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Food Babe Travel Essentials – Eating outside your home!

Writing these tips make me laugh considering I just got back from Europe – where I went on a major bender. Letting very loose in Italy! We ate everything. Multi course meals twice a day. Lots of great pasta, pizza, desserts & lots of gelato – all incredible dishes and not a single bad meal. Usually I would always order my pizza back home with a 1/3 less cheese, but somehow I didn’t quite make the effort to translate that to the Italians. Must have been something in those Tuscan grapes!

Pizza with just the right amount of cheese at Pizzeria Trattoria All’Anfora in Venice.

Gelato at every turn. You can

Regardless of my recent lack of self control, these tips below are really ingrained in the way I live and are second nature to me. Balance is key, you can’t live your whole life with a drill sergeant going off in your head. Following these principles allow me to stay fit and healthy while still enjoying a great meal out.

 

1. Try to only eat out for special occasions or when you can afford to go to a good quality restaurant. This makes it special and why would you want to go out to spend money on food that isn’t nutritionally good for you? If you are going to eat junk – make it at home from scratch to minimize the damage on your health. Even when you are traveling, you don’t have to eat every meal out – consider eating breakfast in your hotel room or stopping by a grocery store and picking up some things for a picnic at lunchtime.

Fruit & Veggie stand we found walking through a square in Venice. I bought some apples for breakfast and lemons for hot water in the mornings.

 

Awesome little market in Positano – I bought some crushed red pepper from here, it’s so much hotter than the stuff you get here in the US.

2. Order a salad for the first course with dressing & cheese on the side – this helps alkaline the body and get your digestive enzymes working to help digest your food easier. If the menu doesn’t indicate what kind of lettuce is used – ask and then request all mixed greens, arugula or romaine – tell them to leave the iceberg out! (there are no nutrients in iceberg). Do not pour the dressing on your salad, simply dip your fork in the dressing before each bite!

3. Quiz the server to see which dish they think is the most healthy– The server has probably seen all dishes brought out one time or another and can tell you if your fish is swimming in butter or covered in cream sauce.

This fish looks like it is swimming in butter, but it’s not! This is dover sole and baby artichokes I ordered while dining at Al Covo in Venice, Italy. Al Covo prides themself on not adding any additional fats or oils when cooking their seafood. AMAZING.

4. Go as far as telling the server you allergic to butter and dairy, soy and corn. Butter really isn’t bad for you if it is organic and you use it in moderation – but restaurants can go crazy with it adding several hundred extra calories you can live without. Instead the chef can use olive oil to grill vegetables or fish. Soy and corn oil are the cheapest oils available so many restaurants use them. These cheap oils contain an overdose of Omega 6 fatty acids in your body and are probably not organic and have been genetically modified. When you have too much Omega 6 fatty acids and not enough Omega 3, your body goes out of wack, which is why the typical American is Omega 3 deficient and why you see everything being supplemented with Omega 3 now. Americans are getting too many corn products throwing off the balance!

Update: I know this advice can be controversial, but as someone who has suffered from some of the worst allergies, have been hospitalized and have taken prescription drugs to control them, I take avoiding GMOs very seriously. When I removed GMOs from my diet, eating a majority of whole, unprocessed foods, my allergies improved and was able to stop taking several prescription medications to control them. 

How GMOs can increase exposure to allergies (see links for scientific studies, summaries and source data):

  • GMOs introduced novel proteins into our food supply that have the potential to be allergenic, and this is getting increased scrutiny by regulators.
  • “Of particular interest is the ability of proteins from GMOs to elicit potentially harmful immunologic responses, including allergic hypersensitivity. The lack of information of the potential toxicity of these products suggests a need to identify the critical issues and research needs regarding these materials and to develop testing strategies to examine the allergenicity of these compounds”.
  • According to the National Academy of Sciences, “Safety of Genetically Engineered Foods: Approaches to Assessing Unintended Health Consequences”:
  • “Foods produced through agricultural biotechnology may result in the expression of proteins new to the human diet. Some of these new proteins may induce an allergic response to sensitive members of the population.
  • “The nature of the compositional change merits greater consideration than the method used to achieve the change, for example, the magnitude of additions or deletions of specific constituents and modifications that may result in an unintended adverse effect, such as enhanced allergenic potential”.
  • Mice fed Bt-toxin showed significant immune responses… the Bt caused their immune system to become sensitive to formerly harmless compounds. This suggests that exposure might make a person allergic to a wide range of substances”.
  • “Bt proteins could act as antigenic and allergenic sourcesU.S. EPA
  • “Hundreds of agricultural workers are developing moderate or severe allergic reactions when exposed to Bt cotton. This includes those picking cotton, loading it, cleaning it, or even leaning against it. Some at a ginning factory must take antihistamines daily, in order to go to work. Reactions are only triggered with the Bt varieties…Cottonseed is also used for cottonseed oil—used in many processed foods in the US.”
  • “The UK is one of the few countries that conducts a yearly evaluation of food allergies. In March 1999, researchers at the York Laboratory were alarmed to discover that reactions to soy had skyrocketed by 50% over the previous year. Genetically modified soy had recently entered the UK from US imports and the soy used in the study was largely GM. John Graham, spokesman for the York laboratory, said, “We believe this raises serious new questions about the safety of GM foods”.
  • “Another study verified that GM soybeans contain a unique, unexpected protein, not found in non-GM soy controls. Moreover, scientist tested the protein and determined that it reacted with the antibody called IgE. This antibody in human blood plays a key role in a large proportion of allergic reactions, including those that involve life-threatening anaphylactic shock. The fact that the unique protein created by GM soy interacted with IgE suggests that it might also trigger allergies. The same researchers measured the immune response of human subjects to soybeans using a skin-prick test—an evaluation used often by allergy doctors. Eight subjects showed a reaction to GM soy; but one of these did not also react to non-GM soy. Although the sample size is small, the implication that certain people react only to GM soy is huge, and might account for the increase in soy allergies in the UK.”
  • “GM soy was introduced into the US food supply in late 1996. We are left only to wonder whether this had an influence on the doubling of US peanut allergies from 1997 to 2002”.

 

5. Don’t order the meat unless you know it’s organic, if there are no organic choices – fish is better, but not farmed salmon, which is fed corn and dyed pink! Try a bean dish and mostly veggies. Goat cheese can add protein on your salad.

