Are Fast Food Places Like Mcdonalds Safe To Eat?

[cap6]

This topic will be debated for years to come I am sure.  Bottom line.....You make a choice based on what you feel comfortable with.  Myself?  No way will I risk going into a gluten infested fast food place and put my trust into the hands of burger flinging youth.  !!

[whtswrongwithme32]

The manager at our local MCds says his celiac wife could not eat the fries either

He is awesome and knows what is okay, what is not okay, and how to bag items without. cross cont.

[christinebonner]

Today is Friday. 6 months ago Fridays were family night-get a pizza, or subs and watch a movie on t.v. and eat. Now 3 of us are gluten free and dealing o.k. with it. 2 of us have since added dairy free. Any ideas for take out foods we could eat? Having Chipotle tonight.Kids won't eat it. So, we let them cheat with dairy and get gluten-free pizza. 2 different stops. This is such a pain! Sometimes I think it's not worth it. I have 7 food allergies and have only eliminated 1 1/2 so far. So, I'm not feeling wonderful yet.

FYI: I am only gluten sensitive, dairy sensitive, etc. So, that's a plus. I don't have celiac.

[LauraTX]

Today is Friday. 6 months ago Fridays were family night-get a pizza, or subs and watch a movie on t.v. and eat. Now 3 of us are gluten free and dealing o.k. with it. 2 of us have since added dairy free. Any ideas for take out foods we could eat? Having Chipotle tonight.Kids won't eat it. So, we let them cheat with dairy and get gluten-free pizza. 2 different stops. This is such a pain! Sometimes I think it's not worth it. I have 7 food allergies and have only eliminated 1 1/2 so far. So, I'm not feeling wonderful yet.

FYI: I am only gluten sensitive, dairy sensitive, etc. So, that's a plus. I don't have celiac.

 

Welcome to the forum, Christine!  Are the children Celiac or only gluten sensitive? Either way, the best practice is to do 100% gluten free, especially for growing kids.  Honestly, the best solution fora family with multiple people with multiple food allergies is to make food at home.  Check out Chebe pizza crust mix, it is made of tapioca and if you make it without the cheese it is dairy free (and actually better by a few people's opinion here on the board).  For the toppings you can use daiya dairy free cheese and whatever else you like on top.  With kids you can get them involved and pretty much get them to do all the work for you, and it will be cheaper in the long run instead of eating out.

 

It is important to not allow kids to "cheat" on a medically neccesary diet.  Keeping them on track sets the stage for success in proper self care long into adulthood.  There are some pizza places that can do gluten-free and DF properly, but they can be hard to find.  Mellow Mushroom is a prominent one.  Take a look at the "Find me gluten free" app/website and put in your city, and they usually have very telling reviews of how good a place is to a person that has to be gluten-free.  A quick phone call to see if they have dairy free cheese, or a look at their menu (many times places that cater to vegans will have dairy free cheese, if that helps you when you are looking).  You can also just do a pizza with no cheese.  Once you pile on all the veggies and meats thick, it really tastes the same without the cheese.  It may be something the whole family can do in support of the two dairy free ones so they don't feel left out.

 

Another kid friendly place is Chik Fil A.  Check out their website and they have a great listing, and most I have been to have pretty good employees who will go tell the kitchen staff to use clean utensils when making the grilled nuggets, and their fries are not fried in a shared oil with the breaded stuff.  Their side salads and fruit cups are usually good and are also gluten-free.  Feel free to search the names of any local places on the forum here, too, sometimes people will post about those.  Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

[allergiescooked]

There is a fairly new standard for professional kitchens, "made without gluten containing ingredients" instead of the stand-by "made without gluten"/"gluten free". Just like a certified kosher/halal facility, if there is wheat/items containing gluten processed or handled at the facility we can not label or advertise that it is gluten free. There may always be a risk of cross contact. Now, these rules are not being heavily enforced, yet.