The Allergy Mom interviews Amanda Orlando, creator of the blog EverydayAllergenFree, and the author of two amazing cookbooks – Everyone’s Welcome and Allergen-Free Desserts.   You may have seen  or heard about Amanda and her cookbooks on the Global National Morning Show, CBC Radio, or the Globe & Mail. In this episode, she shares her experiences and knowledge of life with allergies at the teen and young adult ages and stages.   Amanda deals with allergies first hand as she is allergic to peanuts, nuts (excluding coconut), dairy, soy protein, and legumes (peas, chick peas, beans, lentils) and all  of her allergies are in fact anaphylactic. She’s lived with this autoimmune disease since birth and has  a wealth of experience to share on living a life with allergies.  

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• Amanda’s allergies and her most traumatic, emotionally impactful reaction experience
• Eating out at restaurants with food allergies/anaphylaxis – Amanda shares why she finds it MORE CHALLENGING TODAY than it used to be eating out in public with food allergies.
• Amanda’s cookbooks and blog – sharing recipes free from major allergens
• Amanda’s new YouTube Channel
• Amanda’s experiences as a teen -the high school years w/allergies
• Accepting a life with allergies vs. hope for overcoming them

Key Takeaways:

1. The importance of administering epinephrine right away if you’re having a reaction!
2. Eating out with food allergies – debating whether it’s worth the risk or not. 
3. There are recipes available that are delicious and amazing that are free from your allergens! 
4. Shopping with food allergies – it’s not easy but you can do it! How to shop, how to read ingredient labels and how to live a “normal” life with food allergies.
5. You can live a full and “normal” life with food allergies and there are silver linings to this diagnosis 
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That sums up Episode 3! Thanks for listening! Be sure to subscribe to the podcast – there are some amazing interviews and topics coming out in the next few weeks that I don’t want you to miss including:

• Daniel Kelly from May-contain.com
• Daniel Zakowski, CEO and Co-founder of Ready Set Food and his experience on Shark Tank and creating a system to PREVENT food allergies in babies!
• A special episode on Covid-19 – Important considerations for allergy-sufferers during the Pandemic.