New Gluten-Free Eater Needs Suggestions...

CHCotton
CHCotton Posts: 10
in Food and Nutrition
Hey y'all!

So my history is basically that since I was a teen I've had a "touchy stomach." I've tried (at different times) eating dairy-free, eating super-high fibre, cutting out processed foods, cutting out caffeine (boy THAT was a terrible few months) and just recently I have started eating gluten/wheat free. Just to try and find what has been upsetting my stomach.

And holy crap. Going on a MONTH now my stomach hasn't been upset. This is HUGE for me.

But I kinda miss eating out at restaurants! Anybody have any gluten-free favourites they get at restaurants? Any favourite websites I can trust for this kind of information?

PLEASE NOTE: I live in Canada so Canadian recommendations are most desired. American/other recommendations are also welcome of course, because maybe this thread can help other people too, but PLEASE STATE WHAT COUNTRY/REGION you are posting about! Thanks!!

Replies

  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Boston Pizza has gluten free pizza but otherwise it's just making the right choices when you order. If you aren't diagnosed celiac I would just avoid the usual suspects like breads and pastas. Order something that isn't breaded. My husband is allergic to wheat and my granddaughter is celiac and we go out all the time. Most restaurants will exchange items if you tell them it's a food allergy. My hubby's favorite is to order breakfast and ask for extra hash browns instead of toast!
  • haanmom
    haanmom Posts: 90 Member
    My strict GF friends like PF Changs. I don't know if you have one where you are - a quick Google search says they have expanded to Canada, so maybe? (I'm in the Pacific NW, USA)
  • DoxieLove10612
    DoxieLove10612 Posts: 145 Member
    I'm 3 weeks Gf myself. I accidentally glutened myself today and it was awful! I live in the US but when I go out its steak and steamed veggies. If I get a 6 oz I cut it in half immediately and save it to put over rice for dinner the next night. No seasoning on the steak or veggies.
  • babyangelica2010
    babyangelica2010 Posts: 117 Member
    I live in NB Canada. New York fries, the fries and even the gravy in the poutines are gluten free. I work at A&W and people assume the fries are gluten free, but they have a coating on them that includes milk and gluten, aswell as being deep fried in the same fryer as breaded items so it would be cross contaminated anyways. MacDonalds fries are also deep fried in shared fryers. I couldn't get fries anywhere else than NYF.
    I second Boston Pizza. I have eaten their pizza, it is good. Pizza Delight also has gluten free pizza, but I havn't eaten there yet.
    Dairy Queen has some items that are gluten free. Some blizzards are, although there is a chance of cross contamination when it is mixed because the mixer mixes ALL the blizzards, including the cookie type blizzards. The soft serve is gluten free.
    That's all I can think of at the moment.
    Oh, and if you go to a restaurant and order a burger without the bun...as someone who works in the kitchen of a restaurant, if you are really sensitive to cross contamination, don't do it. crumbs from bread come in contact with EVERYTHING.
  • CHCotton
    CHCotton Posts: 10
    I hadn't thought to ask for steak without seasoning, that's a good point, I bet the seasoning isn't gluten free!

    I will try Boston Pizza's gluten-free crust! Sounds great! I kinda miss pizza!
  • Superchikanthem
    Superchikanthem Posts: 362 Member
    Tony Romas!!!
  • hdlb
    hdlb Posts: 333 Member
    I hadn't thought to ask for steak without seasoning, that's a good point, I bet the seasoning isn't gluten free!

    I will try Boston Pizza's gluten-free crust! Sounds great! I kinda miss pizza!


    Make sure you try just a little bit at first if you eat the pizza. I have Celiac, and I"m incredibly sensitive so my reaction won't be the same as yours, but I got really sick from eating half a peice of "gluten free pizza" from Panago when I was first learning what I can/can't have. I imagine that BP would have the same issue. The crust is "GF", but its made by cooks that just make wheat pizza, on a surface that wheat pizza was just made on, and there is flour in the air, on the equipment etc. And their friers are also shared with gluten products.

    Oddly enough eating thigs that were fried togethers generally doesn't make me sick (though I make sure to eat very little) At BP I usually have the salt and pepper baked chicken wings. They are GF. It is the only one, I asked a manager once and every sauce for the rest of their chicken has gluten.

