Gluten Free Christmas?
Discussion
Christmas Dinner has been sprung on me today, with around 12 dining. One of them is a proper medical-grade gluten intolerant that gets money off the government to buy special bread - not the hipster kind.
Up until now I've paid no attention to this nonsense, but given i don't want to poison him, any pointers that i may miss out on?
It'll be your standard turkey, stuffing, glazed ham, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets kind of thing. Off the top of my head, i need to not flour up his roast potatoes, gravy thickening may be an issue, he'll be getting no stuffing..
Anything else? i'm more concerned about ingredients within things that i may miss, as clearly, no flour will be going near his dinner!
Up until now I've paid no attention to this nonsense, but given i don't want to poison him, any pointers that i may miss out on?
It'll be your standard turkey, stuffing, glazed ham, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets kind of thing. Off the top of my head, i need to not flour up his roast potatoes, gravy thickening may be an issue, he'll be getting no stuffing..
Anything else? i'm more concerned about ingredients within things that i may miss, as clearly, no flour will be going near his dinner!
If they are as bad as you say then contamination can occur from the silliest things such as spread that's been used on bread previously. Wheat will be the main thing you need to steer clear of and should be highlighted as an allergen in ingredient lists. A lot of sausages are no good too.
eta: It's possible they may get Glutened from stuffing if it's in the turkey whilst cooking. Safest thing is to have no Gluten during the cooking then add gluten if needed once the mutant stuff is removed. Luckily being glutened isn't life threatening but can make then very uncomfortable.
eta: It's possible they may get Glutened from stuffing if it's in the turkey whilst cooking. Safest thing is to have no Gluten during the cooking then add gluten if needed once the mutant stuff is removed. Luckily being glutened isn't life threatening but can make then very uncomfortable.
Edited by eybic on Tuesday 12th December 15:51
Alternatives are available for most things. My youngest is coeliac (as opposed to just on a trendy diet), which pretty much makes the rest of the family the same.
Watch things like roast potatoes if you buy the likes of Aunt Bessies as a lot of those have flour in the coating.
A lot of pre-prepared veg will have some sort of flour in as a thickener as well.
Be aware that they don't explicitly list "Contains gluten" on the packet, but will highlight any key ingredients that may cause an allergic reaction (mainly wheat).
Likewise, don't get tricked into paying extra for "Free from" products when the normal version doesn't contain gluten in the first place.
Watch things like roast potatoes if you buy the likes of Aunt Bessies as a lot of those have flour in the coating.
A lot of pre-prepared veg will have some sort of flour in as a thickener as well.
Be aware that they don't explicitly list "Contains gluten" on the packet, but will highlight any key ingredients that may cause an allergic reaction (mainly wheat).
Likewise, don't get tricked into paying extra for "Free from" products when the normal version doesn't contain gluten in the first place.
Heck are my go-to supermarket sausages. Love em.
He is Coeliac, I thought that was the same as gluten intolerant, apologies for my lack of knowledge! There's be no prepared veg, and he'll get my unfloured (and vastly inferior) roast potatoes.
Is gluten free flour suitable for coeliac, and would also provide the desired effect on thickening sauces and crusting up roasties?
He is Coeliac, I thought that was the same as gluten intolerant, apologies for my lack of knowledge! There's be no prepared veg, and he'll get my unfloured (and vastly inferior) roast potatoes.
Is gluten free flour suitable for coeliac, and would also provide the desired effect on thickening sauces and crusting up roasties?
Chucklehead said:
Heck are my go-to supermarket sausages. Love em.
He is Coeliac, I thought that was the same as gluten intolerant, apologies for my lack of knowledge! There's be no prepared veg, and he'll get my unfloured (and vastly inferior) roast potatoes.
Is gluten free flour suitable for coeliac, and would also provide the desired effect on thickening sauces and crusting up roasties?
Coeliac is the condition that means they are gluten intolerant He is Coeliac, I thought that was the same as gluten intolerant, apologies for my lack of knowledge! There's be no prepared veg, and he'll get my unfloured (and vastly inferior) roast potatoes.