6. Before you order the soup – ask if it’s homemade or if it contains additives. Sometime last year it was a cold rainy day and I live right across from a gourmet food shop called “Dean and Deluca” – all of their soups sounded amazing and I wanted some soooo bad – but then I asked for the list ingredients and I was shocked! They get their soups premade from Sysco – a huge manufacture of processed foods. The first ingredient was Soy Oil and it contained MSG. MSG has so many negative side effects that I won’t go into here – google it – you’ll be shocked too. Another lesson here is not be fooled by fancy packaging and marketing – they are trying to dupe you in to paying more for the same quality food at fast food restaurants.

7. Drink hot water with lemon during your meal or hot decaf green or ginger tea – this helps digestion as you eat. Jugging any liquid during your meal slows down digestion which isn’t good – because you could easily feel the bubble gut – my word for the dreading bloating & gassy feel after a large meal with lots of drinks! Drink a large glass of water before you eat about 20 mins before or wait after for about 30 minutes to 1 hour after.

8. Mix and match – not seeing anything you like on the menu? Check out the specifics for each dish and ask the waiter to create you a plate. One time I remember I was stuck in an airport with one food option – Ruby Tuesdays! They had fresh guacamole served with chips and another platter that had shrimp. I asked them kindly to make me a plate of Grilled Shrimp and large scoop of that guac. It was delicious and satisfying and I made it home without biting the arm of the pilot.

9. Order off the menu – Ask the chef to create something for you – this is especially great at a more established or fancier restaurant where the chef is highly skilled and can test his creativity for you. I remember one time I was at a fancy steak place in a casino for a work function – I don’t eat steak and nothing else really was appealing to me – so I asked the chef to make me a vegetarian plate that only used light olive oil with some whole grains . It was so fabulous that one of my bosses who was sitting right across from me – looked over and said “Wow – I wish I had that.”

10. Create an old standby and build a relationship with the staff – I have my favorite standby restaurant when I am too busy to cook but still want to eat healthy. I’ve gotten to know the staff and they make everything perfect for me every time. At one of my standbys – The sushi chef makes me my roll just how I like it – a special roll with all veggies with no white rice or fatty sauces. He knows that I like my ponzu sauce on the side of my Ahi Tuna Sashmi to control the amount of salt that I eat. I always start with a big bowl of romaine with extra cucumbers and the ginger dressing on the side. They also have great hot green tea! It’s a fail proof meal, I don’t have to worry about it or stress over anything.

11. If you end up eating too much or not the right thing, follow the meal with fresh grapefruit juice. The grapefruit juice will minimize the insulin spike in your body (when insulin spikes rapidly, this releases fat storing hormones). Then take a brisk walk or do 50 air squats about 45 mins after. Some of the extra calories you just consumed will be used up and you’ll be able to sleep better. (I credit this tip to “4 Hour Body” by Tim Ferris – it really works)

This may be the best dessert I’ve ever gotten at a restaurant. 6 miniature creations by the chef at Torre Normade in Maiori.
It’s easy to go overboard when your fork cuts into this little chocolate hazelnut cake to find oozing salted carmel inside.

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109 responses to “Food Babe Travel Essentials – Eating outside your home!

  1. I commend you for your honesty, Vani. It’s almost impossible not to let loose in Italy! Bravo Bella!

    1. Thanks Shelly – So happy you like the posts! Let me know if there are any other topics you’d like to hear about! 🙂

  2. Hey there,

    Glad you had a great trip to Italy! I don’t blame you for allowing yourself free reign in Italy…best food ever. I have lived in Germany for almost 2 years, and the really great thing I find about Europe is not only do they have a ban on GMO’s, almost everyone recycles and anywhere you go out to eat there are minimal dressings, butter etc…everything taste pretty much home made. The nutritional quality of food here and all over Europe, in my opinion, is quite substantial! I think I might starve when I go back to the US. Food quality is just different between the two continents. Cheers, Katelyn

    1. LOL – I know, when we travel overseas now – especially to Europe, we get so excited about not having to worry about every little detail so much! The food is 100 times better. Even in Asia, everything is so fresh and delicious!

      1. You MUST get to Izmir, Turkey…..the food there (and really anywhere in Turkey) is fantastic! We lived there for 22 years and always ate healthy at restaurants locally and while traveling throughout the country and at home! The weekly markets are a super array of the freshest seasonal fruits and veggies!
        Now we live in N. Italy 1 hour from Venice and I can say that though eating IS delicious and fun here, we still DO prefer Turkish food!

  3. Hey- great post! I love the tip about just saving until you know you have enough to go to a healthy restaurant! About ice burg lettuce it does have some nutrients just not the same ones or as much as the darker green lettuces. So you could have them throw a little ice burg in! Nutritional value of one cup of iceberg lettuce
    8 calories
    0.5 grams protein
    0.7 gram of fiber
    10 mg calcium
    78 mg potassium
    4.5 mg vitamin C
    16 mcg folate
    13.3 mcg of vitamin K
    164 mcg beta carotene
    152 mcg of lutein and Zeaxanthin

  4. Actually, telling people in a restaurant that you have allergies like that is a pretty crappy thing to do– because it isn’t a matter of just not putting it in the food. If you tell them that, they must go into the kitchen and prepare your entire meal with new/ unused dishes, pots, pans, knives etc. on a surface none of those things has touched! My husband has worked in the catering business, and hearing that is pretty much a sure fire way to screw up their night (and yours– it takes twice as long to get your food typically, because of the prep).

      1. About what part? I know not everyone thinks its a crappy thing to do, but that is protocol for any public food service when someone even whispers “allergies”. If you were given double the workload for some reason, just because they have some superstition or idea ( such as someone thinks having food in the same pan that butter has been in makes them fat or it’s impossible to just say “no butter/ dairy on my dish please”) would you be ok with it then?

      2. About what part?

        I know not everyone minds making someone’s job and life that much harder, just because they are afraid to eat, but it’s so much simpler just to say “please no butter/ dairy on my dish”.

        …And false sweetners/ saccharine are something you are against I thought I read.

      3. saying you have food allergies when you don’t makes it harder for those of us that really DO deal with life threatening allergies. This is not a game we are playing so quit using it as an excuse to get special treatment. those of us that live with it every day deal with backlash when people do the things you are suggesting.

    1. I disagree too, I used to be a cook and never, ever felt that way. I have celiacs disease and it’s hard enough to be taken seriously. Any contamination can make me seriously ill for days and have to miss work for at least three days. If they find it too much work to put their customers first I would say they are in the wrong business. Maybe you should name the place so people can be sure to avoid it with their food preferences.

