The Allergic Foodie

It happens all the time. You go to buy some item of food, or someone offers you something to eat, and the label says, “May contain traces of ___.”

You have no way of knowing if the company is saying that just to cover their behinds in case of a lawsuit when in fact there’s hardly any chance of cross-contamination, or if they really mean it and there is a large chance.

Some virtuous allergic foodies (like my little sister), stop there and walk away. Some dumber allergic foodies (me) then wage an internal battle. How lucky do I feel today? How much do I really want to risk it? How much do I really want those cookies? How close is the nearest hospital? (That last one is a joke. Kind of.)

The smart answer is never to risk it, we all know that. But with every other product you see these days carrying that warning label, it can get really frustrating.

Therefore, I was so excited to come across Turtle Mountain products. Instead of just slapping a “may contain” label on there, they go out of their way to make sure their products don’t contain any non-ingredient allergens.

Their package states, “Turtle Mountain applies strict quality control measures in an effort to prevent contamination by undeclared food allergens. To assure our preventive measures are effective, we sample test our products for the presence of dairy, gluten, peanut, soy, tree nut (almond, coconut, pecan, walnut) using state of the art testing methods.”

Their allergy page has a lengthy description of these state-of-the-art testing methods (check it out, it’s really impressive how thorough they are), which include validating the cleanliness of the processing line by collecting samples of the post-cleaning rinse water from each machine and belt, water which is then tested for allergens. “When the line is deemed to be free of allergens the product is produced,” the website says. The site also provides a comprehensive allergen chart for each product and each allergen.

As if that wasn’t enough, most of their ice creams are dairy-free—made from coconut milk instead of regular milk—so they have significantly less fat and calories than regular ice cream (½ cup of the vanilla bean ice cream has 150 calories and 8g of fat, while a ½ cup of Ben & Jerry’s vanilla ice cream has 230 calories and 14g of fat).

Their products range from milk and creamer to yogurt and “ice cream” (technically called “frozen dessert”), and they offer both coconut-based and soy-based versions, plus some gluten-free options. Check out the column on the left-hand side of this page for the full list of their products.

The flavor I tried, Vanilla Bean (coconut-based), tasted more like coconut gelato than vanilla ice cream. It was delicious, but very sweet—almost like it was missing a creamy finish and stayed with the same note throughout. When I left some in the bowl to melt a bit, it tasted exactly like a marshmallow.

Photo credit: TurtleMountain.com

I paired it with Frog Hollow pear sauce, though, and it made a huge difference. (I’m guessing even chocolate sauce would do the same, it just needs a complementary flavor.)

To pick some up for yourself, check out their store locator.

My name is Jenna, and I love food.

Let’s be clear: I really, really love food. I love cooking it, eating it, writing about it, thinking about it, dreaming about it, learning new things about it… you get the point.

Consequently, I really hate my food allergy. I have an anaphylaxis to all nuts, which means even one rogue sliver of a nut could kill me. What’s a devoted foodie to do?

I started this blog because I believe having serious food allergies and having a wonderful, adventurous food life do not have to be mutually exclusive. This blog is for all the food-lovers out there that refuse to be prisoners to their food allergies (yet still understand the importance of eating responsibly).

My restaurant reviews are not entirely allergy-centric (so non-allergics are just as welcome, you lucky ducks), but there is a component of the rating system that takes into account allergy-friendliness. The rating system is as follows (each rating ranges from 1 to 10, 10 being the highest score possible):

• Food: overall deliciousness
• Presentation: composition and design of the dishes
• Menu: diversity and appeal of menu
• Service: attentiveness and friendliness of service
• Ambiance: restaurant decor and design
• Allergy-friendliness: how attentive, knowledgeable, accommodating and transparent the staff was about the allergy; presence of any allergy incidents (cross-contamination, allergic reaction)
• Cost: $ is really cheap, $$ is moderate, $$$ is pretty expensive, and $$$$ is you better have just won the lottery or made CEO.

Since I’m based in San Francisco, most of my reviews will be centered on the Bay Area. But I left my heart back in Boston where I was born and raised, so you may see some Boston reviews in there as well, joined by any of my other travel destinations.

I will also post some of my favorite recipes, as well as reviews of allergy-friendly products (when I can find them!).

If you have any suggestions for restaurants to review, recipes to publish, products to investigate, or any other comments, suggestions or feedback at all, I’d love to hear from you!

Happy (and safe) eating!

~Jenna

Nothing like a quick oyster break at an early morning farmers' market!