Packing My Snacks for a Film Premier in LA

With photographs by Karrie Kwong

One of the best things about the online food allergy community is how incredibly supportive people can be. One of my online pals, Natalie, produced a film called Risk At First Bite, about living with food allergies. And after a long period of waiting the premier weekend is finally here! How could I miss it? I had to fly down from Toronto for the occasion. It's so rare to see food allergies in the spotlight in this capacity. And also a great excuse for my friend Karrie and I to get to sunny LA. 

I never eat airplane food and always bring my own snacks with me as you know from my previous travel posts. This time I brought a banana, an orange, and a pack of MadeGood Apple Cinnamon Granola Mini's. I often tire of eating safe snacks that are full of empty calories when I travel, so I love that these have the nutrients from a full serving of vegetables in every bag. I also kept them with me for a sweet treat when we hit the beach, and for a nutritious snack when we went for an afternoon hike. Having safe snacks in my purse lets me relax, and when they're both healthy and delicious too,  I'm one happy traveler!

What I Ate At Harvard

You may have noticed that sometimes I write about how I bring my own food when out and about, and around town, and doing things in general, especially while traveling. The time Karrie and I visited Harvard was no exception. It was our final day in the city and we had to catch a late afternoon flight home so we decided to squeeze in a quick tour. By this time we were tired as hell. Over the weekend we had spent nearly a whole day at Primark, scouring mounds of leggings for our sizes, hastily trying on fun-fur coats, and debating whether to buy the glitter clutch or the animal print one (glitter won by a landslide). We walked from one end of the city to the other, hitting up the Isabel Bader museum, Beacon Hill, the South End, and Faneuil Hall. So by the time we got around to our Harvard tour I was too exhausted to even consider finding a restaurant that could accommodate my allergies. I had in mind that this was student land which meant student food, which meant cheese on everything and general Mandy-unfriendliness. 

Now, I have no idea if this was actually the case or not because we were too exhausted to even consider foraging. Maybe I should have called this article When You Just Can't Even, but alas here we are and I've already hit publish. I planned ahead by tossing a few Enjoy Life Chewy Bars in my purse, knowing that I could easily grab a coffee or tea and a piece of fruit while on campus. We stopped at the Crema Cafe where I got a raspberry soda made with real fruit (two birds with one stone?) and Karrie grabbed a snack to hold her over too. Our casual lunch stop meant more time for taking photos which was great since we're both obsessed with photography. Who knows, maybe we'll visit again with enough time to get to a restaurant and a party. We can still pass as students - right?