      1. It’s simple to call out those with allergies and those who are high-maintenance; my kitchen is one long room. Flour and nuts are used in that room. If you *actually* have an allergy you won’t eat there; NOT because we don’t clean or take precautions, but because if you *actually* have an allergy you know it’s a dangerous environment for you. We know when you are bluffing, trust.

  5. Hazelnuts are produced in commercial quantities in Turkey, Italy, Greece, Georgia, in south of the Spanish region of Catalonia, in the UK county of Kent and in the American states of Oregon and Washington. Turkey is the largest producer of hazelnuts in the world with approximately 75% of worldwide production.*

    View the newest post on our personal blog page
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    1. I have had both Turkish and Italian Hazelnuts and others and NOTHING will ever compare to the super taste of the Turkish ones!

  6. Little Green Pouch is a neat option you might consider to bring premade smoothies or other puréed foods and sauces.

  7. This is a great article and as a former server, yes, say it is an allergy because that is the only way to know 100% it will not be added.

    I live in Europe and the one thing I would add is to learn to say (or have it written down) your modifications in the native language. And even if you can say dressing on the side, it may still be very confusing for the server (as I learned in Croatia last week).

    We also traveled to Venice last week and overate pizza, gelato, and best of all, ordered off the menu (amazing thing to do, they are proud of their food and do it right). We gave our server the green light to make any healthy fish dish. But in the am, we would buy fresh berries from vendors on the street. And snack on fresh fruit from little markets throughout the day.

    But the best part about traveling in Europe is the food and not having to worry much about extra ‘bad’ stuff being added.

    Thank you for this article!

  8. Thank you for #7! I am originally from Ukraine, but I live in the US now. I get looks and laughs when I don’t drink cold water with ice with my meal. It is as if I am not educated, that’s the impression I get. Even though in Eastern Europe, it is a tradition to drink after your meal and normally drink warm tea; I follow this rule based on the very reason you’ve described.

  9. Food allergies are nothing to lie about. You’re doing a tremendous disservice to any person who suffers from often life-threatening food allergies.

    You win for World’s Worst Diner. Glad you don’t eat out often, you should like a terrible human and customer.

    1. Wow! That is kind of harsh, I have food allergies and think she is making it safer for all of us. A food allergy is when something does not agree with your body and I think that is up to everyone to distinguish what is harmful to their body. It may not always be an extreme reaction but still may harm your body. I have found that I can eat corn and soy but they give me heartburn, is that enough to say I am allergic? I choose not to eat them. I think it is great to ask for what you want when you are paying for food, not just eat blindly whatever they put in front of you.

      1. No Sharon what you are describing is an intolerance. A bit of heartburn and reflux is not an allergy. A true allergy is an autoimmune process that can, in extreme cases lead to anaphylaxis and death from airway swelling.
        I think you are doing true allergy sufferers a disservice by comparing your mild symptoms to their frightening and life threatening symptoms.

      2. Foot allergies can be deadly. Food intolerance, not so much. Huge difference.

    2. I agree, claiming allergies when it’s a preference is causing mayhem in restaurants now. I rarely eat out because of situations like when I went to Red Robin and asked for gluten free fries, and the waitress sighed and asked “preference or allergy?” I explained it was an allergy, along with the egg, garlic, dairy, nuts, etc etc. I was quite specific on what I wanted which was simple….a chicken breast seasoned only with salt, a salad with the veggies I could have, and as usual I brought my own condiments. Thanks to people who claim allergies and make it hard on servers, guess who ended up sicker than a dog later? We aren’t being believed, people! I have taken to carrying my test results in order to prove I’m not one of YOU people. Have some respect!!! I cringe with every road trip I take, knowing it’s going to be a crap shoot.

      1. Thank you! My “gluten-free by choice” friends piss me off to no end. No matter how I phrase it they cannot comprehend that what they’re doing actually makes it harder on people with Celiac’s disease, some of whom are also our friends.

  10. really lying to get what you want many people have actual food allergies that might kill them if ingested so i listen very closely when someone tells me they are allergic to something and even go back to the kitchen and read ingredients. you just wasted my time that i could be giving to another customer

  11. Are you seriously telling people to fake food allergies? You know there are people who have such severe allergies that they can die from them, correct? And that the kitchen has to be very careful any time a person claims allergies, because they don’t want to actually kill someone as opposed to just *gasp* making them eat butter! You are minimizing a very difficult and dangerous condition that many parents and children have to deal with and it’s completely irresponsible. Shame on you.

  12. I’m very careful about ordering soups in a restaurant. My daughter works in a restaurant that is known for using fresh ingredients. One day when she was visiting us, she saw that I was going to throw away some tomatoes and carrots and celery that were past their prime. She asked if she could take them with her to work to put in their soup. Now, these vegetables had been in the crisper way too long and I would never eat them. I asked her if they used old foods often and she said they save all their foods like this for their soups. Needless to say, I didn’t give her the veggies and I also don’t ever eat soup out anymore.

    1. I know this is a very late comment, but veggies that are simply “past their prime” are great candidates for soup rather than wasting them by throwing them away. Now, if they’re moldy, the yes…toss them. However, if they’re just a little wilty or soft, they’re still perfectly safe and will make a great soup.

  13. Thanks for the great advice. I would strongly urge you not to say you have a food allergy if you don’t. My daughter recently was diagnosed with life threatening food allergies. This is extremely different than a food preference. I literally put my daughter’s health in the hands of a restaurant and I trust they will take it seriously. By others claiming they have a food allergy when they don’t I worry it would make the claim seem less important. Though I fully understand you’re strong desire to avoid some of these very unhealthy ingredients. Thank you, love all of your great info. Thank you for helping me clean up my family’s diet!

  14. When I was reading about your dining experiences in Italy I was nodding my head in agreement. Loved all the food I ate there and I too indulged in gelato while there. All the food I consumed was delizioso! I am from Greece and I agree with you and some of the previous posters about how food in Europe not only tastes better but you really don’t have to worry as much about consuming “frankenfood”. I live in the U.S. now and I love this country very much but I am concerned about how food is manufactured here. Unfortunately as things stand it’s mostly up to the consumer to try and become better informed about the foods that we eat and to also try and make healthier choices. Some times it’s easier said then done but if someone wants to make a change they will do it. Again thank you for the great tips!

