Lisa’s gluten, dairy, soy & ginger free “NinjaBread” Stars
This time of year is usually fueled with busyness and stress, but when you’re adding in eating with or cooking for someone with special dietary needs, it can get even more overwhelming. Sadly, most people wrongfully assume that gluten-free, dairy-free or anything-free food has to be tasteless. They’re so wrong. So here are 5 easy ways you can make this festive season food-alternative-friendly without sacrificing flavour whether you’re a guest or the host.
1. If you’re doing the cooking think about cooking something easy and yummy like Glenys’ Lasagne which doesn’t require a lot of preparation while your guests are over. You can make all of the elements earlier and assemble it and then take it from the fridge to the oven (or if you’re making Hayley’s Raw Lasagne you can take it from the fridge and assemble just before you eat.
2. If you’re invited to a party take a drink that will suit your needs, that way you can be sure there will be something appropriate for you there. We’ve got a a section on alcohol alternatives and a product that can help reduce the preservatives in alcohol in our Cold drinks episode and in our book.
3. If you’re driving then make sure you have non-alcoholic drinks on hand that you like. If you’re looking for a healthier alternative to “soft drinks” then check out Anne’s alternative in the Cold Drinks episode.
4. If it’s not a sit down dinner but an informal gathering then take some ideas from our Hoummus episode and crackers which suit your diet (eg. these yummy gluten-free wafter crackers from Orgran). With 8 different dip ideas in our book if you feel like cooking, or something like these delicious cream cheese dips you can buy if you don’t feel like cooking, you can make sure you’ve got something delicious that will suit your needs and your guests and the host will love (because they didn’t have to worry about whether or not it was suitable for you).
5. If you’re looking for something sweet then make a batch of the Christmas Pudding Bliss Balls from our An Alternative Christmas Episode (you can leave the alcohol out if it doesn’t suit your diet) and you can get the recipe here.
Find more recipes in our books:
