Different allergies at one table
Last checked
Start with who is at the table, list what each person can't eat, and plan to check labels. If someone has told you a food is fine for them on the side, look for a dinner whose only problem is that food as a topping or side, and set their portion aside before it goes in, then check labels. Otherwise, or when the food is cooked into the dish, pick a different dinner. Always check labels.
Start with who is at the table
Write down the people eating tonight, guests included, and what each one must avoid. Four people with four different lists is a normal table, and the list for one night is shorter than the list for the whole week. Always check labels.
Look for the one-topping problem
Many dinners have a single problem food that sits on top or beside the rest: avocado on tacos, nuts on a salad, cheese on pasta. When that food goes in at the end and the person who avoids it has told you it is fine for them on the side, you can serve it apart for them and still check labels. The app's own warning for this holds at home too: "The food will be in the same kitchen and may touch shared pans." If they have not said so, or the food is cooked into the sauce or the dough, pick a different dinner. Always check labels.
Set a portion aside before the food goes in
Take out that person's portion before you add the problem food. Say Angie avoids avocado but has told you it is fine for her on the side, so you still check labels. For a taco night, you set aside her portion before adding the avocado, and everyone else gets the avocado on top. The avocado is still in the same kitchen and may touch shared pans, so some people won't want a food there at all, and that is their call. Always check labels.
Say it out loud
Tell the table what is in the dinner and who has which portion. A cook who knows which portion is whose will not guess. Label the plates if you need to. Always check labels.
How Pantry Assistant does this
Pantry Assistant has a switch for this method. On Food & diet, a person who has said a food is fine for them on the side turns on OK on the side for it, and still has to check labels. Under the switch, the app says: "The food will be in the same kitchen and may touch shared pans." Two things have to be true for a dinner to stay in Reload: the switch is on, and the recipe line for that food is marked On the side (you mark it yourself: turn on On the side on the ingredient line in the recipe editor, because a recipe you import comes in unmarked), and you still check labels. Then a dinner whose only problem is that food stays in Reload with a yellow mark, and the recipe adds a step: "Set aside a portion for Angie before adding Avocado." The mark reads "Avocado on the side for Angie", so check labels. With the switch off, or with the food not marked On the side in the recipe, the dinner is left out, so check labels. For how it works, see dinner planning around allergies, and always check labels.
It is a planning convenience, not a promise about what anyone can eat. It relies on the ingredients it knows about, and it can miss things, like a brand that changed its recipe. Always check labels.