  15. Wow! I just had a question about the ponzu sauce. I know to stay away form soy and doesn’t ponzu sauce have soy in it?
    Thanks

  16. To all those ragging on Vani for saying she has allergies shame on you! My father is extremely sensitive to cheese. He has told his servers many times no cheese in his dish but out it comes with cheese! So he finally had to say he was allergic to cheese to get people to stop putting it in his food. Some years later he developed a severe lactose intolerance and now can have no dairy. You should be able to eat the food you ordered with confidence that it won’t make you sick. Especially with the prices of eating out.

    1. What your father has is an intolerance not a food allergy. The people who are commenting here are talking about being so allergic to something that it causes the throat to swell shut and anaphylaxis in which the body goes into shock and the person can die. I myself have food intolerance to milk that can make me sick and land me in hospital. I also have an allergy to walnuts. Eating a walnut (or even having a piece touch my tongue can kill me. I have an epi pen and ended almost dying once because I ate a piece of brownie ( I didn’t know it had walnuts). There is a huge difference between an intolerance and allergy. One can make you sick the other can kill. If people get the idea that people are just trying to avoid food they don’t want by saying they are allergic the restaurant may get the idea that everyone is faking….people who really do have a life threatening food allergy AND yes people like your father who can get very sick.

  17. As someone who absolutely cannot eat certain foods and a former cook I think the more educated restaurants, cooks, and servers become about allergies the better. I would rather eat at a place that has training and practice in allergies. The more they do it the less likely to make mistakes when it comes to serious allergies. And the more options there will be. I can’t believe how selfish and ignorant people are in their need for attention and special-ness.

  18. All of you people need to lay off the allergy criticism. If you are paying, especially as stated in a pricey restaurant, you have the right to order what you want. Period.

    1. that is fine order what you want but don’t cry wolf with an allergy .. just be honest. if it’s not what you want when it comes send it back.

    2. It goes deeper than that!!! When you have a child that can die from a bits of a particular food or trace of that food, you’d think differently.

    3. I don’t agree. When you dine at a pricey restaurant (Bib Gourmand and up), you pay for a good, well balanced and thought out meal. Courses that work well together and are well balanced to each other. The chef spend much time and effort to build up a menu. Ordering off the menu is like buying a Van Gogh’s sunflowers and repainting them to look more like daisies, just because you like those flowers better. It’s an insult to the artist.

      It’s a different story when you have a allergies, but even in that case you cannot demand everything. Sometimes you just have to accept you can’t eat everywhere.

  19. As a person with non-life threatening allergies, I can tell you, the more exposure you receive, the more severe your reaction becomes. For years, I would ask servers to leave tomatoes off my meals (I have a non-life threatening allergy to them), it never failed, my meal came out with tomatoes OR I would see/taste remnants of tomato because they were added to my meal then PICKED off before it came to me. After my husband got tired of me fighting yet another rash, he started telling the servers I’m allergic. Now I receive no tomatoes. When I’m paying minimum $20 for a plate of food, I expect it to not have picked off remnants of an item I asked not to have- allergy or no. I have friends who will simply vomit from the taste of something, no allergy, the taste is just that disgusting to them. Would you prefer to be the server that has to clean that up?

    1. I hate onions and when i order and the description says onions i ask for no onions. I say please no onions i hate onions cant stand the taste and 90% of the time its fine. And when it doe. I simply inform the server politely and ask if theu can fix it .

  20. If you have celiac’s, then you should know that this is horribly irresponsible advice. Think about it for a second. The more people promote the “just say you have an allergy” advice, the more it reinforces the idea some people have that people just claim allergies because they don’t want to eat anything. But if you’re happy to run the risk that someone’s going to figure “oh, people just say celiac’s when they really just mean they’re picky. It’s just a little flour, she’ll be fine,” then go right ahead and keep backing this self-centered little suggestion. Clearly the Food Babe doesn’t care, but it’s surprising that someone actually affected by this would be so unconcerned.

  21. Very honest and great tips for travel. I lost 10 lbs while travelling in Italy and eating all those goodies! Walked a lot and used Careot App to assess what I eat. Your advice on drinking hot water is spot on. I’ve been doing that for years and have benefited too!

  22. Love your info and flow you but ease rethink encouraging people to claim a good allergy. As a parent of two kids with REAL food allergies this disappoints me. Encouraging complacency and annoyance in the food industry regarding food allergies puts those of us with real health concerns at risk. Thanks!

  23. ARE YOU KIDDING ME:
    4. Go as far as telling the server you allergic to butter and dairy, soy and corn. Butter really isn’t bad for you if it is organic and you use it in moderation – but restaurants can go crazy with it adding several hundred extra calories you can live without. Instead the chef can use olive oil to grill vegetables or fish. Soy and corn oil are the cheapest oils available so many restaurants use them. These cheap oils contain an overdose of Omega 6 fatty acids in your body and are probably not organic and have been genetically modified. When you have too much Omega 6 fatty acids and not enough Omega 3, your body goes out of wack, which is why the typical American is Omega 3 deficient and why you see everything being supplemented with Omega 3 now. Americans are getting too many corn products throwing off the balance!

    THOSE WITH ACTUAL ALLERGIES WILL BE DISMISSED WITH THIS KIND OF ENCOURAGEMENT. MY CHILD WITH A TRUE ANA TO PEANUTS WILL BE DISMISSED! HOW DARE YOU PROMOTE SOMETHING LIKE THIS. IT IS A TRUE SHAME

    1. Here’s my response to the article you read. Tiffany – I appreciate this blog for the work you are doing (I personally have allergies, eczema and asthma!), but, let me ask you – Who is to say GMO soybean, corn and dairy (fed GMO corn, soy and pumped with growth hormone) is not making us as a critical mass allergic to food? Especially considering the amount of harmful pesticides sprayed on it? My advice was concerning avoiding GMOs when eating out – something I do and stand by. It was one strategy offered in several suggestions, out of a list of many travel and eating out tips, being blown out of proportion. I take my health extremely serious, but unfortunately, in my experience (and indicative of some of the comments here) some restaurants and servers don’t understand the requests you make, unless it’s black and white. I have made it my mission to inform restaurant servers why I avoid GMOs when I can – but not everyone has the time or ability or know-how to do that. No one should have to eat this toxic food over other choices if they are available. I know this advice can be controversial – but so is the astronomical amount of disease in this country. As I stated above, I also have severe allergies (as well as my husband and members of my family) and don’t take that issue lightly at all! Especially having to rush family members to hospitals before in life threatening situations. Hope this helps explain the thoughts behind my suggestion in the post you referenced. Bringing your own food to movie theaters is very controversial as well. Hiding it in my purse could be considered lying – but I am not willing to eat what’s offered and I’m ok morally with that decision. Some people may not be – and that’s ok to me – we all have the right to make our own choices and I chose health first.

