Allergy Eats - a great resource for dining out with food allergies

AllergyEats is a free website, that lists well over 600,000 restaurants nationwide, which food-allergic diners can rate. The site also offers information on restaurants’ menus (including gluten-free menus), allergen lists, nutrition information, certifications, web links, directions and more.

This free, user-friendly website provides valuable peer-based feedback about how well (or poorly) restaurants accommodate the needs of food-allergic customers. The peer ratings and feedback allow food-allergic and gluten-intolerant diners to quickly and easily find restaurants that will more likely cater to their special dietary requirements – and avoid the ones that won’t.

Most restaurant review sites include information about establishments’ food, ambiance or service, but AllergyEats is singularly focused on food allergies, with peer reviews spotlighting where people with food allergies or intolerances have more comfortably eaten. AllergyEats has significantly improved the way food allergic and gluten-intolerant individuals find allergy-friendly restaurants.

AllergyEats has been endorsed by highly-respected food, health and allergy organizations, including the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Gluten Intolerance Group, Massachusetts Restaurant Association, Chef Ming Tsai and more. 

What a great resource!

Study finds many restaurant workers uninformed about allergens in food

Anxiety's on the Menu for People with Food Allergies

A Nut Allergy Skeptic Learns the Hard Way

Joel Stein wrote this article about food allergies for the Los Angeles Times in 2009. The article started with: “Your kid doesn’t have an allergy to nuts. Your kid has a parent who needs to feel special. Your kid also spends recess running and screaming, “No! Stop! Don’t rub my head with peanut butter!”

He recently apologized in his Time Magazine column after finding out that his one-year old son Laszlo has a nut allergy. Check out the column here.

I'm glad that he apologized, but it's disheartening to know that there are so many people out there that think food allergies are made up by parents wanting attention. I've seen both of our kids have anaphylactic reactions, and for someone to say that allergies are 'mass hysteria' is just ridiculous. I try not to let negative or ignorant comments affect me, but sometimes it's hard not to get angry!

Food Allergies Take a Toll on Families and Finances

Just read an article in the NY Times that talks about food allergies and how it affects families. I can relate! I've never added up all of the extra money we spend on organic and specialty foods, Rowan's formula (EleCare), epi-pens, asthma inhalers, doctors visits, and trips to urgent care...but I know we spend a lot. And these are things we have to do. It's not a lifestyle choice. And while I wouldn't wish this on anyone, it's nice to know that there are other families out there dealing with these stresses.