Mushroom allergy

There are plenty of veg proteins like tofu.

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I’d see if she might be able to cook the mushrooms 1x/week and then add them to whatever she’s cooking (rather than chopping and cooking each time).

If that doesn’t work for her, I think you’re going to have to decide whether to suck it up or ask Airbnb to re-home her. IMO it’s not fair to ask her to change her entire diet to accommodate an allergy that wasn’t stated when she booked.

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@KenH with the cut-to-the-chase answer. TALK to her already. TELL her about your aversion and allergy.

OMG it’s your home.

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If the guest thought it was no big deal to remove mushrooms from her diet I’m sure they would have come to that arrangement by now.

I personally wouldn’t be okay 100% changing my trainer-built menu and I’d be extra irritated if my host started suggesting protein substitutes. Their choice is to host me (with mushrooms) or give up the booking and let me find a better fit.

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We hope the chat goes well for you! Mushrooms are actually a really poor protein source.

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If it were me, I’d just have a chat with her, unless she seems to be a completely unapproachable person which I’m assuming she’s not. I tend to go for the chatty ‘help me out’ thing.

“Hi guest I hope you had a great day at xxx today. What a shame about the rain this morning but wasn’t it lovely weather this afternoon? Anyway, look, I really need your help and I’m hoping that you’ll be able to help me work something out…”

If you discuss it with her, that seems to be the most sensible way to arrive at an outcome that’s good for everyone.

This might be a daft question but would it be possible for you to put an induction stovetop or something in her room? Is there room for the two of you to work together to fit in a mini kitchen there?

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I like your suggested talking approach. She’s not been here the last two days, so I haven’t had an opportunity to say anything to her yet.

No, there isn’t room in her bedroom for anything. Between what we provide and her mountains of stuff, no room. Honestly, with the furniture that we provide alone, there wouldn’t be room.

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This post is making me hungry, mushrooms…

RR

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@RebeccaF Rebecca, you have made an exception and allowed her to use your kitchen, and she has decided that mushrooms are her “secret” for weight loss – you need to advocate for yourself and explain your allergy. Perhaps she can pick a different “miracle” food for weight loss such as Brussel sprouts…is not as if you are saying she can’t cook anything. Go for it!

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If it were me I’d be biting my tongue to not point out that mushrooms have very little protein! Right @jefferson?

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My dad brought me a whole sack of dried porcini mushrooms and boy, do they smell.

If her diet consists of pretty mushrooms perhaps using one of those small induction 2 plate things in her room would work. Not that you want cooking in the bedroom, but you also don’t want to loose her as a guest either.

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@RebeccaF Honestly, I would have talked to her about it right away when it became known to you that this is what she basically lives on. (I don’t know what kind of “trainer” she has who thinks mushrooms are an adequate source of protein). The kind of chat that Jaquo suggested- “So this is such a strange coincidence- I mean what are the chances of this happening, but I’m actually highly allergic to mushrooms and you happen to eat them every day as the major part of your diet. I didn’t mention it right away, because I was wracking my brain as to whether I could come up with a work-around, but I’m stumped. Do you have any suggestions, because we really like having you here?”
Maybe she could explain the issue to her trainer and he/she could come up with a variation on her diet that doesn’t include mushrooms?

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I do agree that if a host has food allergies and is allowing cooking, it is better to mention these to the guest in advance. @Allison_H

(Personally as the guest I would have queried the knowledge of any trainer who suggested mushroom as a main protein source in a diet as it contains such low levels of protein and there are many better vegetarian protein sources that could be used.)

I don’t thing there is anything wrong with @RebeccaF explaining the dilemma to the guest and seeing if there is something that can be done including cooking with other protein sources in the house. Unlike you, personally I wouldn’t get irritated as a guest having this discussion with the host, particularly when I knew the host was severely allergic to the product i was using.

If the guests is insistent in cooking daily with mushrooms, as the host has such high allergy levels, then it sounds like asking Airbnb to cancel the booking would be the only solution.

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Yeah, but they are good :slightly_smiling_face: you should really keep them in an airtight container, and that way you wont be bothered by the smell!

JF

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you are really making me hungry! Brussel sprouts? Meh… I never came across a decent recipe yet.

Well, people either seem to love brussels spouts or hate them. I don’t think there’s any recipe that would make them palatable to anyone who dislikes them, and there isn’t any recipe needed for those who do- some butter and some lemon juice is all that’s needed.

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Try them chopped up and fried in butter, black pepper with chestnuts and pancetta @muddy

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So, what did you do?

Are you asking what I did? (I’m the OP.)

Our guest was gone for several days, until yesterday. I asked her, as she was unloading groceries, if she could find a substitute for mushrooms for future grocery orders. Told her about my allergy. She was very nice. She’ll talk with her trainer tomorrow to come up with a different plan.

She said, “I’m a nurse. I understand about allergies. You shouldn’t have to go through that.”

Yay!

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Wonderful result. I’m so glad that it worked out well.

"Guests are people too. " :slight_smile:

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