Getting a diagnosis of alpha-gal syndrome – an allergy to red meat (and often dairy) ignited by a bite from a lone star tick – means new challenges and more vigilance when cooking and eating. We’d like to help. In response to the skyrocketing number of lone star ticks and subsequent cases of alpha-gal syndrome on the Island, Cook the Vineyard has created this resource page – and a tagged recipe collection – to help the hundreds of Islanders affected by AGS navigate the illness and eat well. Resources are listed below, after a few notes about our recipe collection and some shopping tips.
Note: Just a quick reminder that if you suspect you might have alpha-gal, or you’ve recently been bitten by a lone star tick, you should call your primary care provider, who will see you to diagnose symptoms and most likely order an alpha-gal IgE blood test to determine what level of alpha-gal antibodies you have (if any) in your system. This guide is not a substitute for medical advice from your physician.
Disclaimer: The information and resources provided by Cook the Vineyard are for general educational and informational purposes only. They are not intended as, and should not be taken as, medical or dietary advice. Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) affects individuals differently, and dietary needs may vary. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider or registered dietitian before making changes to your diet or treatment plan. Cook the Vineyard and its contributors assume no responsibility or liability for any consequence resulting directly or indirectly from the use of the information provided on this page.
The Alpha-Gal Friendly Recipe Collection
You can find our curated collection of alpha-gal friendly recipes here. This is a work in progress so bear with us! Going forward, we’ll tag new recipes as “alpha-gal friendly” when appropriate, and they’ll automatically wind up in this list. (The tag, or label, will also show up at the bottom of a recipe.) Right now we are working on tagging previous content – all of the recipes that have already been posted on cookthevineyard.com.
You can also go to our recipe index page, scroll down to “Recipes by Dish,” and you’ll see Alpha-Gal-Friendly at the top of that list. You can click on that, too.
We’ll provide a regular link to the alpha-gal recipes in our weekly newsletter. Subscribe at cookthevineyard.substack.com.
How do we determine which recipes are alpha-gal friendly?
A recipe must not include red meat (beef, pork, lamb, venison, goat) in any form.
Even though some folks with AGS can tolerate dairy, it is a gray area, so any recipe we tag as alpha-gal friendly does not list any dairy (butter, cheese, yogurt, etc.) as a main ingredient. If a recipe includes a dairy ingredient as an optional garnish (and does not contain red meat), we’ll tag it alpha-gal friendly.
Recipes that include processed ingredients – including condiments like mayonnaise and chili paste or canned broths and stocks – will, in most cases, not be tagged alpha-gal friendly. Some of these recipes will be fine if you’re cooking for yourself and have researched your favorite brands. But as a service to those who may be cooking for alpha-gal guests, it’s safest to leave out recipes with an ingredient that may have a hidden meat component.
Shopping & Cooking Tips
The good news about an alpha-gal friendly diet is that it puts healthy ingredients like legumes, grains, veggies and fish front and center. Alpha-gal folks can eat chicken, turkey and other fowl, too. If you were a vegetarian before getting AGS, you’ll now be eating a mostly vegan diet (except that you can still eat eggs). Or if you were a pescatarian, you can continue to be, as long as you don’t cook your seafood in butter or with other dairy products – unless you can tolerate them.
It’s important to note that not everyone with alpha-gal will react to the same things with the same severity. (There are many factors affecting reactivity.) Some people can tolerate dairy, but many must steer clear of all mammalian products, including gelatin and other thickeners found in a variety of products, such as supplements and non-dairy creamers.
Shop around the perimeter of the grocery store. Buy fresh, raw ingredients so you’ll know what you’re starting with. Steer away from the middle of the store, where processed foods can hide all kinds of additives that might activate an alpha-gal reaction. When you do purchase packaged goods, check the ingredient labels not only for dairy, but for gelatin, guar gum, xanthum gum, and carrageenan, a substance derived from seaweed that naturally contains the alpha-gal molecule. Carrageenan is found in a wide variety of processed foods – including some brands of raw poultry, as well as some brands of ice cream, jams, powdered drink mixes, and vegan non-dairy substitutes.
