Family meal planning tips

Coping with someone on a special diet need not be a nightmare when doing your family meal planning

If you are in charge of the family meal planning and are suddenly faced with having to cope with someone on a special diet, it can cause you to flounder.

Not only do you have to be careful about what one (or more) family member can and cannot eat, but you have to fit everyone else's requirements into the mix as well.

If, up until now, you have survived by thinking on your feet, ordering a take-away at the last minute, or opening a packet you may have to change your cooking habits and think about doing a little advance planning.

Whether the person on the special diet is yourself, your child, or your partner, making sure everyone is fed and happy need not be a nightmare. These tips and ideas should help.

One of the first things to decide on when family meal planning, is whether you are going to cook one meal for all the family, or offer something different to the person with allergies or an intolerance. I prefer to try to stick to one meal. It is easier, there is less risk of contamination, and no-one suffers from being looked at as "different". After all, it doesn't do anyone else any harm, to NOT eat something that their sibling, child or parent must avoid.

I do make an exception to this if it is a baby that needs special food. In this situation I will often cook a separate dish for the baby, perhaps using the parts of the main meal that are safe for them to eat, such as the vegetables.

So what do we need to think about when doing the family meal planning?

Your budget

With today's economic climate we should perhaps consider what it will cost, to feed the family a balanced healthy meal, that will not break the bank.

The problem with many pre-prepared dietary foods is that they cost a lot more than "normal" foods. Some ingredients are essential... such as a range of gluten free flours and pasta ... and many of these can now be obtained at the grocery store.

A good idea is to include as much fresh food that is in season as possible when family meal planning. Its even better if you grow your own vegetables, as my father used to do! Saving money on the accompaniments can allow you to choose a better cut of meat. Please see this list of seasonal fruit and vegetables.

Make sensible use of energy. If you are turning the oven on for a stew, why not pop some potatoes in to bake as well. You could also use the other shelf to bake some gluten free bread for the following day, saving time as well.

Fussy Eater

Personal likes and dislikes

We all have certain foods that we love and others that we just absolutely hate, don't we? My worst nightmare are turnips!

Just because there are foods that you CANNOT eat, it doesn't mean that you HAVE to eat everything else!

When feeding a number of people it is wise to keep any foods that are disliked to a minimum. If they are, like mine, a vegetable, then it is easy enough to just not serve the hated stuff to those that don't like it. But try not to add them as an ingredient where they cannot be avoided by those that would rather not eat them. For example if someone hates garlic, don't put it in the stew!

The family's appetite and lifestyle

Does everyone do manual work that requires a satisfying meal to restore their energy? Or do they spend most of their day sitting down, using their brains instead of muscles?

Adding extra carbohydrate to the meal, such as potatoes, grains or gluten free pasta, may be necessary to keep active people going for the rest of the day. On the other hand, a light dish, designed to not add extra pounds to the diners, may be more suitable.

Will everyone need feeding at the same time? Or will food need to be kept hot for late arrivals? Will it spoil if you need to keep it hot or reheat it? Can it be served cold and thereby eliminate the problem completely?

The weather

The time of year, and the weather, should be considered when doing your family meal planning. Chilled soup served when snow is on the ground outside may not go down too well! And who wants a heavy meat stew on a swelteringly hot day?

Your kitchen

Not all of us are blessed with huge kitchens with a large range on which to cook. Well I know I'm not anyway! So something else to keep in mind when planning meals is your cooking facilities. Do you have enough rings on your stove top for the number of saucepans you will need to use? Do you have a double oven so that you can cook things that need a different temperature at the same time?

Also give a thought to whether you have enough room to store the ingredients needed for that elaborate dish.

Cooking methods

Try to vary the way you cook foods throughout the week. Fried foods every night would be boring, as well as unhealthy!

Good family meal planning will ensure that a variety of methods are used... a stir fry with crisp vegetables one day followed by a warming casserole the next perhaps.

Vary the texture

Food needs to be appealing in order to be enjoyed. Think about a plate of soggy mashed potatoes, steamed fish and cauliflower puree. There is nothing to get your teeth into amongst that lot is there? Add some texture to your dishes. Get something crisp in there to offset the softness.

Celiac Diet

Eat a rainbow

Think again about that meal I mentioned just above. Would it look exciting? Everything was white or cream!

Add colour to your meals by including red tomatoes, green vegetables, a golden sauce or a rich, brown gluten-free gravy.

Add some flavour

Try not to serve one spicy dish after another. Mix things up a bit and give the palette a break with a bland, subtle meal one night, something savoury the next, and something with a bit of zing to it after that.

Summary

You probably think about most of the family meal planning tips above on a subconscious level anyway, but hopefully bringing them to your conscious attention will help you cope easily when feeding someone with food allergies, or an intolerance such as Celiac disease, along with everyone else.

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