Ottawa·D is for Dinner

Healthy allergy-friendly lunch ideas for your child at school

On this week's D is for Dinner on CBC Radio's All in a Day, author Shirley Plant discusses some ideas for your child's lunch at school that avoids common anaphylactic allergens.
This is a photo of a lunch idea from author Shirley Plant, who shares some ideas on CBC Radio's All in a Day. (Photo submitted by Shirley Plant)

Making lunches has become more difficult for parents as schools ban more foods and children’s allergies lead to limited options.

That’s the focus of this week’s D is for Dinner on CBC Radio's All in a Day, as author Shirley Plant shares a recipe from her cookbook called, Finally … Food I Can Eat!

Plant also shares ideas on her website, deliciousalternatives.com.

Check out her recipe below and check out her blog post on ideas for parents.

Plant had to come up with a lunch menu that avoids five of the most common anaphylactic allergens: peanuts, tree nuts, seafood, eggs and dairy.

Her lunch menu, which includes links to her homemade ingredients, is:

All in a Day also wants you to write in your menus for a lunch and two snacks, suitable for a child in elementary school. They must be free of the five common anaphylactic allergens mentioned above. There are bonus points if you can also avoid these ingredients: wheat, mustard, sesame, soy and sulphites.

Please email your lunch menu to [email protected]. The deadline for entries is midnight Sunday, Oct. 5. The winner will receive a copy of Shirley Plant’s cookbook.