Woman’s mother-in-law ‘decided it was too much trouble’ to cook her a second meal

A woman with severe food allergies is in trouble after her in-laws refused to cook her meals she can eat. Now, as a result, he has to miss family gatherings.

In a post shared to Redditthe woman’s husband writes that his wife is allergic to shellfish, peanuts, celery and soy.

“It’s common for people to be unwilling to host it OR to be lazy about it and think they can make food with one of those things in it and just not put it on their plate,” he writes. “So he’ll normally bring something to eat if people don’t seem sure what to do.”

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And that’s exactly what she did when the man’s mother hosted a family gathering, bringing her own food because they anticipated there would be no safe food available for her.

“But when I got there, my mother was upset that she had brought food. I explained why and my mother said that in the future she will only make food that my wife can eat,” he adds.

At the next few family gatherings, the woman didn’t bring her own food — but one day, after the man’s mother “wasn’t careful about food safety preparation,” she was served something cross-contaminated with shellfish.

After having an allergic reaction, the man’s mother “said she felt sick and apologized.”

“But then, after that dinner, he decided it was too much trouble to prepare a completely different meal for my wife, and then he started making a meal again, but it was a meal that my wife couldn’t eat,” he adds.

The situation eventually prompted the man to have a talk with his extended family, with his mother saying it was “unfair” to be expected to cook more meals to accommodate his wife.

“So I told them it was fine if my wife and I didn’t join them at these dinners,” he writes.

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His family “didn’t like this decision” and are now facing criticism.

“I told them my wife’s health and safety comes first and since she can’t win and risk another allergic reaction eating there, and it wouldn’t be right for her to sit and watch us eat, then no . our only option remains”, he writes.

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As the man added in the comments, his mother “finds it rude to bring your own table to other people’s ‘parties’ or family dinners. But he’s not being offered food that he can safely eat, so the only other option would be that he doesn’t have any. don’t eat.”

Reddit comments weighed in, with one writing: “What does your mother expect your wife to do? Do you just sit there and watch everyone else eat?”

Added another: “There are thousands, maybe millions, of dishes that don’t contain shellfish or soy. If your mom wanted to, she could easily accommodate your wife’s allergies.”