Saturday, January 18, 2014

Entertaining Someone with Celiacs Disease or a Gluten Intolerance

Ever invited someone over to dinner only to find that they have an allergy? And not just any allergy, but a Gluten allergy. First off, do not freak out. It isn't as confusing or hard as you may think. First lets learn from an article:

The main things to keep in mind are cross contamination, low cost, and being open.

One thing I have learned very quickly from cooking for my wife is that even the slightest contamination of the ingredients, food, utensils, etc. will make her very sick. If you are going to be cooking for someone who is gluten free, but don't want to cook gluten free for everyone, keep these few things in mind:
  1. Clean all utensils, pans/pots, and cooking surfaces
  2. Prepare and cook the Gluten-Free food first
  3. Keep it separated from other foods
  4. Don't be afraid to ask for help
  5. Openness is a great thing!
Second thing to keep in mind is Low Cost. Don't break the bank. It is a lot easier than you may think. At your local store, you will find Gluten Free options fairly easy. If you want to buy gluten free items, make sure that they are Certified Gluten Free. This is the logo that you want to see on the ingredient section of the item:

It is important to keep in mind that your friend or guest that has the allergy to gluten has some good ideas. Don't be afraid to ask them for help or ideas for dinner. They will be a great resource for you. Also keep in mind that just because the ingredient list does state clearly that it has wheat in it does not mean it is necessarily gluten free.
The more you continue to cook gluten free for other people, the more you will get used to reading ingredient labels, but let's start by looking at one right now:

                                                    
The Semolina Wheat Flour is found in the sub ingredients of an ingredient, which contains gluten. Read through the ingredients with everything that doesn't have a certified Gluten Free symbol on it. Check out this other post about what ingredients to look for and what items to pay extra close attention to:

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