By Taylor Sutton, MS, RD
United Supermarkets’ Lifestyle Desk
May is allergy awareness month. And while we’ve focused heavily on our gluten-free friends within the past few years, we want to continue including as many of our allergy friends as possible. With that in mind, if you haven’t seen our new tags in the store, we highly encourage you to use these as a general guide throughout your time spent shopping if you do have an allergy or intolerance to one or more of the top eight allergens.
Living with food allergies is no joke. Did you know that 5 percent of adults and 8 percent of children have a food allergy? Food allergies are very common, and research says they are only going to continue increasing in prevalence. We’ve all heard of food allergies, but what exactly are they, and what causes them to occur?
When someone has a food allergy, their body triggers an immune response against certain foods. This is because the immune system is flagging some of the proteins in the food as harmful, which triggers a cascade of events in the body. This includes the release of a chemical known as histamine, which promotes inflammation. Symptoms can vary in their presentation, onset, and severity. Some of the most common symptoms include swelling of the tongue, mouth or face, hives, itchy rash, difficulty breathing, low blood pressure, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. Sometimes allergies can cause more severe reactions such as anaphylaxis and can even be fatal.
The top 8 allergens are: dairy, soy, eggs, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish. So when you see these products in our store as well as online, these products have been determined by the manufacturer that each tag does not contain the allergen it is referencing. We love having this option for you as we know it can sometimes be challenging to read food labels. Not only if you are new to learning to read them, but the small print, to keeping low physical contact with packages.
Garam Masala Roasted Cauliflower
Ingredients
1 Tbsp. Garam Masala
1 Tsp. Turmeric
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 large head Cauliflower
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
3. Chop cauliflower into medium sized pieces
4. Drizzle olive oil over the cauliflower and toss to coat
5. Sprinkle spices over top of cauliflower and toss to coat
6. Bake for 20 minutes
