Meal planning when different people have different allergies

Start with an allergy map

When allergies differ from person to person, the risk is mixing them up during a busy week. Write every person and their declared allergens in one place before you think about recipes. Add dislikes on a separate line so they never get confused with allergies.

The map turns a vague worry into a short, clear list of ingredients the whole table must avoid when you eat together — and a few that only matter on nights when a particular person is eating.

Five habits that make the week manageable

1. Plan for the strictest combination. On nights when everyone eats together, choose dishes that avoid every declared allergen at the table.
2. Build a list of trusted staples. Keep a short list of products you have checked: the pasta, the stock, the bread. Re-check labels when a brand changes its recipe or packaging.
3. Know the usual hiding places. Peanuts and other nuts turn up in sauces, pesto and baked goods; milk in bread and ready meals; egg in fresh pasta and mayonnaise; soy and wheat in soy sauce; sesame in tahini and hummus.
4. Cook simple, ingredient-led dishes. The fewer processed components a recipe has, the fewer labels you need to read.
5. Plan leftovers on purpose. A dish you know is fine for everyone is worth cooking twice.

Common planning mistakes

• Cooking a separate “allergy meal” every night. It doubles the work and makes the child with the allergy feel singled out. Shared dishes that avoid every declared allergen are easier for everyone.
• Trusting yesterday’s label. Manufacturers change recipes. Re-read labels on familiar products every so often, especially after packaging changes.
• Forgetting guests and grandparents. When someone else cooks, share the allergy map with them, not just a verbal reminder.
• Mixing up allergies and dislikes. Keep them on separate lines so a dislike never gets the same weight as an allergy — and an allergy is never treated as a preference.