Every Christmas, my parents give the gift of a family day trip to me, my brother, my sister, and our significant others. In the past, we have gone snowshoeing, cross country skiing, hiking, stayed for a weekend in a cozy Bed and Breakfast cottage, and this year we went snow-tubing. It’s always nice to have everyone together for a fun day of activity!
With 8 of us all focused on the excitement of our full day activity, you may be thinking how we prepare food for these excursions. That’s a good question, especially when you consider all our food restrictions:
- My brother and I are allergic to peanuts and tree nuts.
- My sister is allergic to almonds.
- My sister-in-law is allergic to multiple raw fruit.
- Oh, and my sister and her fiancé are also vegan, so we have to factor that into the equation!
Since dining out can sometimes get chaotic with our family, we tend to prepare and bring our own food for the day, then head back to my parents’ house for dinner. The process begins, as always, with preparation! My mom always plans the day’s menu well in advance and sends an email out to all of us asking for food preferences based on her planned menu. For example, she may ask what we would specifically like on a sandwich, or what kind of snacks we would prefer, by providing options that we can select. This not only makes her life easier when heading to the grocery store, but it also helps all of us feel more confident in what we will eat during our outing.
Once the menu is finalized, everything else just falls into place. My mom typically buys all the food and everyone else pitches in to help with preparation when needed. Coolers will keep our food in ready condition to eat, but with winter being so cold, we also opt for keeping the food in bags and let the cool air do the rest. Now we can focus on having a blast, knowing that allergen-safe food is waiting for us whenever we need it.
If you plan on doing some winter excursions this year, make sure you prepare food ahead of time, determine what precautions you need to take to remain safe with your food allergy, then ensure you stick with all your safe practices that you use in everyday living. Winter is a great time for all kinds of activities – try not to let your food allergy prevent you from experiencing them! Have fun and stay safe.
– Dylan B.
For more information on skiing with allergies, check out our blog post by clicking here!
Tags: drinking, Dylan B., holiday, Preparation, Skiing, Snow, Travel, winter