Urgent! Need Some Advice

[shanmac]

i'm going on a weekend long retreat for my school, and i've pretty much got my whole menu squared away. i'm bringing a lot of substitutions for things and i think i've got my meals covered. however, there are a few things that are on the menu that i told the people in charge of the retreat are questionable...i need some advice on whether or not these things are in fact questionable or if i am just being paranoid...

bacon: is this gluten free? i have no idea

whipped cream: i use this, but i'm always sure to get a certain brand that has no gluten in it. are all whipped creams gluten free?

pudding: i have no idea about this either. are things like instant chocolate pudding gluten free? is there anything i should be concerned about?

french fries: i have a feeling these are going to be served. i have it covered about cross contamination, but what about oil? should i be concerned and avoid them?

butter: do any butters/margarines contain gluten?

last...cheese: are any cheese not gluten free? one of the items on the menu is grilled cheese (i'm bringing my own bread), should i be worried about cheese slices or whatever that they may use?

thank you so much for your help!! i'm leaving the day after tomorrow so i need some advice as soon as possible. thank you again...it is much appreciated.

[gf4life]

shanmac,

I suggest that you ask to check the labels of the questioneable items when you get there, if at all possible. And you are not being paranoid you are just being cautious. We HAVE to be cautious or we get sick. I'm not sure about how to help you since it depends on the brand they use to know if the products are for sure gluten-free. But this is a little bit of information I have.

bacon: it depends on the brand, some have flavorings added that might have gluten, but most are gluten-free.

whipped cream: Cool Whip, Reddi Whip, Dream Whip are all gluten-free. Most are I think.

pudding: Most puddings are gluten-free.

french fries: The oil should be fine, but not all fries are gluten-free, some are coated. And if they are deep fried the oil could be contaminated.

butter: the butter and margarine should be okay.

last...cheese: some cheeses are powdered to keep them from sticking together and sometimes the powder can contain gluten. If it is a block cheese that they slice themselves then it is fine.

God bless,

Mariann

[kejohe]

For most of those items you are good. Be careful with the pudding though, some have a modified food starch in them that is not gluten free... usually the instant ones are the ones you need to avoid.

Also premade fries can be dangerous, as well as the cheese, if its pre-shredded, but Mariann is right when she says that if it's block cheese it okay.

Have fun!

[Aimee]

I haven't found any of those items to have gluten in them yet, but its always safe to just ask to check out the labeling when you arrive. =)

[tammy]

May I suggest bringing a mini-cooler to carry your gluten-free substitutions in. Like, pudding, cheese and your bread. I would call the cook ahead of time and tell him your concerns. He might be able to read the ingredients to you over the telephone than trying to look for the ingredients on labels at meal time.

When we had our first encounter with substitutions, we asked the restaurant cook if we could read the label on a bag of corn chips. He said, "iIt comes to us in a big bag from the company and there aren't any ingredients on the bag." My point, it doesn't always work in your favor.

Will you let us know how everything worked for you?!

[tammy]

Yummy Cool Whip and oh sooooo fun Reddi-Whip are gluten-free?

[shanmac]

thanks so much for your replies everyone! they were a ton of help! i'm planning to follow your advice. i've already been over the menu with one of the people in charge there and they know the substitutions i'm bringing. the thing i'm most worried about is contamination, but i plan to check everything over and over again. and, my motto: when in doubt, don't eat it!

thanks again for your replies! i will let you know how it goes. wish me luck!