My larder

I think it's fair to say that those of us responsible for feeding allergic children have to be a little more organised about food than those who do not have the allergy burden.  Combine this organisational rigour with the obsessive food label reading required and well, it's a wonder we are not more anxiety ridden than we are.  Or is that just me again?


Anyway, part of the way that I try to counter this propensity to make food shopping and preparation a cause of stress is to be well prepared.  I always have a stash of home made freezer ready meals (I will blog about this another time) and ... I try to keep a well stocked larder.


We live in a village with a couple of small supermarkets although sadly neither shop sells vegan marg, Alpro yoghurt or Alpro milks.  I go for big 'once a month' online shops of these allergic essentials and make sure our larder is full of milk and our fridge is full of marg and yoghurt.  It helps our cause here that these products all have a long shelf life.  


Other mainstays of my larder are huge bags of dried pasta, risotto rice, multi-pack tins of tuna, chopped tomatoes and baked beans, plus in the fridge I stockpile the little packs of pancetta that last for ages.  Then I know all I need to do is add a few fresh veggies and I always have a couple quick and easy stand by meals ... and there is no chance of my being an Allergic Old Mother Hubbard.  

My larder - built by my clever father-in-law (collection of 'Good Food' magazines top left, soy milk top right! )