#food allergies

I just want some fucking drugs, man. Just need to forget the reality of my situation for a while.

10-dutchies-12-bicycles:

miseriathome:

https://www.tiktok.com/@tylerandhistummy/video/7086509725671722286

Video description and transcription:

Tiktok by Tyler from Fig (tylerandhistummy)

[Tyler faces the camera and speaks to it.]

If this video helps even one person, it was worth it.

So, I’ve got a ton of ingredients that my body reacts to: corn, citric acid, gluten, chocolate, bananas, peanut oil–I’m all over the place.

It was so hard to read ingredient labels and just find food that I could eat. Grocery trips were unbearable, they took like two or three hours usually.

But I always had this idea on how to make it easier. So I quit my job and helped build an app over the past few years. And that app’s called Fig.

[A phone screen showing the app interface, which Tyler scrolls through.
Top text reads: “First up: Do you follow any of these diets? Dietary restrictions are complex - it’s ok to select more than one!”
Underneath is a checklist of ingredients and dietary restriction, including categories with suboptions.]

What makes fig unique is we’re trying to help pretty much everybody that has to avoid certain ingredients.

That means we’ve got a ton of things that you can select from–even really specific ingredients.

[Camera briefly returns to Tyler’s face again.]

And like I had dreamed of for so many years, checking ingredients is as quick as this.

[A phone camera scans the barcode on a bottle of spices. Details about the product appear, including an ingredients list and allergen statement. The ingredient “citric acid” appears in red all-caps. There is also an accompanying message that says “This product does not match your Fig.”]

And finding food you can eat is as simple as this.

[The app displays a scrollable list of food items, similar to a storefront. Each item has a save toggle and is accompanied by a photo, the product brand/name, and its size.
There is a search bar labeled “search for a product.”
There are also menus for narrowing the search; one is set to “allowed,” one is set to “Whole Foods,” and another unaltered menu is titled “Category.”]

[The camera returns to Tyler.]

So if you know anybody with food allergies, stomach issues, other dietary restrictions, I’d really appreciate it if you shared it with them.

[The appstore listing for Fig: Food Scanner & Discovery.]

It’s called Fig, it’s completely free, and you can get it on iOS and Android in the US.

[Tyler smiles at the camera.]

Thanks for helping out.

Food Scanner App - Fig: Food Is Good

for dutch ppl: voedingscentrum already has an app that does this called KiesIkGezond?:3

Well… not exactly. Free in the sense of “gluten free” or “nut free”

One thing that royally sucks is not being able to eat nommy food because of an allergy, intolerance, or cost issue.

This isn’t a recipe so much as a sort of framework that will let you make a recipe according to your needs. It’s also a great vehicle for adding stuff that you might need - I used it for rice protein powder when I was dr-ordered to try not eating a whole bunch of food (think gluten free times ten). Those were dark days. But brownies got me through.

I’m going to start out gluten free - there’s already a recipe that uses wheat flour on the blog, and you may find it suits your needs better.

Flour

You’re gonna need some kind of flour. Most will do, but you’re gonna want a base of something quite fine and light - rice or corn flour is ideal. Any standard gluten free flour mix will do too. You’re going to end up with a total of two cups of flour, and you want at least one of those cups to be your base flour, like rice or corn.

From there you can add in almost anything you want, the only thing you really want to avoid is stuff like sorghum, millet or other really grainy flours.

Personally, I really like almond flour or coconut flour in brownies, they’re probably the most grainy flour you’ll get away with in this mix (especially if you’re adding in other stuff like protein powder). For these sorts of flours I wouldn’t add more than half a cup as part of your two cups.

Binder

Depending on your mixture, you may not need a binder, some flour combos just bind well on their own. With gluten free recipes I tend to like having a second binder though.

