Don't Feed the Fear: Food Allergy Anxiety & Trauma

Connection Not Perfection: Holiday Talk with Megan Lavin

• Amanda Whitehouse • Season 7 • Episode 49

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In this special holiday episode, I welcome Megan Lavin, the creator behind Allergy Awesomeness. She is a trusted voice in the food allergy community, allergy mom of four, and now a morning TV anchor. Together, we explore what it means to create a happy and connected (not perfect) holiday for our families.

We also discuss Megan’s recent experience with a brand partnership, how she approached it with honesty, and her take on what it means for us to be positive members of the food allergy community.

This episode is a reminder that clarity and  can transform the way we approach food, family, and advocacy.

Listen now for heartfelt conversation, practical insights, and permission to make this season your own.

Follow Megan at https://allergyawesomeness.com/ and on social media @allergy_awesomeness

Megan's top 3 holiday recipes:
https://allergyawesomeness.com/allergy-friendly-sugar-cookies/
https://allergyawesomeness.com/dairy-free-fudge/
https://allergyawesomeness.com/dairy-free-caramels/

Cookbook:
https://www.amazon.com/Allergy-Moms-Lifesaving-Instant-Cookbook/dp/1624147607

Megan's adorable Tootsie Roll ad:
https://youtube.com/shorts/ox0UqOOOYSo?si=6fJ2NYXzk3Uk-SBa

Special thanks to Kyle Dine for permission to use his song The Doghouse for the podcast theme!
www.kyledine.com

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
-welcome@dramandawhitehouse.com



Megan Lavin:

Allergy moms are great at this. You just, you find a way around it. You're just like, all right, well here we go. And that's what's so great about allergy moms is we just, we make crap happen. You just, you we do pick it up and you, you keep on going. You keep on ly.

Speaker:

Welcome to the Don't Feed the Fear podcast, where we dive into the complex world of food allergy anxiety. I'm your host, Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, food allergy anxiety psychologist and food allergy mom. Whether you're dealing with allergies yourself or supporting someone who is, join us for an empathetic and informative journey toward food allergy calm and confidence..

Megan Lavin, who you probably know as allergy awesomeness. Is one of the most trusted and loved voices in the food allergy world. She is a mama four a recipe developer and cookbook author and advocate, and now a morning TV anchor who somehow still finds time to share real inclusive recipes. Advocate for the food allergy community and give her honest reflections about raising kids with food allergies. Thanksgiving is right around the corner and we wanted you to hear this conversation in time to start planning how to cook safely, how to manage expectations, and how to bring more peace to your holiday table, whatever you might be celebrating at the end of the year. We also talk about something that's been on Megan's mind lately, a little bit of negativity that happened around her wonderful partnership with Tootsie Roll in the commercial that she made for them. True to form. Megan handled it with transparency and grace, and we unpack what that experience taught her about boundaries, communication. Staying grounded in your values and what she thinks it means to be a good member of the food allergy community. Just a quick heads up, Megan and I had a little bit of technical difficulty as we were recording. The first five minutes or so of this episode are a little glitchy. I did my best to edit it, but she is a busy woman and we didn't have time to record in order to get this out to you when we wanted to. So please bear with me through that. And I promise you, after the first five minutes or so, the sound quality will improve greatly and hopefully it won't distract too much from my wonderful guest. Who was so generous to join me here.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

Megan, thank you so much for joining me here on Don't Feed the Fear to Talk about the upcoming holidays and to help us, get ready for all the things that lie ahead at our favorite time of the year as allergy families.

Megan Lavin:

Oh, it's my pleasure. Thank you so much for having me.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

Of course, I've been following you for so long and you really are just so relatable and so accessible and I think that's why so many people also, enjoy your content. In case there are those listening who don't know you, you give us a little bit of background on how you created your platform and got into this space.

