You know exactly what I'm talking about if you've ever had to deal with change. It can be moving to a new city, different school, or something unexpected. Dealing with food allergies is all about BIG changes. It's like learning to eat all over again, but more permanent. Don't think for a second that I don't I miss all of the sinful dairy treats that are now just a distant memory. These changes for me were all about survival.
Just think about Chameleons, they use color to blend in with their surroundings. Its how they survive when faced with a predator. Learning how to eat again is much like the Chameleon, but unlike them we don't blend in so well. In fact some people are just downright rude about it. I want to just slap some people and tell them, "Do you think I like to obsess about my food this much??"
I will share with you two very bad experiences I have had trying to eat out (this is back when I only had allergies to milk, black beans, and eggs). My husband and I went out to Chilli's for lunch. When we ordered I asked the waitress for her egg and milk free menus. She brought them over and I glanced through them. I saw these yummy veggie tacos with black beans on the side. When she took her order I had to give her precise instructions like, don't cook the veggies in butter and leave off the black beans because I'm also allergic to those. She looked at me funny and the rudely said, "Are you just being a picky eater or are you really allergic?" I pulled out my Epipen and asked if she had any other questions. I was so upset I wanted to stab her with my Epipen!! After that she was so nice to me that it was annoying.
My other bad experience was with my friend Jessica. We had a lunch date at Macayo's Mexican restaurant (before my rice and corn allergy). I asked the waitress for her allergen menus and she looked confused. She told me they didn't have any so I asked for the manager. The manager asked what I was allergic to and I told her. She laughed and told me a lady came in earlier with a cayenne pepper allergy and went on to say, "I don't know why you people come to places you can't eat at." Then she said, "I cannot serve you anything on our menu", and insisted we should leave. Being a difficult and annoyed customer I asked her about the rice and chips and salsa. Finally she agreed that would be all that they would serve me. I was really irritated and Jessica was in shock from what she just witnessed.
Its experiences like these with uneducated and rude servers, that make me cringe every time I go out. It used to really upset me, but now I guess you could say I just get even by not leaving a tip for a waitress who decides to call me out on being picky. Or order anyways even if the manager insists that I leave. You see despite all of my allergies I am human too. I didn't ask for things to be this difficult it’s just the way it is. So in situations like this you just have to learn to adapt to survive. I'm not asking for them to pitty me when I order I just want to enjoy a meal with a friend. Is that too much to ask??
If you're wondering about these no bake looking cookies below, no they do not have dairy, oats (gluten), or corn syrup. In fact this is a recipe I just made on my own! Considering I am the queen of recipe magazines I'm impressed that I was able to create this. They taste like no bake cookies my mom made when I was a kid. Once I get the approval from my friends (who still eat gluten) I will share the recipe!!
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