Help Needed With Party

[nikky]

ok, my cousins are getting christened on easter Sunday ( Maykayla and Jack). It will be my first experience of a party scince being diagnosed and most of the people there dont even know i have coeliac (long story). Well anyway Sunday is also Maykaylas birthday and there is a party for her in the afternoon.

Anyone got any tips on how to handle about 30+ people asking me why im eating differently and how to resist temptation and minimise the risks of cross contamination. Thankyou in advance.

[imsohungry]

Well,

You have several options:

1. If you think you may need to explain your diet to curious and/or nosey people, you can simply say something like, "I'm on a specific diet recommended/Rx by my doctor." If they ask more questions, they are way too nosey.

2. You may find that with so many people at the party, people aren't paying much attention to what you eat.

3. If you see something available that is safe for you to eat (and not cross-contaminated), pile your plate up with that food. (If anyone asks, say "this (these) are my favorite!)

4. Don't forget to eat before you go and pack a few gluten-free treats in your purse/pockets for party time!

Good luck! -Julie

[missy'smom]

I bring my food everywhere and find that most people don't ask. I brought an entire Christmas dinner in a tupperware divided plate to a Xmas dinner and they just looked at me with the "what's up with her? " looks and I just pretended not to notice and carried on as usual. If asked I would just say I have multiple food allergies and leave it at that. I'm CF as well so it's not far from the truth.

CC is tricky. You really have to analyze the set up carefully. Even fruits and veg can be contaminated if the hostess was busy and cut them on the same cutting board without cleaning up thoroughly after cutting breads or cake or if she just rinsed the knife instead of washing it thoroughly with soap. A few times at church I have asked the person who made the dish questions to determine if it was safe and taken a serving of something off the buffet before the crowd got there and set it aside on a plate for myself.

[kbtoyssni]

I wouldn't even bother with the party food. There's a high risk of CC from anything at a buffet. Someone touches the pretzels and then touches the gluten-free food and you'd have no idea. I'd just eat well before you go and bring your own food. If it's just snack food, it's easy to avoid. If it's more of a sit-down lunch, then you'll get plenty of questions. I just say I have a ton of food allergies. If people inquire further I say I have celiac, can't eat WBRO. Then they usually ask what happens if I eat it and I say I get really sick (trying not to get too specific while people are eating!) maybe mention stomach aches, joint/muscle pain, fatigue. THEN I often get questions like "well, this dish shouldn't haven gluten in it, want to try?" to which I respond, well, you just dipped your bread in it so it's no longer gluten-free... I'm really positive about everything so I find people are genuinely interested and I think education about the disease is really important and this is a great way to do it.