Megan Lavin:

Yeah, My background is broadcast journalism. Communicating with people, um, being involved, being in the know, sharing tidbits. And then my oldest son He had food allergies He had additional, you know, medical issues, EOE, asthma, and so I stopped working and I wanted to share. All the things I was learning, all the recipes that were working. And so with my background and with the marketing and the broadcast, I was like, I should blog, I was like, I wanna carve out the space that I can, you know, keep up my skills and connect with other moms.'cause you feel so lonely and so it's been such a fun journey and it's given me silver linings and just to do things I didn't think I'd be able to do and work with companies It's really, you know, helped it feel more like lemonade than just pure lemon. So kind of put all that together. My main focus is you know, recipes but on social media. Media, which I think is the really fun part. I talk about. the background and, and the lifestyle and how it affects us. And just, you know, what living with food allergies is all about.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

It's so helpful, I relate because we're kind of in the same phase. Our, kids are around the same age range, they're managing their allergies and I like to hear from people like you, especially who've been having an audience and sharing for so long your perspective it's different once you have this much experience Under your belt.

Megan Lavin:

Oh, 1000%. I remember when I was first diagnosed kind of clinging to allergy moms, I found friends and solace in moms that had teenagers. And I was like, tell me all the things. It seemed so insurmountable. Once you get higher in the climb you turn around and you help. the people below. And so they were able to do that for me. And I always just think like,. Like if I can turn around and help someone who's, you know, maybe a little bit farther back, all the better.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

Like you said, it's good for the people that we're sharing it with, but it's also helpful for us in terms of being able to pay that forward. And I, I think it helps you take stock of how far you've come,

Megan Lavin:

Oh, 1000%. I, I always think like, man, if I could just, if I could have given, you know, 10, 15 years ago a glimpse how we'd be traveling and how will adjusted he, being that he's a happy, healthy kid, like I would've just died. To know that So it's just nice to Remember that mindset, you know, to remember like how scary because you do, you adjust, you do acclimate. It's important to remember like how scary it is at first.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

Definitely, and as you've said, there's twists and turns that we can't anticipate, including seeing ourselves feeling settled in this life. You have just shared that you started this new role in your career that you never saw around the corner. So before we get too much into food and holidays and recipes, I would love it if you would share with us your newest, endeavor.

Megan Lavin:

Oh, thank you. So my degree was in broadcast and, then I kind of stepped away from it and I really thought, well, my time is up, I And it just goes to show like how life can be, because you know, with broadcast journalism, it's very much like what your work has been and what station you're from. every year there's new and up and coming journalists So I really thought, I'm out of the game, I'll never get to do it again, but, oh well, you know, that's the sacrifice I made. And, and in my local, um, network they were looking for a morning anchor and I was like, oh, there's no way. And it's really unheard of like usually anchors work, you know, crazy odd shift for years before you get a chance. And so It was, just a pinch me moment. My youngest is in school full time and I thought, well, maybe I'll look for something part-time. And then I was like, well, let's just go for it, you know? And I got it and I'm loving it. And what's interesting is a lot of the work that I've done, the monthly videos that I do for allergic living, speaking engagements and things. Like that. And just understanding social media and web presence actually helped me. They looked at those as positive things, and so it just goes to show like the skills you're learning are not wasted, and they can be used in a variety of ways, whether that's stepping back into an old career when your kids are getting older like there's no wasted experiences

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

Absolutely, and you may not have taken the traditional route, but you definitely were doing your own broadcast, right? For all of those years, you were creating so much of your own content so I could see why they wanted your unique skills that you're bringing into their broadcast.

Megan Lavin:

thank you. It's true. I mean, it still still helped me create stories, look at things from certain angles, communicate. So it's been just really a beautiful dream. It's nice to see it come full circle. I would've never guessed when I stepped away all those years ago that I'd be doing, and, and my first piece just ran, for food allergies and holidays it's called a package in the industry, And I had asked if I could have my son be a guest. I'm like downloading it and saving it to my personal drive.'cause I'm like, this is a moment, like, this is so neat that, you know, I'm able to bring up this topic Have my son who's now getting. Grown and being an advocate for himself. It was just a really beautiful moment.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

What did he think of that and what do all the kids think of Mom? You know, being on TV and, and this change in the family,

Megan Lavin:

it's a, it's an adjustment. Um, I'm not gonna lie, two youngers are the girls. I have two Boys and the two girls, and they, they cried when I told'em'cause you know, um, I'm out of the home and it's crazy hours. I work 4:00 AM to 1:00 PM pm Um, and so they were like, what is, what is this gonna be? I think just the uncertainty. And I've tried to like bring them to the station and introduce them and let them watch the live newscast. My oldest like literally just brought a book and read the whole time. He was like, I'm not impressed, mom. So any career you have, your kids are always gonna be like, yeah, yeah, you're still mom.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

Well, someday it'll sink in. Even if they can't, recognize the coolness of it right now.

