Top 10 Celiac Survival Tips for the Holidays

It’s often hard to get meals during the holiday due to our increased activities. We are doing extra shopping, decorating, and attending social activities.  It’s also hard to attend so many social activities knowing that much of the special, yummy party food is off limits for a Celiac.

I’ve compiled a list of Holiday Survival tips for anyone newly diagnosed. My first Gluten free Holiday was very emotional for me and the holidays still can be sometimes. I wasn’t able to have all the special comfort foods I grew up with and it really hurt. I felt really deprived.  No one around me understood how I felt, either. It never occurred to anyone around me that it would be hard for me to get through the holidays without the foods that they take for granted. Now I have my own set of coping preparations.

Top Ten Tips:

1. Eat well before you go (in case there isn’t much for you to have).
2. Bring your own.
3. Offer to bring a few things or one thing to the party; at least you have something to eat. (One of my husband’s co-workers invited us to a party. I called her and explained my dietary restrictions and that it would be best for me to bring some things, and asked if that was okay with her. I brought Pamela’s brownies, smoked salmon w/ the fixings, and a Quinoa salad, all in ready to serve dishes, like already on the serving platter, etc. All went over very well and the hostess was grateful for the extra nibbles.)
4. Bring salad dressing everywhere you go. You know you can eat a salad if nothing else.
5. Keep things on hand at home that you can grab and take with you.
6. Stock a bag or box in the car with snacks for when you are out shopping or running errands. Pack napkins, plastic utensils, Snack Pack Pudding, cookies and crackers, pop-top or handy pouches of tuna or chicken, dried fruit, jerky. A snack pack of fruit cups is also great in the car survival kit.  Mine also now has enzymes in it which I bring in and share liberally with my fellow Celiacs when we dine together in restaurants.
7. When you know you are going to be busy (the whole holiday season), plan meals ahead of time and utilize your crock pot for meals that can be ready when you arrive home from shopping or work.
8. Freeze some things so you can take things out of the freezer in a pinch.
9. For catered parties, explain your dietary needs to the person planning the party and ask for the number of the caterer and call ahead. I do this for dh’s office party and explain to the chef that I will get sick if I get even a small amount of gluten. I tell them the safest thing for them to prepare for me is salted and peppered meat, salads, and plain veggies w/ butter, and fresh fruit for dessert. Last year the chef made me a nice steak (be sure it isn’t marinated), salad w/ balsamic vinegar and olive oil, plain baked potato w/ fixings (no sour cream, as most are problematic), and fresh fruit. This reminds me, I need to do this again right now. At first I felt awkward doing it, but the other guests asked me about my steak and I told them a little about Celiac and it was no big deal. I didn’t get sick and I wasn’t sitting there starving.
10. Keep cake or dessert on hand if you will feel bad if others are having sweets and you can’t. That way you have something to take. When my Celiac son was younger I kept frosted cupcakes in the freezer so he always had one for a birthday party.

Remember to always try to think a day or two in advance, so you don’t find yourself caught with nothing to eat.