Share your tips for feeding a family with different dietary requirements with Flora

[AbbiCMumsnet]

Cooking a meal for the family can be hard at the best of times, so having family members with different dietary requirements can throw an extra spanner in the works. Whether it’s because of allergies and intolerances, or due to environmental, ethical or health concerns, we know that a lot of households have to think and prepare carefully to make sure their mealtimes cater to everyone around the table.

Because we think mealtimes can be tricky when you have to cater to different dietary requirements for family members, Flora would like to hear about your experiences and how you navigate through this.

Here’s what Flora has to say: “Health and wellbeing has never been so important to consumers, people care more about what goes into the products they are feeding themselves and their families, but they are not prepared to compromise on taste – and they shouldn’t have to. With a great new recipe making FLORA more delicious than ever, our new 100% Plant Goodness range can be enjoyed by the whole family.”

How does your family cater for those who have different dietary requirements when it comes to mealtimes? How can your family make sure everyone’s requirements are met without spending too much extra time, money, or effort on preparation? Has your family adapted well to managing emerging dietary requirements, or have there been any hiccups on the way?

Whatever your tips and tricks are on making these mealtimes a success, post them on the thread below and everyone who does will be entered into a prize draw where 1 MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Standard Insight Terms and Conditions apply

[glennamy]

No allergies here but I do hide veg in sauces and other things so they get the right amount of healthy goodies!

[moosexxx]

One (out of the four of us) is a veggie. Having two different people cooking different dishes at the same time, does get a bit hectic in our small kitchen.
And sometimes we do miss out on all four of us sitting down to eat at the same time.

[Pushpull]

We have a number of allergies/intolerances in our family. The easiest way we have found to adapt is to develop a core suite of meals that everyone can eat. Then have snacks and treats that are specific to individual so they dont feel like they miss out. So for example we bake diary free but there is butter available for my oldest to est with crumpets while studying.

[danigrace]

Good quality substitutes make all the difference, recently finally discovered a good dairy free cream so daddy's favourite creamy chicken and leek pie is back on the menu for the whole household

[emmmaaa26]

I am the fussy eater in our family, however, it's just meat that i'm funny on. So I usually make meals with meat substitutes and everyone can eat it, but if there is something they want to eat that I won't then I make it for them and I'll just make myself something.

[strawberrisc]

My DD has a lot of issues around eating. It's so very difficult not to try and get her to eat when I know her body must need it. I try and make portions small and varied. I never over-face her or serve things on small plates as this looks overwhelming. I try and get nutrition into her with vitamins, wholesome food and by means such as swapping skimmed for full-fat milk.

[JoJoY]

I try to batch cook so we can still all eat together but sometimes different things!

[lolly2010]

My niece is allergic to nuts, dairy, bananas and eggs so when we have a family party or gathering I make a chocolate cake using no dairy and a substitute to eggs, it makes a really moist cake and the whole family love it so she doesn't feel different or left out. I tend to cook chicken and meat joints again so that we can all eat together.

[towser44]

We all try to eat the same thing to accommodate those with the dietary requirements. It can be very interesting eating things you wouldn't normally consider through necessity.

[addverbaan]

My son has a nut allergy so I find cooking fresh food from scratch, eliminates most worry around this

[PunkyBubba]

I have a 7 year old Autistic DS1 who has a very self restricted diet due to sensory issues and food anxiety, a 4 year old DS2 who is a more typical 'fussy eater', and DH and myself.

Preparation is key to try to make the limited meals DS1 will eat as nutritious as possible, but also quick. Then I have time to make more varied meals for DS2 (or obviously some days they can eat the same).

DH tends to make large curries or pasta dishes at the weekend which we portion off for the week so I'm not left having to cook 3 different dishes every night!

[Patlawrence]

When cooking I make enough for bulk storage, put in separate containers, then put in the freezer, great for convenience and saves a huge amount of money with less waste!

[xiona75]

How does your family cater for those who have different dietary requirements when it comes to mealtimes?
We cook all meals dairy free so that my son is safe when we all eat together. If I happen to be cooking and my son will not be eating with us, I add cheese etc but only in a dedicated pan so that there is no danger if he goes to cook by himself later on.
How can your family make sure everyone’s requirements are met without spending too much extra time, money, or effort on preparation?

