Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Halloween At The Office

bigbird16

By bigbird16
in Coping with Celiac Disease

Recommended Posts

bigbird16 Apprentice
bigbird16
Posted

We've started doing these "morale boosting" activities at the office (when what really needs to be done is some manager training, but that's another story). They almost always involve cupcakes and cookies and sometimes pizza. If I know they're happening, I bring something suitable for me and usually don't care what they're eating. Last year's Halloween thing was great -- we decorated pumpkins and no food was involved. Because the pumpkins were deemed "too hard" this year's Halloween activity will be cookie decorating. I offered to make the cookies (to avoid the inevitable crumbs all over the conference room and the cc on the decorating materials) and was told I could make my own. Pretty much figured that would be the answer. I'm fine with that. Just stay away from me with those crumbs. So I'm going to pull out the stops and make my own cookie and bring my own serious decorating supplies (used to decorate cakes) and make the most amazing Halloween cookie. I'm thinking something 3D -- maybe a pumpkin made out of multiple cookies glued together with royal icing or a headless horseman made of fondant with a pumpkin-decorated cookie for his head or a spider up on glass-like sugar legs. It'll go beyond their tube icing and candy sprinkles.

And for my birthday this month, screw their cupcakes that I can't eat. I'll bring in the most fabulously decorated cake ever and make my tastebuds happy. :D

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


saintmaybe Collaborator
saintmaybe
Posted

Absolutely! People always act like I'm trying to poison them when I ask them to try gluten-free anything. I'd find it amusing if I didn't also find it ignorant as ****.

These are the same people who will moan for hours about being on restricted diabetic diets (much worse IMHO) or about their multiple unexplained health issues. I've learned to just keep my mouth shut. I'm of the opinion people just want a reason to feel better than you, and if they can label you as one of those health nut yoyos, that works for them. If they can actively exclude you or make you OTHER, so much the better.

bigbird16 Apprentice
bigbird16
Posted
  • Author

It kinda made me chuckle inside when I was told I could make my own, because every time I've brought a treat into the office, it's gone within a half hour of its presence being announced to the sounds of "mmmmm, so good!" "yum!" "ooo! thanks!" "are there more?" The treats are always gluten-, dairy-, and soy-free and of the muffin, cake, or cookie variety. No complaints yet, only requests for another batch of whatever.:rolleyes:

pain*in*my*gut Apprentice
pain*in*my*gut
Posted

We've started doing these "morale boosting" activities at the office (when what really needs to be done is some manager training, but that's another story). They almost always involve cupcakes and cookies and sometimes pizza. If I know they're happening, I bring something suitable for me and usually don't care what they're eating. Last year's Halloween thing was great -- we decorated pumpkins and no food was involved. Because the pumpkins were deemed "too hard" this year's Halloween activity will be cookie decorating. I offered to make the cookies (to avoid the inevitable crumbs all over the conference room and the cc on the decorating materials) and was told I could make my own. Pretty much figured that would be the answer. I'm fine with that. Just stay away from me with those crumbs. So I'm going to pull out the stops and make my own cookie and bring my own serious decorating supplies (used to decorate cakes) and make the most amazing Halloween cookie. I'm thinking something 3D -- maybe a pumpkin made out of multiple cookies glued together with royal icing or a headless horseman made of fondant with a pumpkin-decorated cookie for his head or a spider up on glass-like sugar legs. It'll go beyond their tube icing and candy sprinkles.

And for my birthday this month, screw their cupcakes that I can't eat. I'll bring in the most fabulously decorated cake ever and make my tastebuds happy. :D

I love your attitude, Bigbird! LOL! :D

Please post a picture of that awesome cookie when you make it! ;)

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

Please post a picture of that awesome cookie when you make it! ;)

Yes please do. My pick would be the spider or the Headless Horseman. :)

pricklypear1971 Community Regular
pricklypear1971
Posted

Ok, I haven't tried any decorating post gluten-free - so if you could share your sources for fondant, royal icing, etc. Id appreciate it!

And what cookie recipe do you use?

As I typed this I realized I can't make my grandmother's teacakes anymore. Ouch, that hurts.

bigbird16 Apprentice
bigbird16
Posted
  • Author

Ok, I haven't tried any decorating post gluten-free - so if you could share your sources for fondant, royal icing, etc. Id appreciate it!

And what cookie recipe do you use?

As I typed this I realized I can't make my grandmother's teacakes anymore. Ouch, that hurts.

Royal icing is naturally gluten-free. I mix up 1 1/2 oz of meringue powder (Wilton or whatever I can find at the grocery), 10 oz water, and 3 1/2 lbs of powdered sugar.

Fondant is also naturally gluten-free. Wilton, Bakel's, and SatinIce are gluten-free. I believe that only SatinIce's white fondant is soy-free; their ivory and chocolate contain soy. I prefer the taste of SatinIce over Wilton. Always check ingredients, even if it's a product you've used before. I haven't checked labels on the fondants in quite awhile and don't have any in the cupboard.

