Allergy-Friendly Restaurants

We all know that eating out with food allergies is not exactly a care-free event, and in some cases it is impossible. However, in my quest to help my girl live a more 'normal' life, I have found that more often than not restaurants will have either an allergy menu or at least provide a list of ingredients to help you make wise and safe choices. I prefer an ingredient list over an allergy menu because I want to see for myself what ingredients are in certain items. For tips on eating out with food allergies, read this post. Below is a list of restaurants that we eat at or have come across with an allergy-friendly menu. Keep in mind that this list is a work in progress and will be added to as necessary.  You can find this list in the sidebar on the right under 'Pages' and 'Allergy-Friendly Restaurants'.

Check out these restaurants for their allergy menus and/or ingredient lists:

• Fatz Cafe - located in SC, NC, TN, GA and VA. This is one of the restaurants I've had the best experience with. We took the allergy menu with us to the restaurant and showed the waitress what we wanted to order for our daughter. She took it to the manager who came out to our table to find out himself exactly what her allergies were and assured us that her food would be cooked on a separate surface from all the other foods being cooked. They get an A+ in my book!
• Chili's - Click their link to find their allergy menu information. Great resource! We've never had a bad experience there, so we continue to go back.
• Red Robin - I haven't tried this restaurant in the allergy realm of things, but their website does list a menu for the wheat/gluten allergy or you can email them to find out about other specific allergy lists in their menu. Check it out!
• Chuck E. Cheese - Click on this link to find info about allergens in their foods. If you don't find what you're looking for, they invite you to email them and they will get back with you.
• Taco Bell - Click this link for a list of all the menu items and what allergens, if any, they contain. Great resource!
• McDonald's - Click this link for a list of all menu items and their ingredients. If you have a milk allergy - CHECK OUT THE FRENCH FRY INGREDIENTS! In the U.S., the fries contain milk. In Canada, they do not contain milk.
• On The Border - Click the link for the allergy menus for this restaurant. If you'll notice near the top of each menu, it gives a date that you can expect the menus to be accurate until. So, be sure your allergy menu is up-to-date when you order off of it. If the date has expired, I would definitely have the waiter double check the ingredients.
• Rita's Italian Ice - Yes! They have an allergy menu! Check them out!
• Salsarita's - Allergy Menu now available!! One of my favorite places to eat! **Just be sure the preparer of your food puts new gloves on before touching your food. Cross-contamination is also very dangerous for some of us!
• P.F. Chang's China Bistro - They have only a vegetarian or gluten-free menu in addition to their normal menu, but they do not list ingredients.
• Longhorn Steakhouse - Offers a gluten-free menu.
• O'Charley's - Offers a list of common allergens and lists all the foods on their menu that contain those allergens! Great resource!
• Chick-fil-a - They have a list of their products naming the allergen/s in each food on their menu. Click the link to read their allergy statemtent. *Be advised that they do use peanut oil, but it has been noted that peanut oil does not necessarily cause an allergic reaction in individuals with a peanut allergy.* I haven't personally put this to the test because my daughter can't eat anything there due to other allergies.
• Johnny Rockets - Click the name to find a list of all the ingredients in each menu item along with each common allergen listed in bold at the end of each item. Very helpful!!
• The Lady & Sons Restaurant - Savannah, GA - This is an allergy statement from this restaurant. Everything is fried in peanut oil. There is not a list of menu items and the allergies they may contain, so eat at your own risk. Their statement is to talk to your server about any allergies you may have.
• Outback Steakhouse - This is a link to their statement on allergens. Specifically peanuts, dairy and gluten.
• SteaknShake - This is a link to their allergy statement and ingredient list for each item on the menu. Great resource!

Healthy Living 2012

No, this isn't my new year's resolution. I'm just trying to rethink how my family eats. I need to eat healthier and kick the soda habit...yes, I love Coca Cola. And sweet tea. And it doesn't help that Sonic Happy Hour is right after school gets out and I have to drive past it to get home. But anyway, this isn't just about soda and sweet tea. I think it's all great in moderation, but this is more about changing my family's daily sugar habits. My kids eat pretty healthy already {I don't buy juice, etc. - they drink water.} and they love fruit. So, it makes my life as Mom easier. But, if you're an adult and wanting to eat healthier, I may post some of my daily menus here in the coming days.

