How to Eat Safely at Friends’ and Family’s Homes When You Have Celiac Disease Ep. 195

Ever found yourself at a social gathering, anxious about whether your dietary needs will be met? Join me as I share my journey and learnings from navigating gluten free meals in social settings since my celiac disease diagnosis in 2009. From a last-minute switch from barbecue to pizza night at a friend's house to heartwarming stories of family and friends who go the extra mile, this episode is packed with tales of real-life experiences. 

You'll gain practical strategies like using baking paper over chopping boards and cooking gluten-free items first, which can help you feel secure when dining with loved ones.

Communication is key, and I'll highlight the importance of open dialogue and mutual respect in creating safe meal environments.  Whether you're new to managing a gluten free lifestyle or looking to expand your dining experiences, this podcast episode offers valuable insights and encouragement to ensure your dietary requirements are always met with care and consideration.

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
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Music Credit bensound.com

Chapters

• 0:00 Navigating Gluten-Free Meals at Friends
• 4:21 Establishing Safe Gluten-Free Meal Environments

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:24

If you've been invited to friends' houses or even families for a meal and you're too freaked out about attending because you're so worried about the whole cross-contact thing, making sure that the meal is gluten-free and you don't trust the people that have invited you to their house, this episode is for you. So on today's episode I'm answering a question that I got from Jen Jacks over on my YouTube channel and she wrote and asked me to make a video and episode all about how to deal with going to other people's houses when you have to eat gluten-free. So I thought this was a really good topic because I've had a lot of success with this. I'm very, very blessed and I know that I'm very blessed with this situation that I have friends and family that look after me with gluten-free food when I go to their houses, and many times I've been able to eat at loved ones' houses in the time since my celiac disease diagnosis back in 2009 and not have to take a thing, not have to stress about, you know, taking my own food and eating something different. And recently I went to a new friend's house We've been friends for a little while now a mum from the school that my kids go to and they invited us over for tea and they said that we're going to have a barbecue. So that was fine, I knew how to navigate. Having a barbecue at a friend's house. And then at the last minute they messaged and said that we were having pizzas. And I must admit I was a little bit freaked out. But I knew how to get through the situation because I knew that I had to ask some questions and have a chat about it. So my friend and I, we spoke about what the plan was. So they went to the shops and my friend's husband said he'd never read so many food labels. He could not believe how tricky it was to navigate and try and find everything that was safe. But they did an amazing job. And the great thing was when I got there they said they weren't going to touch any of the food until I arrived, so that I could double check everything. So I went through all of the stuff that they bought. I checked all the labels just to make sure that he had done a really great job with his label reading, which hats off to him. He'd done an amazing job. Everything that he found was safe for me.

Speaker 1: 2:48

So what we did was we prepped my pizza first. So my girlfriend did it for me and she was fantastic with washing her hands. She's an anvo, so she's all over the hand washing. And what we did was, instead of using their chopping boards, she put some baking paper over the chopping boards before prepping my food. So she prepped everything clean knife baking paper on the chopping board. Everything was safe. Then she made my pizza. She pre-purchased a gluten-free pizza base, so there was no making my pizza base, stressing about that side of things. It was pre-packaged, labor-gloom-free, 100% safe. So she made my pizza for me and then put it aside and covered it so it was completely sealed away from everything else. And then they went on to make all the rest of the pizzas for everybody else. And they'd even gone as far as they went and bought a new pizza stone so brand new pizza stone to cook my pizza on. And they cooked my pizza first. They did it in a barbecue. So, uh, if you don't know, you can cook pizza in barbecues. And, yeah, cooked my pizza first and kept it separate again, served it completely safe, and then cooked all the rest of the pizzas. So I felt 100% safe. I'd done everything that I could to keep myself safe. They had done everything to keep me safe.

Speaker 1: 4:21

Now, a few things that could have gone wrong are probably worth mentioning here. They could have had no idea what they were doing and just bought anything willy-nilly and not thought too much about the label reading. But I had told them how important it was to make sure everything was gluten-free, what to look for on those labels, so that they knew what they were purchasing was safe. They could have made the food before I got there, but thankfully they offered to wait until I got there and then again I was able to recheck those labels. So I was double checking everything when I got there, before the food started to be prepared and assembled, so nothing was opened, nothing was unwrapped until I arrived and was able to check it. So those are some really great things that help keep me safe.

Speaker 1: 5:08

And then, when it came down to the preparation, again I was able to see that the preparation was a hundred percent safe. They were looking after me. There was no flour flying around in that kitchen. They were using clean utensils. They looked after the chopping board. They had the fresh, brand new pizza stone and it was amazing. And we finished our meal and it was delicious pizza. Mind you, I really, really enjoyed it. I love pizza. It's not something that I have very often, but I truly do love having a good gluten-free pizza, and cooking in the barbecue on a pizza stone was perfect.

