When getting ready to move into our house, we were declaring what holidays we wanted to host before we even had furniture. Joe and I love hosting, so ideally, we would volunteer for all holidays. Since that is probably not feasible, especially when we were first getting established, we agreed on hosting Thanksgiving dinner and the Fourth of July.
Both celebrations include a lot of food and are at high risk for cross-contamination. Hosting these celebrations at our own house allows us to be in control of the food assortment and how it is served. It also allows me to make and store my food privately, with no concern of cross-contamination. Food allergy folks will agree that there is always less anxiety about our food when we are in control of handling it.
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One of my all-time favorite things about celebrating any holiday is creating and sharing all the fun and festive-themed foods Joe and I make. And the best thing about all these recipes and options found below is that they can be served all summer long!
Here is our Fourth of July and Summer BBQs Food Allergy-Friendly Recipe Round-Up that we hope you find useful and helpful! Before we dig into our menu (pun intended), we wanted to share some brands we use to complete our "Free From" Fourth of July and Summer BBQ grilling and cooking:
Some of our Must-Haves:
100% grass-fed chicken, pork, beef, or lamb from Circle C Farms
Use our link to get 5% off your order!
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Primal Kitchen // Use code AMACGREGOR10 for 10% off
For more food allergy brands we use and love, visit the "browse our pantry" tab! Selected brands include exclusive discount codes and promos.
Our Fourth of July and Summer BBQs Food Allergy-Friendly Recipe Round-Up
What you will find in our round-up:
click any item below to jump to that section on this page.
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Building your allergy-safe burger: In this blog post, we list all the safe ingredients and brands we use to make our free-from burgers. Follow the steps to build your own perfect food allergy-friendly burger!
Homemade Pickles: To date, we have yet been able to find store-bought pickles that are corn-free. Distilled vinegar is derived from corn, as well as some salt ingredients, such as dextrose. To be on the safe side, Joe and I just make our whole pickles instead. If you are interested in making your own pickles, check out our Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar Dill Pickles or Homemade Garlic Dill Pickles.
Vegan hot dogs: Being allergic to nightshades and mustard, I haven't had any luck with finding safe hot dogs. So we learned how to make vegan hot dogs instead!
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ cup water
6 carrots, peeled and shaped to look like hot dogs
Directions:
Combine all ingredients, from liquid smoke to water, in a bowl.
In a large Ziploc bag, place your carrots and the mixture. Seal tight and marinate overnight in the fridge.
Cook on the grill, turning over every minute or so, until mostly soft.
Enjoy with a bun and toppings of your choice!
BLT Pasta Salad: What's not to like? Gluten-free pasta? Good! BLT? Good! All that in one dish? GOOD! If this salad isn't up your alley, you can check out Momma Mac's Potato Salad below 😉
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Momma Mac's Nightshade-free Potato Salad: My mom's potato salad was the only potato salad I love to eat, and now just because it is the only potato salad I can eat. Before my nightshade allergy, she used to make this recipe using red potatoes. Now, we substitute with Japanese Sweet Potatoes. Whichever potato you choose, I know you will love to have this side dish at your next BBQ gathering.
Garlic Ranch Chicken Wings or Buffalo Cauliflower Bites: The most famous Fourth of July food tradition is the all-American barbecue! Statistically speaking, more than 74 million Americans will plan to barbecue for this holiday. Add chicken wings to the menu, or even vegetarian wings. You can follow our recipes or change the sauce to a good ol' fashion barbecue sauce.
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Ol' Fashion Apple Pie and Paleo Apple Pie: While pie is a common food tradition during many American holidays, pies filled with fresh summer fruits are surely a Fourth of July food tradition.
Blueberry Galette: This French dessert is easy to make for an impressive and delicious treat. The fruit dessert has a juicy and fresh blueberry-lemon zest filling baked into a flaky crust.
Ingredients:
4 cups blueberries
½ cup date sugar
2 ½ tablespoons arrowroot starch
1 lemon zest
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon cane sugar, for sprinkling
Directions:
To make the pie crust, follow the directions in the recipe.
On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, lightly flour the surface and place your crust dough on top. Roll out the crust into about a 13-inch circle using a small wooden rolling pin. If you made the regular pie crust, store it in the fridge. If you made the gluten-free pie crust, set it aside while you prepare the blueberry filling.
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Put the blueberries in a medium bowl. Sprinkle the berries with date sugar, starch, and lemon zest. Stir gently with a rubber spatula to coat.
Mound the berry mixture onto the middle of the pie crust, and then spread it out, with the rubber spatula, to within 1 1/2 inches of the edge. Fold the edge over the filling, making pleats as you go. Brush the edge with the beaten egg, and give it a sprinkling of sugar.
Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the crust starts to have a bronze color.
Cado Ice Cream: Americans are famously known to celebrate with ice cream. I was starting to come to terms with never being able to have ice cream ever again...then we discovered Cado! Cado is the first dairy-free, avocado-based ice cream. Each pint is packed with fresh avocado, making Cado a nutrient-dense dessert that tastes divine and leaves you feeling satisfied and nourished. Cado is also free from corn and coconut ingredients.
Other ice creams we love:
American Flag Cakes: One of the quintessential Fourth of July food traditions is making everything and anything red, white, and blue. What better way to showcase these colors than with our American flag cakes? Try our American Flag Sheet Cake or Red, White, and Blue Layered Cake with an American Flag Surprise.
S'mores Cupcakes: It goes without saying that s'mores are a summertime staple. Enjoy spending time with family and friends around the fire, building s'more sandwiches, or making our S'mores Cupcake topped with an Easy Marshmallow Frosting.
