When your diet needs to be gluten free eating out can cause embarrassment and discomfort. But these tips will help you to make safe choices and enjoy socialising with your friends and family.
Following a gluten free diet is not a fad, it is something that people with coeliac disease (known as celiac in the USA) have to keep to, for life. Once you have catered for the diet for a while it becomes second nature and mealtimes at home cease to be a headache. However eating out on a gluten free diet can be an altogether different thing!
Let's face it, we can't always be in our own home every time we need to eat. Celiac is a treatable condition, not a punishment! So why are so many people terrified of visiting a restaurant if they have to eat gluten free?
Eating out can take on lots of different guises. It may be lunch in the work's canteen, a romantic dinner for two, a buffet at a party, or three meals a day on holiday or vacation. How about a cruise? A meal on an airplane? A family barbecue?
With some planning or preparation and a polite but firm manner all these events are possible! So let's see how . . .
Gluten free eating out - Family events
For extended family members, who don't cater for the gluten free diet every day, it can be difficult to think of all the possible ways that a celiac's food could be contaminated. If you have been invited to a family party or barbecue it can help to talk to the host beforehand. Explain that it isn't just wheat, gluten or flour in the ingredients that are the problem, but also how the food is prepared and cooked. Ask them not to dip food into flour or batter before cooking it for you. Explain that soy sauce is not suitable, and make them aware of the dangers of thick gravy.
It may help to print out the gluten free food list from this site and perhaps the page on gluten free cooking for them to read. Don't overwhelm them with information but try to help them understand the dangers and offer ways of eliminating them.
If the event is a wedding where outside caterers will be used then ask that a gluten free meal is prepared and stored separately. Alternatively if there is to be a buffet, ask if it is allowed to bring your own food onto the premises. If all else fails, make sure you have something to eat at home before attending the party, then, if you are short on choice, you won't go hungry.
Recently, at my cousins wedding, I was told that I would be provided with a special meal and was delighted to be served with a huge plateful of gluten free sandwiches. At first I was apprehensive, as it can be difficult to trust strangers, but after asking a couple of other people to taste the bread and being reassurred by them that it certainly wasn't the bread they were used to, I got stuck in. Smoked salmon and cucumber, cheese and tomato, both variations were delicious and I suffered no ill effects.
Gluten free eating out - lunches at work
Most people fall back on two options here; a packed lunch or find something safe on the menu and eat it every day. Neither are really acceptable long term. We need variety in our diet to keep healthy, and if you are susceptible to one foodstuff it is distinctly possible that you could develop an intolerance to something that you eat every single day.
If packed lunches are the only option check the lunches page for ideas to ring the changes.
However, it may be possible to gradually educate the chefs in the canteen to what you can and cannot eat. Don't get upset and accuse them if something goes wrong but try to find out where the mistake was made and help them understand how to rectify it another time. Don't be afraid to ask questions, that is how you will both learn. Steer clear of things that are obviously not gluten free. Eating out regularly at work can help you build up a relationship with the kitchen staff and they should be delighted to work with you to keep you safe and healty.
Gluten free eating out at restaurants
My son and I have a dream. One day he hopes to have his own restaurant where everything on the menu will be safe for me to eat. But until that day, the following tips help me eat out safely in restaurants and pubs.
Phone the venue beforehand and ask if they are used to catering for special diets. The response you get to your question will give you a clue as to whether it is worth trying to eat there. If the staff sound knowledgeable and keen to help then you may be in for a great evening.
On the other hand if they respond by asking you what gluten is, then perhaps you need to pick a different restauant!
When you arrive at the restaurant, check the menu then request to talk to the chef. Explain your diet and check whether he is aware of the constraints. Pick some items off the menu and ask if he thinks they would be safe for you to eat. If all the food is prepared on site, the chef may change the recipe slightly for your portion, but often food is bought in ready made and nothing can be altered.
Carefully, but concisely, mention things for the chef to keep in mind while he prepares your food, such as using a different chopping board or cooking utensils. Try not to overcomplicate things, just keep it relevant to what you have ordered.
After the meal be sure to say thank you for the care and attention you have been given. Remember that whatever the chef learned from the experience will only help the next person who asks "What do you have that is gluten free".
Eating out is possible with a little forethought, enabling you to enjoy your life rather than staying stuck at home. Of course once you have found somewhere that looks after you, the chances are you will visit again. And don't forget to let fellow celiac sufferers know where they can eat safely.
Eating out can take on lots of different guises. It may be lunch in the work's canteen, a romantic dinner for two, a buffet at a party, or three meals a day on holiday or vacation. How about a 
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