Megan Lavin:

One can hope

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

Is there a possibility that you'll be able to bring more allergy content to the show in the future?

Megan Lavin:

Yeah, I talked about that. when We initially did my contract, I said, you know, allergy awesomeness is not going away. This is part of who I am. And they were like, oh no, we'd like for you to. bring up allergy pieces every once in a while. We know that's something that's I important for you to cover, there are advances being made in food allergy. There's holidays. It's timely. And they're very open to it.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

That's great because yeah, it is a large part of their audience, especially if you don't consider just the people affected by it, but their families, their friends, their teachers. It's relevant to most of the population.

Megan Lavin:

It really is. Yeah.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

Where can people watch you and how can they find you on tv?

Megan Lavin:

Yeah, so I work in Idaho Falls, it's called News eight. Is KIFI and you can find me there. And then all of my regular channels, just under allergy awesomeness. On Instagram. Instagram and Facebook. All the places, I'm sure I'll be cross posting.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

Perfect. So let's talk about the holidays, you obviously have been living this life for a long time, and the holidays can be a lot for us. What do you think are the biggest things to consider

Megan Lavin:

It's such a big topic, I think what it comes. Comes down to is, at least for what's worked for for me, is planning ahead and really take stock of what are traditions that I wanna hold onto or for me that I wanna let go? Are there ways I can make them allergy friendly or do I need to create new ones? Right. And then owning it maybe you just need to broaden holiday themed with my family. It doesn't necessarily necessarily have to be the exact same thing every year. So I, I'm like, as long as we're doing something fun and crafty that's what I care about. And it can change and it can flex from year to year. I think we get so rigid in the way we look at the holidays, you know, I'm like, so like the week my kids are off. I'm like, I want something every single day I've realized from my personality, as long as I have something to look forward to it doesn't matter the, the item or the agenda that we're doing. Some of the things are non-negotiables and I'm like, you know, this is a tradition I wanna carry forward from my childhood that I know I want my kids to experience. And one of those is, you know, sugar cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. And I was like asking all the allergy moms I knew, like, do you have an allergy friendly cookie? And that's why that was one of the first recipes on my site because I knew like, this is a key moment I wanna have with my kids and darn it, I'm gonna figure it out. And so, you know, I have to plan ahead and I had to. Make that happen, it just comes down to like knowing your personality, what really matters to you. And, and don't stress yourself out. Don't be trying to figure out sugar cookies the week of Christmas. You know, start planning now where it's like, okay, what is gonna really matter to me? What's gonna, you know, sting if I don't have this anymore? Or is gonna feel, you know, really sad to me because some, you know, you can, you can give away, like my parents used to take us out to dinner and to a movie every Christmas Eve. You know, that's just not something super feasible for us. And so I was like, all right, well you know, that's fine. We can watch a movie at home or we can do this or that. And so don't feel beholden or imprisoned to these things Your kids will never know, what they will know is what you go with forward. And I think realizing it's kind of this fresh slate and it, and looking at it, changing your perspective to, oh, this is so sad to be like, this is exciting. I get to literally. Set this up for my kids, what do we want it to look like? And sometimes I'll even ask my kids, around Thanksgiving, we'll do a list of like December must haves, you know, and, and so they feel a part of it. They're like, oh, we wanna watch home alone, or, oh, we want to, you know, do hot chocolate, or, you know, and, and then I try and see where we can fit those activities in. So, you know, I think a lot of times we come at things with food allergies of like, oh, it's lacking, it's lacking. Try and look at it from this abundance of like, look at all these things I can do and, and, and we're gonna do, we tend to think of the holidays as such a food centered thing, but like making Christmas tree ornaments and sled and making a snowman and like, there's so many beautiful memories that can be made even without food and that's. Coming from a major foodie, I love my food, but there's still so much you can do.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

This is what I love about you. You're so practical and you take something that's so emotional for us and such a big topic, and you just make it sound so logical. Like, plan ahead, ask these questions. What can we keep? What do I have to have? What can we let go? And then make a plan ahead of time? And it's, it makes it sound so doable when many of us do feel overwhelmed by it.

