Nutritionist Bronwen King has advice for entertaining guests with special dietary needs – without stress.
You’ve invited friends for a special dinner, or you have people coming to stay over the holidays. You’ve planned it all when one of them rings with the bombshell: “Did you know my husband has a lactose and egg intolerance?” In the space of a few words, you have been completely thrown outside your comfort zone!
Whether it’s because allergies, intolerances and the need for special diets is increasing these days, or whether it’s just that we are more tuned in to them, the fact remains that being able to cope with special dietary needs is now a necessity for chefs. It is rapidly becoming a necessity for home cooks as well. The good news, however, is that it’s not that difficult, particularly if you are already tuned in to healthy eating!
So how do we keep our cool when entertaining or hosting guests with special dietary needs?
Gather information
- Start with the person themselves. Ask them about their needs, likes and dislikes. My bet is they will be only too happy to tell you!
- Find out about the condition. Ask what it mean in terms of the foods they can/can’t have. Are there any other issues to consider – such as timing of food or portion size?
Plan your menu
- Keep it simple. The less fuss the better and the more relaxed your ‘tricky customer’ will feel.
- Look for common ground. If you can find a menu that meets the needs of everyone, you will eliminate extra work and stress. This will also reassure your guest that they are not a bother.
- Rather than eliminating ingredients from your usual recipes, focus on foods that the guest can have and build your menu around those. Fruit and vegetables, for example, are suitable for all diets.
- Keep it healthy. You will be looking after everyone’s health, not just the guest with special needs.
Prepare as much as you can in advance
- Minimise last-minute stress by collecting ingredients, preparing and freezing food, and having simple nibbles/snacks on hand. If you have someone needing gluten-free foods for example, stock your freezer with gluten-free bread, and make sure you have rice-based crackers in your pantry. This will save awkward moments and show you have thought about the guest and their needs.
- If you’re not feeling confident, test some of your ideas in advance. Treat the challenge as an opportunity to develop your skills and try new foods, rather than an inconvenience.
Vegan
People eating a vegan diet do not eat any food of animal origin. While this sounds simple, it is easy to forget ingredients such as eggs, milk and gelatine are commonly hidden in processed foods.
The main challenge when catering for vegans is to make sure they get enough good quality protein. Plant protein is not as well matched to the body’s needs as animal protein is, but providing vegans have a variety of it, their needs should be met.
| Foods to AVOID | Foods to HAVE INSTEAD |
|---|---|
| Meat, fish, poultry Eggs | Pulses (lentils, chick peas, kidney beans) Tofu Nuts and seeds |
| Milk Cheese, yoghurt Cream, cream cheese | Soy or rice milk Soy-based yoghurt and cheese Tofu, nut butters |
| Gelatine Gelatine-containing foods, eg. marshmallows, jelly beans, jelly | Agar agar Jelly-type confectionery that uses agar or pectin instead of gelatine |
| Meat-based stocks | Vegetable stock |
| Baked goods containing butter and eggs | Baked goods containing vegetable oils or margarines and no eggs |
Menu ideas for vegans
Plan your menu around
- Pulses (lentils, chickpeas etc)
- Nuts and seeds
- Soy milk, yoghurt and cheese
- Tofu
- Fruit and vegetables
- Breads (check label to ensure no milk or eggs) and cereals
Suggestions
Starters/nibbles
- Hummus and other bean-based dips, crackers and vegetable sticks
- Falafel mini-patties with tzatziki and wholemeal pita triangles
- Carrot dip with flatbread
- Bruschetta with chickpea spread and basil tomatoes
Main courses
- Roasted vegetable and chickpea salad
- Vegetable pilaf
- Mushroom and pine nut risotto
- Pumpkin, walnut and pesto pasta
Dessert/sweets
- Strawberries dipped in dark chocolate
- HFG chocolate brownies with raspberry coulis
- Boysenberry granita
- Summer pudding served with soy ice cream
Dairy-free
People going dairy-free are either:
- Allergic to milk, in which case they must avoid all products containing milk protein (milk, cheese, yoghurt); OR
- Lactose intolerant, which means too much milk or milk products causes gastrointestinal discomfort (such as cramps, wind, diarrhoea). People with lactose intolerance can have small quantities of milk or milk products; the main thing is to inform them where and how much milk is in your menu so they can decide what and how much to eat.
| Foods to AVOID | Foods to HAVE INSTEAD |
|---|---|
| Milk, powdered milk, evaporated milk | Soy or rice milks if allergic to milk, or lactose-free milks if lactose intolerant |
| Butter, ghee | Oil or milk-free spreads |
| Cheese, yoghurt | Tofu, soy yoghurt |
| Ice cream, many sorbets and sherbets | Soy ice cream Water based sorbets and sherbets |
| Some breads | Milk-free breads |
| Mashed potato | Potato mashed with soy milk or stock |
| Cream sauces | Tomato or stock-based sauces |
| Baked goods, eg. cakes, muffins, pikelets, pancakes, waffles | Substitute soy or rice milk in recipe if allergic to milk, or use lactose-free milk if lactose intolerant Look for recipes that do not contain milk |
| Foods that contain the word ‘casein’ on the label, eg. calcium caseinate | Foods labelled ‘milk or dairy-free’ |
Egg-free
This is relatively simple – keep eggs out of the menu and check the labels of any processed foods you use.
