Hosting Thanksgiving When Someone Has Food Allergies? Read This First.

Hosting Thanksgiving When Someone Has Food Allergies? Read This First.

Hosting Thanksgiving When Someone Has Food Allergies? Read This First.

Hosting Thanksgiving is stressful enough but add in guests who have a food allergy and it can feel positively overwhelming!

The good news?

With a few thoughtful steps, you can create a safe, delicious and inclusive Holiday meal everyone will enjoy! 

Food allergies affect over 33 million Americans. So, chances that one (or more) of your guests may need specific food allergy friendly ingredients/recipes.

Don’t worry. We’ve been accommodating for multiple, anaphylactic food allergies for over 20 years!

Our Many Food Allergies – Over 20 Years of Managing Food Allergies

As many of you may know, we have multiple anaphylactic food allergies to:

• Peanuts
• Tree Nuts (have to stay away from cross contamination with peanuts after we did OIT)
• Legumes
• Shellfish
• Soy &
• Dairy & Meat Intolerances

So, if you thought it is difficult enough to make a Food Allergy Thanksgiving Meal with all of our food allergies.

Guess what?

Now add in all of the food allergies from our 2023 Small Group Europe people (17 food allergies & intolerances total) to our Early Thanksgiving Feast!

Small Group Europe with Food Allergies Trip

In 2023, we did our 1^st Small Group Europe Trip.

And we had such a great time together exploring Italy and Germany together that we invited everyone to our house in Maryland for an Early Thanksgiving Weekend.

Everyone except one person, who goes to college in MA. attended!!

Our Food Allergy-Friendly Early Thanksgiving has since become a yearly tradition. Of course, adding on a few more people every year.

So, if you come on one of our Small Group Trips, plan on attending our Early Thanksgiving Weekend too!

One lovely member said,

“The Early Thanksgiving Weekend was one of my favorite memories of the entire year!” – JC, from PA.

Some Food Allergy-Friendly Recipes

Our previous blog post on #foodallergyfriendly Thanksgiving recipes/dishes/tips can be found here:

30 Tips for a Fantastic Food-Allergy Thanksgiving • World Recipes • An Easy Journey

And great if you are hosting Thanksgiving When Someone Has Food Allergies? Read This First.

Now, we’re adding some more scrumptious #foodallergyfriendly dishes to give you even more choices!

Of course, head over to our Private Facebook Group Food Allergy Travels and Life & let us know what your favorite things to make for “The Big Feast” with your food allergies.

Food Allergy Friendly Thanksgiving Plan

1. Understand EXACTLY what all the food allergies/intolerances are. Do NOT ASSUME. This could be deadly. Communicate often with food allergic people. Ask which brands they use and prefer.
2. Take photos of ingredients before purchasing at the grocery store and text to food allergy people. Pay special attention to: “May Contain/Processed with” statements.
3. Plan on purchasing new ingredients like flour/sugar that may have been cross contaminated with prior cooking/baking.
4. Simplify recipes – maple glazed roasted veggies has only a few ingredients and therefore, less chance of having food allergens.
5. Read following paragraph on cross contact/cross contamination – please come to our Facebook Group with any questions. Highly recommend you do not ask AI tools these questions as often, they have been wrong.
6. Use separate utensils, cutting boards, dishes, sponge, dish drying towel for all preparation/storage of all food allergy specific dishes.
7. Ask your food allergy guests if they’d like to bring a safe dish or 2 (or 3…). Make provisions in your fridge or set up a separate, labelled cooler for their foods.
8. Consider labeling each dish or setting up a food allergy friendly table (we use same color tablecloth as serving pieces and label everything).
9. Focus on connection, gratitude and blessings, not just the food.
10. Pre-Thanksgiving, send an email to everyone stating food allergens avoiding and asking everyone to not bring any of these foods. NO EXCEPTIONS!
11. When guests arrive, please communicate again food allergy info and ask them for their help keeping everyone safe.
12. Be aware of environmental allergies too like fresh flowers, candles, latex balloons. Also, perfumes or after shave can also be problematic, not just for those of us with food allergies but also often times, for pregnant women.

Cross contamination and Cross Contact: NOT 1 and the Same

As I am being honest, I have used cross contact & cross contamination interchangeably. But the correct ways to talk to people is:

Cross Contamination – in a food service environment like restaurants, cafes, catering facilities chefs/food service workers are trained with this definition:

• Something like chicken juice, inadvertently drips onto a cutting board used for cutting up lettuce and the juice contaminates the salad.

Cross Contact – term that food allergy people need to be aware of.

• Almonds are being roasted in a pan. The pan is only rinsed with water, not hot soap and water and allergy protein remain and cross contact with food that is then cooked with this dish. OR
• Someone uses the same mixing spoon with the peanut butter cookie dough and then again uses for the sugar cookie dough

Often a short discussion can make your point clear. For 1 example, see (unfortunately there are many, many issues such as these):

Hidden Allergens

“Of course, this doesn’t have…(fill in your food allergen).

Often people with really good intentions don’t realize there can be “Hidden Allergens” in food.

For example, did you know many tuna cans may have broth (many with soy, celery & peas)?

Or that shared processing lines may deliver allergens to other traditionally “safe” food?

Also, ingredients can change at any time and without notice. And liquor in the USA doesn’t have to include top allergens.

For more on alcohol & food allergies, see: 15 Cocktail Recipes blog post.

everyone will be truly Thankful to be at your table!

All yummy, easy food allergy friendly recipes to make every year!

💕 Thanksgiving with this level of care is really love in action!

Hosting Thanksgiving When Someone Has Food Allergies? Read This First blog post is meant to help the understanding and accommodating for food allergies. It is not meant as medical advice.

As always, let us know by posting in our Private Food Allergy Travels and Life Group if you made these recipes or what your favorite safe recipes to make at Thanksgiving!

Of course, if you need to vent, we’re here for that as well.

After all, we have had MANY experiences!

& Follow Us for more Food Allergy Travel inspiration, Yummy #foodallergyrecipes & more by Subscribing to the Blog

Want to see how we make these Food Allergy recipes? Sharing more Food Allergy reels on our Instagram – Follow Us here: @aneasyjourney

Wishing you all a very Blessed & Happy Thanksgiving, filled with Love, Family & Friends & of course with safe, delicious food allergy friendly food!

– xoxo, Cindi & Team

#aneasyjourney #foodallergyrecipe #foodallergytravelsandlife #foodallergyfamily #foodallergymom #THanksgivingwithfoodallergies #Thanksgiving #yummyfood