Here's the first of the postings entitled, "Sticky Situations" in which either Tiff or I will try and give some advice as to how to easily deal with certain gfree situations that you may find yourself facing.
Sticky Situation #1
You're going to a social/party and of course, there's food. The problem is, most of the finger food is most likely not gfree or its contaminated in some way. You feel bad when people offer you food and you say no for your own safety, but it makes it seem like you're not enjoying yourself or the food tastes bad. What do you do?
Okay, so I can speak from experience that this kind of situation happens ALL the time. Here are some quick tips to stay safe, not make your host/hostess feel bad or obligated to serve you gfree food, and to still have a good time.
- If it's a dinner and you're not sure if you can eat anything, you can contact the host/hostess ahead of time and ask what food he or she is serving. Depending on your sensitivity to gluten, chances are that if the food is naturally gfree, some contamination won't send your stomach rollicking. However, if you are highly sensitive, it would be best to eat/cook before going and kindly explain to the host/hostess that you have eaten beforehand since you have a restrictive diet and will not be needing them to prepare your portion. They may feel bad and try to change their menu for you, but insist that it is not necessary. The best way that I have found is to offer to bring/cook something gfree to bring to the party so that not only you can eat it (since it's safe) but everyone else can enjoy it too and you won't be left not eating when everyone else is eating!
- Speaking of snacks... most parties have finger foods that are made entirely of gluten/wheat: crackers, quiches, breaded mozzarella sticks, cream puffs, cake, cookies, pretzels, you name it! Even if the dish is gfree, say some kind of dipping sauce, you can't be sure its 100% safe since other people tend to not be as careful and like to "double dip" or maybe in triple or quadruple dip. Crumbs from food containing gluten may be indirectly and unknowingly ingested by you, and then you get sick. The number one golden rule for gfreers is: WHEN IN DOUBT, JUST DON'T EAT IT. It's better to be hungry, than to be sick. Trust me. I always suggest having gfree snacks in your purse or bag in case you get the munchies. Bringing gfree snacks to share is cool too! I've found that many snacks that I used to eat before I was diagnosed were naturally gfree (ie popcorn, some veggie chips) and people won't think your snack is weird since it doesn't have the words GFREE sprawled across the label (although I like when food companies are super clear like that!!)
- If people offer you food that you know you can't eat, don't just say no. Kindly explain that you have a gluten allergy and that the item they offered you is not safe for you to eat. You don't really need to go into alot of detail about your diagnosis and the history of how you became a gfree eater (although most people I talk to are highly interested, and so I'll tell them). Let them know that they don't have to go out of their way to serve you or bring/make you food because you either ate beforehand or have food with you. They'll still feel bad, but at least they won't feel like it's their fault they gave you food that made you sick (which is much worse in my opinion)!
Summary/ Take Away
1) Eat before going to a party/hang out since you can't be sure of contamination or if safe food will be provided.
2) BYOGS- Bring your own gfree snacks! Bring gfree snacks to share too! :)
3) If someone offers you food, tell them gently that you can't eat it because you have a food allergy. Make them not feel bad by saying you ate beforehand or you have snacks you brought that you can eat. Try not to overwhelm someone with your gfree history unless they want to know. Never assume they want to hear about your medical history!
4) WHEN IN DOUBT, DON'T EAT IT!! It's not worth even if it looks incredibly tasty and everyone else is eating it. Getting sick is much worse and its a downer to any party.
Good luck and eat safely!
-Kris
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