Is gluten free flour suitable for coeliac, and would also provide the desired effect on thickening sauces and crusting up roasties?
Not sure on the flour, it's not (or never used to be) great flour to work with as it's very stodgy.Chucklehead said:
true, id forgotten about sausages but remembered about the stuffing! I think he's going to have an oven all to himself at this rate.
All of Sainsbury's bySainsbury's sausages are gluten free.ETA HECK sausages
are tasty indeed!Edited by AppleJuice on Tuesday 12th December 16:53
Chucklehead said:
Is gluten free flour suitable for coeliac, and would also provide the desired effect on thickening sauces and crusting up roasties?
It's suitable in a "won't harm them" kind of way. From our experience, leave it out of the roasties. just do them in fat.For stuff like gravy, cornflour is fine.
After much searching, we came to the conclusion that there isn't really a suitable alternative to anything white sauce based and just don't bother any more
My wife (and her mother) are both Coeliac, unfortunately my wife is very sensitive to any trace of wheat so even some ingredients that are labelled as 'free from' are a no go for her
Having said that, a gluten free Christmas dinner (or any kind of roast) is probably one of the easier meals to prepare as it doesn't really need any form of 'additives'. Basically if you stick with raw ingredients (potatoes, veg, meat etc.) you can't go far wrong. We do use either M&S or Sainsburys gluten free (Taste The Difference) sausages because they are one of the few processed foods that are safe for her. She doesn't like gravy, so that's not an issue. In the past we have used M&S (and/or Sainsburys) stuffing as once again the gluten free versions of these are both OK and taste very nice.
We tend to get a boned & rolled turkey joint from the butchers, one thing to look out for is making sure they don't put any sort of stuffing in it and that it is prepared away from any contaminants.
Desserts are more of an issue, the 'free from' Christmas puddings are no good as the level of wheat based/derived ingredients. My wife makes her own Christmas cakes and mince pies, so this solves the issue for us.
If you are lucky, then your guest may be a 'normal' (as my wife calls them) Ceoliac so most free from stuff should be OK - it may be worth checking with them before going to lots of effort/expense.
Life as a Coeliac isn't much fun when it comes to eating out, most restaurants don't understand it very well but it is getting better. One of the benefits for us is that we eat much fresher home made food (both of us like to cook luckily) so it's not a huge problem for us.
Having said that, a gluten free Christmas dinner (or any kind of roast) is probably one of the easier meals to prepare as it doesn't really need any form of 'additives'. Basically if you stick with raw ingredients (potatoes, veg, meat etc.) you can't go far wrong. We do use either M&S or Sainsburys gluten free (Taste The Difference) sausages because they are one of the few processed foods that are safe for her. She doesn't like gravy, so that's not an issue. In the past we have used M&S (and/or Sainsburys) stuffing as once again the gluten free versions of these are both OK and taste very nice.
We tend to get a boned & rolled turkey joint from the butchers, one thing to look out for is making sure they don't put any sort of stuffing in it and that it is prepared away from any contaminants.
Desserts are more of an issue, the 'free from' Christmas puddings are no good as the level of wheat based/derived ingredients. My wife makes her own Christmas cakes and mince pies, so this solves the issue for us.
If you are lucky, then your guest may be a 'normal' (as my wife calls them) Ceoliac so most free from stuff should be OK - it may be worth checking with them before going to lots of effort/expense.
Life as a Coeliac isn't much fun when it comes to eating out, most restaurants don't understand it very well but it is getting better. One of the benefits for us is that we eat much fresher home made food (both of us like to cook luckily) so it's not a huge problem for us.
If he is getting free prescriptions for gluten still, ask him what his doctor can prescribe him, it will cost you less and he can bring along his own bag.
Note the government are cracking down on gluten free free prescriptions as it seems a waste of money for the tax payer when so much available in store
You can put a santa hat on that whistle smilie to make it more cheery.
