Updated August 2024

I know, the thought of feeding your food allergy kids fast without stress or sacrificing variety sounds WAAAAY easier said than done. But there are 2 things I’ll talk about in this post that will make it possible. Not only possible but doable; even for overwhelmed food allergy moms who need a break.

LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE OF FOOD ALLERGY MADE EASY for personal stories and examples, or keep reading…

Get Allergy Meals On The Table Fast Without Stress Or Sacrificing Variety

I’ve been where you might be today, and I may have cycled back to this recently, so I’m talking to myself here too.

It was a few years ago when I was fumbling with dinner times and mostly getting through by constantly searching for safe products (except I was never quite sure how safe they were).  It was a constant struggle to make dinner and when we found something new, we would have it over and over because I was afraid of trying new things.  I was feeding my food allergy family, but I knew I was losing my sanity in the meantime. 

 It was draining me to my very core.  

I was constantly feeling a weight on my shoulders and constantly thinking about what to feed my family.  I was burnt out and frustrated.  I knew my family deserved more than what I was making, but I JUST COULDN’T GET MYSELF to do anything different.  I was in a DEEP rut.  I dreaded thinking about dinner times, yet THEY NEVER STOPPED COMING!  Day in and day out my family needed to eat, and even though I got meals on the table, I wasn’t proud of them.  I didn’t enjoy what we were eating and I HAD NO DESIRE TO COOK.  I began to despise the kitchen and spending time there.  

Then, something happened that really broke the camel’s (or my) back.  My daughter’s Allergist/Immunologist asked us to remove gluten from her diet in hopes that we can start introducing certain nuts into her diet.  WOW.  I was elated because the thought of her beating her nut allergy made me excited and hopeful.  But it didn’t help with my food rut.  I was now faced with starting again, to find new safe food and this time removing even MORE foods from our diet.  It meant figuring out this new normal all over again.  

Needless to say, the weight of feeding my family became even heavier.  I knew something had to change and I couldn’t provide my family with what they needed without making some drastic changes.

I began to do 3 things.  It was the combination of these 3 things that changed my life. Read on to learn what they are!

3 Tips To Make Cooking Allergy Meals Quick & Easy

Tip 1: Start Meal Planning

1. I knew I needed a break from cooking and thinking about food and I started to figure out how to plan intentionally so I could give myself a break consistently.  I learned about intentionally rotating meals so I didn’t have to constantly search for new products or recipes and could still have loads of variety.  

   I created a simple routine. I actually explain my process in episode #24, if you haven’t listened yet, OR you just want a quick refresher- go listen to that episode after this one.

   In short, I learned the best way to plan so I didn’t have to go back to the grocery store more than once a week.  And I learned how to become more efficient when I was cooking, so I wasn’t in the kitchen ALL THE TIME.

   It’s All About Being Purposeful

   I used to think that meal planning wouldn’t work for me.  It took a lot of time and wasn’t worth the effort.  But that all changed when I learned that if you’re purposeful in your planning, it doesn’t have to take forever.

   Being purposeful means not just quickly jotting down what you’ll be making that week, but instead planning so you have less work another day. 

   An example of this is to use an actual meal planning sheet or template so that you can reuse that template or plan OVER and OVER.  If you keep it, you can refer back to it and use it as is OR you can use it to help you plan a new menu based on what you liked or didn’t like.  Doing it this way is planning with a purpose and is so much easier and helpful.

   I talk about HOW important templates are for many many parts of life from birthday parties & playdates to navigating school and of course meal planning in Episode #6.  Definitely check that out if you haven’t already because its priceless!  

   TIP 2:  Cook With Simple, Whole Ingredients.

   The next thing I began to do was cook with simple, whole foods.  This can seem like its the opposite of easy because isn’t it just easier to put a premade meal in the oven, rather than cooking yourself??  NOT when you have food allergies! 

