Cooking for Gluten-Free Guests

Last night, I had dinner with my dad and some family friends. One of the friends had made the dessert, and she admitted she’d considered telling me the base was made of gluten-free biscuits when in fact it was made of Digestive Wheat Biscuits. While I was very thankful she did own up, and admit the food was gluten-packed in this case, I know very well she’s done similar things in the past and only admitted in when it’s far too late and I was already suffering the consequences of being glutened. 

For anyone else who’s considering lying about the content of their food – PLEASE don’t do this. It’s not about the person being picky, the consequences of eating food when you can’t safely do so are usually pretty hideous, and can even be life-threatening. Even if you think the person is exaggerating their allergy, are you willing to bet their life (and your friendship) on it? I know I for one would much rather be hungry than sick, so if the food's not allergy-friendly just let the person know.

In my case, Coeliacs Disease isn’t life-threatening, and this was not a case of the friend thinking I was exaggerating – she just didn’t really understand what Coeliac Disease is. After a quick explanation of the long and short term effects of it, I’m confident she won’t be doing this again.  

When you first get a diagnosis of Coeliac Disease, it can be kind of intimidating not knowing what to cook. Even more intimidating, figuring out what to make if you’re having guests over and they’re gluten-free but you’re not. I often get asked what my advice is for catering to gluten-free guests and these are my top tips. They may also be helpful coming up to the holidays if you’ve only recently been diagnosed.

1)    Whole food are often naturally gluten free, i.e. meats, eggs, fruits and vegetables – basically anything that’s pretty close to the state you would find in nature. Be careful of anything that comes in packets though, as these may have extra bits and pieces added. Always check labels!

2)   When thickening things like soups and sauces, you can easily sub rice flour, which is gluten free, in place of normal flour (again, check the labels to make sure.) I’d actually recommend doing this for sauces and soups even if you’re not gluten-free, as they come out smoother and freeze better.

3)    If you’re making a pasta dish, you can sub GF pasta for regular pasta pretty easily. They cook in about the same amount of time, and have a similar texture. Probably best to ask your guests for recommendations for brands, as these will vary from country to country. I always go for a brown rice pasta, rather than a white rice or corn one, as brown rice is a bit easier for sensitive tummy’s to process. When it comes to bread on the side of dishes – you can buy some gluten bread yourself, or ask your guest to bring a couple of slices with them. Most gluten free breads taste better when toasted or heated, so you may want to try that.

4)    Desserts: Creamy desserts are more likely to be gluten free. Recipes for custards, Panacottas, homemade ice creams, ambrosias – all those kinds of things – are often gluten-free already or can be easily converted. Many bought ice creams or frozen desserts are also gluten free, and will be labelled as such. Meringues and Pavlovas are also usually an option – just steer clear of the malt vinegar!

5)    If you want to convert a favourite cake, biscuit, or slice recipe, this is my method. It took much experimentation, but this does give results very similar in flavour and texture to the original recipe. So much so, that people often don’t realise it’s gluten free.

                  Cakes: Replace the flour with half ground almonds/half rice flour. Use a                                 gluten-free baking powder (most supermarkets stock this.)

                        Slices: Replace the flour with half ground almonds/half rice flour. Omit                                       the baking powder.

                        Biscuits: Replace the flour with one third ground almonds/one third 
                                          rice flour/one third corn flour. 

Of course, as always, check the labels of any other ingredients. Things like chocolate chips or vanilla essence may have gluten in them, but there will usually be at least one brand that doesn’t.

These tips only apply to gluten-free. If your guests are grain-free, dairy-free, egg-free, sugar-free, soy-free, or have other allergies, as well – you’ll need to check with them for details of what they can and can’t eat, or you may like to have a look at websites such as Allergy Free Alaska, or Against All Grain (there are lots of others but those two are my favourites.) If you’re not sure about a particular product, ask. I can’t tell you how many times someone has very kindly bought a gluten free product for me, only to discover it contains apple or cider vinegar and I’m allergic to apples. 

As always, this is not intended to be medical advice. If you’re not sure about anything, check with your health provider as they will be able to give you far better answers than I can.

If you have any other tips or question you’d like to share, feel free to add them in the comments.

Thanks for reading

Little Miss Autoimmune.

Coeliacs and other stuff

The other night I was ordering pizza, and when I requested a gluten-free base, the guy asked me if I realised the side I had ordered contained gluten. I didn't - I'd wrongly assumed it was gluten free, so I thanked him for letting me know and changed my order.

He replied: "Yeah, I make a point of telling people, because otherwise you might get a sore stomach but just think it was your women's problems."

Honestly wasn't quite sure how to answer that.

It's really awesome that this guy is looking out for people with allergies, but for the record, Coeliac Disease and menstruation - not that easy to confuse.

There are a lot of misunderstandings out there about Coeliac Disease and about gluten intolerance in general. This is the first time I've had anyone confuse it with "women's problems" but there is confusion none the less.

This is my understanding of the differences.

