Okay Wait! I Can't Have Fries?

[thenamesbabe]

i know i'm like 6 months or so into this but i'm not the brightest crayon in the box. I'm obviously glutened all the time and that's why i feel crummy. I thought french fries were potatos and cooked in oil that i could have. so if we take the kids to mcdonalds i order fries and sweet and sour sauce.

like i said, i'm really not the smartest but i just figured out that gravy has flour in it. and i can't have flour. that's something that i ate recently with some fries.

so in a nut shell i need to look for gluten wheat barley oats and natural flavorings in the ingredients of everything. and then on top of that, take note to what it is cooked in.

[IrishKelly]

i know i'm like 6 months or so into this but i'm not the brightest crayon in the box. I'm obviously glutened all the time and that's why i feel crummy. I thought french fries were potatos and cooked in oil that i could have. so if we take the kids to mcdonalds i order fries and sweet and sour sauce.

like i said, i'm really not the smartest but i just figured out that gravy has flour in it. and i can't have flour. that's something that i ate recently with some fries.

so in a nut shell i need to look for gluten wheat barley oats and natural flavorings in the ingredients of everything. and then on top of that, take note to what it is cooked in.

You can have anything you want as long as it's homemade. Fry or bake your own fries. The risk of cross-contamination is there if you get them from a restaurant because they fry their fish and chicken in the same oil.

[Sweetfudge]

I always ask if the fries are cooked in oil with the chicken nuggets. Yeah that's a drag. I have taken a liking to making my own fries though, especially with red potatoes I want to see if I can get my hands on some Red Robin's seasoning salt, that was my favorite place to eat fries, but I know they don't cook separately from the other stuff! Even baking the potato wedges is good. I do believe OreIda brand sells some gluten-free potato stuff (in the freezer aisle) but I haven't bought anything yet. I hope the tater tots are ok though, I love taters

What is frustrating to me is how many different ways gluten can be hidden...wheat, barley, oats, and then all the different terms for these products!! Spelt, semolina, etc....Thank goodness for the new labeling law!

Good luck to you! And on the gravy, my step-mother actually made some GREAT gravy a few weeks ago for me, I will have to find out the recipe, I had it on my roast and potatoes and it tasted just like REAL GRAVY! I'll post it when I get the info

[CarlaB]

Yea ... eating out is a big risk that I've almost cut out completely. You literally have to know all ingredients and how everything is cooked. It's easiest just to eat at home, basic things (meat, eggs, fish, fruits, veggies, potatoes, rice, nuts), then research what you like to add to that.

I never eat fast food ... too high a risk of cc.

[lovegrov]

So are you aware now that the sweet and sour sauce has soy sauce, which has wheat? You can eat the McD fries, but not that sauce.

richard

[happygirl]

the rule of thumb i use (because I am extremely extremely sensitive) for EVERY SINGLE DARN LITTLE PIECE OF FOOD

1. ingredients --- are they safe ingredients? are there any questionable ingredients? if so, call and determine.

If you feel the ingredients are safe, proceed to # 2. If there is any question or you don't have the label, etc. DO NOT EAT.

2. if I am eating out or telling someone about cooking gluten-free --- i assess the risk of cross contamination. Was the food fried in oil that has had ANY thing else fried in it? If someone made something with butter, cream cheese, mayo, etc---did it come out of a non-contaminated (by bread crumbs, other food, etc) container? Did the person use 100% clean utensils, cutting board, pots/pans, wear clean gloves, didn't touch anything else but my food? If it is something like an appetizer assortment, are the 'safe' foods (like cheese, fruits, certain chips, etc) sitting right next to the crackers and bread? Are there crumbs everywhere?

I must add---even if something says the ingredients are safe, and they don't fry in contaminated oil/use other pots/pans, whatever the case may be---if I have been sick by 'it' once, (used to be 2, now my limit is down), I just cut it off my list, regardless of its proclaimed gluten free status. If I get sick, its not worth it.

For me, if the answer is not 110% safe, I do not eat it. Obviously, that leaves me very few places to eat at, but for me, that is the process I go through. Obviously, people vary on their sensitivies/reactions and everyone makes their own personal decisions on eating out. I hope this helps you in your process!

[VydorScope]

The only fries out at fast food places that I have heard of being safe is some Chickfila's ( I have had mixed success there) and In-n-Out. PLease note MANY fast food joints (Such as Backyard Burger) add wheat to thier fries, so it goes beyond mere cross contamination.

McDonalds of course has its die hard supporters, even though thier gluten statement says gluten was detected in the oil, and even though there are countless stories of ppl getting sick from them (including my son)... and countless stories abot empolyees frying pies/etc in thier oil, etc on this board alone... but thats a dead horse at this point... I hope

Many resturants will cook fish/etc in thier fry oil, so you would have to question them, and you would have to get ingredients to any seasonings, etc. Its a real PITB until you find a fewplaces that you know you can always go cause they know you and you know them.

I tend to aviod all fried foods while out with my son now, and make all my friies at home with real potatoes.... or you can get hte Orea "Fast Food Fries" at most grocery stores that are very good and gluten-free.

