The Healthy Celiac Podcast
Welcome to The Healthy Celiac Podcast—the go-to podcast for women with celiac disease! This podcast is designed to help you thrive beyond your diagnosis and embrace life to the fullest because you are so much more than just a woman with celiac disease.
Hosted by Certified Health Coach Belinda Whelan, who specializes in follow-up care for women with celiac disease, each episode is a blend of practical advice, personal stories, and expert interviews. Belinda shares valuable insights on everything from navigating a gluten free lifestyle to managing the emotional aspects of celiac disease.
Join me as we explore topics that empower you to take control of your health, and discover joy in every meal and moment. Tune in for practical advice and support as we navigate the challenges of celiac disease and empower you to live confidently.
To find out how Belinda can support you, visit her website www.belindawhelan.com and while you're there be sure to download your FREE eBook '11 Mistakes People Make Living Gluten Free'.
For collaborations, please email me info@belindawhelan.com (no MLM opportunities please. 😊)
The Healthy Celiac Podcast
A Gluten Free Christmas: Tips for a Stress-Free Holiday - Ep. 188
Christmas can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be—even when managing celiac disease! In this episode, I share practical tips for navigating the holiday season, including:
- How to plan a gluten free Christmas meal, whether you’re hosting or visiting.
- Strategies for handling well-meaning but misinformed family and friends.
- What to do about food gifts that aren’t gluten free.
- Managing the onslaught of social events in December with confidence.
With a little preparation and communication, you can have a joyful, stress-free Christmas that’s safe for you and your family. Tune in to hear my personal experiences and actionable advice for making this holiday season the best one yet!
Find out how Ultimate Celiac System can support your Celiac journey here https://belindawhelantraining.com/ultimate-celiac-system
Wish you could get gluten free meals on the table fast that the whole family will love? Check out Meal Plans Made Easy
https://belindawhelantraining.com/gluten-free-meal-plans-made-easy
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https://www.belindawhelan.com/dailyhealthtracker
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Music Credit bensound.com
Christmas. You either love it or you hate it. Now, for me, I am one of those crazy people that loves Christmas. I love decorating, I love wrapping presents. I love everything about Christmas. I just think it's such a special time, but I know it can be very stressful, and I do believe that I am one of the lucky ones because there's multiple people in my family that have celiac disease. So we all look out for each other and, you know, when it comes to mealtime, it's not as stressful as it would be if I was the only person with celiac disease at our family gatherings.
Speaker 1:So I thought it would be timely to address Christmas and talk about how we can cope better living with celiac disease going into this festive period or this crazy period, whichever way you want to look at it. So, for me, I feel that we can, I guess, enjoy this time more if we think ahead and if we're prepared. So there's a number of ways that we can head on into December and be more relaxed and more excited about it than more stressed. You know we don't want to be going into this period of time worrying and frantic and feeling stressed about you know the day. You know it's one day of the year really, and when we look at it like that, we shouldn't be putting so much emphasis on how stressful it is. So we need to make it as enjoyable as possible for ourselves, because you know, if you have family, you've got children, they are going to feel that negative energy from you if you're highly strung and worried about the day. So I want you to go into it and feel as happy and joyful as you possibly can. So let's talk about Christmas day and mealtime. So there's a couple of options that can make it best for you. You can either offer to host or you can be prepared when you're visiting someone else for Christmas lunch. With the hosting there comes that added. I guess it's either you do it all yourself, so you've got that added work, or you rally everyone in together and you organise that everyone brings something to the event.
Speaker 1:So for Christmas lunch, what we do here is we have a very traditional I guess it's traditional Aussie, I don't know. This is our traditional anyway. So we normally have ham. So we buy ham already prepared and slice it up. So we are very lucky here that we can buy gluten-free labeled ham. So one of the family members, usually mum, will offer to buy the ham and take that to whoever's house it's at. So that's one thing. That's super easy.
Speaker 1:Then we have turkey and we normally order that from the butcher and they prepare that completely gluten-free. It's normally a turkey roll and that is 100% safe, so we normally get that as well. And then there's a fantastic chicken shop nearby that does gluten-free chickens. They order them in. They're cooked safe, there's no stuffing in them, and they are amazing, they're delicious chickens and we normally get two of those as well. So what happens is we kind of go right, well, you get the turkey, you get the chicken, you get the ham, and that way it's not all on the one family that's hosting, and then it kind of spreads that cost out as well, but all of those things are already gluten-free. So that's really, really easy.