Megan Lavin:

And that's totally understandable. It is an emotional thing. Holidays and memories, nostalgia. Like it's so easy to get wrapped up in. And I've had my moments too. I'm glad I come across that way because you know, my friends have had to just talk me off of a ledge. My husband's had to tell me. It's not that big of a deal. So please don't think I don't have those moments. But I think, you know, as long as you, you dust yourself up and you try not stay in that mind frame, it's okay to have those down moments, but pick yourself back up.'cause there's still so much Good,

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

great point. We all can experience that. But Giving yourself something actionable to move past it, obviously it feels good not to get stuck there. Yes, exactly. Oh, this is wonderful. It's so helpful to hear you talk about it in that way. Then for the things that do feel non-negotiable or the things that you really lean on as staples. The sugar cookies were the first one, so we're gonna link to that recipe on your website. Um, what other recipes really have people just. Been excited about because they do feel like the things they don't wanna leave out of their holiday celebrations.

Megan Lavin:

Yeah. So fudge is a big thing we always do fudge. Um, I think I got that from my grandpa. He always loved fudge. So. Um, we always make that and snack on it. Um, we love to do treats for neighbors. For a long time, we switched it up. We couldn't quite decide. We wanted to like be known for one thing and we tried various cookies, but I think we've settled on, we've done it like four years now. Making homemade caramels. They're dairy free. We make an assembly line and we look forward to it. And then we. We put'em in cute little bags and we, Carol, as we hand them to our neighbors. And so that's a really big memory maker. That's one of the first things that goes on the calendar. Like what weekend is gonna be the caramel weekend? You know? Um, then it's like, it's gotta be the Christmas ham and it's gotta be the scalp potatoes and the honey carrots and you know, so there's, there's definitely those food staples that it's, okay, it wouldn't feel like Christmas without it. How can we hit it? How can we make this work? But for a long time. My son didn't grow out of his egg allergy until, I don't know, he was like 10 ish. And I always wanted that egg bake. I grew up eating the classic Christmas egg bake, and I just missed it and missed it until I finally figured out how to make it without it. So, we did many years of like, okay, well maybe we'll do scones or maybe we'll do. Hash browns and, and so, you know, there are some, some years where you can't quite make it happen. There's just no way around it. But thankfully there's so many other good foods and so many other fun ways to make things happen that. Allergy moms are great at this. You just, you find a way around it.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

Right. You find an alternative.

Megan Lavin:

Yep. And you're just like, all right, well here we go. And that's what's so great about allergy moms is we just, we make crap happen. You just, you we do pick it up and you, you keep on going. You keep on ly.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

So I have to pause. Maybe it's just different terminology because of where we're at geographically, but I don't know what an egg bake is. Is that a casserole? Is that like a breakfast casserole with egg and bread?

Megan Lavin:

Yeah, it can be with bread. We don't do it with bread, but yeah, it's in a 13 by nine dish and it's kinda like a catchall. You got your sausage, you got your tater tots, you got, and it's thick and it's very filling. Uh, it's really savory'cause you're eating crap all day long, so you need like that hearty, stable breakfast. So that's funny. I didn't realize it was a. Maybe it's more of a western Idaho. I don't know thing. But yeah, it, it needless to say it's good. Whatever you call it, it's good. Sounds amazing.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

Yes. I'm, my menu is just expanding in my head here as we're talking, which is making me think, I, I love to cook, I think as allergy moms. Yes. You said. We do. We've just figured it out and we move forward. But I thankfully grew up in a family where my parents cooked. They actually had a restaurant. I was taught how to Oh wow. So cooking itself didn't feel. Scary to me. But for a lot of people, realizing that they have to start learning to cook is really intimidating. So what do you tell people like that who don't have that experience and they're not just making swaps, they're actually learning to cook from scratch?

