Originally published on May 23, 2020. Updated and republished on November 16, 2024 and November 30, 2025.
Table of Contents
How to Meal Plan when You Have Food Allergies – a Guide to Creating Safe and Nutritious Meals
Let’s face it, meal planning can be daunting. Sometimes it can feel like that dreadful thing you don’t want to do but have to do– like unclogging the shower drain or cleaning gutters–*long sigh*.
When you have food allergies and food sensitivities, meal planning can be even more difficult. This can be even more complex if you avoid other foods due to preferences, religious reasons, or cultural practices.
Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed, frustrated, or even tired of eating the same meals over and over? Does meal prep seem like a huge challenge? Maybe you’ve experienced pain or discomfort from accidentally eating something that may not be on your safe foods list.
Keep reading because things are about to get easier for you.
Benefits of Meal Planning
Even though it might seem like a lot of work, there are several benefits to taking the time and effort to plan meals.
- Save time.
- Safe money.
- Enjoy more variety.
- Reduce stress.
- Healthier meals.
- Prevent wasted food.
- Eat safer meals.
- Meals can be more enjoyable.
Planning
Most things in life take planning.
We plan for our education, vacations, careers, exercise, and even our entertainment.
Menu planning is just as important as all other aspects of our lifestyle. And meal planning needs extra attention when you have special dietary restrictions that impact your health and well-being.
These meal planning tips are designed to reduce stress and improve your diet.
How to Meal Plan When You Have Specific Dietary Requirements
This guide will help you eat well balanced, nutritious, and enjoyable meals.
1. Make a list of foods that are NOT safe for you to eat.
More than likely, these are the foods that you know trigger a reaction for you. Some of this list may be coming from your specific laboratory test results.
For this step, also include any foods you choose not to eat for other reasons.
Example: For example, if you can not eat any dairy products, corn, wheat or tomato, you might write down: “I can not eat dairy, corn, wheat or tomato.”
2. Make a list of foods that are safe for you to eat.
For this section, it may be helpful to start with a food group (like protein) and make a list of protein foods you know are safe for you to eat.
Then move on to making a list of foods in other food groups. (See list below.)
It may be helpful to include flavor enhancers such as salt, lemon juice, vinegar, herbs and spices.
These safe foods are going to be the building blocks of your daily or weekly meal plan. Take time with this section because this will be a resource every time you plan meals.
For people with specific diets, this step in meal planning is very important and very different from meal planning for people who do not follow specific diets.
Here is a simple list of food groups:
- Protein Foods
- Starchy Carbohydrates
- Fruit
- Vegetables
- Dietary Fat
- Flavor Enhancers
- Beverages
(Don’t forget beverages — Coffee can usually be included in most special diets, with some slight modifications.)
Example: Your list of foods you CAN eat may look like this.
- Protein Foods: Eggs, Chicken, Beef
- Starchy Carbohydrates: Rice, Black Beans, Quinoa, Potato
- Fruits: Apple, Orange, Banana
- Vegetables: Asparagus, Carrots, Mushrooms
- Dietary Fat: Canola Oil, Olive Oil, Almonds
- Flavor Enhancers: Salt, Black Pepper, Lemon, Parsley
- Beverages: Coffee, Black Tea, Green Tea, Water
In real life, most people will have longer lists than this. But in some circumstances the lists might be relatively short. Either way, it is helpful to have a physical list to work with.
3. For every food listed in Step #2, identify ways the food can be purchased, and list them.
Here are various forms of foods that can be purchased.
- Fresh
- Frozen
- Canned
- Dehydrated/Dried
- Freeze Dried
- Powder/Flour
- Juiced
- Oil
- Pureed / Ground
Tip: For this step, I recommend focusing on foods that contain only one ingredient. This helps you avoid hidden ingredients and has other benefits as well.
Example: Here is a list of various ways that rice can be purchased.
- White Rice
- Basmati Rice
- Jasmine Rice
- Rice Cakes
- Puffed Rice Cereal
- Rice Noodles
- Rice Flour
- Rice Crackers
- Rice Protein Powder
Example: Here is a list of various ways that black beans can be purchased.
- Dried Black Beans
- Canned Black Beans
- Black Bean Noodles
- Black Bean Flour
- Black Bean Hummus (be sure to check the added ingredients)
- Black Bean Chips (be sure to check the added ingredients)
Pro Tips:
If you need more help with this step, check out this blog post about how to multiply your grocery list.
4. Make a Grocery Shopping List
For every food listed in Steps #2 and #3, identify ways the food can be cooked or prepared and list them.
Example: Different ways of preparing rice.
- Steamed Rice (May be prepared in a cooking pot, rice cooker or instant pot.)
- Fried Rice
- Rice in a Casserole (Baked)
- Boiled in Soup (Such as Chicken and Rice Soup or Congee.)
- Rice Flour may be used as a breading / batter on another food and then fried.
Example: Different ways of preparing black beans.
- Boiled black beans
- Grilled black bean burger (Be sure to check for other ingredients.)
- Stewed – such as black beans that are cooked with Jamaican Oxtail in an Instant Pot.
- Pureed into black bean hummus.
Here is a list of ways that food can be prepared.