We have a fair few options here:

• Gums and Starches - Tapioca starch, potato starch, arrowroot powder, xantham gum, agar powder, etc. They’re all fine. The amount you would use will vary - for example a half teaspoon of agar will be plenty, but tapioca and potato starch you’d use a few table spoons, so go with what you’re familiar with and know you can eat.
• Ground linseed (flaxseed) - This is my favourite binder for baking. It binds well, it’s cheap, and it has loads of protein and fibre, its taste is neutral (or slightly nutty if you add a lot) and it’s super easy to use and store. I’d add a quarter cup to this recipe personally, but you can use less (or more) if you want without too much trouble.
• Oats- These are only a mild binder, and if you have any issues with gluten it’s probably easier to just avoid them, since certified gluten free oats are expensive. They add a chewy, softer grainy texture. I wouldn’t add more than a quarter cup to this mix.
• Chia seeds - These are effectively the same as linseed, but about three times the price, they have a more obvious texture, and they’re higher in protein. You do tend to need a little less though. Maybe three tablespoons in this mix.
• Egg replacer - These are available in most supermarkets. I don’t often use them personally, they’re usually a combination of starches, but they’re quick and easy, so if it works for you, awesome ^_^. I would only add one ‘egg’ worth to this mix.
  

Liquid

I typically use non dairy milk and there’s a few options there - almond milk, oat milk, rice milk, soy milk, the list goes on. You can use water as well. I find it reduces the flavour a bit so if you do, add more cocoa or whatever you’re using in replacement, and more oil or whatever you’re using instead of that.

You’ll want about a third of a cup, and you might add a little more depending on how your batter turns out.

Fat

You could potentially make these without some kind of fat, but I haven’t tried it, so some experimenting might be in order. Applesauce might work in the place of oil. Mashed banana works too but it has a fairly strong impact on the flavour.

• Vegetable oil - Any is fine, I find soy bean oil is a little bitter. Olive oil is too expensive to waste in baking. Plain old canola or blended vegetable oil works for me. I would add about a third of a cup for this recipe.
  
• Vegan butter or margaraine - Use the same amount as the oil.
  
• Peanut butter - I usually add this as well as oil or marg. It’s not essential to the recipe but I’ve found it improves the texture and flavour a lot. I prefer smooth but crunchy is fine too if you want that texture. Add anywhere from a couple of tablespoons to half a cup, depending entirely on your tastes. If you’re adding less than a quarter of a cup, increase your other fats a little (don’t go higher than an extra three tablespoons). If you’re adding more than a quarter of a cup, lower the other fat sources by the same amount. If you’re using peanut butter as your sole source of fat, also decrease the liquid content a little and expect the batter to be a lot thicker.
  

Sweetener

I typically use soft brown sugar, but any will do. You can also use stevia, maple syrup (decrease liquid content accordingly), dates (soaked overnight in water and blended), or even apple sauce.

I typically add a quarter of a cup of sugar, but I tend to like brownies not too sweet, so adjust according to your tastes.

Flavourings

• Cocoa is the main one here, but carob would also do the trick. I typically add a half a cup of cocoa powder, but I like a strong chocolate flavour, so adjust to suit your preferences.
  
• Vanilla essence adds to the flavour as well but it isn’t strictly necessary. A teaspoon is about right. If you’re going for low chocolate, up the vanilla to a tablespoon.
  

Other stuff

• Baking powder - This isn’t strictly necessary, but I find it improves the binding and texture a little. A teaspoon of baking powder is plenty.
  
• Salt - Not strictly necessary, but useful. I tend to just add a half tablespoon. If you need something low salt or salt free, just leave it out. The flavours won’t be quite so smooth, but it should be fine.
  
• Adding nuts and seeds can be nommy, if you can have them. I’ve tried walnuts, hazelnut meal, almond slivers, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds. They were all nice, either as toppings or in the batter itself.
  
• Icing is always nommy. There’s a recipe for peanut butter and chocolate icing in an earlier post that goes great with these brownies, and another recipe for frosting that you could adapt if you can’t have nuts.
  

The madness - I mean method

• Mix all the dry ingredients, try to get rid of any lumps.
  
