Tree Nut Challenge

When I was diagnosed with a peanut allergy, they told me to stay away from all nuts because of cross contamination risks. For those of you who do not know, a peanut is actually not a nut. It is a legume like peas, soybeans, and lentils. When I looked up why it said 1) Peanuts are harvested when they are underground, nuts grow on trees 2)Most tree nuts have a single seed inside and a peanut has two.


While there are lots of different kinds of tree nuts, the ones that I will be challenging are pecan, pistachio, almond, hazelnut, cashew, Brazil nut, macadamia nut and walnut. Because it isn't something you can do often, I am going to give my first impression of each nut and rank them(1/8 is best).

1- Walnut

 It was powdery and gross. (8/8)

2- Cashew

It tasted salty and crunchy. (6/8)

3- Pecan

It was crunchy and sweet. (4/8)

4- Pistachio

It had two different tastes going on at the same time. (2/8)

5- Almond

It was the first one that I could identify by looking at it. It didn't taste a whole lot different from the other nuts. (5/8)

6- Brazil Nut

It was very large and hard to eat. (3/8)

7- Macadamia Nut

It was powdery and moist at the same time. I don't know how that is possible but it was. (7/8)

8- Nutella (Hazelnut)

It was rich, delicious, chocolaty goodness. (1/8)

They let my mom try Nutella too!

Okay so of course the nutella was the best. They said they like to use it as a treat because it is the one that everyone enjoys. Why not end on a high note? Luckily, I had no reactions proving I never really was allergic. This means I am allowed to have so many things I never could have. We made a quick swing by Target to get Starbucks and some milk chocolate M&Ms.

My first impression of M&Ms was that they taste like Canadian smarties. (If you are allergic to nuts and happen to be in Canada or have a friend in Canada, I strongly suggest Canadian Nestle Smarties...they are so yummy)

I decided to build a tower with all the cups medicine cups I got.

We didn't realize how long the appointment was going to be and had to order a pizza halfway through the appointment. The pizza was a very delicious and spicy barbecue chicken pizza. We ended up only finishing half of it and gave the rest to the nurses and other staff at the allergy center.

In other news, we asked when I would be cleared for places like chick-fil-a and he said I could already go. I immediately texted my friends, who were more excited then me, and we are planning a day we can go.