Anyone who has food allergies or sensitivities or has children with them, know how complicated even simple meals can become. Something “simple” like chicken nuggets and fries, become complicated when there are different food allergies and sensitivities within the household.
Our Allergens
Our 5-year-old son is allergic to eggs and sensitive to gluten and dairy.
I am sensitive to gluten, dairy, soy, spinach, avocado, quinoa, and I avoid shellfish due to family allergies.
Our twins don’t have any diagnosed allergies but we’ve recently eliminated dairy milk and yogurt to see if that helps their tummy issues.
My husband is lucky, he eats whatever he wants.
Simple Meal turned Complicated
On Sundays, we tend to have chicken nuggets and fries for lunch which gets pretty complex with all the different allergens. Sure, we could all get the allergen-friendly ones but for one, they’re more expensive, and two, we haven’t found one that is free of ALL of our allergens.
On the left, we have regular chicken nuggets and onion rings for my husband and twins. The Alexia fries in front are safe for all of us – yay – but I’m the only one that eats them for this meal since the others can have nummy tater tots that I can’t have because they contain soybean oil. The Perdue Simply Smart Organics chicken nuggets in the middle are gluten, dairy, and egg-free but are also cooked in soybean oil (though it doesn’t say that on the package, my body has told me they are and I’ve checked with the company who confirmed). My Gluten-Free nuggets in the front with the red clip are from Aldi and they are gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free BUT do contain eggs so my oldest son can’t have them.
We also have to be careful about how we arrange the foods on baking sheets as we don’t want cross-contamination.
I’m surely not complaining about any of this, I’m actually quite excited that we do have options each of us can eat. Just sharing how it is for a family with varying food sensitivities and food allergies to navigate what is a simple meal for those without restrictions.
Links to Foods
- Alexia Fries (GF, DF, SF, EF)
- Aldi Gluten Free Chicken Breast Bites (GF, DF, SF)
- Perdue Simply Smart Chicken Breast Nuggets (GF, DF, EF)
- Tater Tots (GF, DF, EF)
As a mom of identical twins and a son two years older, I have gained invaluable experience in the realm, and chaos, of parenting. With a Master's Degree and Education Specialist Degree in School Psychology, I spent years as a school psychologist, helping children navigate through their educational and emotional challenges. Now as a stay at home mom and professional blogger, I combine my areas of expertise to help you in your parenting journey.