   When my daughter was diagnosed with gluten intolerance in addition to peanut and tree nut allergies, I started to see that either peanuts, tree nuts, or gluten were in EVERYTHING. (It reminded me of when my oldest still had her milk and egg allergies, which is ALSO in everything so this works for all allergies).  To be honest, I was frustrated and dismayed.  I felt like there were so few products she could eat.  

   Which is when I realized that maybe I should just get rid of pre-packaged food altogether.  I mean, less processed is better for you and I don’t have to spend hours reading labels on a carrot!  Once I figured this out, I was unstoppable! 

   Not only that, but there are really great ways to substitute allergens with whole, simple ingredients.  For example, did you know that creamed avocado and lemon works great as a substitute for sour cream?  

   The cool thing is that when you substitute allergens with simple ingredients instead of expensive specialty products like vegan sour cream, you know that you won’t have to search high and low for those simple ingredients.  I’m not saying that you should never get that vegan sour cream, but if you’re out and you just can’t get to the specialty store, there are options that are less expensive and easy too!

   Another benefit is that grocery stores carry simple ingredients all the time and you don’t even have to find the specialty isle to get them!  There are examples of substitutions like this for many allergens.  How awesome is that??! 

   Back to my story…

   Now that I was going to get rid of pre-packaged foods, I started to teach myself what I needed to know so I could create meals from scratch.  I started by revamping old recipes that we couldn’t eat before.  I also started working with clients through my business, Friendly Pantry Consulting and many of my clients needed to remove allergens like milk and eggs so I started to experiment with creating recipes for them too. After lots of experimentation, I got better and better at it.

    I even wrote an allergy-friendly cookbook for the top 8 allergens plus gluten (called The Weeknight Allergy Buster).  GUYS I cannot believe that I was able to write a whole recipe book.  I have no formal training, I’m just a home cook with ideas that I tested on my family and friends. 

   And then, just to be sure, I tested the recipes with 40 other food allergy families too!  I then compiled all the feedback so that I could make changes and ensure each recipe was the best that it can be. I felt like this is when I really found my groove! 
   

It’s Much Simpler Than You Think

I’m not saying you need to create a recipe book, but when I started playing with simple ingredients, it created a lot of inspiration and momentum. If you keep going, you’ll be able to change almost any recipe into something that’s allergy-friendly for your family.

Tip 3: Take Action To Get Motivated

I used to feel like I needed some sort of super-power motivation to do any kind of meal planning or cooking done, but then I realized that motivation comes from my actions and not just from thin air.

For example, back when I was feeling stuck just after my daughter was diagnosed with gluten intolerance, I realized that I was finding my “safe spot” in the 5 recipes I knew my kids would eat, and I got stuck there.  I kept making the same thing over and over because I felt security in those 5 meals.  But in doing that, I got myself deeper and deeper into a rut of being bored not only with the food but with actually cooking the food.  

The weight on my shoulders kept getting heavier not only because I was the sole cook for our family, but because I didn’t like what I was making.  There was no creativity or enjoyment in eating what I was making or in the process of making of it.  Because of that, I was becoming less and less motivated. 

Sound familiar?

Things didn’t change until I took action. For me it was getting inspired with food and focusing less on “kid food” and more on delicious flavors that we all could enjoy.

How To Get Started

You may think, "Great. I want that", but then forget you ever read this and move on with your day. 

But I challenge you to more. Here's what you need to do:

Grab the 90-Minute Variety Booster

There’s detailed information about how to start using and developing these important allergy meal prep skills so you don’t have to feel so stuck anymore.  There are worksheets and videos that will help you become motivated. You’ll also find templates and cheat sheets that will get you started on the right path with both meal planning and cooking with simple ingredients. You don’t have to struggle one more day!  

You can get it here:

Conclusion

You don’t have to feel stuck when it comes to feeding your family! Grab 90-Minute Variety Booster Now so you can get out of the dinnertime rut.

What about you? Let me know in the comments what you struggle with most when it comes to feeding your food allergy little.