Newbie- Help W/social Eating Situations

[ftmomma]

So it's only been about a day that I've "offically" know it is celiac that is causing all of my painful symptoms.

I am so ready to start feeling better, going gluten free will be a relief and relatively "easy" to do at home.

However, it feels like we have a social situation every weekend for the next month or two. Kids bday parties, 2 family reunions, and a neighborhood pool party.

They are all "pass the dish" events (except for the kids bday parties). What are some good sides to bring other than just fruit and or veggies? How do I be on the look out for cross contamination without being rude to the hosts?

This weekend we are going to a clambake. I am thinking steamed clams will be safe. I can also fill up with salad or sides (that I bring) and have fruit for dessert?

And the plan for the BBQ - just have a hotdog or hamburger without a bun? Baked beans safe? What brand of chips could I bring?

Is there a site to just plug in a brand of food to see if it is "safe"? Or do you just learn the ropes by reading labels and calling the manufacturer?

[GlutenFreeManna]

First, make several things that you can eat OR bring some back up snacks in your purse. If you make safe things either be sure to be the first one through the line or fix yourself a plate at home before you arrive. Once several people have gone through it's pretty likely that someone will take a spoon from a dish with gluten and use it in your gluten free dish or they touch a dinner roll and then use their hands to grab some veggies or stick their glutened hands in a bag of chips. So it's important that you get your food first and don't go back for seconds.

For items prepared on the grill, bring foil and ask that your burger or hot dog be wrapped in foil to cook. That will prevent CC from the grill surface and the tongs. You might even want to bring your own burger too because many people use things like soy sauce or other gluten-containing marinades or seasonings to flavor burgers.

Definitely talk to your hosts before the party and explain the situation. I usually don't ask for any special accommodation except what I listed above (there is a MUCH bigger chance of getting glutened by someone else preparing your food, even if they are trying to make it gluten free for you, they don't often think about cc issues). I just explain that I will bring plenty of food that I can eat to share with everyone and I will need my meat cooked in foil.

[Coinkey]

So it's only been about a day that I've "offically" know it is celiac that is causing all of my painful symptoms.

I am so ready to start feeling better, going gluten free will be a relief and relatively "easy" to do at home.

However, it feels like we have a social situation every weekend for the next month or two. Kids bday parties, 2 family reunions, and a neighborhood pool party.

They are all "pass the dish" events (except for the kids bday parties). What are some good sides to bring other than just fruit and or veggies? How do I be on the look out for cross contamination without being rude to the hosts?

This weekend we are going to a clambake. I am thinking steamed clams will be safe. I can also fill up with salad or sides (that I bring) and have fruit for dessert?

And the plan for the BBQ - just have a hotdog or hamburger without a bun? Baked beans safe? What brand of chips could I bring?

Is there a site to just plug in a brand of food to see if it is "safe"? Or do you just learn the ropes by reading labels and calling the manufacturer?

I'm new to it too, so I'm not sure on potluck parties and how not to appear rude to people.

I know just having a hotdog or hamburger without the bun is a bad idea. The people handling the food will not have a great chance of washing their hands between assembling a full hotdog and preparing yours. Also the grill may have been subject to toasting buns and other gluteny items. Some hotdogs have rusk as filler. Double check with the packaging and try to make it yourself on tinfoil. Baked beans depend on the brand. I find that Lays chips tend to be alright (original, salt and vinegar. I haven't tried any others)

As much as I've looked there is no site that you can simply plug in the brand and find out if it's gluten free. I google the brand and item and the word gluten and it'll usually come up with someone who has directly asked the manufacturer and their response. (ie: Snickers Gluten).

Interested to read what more experienced gluten free people have to say on this.

[GlutenFreeManna]

Also, I forgot to answer your question about brands. I've seen posts about Lays Stax being gluten free because they are made on dedicated equipment. I've see many brands of tortilla chips say gluten free right on the package (Grande and Snyders of Hanover are two I can think of, just be sure they say gluten free), so chips and salsa or chips and guacamole are a good snack to take.

You can search this website for brands that are safe. Just type the brand name in the search box. Be sure to pay attention to the date the post was made however and double check the ingredients and the manufactures' website if it is a really old post.

Potato salad is a good side that's easy to make gluten free. I made a really yummy one this week. Here's the recipe I used: Open Original Shared Link

Pasta salad with gluten free pasta. I haven't tried any recipes yet for this, but if you google Gluten Free Pasta Salad you'll find many recipes.

