FAACT's Roundtable

Ep. 269: The Jewish Holidays with Food Allergies

• Season 5 • Episode 270

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It's often said that the food on the Hanukkah table is more than just a meal—it's a powerful vehicle for storytelling, education, and a communal celebration of faith and resilience. But how do we bridge the gap between embracing those rich cultural traditions and keeping all our loved ones with food allergies safe and included? We’re tackling that crucial question. We are so pleased to welcome food allergy advocates and parents, Jen and Seth Togal, to share their invaluable tips and creative ideas for ensuring a joyous and safe Hanukkah, and at every holiday table.

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Caroline: Welcome to FAACT's Roundtable, a podcast dedicated to navigating life with food allergies across the lifespan. Presented in a welcoming format with interviews and open discussions,

each episode will explore a specific topic, leaving you with the facts to know or use.

Information presented via this podcast is educational and not intended to provide individual medical advice.

Please consult with your personal board certified allergist or healthcare providers for advice specific to your situation.

Caroline: Hi everyone, I'm Caroline Moassessi and I am your host for the FAACT Roundtable podcast. I am a food allergy parent and advocate and the founder of the Grateful Foodie Blog. And I am FAACT's Vice President of Community Relations.

Before we start today's podcast, we would like to take a moment to thank Genentech for being a kind sponsor of FAACT's roundtable podcast.

Also, please note that today's guest was not paid by or sponsored by Genentech to participate in this specific podcast.

It's often said that the food on the Hanukkah table is more than just a meal. It's a powerful vehicle for storytelling, education and communal celebration of faith and resilience.

But how do we bridge the gap when embracing those rich cultural traditions and keeping all of our loved ones, food allergies, safe and included?

Today we're tackling that crucial question.

So we're pleased to welcome food allergy advocates and parents, the Jen and Seth Togal to share their invaluable tips and creative ideas for ensuring a joyous and safe Hanukkah and every holiday.

Welcome, Jen and Seth, to the FAACT's Roundtable Podcast. We're so happy you're here to teach us things that we might not know and to help offer support and great ideas for our listeners.

Jen: Thanks for having us. We're really excited to be part of it again.

Seth: Yes, thank you so much, Caroline.

Caroline: You're very welcome.

Let's start by getting to know you.

For those turning in the first time, can you tell us a little bit about your background and journey in the world of food allergies?

Jen: Absolutely.

So our journey with the food allergy community really started when Adena was very little.

Long story short, through a number of years of being like many of us experience medically gaslit to symptoms that were occurring in 2018.

Through a series of events, we finally ended up getting Adena allergy tested and while at the office they threw in a celiac panel and I got that call back very quickly.

It was less than a day and that allergist said, you know, she does have an IGE mediated dairy allergy.

Also her Celiac numbers are through the roof and we've already connected with a GI who's going to set you up for a scope. And I think it was less than a week later she had a,

an upper endoscopy and they found out that she definitely was celiac. She was March 3bc, which is pretty severe atrophy with a couple intestinal ulcers. And we walked away with a bonus diagnosis of eosinophilic esophagitis, which we didn't even know was a thing until that moment.

Seth: Couldn't even pronounce it for the first year.

Jen: Yeah. So we were thankful to have answers because after years of having constant symptoms and rashes and vomiting and all sorts of things, that we actually had a way to make her feel better, which was excellent.

And really from that moment, we kind of existed in like an isolated island for a really long time,

just kind of going through the motions because we didn't have anyone else in our sphere that dealt with any of the things that we did.

Seth: Well, my sister in law has celiac disease, but, but it's different when it's a child versus an adult.

Jen: They also lived out of the country, so that's true.

Seth: Oh yeah. Small, small detail.

Jen: Small detail. But it wasn't really until the event that sparked the ADINA act that we really were aware that there's this huge allergy community and celiac community and food allergic disease space that existed.

And now we've been really connected and learned what amazing groups of people there are, what incredible support systems, the, the education,

the tools and resources.

And it's been an incredible journey kind of getting to that point.

Caroline: And listeners. Jen mentioned the ADINA act, which she is taking the charge and lead on and it's really impressive advocacy and we already interviewed Jen about it and so I'm going to put the link to the podcast in the show notes.

So then that way you can catch up and understand the Adina act, because it's something you really want to Lear about.

So now turning to our topic, let's start first with the basics. What is Hanukkah and what are some of the food traditions that make it so special?

Seth: So Hanukkah is, at its simplest definition, it is the festival of lights. It goes back hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years ago to the destruction of the second Temple. A small Jewish army called the Maccabees were going up against the Syrian Greek army.

Essentially the Syrian Greek army wanted to convert the Jews and the land to their religion. And you know, after about Three years or so of fighting. The Maccabees won. The temple had been destroyed.

And when the surviving citizens went into the temple, they found a jar of oil that was only supposed to last one day. And by the miracle of Hanukkah,

the jar ended up lasting. Jar of oil ended up lasting eight days. And so we celebrate Hanukkah and have for a very long time lighting the menorah, lighting candles for every night for eight days.

The kids open presents. We make food,

which is pretty common in the Jewish religion. And we spin the dreidel, which is like a little top, and play games and just enjoy our time with our families.

Caroline: And as we all know as food allergy parents, food is such a big part of the holidays. And especially when you have holidays where that food is really linked to traditions, it can get really tricky.

So now let's turn to your family. How do you tackle the food allergies in Hanukkah? How do you tackle that within your home?

And do you go visit family members? And how do you handle that then?

Jen: So for us, handling Hanukkah or really any holiday is really largely about preparation.

So Adina, as I mentioned, has dairy allergy. She also has celiac. Both are super sensitive to cross contact.

So we're really mindful about what she's eating, where she's eating, in the context of, you know,

those respects. So we typically tend to, if we're not hosting ourselves,

bring food for Adina and for us, especially given the fact that certain holidays like Hanukkah, for example, require specific foods that are typical for the tradition, like latkes and soufgannot.

So for those that aren't familiar, like a latke is a fried potato pancake and a soufgannot is a jelly donut, essentially. So the whole holiday is based around fried foods.

Seth: Because it's oil.

Jen: Because of the oil. So it's a theme? Yeah, it's a whole theme.

Seth: Or a vibe, as kids say.

Jen: Yeah, a vibe.

There's also a Hanukkah gelt, which are little chocolate coins that are used to play along for dreidel,

which is a lot of fun. So for us, a lot of the prep really involves making those things in advance. So I'll make a big batch of latkes and freeze them so that I can take them out as we go to Hanukkah parties and things like that.

Or soup gagnot. I really like to make fresh because those are best day of. But I really am mindful about that. But beyond that, if we're going to a friend's house and they're open to having conversations about, you know, what the menu is,

what the ingredients are. And thankfully the people in our lives are really collaborative and engage in those conversations with us. We've even had some family and friends,

if they're hosting, come to our house to cook the meals so that they know it's cooked on surfaces that are safe and ingredients that are safe. You know, we've had friends come over for other holidays.

They'll make dinner at our house and then schlep it over to their house and we'll meet them with wine and other goodies and treats and stuff. But it's really about the collaboration and making sure that we're preparing in advance.

It takes a lot of forethought, as many of us know, you know, for.

Seth: People who have food allergies, one of the biggest factors is being included, right? Inclusion to it. And so when your child has food allergies or celiac disease or anything like that, that can take even more of a mental toll on them.

So I to give hats off to Jen and be so thankful for her for all the work and effort that she puts in the pre planning and the making of the food like the, the frying, the, the jelly donuts and the latkes and everything.

She even got plastic molds to make her own dairy free chocolate gelt coins and, and bought like the little gold wrapper and everything.

So she really goes all out to make sure that Adina has,

that there's nothing there that Adena is not going to be missing.

So I'm really grateful for that with her.

