Easter and Passover traditions often include eggs, either as part of a fun holiday activity or a recipe. For people with severe egg allergies, the key to staying safe is to be aware and prepared for an unexpected exposure.
Approximately 1.5 percent of young children have life-threatening egg allergies but they can still participate in holiday traditions with a little planning and creative thinking.
Consider the following ideas:
- Coloring eggs is a safe activity, as long as the person with egg allergies does not eat the eggs. Touching the hard shell poses no threat.
- Instead of placing a hard-boiled egg on a Seder plate, consider using a flower or a plastic egg.
- Use plastic eggs for your Easter egg hunt and fill them with toys, money, stickers or candy. Be sure to read candy labels first. You can also use plastic eggs instead of real ones when playing the “egg in a spoon” race.
Getting together with family for the holiday? Be sure to include egg-free recipes when cooking meals and ask about ingredients in recipes made by others.
Eggs are often used as binders as well as for glazes on breads. Most of the time you can just omit egg from the recipe, but to make baked dishes and desserts, you may need an egg substitute.
For each egg required in a recipe, substitute one of these mixtures:
- Unsweetened applesauce (with ½ teaspoon of baking soda for baking)
- Banana
- Apricot puree
- Plain gelatin with 2 tablespoons of warm water
- 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 tablespoon water and 1 tablespoon vinegar
Preparation also includes keeping two epinephrine auto-injectors with you in case of an accidental exposure.
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