Eating Out
Eating out becomes a much more difficult task for someone with MSPI but it is NOT impossible. Most fast food restaurants have an allergan information page online that lists which foods are safe to eat depending on your allergy. Sit down restaurants are a little harder to get this kind of info from though the bigger chains usually have it.
When at a sit down restaurant you will need to ask specific questions such as which cooking oil they use to cook. If they aren’t sure or just say vegetable then avoid anything cooked in it. Make sure to tell the waiter that you have MSPI (though you will have to specifically say milk and soy) and that you cannot have any food with them in it. For children this is hard because most things on the kids menu have soy or milk in them. I have found that getting just a plain piece of broiled chicken usually works pretty good. For side items I usually ask for plain mixed vegetables without butter. Fresh fruit for a side is ok too if that is available.
Also pay attention to cross contamination when eating out. Beware of salad bars that have items that contain milk or soy. If they get into the foods you will be consuming then you will react. Also make sure the chef knows your specific allergies as they may use a pan that was just used to cook a meal containing milk or soy to cook your milk or soy free meal. Cooking spray is another source of contamination.
Fast Food Restaurants
Here are links to ingredient lists for some of the fast food restaurants.
Arby’s: http://www.arbys.com/nutrition/calculator.php?mid=1&type=allergens
Au bon pain: http://www.aubonpain.com/nutrition/
Blimpie: http://www.blimpie.com/na/ingredients.php
Boston Market: http://www.bostonmarket.com/restaurant?page=allergens
Burger King: http://www.bk.com/Nutrition/PDFs/ingredients.pdf
Carl’s Jr Hamburgers:http://www.carlsjr.com/content_svn/downloads/allergies.pdf
Chick-fil-A: http://www.chick-fil-a.com/#nutritiondata
Church’s Chicken: http://www.churchs.com/nutrition/nutritionalDetail.html
Domino’s Pizza: http://www.dominos.com/home/menu/ingredients.jsp
Dunkin Donuts: https://www.dunkindonuts.com/aboutus/nutrition/
Hardee’s: http://www.hardees.com/content/downloads/ingredients_allergens.pdf
Jack In the Box: http://www.jackinthebox.com/ourfood/ingredients.php
Jimmy John’s: http://www.jimmyjohns.com/menu/nutrition.aspx
KFC: http://www.kfc.com/nutrition/pdf/kfc_ingredients.pdf
Long John Silvers: http://www.yum.com/nutrition/allergen/allergen_ljs.asp
McDonalds: http://www.mcdonalds.com/app_controller.nutrition.categories.ingredients.index.html
Panda Express: http://www.pandaexpress.com/images/pdf/AllergyInformation.pdf
Pizza Hut: http://www.yum.com/nutrition/allergen/allergen_ph.asp
Popeye’s Chicken & Biscuits: http://www.popeyes.com/2008_Ingredients.pdf
Quizno’s Subs: http://www.quiznos.com/menu/files/allergen_table.pdf
Sbarro’s: http://www.sbarro.com/ourFood/nutrition.php
Schlotzsky’s Deli: http://www.schlotzskys.com/nutrition.html
Steak N Shake: http://www.steaknshake.com/nutritional_info/IngredientsandAllergens.pdf
Subway: http://subway.com/Applications/NutritionInfo/Files/AllergenChart.pdf
Taco Bell: http://www.yum.com/nutrition/allergen/allergen_tb.asp
Taco Time: http://www.tacotime.com/PDF/TTNutritionals.pdf
Tim Hortons: http://www.timhortons.com/en/menu/menu_info.html
Wendy’s: http://www.wendys.com/food/pdf/us/nutrition.pdf
Whataburger: http://www.whataburger.com/browse_dietary_restrictions.php
Winchell’s Donuts: http://www.winchells.com/our_menu/menu.php?cid=nutrition