  24. I don’t agree with lying about food allergies. I sometimes wonder if people take my husband’s food allergies seriously when he orders since his are weird ones. I worry that people will think he just doesn’t like those particular foods and this contributes to that problem. Don’t lie about food allergies. Just be honest and tell them you don’t want XYZ on your food. Not to mention, places that do take allergies seriously might go to great lengths to make sure your meal doesn’t possibly come into contact with a certain ingredient, which is completely unnecessary, wasting their time and energy. (Hu Hot for example cleans the grill really well before grilling your meal if you have allergies) So wrong!

    1. Here’s my response to the article you read. Tiffany – I appreciate this blog for the work you are doing (I personally have allergies, eczema and asthma!), but, let me ask you – Who is to say GMO soybean, corn and dairy (fed GMO corn, soy and pumped with growth hormone) is not making us as a critical mass allergic to food? Especially considering the amount of harmful pesticides sprayed on it? My advice was concerning avoiding GMOs when eating out – something I do and stand by. It was one strategy offered in several suggestions, out of a list of many travel and eating out tips, being blown out of proportion. I take my health extremely serious, but unfortunately, in my experience (and indicative of some of the comments here) some restaurants and servers don’t understand the requests you make, unless it’s black and white. I have made it my mission to inform restaurant servers why I avoid GMOs when I can – but not everyone has the time or ability or know-how to do that. No one should have to eat this toxic food over other choices if they are available. I know this advice can be controversial – but so is the astronomical amount of disease in this country. As I stated above, I also have severe allergies (as well as my husband and members of my family) and don’t take that issue lightly at all! Especially having to rush family members to hospitals before in life threatening situations. Hope this helps explain the thoughts behind my suggestion in the post you referenced. Bringing your own food to movie theaters is very controversial as well. Hiding it in my purse could be considered lying – but I am not willing to eat what’s offered and I’m ok morally with that decision. Some people may not be – and that’s ok to me – we all have the right to make our own choices and I chose health first.

  25. Shame on you for lying about having food allergies and encouraging your readership to do so as well. This only makes it harder for those of us dealing with try life threatening food allergies to get taken seriously.

    1. Here’s my response to the article you read. Tiffany – I appreciate this blog for the work you are doing (I personally have allergies, eczema and asthma!), but, let me ask you – Who is to say GMO soybean, corn and dairy (fed GMO corn, soy and pumped with growth hormone) is not making us as a critical mass allergic to food? Especially considering the amount of harmful pesticides sprayed on it? My advice was concerning avoiding GMOs when eating out – something I do and stand by. It was one strategy offered in several suggestions, out of a list of many travel and eating out tips, being blown out of proportion. I take my health extremely serious, but unfortunately, in my experience (and indicative of some of the comments here) some restaurants and servers don’t understand the requests you make, unless it’s black and white. I have made it my mission to inform restaurant servers why I avoid GMOs when I can – but not everyone has the time or ability or know-how to do that. No one should have to eat this toxic food over other choices if they are available. I know this advice can be controversial – but so is the astronomical amount of disease in this country. As I stated above, I also have severe allergies (as well as my husband and members of my family) and don’t take that issue lightly at all! Especially having to rush family members to hospitals before in life threatening situations. Hope this helps explain the thoughts behind my suggestion in the post you referenced. Bringing your own food to movie theaters is very controversial as well. Hiding it in my purse could be considered lying – but I am not willing to eat what’s offered and I’m ok morally with that decision. Some people may not be – and that’s ok to me – we all have the right to make our own choices and I chose health first.

  26. I have been a fan for quite some time. But this post, makes me livid!

    4. Go as far as telling the server you allergic to butter and dairy, soy and corn.

    This is AWFUL!!

    My son is diagnosed with REAL LIFE THREATENING ALLERGIES!!! Our community struggles every day to keep our children safe and to make sure others take our allergies SERIOUSLY!!! How can we do that when you promote people to lie about it?!?!

    First time I’ve been disgusted by something you’ve actually said and not something you investigated.

    I think you should issue an apology to the allergy community before we end with our own petition!!!

    1. Here’s my response to the article you read. Tiffany – I appreciate this blog for the work you are doing (I personally have allergies, eczema and asthma!), but, let me ask you – Who is to say GMO soybean, corn and dairy (fed GMO corn, soy and pumped with growth hormone) is not making us as a critical mass allergic to food? Especially considering the amount of harmful pesticides sprayed on it? My advice was concerning avoiding GMOs when eating out – something I do and stand by. It was one strategy offered in several suggestions, out of a list of many travel and eating out tips, being blown out of proportion. I take my health extremely serious, but unfortunately, in my experience (and indicative of some of the comments here) some restaurants and servers don’t understand the requests you make, unless it’s black and white. I have made it my mission to inform restaurant servers why I avoid GMOs when I can – but not everyone has the time or ability or know-how to do that. No one should have to eat this toxic food over other choices if they are available. I know this advice can be controversial – but so is the astronomical amount of disease in this country. As I stated above, I also have severe allergies (as well as my husband and members of my family) and don’t take that issue lightly at all! Especially having to rush family members to hospitals before in life threatening situations. Hope this helps explain the thoughts behind my suggestion in the post you referenced. Bringing your own food to movie theaters is very controversial as well. Hiding it in my purse could be considered lying – but I am not willing to eat what’s offered and I’m ok morally with that decision. Some people may not be – and that’s ok to me – we all have the right to make our own choices and I chose health first.