Firstly the names - "Coeliac Disease" "Coeliacs" and "Celiacs" are all referring to the same disease. I think Celiacs is an Americanised spelling, but don't quote me on that. I mostly use "Coeliac Disease", just because that's what's printed on my Medic-Alert bracelet, but they are generally used interchangeably. 

Coeliac Disease is an autoimmune disorder. In an affected person, their immune system has identified gluten - a protein found in wheat etc. - as a disease, and therefore responds to the presence of gluten by attacking it and in the process the person's gut is also damaged.

As far as I know, a gluten intolerance is not autoimmune in nature. My understanding is that, similar to intolerances to other foods, the problems occur when the body is unable to digest the gluten resulting in stomach upsets and, in some cases, other symptoms.

For both, the treatment is the same - avoid gluten.

I think sometimes those of us with Coeliac Disease or gluten intolerances get a bit of flack for being difficult or "picky". Much of this, I think, has been down to a trend in recent years of people going gluten-free because they think it's healthier. In a lot of cases (but not all!) gluten-free substitutes are higher in fat, calories and sugar, so if you don't have an intolerance or allergy, I'm not quite sure it fits the bill of "healthier". However, that's just my opinion and not in any way intended to be taken as medical advice. If you're thinking of going gluten-free, whatever the reason, that's for you and your doctor/dietician to decide.

Eating a gluten-free diet is not a choice for me, nor is it a case of wanting to make eating out more complicated. In the past, when I've accidentally eaten gluten, I've been so ill I've lost five or six kilos in a matter of days. I found out I had Coeliac Disease ten years ago, back when all gluten-free substitutes tasted like sawdust. Believe me, if it was a choice, I wouldn't have done it!

Thanks for reading

Little Miss Autoimmune

Body Image

When it comes to having a healthy body image, I think I’m doing pretty well. Yeah, I know, it seems unlikely since hardly anyone out there is actually happy with their body. Sure, I have moments when I wish my hips were smaller or my boobs were bigger, and there are certainly still a number a photos I delete for having too many chins – but they’re just moments. Most of the time I’m happy with the way I look. Most of the time the time I think my boobs, hips and chin(s) are fine just the way they are.

Being sick affects my weight in quite dramatic ways. When my joints were really bad, I gained a lot of weight from inactivity and steroids have the fun side-effect of making you want to eat everything in sight. With coeliacs, I’ve been known to loose five or six kilos in a few days if exposed to hidden gluten, and my nausea can get so bad that I just stop eating.

One of the strange things I’ve noticed about being ill is that the days I feel the worst are often the days when people tell me I look good. For a while I thought maybe The Universe was being kind and just trying to make me feel better, but then I realised there are reasons why I get compliments when I’m sick. As my doctor said to me today, the version of the butterfly rash I get is actually a fairly “pretty” one, and when I’ve got it only mildly it’s usually mistaken for “rosy colouring.” I’m not a huge fan of make up – largely because I’d rather sleep an extra half hour than wake up to “put on a face” but if my skin is particularly rashy or I have huge dark circles under my eyes, I’m more likely to make the effort. Similarly, if I’m loosing my hair from illness or meds, I make the time to go to the hairdresser to get it tidied up or spend more time at home trying to make it look presentable. I live in Wellington (a very windy city) so on most days I go for a convenient but not-terribly-flattering bun hairstyle, but if my back and arms are flaring, I’ll wear my hair out.

And then of course there’s the weight loss.

A few years ago, I was on a combination of medications that really did not work for me. My kidneys stopped working properly and my blood pressure skyrocketed. I wasn’t nauseous but I wasn’t hungry EVER. I got palpitations, couldn’t breathe and passed out every time I climbed some stairs or even just took a shower. It took months for kidneys to come right and by the end of it all, I’d lost A LOT of weight.

I was in the supermarket few months later, and ran into someone I hadn’t seen for a while. She commented on the weight loss, and when I explained what had happened she joked: “Oh, what’s the medication? I need that kind of weight loss.” More recently, someone commented on how good I was looking lately then added: “almost worth having lupus.”

Um.... exactly how fat and ugly was I, that it’s worth having lupus to look “better”?!

These kinds of comments upset me. Yes, I know they’re jokes. No one really wants their kidneys to stop working, or to be diagnosed with lupus so they can loose a bit of weight, but it still frustrates me because it comes from a mentality of: Skinny is always healthy. Even more so: Skinny is always better. I hate this mentality. This mentality says it doesn’t matter how bad you feel, or what torture you have to put yourself through, as long as you’re thin at the end of it. This mentality says looks are more important than health. This mentality invariable says: You are not good enough.

I refuse to subscribe to this. I am good enough whether I am overweight, underweight, or somewhere in between. Most likely my weight will continue to bounce up and down as medications and illness wreak havoc on my body. Yes, I will probably lament any weight gain – I won’t lie and say it doesn’t upset me. That does not mean I will celebrate any weight loss if it comes at the price of me feeling like utter crap.

What I will celebrate is any signs of returning to good health, whatever weight it comes at.

Thanks for reading

Little Miss Autoimmune