Today's Menu:
Breakfast:
1 serving Uncle Sam's High Fiber Cereal {contains wheat}
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 serving strawberries
2 pieces turkey bacon
Hot tea with Raw Stevia

Mid-Morning Snack:
1/2 cup plain, low-fat yogurt {or coconut milk yogurt} mixed with 2T sugar free blackberry jam

Lunch:
Black Bean Chili
{1 can black beans, 1 can HOT Rotel - Heat together in a saucepan until beans are tender. Serve with Tofutti brand sour cream and other veggies you might like in your chili.}

Afternoon Snack:
1 whole apple

Dinner:
Grilled Chicken
Green Salad with lots of raw veggies
Balsamic Vinagrette {balsamic vinegar and olive oil mixed together with garlic salt, onion powder}
Roasted Asparagus {Lay asparagaus on pan, drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper; Bake at 400 for 8-10 min}
Serving of fruit for the kids

New Year's Eve Buffet {circa 1949} - Allergy Free

One of my favorite finds ever at my local Goodwill was in 2000 when I came across a vintage cookbook - The Good Housekeeping Cook Book dated 1949. It had a nicely worn red cover with white lettering that caught my eye. It had me from Hello. I paid .50 for it and couldn't wait to get home to look through all the wonderful slightly yellowed pages including full color pages featuring the most retro illustrations! I love it. It's still my favorite cook book even though I know I'll never cook Jellied Tomato Soup or Rabbit Stew.
As I was thinking about what I wanted to do with my blog this year, I knew that I wanted to add many more recipes and meal ideas, above and beyond the sweets category. So, keep your eyes peeled for those! Another thing I thought would be fun is to go through this wonderful cook book and bring back some of the oldies, but goodies - this time in allergy-free form. So, that's what I'm going to do. And just for fun, I'm posting today the New Year's Eve Buffet from pg. 897. Enjoy!

The recipe that stands out from this menu and would be used in my house most often is the Toasted Garlic Buttered French Bread from pg. 476. I have modified it below to make it allergy-friendly:

Toasted Garlic Buttered French Bread {dairy-free, egg-free}
1/2 cup Smart Balance Light {dairy-free}
1 or 2 peeled cloves garlic
1 Pillsbury Refrigerated French Bread Loaf
1/4 tsp salt
Paprika

Soften 'butter'. Add garlic; mash slightly with fork. Let stand 30 min or longer. While that is going on, bake Pillsbury French Bread Loaf according to package directions. Remove garlic. Approx 5 min before baking is done, take the loaf out of oven and slash bread diagonally into thick slices, almost to bottom. Spread garlic butter generously between slices and over top half of loaf. Sprinkle with salt and paprika. Place back in oven for remainder of baking time. Let guests break off pieces. Makes 6-8 servings.

Eating Allergy-Free at Disney World

Last Summer we visited Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL for the first time with our little girls! It was a fantastic experience, to say the very least! Much planning went into our 1 day adventure to the Magic Kingdom, and I'd say that 95% of that planning revolved around food allergies and where to eat while we were there. I was pleasantly surprised after much research and an email to SpecialDiets@DisneyWorld.com to find out that each restaurant will work with your food allergy needs. If you plan to go to WDW and eat in any of the dine-in restaurants, you will want to email the Special Diets team beforehand to plan out your eating arrangements and let them know of your allergies, etc. However, if you are like us and you decide to eat at the counter service places, let them know at the counter of your specific allergies and they will show you their notebook of menu items and all the ingredients listed there. It gave me great peace of mind being able to see if for myself that there were none of my daughter's food allergies in what we were eating. And with that kind of peace of mind, I didn't care too much about paying $50 for hot dog meals for 5!! It was a great experience and I am SO thankful to the Disney Staff who decided to make this type of service available for their food-allergic guests. It made our day so much more magical and worry-free!

You can also check out THIS INFO to find out more about Disney World's food allergy initiatives. Great resource!!