For other icings I simply sub the butter or Crisco with Spectrum shortening and milk with hemp or coconut milk in whatever icing recipe. But those subs are because I can't do dairy or soy. Wilton's buttercream recipe produces reliable results.

Lately I've been using Elana Amsterdam's Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook for cookies. Every recipe I've tried has been divine. I shared a batch of the chocolate chip cookies with a non-gluten-free friend and her husband. The next day she requested another batch.

Adapt those tea cookies! Find a flour combination you like that works for them! :D

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


  • 1 month later...
bigbird16 Apprentice
bigbird16
Posted
  • Author

Hi, All.

I forgot to update on the office cookie decorating thing we had around Halloween. Now that it's almost Thanksgiving . . .

Unfortunately, my awesome spider will have to wait for another time. The subject of when we'd do the Halloween cookie decorating thing didn't come up again all month, and I got sick the weekend of Halloween so didn't do much of anything. I pretty much assumed since nothing had been said about a staff gathering that the cookie thing had been forgotten. Around noon on Halloween it was announced that we should all gather for Halloween celebrations in the conference room in an hour. Bosslady had brought gingerbread haunted house kits for us to divide into teams to decorate. Joy. I stuffed down momentary panic, assessed the kits and how much of a problem they'd be for me, rolled up my sleeves, tied back my hair, covered my clothes, set to work on one of the houses, and kept my hands away from my face. Our house was, of course, the best. Afterwards, I brushed off my clothes just in case, trimmed my nails, and scrubbed as if I'd been playing in dog poop. It was fun playing in the "dog poop," though. I went home and baked some REAL cookies (almond flour based) for me.

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

I'm so glad to hear you had fun and didn't get sick!

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,084
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    bigwave
    Newest Member
    bigwave
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • AlwaysLearning
      Gluten related ??

      By AlwaysLearning · Posted

      Get tested for vitamin deficiencies.  Though neuropathy can be a symptom of celiac, it can also be caused by deficiencies due to poor digestion caused by celiac and could be easier to treat.
    • Colleen H
      Gluten related ??

      By Colleen H · Posted

      Thank you so much for your response  Yes it seems as though things get very painful as time goes on.  I'm not eating gluten as far as I know.  However, I'm not sure of cross contamination.  My system seems to weaken to hidden spices and other possibilities. ???  if cross contamination is possible...I am in a super sensitive mode of celiac disease.. Neuropathy from head to toes
    • Jmartes71
      My only proof

      By Jmartes71 · Posted

      EXACTLY! I was asked yesterday on my LAST video call with Standford and I stated exactly yes absolutely this is why I need the name! One, get proper care, two, not get worse.Im falling apart, stressed out, in pain and just opened email from Stanford stating I was rude ect.I want that video reviewed by higher ups and see if that women still has a job or not.Im saying this because I've been medically screwed and asking for help because bills don't pay itself. This could be malpratice siit but im not good at finding lawyers
    • AlwaysLearning
      My only proof

      By AlwaysLearning · Posted

      We feel your pain. It took me 20+ years of regularly going to doctors desperate for answers only to be told there was nothing wrong with me … when I was 20 pounds underweight, suffering from severe nutritional deficiencies, and in a great deal of pain. I had to figure it out for myself. If you're in the U.S., not having an official diagnosis does mean you can't claim a tax deduction for the extra expense of gluten-free foods. But it can also be a good thing. Pre-existing conditions might be a reason why a health insurance company might reject your application or charge you more money. No official diagnosis means you don't have a pre-existing condition. I really hope you don't live in the U.S. and don't have these challenges. Do you need an official diagnosis for a specific reason? Else, I wouldn't worry about it. As long as you're diligent in remaining gluten free, your body should be healing as much as possible so there isn't much else you could do anyway. And there are plenty of us out here who never got that official diagnosis because we couldn't eat enough gluten to get tested. Now that the IL-2 test is available, I suppose I could take it, but I don't feel the need. Someone else not believing me really isn't my problem as long as I can stay in control of my own food.
    • AlwaysLearning
      Gluten related ??

      By AlwaysLearning · Posted

      If you're just starting out in being gluten free, I would expect it to take months before you learned enough about hidden sources of gluten before you stopped making major mistakes. Ice cream? Not safe unless they say it is gluten free. Spaghetti sauce? Not safe unless is says gluten-free. Natural ingredients? Who knows what's in there. You pretty much need to cook with whole ingredients yourself to avoid it completely. Most gluten-free products should be safe, but while you're in the hypersensitive phase right after going gluten free, you may notice that when something like a microwave meal seems to not be gluten-free … then you find out that it is produced in a shared facility where it can become contaminated. My reactions were much-more severe after going gluten free. The analogy that I use is that you had a whole army of soldiers waiting for some gluten to attack, and now that you took away their target, when the stragglers from the gluten army accidentally wander onto the battlefield, you still have your entire army going out and attacking them. Expect it to take two years before all of the training facilities that were producing your soldiers have fallen into disrepair and are no longer producing soldiers. But that is two years after you stop accidentally glutening yourself. Every time you do eat gluten, another training facility can be built and more soldiers will be waiting to attack. Good luck figuring things out.   
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.