What I Am Grateful For This Year

Vegan butter! Oat milk! Dairy free cream cheese! Vegan fig bars! What a time to be alive!

Okay, when I started this blog, one main reason was to vent about people claiming to have food allergies when they actually don’t. You know, the ones that say that are allergic to wheat, but really just read online about how gluten is bad for you and want to jump on the new fad diet bandwagon. Or they really do have a gluten intolerance, but don’t understand that a self diagnosed intolerance is way different than a life threatening food allergy. But that doesn’t stop them for telling everyone they are allergic and now half the world thinks that real, severe, anaphylaxis food allergies are made up and don’t actually exist.

A few years ago, I was visiting an old friend and we went out to a coffee shop. She’s lactose intolerant. She ordered a hot chocolate with oat milk. I ordered one with the real, deal, straight from the udder milk (oh to be young and without a food allergy care). The barista made both and put them on the counter. We asked which one was which. He glanced at the two cups and looked at us. Back to the cups. He shrugged and said he didn’t know. Maybe we could taste them and see? Well, this was not what my lactose intolerant friend wanted to hear. She laid into the guy, saying she was allergic and could die. I gave her a surprised look. I had no idea! Later, at the table, while enjoying our freshly made hot chocolates with the appropriate milk, she said she had embellished a little and really just gets an upset stomach. But the barista should have kept the drinks separate! He should know which one was which! I whole heartedly agree. He should have definitely known which one was which. But also, maybe she shouldn’t conflate anaphylaxis with explosive diarrhea. This is why it’s hard for people to imagine my kid could actually die from milk. The real moral of the story, though? I will never, ever, be taking my kid to that coffee shop.

Anyways. Today, I’m going to try to be grateful for those people. Not because they lie and tell everyone they are allergic. No, because there are so many people who think they are allergic, there’s an entire new market of food that wasn’t even available a few years ago. There’s a whole section of wheat free flours. There’s a cornucopia of dairy free “milk” at the local grocery store. There’s “sour cream” and “cream cheese” and there’s even dairy free “cheese.” I mean, it’s not good, but it’s there, you know?

So thanks to those people with lactose intolerance. Thanks to the vegans for learning how to bake without eggs and milk and then putting your recipes online. Thanks to all the people making food that’s safe for my kid to eat!*

*Just don’t say you’re allergic if you're not.