Kids Parties Can Work!!!

For any parent coping with a child and food intolerances/allergies, you can really dread an invite to one of their little friends bday parties!! In a kids world 'party' means cake, lollies, biscuits a.k.a 'party food'... however when you have limits on what you can eat, 'party food' is not always the same option...

 

I remember as a kid being able to go crazy at my friends parties, enjoying all the great party foods that I would never get to have on a normal day. Therefore my commitment to K is to try and 'normalise' her food as much as possible, so she too will have the same memories of the simple pleasures like cake with friends!!

What I do to over come the dread:

When K gets an invite, the first thing I do is obviously say 'thank you' but then explain that K has a number of dietary limitations and therefore I will have to BYO her own food!! So many times the parents kindly offer to cater to her needs but without having a true understanding of the issues its tricky, risky and quite frankly just another stress for the parents when they have everything else to plan!! What I do ask though is to get a rough idea of the menu, so I can try and match it with 'K appropriate foods' so its not so obvious that its different!!

Following is the menu plan provided (huge thank you again to the gorgeous family!!) and what I made/brought to attempt to recreate it:


Party Menu                                                      
Fresh Fruit Waffle Basket

Marshmallow Sticks                               
Hokey Pokey Biscuits
BBQ Sausages, Steak and Bread
Vanilla and Chocolate Iced Cupcakes

Klaudia's Menu
Fresh Fruit in a 'Special Party Bowl' (provided)                             
Cooked at Home Steak and Bread due to uncertainty of 'cross contamination'                             
Pumpkin Muffins http://mutritiousnuffins.blogspot.com.au/2011/01/grain-free-pumpkin-muffins.html Iced with Housemade Cheese  http://www.taniaspantry.com/gluten-free-grain-free-dairy-free-nut-free-recipes/housemade-cheese/ mixed with Blueberries and Honey
Chocolate Cake Pops http://www.glutenfreegrainfree.com.au/cake-mix-chocolate-2/ Iced with a Chocolate Glaze and Rolled in Coconut
Dried Fruits and Nuts



This may look like a bit of work, however I did this over a couple of days leading up to the party. The left overs I shared with our weekend house guests and then put a stash in the freezer for the next possible party!!

Best result is that K had an awesome time with her little friends and never felt like she was missing out!!