Friends Eating My Food?

[frogsrme1717]

Hi everyone. I have not gotten an official diagnosis yet, but my doctors are almost positive. I have been on a gluten free diet off and on for two years now (by their requests) and I had a question. When we are at school or going out, I have pack a lunch or snacks that are gluten free and safe for me. When I get them out, my friends ask to try some. I feel mean saying no so I let them try it. They either make me feel bad by saying "Ewww that's gross!" or they like it so they help themselves to my snack. I have learned to just ignore the rude comments, but my family cannot afford to feed my friends gluten-free foods. They tend to be on the more expensive side so we only buy enough for me. How can I politely tell my friends that they can't eat my food? I think it is kind of rude, as they can eat whatever they want wherever we go, but I can only eat what I have brought and then they help themselves to my food leaving me with not much.

Thank you!

[HAK1031]

say "not unless you have something to trade!"

but just don't offer. say "I'm used to it, but you'd probably think it's gross". If they persist say "No, I only have enough for me, and it's tough for me to just buy a snack from the vending machine or something." Then change the subject. That said, I am fully guilty of stealing my friend's glutino pretzels...lol but it's mutual, we bake for eachother too

[tarnalberry]

Tell them. Tell them that you feel really bad for asking them not to eat your food, but that you don't have enough to share, because the stuff's stupidly expensive, and you feel crappy when you go hungry because they've eaten your food. It sucks, I've had to do it before, but you do have to keep yourself fed!

[frogsrme1717]

Thanks! Those are great suggestions and hopefully won't hesitate to speak up next time. If anyone else has some tips on how to tell them, please share so it is pretty easy next time.

[jmd3]

You might want to say - The snacks are pretty expensive and this is all I have right now that I am able to eat, but how about everyone pitching in with a buck or two

( or whatever you need) and I will bring a big bag of glutino pretzels in another day ! (or whatever they would like to try.) Your friends may pitch in, but I doubt it,.... or after hearing that suggestion a few times they may stop asking because your friends will understand that they are expensive.

[kbtoyssni]

I go on trips with friends all the time. I bring three categories of food:

1. The stuff for just me. I do not leave this out where other people can eat it. I nab a corner of the fridge and hide it away.

2. The stuff I share that I can get contaminated. I will often take some out and put it with my secret stash and share the rest.

3. The stuff I can share without worrying about CC. Individually wrapped things, or stuff that needs to be cooked like popcorn so I know exactly who has touched it since it was cooked.

There are some cases when I only bring option 1 (maybe I'm too busy to make food to share or whatever). When this is the case, the biggest thing is I don't leave it out where people can see it and therefore may eat it. I think I would tell your friends that this is all you have to eat so you can't share or you'll be hungry. That's why I horde my food. It's not that I don't like to share, it's that I don't want to be hungry.

[num1habsfan]

Just be straight out and tell them. Say that it is very hard to find something like snacks (especially the junk food!!) and also very expensive and while you appreciate them wanting to try new things you only have a limited supply and sometimes you may share them little samples but not to eat the whole thing. If they're a true friend they will no be offended by this.

~ Lisa ~

[loco-ladi]

In my opinion I would go with this option...

"not unless you have something to trade!"

I would however phrase it more in a lightened manner such as "whatcha gonna trade for it?" or "What'd ya bring to trade?"

This will do 2 things......

1 shows them its not easy finding something you can eat safely when they look.

2 Shows the how pricey it will be WHEN they find something you can eat.

[cmsquyres]

I'm a freshman in college, so most of my friends understand the need to conserve expensive foods (for the most part they subsist on ramen noodles). If I know we're going to be somewhere snacking, like if we're having a movie night, I make sure to tell them to bring something of their own or to be prepared to leave my gluten free food alone. Keeping regular snacks that are gluten free (tortilla chips, grape, carrots) around has also been pretty helpful and inexpensive.

Also, once I told my friends about the difficulties of finding inexpensive gluten free snacks, they've been on the lookout for gluten free foods for me. I've found a lot of great snacks/restaurants (including an italian restaurant with gluten free pasta!) now that I have a small army looking for them

[myAll 4 JESUS]

When your friends ask to try your food, say something like,"I would, but it's a bit expensive." your friends should understand. There are lots of resonably cheap gluten-free foods out there.

