If A Restaurant Doesnt Have A gluten-free Menu

[Nicole H.]

So I went out to eat with my friends and I was planning on not eating. I ask them if they had a gluten-free menu. The waitress said no but she had a list of everything on the menu that contains any kind of allergy type thing. So I saw that they had "naked" chicken tenders which were just grilled chicken tenders with seasoning. I asked her if I could have it without seasoning and where it would be grilled(i.e if it is grilled with things that would have any kind of flour, wheat...gluten...ya know?!) she said it would only be grilled on the same grill as the burgers. SOOOOO I got it. Now im not a sensitive celiac, I dont even know if Im ever "glutened"...but for my overall health of not getting diabetes or cancer, do you think it was a wise decision or should I just stay away from things like this?

[psawyer]

Yes, I would eat it, but I would ask the server to alert the kitchen to take extra care--clean utensils and the like.

[Nicole H.]

oops I didnt ask for them to clean the utensils or anything like that. Im still learning a lot! Am I suppose to be 100% gluten free after a month and a half?!? Will I ever be 100% gluten free ever?!

[NJKen]

Am I suppose to be 100% gluten free after a month and a half?!? Will I ever be 100% gluten free ever?!

If you decide to prepare all of your own meals from basic ingredients in your own kitchen, then you can become 100% gluten-free. Otherwise, no, you are unlikely to have a truly gluten-free diet over the course of a year. As long as you maintain a gluten-free diet as a goal, emphasizing to food servers that whatever they bring you must be gluten-free, you will probably keep the occasional, accidental gluten intakes to a level low enough to avoid the most serious consequences of continuing to ingest "normal" amounts of gluten. If you are not particularly gluten sensitive, you may never know if your restaurant food was cross-contaminated with a few grains of gluten. Your experience seems like it was a good one; I wouldn't stress about it. It took me about a year before I really felt like I had figured out this diet.

[Gemini]

So I went out to eat with my friends and I was planning on not eating. I ask them if they had a gluten-free menu. The waitress said no but she had a list of everything on the menu that contains any kind of allergy type thing. So I saw that they had "naked" chicken tenders which were just grilled chicken tenders with seasoning. I asked her if I could have it without seasoning and where it would be grilled(i.e if it is grilled with things that would have any kind of flour, wheat...gluten...ya know?!) she said it would only be grilled on the same grill as the burgers. SOOOOO I got it. Now im not a sensitive celiac, I dont even know if Im ever "glutened"...but for my overall health of not getting diabetes or cancer, do you think it was a wise decision or should I just stay away from things like this?

Nicole....were you diagnosed using blood work? If so, you can easily find out if you are ingesting gluten on a regular basis as it will show in your repeat blood testing. I eat out from time to time and have had absolutely zero problems with it. However, I am careful where I eat and frequent the same places so they know me and my needs.

As far as being 100% gluten free, you could start splitting hairs here. You also won't have much of a life if you never eat out and socialize, plus it's good training for restaurants. There has been an explosion of gluten-free menu's and places that cater to us all because they realize there is a need. You can also have a restaurant pan sear something for you, in a clean pan. That has always worked for me.

In the blood testing, there is a normal limit given on the testing results. If you fail into this normal level, with a goal towards the low side of normal, you are doing just fine. No one is going to register zero on the test, unless you live like a monk and the medical profession will tell you that. I do eat out, like I said and my numbers are some of the lowest my doctor has recorded....but they are not zero and I could care less. I am asymptomatic now and all my health issues have improved dramatically so I view that as a success. Once you learn the diet and it's tricks, relax and you will be fine.

[Nicole H.]

you know reading this made me feel so much better! I've been stressing a lot and this def. helped comfort me and help me calm down! I really appreciate you guys writing back! thank you so much!

[happygirl]

This may help when you eat out (restaurant cards): Open Original Shared Link

[sixtytwo]

If a restaurant has a char-broiler, you can be pretty sure that your grilled chicken, burger or steak would be safe cooked there, I am. Then you could order a baked potato and a salad with oil and vinegar and be fine. I am sure there are lots of celiacs that have had this dinner a lot. It can be ordered with little fuss and be pretty safe. Just make sure to have them leave off the croutons on your salad, I still have trouble remembering that. Barbara