| Foods to AVOID | Foods to HAVE INSTEAD |
|---|---|
| Mayonnaise | Egg-free mayonnaise (check label) Yoghurt mixed with lemon juice or vinegar, a little sugar and mustard |
| Meat loaf, hamburgers or rissoles | Same recipe with a little flour or cornflour used to bind instead of egg |
| Baked goods containing eggs, ie. most biscuits, cakes and cheesecakes | Use recipes that do not contain eggs |
| Foods that are battered or crumbed | Use milk instead of egg when crumbing |
| Caesar salad | Other salads without mayonnaise or hard-boiled eggs |
| Quiche, frittata | Pizza |
| Pavlova | Other desserts (fruit-based where possible) |
| Egg custard | Custard made with custard powder Sea meal custard |
Menu ideas for egg-free and dairy-free diets
Plan your menu around
- Lean meat, poultry or fish
- Vegetables and fruit
- Soy or rice milk, yoghurt and cheese*
- Nuts and seeds
- Pulses (lentils, chickpeas etc)
- Breads (check label to ensure no milk or eggs)
Suggestions
Starters/nibbles
- Seafood and coriander patties with chilli dipping sauce
- Healthy platters with dips, breads, vegetables etc (no cheese or dips based on sour cream or cream cheese)
- Vietnamese rice paper rolls
- Guacamole with pita crisps
Mains
- Paprika chicken and four-bean salad
- Thai grilled salmon
- Chicken stuffed with almond and tomato
- Lentil and vegetable curry
Dessert/sweets
- Berry crumble with soy yoghurt/custard*
- Fresh fruit salad with soy ice cream*
- HFG chocolate brownies with strawberries
- Date and walnut balls dipped in dark (dairy-free) chocolate
*Use regular milk, yoghurt or cheese if egg allergy only.
Gluten-free
People who have coeliac disease or a wheat intolerance cannot eat foods containing gluten. Since gluten is the main protein found in wheat, this means anything with wheat or wheat flour in it. While this may sound simple, flour is found in a surprising number of unlikely sounding products, eg. stock cubes. People with a wheat allergy also need to avoid wheat.
| Foods to AVOID | Foods to HAVE INSTEAD |
|---|---|
| Wheat flour in baking | Rice, soy, buckwheat, corn or potato flours |
| Wheat flour for thickening | Cornflour, arrowroot or potato flour Red lentils |
| Cereals containing wheat or bran Oats | Rice, buckwheat and corn-based cereals (look for packages labelled ‘gluten-free’) |
| Couscous | Rice, polenta, quinoa |
| Bread and crackers | Gluten-free bread Rice crackers/cakes Corn thins |
| Pasta | Rice noodles Buckwheat (soba) noodles |
| Breadcrumbs Crumbed or battered foods Hamburgers, meatballs, rissoles etc with breadcrumbs in mix | Gluten-free breadcrumbs Grilled foods, or use gluten-free crumbs and flour Use gluten-free crumbs in mix or add cooked rice instead |
| Canned goods, eg. Creamed corn Baked beans Tinned spaghetti Chilli beans | Whole-kernel corn Cannellini beans with a tin of tomatoes Gluten-free pasta and homemade pasta sauce Cannellini beans with a jar of Mexican salsa |
| Sausages and processed meats | Fresh meat and poultry |
| Stock powder/cubes Gravy and soup mixes | Homemade or fresh commercial stock Homemade gravy Homemade soups – use lentils to thicken if necessary |
| Custard made from custard powder | Homemade egg custard |
| Curry powder | Mix your own using individual spices, eg. cumin, coriander, chilli, garam masala, ginger |
| Mustard and mustard powder | Mustard seeds (toast a little to develop flavour): grind, and add a little vinegar and salt to produce mustard |
Menu ideas for people with coeliac disease or who can’t eat wheat
Plan your menu around
- Meat, fish, poultry
- Legumes
- Fruit and vegetables
- Nuts and seeds
- Milk and milk products
- Rice, buckwheat, corn and their flours
Suggestions
Starters/nibbles
- Hummus or salsa with rice or corn crackers and vegetable sticks
- Smoked salmon sushi
- Zingy prawn platter
- Asparagus and ricotta salad with mint vinaigrette
Main courses
- Chicken Caesar salad
- Vietnamese beef skewers with noodle salad
- Thai beef and kumara curry
- Barbecued lamb chops with potato and iceberg salad
Dessert/sweets
- Passionfruit and peach fool
- Wheat-free orange and almond cake
- Berry easy instant ice cream
- Date and walnut balls
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