So once again I dread going to my folks place for a holiday dinner.  I have two boys with severe food allergies and although my mother tries, there always seems to be a surprise when we arrive.

Days before we had called my mother and asked if we could prepare a dish to help with the dinner.  She suggested to bring wine, cake or rice.   For others without allergies, this might be ok.  For us, we needed to make sure we brought food that my kids could eat as a meal, in case all other foods were not up to our safety standards.

We only eat foods that are prepared with products from North America since the labeling practices outside of the US and Canada are very different and at times not accurate.  This can be a challenge when preparing a large meal as many products are in play. 

For families that are less familiar food allergies, you might want to let your host know well in advance your needs and have an open discussion around the menu.  For my mother, this would be a sin!

My mother takes pride in her ability to accommodate our food allergies.  She loves cooking and tries very hard.  Unfortunately, this is not always enough and mistakes happen.  The key to avoiding a reaction is to arrive early and interrogate your mother (or mother-in-law) about each menu item and the ingredients/packaging.  After years of interrogating my children’s loving grandmothers we still find mistakes.  They have the best intentions so tenderness is required when you mention that a dish is not safe (I’m still working on this aspect of the feedback I provide them).

Two other things you can do as back up are to bring an easy meal solutions like mac and cheese or a can of tuna or rush through dinner and visit an allergy safe restaurant on the way home.  Check out AllerDine.com for suggestions.

Off we go to enjoy the holidays, enjoy the family but keep a close eye on safe eating for our kids!

Season’s Greetings!

Stever@allerdine.com