[CarlaB]

If you're in the midwest, Skyline Chili and Penn Station also have safe fries. Fries are the only thing either of those places fries, so nothing else goes in the oil.

[LKelly8]

Open Original Shared Link

I was diagnosed with celiac last year but as a kid I remember being thrilled when I found a whole mcnugget in with my fries, it was like winning a prize.

I don't eat fries at restaurants because of the cc risk.

However, my mom, gluten free for 35+ years, does eat the fries at McD! So I think it really is a personal choice.

If you've been going to only one McDs and feeling icky afterwards, could it be that that McDs just isn't careful about it's dedicated fryer?

[CarlaB]

Open Original Shared Link

I was diagnosed with celiac last year but as a kid I remember being thrilled when I found a whole mcnugget in with my fries, it was like winning a prize.

I don't eat fries at restaurants because of the cc risk.

However, my mom, gluten free for 35+ years, does eat the fries at McD! So I think it really is a personal choice.

If you've been going to only one McDs and feeling icky afterwards, could it be that that McDs just isn't careful about it's dedicated fryer?

Or, as Richard said, the sweet and sour has soy sauce, therefore gluten.

[VydorScope]

Open Original Shared Link

A better link is to there GLUTEN SPECFIC page:

Open Original Shared Link

If you've been going to only one McDs and feeling icky afterwards, could it be that that McDs just isn't careful about it's dedicated fryer?

Read the many back posts on this site form McD's across the nation... its not jst one McD;s. While your at read the posts form the empolyees that work there that say its not safe... Its your call, but I would never subject my son to thier fries.

I dont want to get drag'd in to this argeument again. McD's fries have glutenin them wether by the fact they use wheat in the flavoring, or CC. Its your choice if you want to eat gluten, As for my son, I will never intentional give him gluten there is to many accidental ways for him to get it as it is.

[thenamesbabe]

i didn't now the sour sauce had soy.

all i can say is that i've learned a valuable lesson. If i don't know it's gluten free i won't put it in my mouth or on my body. Too many things to think about with how it's cooked and stuff like that. It just seems easier to not eat out at all. good choice for me. I can still go but don't have to eat.

My nutritionist that i've declared *not very knowledgable* told me this "everytime you put something into your mouth that you know has gluten in it are you taking your step closer to cancer, and you are already severe enough." so for awhile i thought to myself, that one bite of brownie could be the one bite that took me over the edge. he just might be onto a good way of thinking since i was so weak at the time.

[kbtoyssni]

Red Robin and Dino's (a greek fast food place) have gluten-free french fries. I *think* all Ore-Ida fries are gluten-free, except for maybe the seasoned ones. I know there's a list of their gluten-free products on their website, so check that to make sure. French fries were one of my favorite things to eat and I get a bit grumpy when I can't get them at a restaurant. I almost always come home and cook myself up a batch of Ore-Ida fries so I don't feel left out.

I ate so many things without realizing they contained gluten when I first went gluten-free. It takes a long time to figure it all out. The fact that you're on here reading everyday will help you find all the sources of gluten in your life much faster. I also don't put anything in my mouth that I'm not sure is gluten-free. I'd rather not eat than risk it. And I always bring something to snack on with me so I won't be put in the situation of having to eat something questionable when I'm starving. I've got gluten-free food stashed all over the place - my desk at work, my purse, my car, my friends' houses...

[psawyer]

... even though thier gluten statement says gluten was detected in the oil...

What statement are you reading? The one on the McDonalds web site does NOT say that. It says gluten was detectable in the "wheat ingredient of the natural flavoring," but says nothing about the oil having been tested. Open Original Shared Link

[VydorScope]

What statement are you reading? The one on the McDonalds web site does NOT say that. It says gluten was detectable in the "wheat ingredient of the natural flavoring," but says nothing about the oil having been tested. Open Original Shared Link

Yes, I mistyped. I meant the falvoring. Sorry. To test the oil they would have ot do a large random samlpe of many different resturants, and I would be shocked if they actaully did that.

[elonwy]

My favorite Celiac Saying is "When in doubt, go without". Everytime I've tried to second-guess, whether through hunger or hopefulness ( I'm sure it doesn't have gluten, cause I don't want it to), I've gotten sick. McDonalds fries give me brain fog and fatigue within a half hour. I didn't want them to have gluten, but they do.

Heres how my attitude has changed:

I went to Baha fresh with a friend yesterday. They are usually great about helping me out. The server refused to look at my dining card, refused to listen to me trying to explain what I wanted ( think deer in headlights crossed with cow chewing cud look) and the manager was unavailable. Instead of guessing based on past help from other managers, I got a bottle of water, dropped my friend off after he had eaten and went home and made a shrimp taco. Was absolutely starving by the time I got there, but I new that if I pushed it and tried anyway to get past the giant wall that had been put up by the server, I would be sick right now. There is no way they would have gotten that right.

Its a hard judgement call, and I was pissed off cause I was starving, but we have to be safe.

Elonwy