Megan Lavin:

Well, first of all, I'm so jealous. That sounds like such a great background. Holy cow. You're probably just poised to take off. I feel like I'm, I'm a middle ground and so. You know, my mom was always a good cook growing up, but I just could care less. I remember her being like, come here, let me show you. And I was like, don't care, you know? And so I looked back and just shake my head.'cause I'm like, I mean, I was the girl in college that was like trying to microwave raw chicken. I literally did not know. You can't, you should not do that. That's not sanitary. And I, I just, to me it was just a bother, you know? So I get people that are like, I don't have the time out. I was like, why? But then. Once I got married, a shift started to happen where I was like, oh, like I can express my love through food. I can take care of him. I can show him like, like, and seeing him be like, Ooh, this is so good. I think once I realized I had an audience, it really started to make me like wanna watch Food Network and like dive into recipe books. And so I'm grateful I was starting to enjoy it before my son came along. So I didn't, I didn't go from hating it, but my skills were still very poor. I was like, I don't even own a whisk, or, you know, it was so basic. So I, I share that in hopes that like, people will realize, if you don't love cooking and you didn't grow up, you know, blessed with a background, like you can learn recipe by recipe. And that's another reason why I was like, if I find a recipe that works, like I've got to share this because. A, if I can do it and B, like I know how it is when you're like, I already don't like doing this, and now this is a terrible tasting thing and it's a waste of ingredients and I've got all these dishes to do and I've got nothing to show for it. Like that's the worst. So I wanna save people from that.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

Are there any particular quick swaps or easy to start with things, um, so that people don't have those big disasters? As they're starting out? What tips do you have that make it easier?

Megan Lavin:

So, uh, a couple of things. I always say start off simple, right? So for us, we did So much like chicken and rice and grilled vegetables, you know, I was like, I'm not gonna try sauces. I'm not gonna try casseroles. And because yeah, you're trying to swap in creamy, all these textures and stuff you're used to, it's, it's gonna be rough at first. Just master the basics and get some solid recipes under your belt because eating simply and cleanly often does just naturally avoid, um. Allergens. And then the second is, and I, I get comments like this all the time under my recipes. Can I just swap in almond flour or can I just use my regular recipe and just swap in this? And I'm don't. Mm-hmm. Don't do it. And, and you can once you get to a point,'cause that, that's what I do. But until you're used to these ingredients. And it's also new, go to a recipe site, whether it's mine or whether it's another allergy blogger, another gluten-free blogger, someone who that they recipe test it and they've gone through iterations and they've made sure, the texture turns out and the taste turns out because so many people think, well, I can just swap in the single flour. And it's like, no, it takes like a blend to mimic wheat. Or I can just swap in this. And it's like, no, that's gonna be too oilier. You know? So go with the tried and true. Unless, unless it's fun for you to, to, to try things out. Some people do love testing and experimenting, but if it's like you're in a crunch. You gotta make some cupcakes for a birthday party. I would not suggest that's the time that you're like, I'm just gonna wing it and start swapping things in.'cause it can really get hairy real fast.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

Absolutely. That was, I was gonna say, if I have one tip, that's what it is, is to find someone who's already done that legwork for you. I always say don't reinvent the wheel. While life has stopped and you don't know how to move forward. So let people who, like you said, have experienced it, get rolling. And then once you're rolling again, then you can invent your own wheel and expand upon it. If it's fun and you have the bandwidth again. But, so many people out there like you have really put so much time and effort into figuring this out for us that it's a great starting point.

Megan Lavin:

Yeah, you put that perfectly. I love the way you put that.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

Well, thank you you're one of those people that helped me figure out, okay, someone already put a lot of time into this. I'm just gonna utilize that.