Caroline: I'm so glad you shared that because I was going to ask what do you do about the coins and what do you do about finding new recipes? But also I just love how much you appreciate Jen.

I think it's so important for people to hear that things are really appreciated and they make a big difference. But with the chocolate coins,

how did you figure out how to change up the recipes? Were there resources or were you just creative in the kitchen?

Jen: It was really just me searching. This was, you know, I had searched over every single store that I could find and all of the Hanukkah gelt is either gluten free but contains dairy or dairy free and not gluten free.

Like the commercially available ones are not labeled as both, which is not convenient in our circumstance.

And before I had found a company that makes them,

I had really just gone on Amazon and I said, you know what, I'm gonna figure this out because I don't want my kid to be excluded. So I found molds on Amazon and I used Enjoy Life chocolate chips and melted them down and just did it myself.

And I think the thing to remember is that we don't have to be miracle workers. We just need to do the things that our kids. Kids would feel excited and included about.

You know, like the kids might not necessarily care if they get to eat brisket with everybody else, but they care if they get the chocolate coins.

Caroline: So I would care.

Jen: Yeah.

Seth: Right.

And we're starting to see more commercial products available. Manischewitz has certified gluten-free latkes. For other holidays, they have certified gluten free other products like the gelfite fish over Passover.

Jen: Also, like, allergy awareness is very prominent in those ingredients and products as well. Like, no way sells really amazing Hanukkah gelt. It's like a tube of literally like coins. They're not wrapped.

So we just buy the wrappers on Amazon.

Caroline: Well, that's very encouraging.

Jen: Yeah.

Caroline: For our friends listening today,

what are some meaningful ways they can include those with food allergies during Hanukkah and then actually any other Jewish holiday that's out there. Because again, like we talked about earlier, food is so central to our celebrations.

Now you did just ment really great idea of having people come over to your house to cook. So please mention that again in a little more depth on how you came up with that.

That is brilliant.

Seth: First of all, in Judaism, there's only like, out of all of our holidays, there's like two major fasting days. Almost every holiday that we have is centered around food in some, some form or fashion.

There's actually a holiday that's focused specifically on dairy and cheese,

which if you're, if you're dairy free, that's probably not the holiday for you. But food is again, very central to Judaism. And you know, for things like Passover or Yom Kippur breakfast, the most major fasting holiday, we have friends invite us over to their houses for break fasts and they know that they're going to provide food for everyone else and we're going to bring stuff for Adina.

And so that's really important. A lot of the times with our circle that we have here in Minnesota, we don't even have to ask or have the conversation. It's gotten to the point with our close friends where they just automatically know or they come to us with ideas, which I think has made it even more meaningful.

Jen: Yeah, I would Say the biggest piece is collaboration and open conversation.

Because really the goal is inclusion. And inclusion doesn't mean the same thing for every single family.

So some families might not feel comfortable at all eating food that was prepared in some,

you know, other, another person's home.

And as far as Judaism or other restrictions or even other like food allergies, they might not want food brought into their home. So for us, part of that includes having a conversation with them.

Are you okay with us bringing outside food into your home? And if not, how can we manage this? Can we bring something in that's catered, that's safe from somewhere we trust?

Really it's about being open and if you're not comfortable eating something prepared, then making sure that there is an alternative. Because the goal, like I said, is inclusion. And just because somebody can't eat what's provided doesn't mean that they don't want to be invited or asked or participate in another way.

And I think that there's a lot of creative solutions that can be found. For example, our friend that came over and made a meal at our home really wanted us to come over and it was a really important holiday and we were trying to problem solve and this friend is a very dear person and they,

they make challah in their home often and I'm which is some.

Seth: Of the best challah I've ever had.

Jen: It's amazing. But for us personally being celiac, that's not ideal, especially in the timing that things were needing to be done. So her solution was, you know what, I'll just bring the brisket to your house and we'll hang out and I'll cook it at your house and then you'll come over with it when it's done in the oven,

like times out. So like it worked out really well in that respect. We've other, other had other friends that had us come over and I hung out at their home and we cooked together so that I oversaw the process and double checked ingredients and labels and things like that.