Speaker 1:My husband and I will then do really simple things like the. You know, we just do steamed peas and steamed corn, things like that, and we make the gravy. So the gravy we make from a gluten-free packaging that we have and we make that, so we know that that's safe as well. And then any snacks or anything that people bring along, we just just remind them. You know, can you make sure it's gluten-free, and often we don't even really need to remind them, because within our family there is my mum, my brother, myself that are all celiac, and then my son is non-celiac gluten sensitivity. So you know there's four of us that's a big chunk of our family that has to eat gluten-free, so we're very lucky that people just remember to make sure that they bring gluten-free snacks.
Speaker 1:So if you are hosting, you could do that. You could organize the different foods that you're going to have and ask people to bring those along or, depending on how you are with your family, you could split the costs up. That's another one I don't know that can get a little uncomfortable and a little awkward. I know some people that host like to do everything, and if you can afford to do everything and you like to do everything, by all means do it yourself. That's super easy. You're not relying on anybody else. You just you get to make all the decisions and you get to do it yourself. So you know you can do that as well.
Speaker 1:Now, when people are coming to your house, they may bring things that are not gluten-free and it's up to you to decide whether you're happy for that to be served in your house or whether you would prefer them not to. This can get icky, this can get uncomfortable and you may just need to keep that food separate from the rest of it and remind people. That's not gluten-free. Please don't mix up any utensils or serving equipment with that. That's why we've kept it over there. We don't want anyone getting sick today. Something like that Very, very simple, you know.
Speaker 1:You don't need to be rude about it. It's just reminding your family because you know this is something we live with every single day. We have to think about what we eat, what we do, what we prepare. Every day this goes through our minds, but for other people, they don't have this burden, they don't have to worry about these things, so it's not even on their radar sometimes. So we do need to gently remind people and we do need to make sure that we stand up for ourselves and make sure that we stay fit and healthy, especially over this special period of time, because we don't want to be getting sick and run down when it's Christmas and when it's meant to be a joyful time. So make sure you stand up for yourself, make sure you say what you need to say to feel safe and comfortable within your own home because you have that right Now.
Speaker 1:If you're not comfortable having that food served in your house, you can gently say to that person look, thank you so much for bringing this along today. I really appreciate it. However, we are a gluten-free household and I just can't risk having this in my house. I'm sure you can understand that. You know this is a special time and I do not want to get sick. So if it's okay, we'll just pop it in the fridge and if you wouldn't mind just taking it home when you go home, something like that. You know, if it's, if it's someone that's in your house, they're obviously a loved one. They're close enough to you that you should be able to tell them that and you should be able to share with them how you feel. So always stand up for yourself, always feel comfortable being able to tell people what you want and what you need. Now it's another story if you are visiting other people.
Speaker 1:So if you're going and enjoying Christmas lunch at someone else's house, that's another ball game altogether, isn't it? It's much trickier and again, it depends on your family. It depends on those people in your life. Are they supportive, are they open-minded, are they understanding of what your needs are. So if they are, then it's a matter of a phone call or a catch-up before Christmas and just having a chat with them and finding out what their plans are. And just having a chat with them and finding out what their plans are, what you can do to contribute. What are their preparations? What are they serving for lunch? Is it easier for you to take some options for yourself, or are you going to be safe eating what they serve, remembering that we have to be aware of cross-contamination and not everyone's on top of that, and we can't expect people to have a safe, 100% gluten-free kitchen for us when we're going there one day of the year. But we can expect that you know if they're going to offer you some gluten-free food, that you understand that it's safe and you feel comfortable having that. So it's definitely worth having a conversation with that host and knowing what they're preparing.
