Top tips for an inclusive allergy friendly Christmas – a guide for friends and family

Manpreet’s top tips for an inclusive allergy friendly Christmas

Are you cooking for someone who has food allergies this Christmas?

As a mum of a daughter with multiple severe food allergies, I wanted to share some tips that could help you to keep your guests with food allergies safe this Christmas.

1. Checking food labels!

It sounds so simple, but one of the most common causes of allergic reactions has been from misreading (or not reading) food labels. It can be easy to assume if one product is OK then different varieties and products in that range must be. That’s not always the case!

I had a friend who knew my daughter could eat Jammie Dodgers and bought the mini ones for her, not realising the ingredients for the smaller ones were different and contained her allergens! Even things like icing sugar have different ingredients. Some may contain traces of milk and egg whilst other brands don’t. It’s really important to really scrutinise those labels!

Then there are foods that have ‘hidden’ allergens. By this, I mean foods that you just wouldn’t expect to contain milk and egg, like gravy granules and stock cubes for example. Some meats like sausages and hams might also contain milk – so you get the point here, you need to check every single label! 😊

Watch out for ‘Vegan’ labelled foods too. Many of them contain nuts, and pea protein which isn’t an allergen listed in the top 14, but it’s from the same family as peanut and an increasing number of children are allergic to this.

2. Cross contamination 

An allergen can be transferred accidentally when you are cooking with allergens or serving allergens together. This can include spillages and splatter when cooking on the hob, sharing spoons and utensils, not washing knives, chopping boards, oven trays and dish cloths. 

The easiest thing for you would be to prepare the allergy safe food first. Cover it and put it away before preparing and cooking food with allergens. When serving the food, remember to serve on separate plates and keep away from food that contains the allergens. 

If you’re serving food buffet style, its best to let the guest with allergies pile up their plate first. Once guests start picking food from the buffet, it’s inevitable allergens will get transferred and contaminate the safe food! 

Keep wipes to hand and ensure everyone has washed their hands after eating. There have been multiple occasions where children have been playing and a child has developed a reaction from allergens being transferred to toys and balloons through the transfer from traces of food on their hands to the toys.

If it’s at all possible then remove those allergens from the foods you are cooking and avoid the chance of this happening altogether! It may not be as difficult as you might think! I have a few of my favourite allergy-friendly Christmas recipes in my ebook, which you can download here.

3. Find out your guests’ favourite foods AND ones they don’t like

Just because someone isn’t allergic doesn’t mean they will eat it – accept that someone who has food allergies has food likes and dislikes just like everyone else. So, it’s worth checking with the parent what foods the child likes and ask for product recommendations. It will be make the day much easier for everyone! 

It’s important to understand that for a child with food allergies, trying new foods can be a very anxious experience. A busy environment with lots of people is not an ideal time to be introducing anything new, so take the pressure off you both by sticking to tried and tested favourites.

4. Ask for recipes

The parents are used to cooking for their child so don’t feel shy in asking them to share their recipes with you. The child will be used to this food and more likely to enjoy it while feeling safe. 

If you’re looking for allergy-friendly Christmas recipes, download my ebook!

5. Remember to reassure the child

It is normal for a child with food allergies to feel anxious when someone else is preparing their food. Reassure the child that you have used their safe ingredients. Depending on the child’s age, you can list the ingredients used and explain how you safely prepared it and kept it separate from any other allergens (e.g. using a lid when cooking and keeping it covered to prevent splashed and spillages from other food).