I can’t believe I’ve been missing out on all this…
Wow! What an experience to live without food sensitivities after 4 years. All the wonderful foods I can eat, eating at restaurants, not really looking at ingredients. It truly is all so life changing and such a weird, new, crazy experience.
I’m able to enjoy foods at restaurants without mentioning my list of food sensitivities, which is insane! For those who don’t know, at 21, I developed food sensitivities to canola oil and soy lecithin. Now, at almost 25, I’ve managed to get rid of my soy lecithin sensitivity and weaken my canola oil sensitivity. So, when I order food at restaurants, I still mention that I can’t have canola oil, but no longer have to worry about soy lecithin, which is just crazy to me on it’s own. I’m discovering all these different meals from restaurants that I can actually eat at. All of which actually don’t use canola oil, which means I’ve could’ve eaten some food from there to begin with. But there’s so many new restaurants and food options that I’m discovering that I’m able to enjoy.
I’m no longer afraid to try new foods or eat from a restaurant. The other day, I had KFC! I did hold back on the fried chicken to try other, “safer” foods first to test it out. I was able to eat their Mac N’ Cheese, biscuits, and a chocolate chip cookie, which is pretty cool and awesome that I can at least get one meal from a restaurant like KFC known for fried chicken. The real test for my canola oil sensitivity would be eating some fried chicken or even a chicken bowl. Maybe one day I’ll be brave enough to try those, but at least now I know that I can have some Mac N’ Cheese, biscuits, and cookies and narrow it down one food item at a time.
Another cool restaurant experience was Five Guys. Knowing that I can already eat their fries because they use peanut oil, I was not worried about the fries, but it was the milkshakes I was unsure about. I’ve always only gotten a strawberry milkshake to be safe, but this time, I was able to enjoy an Oreo milkshake, which was very delicious and I’m so glad I tried it. It was so exciting to try something new and to be able to handle it knowing that I can get it again and I’m looking forward to trying other flavors.
A third example would be Dairy Queen and Dominos. I’ve had problems with Dairy Queen in the past and even their plan ice cream has bothered me; I had a problem each time I got something from Dairy Queen. But this time, I got strawberry ice cream with chocolate pieces in it and had zero reaction, which leads me to believe that I can eat any ice cream my heart desires from DQ! Then, another day, my sister brought home some of her leftover fries and I ate those as well, with absolutely no problems, which canola oil was listed as a “may contain” ingredient. Then, at Dominos, I was able to eat anything even their lava cakes, which also listed canola oil as an ingredient. So, that’s pretty insane to be able to eat anything from 2 restaurants I haven’t been able to enjoy from in the past including food items that list canola oil as an ingredient or possibility.
Besides from restaurant food, it’s very cool to be able to enjoy “regular” non-allergy friendly/organic foods that I haven’t been able to enjoy in 4 years. The other day I ate a sandwich with regular Sara Lee bread, which I couldn’t eat because of the soy lecithin in it, so it’s very cool and exciting to know that I can eat regular bread that isn’t bakery bread or gluten free or something different. With the fall season, I can have caramel now, which has soy lecithin in it, so I can have caramel apples, even the apples with chocolate on them, and the caramel apple lollipops. I can have gum again because gum has soy lecithin in it so I’ve been avoiding it. I can enjoy so many different candies and treats that I haven’t been able to enjoy. I can have Pop Tarts, Little Bites, and Chewy Bars again. There’s just so many foods, old and new, that I had to stop eating or wasn’t able to try that I can eat once again or enjoy for the first time.
It’s so cool, exciting, new, and life changing to eat all these new foods or foods that I haven’t been able to eat now that my sensitivities are gone, or less strong, or going away. To the average person, this means nothing and they may have not realized all the foods that I haven’t been able to enjoy with my food sensitivities. But, to me, this is crazy, insane, so weird for everything to change, go away, and not have to worry about what I eat, look at the ingredients, ask restaurants what oil they use or what I can/can’t eat, which I had to do for the past 4 years. I’m excited for all the new foods I will be able to enjoy, everything new I will discover that I can eat, and just living life worry-free and enjoying food. Here’s to my new life!
Nicole's Story 