Speaker 1:If they have no idea how to keep you safe, then I would recommend that you take your own options, whether they be some very simple things that you can have for yourself or whether it be some shared options that everyone can have, and then it's not a big deal. It's not. Oh you're the odd one out that's having the weird meal down the end of the table, that you know everyone's looking at you and asking you questions. You want to be a part of that day and you want to feel included. I know that I 100% get that. So you know for me, if I was in that situation and I was going to a loved one's that wasn't able to cater for me, that's what I would do. I would take food along that I could share with others, but that I could also feel comfortable sitting down, eating and not feeling left out. So I hope that helps with that option.
Speaker 1:If people mock you and ridicule you, that's another whole subject that I think we need to talk about, but I don't want to get into that today. I think we just need to focus on what we can do for food-wise and keeping ourselves safe. So please take some of those options on board. I'd love to hear from you what your plans are moving forward for Christmas and if that supports you and any of those ideas help.
Speaker 1:Now, another one that I have noticed is gifting. So if you are still gifting to loved ones and they gift to you, you may get given some food gifts and it can be a little heartbreaking when people give you food gifts that you can't eat. And I know for a fact that it is so depressing when people give you a beautiful box of chocolates or some biscuits or something like that and it's not gluten-free. It's like, oh my god, do you not even know who I am? You don't know anything about me, that you've given me this. So it can feel heartbreaking, it can feel frustrating when people give you that. So again, you've got a couple of options. You can be graceful and say thank you and give it to someone else, which is what you're going to have to do because you can't eat it. Or you can take that opportunity to remind the person that's gifted it to you. Oh wow, this is so lovely, but you've obviously forgotten that I've got to eat gluten-free.
Speaker 1:I can't actually eat these. Would you like to take them and give them to someone else? Or could you have these? They might not even give two hoots. You know, it depends on the person. It completely depends on the person. If someone said that to me, I would be absolutely mortified and apologetic and go above and beyond to replace that present. And the thing is, if you do remind them. Maybe the next time around they will make more of an effort. So you know, it depends on your personality, it depends on the person that you're dealing with. There's a lot of factors, but these are just some ideas that may help you. So if you're more forward, then definitely go ahead and tell them how you feel.
Speaker 1:If you're a little bit more submissive, like I am, I would probably just take the gift and give it to my husband or the other kids that can eat gluten and just kind of suck it up. But I'm very lucky. I don't know. I don't know. I guess I'm just lucky because I know that my family all know that I have to eat gluten-free. So I haven't been in that situation for a long time but like anything in the early days, that definitely happened to me. Absolutely that would never happen these days. So I just want you to know it does get easier and the more you talk about it and the more awareness you bring to your celiac disease diagnosis, the easier it is for everyone else to accept and cope with for you and help you and support you. So don't hide it from people. Talk about it, you know, share the details that you need to and just understand that. It definitely gets easier as the time goes on.
Speaker 1:All right, and another thing that we do notice over December is social events. So during December it's like everyone wants to catch up, don't they? It comes to the end of the year and it's like, oh my god, we have to catch up before Christmas and I haven't seen you for so long. Let's do this, let's do that, and it's you know, work functions and catching up with girlfriends and just end of school events. It just seems like December is the most crazy month of the year and we cram so much into such a short period of time.
Speaker 1:And the thing is, with these social events, what happens is food is involved, isn't it Always revolve around food? So again, it's about being prepared. It's about planning ahead and knowing where you're going, what food options are going to be available for you and whether you need to take something with you or phone ahead. You know if there's another host that you're going to, a friend's house or a work colleagues you need to organize that in advance. If it's a work function, I would talk to your workplace first. If they can't help you, then I would ring the venue and talk to them and find out if there's options for you there. So again, it's just planning ahead, it's just knowing what's coming up, it's not waiting till the last minute, scrambling. You know, always have options in your handbag.
Speaker 1:That's a big one for me. I don't go anywhere without food because I just I'm a mess if I don't eat. And if I was going out for an event and there was no food options for me, at least I would have a little stash of snacks in my handbag that I could resort to. So that helps as well. So I always recommend that you take food with you. We do that, don't we? I probably don't even need to tell you that. You probably already do that. But yeah, that's just a little saving grace that I find helps me. So Christmas it's upon us. Let's enjoy it, let's have fun, let's make it a really fantastic day, let's enjoy the lead up to Christmas. But otherwise, I look forward to talking with you guys next week. Have a wonderful week and I will talk to you soon. Take care, bye.
