People often underestimate the effect of allergies on a person’s life. For people with allergies it is a full time job making sure that they don’t eat something they’re not supposed to.

“(Going to the grocery store is like) reading a book. It’s going down the aisles and judging whether or not it’s worth it to pick it up because half of it is going to have nuts in it,” said Matt Roca. (‘16)

There’s also the added expense of buying food made specially for people with allergies.

“When a normal loaf of bread costs you maybe a couple bucks, a small loaf of bread is like $5 or $6 for me,” says Katie Cook (‘17). “Dessert is probably the hardest to cook for.”

For Katie, her gluten allergy also means that she must budget more closely for her college expenses due to the cost of her groceries.

Allergies can also be easily provoked, and for Matt Roca that mean that anybody he’s in a relationship with has to avoid peanuts.

“I’ll find a girl and we’ll both really like each other and then she’ll be very much into peanuts and “oh sorry.” Said Matt.

The reactions that people can have vary from person to person. While most people think of anaphylactic shock when they think of an allergic reaction there’s a wide range of symptoms that alert a person that they’re having a reaction.

“When I was very young that’s when we figured it out. I would eat peanuts and the reactions would get progressively worse but the worst thing that happened to me was my face would swell up a little bit but I never got anaphylactic shock.” said Matt.

Peanut Free Chocolate Chip Cookies with Salted Caramel

2 1/4 cups of flour

2 large eggs

1 stick of butter

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Caramel

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 stick of butter

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add butter, sugar, and eggs in bowl. Combine until they are white and fluffy. Continue by adding the baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract. Sift flour and then add little by little until it is well combined. After it looks like dough add the chocolate chips. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown. To make the caramel, and butter and sugar in a medium saucepan at high heat on the stove. Stir until it begins to look light brown. Take the saucepan off heat immediately after it turning brown. Add a little bit of salt and drizzle over the cookies after they’ve cooled down.