French Fries? Yeah, probably can’t eat that.
With food sensitivities or allergies, we tend to avoid a food without even looking or asking someone because we assume that it has an ingredient we can’t eat. We often don’t even try because you haven’t been able to eat it in the past or can’t eat another product from the same brand. So, we just walk away without even looking at the ingredients because it’s a product we normally can’t have when without even knowing it, we could be missing out on all this delicious food.
How many times have you driven past a bakery or even went inside with a friend just looking at the foods and assume you can’t eat any of it so you don’t even bother asking and walk away empty handed? You’re just like, “oh a bakery, yeah probably not gluten free; probably not safe to eat.” But, the reality is you don’t even know unless you ask or look for ingredients.
Pretty much everyday I find a new food item I can eat; something I assumed I couldn’t because it’s fries so it’s probably cooked in canola oil or I can’t have this item from this brand so I probably can’t have that. There’s so many foods I just assumed I couldn’t eat and become shocked when I find out I actually can. For instance, my sister had a Kid Cuisine that’s been sitting in the freezer for months, so I was like, “if she’s not gonna eat it, then I will.” That made me question if I could eat the Kid Cuisine mac n’ cheese, and to my surprise I could eat everything including the brownie. So I ate it mainly because it was something I could eat. With all honesty, it wasn’t that good and I wouldn’t choose to buy it, but I was able to consume the meal.
Another example is chips. You would think with a canola oil sensitivity, that there isn’t any chips I could eat, knowing that I can’t eat Doritos, Cheetos, Lays…etc. But, that’s not the case. Besides the natural and organic chips that I knew I could eat because they use sunflower oil, I just assumed that any regular chips I couldn’t eat because I can’t have chips like Lays so I don’t even bother looking at the ingredients. But, recently we purchased Utz no salt chips for my dad and out of curiosity I looked at the ingredients. Turns out I can eat them because they use cottonseed oil, which means I can eat any kind of Utz chip, when this whole time I’ve been avoiding chips or buying an organic kind knowing most brands use canola oil. I never even bothered looking at ingredients of other chip brands. If I wasn’t trying to eat healthy, I would buy every different kind of chip that Utz has to offer. Why? Because it’s “normal” food that I can actually eat.
A third great experience and example would be being out on vacation. Last year, we were at Universal and we were in the Simpson part of the park looking for something to eat for lunch. There’s those connecting fast food restaurant area in the Simpson section that we stopped to get food. Not being able to see any of the ingredients for the fast food or really there being anyone to ask, I played it safe and didn’t get anything. However, they had fresh and healthy food/snacks you can grab like fruit, yogurt, and vegetables. So, I grabbed some of those and my dad, trying to help was like, “what about pretzels?” I was like, “no, I can’t eat pretzels. They have oil in them.” I just assumed I couldn’t eat them, but my dad still looked at the ingredients anyways and to my surprise, I could actually eat them. Turns out I can eat Rold Gold pretzels, so I got a bag of pretzels. Thanks dad!
All these examples and finding foods I can eat makes me wonder what other foods I can eat that I just assumed I couldn’t and didn’t even bother looking at the ingredients or asking someone. How many foods am I missing out on because I was like, “yeah, probably can’t eat it?” Moral of the story is, you never know if you can actually eat something unless you try and actually look at the ingredients. Never just assume that you can’t eat something. You’ll be surprised on what you’ll find that you’ll be able to safely eat. You’ll most likely find something new everyday. Always check the ingredients!
Nicole's Story 