How To Easily Plan Your Allergy-Friendly Holiday Menu With These 5 Time Management & Organization Tips

Allergy eats for those who need a fare allergy plan or a food allergy action plan.

If you’re here, it’s likely that your little has food allergies and you’re feeling overwhelmed with how to manage all the holiday events and all cooking that goes with them.

I remember the days when I was able to just go to someone’s house and enjoy the feast they created and only worry about bringing one dish. Since food allergies, I’ve been forced into learning how to make full meals on my own.

I now cook our own special family meals for Christmas Eve, Christmas dinner and sometimes New Year's Eve and Christmas morning brunch too.

At first, it was really hard.

I didn’t know the timing of foods and I didn’t have a flow, which meant there were a few holidays when I thought we would eat around 5 but ended up eating around 8:00 instead.

YIKES!

Not to mention all the cooking that has to happen on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day. For a while, I felt like I was bonding with my kitchen more than my family during one of the most important celebrations of the year!

This is why I knew something had to change, and I needed to come up with a plan.

So over the years I’ve tried new things and focused on what worked the previous year and got rid of what didn’t. What I do now has evolved over the last 12 years, but I feel like I’ve got a system down pat. Now I can enjoy my family during the holidays instead of being chained to the kitchen!

Let me tell you if I can do it, so can you, with the help of what I’ve learned over the years.

Here are my best tips for planning and cooking all those big meals. Read on!

Food Allergy Family Holiday Meal Planning

Never, ever try to make an entire holiday meal the day of or day before the event without pre-making some dishes.

I learned this the hard way. Cooking all your food at the time of the event means spending hours and hours cooking when all you really want to be doing is puzzles, watching Christmas movies or skating with the fam. No matter how much you enjoy cooking, this just isn’t the most ideal time to do it.

Not only that but cooking right before an event is STRESSFUL! There’s so much that needs to be done and there’s a firm time limit. Don’t be like me at the beginning where I ended up getting dinner ready 3 hours past the time I had invited everyone to come. It was not my best hour!

2. Make the same thing Every. Single. Year.

I clued into this a few years back. By making the same thing every year my kids started to get used to the dishes and it created a sense of tradition and anticipation. I also noticed that my kids started to like dishes they originally wouldn’t have anything to do with (i.e. my absolute favourite, stuffing/dressing).

By making the same thing every year you start to get REALLY good at those dishes. Each year they turn out better and better until your meal becomes somewhat of a masterpiece. Not only that, but you start to get faster at making the same thing over and over. This is exactly what you need during this busy time!

Get more details in this video:

3. Decide what you will pre-make.

As always, scheduling and planning are key. I usually start to think about my meal around Canadian Thanksgiving (in October). I usually make stuffing for that meal and so I just double or triple the amount I make and freeze the rest for Christmas. Yes, the stuffing will freeze that long and still taste amazing. I know this because I do it every year and I’m known in my extended family for making the best stuffing!

The key here is to figure out what will freeze well and what you need to make on the day of. For example, the turkey always needs to be cooked on the day of the event, where mashed sweet potatoes can be made in advance and frozen. Honestly, I choose dishes that I know will freeze well so I don’t have to stress so much!

4. Create the time in your schedule now and block it off.

Now that you have decided on your menu and what you can pre-make, add those dishes to your weekly meal plans and schedule them now. Block the time in your calendar to make sure it gets done. Cooking one extra dish here and there is way easier than trying to cook 6 dishes in one day!

5. Ask friends and family to bring basic food or non-food items.

It can be really expensive to make a big celebration meal like a Christmas dinner. To offset the costs, I ask friends and family to bring non-food items or items that can easily be made allergy-friendly like a veggie tray, fruit tray, sparkling juice, Christmas crackers or wine for the adults.

This helps with cost but also helps friends and family get over the fact that they don’t need to bring food. They feel like they’re helping out and you’re still able to control the food and environment for your little one.

Feed your food allergy kids fast without stress or sacrificing variety starter kit

Conclusion

Cooking a big celebration meal like Christmas dinner isn’t as hard as you think with these 5 time-management and organization tips, even if you’ve never done it before!

Do you cook big holiday meals, or is it something you want to try? If so, what tip from this blog will you try? Share in the comments!