How to cook together as a multi-diet family

With the rise of veganism and plant-based diets, it’s inevitable there will be families with differing needs all sharing the same kitchen. It’s important that everyone’s choices are respected. So what steps can you take to keep everyone happy? Here are some tips on how to cook together as a multi-diet family.

Colour Coding

To help family members feel confident in their food preparation, colour coded knives and chopping boards are perfect.

The Assure Colour Code 4-Piece Knife Set from British cutlery experts, Viners, is perfect for this. The brightly coloured handles are designed to designed to help you avoid cross contamination with different knifes for meat, dairy and vegetables.

As an added bonus, the set offers safer meal prep with the point of each knife removed. This will help to help prevent accidents in the kitchen and is perfect for younger family members who enjoy cooking.

You can even get colour coded chopping boards and peelers. The Assure Colour Code Knife, Peeler and Board Set, also from Viners, is a great example. A paring knife handily locks into the bottom of the peeler, so any vegetarian or vegan can be sure both food preparation items can be kept just for them. The chopping board is a cool grey, so this could easily be recognised as the vegetable-only board.

Designated areas

This isn’t always the easiest unless you have a very large kitchen! But if you can pick areas where no meat is prepared this should be reassuring for plant-based folk.

If space is too tight, it is always preferable to let vegetarians and vegans prepare their food first. That way they can feel more confident that no animal products will come into contact with their food.

If you’re looking for a yummy vegetarian recipe, try this sweet potato and feta pie.

Prep in bulk

If you enjoy batch cooking, this can be a good way to accommodate differing diets. Cooking a large number of meat-based dishes one day which can then be frozen, then vegan another day, could reduce concerns over contamination.

These can then be defrosted and eaten as and when required. It will also save time when it comes to preparing different dishes for the same mealtimes.

Be sure to label the frozen meals clearly so there is no mix-up over which contain meat or not.

Have a plant-based day

Not everyone wants to choose a plant-based diet, and that is understandable. But with the benefits of it being highly-documented, having a plant-based day at least once a week could be rewarding.

Look for a dish that everyone likes the sound of, or pick a classic recipe that can be adapted. For those who normally eat meat, tofu, quorn and chickpeas are good protein-rich alternatives.

Hopefully these tips on how to cook together as a multi-diet family will help keep everyone in the happy and cooking in harmony.

I received a selection of gifted items for the purpose of this post. As always, the provision of gifted products does not affect my views which remain honest and reflect my own thoughts.