Don't fall into this trap
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD2iYSKHHzo
Just call me scrooge.
Note the government are cracking down on gluten free free prescriptions as it seems a waste of money for the tax payer when so much available in store
You can put a santa hat on that whistle smilie to make it more cheery.
Don't fall into this trap
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD2iYSKHHzo
Just call me scrooge.
My eldest sister is a coeliac, what we did when she came for Christmas dinners:
Give your food prep. areas an extra clean. If you're doing both gluten-expensive and gluten-free stuff then consider separate areas and definitely separate utensils! - even a crumb of bread in something is an issue.
Make stuff from scratch - stuffing, bread sauce or ask them to bring/prepare their own trimmings. Don't be shy about asking, they'll be used to this.
And don't forget to keep space in the oven/on the hob and put them in/on!
There are a few GF gravy/stock mixes usually in any GF supermarket section.
We stuffed the turkey with GF sausage meat and had separate home made GE and GF parsely & thyme stuff.
Also consider any nibbles - many use wheat.
Give your food prep. areas an extra clean. If you're doing both gluten-expensive and gluten-free stuff then consider separate areas and definitely separate utensils! - even a crumb of bread in something is an issue.
Make stuff from scratch - stuffing, bread sauce or ask them to bring/prepare their own trimmings. Don't be shy about asking, they'll be used to this.
And don't forget to keep space in the oven/on the hob and put them in/on!
There are a few GF gravy/stock mixes usually in any GF supermarket section.
We stuffed the turkey with GF sausage meat and had separate home made GE and GF parsely & thyme stuff.
Also consider any nibbles - many use wheat.
The gluten intolerance fad has been a bit of a double edged sword, it's been good in that it raises awareness and has increased the number of gf products. The flip side is that people/restaurants don't fully appreciate the precautions they need to take when preparing or serving the food.
The number of places we have been to that have happily proclaimed their food is GF only for my wife to suffer the unpleasant side effects of gluten contamination afterwards means that she dreads eating out
You would not believe the number of things that she now has to avoid, the latest addition to the list is wine as the filtering and/or storage can often involve wheat based products.
The number of places we have been to that have happily proclaimed their food is GF only for my wife to suffer the unpleasant side effects of gluten contamination afterwards means that she dreads eating out
You would not believe the number of things that she now has to avoid, the latest addition to the list is wine as the filtering and/or storage can often involve wheat based products.
Cross contam is the big risk - simple answer is to do as much as possible thats GF. Think yourself lucky you are doing it now rather than 5 years go - and nobody will notice.
M&S is your friend for easy stuff - stuffing - pigs in blankets - others have caught up. Gravy - Bisto BEST. Yorkshires - please tell me you are doing Yorkies ? Ours are perfect. Flour - cornflour.
The xmas pud is the one to get an individual GF pud. Trifle - GF buns in the bottom - nobody will know.
Expect gluten in the unexpected - you mention ''glaze'' as an example. Labels to be read.
And just in case you think that's a lot - we also had a ceoliac dog - RIP last Xmas.
And if you can do all that you will make someone very happy as they will be quite nervous about you cross contaming them - or just the simple thing of giving them gluten.
Prepare on opposite sides of the kitchen - have two sets of utensils.
If it all goes wrong make sure there is plenty of Andrex
M&S is your friend for easy stuff - stuffing - pigs in blankets - others have caught up. Gravy - Bisto BEST. Yorkshires - please tell me you are doing Yorkies ? Ours are perfect. Flour - cornflour.
The xmas pud is the one to get an individual GF pud. Trifle - GF buns in the bottom - nobody will know.
Expect gluten in the unexpected - you mention ''glaze'' as an example. Labels to be read.
And just in case you think that's a lot - we also had a ceoliac dog - RIP last Xmas.
And if you can do all that you will make someone very happy as they will be quite nervous about you cross contaming them - or just the simple thing of giving them gluten.
Prepare on opposite sides of the kitchen - have two sets of utensils.
If it all goes wrong make sure there is plenty of Andrex
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