Wishing A Cc Free Christmas!

[sandsurfgirl]

Here's to all my wonderful celiac friends. Wishing you a Christmas with no CC and a quiet tummy! Hopefully we can all post that we survived without getting glutened by Christmas hams and yams and such.

[Juliebove]

So far we made it. I was very worried though because there were three pies and my mom kept passing plates of pie over our fudge and cookies. But nothing fell.

[ravenwoodglass]

The same to you and all here. No chance of CC here as I am cooking at home. I gave my furry children their gifts a short while ago....and started a kitty greed war before I could even get their toys out of the bag. Lots of get back..swat...no me first..swat...no me..swat..no me.. and of course the little dog prefers the catnip mice and noisy balls over his stuffy. Off to referee, show the dog that his toy makes noise, grab the catnip and play chase around the house.

Merry Christmas to all.

[cahill]

We had our Christmas Dinner yesterday at my daughters .She eats gluten free but her husband does not.

I was a little concerned but we made it thru with no CC yeah

Merry Christmas everyone

[Mexican Trailrunner]

MERRY CHRISTMAS, one and all! Thank you for being here, thank you for this site, and mostly thank you for all your generous posts and advice. You all are spot on!

This is my first celiac Christmas. Pretty much sucks, huh? I have 4 invitations for sumptuous feasts with friends but won't partake in any of them. I will, however, go and have fun and visit with them and deliver presents and enjoy the day. . .then I will go home and eat. I am only 4 months gluten-free. Doc says I shouldn't eat anything that was not prepared by me in my gluten-free kitchen for the first year. sigh

Just knowing you all are here makes me feel so much better.

Thanks to Open Original Shared Link and a few others, I am eating amazing, gluten-clean, meals and feeling like I haven't felt in years!

All the best for a healthy 2011.

Marilyn

[diane64]

It's my first gluten free Christmas as well! It's also my first Christmas with my fiance's family, which makes it a bit trickier. I am eating before we go, bringing my own food and then probably eating again at home later!

Good luck to all and thanks so much for the advice and support! It really helps!

Diane

PS- I got the Gluten Free Guide for Dummies- it seems pretty good!

[i-geek]

It's my first gluten-free Christmas (last Christmas was my unofficial gluten challenge/last hurrah) and so far, so good. I've survived two restaurant lunches (the second in an awesome restaurant with a big gluten-free menu) and Christmas Eve dinner at my parents' house (my mom has been super awesome about gluten-free cooking and roasted a whole beef tenderloin). I made four batches of candy and four batches of cookies, all gluten-free. Now the real challenge will be tonight's dinner with my husband's parents (although they have been asking all sorts of questions about safe foods and food prep and husband had food allergies as a kid, so they do understand the complications) as well as husband's big family party tomorrow. His celiac uncle is hosting, but considering the menu includes the line "cheesecake from [local bakery], crust not gluten-free", I'm thinking I should bring my own food. I'll definitely bring a big dessert plate.

[mushroom]

Had a great non-cc Christmas picnic in the park - two sets of couple friends (who have never cooked for us before) and their various assorted family members. Barbecued venison (freshly hunted by the chef) along with the mandatory sausages of which we did not partake although he thought the venison ones were gluten free (stuffed by the butcher from his own venison). I made oven fried chicken which the kids all hoed into, along with potato salad for DH and the others, a shrimp, avocado and bacon salad with a creamy garlic dressing, asparagus salad with balsamic vinaigrette. There was oodles of food which everyone had been instructed to make gluten free and they all told us how they had made it - I declined the dish where she wasn't sure if she had used malt or apple cider vinegar, although DH decided to risk it and is no worse for wear. It was so sweet of them to do this for us. The kids played cricket and flew kites, the adults indulged in champagne and wine (and thermos coffee), we had berries in all different combinations coming out our ears but mostly into our tummies, pavlova, other meringues and cream, pineapple and mango, not to mention all the appetizers we started with . Temps had cooled down to 72 degrees and we had reserved a spot on the banks of a stream under big spreading trees. The biggest problem was keeping those sneaky mallard ducks out of the food basket - they ate half of the Christmas mince tartlets

All in all, a very successful and enjoyable gluten free Christmas.

[anabananakins]

Here's to all my wonderful celiac friends. Wishing you a Christmas with no CC and a quiet tummy! Hopefully we can all post that we survived without getting glutened by Christmas hams and yams and such.

Happy Christmas! I'm doing well so far, it's far exceeded my expectations (first visit to my mum's place since I went gluten free) And my fussy sister even enjoyed the gluten free yorkshire pudding, and I'd expected grumblings. So yay!

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy holiday!

[kayo]

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year everyone! I'm so thankful for this site and for all of you!

This is my 2nd Christmas gluten-free (as well as lactose and soy) and I didn't get sick. I did get sick my first gluten-free holiday, likely from CC. This time I brought food everywhere we went. Dinner for me to warm up and food to share. I did a lot of cooking and baking this year. Some successes and some busts and some things were so yummy we ate them all before the holiday got here!

