Holiday Dinner Guest and Diet Restrictions
Real World Nutrition Podcast Episode 7: Five Real World Nutrition Thanksgiving Tips
Holiday Dinner Guest and Diet Restrictions
If you host Thanksgiving on other holiday gatherings, have you asked your guests if they have any diet restrictions? Consider that some people may be vegetarian (ask what kind), someone else may have a wheat allergy (never mind if it is accurate or not), and another could have a dairy allergy. Oh, and a couple may have diabetes.
If you host Thanksgiving on other holiday gatherings, have you asked your guests if they have any diet restrictions?
What to do with so many dinner guests and their diet restrictions?
Ask! When you invite people over, especially if they aren’t family, or are new family members, ask if they have diet restrictions. Even with your usual family, double-check – you don’t want to forget that your niece has a nut allergy and cook the chestnuts in the stuffing inside the turkey. Then she might be unable to eat the stuffing or the turkey due to cross-contamination.
Bring a dish to share. Not sure how to make a gluten-free pie crust? When your guests say, “what can I bring?” invite your guest who is now eating gluten-free to bring a pie so they can have some dessert and see how tasty it is. And now, one less thing for you to worry about.
Integrate the “special” food into the meal. Rather than making the mashed potatoes with butter, try it with olive oil and soymilk (instead of milk or cream). This substitution will fulfill the needs of both vegetarian and dairy allergies. And don’t make two separate batches; just the one for everyone will do. We don’t need to make our guests feel like they have “special needs.”
Include veggies! Whether someone needs low-fat, wheat-free, dairy-free, diabetic-friendly, or all of these, fresh or steamed seasoned veggies will fit the needs of everyone (green beans are always safe!). And it will help balance the carbohydrates of the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and stuffing.
Offer alcohol and soda alternatives! Stay in the celebratory mood with cranberry juice, a squeeze of lime, and seltzer; even the kids will think they are toasting with the adults. Also, plain water will do just fine.
While we want to accommodate all our guests, we don’t want them to feel left out. Make everyone fit in as best as you can, and try not to have separate dishes for someone unless it is essential. Keep in mind that some people have diet restrictions and aren’t all in their heads (usually).
Suppose you are hosting Thanksgiving or other holiday gatherings this year; good luck. Enjoy the time you have with your friends and family. And, please, leave the cleaning to someone else!
