It’s a Thursday night and you just invited a friend over for dinner later this weekend.

You’re excited to reconnect and share a meal — until you get a text from this friend: “Hey, just wanted to let you know that I am now a vegan. Hope this won’t be a problem!”

Your heart sinks and anxiety kicks in. What will I make? None of my dishes fit this diet.

Accommodating dietary needs

Does accommodating a dinner guest with dietary restrictions overwhelm you?

Is there a friend whom you’ve avoided inviting over for dinner out of fear that you won’t have a meal that will be both enjoyable and fit his or her diet?

As a gluten intolerant person, I get it. When I first cut gluten out of my diet it really frustrated my friends, family, and me.

(In case you haven’t heard … some gluten free items taste a little like chewing on cardboard. Here’s a list of my favorite go-to gluten free products that I always have in stock.)

At first I created a Pinterest board and started cooking new meals from scratch using special gluten recipes.

Over time however, after adding a few staples to my cooking supplies, I discovered a loophole that made cooking for my diet a breeze!

One Small Win: Rather than making an entirely new dish from scratch, create dishes you already love and modify only the ingredients that don’t fit the diet.

Let’s pretend your signature meal is some kind of pasta dish with meat sauce, but your guest is a vegetarian.

You can make the dish as usual, but leave the meat sauce on the side. You can also make an additional, meat-free sauce and have it on the side, giving your guest options.

Maybe your guest eats meat, but is gluten intolerant? Use certified gluten free pasta instead, and research your other ingredients to see if any of those need replacing.

Here is a worksheet to make this process easier if you are a visual planner like me!

Remember, if all else fails, ask your guest if he or she has any meal recommendations or if specific ingredients will be a problem.

Asking doesn’t make you look dumb; on the contrary, it shows that you care!

Your dinner guest will feel loved and cared for with your efforts and consideration.

Kelsee Keitel is a graduate student, writer and speaker, living in Indianapolis, IN, with her newlywed husband. She is passionate about cultivating sisterhood through vulnerability and introducing young women to the freedom and abundance of life in following Christ. When Kelsee is not snuggled up with a book and sipping tea, she can be found experimenting in the kitchen or chatting with her mom.

You can read more about Kelsee’s ministry, Detangled & Free, over at kelseekeitel.com or connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.