like Chef Ming Tsai and Chef David Rose, shared helpful quizzes, reviewed trendy and food allergy friendly restaurants across the United States, and more! I’ve also been featured on CNN.com, and I’ve written a couple of articles for SELF. Through this time, my mission has remained the same: to educate people about food allergies and normalize living with food allergies to the best of my ability. One of the questions that I’ve consistently been asked is: How did you ..read more

Written by Susana Bradford Anyone who prepares meals for family members with food allergies knows just how important it is to find sources for high-quality, allergy-safe foods. But it can also be tough to find affordable foods that can fit your budget, especially when there is more than one family member with food allergies, as is often the case. But don’t give up. With some planning, research and creativity in the kitchen, you’ll keep everyone happy, well fed and loving the allergy-safe meals you come up with. There’s a world of great choices out there One of the best pieces of advice for eas ..read more

If you’re anything like me, Instagram has become one of your leading sources of outreach and advocacy. In the food allergy community, there are so many of us sharing our stories online, hoping to make someone’s life a little bit easier. Recently, I went on a deep dive of the people who I follow on IG, and I thought it might be helpful to share some of my favorite profiles in the food allergy community:  @NoDairyNoCry  No Dairy No Cry No Dairy No Cry is a blog that focuses on dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, cashew, and beef free recipes for those looking for delicious, but safe fo ..read more

When a company touts “no nuts,” they get my full attention. 88 Acres is a Boston-based allergen-friendly food company that specializes in bars and butters with whole seeds. All of their products are produced in a bakery that is free of peanuts, tree nuts, gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, and sesame.  I recently had the pleasure to sample some of their products. All were delicious, but my hands-down favorite was the Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Seed’Nola because it’s chocolate — I am a self-confessed chocoholic. And, I love the shape — the granola is molded into crunchy clust ..read more

The pandemic has been the most stressful year of my life. I remember waking up every morning from March through June with a pit of dread in my stomach, worrying about what I would read in the news that day. My anxiety about the pandemic was off the charts.  However, one small silver lining about the last year is that I haven’t had to worry at all about my son’s food allergies. He’s been at home — in first-grade distance learning — since March 2020 and has eaten all meals at home. While I still read every food packaging label from the groceries I buy, and we always have to remember to brin ..read more

My Perfect Cupcake: A Recipe for Thriving with Food Allergies by Rebecca Greene tells the story of a young boy with a tree nut allergy who sets out on a mission to bake the perfect cupcakes for his school class. This book is the debut title in Rebecca’s food allergy book series, The Fearless Food Allergy Friends, which is based on her own son’s experience coping with his food allergies. Not only is the story extremely relatable to anyone who has dealt with food allergies at any age, but the book also features ethnically diverse characters and beautiful colorful illustrations. This is a must-re ..read more

I had the pleasure of speaking with Kimberly Chamberland, co-owner and founder of Big Mountain Foods, a Vancouver-based manufacturer that produces plant-based and allergen-free foods. Founded in 1987, Big Mountain Foods prides itself on utilizing real and fresh ingredients in all of their products. Each item is certified vegan; gluten-, nut- and soy-free; and non-GMO verified. Additionally, the company is female-owned and the workforce is 90% female. Naturally, I was eager to speak with Kimberly and learn more about the amazing work that her company is doing for the food allergy community. Ch ..read more