Tiptoeing Around Tree Nuts
Victoria Still Finds Joy in Food While Navigating Allergens
Words by Chelsey Simpson / Photos by Rachel Waters
Victoria Still discovered her daughter Stevie’s food allergies the hard way. A taste of pistachio ice cream sent Stevie to the emergency room, and everyone assumed the pistachios were to blame. More ER visits followed, until it was determined that Stevie is allergic not only to tree nuts, but to dairy, eggs, and peanuts as well.
Stevie is now 6, and Victoria and her husband Carter are practically experts at navigating food allergy life. We sat down to talk with her about how she feeds her family and where she finds joy in food.
I think some people still don’t realize how serious food allergies are. What does Stevie go through when she encounters an allergen?
Stevie’s reactions included coughing, vomiting, and struggling to breathe. Within 90 seconds of receiving an EpiPen injection, it really helps stop the scariness, but the symptoms can come back several hours later. Originally, Stevie could have a reaction just from skin contact with an allergen. It’s a source of anxiety; it’s something we think about every day when we send her to school or any time we leave our house.
When you learned about her allergies, did you completely eliminate those foods from your kitchen?
When Stevie was first diagnosed, we took everything out of the house. Then we slowly reintroduced things. We had certain rules, like we would only eat allergens at the bar, not at the table with her. I bought a skillet and utensils in a different color to avoid cross-contamination, and that really worked for us and for babysitters or grandparents who were at our house.
All of that anxiety must have really taken a toll.
In the beginning I felt incredibly sorry for her—I grieved a lot for the loss of normal childhood. I thought about going on a first date, I thought about college. I kept going down a dark hole. But kids don’t know what they are missing if they’ve never had it. But when she got a little older, she started noticing more things. One day she asked to stop at Braum’s, but I had to tell her we could only eat ice cream at home.
Are there some restaurants that are able to accommodate food allergies?
We have slowly built our list of things that are safe. In-N-Out has egg- and dairy-free buns, and Chick-fil-A had safe nuggets. We once planned a road trip around not traveling on a Sunday so we could eat Chick-fil-A. Disneyland really caters to food allergies—we had a wonderful time there, and it was really our first experience with letting Stevie eat something that someone else prepared for her. I cried the whole time.
What advice would you give restaurant workers who want to better accommodate people with food allergies?
One of the most important things is being really honest with customers. If there might be a risk of cross-contamination or you aren’t sure of an ingredient, tell us that. Ideally, kitchens could set up a designated space with designated utensils that they only use for prepping food with food allergies. In the six years of experiencing this food allergy life, I feel like the community around us and in the hospitality world has started taking food allergies more seriously. That has been very heartwarming.
I know you still cook the majority of everything Stevie eats. How has this changed your relationship with cooking?
As a busy family of four [Stevie’s brother Anderson is 1], I wish I could just make a bunch of casseroles on the weekend and freeze them. For better or worse, food allergies have inspired me to learn new cuisines and find recipes that we like that I can cook without dairy, eggs, tree nuts, or peanuts.
After her diagnosis I focused so much on what she couldn’t have, but I learned over time that it is easier to focus on what she can have and build a menu around that. We do a lot of deconstructed family dinners where there’s a base of rice or potatoes, and we keep safe items on the table and unsafe items out of reach, like sour cream or pesto. I think it was really healing for her to be able to add things to her own dish, and it allowed us to make one dinner for everyone.
One morning not long ago I was making reindeer antler pancakes with an allergy-friendly pancake mix that we love, and we were all having a good time and enjoying food together. It didn’t feel like anything was missing. I remember that day letting go of the self-pity. For a long time I was angry and sad. But I have made peace with her special diet and our lives, and I have really started to enjoy cooking rather than having it feel like a chore.
Victoria shared one of her favorite family recipes with us. You can read more about her family’s food allergy journey by following @victoriastillokc on Instagram.
