When planning meals and snacks, it is important to take cultural food needs into account.
- Serve foods that are culturally appropriate.
- Serve pork products separately from other food products.
- Serve meat products on a separate dish from non-meat products.
- Provide a vegetarian entrée option at meals.
Vegetarian Diet
- Free of meat and meat products.
- Avoid serving meat products including beef, chicken, pork, seafood.
- Avoid using broth or serving soups made from animal stock.
- Serve meat replacements like dry beans (kidney, black, garbanzo), lentils, soy products (tempeh, tofu), nuts, seeds, low sodium dairy products, and eggs.
- Use low sodium broth made from vegetable stock.
Vegan Diet
- Free of all animal products.
- Follow the vegetarian diet to avoid meat products.
- Avoid animal products including eggs, dairy products, honey, and animal gelatin.
- Serve meat replacements and animal product replacements like soy milk, soy cheese, almond milk, and coconut milk.
Dairy-free Diet
- Free of dairy foods or foods derived from dairy products.
- Avoid all milk products including milk, half-and-half, whipping cream, coffee cream, ice cream, ice milk, yogurt, frozen yogurt, sherbet, pudding, and custard.
- Avoid all cheese products including cheese, cottage cheese, cream cheese, and curd.
- Avoid butter and artificial butter flavor. Only serve margarine that is labeled “dairy-free” or “kosher.”
- Avoid casein, caseinate, whey, rennet, lactose, lactulose, lactalbumin, and lactoglobulin.
- Serve dairy replacements including low sodium soy cheese, soy products (tempeh, tofu, milk), rice milk, lactose-free milk, vegan margarine.
Gluten-free Diet
- Free of foods derived from gluten-containing cereals.
- Avoid sources of gluten including barley, bran, couscous, flour (wheat and graham), kamut, matzo, pasta, rye, seitan, semolina, spelt, spouted wheat or barley, udon, wheat.
- Avoid beer, brewer's yeast, and malt.
- Avoid hydrolyzed plant and vegetable proteins, and textured vegetable protein.
- Avoid mono- and di-glycerides, monosodium glutamate (MSG).
- Avoid coloring, fillers, and spices.
- Check ingredients for sauces and avoid sauces with gluten including soy sauce and teriyaki sauce.
Gluten-free Menu Examples
- Stir fry entrée with rice.
- Pasta entrée with rice noodles or gluten-free noodles.
- Burrito, taco, or quesadilla with corn tortilla.
- Breakfast items: eggs, omelets, gluten-free pancakes, and gluten-free waffles.