- Baked
- Blanched
- Braised
- Boiled
- Broiled
- Fried: Air-Fried, Deep Fried, Pan Fried
- Grilled
- Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker
- Poached
- Sautéed
- Seared
- Steamed
- Stewed
- Roasted
- Slow Cooker / Crock Pot
My thinking about all of these cooking methods, it will be easier to identify allergy friendly meals.
5. Consider types of meals
Think about the different types of meals you can make with your safe foods. Here is a list of types of meals.
Here are a list of meal types:
- Casserole
- Cold Meals (Think Sandwiches, Cold Salads, Fruit Plates, Salad Plates)
- Hot Meal of Entree and Side Dishes
- Pizza / Flatbread
- Salad
- Sandwich / Wrap (May also include tacos and burritos).
- Soup/Stew/Chili
- Stir Fry
Choose meals that you actually like and want to eat. Use this process to come up with recipe ideas.
Sometimes it is helpful to think of themes when meal planning.
Here are some examples of meal plan themes:
- Slow Cooker Sunday
- Meatless Monday
- Taco Tuesday
- Friday Fish
- Sandwich Saturday
- Pizza Night
- Pasta Night
- Breakfast For Dinner
- Quick and Easy
- Homemade Takeout (Copy Cat Recipes)
- Chef’s Choice
- Lazy Leftovers
- Soup & Sandwich
6. Make a balanced meal with your safe foods
Generally, meals should have a protein, a starchy carbohydrate, a fruit and/or vegetable, and dietary fat. You may also want to include information about flavor profiles or seasoning you will include in the meal.
Fill in the blanks from your safe foods list.
This is a super easy strategy to serve healthy meals in a hurry. Meals like these often take 15 minutes or less to prepare.
Eating foods in this combination is a way of ensuring nutritional adequacy, balance, variety and moderation — in other words, good nutrition. The portions of each food group can be adjusted to meet your individual needs and preferences.
As a rule of thumb, plan to eat 3 balanced meals every day. This helps prevent getting overly hungry and then making less suitable choices.
I recommend this strategy for most of my clients and even more so when someone has any type of dietary restriction that makes food choices more challenging.
There are several ways to do this:
- Keep groceries that you can eat at home; choose from what you have.
- Write out meals based on your lists. Some people like to use meal planner templates.
- Choose recipes that look good, contain your safe foods, and that don’t seem too challenging.
- Write out each specific meal you plan to have each day.
- Write out a list of meals that you can use as your personal “go to” list.
Example: Planning a Balanced Meal Based on Food Groups
Meal Pattern: Protein + starchy carbohydrate + fruit/vegetable + dietary fat +flavor
Sample Meal: Salmon + black beans + asparagus+ olive oil drizzle + lemon wedge
For this step, keep in mind that some foods might fall into more than one category. For example, beans may be used as a starchy carbohydrate or as a protein source. Peanut butter may be used as a dietary fat or as a protein source.
7. Grocery Shopping
For this step, you might make a grocery list, place an order for grocery delivery, go to a grocery store, OR “shop” from your own pantry.
In fact, it’s a great idea to get in the practice of planning meals based on what you have in your pantry and fridge. Doing this can help you save money putting together easy meals.
Even if you cook based on what you have on hand, you might need a small grocery order to get fresh produce and any missing ingredients.
8. Set a separate time to cook and prepare meals.
A lot of people think they will go to the grocery store and then start cooking. In real life, sometimes this process is too exhausting.
I recommend shopping one day, then cooking the next day.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the difference between meal planning and meal prep?
Meal planning is the process of planning out what you will eat at meals and what groceries are needed.
Meal prep is cooking or preparing all or some of the meal ahead of time. These two tasks are separate but are often done together.
How does this help me save money?
Most articles about meal planning focus on saving money and buying what is on sale, this doesn’t always work when you follow a special diet.
However, planning meals will help you save money by avoiding impulse purchases, reducing food waste, and eating out because you don’t have anything prepared at home.
Cooking at home also helps you save money when you cook in bulk and freeze some portions for future meals.
Also, by identifying your safe foods, you can buy some of these foods in bulk which will likely reduce the cost per serving.
Bottom Line:
Meal planning can feel daunting if you don’t have a clear strategy.
However, using these 7 steps can become a good habit that helps you reduce stress, eat better, and enjoy your meals.
If you need more personalized help with healthy meals, work with a Registered Dietitian (RD) or a Certified LEAP Therapist (CLT). They can create a tailored meal plan for you that can expand your diet without compromising your health and nutrition needs.
Private Practice Registered Dietitian Perspective
When I work with patients in my practice, we talk about meal planning a lot. Sometimes we go through all of these steps from start to finish.
Sometimes we focus on just some of the steps. This happens when patients need a more simple version of meal planning. Sometimes we focus on just some of the steps because patients are already doing some of the steps but they need to fine tune their meal planning process.
Final Thoughts
What works for you?
Planning meals for the week? Or do you prefer a monthly plan? A set of meal options? How many meals do you need?
What To Expect at Single Ingredient Groceries
Rather than focusing on what you can’t eat, our focus is on what you CAN eat.
We accomplish this by focusing on groceries that contain only a single ingredient.
And we offer Simple Strategies for meal planning for people with food allergies and food sensitivities.
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