• Add the liquid ingredients and mix well.
  
• Add the semi solid ingredients, like peanut butter, margaraine, etc.
  
• Unless you’re using lots of peanut butter, the batter should be reasonably thin and easy to pour. Think pancake batter but a little thicker.
  
• Grease a shallow (no deeper than two inches/five cm) nonstick baking tin (or line with biodegradable parchment paper), pour the batter in. 
  
• Stick the tin in the oven at 180 Celsius (350 Fahrenheit).
  
• Amuse yourself by licking every last scrap of batter out of the bowl. Fight all challengers for the bowl. It’s your bowl damnit, they can’t have it.
  
• Come back and check in 15 minutes. Given how variable this recipe is, you’ll probably need to experiment to find the ideal cooking time. Stab a clean sharp knife, skewer or toothpick into several place in the chocolatey goodness, if it comes out clean in each place, the brownies are ready. If not, come back in five minutes. If the top is starting to get a little crusty but the centre isn’t cooked yet, make it a tinfoil hat to go over the tray for the rest of the cooking time. This will help keep the moisture in.
  
• When it’s done, take the tray out of the oven, let it cool for a bit, lift the brownie slab out using the parchment paper, or some highly coordinated gymnastics with flipping and plates and stuff (and post the video on line). Slice, add any toppings you want. 
  
• Nom all the brownies.
  

I’m so tired of my own mother not taking my health seriously. Shes my sole source of income right now, and she uses it to get me to move heavy objects (I have mystery weakness in my legs and back) clean out dusty rooms (Ive recently developed some moderate asthma) and be my older siblings caretaker (I have chronic fatigue to the point where sometimes simply sitting up is too much) . Don’t forget tricking me into eating food I’m allergic to, and guilting me about medical costs!!!

marchentime:

vaspider:

animatedamerican:

raccooninthedaytime:

My hot take is that actually food allergies are a disability and more people need to realize that. The amount of research people with food allergies have to do when they want to go visit places but arent sure if they’ll have access to any food there is insane. Allergy friendly food is almost ALWAYS incredibly expensive in stores bc of all those fucking fad diets that like yoga instructors and middle age soccer moms make popular. And on top of the price, it is so hard to FIND! Almost evrry grocery store ive been to has a tiny ass allergy section that is almost always near empty. Plus what about people who don’t have the money to pay 10$ for a loaf of bread? You go to starbucks and non-dairy milks are like 70 cents extra? People are definitely out there buying and eating stuff that is destroying their digestive systems because they have no other choice. I am begging people to stop pretending that catering to people’s food allergies is elitist and not worth is. We need to make these options openly available.

And this is one of several reasons that I firmly hold the opinion that prohibiting people from bringing their own food into sports stadiums and amusement parks and hotels is an accessibility issue, and should be treated as such. Concession stands and hotel restaurants do not and cannot provide enough choices to accommodate every possible food allergy or intolerance, and that means not letting people bring in their own food = not letting people eat while they’re there.

(Side point: it’s also a religious discrimination issue – and it’s even more trouble when religious dietary restrictions and health-related dietary restrictions overlap. I’ve been in the center of that particular venn diagram and it sucks.)

There was a court case which ended up mediated and established that if a facility doesn’t provide food you can eat, they have to permit you to bring your own. It was specifically about celiac.

If you have a food allergy or other digestive issue, it is covered under the ADA update of 2008.

Come armed with paperwork. Call or email ahead. And remember these magical words:

“I am requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for my disability.”

One of my go-to moves is an email like this, a week or two ahead of a visit or an event:

Hello,

I am writing to request an accommodation for my disability from your facility. I will be attending X on Y day with my family. I have celiac disease and must eat specially-prepared food from a “safe” kitchen. Celiac disease is an ADA-recognized disability and the ADA provides for me to be able to bring my own food to any facility that cannot provide me with food I can eat.