      1. I get what you are saying Food Babe. You include a lot of great advice and suggestions about eating out and even supply suggestions on what to do if you don’t eat the right foods. What foods are you allergic to and do you carry an epi-pen? Because I know that having asthma puts you at a greater risk of having an anaphylactic response to a food allergy. I do think that you went over board telling people to go so far to claim that they have a food allergy. As a mom who has a child that is allergic to dairy (anaphylactic), soy, corn, and so many other foods that are life threatening, I find your comment trivializes my child’s food allergies. I understand your mission regarding GMO’s and boy, that is just one more concern that I have in addition to the 12 foods that my child is already allergic to – all of this makes life really interesting. I had hoped that following you would help my journey, but if you don’t take food allergies seriously, then I can’t continue. Monitoring food is a BIG part of my life and I know that I need supportive people to help me along in keeping my child safe. I believe that education is the best practice in navigating our food options. I spend countless hours on the computer researching foods, ingredients, and possible places to take my family to eat. When we go out to eat, if it is a new place, I will call first and ask questions about how foods are prepared and then I can make an educated decision if I think we can safely eat at the restaurant or not. When we arrive, I ask to either speak to the manager, chef, or I go into great detail of how a menu item needs to be prepared with the server. Usually if I have called ahead, they are already on board with my requests.. I realize that not everyone can take the time to call ahead and make such inquiries, but if it is that important to you, then I think you should make the time. Shame on you for instructing people who do not have food allergies to claim that they have food allergies. That makes it harder on us who worry if the server really believed us or not. If we have a successful dining out experience then we go back. And when we do have that successful experience, I am on the computer the next day, thanking the restaurant for excellent care. If we do not have a successful experience, I am on the computer the next day, letting the restaurant know what happened. Education, Food Babe, is the appropriate instruction. And, yes, we do take snacks into the movie theatre, because there is NOTHING in the concessions that my child could eat without a trip to the hospital following the administration of the epi-pen. You are right, “we all have the right to make our own choices.” Education without lying is the choice for me.

  27. As a parent of two children with life threatening food allergies, (to eggs, dairy, peanuts) I find it completely irresponsible for you to tell others to say they are allergic. We struggle every day to teach others that a food can kill my child (& I have seen him come close to that after eating something). Just say you don’t want something in your food. No need to lie then put at risk those who do have allergies.

  28. You did a great job of underplaying the life threatening nature of anaphylactic food allergies here. Bravo! Time to educate, and you have the platform to promote change and some good in the world.

    1. Here’s my response to the article you read. Tiffany – I appreciate this blog for the work you are doing (I personally have allergies, eczema and asthma!), but, let me ask you – Who is to say GMO soybean, corn and dairy (fed GMO corn, soy and pumped with growth hormone) is not making us as a critical mass allergic to food? Especially considering the amount of harmful pesticides sprayed on it? My advice was concerning avoiding GMOs when eating out – something I do and stand by. It was one strategy offered in several suggestions, out of a list of many travel and eating out tips, being blown out of proportion. I take my health extremely serious, but unfortunately, in my experience (and indicative of some of the comments here) some restaurants and servers don’t understand the requests you make, unless it’s black and white. I have made it my mission to inform restaurant servers why I avoid GMOs when I can – but not everyone has the time or ability or know-how to do that. No one should have to eat this toxic food over other choices if they are available. I know this advice can be controversial – but so is the astronomical amount of disease in this country. As I stated above, I also have severe allergies (as well as my husband and members of my family) and don’t take that issue lightly at all! Especially having to rush family members to hospitals before in life threatening situations. Hope this helps explain the thoughts behind my suggestion in the post you referenced. Bringing your own food to movie theaters is very controversial as well. Hiding it in my purse could be considered lying – but I am not willing to eat what’s offered and I’m ok morally with that decision. Some people may not be – and that’s ok to me – we all have the right to make our own choices and I chose health first.

      1. Hi Vani,

        Thanks for coming over and responding to our article. I started Scratch or Sniff because I saw a big need for a space for parents of kids with allergies, asthma, and eczema to come together, learn from, and support each other. All of the writers at Scratch or Sniff discussed this topic before Tiffany wrote it, and I think she did a great job of expressing her thoughts and opinions.

        I hear where you’re coming from. I do. However, as someone who regularly calls for transparency and honesty from companies and brands, I would expect that you hold yourself to those same standards. I understand the desire to eat GMO-free, but I cannot reconcile the fact that you’re endangering others by encouraging your readers to lie about a medical condition.

        I wouldn’t go to a restaurant and ask them to lower the music and claim that my child is autistic. I wouldn’t claim that I’m visually impaired and need to sit closer to the band at a concert. I wouldn’t say that I have breast cancer so I could join the survivors up front at a Komen Race for the Cure. Someone in the comments section mentioned the families who hired disabled guides so they could get to the front of the line at Disney, and I would agree that this is similar to that. Except you’re also endangering people who have life-threatening allergies.

        Your suggestion – as you said – is just one out of a list of many, and I’m asking you to simply retract the part about lying about your allergies. This practice sets a dangerous precedent.

        Thanks for your consideration.

  29. Agreed! Lying about an allergy is irresponsible and self serving. Go ahead and research the kids who have died over the last several years from food allergies, some eating in restaurants or other establishments that have failed to understand the importance of his issue. Lying to serve your own self for non medical reasons is being socially irresponsible. Word of advice: Use companies like General Mills Cheerios Facebook page as an example of how social media can cause an uproar over a strong belief. You have crossed a line, and owe the allergy community an apology!

  30. I understand you feel desperate measures may be necessary to avoid certain foods. But lying and faking a food allergy is dangerous to those with real food allergies.
    Perhaps an alternate suggestion would be to discuss those foods with your doctor, then tell the restaurant your doctor has advised you to avoid those foods – something truthful.
    When you lie about food allergies and cry wolf, you are keeping yourself safe, and putting my child’s life in danger. You should know better.

  31. Please do not tell people to fake food allergies. Eating out is extremely difficult for those that are really allergic to foods – they can easily have a reaction compromising their airway, require emergency assistance and die. Please do some more research before making another glib uninformed comment like that. I respect your right to eat out as you like – but preferences and discomfort is very different then what a “real” allergic person would have. You are sending the wrong message to you readers and making yourself look ignorant.

    1. Carolyn – Here’s my response to the article you read. Tiffany – I appreciate this blog for the work you are doing (I personally have allergies, eczema and asthma!), but, let me ask you – Who is to say GMO soybean, corn and dairy (fed GMO corn, soy and pumped with growth hormone) is not making us as a critical mass allergic to food? Especially considering the amount of harmful pesticides sprayed on it? My advice was concerning avoiding GMOs when eating out – something I do and stand by. It was one strategy offered in several suggestions, out of a list of many travel and eating out tips, being blown out of proportion. I take my health extremely serious, but unfortunately, in my experience (and indicative of some of the comments here) some restaurants and servers don’t understand the requests you make, unless it’s black and white. I have made it my mission to inform restaurant servers why I avoid GMOs when I can – but not everyone has the time or ability or know-how to do that. No one should have to eat this toxic food over other choices if they are available. I know this advice can be controversial – but so is the astronomical amount of disease in this country. As I stated above, I also have severe allergies (as well as my husband and members of my family) and don’t take that issue lightly at all! Especially having to rush family members to hospitals before in life threatening situations. Hope this helps explain the thoughts behind my suggestion in the post you referenced. Bringing your own food to movie theaters is very controversial as well. Hiding it in my purse could be considered lying – but I am not willing to eat what’s offered and I’m ok morally with that decision. Some people may not be – and that’s ok to me – we all have the right to make our own choices and I chose health first.

