Need a gift for a friend, family member, or another loved one living with alpha-gal syndrome? Here are some great gifts for people with allergies.
The information provided on this site is based on my personal experience living with alpha-gal syndrome. I consistently cite and link to expert sources, but nothing published on this site should be perceived as medical advice.
Alpha-gal sensitivities vary by person. You should understand your dietary restrictions, making any adjustments needed, and directing any questions to your physician.
Whether it’s a romantic dinner with your valentine, a backyard barbeque celebrating a birthday, or a cookie exchange during the holiday season, gift-giving celebrations often feature food. But when you have a food allergy, it can quickly take all of the fa-la-la out of the festivities.
If you’re searching for gift ideas for a friend, family member, or other loved one living with alpha-gal syndrome, you’ve come to the right place. Here are 20 amazing gift ideas for alpha gals.
In This Article
Kitchen Appliances
Because dining out with a food allergy is a whole new experience, and many alpha gals can no longer consume the ready-to-eat treats they once loved, kitchen appliances are surprisingly thoughtful gifts for people with food allergies.
Ice Cream Maker
While many people living with alpha-gal syndrome can still consume traditional dairy products, others have to eliminate butter, milk, cheese, ice cream, and other tasty items from their diet. But when you gift your favorite alpha gal an ice cream maker they can easily whip up a sweet treat that won’t make them sick. This 1.5-quart frozen treat machine from Cuisinart can crank out frozen yogurt, sorbet, or ice cream in less than 20 minutes. Or go bigger with a 2-quart option.
Personal Blender
If your favorite alpha gal is whipping up plant-based protein powder smoothies or wants a dairy-free milk shake with a few scoops of homemade ice cream, a personal blender is a handy gift. These Magic Bullet, Ninja, and NutriBullet blenders all come with a sipping lid that makes it easy to go from blender to on-the-move with the same container.
Related Article: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Vitamix Blender
Donut Maker
Donuts make people happy, unless they are allergic to the milk and butter in the batter. If your favorite alpha gal loves donuts, make their holiday with a donut maker so they can substitute alpha-gal friendly ingredients as needed.
Sage Advice: For the best vegan donut recipes, check out The Vegan Baked Donut Cookbook. It features 50 donut recipes plus “not quite donuts” like beignets, eclairs, and fritters.
Pressure Cooker or Slow Cooker
For alpha gals co-existing in a household with meat eaters, a pressure cooker or slow cooker (or a second appliance used exclusively by the alpha gal) is a fabulous gift. With one of these babies, your favorite alpha gal can make vegan yogurt, chicken stock, and hard boiled eggs. They can even whip up a batch of vegetarian chili to nosh on while everyone else cheers on the home team with steaming bowls of the standard recipe.
This 6.5-quart Instant Pot is a little pricey, but this generous gift does it all – pressure cook, slow cook, dehydrate, air fry, sous vide, and more. It also comes with over 800 recipes (although most will likely need to be modified for people affected by food allergens). This 7-in-1 electric cooker comes with the same library of recipes but is more affordable due to a few less features. And when it comes to slow cookers, this 7-quart stainless steel model is my favorite.
Related Article: Upgrade Your Cooking with Instant Pot Accessories
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Air Fryer
When you have alpha-gal, you often have to say no to your favorite fried foods when dining out to avoid beef tallow and other potential triggers. But an air fryer is a game changing way to enjoy perfectly fried food at home. This versatile appliance uses hot air to cook food. Not only does it not need much oil, you can control the type used to be sure it meets your dietary requirements.
Imagine crisping up some homemade chicken tenders or whipping up a batch of veggie fries without worrying about oils that cause issues or cross-contamination from traditional fryers. Plus, it’s a time-saver for busy days. The air fryer offers a safer, healthier, and convenient way to enjoy a variety of meals, making it an ideal gift for anyone, especially those with food allergies.
Chicken Roaster
While all mammalian meat – like beef, pork, bison, and venison – is off-limits to alpha gals, they can still enjoy chicken, turkey, duck, and other poultry products. (Well, provided there aren’t mammalian ingredients or carrageenan lurking inside. See the related article below for why this plant-based product is bad for alpha gals.)
Roast a whole bird on this beer can chicken roaster or infuse herbs, spices, beer, juice, or cider while you roast a bird on this stainless steel vertical roaster.