Make your own baked beans from scratch and they should be safe (I don't know brands for baked beans, but I have heard Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce is gluten-free).

[knittingmonkey]

How do I be on the look out for cross contamination without being rude to the hosts?...

... What brand of chips could I bring?

Is there a site to just plug in a brand of food to see if it is "safe"? Or do you just learn the ropes by reading labels and calling the manufacturer?

You can't be too careful with cross-contamination issues. I tell gluten-people not to cook anything for me, EVER! There's no limit to the ways in which they could make a mistake. If they have a gluten-free product which is in an unopened package I might eat some. You won't be rude if you just say "No, thanks." You should never feel like you have to explain your reasons for not eating something. If you fell pressured to explain, THEY are being rude, just walk away.

Eat a good meal before the party starts, and bring plenty of gluten-free food with you. I never eat anything a gluten-eater brings, But that's me, I'm just so unsure of their cooking practices and don't care to discuss them in a crowd. Assume it's all contaminated. Be alert for someone switching out your gluten-free spoon for one with gluten on it, or reaching into the butter or other spreadable with a gluteny knife. It really helps to be the first in line, and then don't return for seconds. Wrapping meat to cook on a gluteny grill may seem like a good idea, but I'm uncomfortable cooking with aluminum, especially when it's so fragile like foil is, I'd use parchment or skip the meat.

I've developed a fondness for Kettle brand chips.

There's a list on this website, of gluten-free products. Learn to recognise gluten in the ingredients lists on the side of packaged foods. Learn to cook your own stuff using fresh ingredients. Learn to divert people's attention away from you and your food habits.

Good luck!

[Mack the Knife]

1. Don't eat anything that anyone else cooks unless they are a coeliac themselves or have a lot of experience cooking for a coeliac. Even if someone means well and tries really hard, the gluten free diet is too fraught with perils for someone to master it quickly. It took me months before I stopped glutening myself accidentally so I certainly don't expect anyone else to get it right immediately.

2. Beware of cross contamination at parties. Even if you cook food and bring it with you. The second you share it or put it down on the table it is on danger of cc. For some reason people seem to feel the need to hover over the gluten free food with their plates laden with crusty bread - dropping crumbs everywhere. Shared serving utensils are also a big danger.

3. Beware of people reaching into a bowl of gluten chips and then reaching into your gluten free chips. That is enough to cause cc.

4. Avoid dips. Even if gluten free crackers are provided, you can't be sure that someone hasn't dipped into them with a piece of bread.

5. Eat a substantial meal before you get there so you fell full and content. You can face just about anything on a full stomach.

6. Have snacks in your bag in case the food you bring gets contaminated accidentally by some well meaning person.

7. Have a treat waiting for you at home. That way if the day goes badly and you are feeling sorry for yourself, you can be happy in the knowledge that you have a big chunk of your favourite gluten free cake and ice cream (or whatever) waiting for you when you get home.

[Mack the Knife]

Also, I forgot to say don't stress about people thinking your diet is weird. People are on all sorts of diets these day for all sorts of reasons.

You'll probably find that there will be someone who's vegan, or lactose intolerant, or on a liver cleansing diet, or who's only drinking fruit juice for a month, or whose kid goes into anaphylactic shock if he eats peanuts.

You might be the only coeliac but I bet you won't be the only one there with some kind of dietary restriction.

[Juliebove]

Baked beans might not be safe. Some canned beans contain gluten. But your biggest concern at an event like that is cross contamination. If I were you I would eat beforehand, sneak off to my vehicle and eat there, or only eat what I brought. But in doing that you would risk cross contamination.

What I have done in similar situations is bring a dish or two to share and then bring my own food. I generally will bring a big salad with all sorts of veggies, beans, cheese and nuts. If anyone asks, I just say I am on a special diet.

[i-geek]

First, make several things that you can eat OR bring some back up snacks in your purse. If you make safe things either be sure to be the first one through the line or fix yourself a plate at home before you arrive. Once several people have gone through it's pretty likely that someone will take a spoon from a dish with gluten and use it in your gluten free dish or they touch a dinner roll and then use their hands to grab some veggies or stick their glutened hands in a bag of chips. So it's important that you get your food first and don't go back for seconds.