  32. Food allergies are not a joke! As a mother of a child with a life threatening food allergy, I beg you to educate your public/fans. Encouraging people to pretend they have food allergies when ordering at restaurants is not the way to go! Please edit your post!

  33. This is my 3rd comment and I truly hope this time it won’t get deleted. how do you expect to change the food industry by lying to the people who serve your food? you can’t make changes in this world by lying. how about telling the truth and explaining why you don’t want the added GMO fats in your food? maybe they’ll reconsider? you never know. as a parent of a child with severe food allergies, i realized that many restaurants don’t take his disability very seriously. Lying about a disability contributes to this problem. Please reconsider giving out such dangerous advice.

    1. I didn’t see your other two comments – but here’s my response to the article you read:

      Tiffany – I appreciate this blog for the work you are doing (I personally have allergies, eczema and asthma!), but, let me ask you – Who is to say GMO soybean, corn and dairy (fed GMO corn, soy and pumped with growth hormone) is not making us as a critical mass allergic to food? Especially considering the amount of harmful pesticides sprayed on it? My advice was concerning avoiding GMOs when eating out – something I do and stand by. It was one strategy offered in several suggestions, out of a list of many travel and eating out tips, being blown out of proportion. I take my health extremely serious, but unfortunately, in my experience (and indicative of some of the comments here) some restaurants and servers don’t understand the requests you make, unless it’s black and white. I have made it my mission to inform restaurant servers why I avoid GMOs when I can – but not everyone has the time or ability or know-how to do that. No one should have to eat this toxic food over other choices if they are available. I know this advice can be controversial – but so is the astronomical amount of disease in this country. As I stated above, I also have severe allergies (as well as my husband and members of my family) and don’t take that issue lightly at all! Especially having to rush family members to hospitals before in life threatening situations. Hope this helps explain the thoughts behind my suggestion in the post you referenced. Bringing your own food to movie theaters is very controversial as well. Hiding it in my purse could be considered lying – but I am not willing to eat what’s offered and I’m ok morally with that decision. Some people may not be – and that’s ok to me – we all have the right to make our own choices and I chose health first.

      1. I get where you are coming from! I eat whole foods and avoid nasty GMO’s. However, I respectfully disagree with you. There’s a huge difference between bringing your own food into a movie theater and encouraging your more than 600,000 followers to lie about having a food allergy! Do you understand that when you claim an allergy a special protocol has to be used? All new pans, utensils, gloves, etc…to avoid cross contamination! The chef takes ample time ensuring your meal is safe and then you try a bite of your mate’s food in front if the server showing her that allergies really aren’t that life threatening, and maybe causing her to be more lax with the next patron. If you truly deal food allergies and the risk of anaphalaxis you would understand where we are coming from. Cross contamination may not hurt one of your “followers”, but it may kill my son! Thanks for making it even more difficult to take my kid out to dinner!

  34. I appreciate all the work you do to help better our food industry and I understand that you’re trying to dish out some sound advice that to avoid certain foods you should lie to restaurants and tell them you are allergic to something so that the request can be taken seriously. I hope you realize that this is the exact same behavior as to why food allergies are NOT being taken seriously. It’s a shame that the term “food allergy” has become so watered down that people often don’t realize that it is a life-threatening condition to live with. As a parent of a child with several life threatening food allergies to dairy, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts, this kind of advice makes my daughter’s very real condition seem watered down like it’s not that big of a deal. I hope you understand that this is why your article has received such a big response from the food allergic community- that your “advice” is actually hurting our cause to bring awareness that food allergies are nothing to joke about.

  35. Please do not lie about food allergies! My son has life threatening food allergies- meaning even the smallest trace amount of his allergens make him stop breathing within minutes. When others lie about food allergies, restaurants struggle to take food allergies for families like mine seriously. A great alternative is tell the restaurant you don’t want your food prepared with butters and oils and if they won’t respect when you speak to them truthfully, then don’t patronize them and patronize restaurants that are accommodating. Additionally you should consider that you want these companies to be honest and forthright and accountable to/with us yet are advocating lying to restaurants- please exhibit the character you are requesting of others.

  36. We live in Italy. I would LOVE to be able to eat everything, and “let loose” occasionally. But you see, we can’t. My son is deathly allergic to nuts and fish. I have good friends whose children *really* are allergic to butter and/or soy. I know, to you, stating an allergy is just a way of avoiding it. But please reconsider. Every time you say you have an allergy, but take a bite off your neighbor’s plate, or put “just a little” butter on your bread, you influence that server to not take allergies- or Americans, as seriously next time. It might not mean much to you, but if they just take the nuts off the top of the dish, or fry the carne mista on the same griddle they did the fish, my son could actually die. It’s hard enough getting family to take us seriously. Please don’t muddy the water with servers.

  37. Saddened that you’d provide advice to your followers that lying about food allergies is okay. The community of people who actually do have food allergies have fought long and hard to lead a path for themselves or loved ones to live a life that others take for granted. Request to please revise your article and provide better direction in the future and quit using food allergies as a way to get your “wants”.

  38. Advertising a non-existent allergy and not showing any signs of sickness from obvious cross-contamination,for example, can lead to a death of an innocent allergy sufferer who WOULD get sick and DIE from cross contamination you have falsely proven to be “safe enough for the allergic, by eating up that contaminated meal and walking out of the restaurant a happy & healthy-looking customer!!

  39. I just discovered your site and think it is an incredible resource. Bravo. But one thing on this post makes me shiver. Please, please, don’t lie about having a food allergy. Say you are “intolerant,” or “sensitive”, but don’t claim an allergy when you don’t have one. Because when you do, it dilutes the importance of the request for those of us who WILL DIE if eat a particular food. We need to be serious about food allergy in this country, and the only way this will happen is if we approach the issue honestly. Thanks.