Since X does not have a dedicated gluten-free kitchen, what is the least-stressful way for me to bring my own food to X on Y day? I am happy to bring whatever paperwork is necessary to show security, please just let me know what you need!

Thank you in advance for your help.

Approach it as though your right to have safe food, and that clearly the people in question are going to help you. Make clear that you know the law, but don’t be a dick about it. State as fact that they’re going to let you bring food in, and what you are negotiating is how to make that easy on everyone. State as fact that the kitchen isn’t safe, if that’s the case, and make clear that you are happy to bring paperwork or otherwise work with them to make this accommodation easy on them.

Enforcing the “no outside food” rule usually falls on the people making the least money. If you approach this from the perspective of “hey we’re both in kind of a shitty situation here, I just want to eat and not shit my pants for hours or asphyxiate or whatever,” then usually things will go pretty easily. Every once in a while you’ll run into a total dick and you’ll have to go over their head, but… usually you won’t need to as long as you prepare the way.

[ID: Text that reads: “The ADA will allow you to bring your own gluten-free food to places where safe food won’t be available. Professional mediators helped to decide a case in New Hampshire involving a tour train operator that refused to allow a passenger with food allergies to bring her own food. Ultimately, the tour train operator revised its policies to make them more accommodating to people with allergies.” /End ID]

miseriathome:

https://www.tiktok.com/@tylerandhistummy/video/7086509725671722286

Video description and transcription:

Tiktok by Tyler from Fig (tylerandhistummy)

[Tyler faces the camera and speaks to it.]

If this video helps even one person, it was worth it.

So, I’ve got a ton of ingredients that my body reacts to: corn, citric acid, gluten, chocolate, bananas, peanut oil–I’m all over the place.

It was so hard to read ingredient labels and just find food that I could eat. Grocery trips were unbearable, they took like two or three hours usually.

But I always had this idea on how to make it easier. So I quit my job and helped build an app over the past few years. And that app’s called Fig.

[A phone screen showing the app interface, which Tyler scrolls through.
Top text reads: “First up: Do you follow any of these diets? Dietary restrictions are complex - it’s ok to select more than one!”
Underneath is a checklist of ingredients and dietary restriction, including categories with suboptions.]

What makes fig unique is we’re trying to help pretty much everybody that has to avoid certain ingredients.

That means we’ve got a ton of things that you can select from–even really specific ingredients.

[Camera briefly returns to Tyler’s face again.]

And like I had dreamed of for so many years, checking ingredients is as quick as this.

[A phone camera scans the barcode on a bottle of spices. Details about the product appear, including an ingredients list and allergen statement. The ingredient “citric acid” appears in red all-caps. There is also an accompanying message that says “This product does not match your Fig.”]

And finding food you can eat is as simple as this.

[The app displays a scrollable list of food items, similar to a storefront. Each item has a save toggle and is accompanied by a photo, the product brand/name, and its size.
There is a search bar labeled “search for a product.”
There are also menus for narrowing the search; one is set to “allowed,” one is set to “Whole Foods,” and another unaltered menu is titled “Category.”]

[The camera returns to Tyler.]

So if you know anybody with food allergies, stomach issues, other dietary restrictions, I’d really appreciate it if you shared it with them.

[The appstore listing for Fig: Food Scanner & Discovery.]

It’s called Fig, it’s completely free, and you can get it on iOS and Android in the US.

[Tyler smiles at the camera.]

Thanks for helping out.

Food Scanner App - Fig: Food Is Good

I had a serious allergic reaction (a mild end of the anaphylaxis spectrum anaphylactic reaction) to a food I’ve eaten several times a week all my life a few days ago, and am now the new owner of an Epi-Pen and anaphylaxis emergency kit and plan. All my other food allergies are mild and/or so uncommon I don’t have to worry too much, so it’s been a steep learning curve. I am a bit overwhelmed. I know a lot of folks in my follows deal with food allergy nonsense, and this is free and open permission (in fact, it’s a request) to spam me with ALL THE ADVICE. 

