Gluten

EccentricDad

So I've been gluten/casein free for about 5 or 6 months now, but with Thanksgiving upon us and a mother and mother in law who just don't give a rat's butt that I have sensitivities, I have been caseined and glutened over the last two days. The casein screws with my sinus ducts and the gluten screws with my digestive system and may even cause malnutrition; both warrants ibuprofren and tums as they both give me inflammation/pain and they both cause me to bloat/nauseate... My question to all of you is this: Do you find Thanksgiving a very hard time to eat meals not prepared by you? This was my first Thanksgiving paying attention to my body/allergies, and I failed miserably...

Gravy - Gluten
Most veggie dishes - Casein (most people can't stand veggies so they add butter)
Most deserts - Both
Most side dishes - Both

I find the only safe thing to eat is the turkey, but even that could have cross contamination from the wheat based stuffing/dressing... Anyone else have any nightmarish meals to report and how to avoid getting glutened or caseined or wheyed?

pdworkman

I generally prepare my own food. If I am going to a dinner that someone else has prepared, I will, at very least, take a one-dish meal for myself that will be a side-dish for everyone else. Then anything else at the dinner that is safe is just a bonus. My own little family and my extended family have multiple allergy/diet issues, so we're pretty well covered there. We've got a wonderful lady at church who is helping with making sure that my family issues and my friend's (who has multiple allergies and her hubby is wheat allergic) are taken care of, and she has been very helpful in coordinating what we will be able to eat at the upcoming Christmas party.

I am eating vegan, grain-free, with multiple other allergies. Our Thanksgiving dinner (last month, we are not in USA) was from scratch:

- buns
- stuffing
- mashed potatoes & gravy
- sweet potatoes and pecans
- peas & carrots
- green salad & dressing
- pumpkin pie with coconut cream
- baked tofu

At this point, we have been gluten free about four years, vegetarian and dairy free for 19, so it's pretty much second nature.

natalieb216

I completely understand, the holidays are always the hardest. My grandmother, my dad, and I are the only ones in our huge family that have a gluten allergy. So between the three of us we always prepare a few dishes that are gluten free. Usually the health food section of the grocery store has pretty good substitutes for most holiday favorites. It's been almost 2 years since the three of us found out about our food allergies and it changed our lives substantially. Our latest thing we do is try to find creative new dishes to bring to family gatherings just to share with each other. Since most of our family is still under the impression gluten free food is sub par, we get to enjoy these new dishes to ourselves. Also, try to find out if there is a gluten free bakery near you, you can often find GF rolls and desserts that are just as good or even better than traditional ones. Good luck on future holidays, maybe you can start turning your family onto GF stuff like we've done with ours.