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

My partner is dairy free as we discovered it inflamed his eczema, so we use his dairy alternatives for the family when making something like macaroni cheese. We also have a relative who is celiac, so good kitchen hygiene is essential when they come to dinner, and we will all eat gluten free, as we feel it's just safer for them. And when our vegetarian friends come, it's easy to make vegetarian mains and add meat on the side, such as sprinkling crispy pancetta into a pasta dish by serving it with a bowl and spoon for adding if people would like it, or cooking a vegetarian roast dinner and serving chicken separately for those that want it. It's actually easier to accommodate people than you may think.

There are some times when there is nothing for it but to prepare separate meals but I try to make this the exception and not the rule. But there are always different elements that need to be made for different people regardless. I find it best to always have a big bowl of salad or veg and either spuds or pasta or rice and go from there. Then the protein part of the meal can be changed to suit. DD has IBS which is triggered by dairy more than anything else but also processed foods. DS2 won't eat dairy because he doesn't like it.

I try and make the same thing for everyone

My son needs to be dairy and sits free. Annoyingly, most dairy free products contain soya so it’s still difficult to find products that contain neither. Once we find things we stick with them. I don’t like DS to feel like he’s treated differently for most meals, so we usually all eat dairy and soya free foods but for breakfast- he has “special milk” (oat milk) for his cereal and he’s actually proud of it!

Meal plan and lists lists and lists !!! I plan each Sunday and do my list around my plan

Thank God it is so much easier these days to make delicious meals for different dietary needs. When I have to cook vegetarian meals I don't bother doing a meat and veggie one I just go online and look for a recipe that sounds delicious and it nearly always is. I have cooked loads of completely vegan meals and no one has complained about the lack of meat or dairy in them.

We eat a halal diet so most items need to be suitable for vegetarians, this caters for our diet.

I've learnt to batch cook as with 3 kids its hard to find the time so whenever I cook anything I will always make extra portions to freeze.

fish is the only common ground so we often eat that

I am pescetarian, DH and 2 DC are not but we don't really like the same things so I end up cooking variations of the same meal for everyone, EG roast chicken for those 3 with a piece of fish or something veggie for me. It can be a bit of a faff and requires planning but I'm used to it now though we prob end up eating mostly fish as a family

All meals are planned to meet every-ones needs, then there are different little extras/treats that meet individual requirements.

For our main meals we all eat GF, although only one member of the family needs to. We make slight allowances - like we don’t all have GF gravy as the non-GF family members really don’t like it. We try and make our GF family member feel included and less different by us eating all the same main meals. Breakfasts and lunches are a different matter. We all eat our own preferences for those meals.

I plan meals ahead and tend to have 'go to' recipes I know we will all eat including my Daughter, I cook for my Daughter and my Father.

My Father is a vegetarian, does not eat dairy wheat or gluten and primarily eats Organic, I am a pescatarian and I'm also allergic to nuts and soya, my Daughter is also a pescatarian.

We tend to have pasta based meals for which I use lentil or spinach pasta, add vegetables and either make a Bolognese (great as I can make extra and freeze the sauce!), or do something like grill some fish for me and my Daughter, serve my Dad his, and then put mine and my Daughter's on top of ours, grilled veggies topped with vegan cheese always goes down well, and again I'll cook the fish separately and just add it to mine and my Daughters, we have a lot of rice, beans and pulses too which are a great healthy accompaniment.

I don't find it that hard as I was a vegetarian for ten years till I had my Daughter.

I make meals which are firstly nut free (I have anaphylaxis), suitable for my Father and suitable for my seven year old whilst ensuring they are nutritionally balanced and tasty.

Lots of choice!

Different types of pasta, veg, salads, etc

With ds2 being veggie we are trying to cut down on meat

Ds1 is a typical teen and loves beige food but doesnt eat junk (sweets, fizzy drinks, chocolate etc)

It can be a pain, but we all have ouf likes and dislikes

We have Dd1 with dairy,soya and gluten intolerance, dd2 who needs a high fat diet, dd3 and dh who are dairy free and I am pescatarian.

We plan meals around themes i.e pasta and sauce, we can all have a tomato based sauce but will cook 2 different types of pasta, we can do a quorn, mushroom and potato pie but separate some off and top with a gluten free pastry, roast is easy as the meat is cooked separately, and we have a couple of gravies.

Peri peri rice with chicken or quorn, rice is cooked separately and same spice mix added to chicken or to quorn.

Cooking is harder and significantly more expensive but it is do-able.

Get the slow cooker on and batch cook! That way there's always something healthy in the freezer

ready meals are the answer

Sometimes it's easier to spend a little money to save a lot of time. Like using all gluten free pasta or all dairy free marg even though you may lose some texture or flavour.

Large family with differing needs - vegetarian / lactose free /gluten free - meals are always suitable for all. Everyone knows and adapts to everyone else's needs and it's never an issue. As a result we eat a more balanced diet - healthier and always rich in fresh produce.

Remain patient and do not give up trying to bring everyone in line

Batch cooking and freezing meals in portion sizes. An example I do at home when making chilli (non carne) when making it, I split the mixture before adding chilli powder and substitute kidney beans with baked beans. Everyone's happy. Phew!

It all comes down to meal planning- and actually sticking to the plan -

It works brilliantly, saves money and reduces waste, but can be very boring! So I follow a lot of online food bloggers etc. for inspiration to try and keep things slightly more interesting!

No allergies in the family, but have cooked for friends who have specific requirements in the past and always carefully check what is, and isn't, suitable. I passed recipes by one family who were amazed I was going to so much bother. Two of their members were coeliac so why wouldn't I? In my mind it was more than simply basic courtesy.

We have fussy eaters in the family and whilst I do tend to stick with what everyone will eat I have no objection to doing completely different meals from time to time if it means people get to have something they really enjoy occassionally. My mother wouldn't, and barely had fish for 15 years because I didn't like it. I'd much rather cook two meals from time to time (and even better if it's something I can freeze a portion of for another day) then go without.

We tend to base our meals around a person's dietary requirements as there is no harm in everyone having dairy alternatives or mock meats etc. If anyone in the family wants additional things they can have them at other times, such as at school or work.

I used to cook vegan meals every evening and we would all enjoy them. However, if someone really fancied meat or dairy, it would be added at the end once the vegan portions had been plated. It was no hassle, but obviously made the meal more costly as it was an extra ingredient.

Veggie stews with some meat on the side so the meat eaters can add it to theirs if they wish. Also batch cooking.

I’m vegetarian but the rest of the family aren’t. Sometimes I make something vegetarian, like a pasta sauce for example, and cook chicken separately. After I portion mine out, I mix the chicken into the sauce and then serve the rest of the family.