So my kid has food allergies. What does the rest of the family do?

 

When my kid first got diagnosed with food allergies, we had an important decision to make- does everybody get the same food restrictions or do we prepare completely separate meals for the baby? At first it was a pretty easy decision. Avoiding peanuts as a family meant some substitutions for peanut butter spaghetti, a change in snack crackers (RIP peanut butter Ritz), and only eating Reese’s in secret. All doable things. But then as more allergens got added on (eggs, garlic, milk, and some tree nuts) it became a lot more complicated. Let’s look at the pros and cons.

Do I eat an allergen free diet like my kid?

Pro: I don’t have to make her a separate dinner every night.

It’s hard enough cooking 1 dinner, but then making a completely separate one for her AND making sure it’s balanced and healthy? That’s a lot of work.

Con: No cheese.

Without cheese, you can’t have pizza. No mac and cheese. No cheeseburgers. No reaching in the fridge and biting off a chunk of delicious cheddar for snack.

Pro: I don’t have to be so careful about cross contamination.

Some of the suggestions to prevent allergens getting from my food into hers include: making her meal first, making sure I’m using clean utensils for her food, washing my hands when preparing her food and when feeding her. But, it’s a slippery slope. How clean is clean? How well did I scrub that frying pan that was previously my morning egg pan? Do I need to wash that bad boy again before cooking her zucchini? And did I wipe down that peanut butter counter? Or did I just *think* about wiping down the counter?

Con: No cheese.

I mean, cheese. There’s just nothing like it. Hard cheese. Soft cheese. Fancy cheese. American cheese. I just love it all.

Pro: I don’t have to eat my food when she’s not eating her food.

I mean, I could theoretically eat while she’s eating. But what if she chokes? Then do I run to wash my hands for 20 seconds before finger swiping the trachea sized grape out of her mouth? Or do I do my best to wipe off my food my napkin and hope that whatever trace allergen she ingests will be better than choking? I mean it usually takes 10 minutes for her to start anaphylaxis. That would give me enough time to get her epi…

Even with no choking, feeding her still usually involves her politely (or impolitely) asking for more. Which would mean hand washing each time she wanted another cracker. And with COVID, I’ve been washing my hands enough.

Con: No cheese.

Guys. I love cheese.

 

For us, no love of cheese was worth the stress of eating allergens around our kid. I like everybody at the table eating the same thing (or, in my toddler’s case, refusing to eat the same thing). I’ve had to adjust what I cook. Ultimately, this system makes us much happier.