Sports Banquets, Holiday Office Lunches, Argh!

[susanm]

The other night I went to my son's banquet at school for his sports team. It was a salad and pizza party with all gluteny desserts. I brought a fruit salad for dessert. I basically had salad and fruit all night.

Now we're having an office Thanksgiving lunch. On the menu is stuffed chicken (why do they have to stuff it??!) and eggplant parmesan (probably breaded), with potatoes, squash, and stuffing. I guess it's potatoes and squash for me.

I'm still new at this, and it's really getting on my nerves. The thing I don't understand is that the there's a woman on the party committee with celiac (though she works at home and probably won't be coming), and another woman whose brother has celiac. You think this would register?? Sorry, I'm just getting really frustrated.

[jjc]

I know how you feel - I went to a retirement party last night with hors d'oeuvres and could not eat a single one of them (since I can't have dairy either). However, I could eat the grapes that were a garnish on the cheese plate, so I think I might have taken ALL of them Oh, and I had a few pieces of pepperoni. I looked like I wasn't joining in and it was definitely awkward.

Then today I was at a huge food show (to see Paula Deen) and she baked sausage balls and was pitching them at the audience. My only thought was "If I catch one I can't even eat it!!" She was very sweet. But, my only options for taste testing at the whole show were salsa and chips and some nuts. It was very depressing.

[Welda Johnson]

Hi,

Though I've had Celiac for years and years, it took me a long time to realize that I am in control of this diet. No one else knows what I've gone through, and no one else is responsible for my food, just me. I have learned to carry an ice chest with me when I go places, and to throw in frozen blue ice to keep things fresh. It doesn't matter where I go, I always carry food with me. I have a plastic container in the trunk of the car that holds juice, drinks, allowable snacks, etc. Then I just have to put my salad, chicken, meat, fruits, etc. in my little ice chest as I get ready to leave, and, therefore, I'm always prepared. This becomes second nature after awhile. I've even gotten to the point that I don't break out into tears anymore when I order in a restaurant and they bring my food with cheese or croutons. I just expect that they probably will not get it right, and am pleasantly surprised when they do. I eat only meats, fruits and vegetables, so most of my food is fresh, not packaged, but life became much easier when I began to take responsibility for myself. I wish you well in your quests for good health. Welda

[missy'smom]

I do much like Welda. I bring my food almost everywhere. I make no apologies or explanations unless asked and I'm usually not asked. There are various ways of approaching the bringing of one's own food. It takes some organization or planning, whether you menu plan ahead or prepare emergency kits of shelf stable items, but being able to just sit back and eat and chat or whatever, is worth it. I have stashes of individual servings of main dishes(meatballs, meatloaf, chicken strips etc.) in the freezer. I'll sometimes make double or 1 1/2 the recipe and save some for dinner that night. Microwave to warm up, pop into a container with some simply cooked veg(fresh or frozen) and rice or potato. I make one new batch of something each week or once every two weeks. I know some who have large ziplocks of tuna pouches, apple sauce, gluten-free crackers, individual mayo packs etc. stashed for take and run.

susanm, if it was me, I'd bring my own meal to the Thanksgiving. This isn't the only way of dealing with it but that's what I would do. I'll be bringing my own(and my son's) meal to a Thanksgiving dinner. I'm going to make and freeze a couple of dishes/desserts in individual servings next week so that I can relax the week of Thanksgiving and have some on hand for upcoming Christmas. Around the holidays, make and freeze a couple of small desserts for taking to all the places where holiday goodies will be served-cakes, cheesecake, even pie in muffin tins. Just mix up the regular recipe and divide up amoung the tins(mini muffin or regular muffin tins)-for pies(like pumpkin or pecan) I roll out crust and cut out circles with a round cutter that's just a bit bigger than the size of the tins. Bake a shorter time. I use purchased cake mixes for convenience and make and freeze as cupcakes. We'll eat some of the simple dishes that are provided and bring our own plates of others. I have divided plates with lids that were inexpensive and available at the local grocery store. For your meal, you could roast a bone in-skin on chicken breast. Sprinkle on your favorite spice or herb blend and roast for about 20 min. until juices run clear.

[susanm]

Thanks for the reality check. I did ask the party coordinator if they could order one piece of chicken not stuffed. If not, I'll just bring my own piece of chicken and eat the potatoes and squash.

I understand not expecting people to understand or accommodate us, but if we always quietly eat our own food, how will people ever have any awareness of this?

It's going to take me a little while longer to get a grip on this, especially with the holidays coming. I would like my husband's family to have some awareness of this so I can eat and partake in the festivities and so they won't be insulted that I'm not eating their food. I think they'd be perfectly willing, but I just need to let them know. They accommodate my mother-in-law who is diabetic and my sister-in-law who has other eating issues, so why not me?