Wishing You an Allergy-Friendly Holiday Season

The holiday season is a wonderful experience spending time with loved ones and enjoying delicious meals. However, for those with food allergies, this time of year can also be filled with extra stress and anxiety, due to a lack of easily accessible ingredients and the inability to supervise food preparation.

Below are a few strategies to help you feel more prepared and less anxious.

Advocate for Yourself and/or Your Child

Perhaps the most important thing you can do this holiday season to protect yourself and your loved ones is to speak up! Alert hosts in advance about any food allergies your group may have and ask if they would be willing to help you make it a safe environment for your family. If you hosting, ask family and friends to bring dishes that are as allergy-friendly as possible and to include ingredient lists of any dishes they prepare.

Remind friends and family to not offer any food items to your child before asking you first. Use this as an opportunity to educate friends and family on allergy safety, especially with children who have food allergies.

Minimize Cross-Contact Risk

Keep safe foods away from other dishes (especially if you brought your own food) and label foods that contain allergens when possible (e.g "contains nuts, or "contains dairy"). Make sure each dish has its own serving utensil and ask all guests to be mindful to not share serving utensils among dishes, and not touch the serving utensil to an item on their plate. 

Ask About Ingredients

Always ask about the ingredients of a dish before you try it. If it is store-bought and has a label, great! If it is homemade, find out who prepared the dish and ask if they can share the ingredients or the recipe they used. Be sure to ask about any substitutions they may have made.

Bring Your Own Food

Sometimes, you may feel more comfortable bringing your own meal. Many food allergy families are already accustomed to bringing safe meals with them to social events. While it does add a few extra steps, it is one of the safest things you can do. However, it may make the person with the allergy feel singled out at large gatherings or isolated because they are not able to eat the same foods as everyone else.

Here are a few ways to help alleviate these feelings:

• Find out the menu in advance and try to bring similar allergy-friendly foods

• Notify the host if you will be bringing safe food for yourself and/or your child for safety

• Include desserts, too! While it is nice to be able to enjoy a similar main course, make sure those with food allergies can enjoys the dessert too!

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My all-time favorite allergen-free (show-stopping) recipe is for Oreo truffles. This is also a very easy recipe; check it out below. (Pro tip: try different Oreo flavors - my favorite is using mint Oreos with edible green glitter on top.)

This recipe makes 36 chocolate truffles.

Ingredients:

• 36 regular Oreos (not double-stuffed)

• 8 oz dairy-free cream cheese (any brand!)

• Vegan chocolate chips (~4 oz)

• Coconut oil (~2 tbsp)

• Edible glitter, if desired

Recipe:

• Place the Oreos and cream cheese in a food processor

• Pulse until the mixture is smooth and fully combined

• Form balls with your hands using 1 tbsp of the batter; freeze on a baking sheet for 10 minutes

• Microwave the chocolate chips and coconut oil until smooth

• Once the truffles are frozen, dip/roll them into the melted chocolate quickly and place on parchment paper

• Use the edible glitter during once they are coated in chocolate, if desired

• Once the truffles are coated in chocolate, place them in the refrigerator for storage