This year we hosted Thanksgiving too. Everything gluten-free, lactose and soy free. Everyone cleared their plates and said how yummy everything was. At Christmas yesterday people were saying how that was their first Thanksgiving they felt satisfied but not over stuffed or lethargic after. This led to a conversation about how gluten seems to affect everyone in some way and maybe we could all do with less of it n our diet. (not us gluten-free full timers of course). It's nice to see gluten eaters accepting the way we have to live and even experiencing it's wonderful side effects.

[Lesx2]

Happy Christmas! I'm doing well so far, it's far exceeded my expectations (first visit to my mum's place since I went gluten free) And my fussy sister even enjoyed the gluten free yorkshire pudding, and I'd expected grumblings. So yay!

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy holiday!

gluten-free Yorkshire Pudding ? Oh please, oh please share recipe or product name

[i-geek]

I survived! My in-laws roasted a safe ham and served it with spinach salad (homemade dressing, all safe ingredients), mashed sweet potatoes and homemade cranberry-walnut sauce. I brought food from home for breakfast and lunch, and the extended family dinner main dish was gluten-free homemade sloppy joe meat with either buns or corn chips. Couldn't eat all of the sides, but there were a couple of bean-veggie salads and a fruit-jello dish that I could eat safely. I ate my own cookies and candies for dessert both nights (as did many gluten-eaters, and they all raved). Yay!

So great to hear others' success stories, too. Here's to a happy, gluten-free new year.

[anabananakins]

gluten-free Yorkshire Pudding ? Oh please, oh please share recipe or product name

My mum just made it the regular way but using gluten free plain flour. We use the White Wings brand plain flour (I'm in Australia) I'll ask her for the recipe and I'll post it later!

update: ok, she came back and I got her to tell me:

1 cup flour and a pinch of salt. Make a well in the flour and mix in 2 eggs, then alternate with milk and water until the batter makes the consistency of runny cream.

Let batter stand (say, half an hour to a few hours. Mum makes the batter when she puts the roast in but doesn’t cook the Yorkshire pudding until after the roast is out so it sits for a few hours).

Pre heat baking tins for Yorkshire pudding while roast is still in the oven. Take the roast out and turn the oven up to 400F. Put enough fat in the tins to cover the base of the tins when melted and allow to heat until smoking hot. Check batter is liquidy enough (add more liquid to return to runny cream consistency if needed) then pour to cover bottom of tins about 1 cm deep. Quickly return to oven and bake for about 45 minutes, until golden brown (though colour varies) and a skewer comes out clean.

The gluten free flour we used is White Wings brand and the ingredients list says: Starch (maize, tapioca), rice flour, vegetable gum (464). And usually I loathe tapioca but this flour tastes fine and works pretty much like regular white flour. We noticed the Yorkshire pudding was a bit more doughy than usual but still very tasty. Enjoy!

[psawyer]

gluten-free Yorkshire Pudding ? Oh please, oh please share recipe or product name

Our recipe, which we have been using for years:

Yorkshire Pudding (Gluten-Free)

Persons served: 2 4

chick pea flour 50g 100g

rice flour 50g 100g

eggs 1 2

milk 200ml 400ml

salt pinch pinch

Use a regular muffin pan.

1. Half an hour before the pudding is to go into the oven, combine ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat for 2-3 minutes. Use a good pinch of salt as this helps set and raise the pudding. Allow to stand and thicken for 15 minutes. Beat again for 1-2 minutes. This adds more air to the mixture and makes a nicer pudding.

2. While the mixture is standing, prepare muffin pan with Pam or any other spray vegetable oil. Don't be light handed with the spray. The more spray there is, the easier to remove pudding from the pan (easier to clean up, also). If not using all the muffin cups put

[MelindaLee]

I had a wonderful Christmas which was gluten-free and no cc! It started with my son's college graduation party which was TOTALLY gluten-free (and no one could tell the difference). At my mother's everything was wonderful and almost all gluten-free (Even calling me from the grocery store to ask about a couple ingredients). I brought things to my MIL so I knew some were safe. Best feeling Christmas I have ever had, and my first since going gluten-free. My sister noted that after the graduation party she never left a party not feeling bloated. (She has been tested now, too, though she has avoided gluten so much her test results were inconclusive. I think she will be going gluten-free regardless)

Just imagine what 2011 will bring!

[Googles]

I survived my Christmas trip. I ate out at more restaurants than I have eaten out at since I was diagnosed. My family's dinner was naturally gluten free until the pie came out. (they made a custard for me.) It was really great that everyone was careful to make sure that I didn't get sick. Yay.

[Marz]

Merry Christmas everyone! Also my first Christmas gluten free.

A good friend invited me over for supper during the week - I made a big green salad for myself ("to share"), and just took the bits and pieces she was serving that I knew was definitely gluten free. Same for family Christmas at my mom's - large portion of my own salad, and pieces of gamon and other salad I knew was safe. No fuss, no hassle

Made it through mostly without getting gluten-ed - the exception was a gluten-free muffin mix I made that was somehow not gluten free.... Made an awesome large mince pie (the little tarts were way too fiddly with the soft dough, so I said stuff it and made a big pie for myself). Wooo mince pie and cream!

Raven- Christmas with the furry children are always the best! Ours spent the day splayed out on the tiles because it was way too hot, and enjoyed getting snacks throughout the day since I was on leave