  40. Hi Food Babe,
    I have been a long time follower on your Facebook page and a supporter of yours. I often share your posts and when I look on FB I can see many of my friends who now follow you from my sharing. I don’t get to read everything and I missed this post, but is glad that it is getting some attention.
    I love how you push the food industry for honesty and transparency but here you are advocating for just the opposite. And yes, I see that it is just one in a list , but it is still advocating for what you loathe about the food industry. It disappoints me and to be honest makes me doubt you. I will now have some doubt when I read future posts from you.
    Please don’t respond to me with a copy and paste from what you posted to everyone else’s posts. That is worse that no response. I actually do not want a response. The only thing that will change my mind is if you post a retraction of this recommendation. That will show you have learned from your mistake and can admit when you are wrong. Otherwise, I will follow you for now but as I said I will look at your posts in a different way now…….always wondering if you are being as transparent as you call on the food industry to be.

  41. Please stop posting the same response!! Help those with fatal food allergies! All we ask is an apology and for you to change your advice.

  42. I’m really sorry that so many of you have struggles when you going out to eat. I work as a server and an assistant manager in a popular restaurant chain and any time anyone requests to modify a dish (no tomatoes, no mushrooms, etc.), I try to make sure that dish is prepared in line with that request. Most of the time it is not a problem. If a modification is not possible, I make sure my guests knows and I let them select something else. I do not feel that this is an uncommon practice among servers.

    With that in mind, I cannot condone lying to your server about an allergy. The amount of extra work that goes into preventing contamination when creating a dish for a guest with an allergy is staggering and if everyone were claim an allergy simply because they do not want to consume a GMO, the kitchen’s production would plummet. If a guest has an allergy, we are more than willing to put that extra work into their meal. If a guest even tells me that eating something will make them ill (an intolerance, as commenters have called it) I’m happy to follow the same guidelines.

    Lying to get something you want (and certainly DO NOT need) seems a rather hypocritical way when demanding change in the food industry. If you do not want to consume something, ask for it politely. If the dish is made incorrectly, have it remade. That is your right as a customer. Dishonesty, though, is crossing a line.

  43. I appreciate the update. If you (or anyone) genuinely believes that you are allergic to GMO’s, then the advice is perhaps less controversial. Still, the wording is strange. If I believe that I am allergic to X, I do not ‘go as far as telling’ the server I am allergic to X. I start by telling the server I’m allergic. The language of the recommendation implies that a deception is afoot. You are recommending that people – whether they sincerely believe they are allergic to GMO’s (as you seem to) or not – go ahead and pretend that they are. Whether you see it as a deception or not when you do it, you are advising that people lie.

    1. I’m not sure you even can be allergic to a GMO per se – what does that even mean, as there are various GMO ingredients. The point is – just be truthful!!! I dislike olives, but I am not allergic. I just ask for a salad, no olives. If it happens to come out with them, though, I will just take them off or not eat them. I will not require epinephrine or an ambulance ride to the hospital.

      My son, though, is allergic to all tree nuts and has landed in the ER twice, requiring multiple injections, steroids and more. He could have died.
      There is an enormous difference between your preference to not eat dairy or soy, and someone who could die if they did.

  44. I’m wondering if you can add more insight to this – highly interested. Thank you! Also, as an AP Enviro Science teacher, would like to discuss other concepts as well when you have the time.

    “GM soy was introduced into the US food supply in late 1996. We are left only to wonder whether this had an influence on the doubling of US peanut allergies from 1997 to 2002”.

  45. Vani, you have saved our lives with all of your advice and information. You are our bible and you have really opened our eyes to AMAZING things…both good and bad! We want to thank you for making us aware of the food dangers and thank you for helping us transition to a better way of eating. THANK YOU!

  46. Great tips for eating out in a healthful manner! To all those who are so allergic they took the time to hate on the Food Babe about her healthy eating tactics, please get a grip! My telling a server I’m allergic to something doesn’t put you or you kid at greater risk. And if the risk is that great, eat at home where you have complete control over the process and the ingeredients. This is almost as bad as when my kids were in school and some genius parent decided it was OK to put their highly peanut allergic child in public school and then demand that EVERYONE else scrub all their food ingredient lists because the kid was so allergic he might die by being in the same building as even a speck of peanut dust. If my kid were that allergic, I wouldn’t put his well being in someone else’s hands…he’d be home schooled, and home-fed. Geez, if you don’t like what’s here, go somewhere else, but keep your bitterness to yourself.

    1. You are clearly a very unsympathetic and insensitive person. 1. Maybe the child in your kids’ school went to public school because his parents couldn’t afford to homeschool him. Homeschooling is frankly a luxury that many people cannot afford. Also, the inconvenience of having to “scrub their food ingredients lists” whatever the heck that means, would be far less than having a child die of an allergic reaction that could have been prevented. 2. I’m really glad that clearly nobody you care about has a life threatening food allergy. Suggesting that people with food allergies become hermits and never go to restaurants shows that you don’t have these concerns. Are you saying they should never be able to attend a friend’s birthday? A loved one’s wedding? A coworker’s farewell party? Maybe so, to you. Clearly your convenience matters more than a risk to other people’s lives. As others have eloquently explained, if restaurants are inundated with requests for allergen-free meals, they will not take them all seriously. The protocol for avoiding cross contamination of allergens is intense and it’s totally unfair to request that of a restaurant when it’s completely unnecessary. Doing this repeatedly will only breed resentment from restaurant and catering staff.

    2. The replies from the other restaurant workers here make it clear that restaurants are happy to go that extra mile, scrub the grill and clean all the utensils for people who are death allergic to foods so why should these people have to eat at home? If everyone starts telling the restaurants oh I’m allergic to X and then sampling a friends meal they’re not going to take it as seriously because they won’t have the time to scrub the grill, and clean every bit of cooking equipment every single time. I have a friend who was made seriously ill because her college didn’t take her seriously when she said gluten free, they thought it was a preference rather than a life threatening disease and fed her trace amounts of gluten.

      My friends with allergies already feel like they are playing russian roulette when they eat out wondering if they’re going to be taken seriously, they don’t need fussy eaters pretending to be allergic. (for the record I am a fussy eater, I hate sauces, spreads and dressings but I just make it very clear to the servers exactly what I want and then I send it back if they’ve not done it right.)

      Also when you think about what a pain it was for you to remove peanuts from your child’s lunch 5 days a week remember that there are people out there who have to do that for every meal they eat.

      And people wouldn’t be upset if this advice didn’t affect them but every time someone pretends to be allergic, the restaurant has to go through a lot more prep and then if they realise you’re faking it they may not take the next person so seriously, and that could be dangerous!

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