Great Grocery Store Foods for Food Allergy Sufferers

Food allergies are caused by the body's inappropriate immunologic response to a food protein. Food allergies affect between six to eight percent of children in the United States, and the occurrence of food allergies is on the rise.

Diligence in choosing foods and preparing meals can be a matter of life or death for an individual with food allergies. Below are five delicious and convenient foods for my daughter, whose food allergies include dairy, soy, wheat, peanuts, and eggs.

Rice Milk

Most milk allergy sufferers can find a good substitute in soy milk, whose consistency and versatility is similar to milk. If soy is also a trigger, however, rice milk is an excellent alternative.

Rice milk is thinner than cow or soy milk. Unless fortified, it does not carry as many nutrients as cow or soy milk. Fortified rice milks are readily available in most grocery stores, and most come in flavors like vanilla, to make them more palatable.

We use rice milk in every way one would use soy or cow's milk, in mashed potatoes, cereal, and even in making homemade bread. The cost of rice milk can range from $2.86 (Wal Mart) to over $4.00.

Rice Bread

Wheat and gluten allergies are becoming more common. Finding bread that is devoid of wheat, milk, eggs and soy is challenging, but the major retail chain in our area (Meijer's), carries the Ener G brand of rice bread.

This bread is much drier and harder than regular bread, but it can be easily softened by a quick ten second spin in the microwave. It is also smaller in size than the average commercial brand bread.

Cost for this bread is over $4.00 a loaf, but it is very handy and makes toast and sandwiches possible for the wheat intolerant in your household.

Post Cocoa Pebbles Cereal

If you are allergic to eggs, dairy, wheat, peanuts and soy, whipping up a quick breakfast can be challenging. Fortunately, Post Cocoa Pebbles Cereal is free of all of these offending things, and has a nice chocolaty flavor. Served with rice milk, it's my little allergy sufferer's favorite breakfast. Because it is not manufactured specifically for people with food allergies, its cost is comparable to other name brand cereals.

Minute Rice Single Serving Rice Cups

Since my daughter is allergic to wheat and eggs, most pastas are off limits for her, making rice staple in her diet. She often eats it three times a day.

Uncle Ben's Microwaveable Ready Rice was a welcome break from boiling water and waiting for rice to cook, but Minute Rice has gone one better and offers single serving rice cups that are microwaved and ready in one minute flat. The brown rice, white rice, and chicken flavors are all acceptable in her restricted diet.
These single serving rice cups make food preparation for my daughter quick and easy, and also make excellent snacks.

Smart Balance Light Butter

There are numerous margarines on the market that do not have milk in them, but finding a margarine devoid of both soy and milk was difficult.

Smart Balance Butter Light is the best performing margarine that does not have milk, whey or soy in it. (Smart Balance Butter does not meet the non-soy, non-dairy standard, so shop carefully.) This margarine is great for cooking, baking, or eating on rice bread toast or over popcorn. The flavor is so good that everyone in the house now uses Smart Balance Butter Light as our everyday butter spread.