Megan Lavin:

Oh, thank you.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

Thank you. We're preparing for this conversation for. Before Thanksgiving so people can be thinking about their holiday meals and preparations. But I wanted to ask you about the recent, Halloween ad you did that was so adorable. Um, and you partnered with the candy brand and I just saw that you had some interesting discussion following up about it. So I would love to get your perspective while I have you here. To pick apart what's going on with our community and how things come across sometimes.

Megan Lavin:

Yeah, yeah. No, I'm an open book and, and love to talk about all things. So. The, the campaign you're discussing is, was my one with Tootsie Roll. And I was so thrilled. I mean, I was pinching myself they dmd me and I was like, is is this a fake account? Like, who are we, are we for reals right now? You know, because usually big brands don't often wanna work with allergy influencers. They wanna appeal to the masses they were like, we want. You know, get in with the allergy community and let them know like, Hey, we've got these safe products for you guys, and can you help us get the word out? And I was like, 1000%. Yes. You know, like, let's do it. And so I had, and I had so much fun, like I had my best friend be in it. I had, you know, my daughter be in it. I was so thrilled to post it. And you know, that's just part of being on the internet. I take responsibility that when you open yourself up, like mm-hmm And you've gotta comment box, people are gonna comment. And you know, I have been so fortunate because for the most part I have had nothing but love. Our community is typically very kind. You know, very supportive., And that's the problem is it did go somewhat viral. And when you start to get outside your, your typical, algorithm, you, you can let in some trolls and some other people. But I was very surprised because there was a decent amount of comments, enough so that I felt the need to say something, which is saying something.'cause I, I don't like controversy. I tend to, I tend to not try and get in the mix of things, but I just. I kept seeing all these comments about like, well, it doesn't work for me. And oh, Tootsie roll is an allergy friendly'cause it has dairy. Mm-hmm. And, you know, da da, da, da, da. And just some really upset people. And I was so taken aback by it because, well, you know, it was a double-edged sword because on one hand I can appreciate, I mean, I've gotten excited when I've seen a brand or a company or a new product. And then you flip it over and you're like, oh, that doesn't work for me. You know? And, and that like, seeing that, like I get that disappointment'cause that's happened to me so many times. I mean, my son used to only have 10 safe foods. Like, believe me when I say I get feeling left out, I get things not working for you, even when it's quote unquote allergy friendly and it's still doesn't work for you. I get that disappointment, but I, but I was also disappointed because I thought. Why are we, why are we being so negative and poo-pooing this company? We always say we want big brands to, to notice us. We want big brands to include us. And then they're literally trying to reach out and you're like being negative and the other thing that kind of made me laugh, and you know, I'm guilty of it too, but I was like, if you read the caption, Tootsie Roll is an umbrella and they have many brands and so. I mean, I, my own son, one of my sons has a dairy allergy, so I get it. And he doesn't eat t Tootsie rolls, but he does eat the dots and he does eat the charms and he does eat the double bubble, like they own all these other brands. So if I get a mix, it's like, well, you have this part and you have this part. And so I was like, well, it's not like they are excluding everyone. If you still don't feel safe getting Tootsie Roll, that's totally your call. And I'm not saying everyone should. But I just was so surprised that as a community we can come together and be happy that it works for some of us. I mean, even just all the celiacs, all the wheat and all the peanut people, that's millions of people. Mm-hmm. And I was like, let's just be happy that it works for them and they have a safe, fairly cheap option. There's a lot more expensive candy out there. Mm-hmm. And, and for so many people to Take it so personal and those knee jerk reactions and comments and being upset about it. I just, I was like, okay, I gotta say something like, guys, let's, let's think about this. We're just shooting ourselves in the foot. If every time a company tries to work with our community and we're like, well, you're not top nine free. That's not realistic. Not every candy can or should be top night free. Allergies are a spectrum. Some people have one, some people have 50, and we can't expect it to work for us every single time. And if it doesn't work for us, we don't need to be down on other people that it does work for us. Cheer for each other and support each other's wins and be happy for each other.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

I couldn't agree more. When I watch it from the outside, I can see it so clearly. People are reactive because their emotions are heightened because they're in protective mode for their kids or for themselves. But there's so many factors that make it so complicated. And one of the biggest ones, as you said, allergy free means nothing because people can be allergic to everything, not just the top nine. So any move in that direction. Or any company that can serve a large part of our community is a huge win for all of us because we can show, we can give them our business and we want more companies to do this.