Speaker 1: 5:45

So after we'd finished our meal, I said to them like thank you so much, like you guys were next level. Like this is amazing how much effort you guys have put into keeping me safe and I'm thank you so much. Like you guys were next level. Like this is amazing how much effort you guys have put into keeping me safe and I'm so, so grateful. I wanted them to understand how much I appreciated it, because I knew for them this is not their day to day. This is them going above and beyond to have me as a guest in their home. So I wanted them to understand how appreciative I was of that effort. So you know, they said it was stressful and it was kind of fun, you know, navigating the shops and trying to find what they needed to get. And they said it was a good appreciation of what I have to go through. So that was pretty cool as well. So you know they could have a bit of an understanding of what I go through every single time I go shopping. So that was a recent experience that I had.

Speaker 1: 6:37

Now I have got a best friend who is also gluten-free. She's not celiac like me, but she does eat gluten-free. So I know that if I go to her house for a meal she's all over it. She's already got, you know, the condiments and the sauces and all the different things that are already gluten-free, because that's the way she eats, and she's always extra careful for me as well when she preps things. She still double checks things with me and I always feel safe when I go there. Then we've got some other friends who, again, I've been to there. I Over the years.

Speaker 1: 7:13

It would be so many times of eating meals at their house Like I could literally rock up there tomorrow unannounced and they could say to me hey, belinda, do you want to stay for tea? And they would be able to make me something safe, gluten-free and know how to look after me, because they've done it so many times. So how does it come to this point? It's about being open with communicating. You have to feel confident talking to people. You know these people are inviting you into their house, so you have to have some form of friendship to be able to be invited to their home. So if you feel comfortable going to their house, then it's about communicating and telling them about your needs, how easy it is for you to get sick, so it could be giving them some ideas. You know, hey, this is a really easy meal that you could cook for me. Or, you know, I'm happy to contribute this if you feel that you would like to take something. But if you want to, you could say I'm happy to help you when I get to your house, if you want to wait till I get there.

Speaker 1: 8:17

Or another thing that I've always done as well is ask people to send photos of ingredients that they're cooking with. Hey, do you mind just sending me through the ingredients that you've bought, just so that I can double check? People are more than happy to do that. People don't want you to go to their house and make you sick. They want to keep you safe. You know, these people genuinely are trying to make an effort. It's the crazy people that don't care about us that are not making that effort, but it's the people that do care for us and want us over in their houses that make the effort. So it's usually not a problem. So just mention that. Hey, do you mind if I check the ingredients? I can either do that when I get to your house or do you want to send me through some photos of the ingredients, whatever's easiest for you, and then that way you've got that chance to double check everything. You can read everything over.

Speaker 1: 9:05

Mention about the preparation. You know, hey, do you mind just chopping things up on some on your chopping board with some kitchen paper or some baking paper over the top of it? If you're having something on a barbecue or a grill, you can ask for them to put baking paper on top of it, or aluminum foil, if you're safe with that. I prefer not aluminum foil or you can get these maps that are specifically for putting on top of a barbecue or a grill so that you can put your food on there and nothing else touches it. But again, this is all about communication.

Speaker 1: 9:40

We went to the beach with some friends for Australia Day and they took their barbecue down to the beach. We all took our own food with us and used their barbecue, and I had a plan in place and they said that they've never cooked anything that contains gluten on their barbecue. They cleaned it all beforehand as well, just to make sure that I was safe and comfortable. But they said the only things that they've ever cooked on there is plain meat and sausages and they've never used anything cooked, anything crumbed on there or anything like that. So I felt really comfortable cooking our food on their barbecue.

Speaker 1: 10:15

So, again, it's just communicating, it's asking questions and it's talking about you know these situations so that people understand, because a lot of people don't really get the depth of what it means to live with celiac disease, the fact that you can't have a crumb or you can't have something lurking in your food that's leftovers from their chopping board or from their barbecue or, you know, contamination from in the air. So the biggest thing is definitely communication and talking to those people and having those plans in place. So if this is too hard for friends, a good thing to do would be to have them to your house first and when they come to your house, you could talk to them and explain you know, hey, this is how we cook our meals, this is how I prep my food, this is what I have to be aware of. Hey, let me show you some labels, whatever you feel comfortable with. And then, when you do go to their house, they might be a little bit more switched on about it. Or you can take some food to contribute to that meal, and then at least you've got a backup plan, because I know so many people that haven't communicated enough with friends and family. They've gone to their house for a meal and then they've realized it's been contaminated, it's somehow got gluten in it, because, you know, aunty Faye accidentally thickened the gravy with wheat instead of, you know, using something safe like a corn flour. So there's all these little things that you know. We just need to remember. It's not on everyone's radar and it's our job to remind them and to educate them and to teach them to keep us safe.

Speaker 1: 11:53

I've had some really wonderful experiences over the years living with celiac disease and I'm so, so grateful for the people that keep us safe. I've had some really wonderful experiences over the years living with celiac disease and I'm so, so grateful for the people that keep me safe and invite me to their houses for meals, and I want you to know that you can do it too, and with some confidence and being proactive, I'm sure that you can make it happen for yourself as well. So I hope this episode has inspired you to get out there, be a little bit more social with your friends, with your family, and put some steps into place. And, as always, if you need extra support in this, make sure you check out Ultimate Celiac System, because I have way more information and practical steps and tips and insights within that program to help you thrive with celiac disease. So thank you so much for checking out this episode and I look forward to talking with you again very, very soon. Have a great week, take care, bye.