More Holiday Worries

[jswog]

Thanksgiving will not only be my first holiday gluten free, but also my first holiday with my new in-laws. My husband and I have been married only since June, but I didn't meet my in-laws until our wedding in September. That's the only time I've actually met them. We talk on the phone, but still haven't really spent time together. Thanks to my super supportive husband, they know all about my Celiac disease, but I'm still stressing over the Thanksgiving meal. We will be driving like 16 hours to New Orleans the day before Thanksgiving and then we're all going to a condo in Gulf Shores the day after Thanksgiving when we will have our Thanksgiving dinner. My brother-in-law works off-shore and won't be getting in until the day after. I'm planning to make a couple of gluten free, egg free pumpkin pies to take and share and possibly a sweet potato cassarole. I've even been looking at recipes for gluten free green bean cassarole recipes. I'm debating about buying a small turkey breast that I can cook in the crockpot. IDK what to do about other foods. Do I trust that the things like mashed potatos, etc that don't have gluten ingredients are safe from CC? What about gravy? Can I make it using chicken broth and my brown rice flour? How do I explain to people that they have to be careful about letting even serving spoons even TOUCH anything else on their plates or elsewhere? And to make sure that serving spoons are not switched among dishes? Do I trust the pots and pans in the condo? Also, we'll still be gone for almost two weeks. I plan on taking a lot of food with me, but IDK what is there to buy food. Anyway, I didn't think I'd be stressed over this, but now the closer it gets, the more I find myself worrying...

Jen

[pricklypear1971]

They have Whole Foods in NOLA. I would pack any processed food you need to Gulf Shores. Google health food stores and see what's available.

I would take some small casserole dishes, baking tins with me so I could cook my stuff in seperate containers. Perhaps some serving spoons so you know there are enough at the condo. A colander? I think there's a gluten-free gravy mix somewhere....whole foods??

I'd offer to cook and clean the whole time - the more you're in there the better it will be. What about red or colored tape to mark your stuff?

There's lots of posts here about travel lately - paper towels, baggies, toaster bags, foil, flexible cutting boards seem advisable.

[sariesue]

For some reason my brain is fried today so I'm gonna reply in bullets since it's the only way I can think today.

Ask that you be served first or go through the buffet line first. Take enough food for your whole meal and don't get seconds or plan on eating leftovers. Then it's not a problem if serving spoons accidentally get switched or something else happens. This should be for every communal meal you have there.

Ask that the bird not be stuffed, if you don't stuff the bird it should be safe. It is easy to make stuffing that is not in the bird.

you just bake it seperately.

You can make gravy using cornstarch instead of flour.

Personally, I plan on trusting the foods that don't contain gluten BUT my mother is a trained cook and does not CC when cooking. And I'm not overly sensitive. I think this might depend on how the kitchen looked when things were made and how sensitive you are.

As for food shopping, I would use google to find the grocery stores near where you are staying. Pretty much every grocery store is gonna have the staples like fresh fruit, veggies, meats, and rice. Once you find a grocery store you could call and ask if they carry any gluten-free foods. There are 3 Whole foods in Lousianna, one in baton rouge, new orleans, and metairie. Your post says that you are going to New orleans first, so you could stock up there instead of at home if you had to.