Megan Lavin:

Exactly. Exactly. So like you said, I can see where they're coming from, but I also would hope that people would take a minute to pause before they hit that comment button. And that goes for all spectrums, you know? Mm-hmm. Take a beat. I know you're feeling very triggered right now, but is it serving our community? Is it helping our community by. Getting upset at these companies that are trying. I just don't think it serves us.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

No, no, but you handle it so well, and I, take a page from your book on that too, because I'm just learning the social media side of it and it's funny the timing of this because just today I had a post that I put so much time into and, you know, people had a reaction to it that I was not anticipating at all. And it's really not what I said. And you know, if you read the caption, but, but it just happens. Social media is a totally different form of communication than. Regular communication, I think.

Megan Lavin:

Yeah, it is. It is. And it hurts. You know, I think people forget, there's a real human being on the other side of the phone and, maybe I made a mistake or maybe I didn't phrase it perfectly, but it, it hurts. There have been times where it's like, okay, I gotta, I gotta set the phone down. And it's hard to not let it like spoil your day or get you down.'cause it stinks. Like, I think especially in the allergy community, we're all trying to put out content that. Helps the community. Mm-hmm. And we're, you know, you're not malicious. I'm not malicious. I only ever want to, help my family and help the community. So when it gets taken the wrong way, it, it stinks. You're like, oh, I, I was trying to be helpful. Not that, and I didn't mean to upset you. When then, when you've got all that energy coming at you and people are upset, it's, it's a lot. And most of us are doing this. Either hardly making anything or out of the goodness of our hearts. Mm-hmm. And so to have that be thrown back in your face, it's, it's hard. Social media can be the best place where we get to find other allergy parents and learn from each other and, and, you know, offer that validation and empathy. And other times it's like, oh, ouch. Okay. Right.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

We're on the same team.

Megan Lavin:

Right. So there was this one Facebook commenter, and I was like, oh, what a class Act like she did it so well.'cause again, knowing Tootsie Roll is probably tracking this, I don't know how many comments they read. Mm-hmm. But they're invested and they wanna see how people's responses, and, her comment was something along the lines of like, oh, I love that. This is such a win for so many people. That's so great. I hope maybe someday Tootsie Roll would look at. Making a dairy free T roll. Right? And I was like, that's the way to ask. Like, yes. You catch more flies with honey. Let's show that we're, we're in a positive, encouraging community that will embrace you when you come towards us. And I was like, there you go. That's the way to do it. If I could have double hearted it, I would've like, there you go.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

Yeah. Thank you for being willing to talk about it. I think it's a good reminder for everybody and I appreciate you sharing that and I'm excited for you. It was a great and adorable and so, such a heartwarming commercial. It just made me feel good. So thank you for it. Oh, thank you. I appreciate that. Yeah. So it's all parents, but especially us moms are most of the ones out here chatting about it on social media and, doing a lot of the planning and feeling the weight of this. What do you wanna say to all of our fellow allergy moms out there taking a deep breath and getting ready to tackle the holiday season?

Megan Lavin:

Well, I love that you started with take a deep breath because it really, the holidays, whether you have food allergies or not, it's a stressful time. You are buying gifts and you're making more food than usual and you've got the extra school activities and the performances and the parties and the family get togethers. And I think it's just like trying to find that balance. You gotta make safe gingerbread man for something, maybe you. You don't do the dishes at night and you go to bed with a messy kitchen because you can't do it all. Or you know, you're eating off of paper plates because it's like, I, I don't have time to be doing dishes. Find those little ways to like cut corners and save your time and energy. Don't just add it to a heaping list of stuff. Can you ask for help? I know we wanna do it all. Can you say to your spouse or partner or friend, like, Hey, you know, can you come over and help me, you know, make all these cookies like I'm drowning, Don't take on this Herculean task and just realize if it doesn't happen this year, it's okay. You can try again next year. There will be another Christmas. I know we want everything to be the end all, be all Pinterest perfection, but at the end of the day, you're human and you're trying, and your kids are gonna love you for your effort. And what they remember are the feelings and the love that they feel. Not necessarily all the things. So give yourself some grace. That's

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

so perfectly said. We all need that reminder. Thank you.