John 3:16

[nikky]

tell your freinds that you would love to be able to share stuff with them but you just cant afford to, i know what you mean, my freinds are the same they either pull faces or ask for more so ive taken to just saying no to them, if it doesnt work then you could try trading or use shock tactics, take them to the store and show them just how much more gluten free foods cost, they should soon get the point and leave you alone

[Alou123]

Just tell them how they are expencive. You don't have to feel guilty because, they are!!!!!!!! If they a good person, they'll understand. If they're boggas, WHO CARES WHAT THEY THINK when you say "no"?

~Small(12) and Pizzaless~

(~Anna Louise~)

[Auntie Lurlynn]

Just be really nice and polite. Explain how expensive your snacks are and why you can't share them. If they really are you friends, they will understand, if they don't understand, why hang out with them?

[allison lynn xo]

just explain to them that it's expensive and hard to find.

they should understand.

if they don't, then those are some pretty crappy friends.

[nikky]

after my freinds got used to me eating differently they stopped asking to try my food, and as long as i dont draw too much attention to myself when im eating no-one even notices.. except one freind, Alex who saw me eating pitta bread and when she saw there was flour on it she thought id gone mad (it was rice flour)

[redfreckle8]

Does anyone have any suggestions for room mates? I'm in college and live in a house with 3 other girls. I just became gluten-free while living with them this year. So when ever one of us would bake we'd share with all. But now they bake cookies and cakes and of course I can't eat them anymore.....so then i bake something gluten-free/DF and am so excited because I can actually eat it and I can tell they're offended when I don't offer them any. Once one of them ate half the gluten-free brownies I made. It's like HELLO I don't eat your baked goods so don't eat mine. Lately, I've just been packaging them up and hiding them on my food self. But does anyone suggest anything else?! I like the comments about just straight up telling them but it's hard with people you live with. I will totally do that when I go out though. Thanks all! Cheers!

[wilem008]

Hmm, sounds to me like your room mates dont really understand your condition.

I had the same trouble with my room mate...we've been living together for years (about 6 years all up) and we used to always cook our meals together but a while back I switched to a lactose free diet (believing I had IBS and dairy was my trigger) and that was really hard, she would get really grumpy when I told her we would have to cook different things (its easier and cheaper to cook for two than it is for one!) and I think its because she never really understood how I was feeling physically.

I have since learnt that lactose is not my trigger and Im currently being tested for celiac and will most likely switch to a gluten free diet soon. My room mate and I have been talking to a mutual friend of ours who has celiac and it has finally occured to my room mate that when I say I feel sick, I actually mean it and Im not faking it! I think she thought it was all in my head!! She's now encouraging me to go gluten free and is being much more sympathetic....

So, perhaps thats whats wrong with your room mates?! Becuase they dont suffer from gluten, they dont understand how it make you feel? Maybe they think its a bit of a joke or that your celiac isnt real?!

Id try talking to them, explain how you feel when you have gluten and ask them to repect what you can and can not eat....Im sure they're behaving like this becuase they dont fully understand and cant empathise with you.

Talk to them.

Good luck!

[nikky]

Does anyone have any suggestions for room mates? I'm in college and live in a house with 3 other girls. I just became gluten-free while living with them this year. So when ever one of us would bake we'd share with all. But now they bake cookies and cakes and of course I can't eat them anymore.....so then i bake something gluten-free/DF and am so excited because I can actually eat it and I can tell they're offended when I don't offer them any. Once one of them ate half the gluten-free brownies I made. It's like HELLO I don't eat your baked goods so don't eat mine. Lately, I've just been packaging them up and hiding them on my food self. But does anyone suggest anything else?! I like the comments about just straight up telling them but it's hard with people you live with. I will totally do that when I go out though. Thanks all! Cheers!

They probably dont understand very much. My freinds were all like "well we used to share our food with you" when i told them i wasnt going to be giving them anything anymore and thought i was bonkers when i started reading all the labels to foods they (and i) had eaten in the past with no problems.

Show them how much more your baking ingredients cost, tell them if they want to share then they have to pay towards the ingredients or learn how to make gluten free food.. that should wake them up. Explain to them in as much detail as possible what gluten does to your body to be sure they understand that you arent trying to be difficult or selfish.

If all else fails, challenge them to go gluten free for a week to see how hard it is for you and how much easier it would be if they stopped eating what you made for yourself.