Related Article: What is Carrageenan (And Why Should Alpha Gals Avoid It)?
Fish Grilling Basket
Since alpha gals can no longer enjoy hotdogs and hamburgers at backyard barbeques, make it easy for them to throw some shrimp (or salmon) on the barbie. This grill basket makes it easy to saute vegetables and shrimp over coals, and this grill basket makes it easy to cook whole fish filets. Or roast salmon on these cedar planks to add extra smoke and flavor.
Allergy-Friendly Cookbooks
Thanks to a bite from the lone star tick, people with AGS are forced to adopt a vegan + eggs + poultry + fish diet. As long as people living with alpha-gal syndrome can tolerate dairy, they can enjoy recipes in vegetarian cookbooks. And, they can add eggs, chicken, turkey, tuna, and other ingredients to recipes in vegan cookbooks.
Alpha-Gal Allergy Cookbooks
Written by an alpha gal who had to give up all of her favorite foods – steak, ribs, butter, and cheese, The Alpha Gal Allergy cookbook has a wide assortment of AGS-friendly recipes and a 21-day meal plan to inspire your alpha-gal diet. Also written by someone living with AGS, the recipes in An Alpha Gal Cooks can easily be adjusted for any meat-eaters, vegetarians, or vegans in the household.
Other Helpful Cookbooks
For alpha gals wanting to make their own alternative dairy products at home, Homemade Yogurt & Kefir and Incredible Vegan Ice Cream make great gifts for allergy sufferers. Since chicken, duck, turkey, and other poultry products, as well as fish and seafood, don’t trigger an alpha-gal reaction, The Good Cook’s Poultry and The Whole Fish are great resources.
Related Article: Best Cookbooks for Alpha-Gal
Food Gifts
While alpha gals must bid a fond farewell to beef, pork, lamb, and sometimes dairy, there are exotic meats and vegan products that make good substitutions.
Exotic Meat
Instead of filling their bodies with highly processed meat alternatives like Impossible Foods or Beyond Meat, some alpha gals get a red meat fix with exotic meats. Because it comes from a bird (and not a mammal), emu meat and ostrich meat are safe food gifts for people living with AGS. And you can purchase both from Amaroo Hills, a family-farm owned by an alpha gal.
Both taste a lot like beef, and emu was once billed as America’s next red meat. Grill emu or ostrich steaks as you would red meat, or use ground emu or ostrich to make meatballs, hamburger patties, or meatloaf. Alpha gals can also enjoy duck magret prosciutto (instead of regular prosciutto, which is a pork product) and duck foie gras.
Seafood
Fish and seafood also make delicious food gifts for alpha gals. Gift a taste of Maine by sending live lobsters, lobster tails, or a lobster roll box to your favorite alpha gal. Or let them enjoy stone crab claws, fresh oysters, meaty scallops, or caviar.
Sage Advice: Although most caviar is safe for alpha gals to consume, this study linked an alpha-gal allergic reaction to flounder roe.
A Bottle of Wine
What is an ostrich steak or lobster tail without a bottle of wine? Although a nice bottle of wine seems like a safe bet for someone with alpha-gal, it’s not automatically a good gift for people with food allergies.
You’ll never see it listed on the bottle (because it’s not required by law), but some winemakers add gelatin or carrageenan as a fining agent. It is used in both red and white wines to clarify the wine, removing any haze, adjusting the color, and tweaking the flavor of the wine. It’s most commonly added to mass-produced wines (the brands that are sold boxed or in large quantities at grocery stores), so opt for wine from an upscale, boutique winery instead.
Sage Advice: Not sure if your gift recipients prefer red or white? Wine openers, wine stoppers, wine racks, and other wine accessories are always great allergy-free gifts!
Vegan Chocolate
If the alpha gal you love can tolerate dairy, then dark chocolate is a safe option. As a general rule, it doesn’t include dairy, but it can contain up to 12% milk, and there may be trace amounts of milk from cross contamination if the same machinery is used to make milk chocolate.
For alpha gals that cannot consume cow’s milk, vegan chocolate as an alpha-gal friendly gift provided you select products that have been certified by a third party. There is currently no federal legal definition of “vegan” in the United States. The FDA hasn’t defined the term, and food manufacturers are free to use the term as they like. So be sure that any vegan chocolate you gift has been certified by Vegan.org, The Vegan Society, or VegeCert. This third-party verification ensures that the products you select are completely free of animal and dairy ingredients.