Seth: I mean we have friends that have gone to the extent of buying new cooking pans and just to make sure that they had stuff that was safe for Adina for when she comes over.

We have friends that have like, you know, Adina buckets of perishable food, a non perishable food for her.

Jen: And I recognize we're very lucky to have a community like that who's understanding.

You know, we have had some challenging moments.

Candidly, our family has been a little bit challenging. Specifically,

oftentimes there's a lack of understanding from some individuals out of state that don't see us on a regular basis and understand the level of daily precaution that we have to take.

But really for us personally,

I would say the biggest takeaway in regards to conversations around the holidays is being comfortable making other people uncomfortable. Kindly.

Seth: Yep.

Jen: Because to me it's okay to say no, especially when the no is protecting.

So I would say that's my biggest piece of advice is open conversations.

Inclusion doesn't mean the same thing to everyone.

And be willing to say no when your gut tells you no.

Caroline: Oh, I'm so glad you mentioned that. I think that's so huge to hear and especially during the holidays. And even though you just said that you were lucky, I think you also created and set the space for collaboration.

Like just listening to you talk now, how both of you are so focused on collaboration and inviting people in to your lives and into the allergies. And I think that really made such an impact.

It's just so beautiful listening to you talk.

Jen: Oh, thank you.

Caroline: And so our time has come to an end as always. And I'm always saying this, it comes way too fast. It really does. I'm such a talker. But before we say goodbye today, is there anything else that either of you want to share with our listeners?

Seth: You know, I think something that's really important that we've learned as food allergy parents is if you are the parent of a food allergy, kiddo,

it's just as you are advocating for them, it is just as important that you are teaching them to advocate for themselves.

Adina, you know, she was 7, 7 or 8 years old when she was diagnosed with all of this stuff. And on one hand I think it was good that she was so young because we were able to really create this new food world for her as she got older.

And gluten free food just became normal food to her versus the other way around.

But we also work with her to make sure that she's advocating for herself. So when she's going over to friend's house and she's spending time with their families and they may ask hey, can you eat this or is this okay or we made this this way she's capable of being able to talk at a very detailed level about what is safe for her and what she's comfortable eating or not eating.

And when we go to our friends houses for holidays, Thanksgiving or choose holidays or whatnot, those conversations, a lot of the time there are with between the.

Caroline: Host and Adina that is powerful, very powerful.

Jen: So my kind of wrap up advice and kind of food for thought would be tagging onto what Seth said and that making sure that your child is able to advocate for themselves confidently and in an articulate way.

And not just about the food itself, but about what it feels like to be included. Because I remember the moments when Adina was really little and she would be included in one of the holiday parties or included in one of the birthday parties and she would run over with pure excitement and joy and being able to articulate that to the people who are making an effort to include you just kind of reinforces that that was a value

add and that was a major emotional impact beyond just the safety. Even if it's something so small as, you know, skinny pop at a snack area that's inclusive for her that she's so excited to see that she was even considered.

Caroline: These tips have been fantastic, not only just for Hanukkah and other Jewish holidays, but just for life general. So thank you so much for taking the time to help educate us and to share wonderful tips that are realistic, real life and very successful.

So thank you both for being here with us.

Seth: Thanks Caroline. Really appreciate you having us.

Jen: We're really thankful for FAACT and for having this conversation with you. This was a really wonderful conversation.

Caroline: Thank you so much.

Before we say goodbye today, I just want to take one more moment to say thank you.

Thank you to Genentech for their kind sponsorship of FAACT's Roundtable Podcast.

Also, I want to note that today's guest was not paid by or sponsored by Genentech to participate in this specific podcast.

Caroline: Thank you for listening to FAACT's roundtable podcast.

Stay tuned for future episodes coming soon.

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Have a great day and always be kind to one another.