Living with food allergies and sensitivities isn’t easy, I can attest to it. I also know that there are plenty of families being newly diagnosed with intolerances every day. Sarah from Life is Still Sweet knows what it’s like to suddenly have to change eating habits and even grocery shopping strategies, as some of her own children have food allergies and sensitivities.

This week Sarah’s sharing a few key tips with us. Because she’s become quite the expert when it comes to cooking unique meals that are allergy-friendly, I knew she’d have a lot to contribute to this week’s Tips and Tricks Friday post. And our special topic is? (Drum roll!) Adjusting to the allergy-friendly life!

When you first get the news that one of your kids may have an allergy or sensitivity to a certain food group, you are thrilled that perhaps some symptoms will be relieved. Then lunch rolls around and you feel like you’re left with the only two foods your child won’t eat.

After a bit of research and some kitchen refinement I now have a steady arsenal of meals and snacks that the family won’t complain about. Here’s a few tips from what I learned along the way.

First you need to remove any offending food from your house. Even if you have others that can eat anything on the planet, don’t have it in your house. It’s much easier to not explain to a starving wee-one why they cannot have their favorite snack any longer. It also decreases the chances of them “accidentally” eating something that you are desperately trying to avoid. Make friends with your neighbor or family members and clean out the pantry or fridge.

Plan on spending more time at the grocery store than usual. The first time I went to the store looking for products that were gluten free, I was in there for over an hour staring at labels. Now I’m more familiar with which products are appropriate for my family. It’s definitely worth spending the time reading labels, as many foods have hidden offending ingredients that you may not be aware of.

gluten free lemon muffins

Choose a couple of the family’s favorite food that you can no longer have, and work on recreating it. My family adores pizza. It didn’t bother them too much that my fabulous chocolate chip cookies were out, but you’d think it was the end of the world to not have pizza. I tried a couple of frozen versions from the store, but no one cared for them. We headed to the kitchen and tried out a few different recipes. This was the one our family prefers and now when they need their pizza I have something to give them.

pizza with gluten free crust

When you do find that prefect replacement, roll with it. While none of us have distinct terrible problems with dairy, we try to limit our consumption of the wonderful stuff. Sadly this limits our ice cream input. We found that sorbet is just as easy to make, and just as easy to change up. For Christmas we had cranberry sorbet, but this can easily be changed to lemon, or lime, or raspberry just by switching a few ingredients. This presto change-o bit works for many meals; tacos, chili, stir-fry, and even pancakes. The base stays the same, but with a few adaptations you’ve got a totally different take on it.

Lastly, branch out. Many other cultures rarely use the most common allergenic foods in their cooking. I love going to eat Thai food because they understand when I say “gluten free”, and there’s typically only one or two things on the menu that have gluten and dairy. Recently I tried a very uncommon grain. Millet is eaten in abundance in many other countries and it’s become a favorite grain around here.

Usually when I work with an unfamiliar food I try to make very small quantities just in case no one likes it. This way I’m not wasting it, and I have more left over to try out different techniques with how to use it. It takes some time to figure out how to use these new items to best suit you, but that is what makes the kitchen exciting and new everyday.

Stay encouraged and positive. The abundance of alternative ingredients can seem overwhelming at first, but seek help. Food bloggers are some of the friendliest folks out there. Send them an email and ask away. Cooking with your kid’s allergies/sensitivities will soon feel like second nature and sifting through all those new ingredients just makes life sweet.