Thanks for joining me and welcome to my blog! See that adorable person in the picture above? No, I’m not talking about my awesome fiance (although he IS adorable!), but I’m talking about this girl right here, the one who is *usually* labeled with all the “food problems.”
So many thoughts went through my mind when I decided to create a blog about an important aspect of my life: food allergies and sensitivities. I kept thinking to myself, “Is this a blog people might actually read?” You know what conclusion I came to: YES. This is a topic that people will read about. Why? Because this is my real life. No, I’m not a doctor, and no, I am not licensed to give any sort of professional advice or diagnoses (as much as I would like to think I am :p ). I’m just me, living my every day life with food allergies and sensitivities.
Let’s back up for a second so I can tell you a little more about me and why this topic is so important to me. It was a hot summer’s night in August 1992….just kidding! We’re not really going back that far, we’re actually going back less than 10 years ago, when I was a 19-year-old Sophomore living on campus at UMass Amherst. My family had just started seeing a doctor in Maine (which is quite a trek from Massachusetts, my home state), and some family members had taken food sensitivity tests per his recommendation. I decided to hop on board because why not? I ate well, although I did struggle with feeling well-rested and mood swings, and I tried to keep physically fit. I honestly didn’t think much would come of the testing for me.
Whoah, was I way off! I remember getting a call from my doctor while I was sitting in my friend’s room on campus. As soon as my doctor started listing off the results of my test, my heart sank. Although the physical test results are long gone by this point (I was probably a self-assured 19-20 year old who felt that keeping the information was pointless…silly Meagan!), I remember very clearly which foods my doctor told me were off-limits: eggs, wheat, whey, milk, spelt, and occasionally mushrooms. All of these foods come up as high food sensitivities/boarder-line allergies (the difference will be more flushed out in my next post) for me, with eggs being at the very top of that list. I also found out in the same conversation that I had been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, but that’s a conversation for another time!
Fast forward to November 2017 when I started having reactions to more food after eliminating most of the foods above. I decided to get retested, and I found out that, in addition to my existing food sensitivities, I also was sensitive to both amaranth and yeast/baker’s yeast. I also found out that my sensitivity to mushrooms had gone waaaayyyyy up. That brought my grand total of food allergies/sensitivities to:
- eggs/any product made with eggs
- wheat
- whey, milk, and all dairy products
- spelt
- amaranth/quinoa
- mushrooms
- and baker’s yeast/all yeast products
And now, we’re all caught up! I intend to use this blog as a positive place to speak about my experience living with all of these food allergies and sensitivities by sharing recipes, sharing tips on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and sharing my struggles and successes as I continue to learn about how to live with my allergies, with a Disney twist. 😉 My hope is that by sharing my experiences, I can help people in similar situations see how they can still live complete, delicious lives.
Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for my next blog post!
~ Meagan
Meagan has been living with many food allergies and sensitivities since she was 19 years old. She is currently a Personal Vacation Advisor for Magical Vacation Planner, specializing in helping her guests book trips to Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort. Meagan enjoys researching fitness and nutrition and has taken a special interest in finding allergy friendly options at Walt Disney World.
Interested in having Meagan help you plan your next trip? Send her an email at m.slone@magicalvacationplanner.com or get a free quote at https://magicalvacationplanner.com/staff/meagan-slone/!