Is a Celiac coming for Dinner? Some helpful tips for the busy host.

author: Brenton Nicholls | sxc.hu

I get a lot of emails these days from folks who are not diagnosed with Celiac but want to make food for their recently diagnosed loved one at an upcoming family party or special event. Many look for recipes such as the ones listed here at healthy-family.org.

I understand the need to make the gluten intolerant guest feel a part of things, as food is a natural way to bring folks together at holiday times and at parties.  But it’s not practical, and no matter how good your intentions are, if you do not know the specific risks and pitfalls it can be dangerous for your visitor to eat what you’re serving. Healthy, undiagnosed folks must understand that an allergic person who is recently diagnosed is dealing with a high antibody level and the slightest exposure could make them sick. In my son’s case he was worse in the few months after we instilled the gluten free diet than he was beforehand when he was eating it on a daily basis.  Porous  kitchen utensils and tools that we use regularly are like magnets to gluten and often harbor bits of it on their surfaces for years.

Your wooden cutting board and wooden rolling pin are suspect. Your toaster is also inclined to cause illness. As is your open jar of jelly or half-used butter with remnants of bread crumbs in it, your mixer that you cleaned but used to make biscuits last night is dangerous too. If you use wheat flour in your kitchen regularly the dust from your mixing and drops from your pouring will enter the air and settle on your workspace and utensils naturally. A porous terry cloth towel will not remove all the gluten from your cutting board and counter space.

Given all these precautions, it is still possible to successfully feed your friend. All you have to do is keep it simple, and if you have a glass or ceramic plate you can use it to prepare any veggies or fruits you need to slice in lieu of the wooden cutting board.

If you are baking for an allergic person in that environment then there is a high chance of what folks in recovery call “cross contamination”. Simply put, those minuscule bits of wheat dust find their way onto your mixing surface, bowls, and spoon that is laying dormant in your workspace.

I always try to remind folks that baking a gluten-free dessert in their own gluten-containing kitchen is risky; there are many safety precautions to be followed and most good-natured people are just not aware of what can go wrong when they attempt to bake for their Celiac friend.

Sometimes your diagnosed friend will oblige you out of politeness and suffer silently afterward. No one wants to tell you that your food makes them sick. Your loved one may be more honest with you but at the same time it hurts them to do so. No one wants to sound like a hypochondriac or worse yet, ungrateful for your efforts.

But you are having a party and want to feed them. So what can you offer them that is tasty and safe for them to eat? That isn’t cross-contaminated and will not make them panic?

As a rule, prepare your Celiac guest’s meal first before you prepare the other gluten containing  foods you are serving. A plain grilled piece of meat that is unseasoned and cooked on a clean grill or in a clean pan or dish is ideal. You can serve it with boiled vegetables and plain organic white or brown rice that is NOT enriched. This is the safest way to serve a Celiac.  If you have a small corning ware dish with a glass lid you could layer it with the  rice, vegetables, safe seasonings of your choice, and chicken and cook it in the oven at an appropriate temperature to time it out with your meal, leaving the lid on after it is finished to keep it warm. Several companies sell chicken broth labeled gluten free. Trader Joe’s has a house brand that we use frequently. I like to pour it over my rice and veggies in my baking dish. It flavors the meal nicely. McCormick single ingredient spices are gluten free, as a rule, and are typically fine. And best of all, you probably have a few jars of them in your cabinet already. Just don’t use the seasoning mixes, they generally use gluten in them, as a rule.  Be sure to use well washed and cleaned utensils especially if you are serving foods with gluten in the ingredients as well that day. If you follow these basic rules you and your guest should have a positive experience at your party.

Now onto the dessert…..Article continues on next page…