Dealing with dietary restrictions?

cozylittlecave

My mom is planning my shower back home, and my MIL will be driving in to town for it. She cannot eat milk, butter, eggs, or bread (severe allergy- not by choice). It's a 4+ hour drive, and she'll have to stay the night as well. While she's just one guest, we'd really like to do our best to accommodate her.

I'm sure that if we asked her, she'd insist on not worrying about her or providing anything special, but I know I feel bad/awkward when everyone is eating something she can't indulge in. Plus, it's a lot of effort for her to come down for the shower.

We've talked about fruit & veggie trays, but aside from that, we're not sure what else we could do (particularly as a dessert/cake substitute). Does anyone have any menu suggestion ideas? Or should we do our best but not worry about it? How far would you go to accommodate her allergies?

mairanellis

I would at least make sure there are a few things she can eat.  If you feel your MIL won't tell you what she eats, can you ask your FIL or husband what she may be able to eat?

rhubarb123

If you have a fruit and veggie tray I think she will be fine.  She's an adult and should be able to choose the foods she can handle safely.  I wouldn't worry about it any further.

BTW...she can have fruit for dessert.

Blenderson

What is it about the bread that she can't have? If it's the gluten, there are a lot more gluten-free treats out there than you may think. And you can usually substitute applesauce for eggs in baked goods.  

Have you tried searching for vegan recipes? Or maybe go to the natural foods section of your grocery store and see if they have some suggestions. 

If it were me, I would make sure she had one more option other than the fruit/ veggie tray, just in case it gets picked over.

RachieTK

Are you serving lunch? She can have salad with grilled chicken, shrimp cocktail, meats from a deli tray if you make sure it isn't touching cheese... really any protein.  For desert, fruit is a good option.  She's likely used to making do and will be touched that you're bothering to accomodate her.

EBathory997Wed74688

I understand where you are coming from.  I have people who have celiac's (gluten intolerance), lactose intolerance, fruit allergies, vegetarian and just plain picky and i tried to accomodate everyone

cozylittlecave

RachieTK:

Are you serving lunch? She can have salad with grilled chicken, shrimp cocktail, meats from a deli tray if you make sure it isn't touching cheese... really any protein.  For desert, fruit is a good option.  She's likely used to making do and will be touched that you're bothering to accomodate her.

 Ooh- the salad with grilled chicken option might work! My mom was planning something like chicken salad sandwiches before we remembered her restrictions. That's not too far from where she was wanting to go with it. Thanks for the idea- not sure how we missed that!

 Thanks everyone for the ideas! I'm sure we'll probably just do fruit for dessert (in addition to cake of course). I know her bread issue is not just gluten- we were at a gluten-free bakery once and they still included whatever it was she had issues with. Plus, I don't think my mom would ever serve a whole cake that didn't have butter/eggs/bread lol :P. 

ErinDarryl

I agree with a PP about vegan recipes. Check out your local bakeries and see if anyone does vegan/gluten free cupcakes or something. I had 2 vegans and a gluten allergy at my wedding, so I ordered separate dessert and favours for those guests and I know it meant a lot to them. At my shower we were supposed to have a vegan friend (didn't end up being able to come) so we planned a vegan soup for her. It is really really good (I got the leftovers and froze them). If you'd like the recipe just PM me and I will pass it along. My vegan friend always says you can make any recipe vegan, just switch out milk for soy milk, egg replacer for the eggs, applesauce for the butter. ta da vegan. and for gluten, use rice flour instead of wheat flour (but you may have to play with amounts of things as the rice flour acts differently). If there are any health food stores (or the health food section of a large grocery store) around you can always find vegan chocolate. We have a store here called planet organic, thats where I go for anything really precise. I would take a look around at bakeries and also experiment in the kitchen.