Related Article: The Truth About Alpha-Gal and Chocolate: Is It Safe to Eat?
Food-Free Gifts
One of the best gift options for people with allergies are food-free items. Here are a few selections to consider for your loved one with AGS.
Personal Care Products
A soothing lip balm, hydrating lotion, and relaxing face mask should automatically be safe gifts for people with allergies, right? Except that many lip balms contain lanolin (a natural moisturizer extracted from sheep’s wool), many lotions contain carrageenan, and face masks often contain glycerin (which is okay when derived from vegetable oils, but not when made from animal fats).
So if you gift personal care items, be sure to choose vegan personal care products without carrageenan on the ingredient list. And, as with chocolate gifts, you’ll want to be sure the vegan beauty products you select have been certified by a trusted third party.
Related Article: How to Read a Nutrition Label When You Have Alpha-Gal
Gift Baskets and Gift Boxes
Stretch the celebration with a gift box subscription. With Cratejoy, you can select a one-, three-, six-, or 12-month option and treat your favorite alpha gal to a variety of non-food options, like arts and crafts, plant and garden, jewelry, and entertainment gifts.
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An Audible or Kindle Subscription
Gift options for people with allergies who love to read are an Audible subscription, Kindle Unlimited subscription, or both! With an Audible subscription, each month, your favorite alpha gal will earn a credit toward any audiobook title in Audible’s premium selection, regardless of price. For those who prefer to read on a Paperwhite (instead of listen to a book, a Kindle Unlimited subscription allows the subscriber unlimited access to a gigantic library of ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines — and it’s updated regularly with new releases!
Sage Advice: Try Kindle Unlimited for free for 30 days.
Mug and Coffee
For alpha gals that regularly crave a caffeine fix, how about a coffee mug and gourmet coffee beans? Select a practical mug – like one that is temperature-controlled and self-heating or one that comes with a lid and coaster – or one with a clever quote. You can also set your gift recipient up with the equipment they need to make cold brew coffee or decorative gifts that reinforce their love of java.
Related Article: How to Make Cold Brew Coffee
T-Shirts and Other Clothing Gifts
If they’re into sassy sayings, perhaps your alpha gal would rather sport one on a funny t-shirt than see it while sipping from a coffee mug. Other clothing gifts include quirky pajamas and gear for the great outdoors. Just remember that some alpha gals can have an allergic reaction to animal fibers like sheep’s wool, Angora, and alpaca fiber.
Jewelry and Accessories
One alpha-gal friendly apparel gift is jewelry. Select a fashionable necklace, thoughtful bracelet, or cute pair of earrings as the perfect gift for someone with AGS. Support one of my favorite local jewelry makers by purchasing a handmade sterling silver piece from Kristin Christopher.
A Hand-Poured Candle
Or support another favorite small business — and a fellow alpha gal — by gifting a hand-poured, all-natural soy candle from modestly m candle co. Available in charcoal, glass, and tin containers, you’re sure to find the perfect scent from a wide selection of standard and seasonal selections. My favorite? Lavender sage!
Movie Tickets
Whether they opt for a comedy, thriller, or animated film, movie tickets are guaranteed to be an alpha-gal allergy friendly gift. You can purchase the gift of movies with an AMC gift card, or make a gift basket for a movie night at home with an Amazon gift card for a Prime Video and a basket of goodies. Not only does an at home experience allow you to enjoy movie night on a budget, but it also gives you more control over the snacks.
Just remember that many alpha gals cannot tolerate butter or cheese on their popcorn, so add nutritional yeast for them to sprinkle over it instead. And you’ll want to ensure that any candy treats are alpha-gal friendly, like UNREAL vegan chocolate peanut butter cups and candies.
Related Article: Sweet! 50 Alpha-Gal Safe Candy Treats
Sage Advice: Still not sure what to gift your favorite alpha gal? Gift cards are always a safe bet.
Do You Have a Go-To Gift for People with Allergies?
What is your favorite gift idea for someone living with alpha-gal syndrome? Any additional tips and tricks to pass along? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
What great gift ideas for people living with this condition. Thank you for all of your work.
Thanks so much! There aren’t a lot of resources, so I’m glad it’s helpful!
Thank you for this.