Summer is here and that means more time in the sun and less time in the comfort of your own gluten free safe kitchen. Eating out and eating with friends and family can be stressful enough without needing to worry about cross contamination and well meaning friends using the right ingredients.
Fortunately, Guest Blogger Jamie Costello offers plenty of handy tips for you to stay safe and still enjoy yourself while being gluten free.
#1. Use Small Talk As An Opportunity To Teach Your Guests
Gluten can conjure up many surprises and there’s plenty of points to consider about it. Where you can, maybe use the free-flowing conversation as a chance to teach your guests about being gluten-free. There are many foods out there that one may not consider as containing gluten but providing them with some information on what you can and can’t eat may help them when they host any future parties. For example, many people might not know that you can’t drink beer. This is because it contains malt which is a source barley, and barley, of course, contains gluten.
Tip #2: Offer To Host The Event
It’s understandable to be a bit hesitant to eat at someone’s else’s house. So, why not host the party yourself? If you’re in control of what happens in the kitchen then you’ll find it much easier to make sure that the food is safe for you to eat. There’s plenty of recipes available that can be made gluten-free whilst still enjoying the scrumptious taste of your favorite dinner party foods. There’s a range of dishes to choose from including corn on the cob, hamburgers and gluten-free pasta salad.
Tip#3: Suggest Ideas To The Dinner Party Host
All you’re trying to do is make sure that you’re safe at the dinner party and it’s understandable that exceptions need to be made. Make some minor requests to the dinner host so that you can be sure your food doesn’t come in contact with other foods. For example, a nifty trick is cooking food on foil rather than directly on BBQ grills or ask that the food is prepared separately from where the main food is being prepared. This way the food’s protected and you save the risk of it coming into contact with something else.
Tip#4: Bring Your Own Dish
If it’s not possible to host the event at your own house there are always other options available. Why not prepare your own dish at home and bring it to the party with you? This way you can still get involved with everyone else and are less likely to feel left out. Contact the host to find out what they’re planning to have on the menu and then prepare your own accordingly. You can choose to either do it for everyone else or just do it for yourself, it’s entirely up to you.
Tip #5: If You’re Unsure, Just Don’t Eat It!
If you ever have doubts about any food you’re looking to eat, just listen to your gut and don’t do it. The last thing you’d want is to fall sick from eating it, so save yourself the hassle.
Jamie Costello is a nutrition student based in Manchester. He writes about many topics ranging from health supplements to dietetics research. When Jamie’ isn’t studying he enjoy swimming and keeping up to date with the latest sport news.