Some people with multiple allergies like the Fig app, which quickly scans barcodes to tell you if there is an ingredient in a product that you shouldn’t eat. The app does have limitations, so read up on it before you decide to download.
Shop with the intention of stocking up your pantry, so that you can make a variety of flavorful meals without meat. Before you go shopping, read Your Pantry is Stocked With Hidden Flavor: 10 Essential Categories.
At the store, be aware of cross-contamination. Don’t buy freshly sliced turkey meat at the deli, where ham may have just been on the slicing machine. (FYI, sliced deli turkey can contain carrageenan.)
If you’re on the Island, join a CSF (community supported fishery) or stop by the Martha’s Vineyard Seafood Collaborative’s booth at the West Tisbury Farmers’ Market for cryovaced, flash-frozen fish. Other seafood stores on the Island also have freezers stocked with useful ingredients, including fish stock and chopped clams. With seafood in the freezer, you’ll find you eat it more often.
If you’re a bread eater, buy your bread at one of our Island farm bakeries like Morning Glory or Beetlebung, where they are transparent about ingredients, and where your bread will not have a lot of additives.
Invest in two kinds of olive oil – one for cooking, one that you can use for drizzling on toast or veggies instead of butter. Pick up an infused oil or two. Buy grapeseed oil or another neutral oil to use instead of butter when cooking eggs.
Consider joining an off-season CSA, like Island Grown Initiative’s. With so many vegetables to cook, you won’t notice that meat is missing.
Shop at North Tabor Farm farm stand, where a shelf is dedicated to alpha-gal friendly take-out meals prepared by North Tabor Farm Kitchen.
Information and Resources
About Alpha-gal on the Island
For background on how and when lone star ticks arrived on the Island – and brought alpha-gal with them – read these articles from the Vineyard Gazette and Martha’s Vineyard Magazine from the last three years.
Experts Aim to Raise Tick Awareness, Katrina Liu, Aug. 21, 2025
An Island Epidemic, Ethan Genter, June 6, 2025
Health Officials Begin Alpha-gal Survey, Ethan Genter, Dec. 9,2024
Alpha-Gal Cases Skyrocket as Lone Star Ticks Dig in, Ethan Genter, Oct. 31, 2024
Tick-Borne Alpha-Gal Syndrome Continues to Soar, Noah Glasgow, July 25, 2024
As Lone Star Ticks Spread, So Do Concerns About Alpha-Gal, Ethan Genter, May 4, 2023
Island Resources:
The Martha's Vineyard Boards of Health maintain a tick information page on their website.
Here is a list of informational videos from talks at the Vineyard Haven Public Library by tick experts.
About the Science of Alpha-Gal
Any interview with Dr. Scott Commins, the associate chief for allergy and immunology at the University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine, is worth reading or watching on YouTube. He was one of the researchers who first confirmed alpha-gal syndrome’s connection to tick bites. Start with this one in Allergic Living. Then watch this and other short question-and-answer videos with him, produced by the Two Alpha Gals (more on them below).
Alpha-gal Support
A great source for all things alpha-gal are the Two Alpha Gals. Candice Matthis and Debbie Nichols are two friends who suffered years of alpha-gal symptoms before being diagnosed with the syndrome. They are determined to help others navigate diagnosis and living with AGS. Check out their website, follow them on Instagram and You Tube, and read this interview with them on Allergic Living.
You can also buy (for a small fee) their 22-page alpha-gal resource guide. Most recently, they have founded a nonprofit, the Alpha-Gal Foundation. They are actively working to have alpha-gal allergy, which is the 10th most prevalent food allergy in the country, declared a major allergen (like the top nine allergens are) so that products would be required to list it on labels.
There are many alpha-gal support groups (and groups with sub-interests) online. As always, do not take everything you read online at face value. There are lots of so-called experts in chat groups!
— The AlphaGal Kitchen is a Facebook group with 53,000 members.
— Alphagalinformation.org, includes a list of more than a dozen other Facebook support groups.
— Here is the Reddit Alpha-gal group.
Please note: We will be adding to this resource guide. Feel free to leave a comment if you have useful information you’d like us to consider including.
