Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Meals and Dietary Preferences & Reqs

[Lynn Nadeau (welcome]

Additional options:

Bring your own supper. We've been doing this on Mondays, having seen the 
idea on this list. Simplicity itself. Walk down to the CH with whatever 
you were about to eat. Sometimes someone brings a dessert or some extras, 
as well. Easier than either potluck (which gives me performance anxiety) 
or community cooking. 

"Place Only" request for a community meal. So if someone has a need that 
can't be accomodated in the group meal (maybe they are on a special 
weight-loss diet or such, or only eat special non-allergy foods) they can 
sign up for "place only", at no cost, or just show up with their own 
food. 

In either case, the social advantages of group eating remain. 



HELPFUL NOTEBOOK:
We are just starting into the adventure of community cooking. Former 
teacher that I am, I made a kitchen notebook from the surveys I had 
everyone fill out, noting allergies and other food needs, as well as 
relative degree of preference for local and organic, and general 
vegan-vegetarian-fish-fowl-meat eating. 

I made a sheet at the front BY INGREDIENT, noting who had strong 
allergies, and who had preferences. So NUTS, for example, is followed by 
various specific nuts and who can't have them. Ditto for FRUITS, 
Vegetables, Dairy, Wheat, and a few other categories. Cooks are asked to 
look at this page whenever they are planning or preparing food for the 
group. At the very least, "red flag" ingredients can be labelled on an 
ingredient card by the item. (Keep your eye out for those little 
plexiglass card holders used at restaurants to display a dessert or wine 
list at each table, or thrift-shop photo frames that can serve the 
purpose.)


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