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

I try to make stuff which is easy to switch out, my hubby's step father can't eat gluten so we have to make it easy to make a meal which can be switched. I like to make a roast dinner so it's easy to avoid the stuff like the Yorkshire and the gravy and give them him the gluten free stuff instead.

One of my daughters is lactose intolerant so I've learned through a lot of trial and error and now study ingredient labels before buying!.
I cook in batches so there is always a healthy, safe meal for her that is the same as what we are having that night so as there's no difference.
Yes it takes organising but I'm so used to pre planning that it'sss second nature now.

Cook things in large portions and freeze them in smaller portions
Date and label appropriately to each member of family
Always have something in suitable for them all and don't need the effort of cooking for each individual requirements saves time money and effort :)

My daughter and I just eat whatever anyone else wants to eat as we are both not fussy, when my sister comes to stay who is vegetarian we just go without meat which is ok for a short period but I am sure if she stayed longer than a week it may need looking at again, I think batch cooking would be the best option

I found out recently that I am gluten intolerant but seeing as I am the main planner of meals and shopping I can work around this quite earily buy purchasing myself some items i.e. bread, pasta that I cook for myself but i do my best to have the same meal as the rest of the family that include my gluten free version this does add to the shopping bill but after years of suffering its a small orice to pay.

batch cooking and freezing is best for us

I’m
Severely allergic to tomatoes so all the family staple meals (bolognaise, curries, pasta sauces, chilli) are out. It’s difficult to cook healthy meals without tomatoes that aren’t boring. To get around this I experiment with making sauces that are supposed to taste similar to a basic tomato sauce but made with different vegetables. I’ve had varying degrees of success but t does at least mean that we can all have something quick and easy and healthy if I batch cook the sauce in advance and freeze it.

Make a few dishes at a time and freeze meals so that there is plenty when there is no time to cook.

We have separate butters so I don't get cross-contaminated with gluten and when my daughter and I are home alone she eats gluten free and vegetarian with me - if my husband is home to test food and temperatures etc then she will eat meat and gluten; just have to be organised!

I'm allergic to egg and dairy, so I cook dairy and egg free and try to do a one meal fits all but it seems to be getting harder as DD gets older. I meal plan so we have things DD doesn't like on days she is at an activity and needs a quick early tea.
I will add vegan cheese to my things and normal for DC's, DH loves butter so adds his own though DD prefers vegan marg.

I make curry/chilli very mild and add chilli sauce or aubergine pickle to mine as DD complains it can be too spicy.

Get everyone to help with meal planning.

Add the meat into sauces at a later stage to cater for non-meaters

I have to agree with batch cooking, it's the way forward with some many meals made to order, it's a time-saving, happy kids savior!

I encourage my young ones to try + get creative in the kitchen themselves. They're already on their way to independence. I batch cook once a week on the weekend in my spare time.

We have a very fussy house guest two evenings a week and her diet is very limited. It has been difficult as I love spice and variety whereas she only eats a limited selection of blandish foods. So to avoid having to make several meals I try to batch cook what I would like at the weekend and serve it up with the meal whilst she stays with us. For example, I would baked potatoes for dinner - she just wants butter and I get out some chilli that I'd whipped up on the Saturday.

My daughters both have multiple allergies, we are really happy that
All Flora is dairy free now! I usually use Facebook message boards and apps to hear about new products or good vegan cafes.

I have severe food allergies to many things, wheat, gluten, dairy, histamin rich foods etc so I google for nutritious recipes which all the family will enjoy & I'm very careful selecting products which I buy instore to ensure there are no allergens. My family love my recipes which I tend to create myself rather than from books or online but I get inspiration online to help me create my own

I think however you handle it that it's best to still all eat together as a family. If you can't all eat the same main meal, provide side dishes to share that are suitable for all - same with desserts. For main meals it can be helpful to start with a base acceptable to everyone to which additional items can be added as appropriate.

I'm the only one in the family that is meat-free and doesn't eat fish. So I tend to amend what I'm eating by making little adjustments. So when the family are having a roast dinner for example, I will have pre-cooked batches of nut roast in the freezer that I can defrost. Often I will try to keep most the meal similar and then change the meat element for something else - eg i love griddled halloumi as an alternative to meat. Having plenty of veg and salad options each day at mealtimes helps to keep everyone happy too!

No food allergies or intolerances here but one DC who is a meat lover and the other a pulses and veggies afficionado. I tend to freeze leftovers (I always cook too much), so there's an alternative, acceptable option for the DC for whom the freshly cooked dinner doesn't suit.

I'm gluten free through having coeliac disease, the others in the family are not. Where possible, we all eat the same thing, but I wouldn't inflict gluten free pasta, bread or pastry on anyone who doesn't need them. But we do have rice noodles a lot which are naturally gluten free, and tend not to have things that might be a staple meal for others (like pizza or quiche). We only have gf versions of stock, gravy, soy sauce etc in the house, and things like butter are divided into clearly lablelled boxes

We have a vegetarian,a coeliac and several meat eaters in our house so to cater for everyone’s dietary requirements we all have gluten free bread which I make myself well using a bread maker and we all eat gluten free pasta and cereal as we all like it I use meat substitutes 3 days a week for everyone and for the rest of the week I batch cook casseroles ,curries , etc to save time and money that way we all get something we like

our DD is vegan. we generally all eat the same meals. I found it difficult to start with when DD opted for a vegan diet. However all good now and we all eat less meat. I also batch cook some vegan meals and freeze so there is always nice options when the rest of the family are eating meat or other non vegan foods

We don't have anyone with specific dietary requirements in the immediate family, so I don't have to worry unless we have visitors.

my lil boy is lactose intolerant. It's a pain to buy separate thins for different people. So when my son went lactose free we all did. Every thing tastes just as nice as full dairy anyway so we dont mind!