Megan Lavin:

Yeah, of course I need it too. Yes. So I'm preaching to the choir. You have to keep telling each

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

other and ourselves. Absolutely. So before I let you go, I will put everything in the show notes so it's easy for people to find, but tell the listeners where they can find all of the great stuff that you're putting out there for them.

Megan Lavin:

Oh, thank you. My favorite way is Instagram. I feel like that's the one I check the most I post to the most. So it's allergy awesomeness. Uh, you can go to my website. All my recipes are free on there. I have several hundred. That's allergy awesomeness.com. You can also, I post my shorts on YouTube and TikTok and Facebook. Um, so you can, you can find me all over the place, but those are, Instagram is probably my favorite. Um, and then you can find my cookbook online on Amazon or various bookstores across the country. My eBooks are also on my site, so. Lots of ways, join in, get involved. It's lots of fun.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

Absolutely. And cookbooks are such a great holiday gift for other food allergy moms, obviously, to help them feel seen and have a good resource. So everybody keep that in mind, someone's already done the legwork for you, so I'll take advantage of that.

Megan Lavin:

Yeah, definitely. I love a good cookbook. I look through them like a novel, like I love to turn every page and look at'em like they're the best.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

Yep. Especially when once they get all earmarked and dirty and well loved.

Megan Lavin:

Yeah, that's when you know it's a good one.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

Mm-hmm. I appreciate you taking the time to chat It's great to hear your perspective and again, I appreciate all of the wonderful support that you're putting out there for the food allergy community. Thank you.

Megan Lavin:

Thank you. And thank you for having a podcast and a platform that discusses these issues and you have such an important perspective with the mental health piece that's such a needed component. So you're out there doing the thing too. So I appreciate you. Well, thanks.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

It takes a team.

Megan Lavin:

Yeah, lift Where you stand is one of my favorite phrases, so

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

I love that. Thank you. Oh, thank you so much for being here, Megan.

Megan Lavin:

My pleasure. Thank you.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:

I hope you loved that conversation with Megan as much as I did, and thank you for sticking through the sound issues to get to all the goodness that she shared with us in this chat. I hope that it left you feeling the way that I do, which is connected, calm, and grateful for what we have, and looking forward to celebrating rather than being overwhelmed by it. Here are three action steps that you can do after listening today. Number one, follow Megan at Allergy Awesomeness, At Allergy awesomeness on Instagram and check out her recipes for allergy friendly Thanksgiving inspiration. Number two, share. Share this episode with another allergy parent who might be feeling that holiday pressure coming up. Let them know they're not alone. Or maybe share one of Megan's. Awesome resources. Her cookbook on Amazon, her ebook, that would be a wonderful way to connect with an allergy parent who needs some support as the holidays are arriving. Number three, take just five minutes today to think about the holidays that are coming up, what expectations you have, and anything that you might be able to let go of this season to make more space for joy and presence in all of your celebrations that are coming up. If you haven't already, please subscribe to the show. Leave me a rating or a review wherever you listen to help the show grow And so you don't miss the great episodes that I have coming up. Relevant to the holidays, more great guests, more real conversations, and hopefully more peace for your nervous system throughout this busy season. So thank you for being here, Megan, and thanks everyone for listening. I'll talk to you again next week.

Speaker:

Welcome to the Don't Feed the Fear podcast, where we dive into the complex world of food allergy anxiety. I'm your host, Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, food allergy anxiety psychologist and food allergy mom. Whether you're dealing with allergies yourself or supporting someone who is, join us for an empathetic and informative journey toward food allergy calm and confidence..

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Amanda Whitehouse, Ph.D.

Host
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Megan Lavin, Allergy Awesomeness

Guest