Awkward Moments with Food Allergies

Having food allergies can be quite the journey. Not only are you constantly working nonstop making sure you don’t eat the foods you are allergic to but you are trying your best to navigate in a world where food allergies are not the norm.

You feel like a fish out of water a lot because you have specific food needs while others are free to eat whatever they please. This can put you in awkward positions often. You have special needs when it comes to food, and if you don’t make sure these needs are met, there can be serious health consequences.

So just for fun, let's discuss those awkward moments that tend to happen when you have food allergies, shall we?

Allergy challenges in menus

Oh the endless questions that occur when you have to order from a restaurant menu.

Is this gluten-free? Can you make my portion without nuts? What options do you have that are dairy-free? Can I substitute the toast for fruit? What oil do you cook your meat in? Do you have another option for salad dressing, like oil and vinegar? Can you tell me what ingredients are in this soup?

The questions can seem endless and sometimes can get to the point of embarrassment. Everyone is listening and watching. You are the only one taking forever to order a meal and you can feel all the eyes on you. Can you relate?

Navigating unexpected food outings

I’m sure this has happened to you before. You are out and about with a group of people and suddenly someone says, hey let's pop into this café and grab some pastries. And you panic inside because you are allergic to wheat.

Everyone orders and when it comes to you, you say, oh I’ll just have a bottle of water. The group gasps. They think, why wouldn’t she like a delicious pastry? Perhaps she has an eating disorder? Something is not right.

Then you have to awkwardly explain, I am allergic to this ingredient so I can’t have these pastries. And then it gets even more awkward. People try to suggest maybe stopping by somewhere else so that you can get something but you say no you’re fine, yet your stomach is growling and you want to crawl in a hole from embarrassment.

Preparing for hunger with allergies

It can get awkward when you are the only one with tons of food in your purse. You snack at random times and people can begin to think you have some sort of issue with food which they aren’t wrong but they tend to think you are just trying to diet and be skinny all the time. You can’t indulge in office pizza or eat fast food with others so you are automatically labeled as the Diet Queen. It couldn’t be further from the truth. All you want to do is eat all the pizza, but you can’t! Thanks to food allergies.

What about you? Do you have any awkward moments dealing with food allergies you’d like to share? Share below, we love to hear from you.