Batch cooking, meal planning and more than anything cooking from scratch with simple,fresh ingredients.
I taught my children to cook fairly early on,and they are both aware of how to put a well balanced meal together.

Has your family adapted well to managing emerging dietary requirements, or have there been any hiccups on the way?
My son has been anaphylactic to dairy since birth, so there was a huge
Learning curve. He was actually allergic to many things, and it seemed like every time we tried to add a food then we would instead add another allergy. Luckily he has outgrown each and every one except for dairy. Over the last 15 years, we have had hiccups (mostly mistakes where labels were not correctly read or someone picked up a package of biscuits that we had had before but was a different flavor that unfortunately contained dairy). Read EVERY label EVERY time is my mantra, and it is something I have taught my son to do.

[Nikita90]

Plan and try to not use whatever the person cannot eat - be inclusive and not make it a big deal.

[farhanac]

Small plates and a variety of options for picky customers

[gd2011]

Everyone eats the same. e.g. if one child is dairy intolerant. we all eat dairy-free. There are so many more options in shops and supermarkets these days.

[Suzical]

Both my kids are dairy and soya intolerant and have been from babies. We pretty much all have a dairy free diet. I do buy cheese for myself and have cows milk in tea and eat dairy when I'm out..
They were both breast fed so I had to restrict my own diet which has meant certain things I still can't eat as my taste buds have really changed.

I cook most things from scratch and have found it quite fun trying to work out alternative recipes for my favourite food. I make a great free from lasagna and Yorkshire puddings without the milk. It's made me think about what we eat a lot more and I think we're healthier for it

[giddyypixie]

Luckily this isn't something we suffer with in our house...I think I would pull my hair out if I had to cook more than one meal!

[Carriecakes80]

I cook whatever I can afford that week lol, I cannot afford to be fussy as I live in an affluent area, with an un-affluent bank account! :-)

My five children are all so different, I have two vegetarians, and the rest like their dad and me are avid meat eaters, so I have had to learn how to manage cooking for different tastes on a tight budget!
I love cooking though, and me and the husband will often cook together, he for the veggies, me for the meat-munchers, and it works pretty well! :-)

[sofieellis]

I'm veggie and everyone else eats meat, so we tend to cook two versions of everything and everyone can choose which version they want. I'm happy to cater for anyone's special requirements, as long as there is good reason, whether that's beliefs, religious or otherwise, or medical etc, but faddy diets annoy me. We did used to have a regular guest (son's ex-girlfriend) whose dietary requirements changed frequently. One week she was vegan, next week she was meat eating, gluten free, or low fat, or allergic to something or other. Then on other occasions she was tucking into KFC or MacDonald's and eating all the things she was supposedly meant to avoid. I really don't miss having to pander to her whims!

[emphasisofmatter]

We don't have any dietary requirements in our household beyond fussiness. However my SIL is vegan so when she comes for dinner we try and do a meal for us that is a meat-potato-veg type meal (like a roast) where we can then supplement the meat with a vegan alternative. I always keep some options in the freezer too.

[lolamia91]

Try and make things that only need minor changes

[Rachdayan]

I have a nut allergy, my husband does not eat pork, so it’s as simple as we don’t but products with those ingredients in for family meals. If I want a bacon sandwich I buy it outside the home and the same for anything containing nuts

[pfcpompeysarah]

My son is a fussy eater and as much as I have tried, I cannot get him to eat certain things so I have to be creative with my dishes, do some with vegetables and the same dish without for him, or blend things to make soups so he gets the proper vitamins and minerals from veggies.

[melmoo]

We have two meat eaters, One vegetarian and one vegan that is lactose intolerant. DH cooks for DS so that's the meat meal done. I cook a meal suitable for both me and DD but supplement hers occasionally (E.G add cheese).
Meals mainly coinside so that we're at the table together. At weekends they are always syncronised. During the week they usually at least overlap, but around once or twice a week they will be at different times.