    Usually if we go out I just get a steak (the bigger the better. Mmmmm) and salad or veggies. Sometimes I'll share some potato skins with my husband for a starter. Mr. Mikes is my favorite place, I've never gotten sick there.
  • hdlb
    hdlb Posts: 333 Member
    I live in NB Canada. New York fries, the fries and even the gravy in the poutines are gluten free. I work at A&W and people assume the fries are gluten free, but they have a coating on them that includes milk and gluten, aswell as being deep fried in the same fryer as breaded items so it would be cross contaminated anyways. MacDonalds fries are also deep fried in shared fryers. I couldn't get fries anywhere else than NYF.
    I second Boston Pizza. I have eaten their pizza, it is good. Pizza Delight also has gluten free pizza, but I havn't eaten there yet.
    Dairy Queen has some items that are gluten free. Some blizzards are, although there is a chance of cross contamination when it is mixed because the mixer mixes ALL the blizzards, including the cookie type blizzards. The soft serve is gluten free.
    That's all I can think of at the moment.
    Oh, and if you go to a restaurant and order a burger without the bun...as someone who works in the kitchen of a restaurant, if you are really sensitive to cross contamination, don't do it. crumbs from bread come in contact with EVERYTHING.


    You just made my day. The gravy from NYF is GF? I was so sad last time we went to the movies because we couldn't get a poutine, since I didn't know what was in the gravy. I know what i"m getting next time.
  • trizzell79
    trizzell79 Posts: 153 Member
    A friend from work told me that Tim Hortons has gluten free soups and chili, I think she found the information on their website.
  • babyangelica2010
    babyangelica2010 Posts: 117 Member
    I live in NB Canada. New York fries, the fries and even the gravy in the poutines are gluten free. I work at A&W and people assume the fries are gluten free, but they have a coating on them that includes milk and gluten, aswell as being deep fried in the same fryer as breaded items so it would be cross contaminated anyways. MacDonalds fries are also deep fried in shared fryers. I couldn't get fries anywhere else than NYF.
    I second Boston Pizza. I have eaten their pizza, it is good. Pizza Delight also has gluten free pizza, but I havn't eaten there yet.
    Dairy Queen has some items that are gluten free. Some blizzards are, although there is a chance of cross contamination when it is mixed because the mixer mixes ALL the blizzards, including the cookie type blizzards. The soft serve is gluten free.
    That's all I can think of at the moment.
    Oh, and if you go to a restaurant and order a burger without the bun...as someone who works in the kitchen of a restaurant, if you are really sensitive to cross contamination, don't do it. crumbs from bread come in contact with EVERYTHING.


    You just made my day. The gravy from NYF is GF? I was so sad last time we went to the movies because we couldn't get a poutine, since I didn't know what was in the gravy. I know what i"m getting next time.

    I don't know for 100% that every restaurant is the same so ask them before you order. I havn't eaten it because it is beef gravy and I am a vegetarian but it would be soo nice to have a poutine again!!
  • babyangelica2010
    babyangelica2010 Posts: 117 Member
    A friend from work told me that Tim Hortons has gluten free soups and chili, I think she found the information on their website.

    Tim Hortons has also said that anyone with food allergies should not consume their food because there is a very high risk of contamination.
  • martyd_24
    martyd_24 Posts: 6 Member
    Ok, my wife is celiac and uber sensitive. As far as fries goes, it is hard to beat Five Guys. They are very cautious when they cook. She has never had any problems with their fries or getting the burger without the bun. Pizza, Mellow Mushroom is the place to go. The gluten free takes longer because it is cleaned and cooked separately, but once again she has never had any problems after eating there. And finally just for something different try Ghengis Grill. They have a allergen card and clean well before cooking. The food bar is very clearly marked which is gluten free and which is not. After years of restaurants that claim to be gluten free but still make her sick, these are some of the places we usually look for because of the success she has had eating there.
  • j_masher
    j_masher Posts: 18 Member
    This might be helpful http://www.theceliacscene.com/# I am full blown Celiac and I get the stomach issues but also have the horrible rash which lead to a biopsy. Eating out is always hard. McDonald's uses beef broth on their fries and hash browns, so it would not matter whether they used different fryers. I have found after over 8 years since diagnosis that one should always read the labels or policies of the manufacturer again. I have been glutened by assuming a food that was once was GF no longer is.

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