How to Survive Parties as a Food Allergy Family

Recently my son was at a birthday party and one of the moms came up to me and said, “I just don’t know how you do it.” I looked at her with a quizzical look.

“Do what?” I asked.

“Deal with all your son’s food allergies.”

This is the $1,000,000 question I get asked, at pretty much every event, by most parents. You see, if you haven’t read my post from last year, Benadryl, check. Epi pen, check. #allergymom4life, my son has multiple food allergies. Society has shown us that a lot of kids (1 in every 13 kids under the age of 18) deal with food allergies. Notice I used the word “deal” not “suffer”. Just like other life issues, food allergies are just something we have to deal with, manage, and work through, with my son.

Currently, he is still allergic to: dairy, eggs, nuts, and sesame, but when he was first diagnosed at 6 months old, he was diagnosed with: dairy, eggs, nuts, soy, wheat, shrimp and sesame. These allergies make events, especially kid birthday parties, challenging but not impossible to manage. Based on all the people who have recently reached out to me, either because their kids have food allergies or because they want to create inclusive spaces, I thought it would be helpful to share some tips.

As a food allergy mom, you know best what your kid can/can’t eat. Don’t be afraid to reach out when you RSVP to an event and ask what they are planning to serve. Most of the time my son can’t eat the main course, but chances are there will be at least one snack item he can eat.

Here are some of my go to items:

1. Chips (Lays plain chips, Tostitos multigrain scoops and Trader Joe’s corn chips are our personal favorites)  
2. Pretzels (we love Glutino even though we don’t need to avoid gluten)
3. Go-Go squeezes, banana, baby carrots, Veggie Straws
4. If I know I can warm up/cook food, I usually bring chicken nuggets or mini hot dogs. If not, I bring turkey cold cuts.
5. Oreos (they’re VEGAN!!!)
6. And what would a party be without cake, so we bring our own cupcake. The recipe I like best is super simple, affordable, and no one ever knows the difference until I tell them. (1 box yellow cake mix (Duncan Hines works and is dairy/egg/nut free) and 1 (12 oz.) can of ginger ale following the regular directions on the box topped with a container of Pillsbury vanilla or chocolate frosting; can you believe it?!)
7. If you’d rather a more healthy option or just need a muffin substitute, King Arthur’s muffin mix (gluten free) and safe butter/milk, plus pumpkin puree is always a winner in our house.

Hopefully this helps a few of the families dealing with food allergies, and maybe inspires those of you who know others managing food allergies to try and provide safe options for all.

I could go on with the recipes, but if you’re on Pinterest, why don’t you just follow my “Recipes For Michael Board” under Allergy Safe Mom.

Do you have any allergy safe recipes to share? I’d love to know!