This. We went to a BBQ at our friends' house on the 4th of July. I brought a bag of chips to pass and made sure to open the bag and get first crack before it got passed, because pretty much everyone else grabbed a wheat bun and then put their hands right into the chip bag. Ditto for the fruit salad- before dinner it was fine and I grabbed a spoonful of it, but then some of the gluten-eaters started picking fruit right out of the bowl after grabbing wheat buns. And I don't know how many times I've seen people switch out serving spoons. I'm probably guilty of it myself pre-gluten-free. Watch out for condiments, too. Either someone will have grabbed the bottle with glutened hands, dragged the nozzle all over their gluten sandwich, or double-dipped a crumb-coated knife in the jar. If you're a big fan of a certain condiment on your grilled food, probably best to bring your own.

For items prepared on the grill, bring foil and ask that your burger or hot dog be wrapped in foil to cook. That will prevent CC from the grill surface and the tongs. You might even want to bring your own burger too because many people use things like soy sauce or other gluten-containing marinades or seasonings to flavor burgers.

This too. Also, they might have hot dogs or meatless burgers that have gluten in them. We brought our own burger patties to the party (I brought lettuce leaves to wrap mine in) and I ended up wrapping mine completely in foil before grilling because everyone else was cooking veggie burgers and veggie dogs on the grill- wheat gluten is one of the main ingredients in those things (and CC from a grill surface is definitely a big risk- I've made myself quite ill that way).

So really, these are the key pieces of advice. I followed these and I didn't get sick at our friends' house, even though the gluten-eaters were grabbing burger buns and veggie burgers and then touching absolutely everything else (it's kind of alarming to watch- like watching someone dip their hands in something toxic and then grab every single surface available). I've become more comfortable either bringing my own food or eating first, depending on the situation. Either people are reasonable and decent and will leave the subject alone, or they'll be jerks. I haven't encountered many of the latter. Most people just want me to be safe and have fun, even if they don't fully understand the situation.

[sandsurfgirl]

I bring something for everyone to eat at the potluck, but I pull a portion out for myself and keep it in a cooler. I bought a cooler from Target that looks like a bag although for guys that wouldn't work.

One of my favorite "go to" dishes for a potluck that makes a good meal for me is taco salad. You can adjust ingedients as necessary. Like if dairy is bothering me I leave out the cheese.

I will eat stuff prepared by certain gluten eaters like my parents cuz I know they are careful.

I never assume a burger or dog is safe because of soy sauce. Chicken either. If it's a BBQ bring your own meat wrapped in foil and ask them if you can grill it.

Here's my Taco Salad for pot lucks.

Ground beef or ground turkey cooked and let cool in the fridge. Season with taco seasoning or salt and pepper.

Romaine lettuce

Shredded cheese

Kidney beans

Corn tortilla chips broken up

Other diced veggies like carrots, zucchini, green onions

Kraft Catalina dressing

Toss it all together and it makes a complete meal.

[ftmomma]

All of these tips are sooooooooo helpful and encouraging!

Too bad gluten doesn't show up on one of those black lights....you know like on 20/20 when they show you how quickly and easily you can contiminate yourself, your kitchen and your kids with salmonella when preparing bad chicken.

I will definitley be on the lookout this weekend. Bday party with friends on Sat and family reunion on Sunday.

[vbecton]

Good luck ftmomma! I'm a newbie and just went to a BBQ 2 weeks ago. I almost had a coronary because it was my first experience to eat at someone's house after going gluten-free. The host's mother is Celiac, so she called me ahead of time to see what sauces were safe and such (which was super sweet!!!!). I then explained about CC (the grill, etc..) and she said they would do their best, but I told her I'd rather bring my own food because I'm still new and don't know all the things to avoid yet. Everyone is happy. I offered to bring chips n' dips. I made them, no problem right. BUT, I forgot to pull my portions out before everyone's gluten grubby hands got in them. AND, also, of all days for the host to make a homemade, from scratch cake, this was the day. Flour was floating around like free samples at costco. I had to evacuate to the outside pool and only went back inside once to heat my food up. No one hardly noticed that I was eating differently thanks to their alcohol consumption

All the above advice should make my next BBQ less "oh my gosh this place is a gluten bananza" shocking.

[ftmomma]

Flour was floating around like free samples at costco. .... No one hardly noticed that I was eating differently thanks to their alcohol consumption

All the above advice should make my next BBQ less "oh my gosh this place is a gluten bananza" shocking

I'm laughing so hard....thank you!! Much needed giggles and I can totally picture it! I'm taking a break from the process of cleaning out my pantry...and was wanting a hazmat suit about 30 mins ago when I got to my baking stuff- OH THE FLOUR!!