Eating Somewhere Besides Home

Eating some where besides home is a challenge. At home you have your system and know what you need to do to be safe from gluten cross-contamination. (I don't really like the visual image of the phrase "contamination". It makes it sound like gluten is radio-active or something even more horrible. Unfortunately, I don't know of another phrase to use.) Eating at someone else's home or even at a restaurant you lose most of that control. You never know if they cut bread on a cutting board and then, with out rinsing it, cut up the vegetables that they try and serve you as safe. ...

The reason why I am posting this is that this weekend I am not going to be eating at home for several days. Last night was our Pack's Blue and Gold Banquet. I am involved with the Cub Scouts in our area and so was expected to go. Usually at Pack Meetings there are treats and I just don't eat them. But last night was the traditional Birthday Celebration for the Cub Scouts which includes a dinner. I was part of the planning committee for the dinner and so was my Sister-in-Law. (My Sister-in-Law has had some experience cooking for people with Celiac. Her cousin's husband is Celiac and their families got together for dinner on a regular basis when they lived close to each other.) So I had help to be sure that I could eat some part of the dinner. We, as a committee, decided to have a Pot Luck dinner. The Pack would provide the meat and the rolls. Others were asked to bring side dishes, chips and dessert. At the dinner I took a quick look over what people had brought to see what looked like it would be safe. As well as visited the kitchen to see how the food was being prepared and read over the label of the sauce that was used for the meat. After the prayer was given I tried to be near the front of the line. I got my plate and the next thing I saw caused me to pause. The ladies that were serving the meat had decided to be efficient and start putting meat in the rolls so people can grab them and move on. Now that in and of itself is not bad, but what I noticed was that they were using the tongs to spread the meat over the rolls and had several rolls already done. The part of that that made me pause was that they were dipping the tongs back into the meat afterward. This is a REALLY good way to "cross-contaminate" foods that don't naturally contain gluten. (Something they could have done to prevent "cross-contamination" would have been to dollop the meat on the rolls, making sure that the tongs don't touch the roll, and use a plastic knife or some other utensil to spread the meat.) I smiled at the ladies and said that I would just get my meat from the pan that was still in the kitchen and continued on down the line. (Since I had visited the kitchen I knew that there were two pans of meat. Otherwise I would have passed on the meat and eaten more of something else. Other times, when there has been only one pan, while I was visiting the kitchen I have asked if before the food was placed on the table that I could put some of the meat on a plate just for me and leave it in a corner of the kitchen that was out of the way.) In the end I had the meat from the kitchen (without the roll), veggies from a veggie tray (no dip, some dips contain gluten and I was not sure if it was safe), and some chips. This was ok because I had eaten a little something at home before I went to the dinner. (You never know if something simple, like how they serve the meat, is going to make it so there is little you can eat in a social setting. So I try and eat a little before hand.)

Tonight we are going to be having dinner with the new Bishopric in our ward. My husband is the new Ward Clerk so we were invited to come. Originally it was going to be a simple Ice Cream Social which I was fine with. I figured I could go a little early and look over the choices, find one that looked like one that had not been "cross-contaminated" and ask if I could have mine in a bowl. Wednesday I found out that the Bishop decided that he wanted something more substantial. The plan now is to have a spiral ham for sandwiches, a veggie tray, and chips and salsa. We are to bring the drinks. Last night after Pack Meeting I called the Bishop and talked to his wife about how she was planning on cooking the ham (to see if there was going to be a glaze, etc. that would make it so I could not eat it). Since they want to do sandwiches I am planning to take my own bread and spreads. (The spreads are something that get "cross-contaminated" easily so I like to put a little in a separate container for my own use.) I may also eat something before we go.

After dinner tonight my husband and I are planning to go and visit my younger sister and her family for the three-day weekend. She and her family are not Celiac, but we have stayed with them several times since we moved away. She understands my needs and is willing to let me do what I need to to keep my food safe. I take some of my own cooking supplies when I go visit her since she doesn't own any that are specifically gluten-free. My sister has requested that while my husband and I are there that we make them our version of Fettuccine Alfredo. (All I have to do to make it gluten-free is to use gluten-free noodles instead of the noodles they will be using.) My mother, who is also Celiac, lives in the next town over and wants us to stop by while we are there. I asked her if she would mind if we come for dinner when we come to visit. The other meals are not planned yet, but where she lives there are several grocery stores and restaurants that cater to people with Celiac. So there are lots of possibilities available for me.

I have tried to plan and make these situations as safe as I can. Let's hope that they will be enjoyable and I don't get sick.