(especially food allergy travel advice because I have a work trip next week and would like to, y’know, not die?)

julian-is-vibing-here-deactivat:

anyone know any good apps for keeping track specifically of food and symptoms? i wanna see if i can figure out some trigger foods (beyond the obvious stuff like hamburgers and smoothies that’ll send me into a flareup within like five minutes of eating them)

Personally I haven’t found an app that I really like but since I’m a total geek when it comes to data and computing, I love spreadsheets and databases for organizing and tracking things. Airtable in particular is excellent because it’s user friendly and is pretty to look at (mobile app or just airtable.com)

Plus organizing your data in this manner makes for endless possibilities.

As an example, right now I can only eat pureed food so this is a table I’m using to keep track of ingredients my stomach can tolerate to make smoothies:

https://airtable.com/shrH3T1bjZvWTm4Bd

You can export it as a pdf or csv for sharing, or you can use it to make easy to fill out forms! Example:

https://airtable.com/shr2P5KrBN5snrB8i

Hopefully you or someone else can love using this as much as I do

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Do you ever catch yourself doing this?

This is me calling myself out on doing it.

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Dear Body,

Please explain to me your rhyme or reason about when you decide to react.

Sincerely,

This Spoonie

10-dutchies-12-bicycles:

miseriathome:

https://www.tiktok.com/@tylerandhistummy/video/7086509725671722286

Video description and transcription:

Tiktok by Tyler from Fig (tylerandhistummy)

[Tyler faces the camera and speaks to it.]

If this video helps even one person, it was worth it.

So, I’ve got a ton of ingredients that my body reacts to: corn, citric acid, gluten, chocolate, bananas, peanut oil–I’m all over the place.

It was so hard to read ingredient labels and just find food that I could eat. Grocery trips were unbearable, they took like two or three hours usually.

But I always had this idea on how to make it easier. So I quit my job and helped build an app over the past few years. And that app’s called Fig.

[A phone screen showing the app interface, which Tyler scrolls through.
Top text reads: “First up: Do you follow any of these diets? Dietary restrictions are complex - it’s ok to select more than one!”
Underneath is a checklist of ingredients and dietary restriction, including categories with suboptions.]

What makes fig unique is we’re trying to help pretty much everybody that has to avoid certain ingredients.

That means we’ve got a ton of things that you can select from–even really specific ingredients.

[Camera briefly returns to Tyler’s face again.]

And like I had dreamed of for so many years, checking ingredients is as quick as this.

[A phone camera scans the barcode on a bottle of spices. Details about the product appear, including an ingredients list and allergen statement. The ingredient “citric acid” appears in red all-caps. There is also an accompanying message that says “This product does not match your Fig.”]

And finding food you can eat is as simple as this.

[The app displays a scrollable list of food items, similar to a storefront. Each item has a save toggle and is accompanied by a photo, the product brand/name, and its size.
There is a search bar labeled “search for a product.”
There are also menus for narrowing the search; one is set to “allowed,” one is set to “Whole Foods,” and another unaltered menu is titled “Category.”]

[The camera returns to Tyler.]

So if you know anybody with food allergies, stomach issues, other dietary restrictions, I’d really appreciate it if you shared it with them.

[The appstore listing for Fig: Food Scanner & Discovery.]

It’s called Fig, it’s completely free, and you can get it on iOS and Android in the US.

[Tyler smiles at the camera.]

Thanks for helping out.

Food Scanner App - Fig: Food Is Good

for dutch ppl: voedingscentrum already has an app that does this called KiesIkGezond?:3

Simon found the bag of oats and refused to move from that spot after trying unsuccessfully to eat them through the bag.  Poor little fella was trying to bargain for something that would give him all of the colic.  Food allergies suck especially when you really like the food you’re allergic to.

Thankfully, I was able to end the oat hostage drama with some extra alfalfa hay, a banana chip, and some serious noogies.

joshsundquist: