12 guests over Christmas, 1 Lactose Intolerant, and one doesnt have much sugar

[lightand]

They will be staying for about 7 days.

I am not the greatest cook.

Help please!

I dont have to do the Christmas Day catering, but I do for the next 6 days.

Any ideas and helpful tips much appreciated. Thanks.

I’d buy lactose free milk / cream / cheese and just use that in anything you would normally put those things in. Maybe make and freeze a large lasagne for having with salad and garlic bread. A baked ham with parsley sauce made with lactose free milk. If you get a bit one the cold leftovers can can had as ham, egg and chips a few days later. Can you outsource some of the meals?

I’d ignore the sugar thing in my planning. They can avoid pudding / reduce portion size to mange their own intake.

Will they be pitching in to help? That's a tall order, catering for twelve for six days.

Can you all go out or get a takeaway at least one night? The guests should be paying as recompense for you putting them all up.

The approach I'd be taking is:
Plenty of stuff in people can use to make their own breakfasts and most of their lunches
Evening meals - fairly simple, making liberal use of good quality ready-made bits
Lots of fruit about

Can you get some bulk cooking into the freezer over the next few weeks? Lasagne is probably no good given the lactose intolerant person, but bolognese sauce, chilli (meat or vegetarian), cottage pie.

Good luck!

When you say doesn't have much sugar, do you include any carbs eg pasta? Or is regular pasta fine but v limited fruit and some veg as they are high in natural sugar? Or only things with added sugar? Added sugar only wouldn't even feature on my list of worries - they just wouldn't eat desserts/cakes/biscuits etc. If however they're anti all carbs then I'd be inclined to tell them they may have to cater for themselves!

Lactose intolerant basically means no dairy so I wouldn't see that as a huge problem either assuming you're cooking from scratch and can avoid things like cheese/milk/cream. If you do want to use ready meals etc, then you would need to check as I think it can be surprising what includes those sorts of products. It would probably be important to think about breakfast items - eg if they like cereal, do they swap regular milk/yoghurt for oat or nut milks and if so, do they have a preference you can get in etc.

Your biggest issue will be desserts. Check whether the lactose intolerant person eats cheese, as it's low lactose and some do. You could do cheese and biscuits instead of/as well as dessert.

I hope people are going to be helping you out because quite honestly, to be expected to cater for people with strict dietary restrictions for six days, especially in large numbers is a bit challenging.

DD loves yoghurt.... and requires it at least once a day.... but only eats one type. If staying with people I might ask them to get a tub in for the first day but after that I'd expect to be zipping to Tesco myself to get it sorted out. And I'd say the same here - lactose intolerant and sugar-free may have to bring their own preferred snacks etc (or at least let you know). You can be helpful by ensuring main meals don't include dairy (or that you use lactose-free alternatives) and offering a few options for day to day such as low sugar cereals, oat milk, olive oil spreads for sandwiches etc.

I also hope they'll be helping with the cooking and meal planning.

The lactose free products are great these days. Just replace these in usual recipes you're confident with.
The sugar free person is no problem with main meals. If you're doing pudding then they don't have to have any - get some cheese/crackers or natural yoghurt as an alternative if you're feeling generous!
For mass catering stick to easy bulk food, like traybakes you can put in the oven (lasagne, macaroni cheese, moussaka) or things like fajitas, baked potatoes with choice of fillings, or stove dishes like stew or spag bol.

In terms of meal planning, Stews, casseroles and curries are relatively easy, good for large numbers and don't tend to include lactose or sugar. So I'd be doing a few of those. A roast dinner, with side dishes as complicated or as simple as you like could work one day. A good pasta dish - bolognaise is always a crowd pleaser but something tomato based could be good (although some anti-sugar types don't do tomatoes), or roasted vegetables.

I'd stick to soups and sandwiches for lunch. Although a lot of my soups involve a bit of yoghurt/milk so find recipes that don't need this. Eg a curried butternut soup made with coconut milk vs a traditional one made with milk or cream. Good supply of ham/tuna/avocado etc for the lactose intolerant

Everyone sorts their own breakfast most days with you providing bread for toast, cereal etc. Perhaps stock up on eggs for fry ups or a big scrambled eggs (without butter/milk) with smoked salmon for their first day.

I'd do what I normally do, avoiding anything in cheese sauce, berybheavy on the dairy etc, but point out what has milk in so they can avoid

For sugar free I'd let them take or leave dessert, have in the usual Christmas fruit, nuts, cheese.

I'd accommodate properly for one meal but for a week they'll have to have what they can.

Ooh, thank you so much for the quick replies!
I wasnt sure I would get any!

@MeanMrMustardSeed Yes, I am thinking the sugar thing is more easy to overcome than the lactose.
Didnt even know there is lactose this and that, so I definitely need to suss out those things.

Outsourcing - yes a bit.
I dont want to pay a fortune for it though.

There are loads of lactose free products these days - lactose free dairy milk, cheese, cream, ice cream and yogurt. Plus anything vegan is lactose free. Have a look in the " free from" and plant based sections at one of the big supermarkets.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g and @SpaceOp
Pitching in - amongst the 12 guests[plus DH and myself], there are 4 children, so some parents are stretched already. But the rest will pitch in.

The lady with the lactose intolerance is the main guest so to speak, so I need to be quite mindful of her. The man with the not much sugar, is her husband.
They are from a poor country, so I cant push things too much on the "lets all eat out and you pay, front".

Yes, I am thinking that after about day 3, I need to give some people some cash and tell them to choose things from the supermarket.

@Triffid1

When you say doesn't have much sugar, do you include any carbs eg pasta? Or is regular pasta fine but v limited fruit and some veg as they are high in natural sugar? Or only things with added sugar? Added sugar only wouldn't even feature on my list of worries - they just wouldn't eat desserts/cakes/biscuits etc. If however they're anti all carbs then I'd be inclined to tell them they may have to cater for themselves!

Lactose intolerant basically means no dairy so I wouldn't see that as a huge problem either assuming you're cooking from scratch and can avoid things like cheese/milk/cream. If you do want to use ready meals etc, then you would need to check as I think it can be surprising what includes those sorts of products. It would probably be important to think about breakfast items - eg if they like cereal, do they swap regular milk/yoghurt for oat or nut milks and if so, do they have a preference you can get in etc.

These are the types of questions I am going "aargh" over! I dont know the answers. I have never catered in this sort of way before. I have done the larger numbers for a few days, but not the allergies.

I think I am going to need to ask their daughter[who is also coming] what is allowed and not allowed precisely. Else I am going to be faced with day 3 after christmas and not having a clue what I can and cannot precisely serve.

Thank you for all the other posts.
I am reading them all carefully, and will need/use/take them all on board.

Ask the man who "has not so much sugar" if this is because of Diabetes or some other condition? The answer would make huge difference. If he was carb counting because of diabetes is huge responsibility vs - I am trying to lose some weight/not put any on. I write as a patent of a T1 adult daughter.

Don’t substitute lactose free products or sugar substitutes into the dishes without warning people. If you have anyone with allergies or sensitivities they may think a dish is safe when in fact it is not. I only give people my main allergens because the list is so long and some of the things are so rare and esoteric that I don’t really need to worry about them unless someone does something like making an unexpected substitution .

@Fere

Ask the man who "has not so much sugar" if this is because of Diabetes or some other condition? The answer would make huge difference. If he was carb counting because of diabetes is huge responsibility vs - I am trying to lose some weight/not put any on. I write as a patent of a T1 adult daughter.

I will do. Thanks. I didnt quite get the "he doesnt have much sugar" bit either. I think he is diabetic, but I will check.

Montezuma Absolute Black chocolate.

No milk, no sugar. www.montezumas.co.uk/absolute-black.html

@DriftingBlue Don’t substitute lactose free products or sugar substitutes into the dishes without warning people

I was wondering about that. I need to ask their daughter I think so I dont do things wrong for people.

@lightand

Ooh, thank you so much for the quick replies! I wasnt sure I would get any!

@MeanMrMustardSeed Yes, I am thinking the sugar thing is more easy to overcome than the lactose.
Didnt even know there is lactose this and that, so I definitely need to suss out those things.

Outsourcing - yes a bit.
I dont want to pay a fortune for it though.

Just use oat milk as a substitute.

The chocolate link - ooh that is good! Will get some of that!

I'm lactose intolerant. It's not difficult to cater for me as there is plenty of lacto free stuff for sale at all the supermarkets. Lactose free milk tastes exactly the same as ordinary milk, so just buy that over the week you're hosting.

Don't worry about the lactose free stuff, check out the Arla range it's still dairy so tastes exactly the same as normal stuff but is lactose free so you just need to use that for the whole week as long as there are not other allergies (it's not like vegan alternatives where you might have to alter the recipe, the only disaster I've ever had was a cheesecake I made because the Arla cream is more like single cream than double so it didn't set enough). Tesco and Sainsbury's also do own brand lactose free products which are just as good.

The other types of non-dairy milk are definitely an acquired taste. I used to have soya milk, when lacto free wasn't available, but you do need to get "used to it".

Lactose intolerance people can often tolerate a small amount of lactose in their food. It's not like we have a severe reaction to a tiny amount. Most hard cheese is lacto free, as the lactose has gone by the time we eat it. I can't eat soft cheeses. I can eat butter.

For years now, lactase tablets have been available to take if you can't avoid lactose. If I really want an ordinary ice-cream, then I take the lactase tablets. I would guess that your guest is armed with these. They are very useful if someone caters for you and they forget.

I once went for dinner to a friend's house and she'd done a milk pudding for dessert. When I politely reminded her that I can't have milk, she offered me a yoghurt. This was in the day before Lactase tablets. These days, I always have some in my handbag.

@Fere

Ask the man who "has not so much sugar" if this is because of Diabetes or some other condition? The answer would make huge difference. If he was carb counting because of diabetes is huge responsibility vs - I am trying to lose some weight/not put any on. I write as a patent of a T1 adult daughter.

Yes, this. Low sugar could be for lots of reasons, and there are natural sugars hidden in all sorts of things, plus carbs etc for diabetics.

I'd be trying to find out if it is a diabetes thing, if so there are lots of low-sugar options/recipes. It's not just cut out the quality streets though

You need to bulk cook before and freeze if you can, curry, chilli, casserole, chicken pie, lasagna with a small one made for lactose intolerant. Then a slow cooked ham and a roast. You can freeze mash and par roasted potatoes. Have loads of salad, partly baked bread etc at the ready. Do not offer posh breakfasts just do toast, cereal. Do not do loads of puddings, but have chocs etc at the ready including the dark chocolate. You could also make lots of soup for lunches. Good luck!!!