How To: Safely Host Celiacs

Written By Meagan Santangelo

With the holidays upon us, we wanted to offer some guidelines for safely hosting family members and friends with celiac disease.

Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve, or any fall or winter holiday, the tips below should help ensure the comfort of any gluten-free guests who may be visiting your home.

 

Grocery Shopping

When shopping for ingredients, snacks, and appetizers for your holiday guests, best practice is to look for certified gluten-free products.

Below is the marking from the Gluten Free Certification Organization (GFCO), which is the most common product certification for gluten free foods in the United States. Look for this marking on product packaging in order to confirm its safety for loved ones with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity:

This mark confirms that the product has been tested and confirmed to contain less than 10 PPM (parts per million) of gluten, which has been deemed safe for celiac consumption by experts.

The absence of this product mark does not necessarily mean the item is unsafe. Items labeled “Gluten Free” (without the certification) are confirmed to contain less than 20 PPM of gluten, which is safe for consumption by celiacs.

Avoid products that are marked “No Gluten,” “Free of Gluten,” or “Without Gluten,” as they are not guaranteed to meet the 20 PPM safety standard.

 

Learn more about the FDA’s ruling on gluten-free food labeling and the ≤20 PPM designation

 

When in doubt about products that are not certified by GFCO or labeled “Gluten Free,” it is always best to check with your celiac or gluten-sensitive guest directly regarding their comfort level with those products.

 

Meal Planning

Breakfast

Since, at least in the West, breakfast tends to revolve around carbohydrates, the first meal of the day can be a tricky one for celiacs. Below are some suggestions for gluten-free carbs and other breakfast foods:

 

TIP:

If you need to heat up an item like a bagel or waffle, your normal toaster oven will pose a major contamination risk for guests with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. Instead, wrap their items in tin foil and warm them in the oven.

 

Lunch

Soup and sandwiches or wraps, grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly, or mac and cheese with chicken tenders are crowd-pleasers for all ages at lunchtime:

 

TIP:

If you plan to serve peanut butter and jelly or any kind of open-jar condiment or spread (e.g., mayonnaise, dijon mustard, butter/margarine, etc.), purchase a fresh container to use on the day of the event. This will ensure that there is no cross-contamination if you have previously used that condiment with gluten-containing foods. Always allow your celiac guest(s) use the condiment first. For bonus points, let them have the honor of unsealing the lid! :)

 

Snacks & Appetizers

If you’re looking to prepare an appetizer arrangement or charcuterie board, some of our favorite snacks include:

With these guidelines in mind, be sure to still check the packaging on a case-by-case basis, as not all flavors are gluten-free.

 

TIP:

Add fresh fruits and veggies (sliced carrots, celery, cucumber, peppers; cherry tomatoes, grapes, apple slices) to a spread with olives, gherkin pickles, cheese, crackers, chips, mixed nuts, salami, and hummus for a celiac-friendly appetizer assortment.

 

Dinner

Depending on what your family’s menu looks like, many if not most Thanksgiving foods should be gluten-free already (e.g., mashed potatoes, veggies), and for those that are not, plenty of alternatives exist for gluten-containing items and ingredients such as noodles, spices, etc. Some of our favorites are:

*According to various sources online, including this Verywell blog post from 2021 which quotes a Rao’s representative, Rao’s pasta sauces are all gluten-free. Their website and product packaging, however, do not confirm this information. We recommend that you check with your celiac guest and/or call the company directly to confirm it is safe for you to use.

 

TIP:

Check the packaging on your turkey to confirm it is free of gluten. Although turkey itself is naturally gluten-free, certain brands could use seasonings or additives that contain gluten. If your turkey comes with a gravy packet, assume it is not gluten-free and do not serve it to your celiac guest(s). If you are making homemade gravy, you can substitute cornstarch in place of wheat flour.

 

Dessert

The easiest workaround for gluten-free desserts is to take advantage of the wide array of pre-made gluten free baked goods and baking mixes. Some of our favorites are listed below:

 

TIP:

Converting gluten-containing recipes for baked goods to gluten-free can be complicated due to flour ratios. If you plan to adapt a dessert from scratch that calls for wheat flour, we recommend King Arthur’s Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour. In our opinion, this is the best substitute.

 

Beverages

This oft-overlooked category is still crucially important for the health of your gluten-sensitive guests. We strongly encourage you to review the full blog post we put together regarding celiac-safe beverages. For quick reference, a condensed list is included below:

  • Coffee is naturally gluten-free, but flavored beans or grounds and instant coffees can come into contact with gluten due to additives, or if they are processed in a facility that also processes wheat

  • Tea is also naturally gluten-free, but can be contaminated with gluten for similar reasons; safe brands include:

    • Bigelow

    • Celestial Seasonings

    • Teapigs

  • Gluten-free apple cider is sold by Martinelli’s

  • Alcohol:

    • Wine, champagne, brandy, mead, and prosecco should be safe across the board for celiacs

    • Hard cider and whiskey are generally safe, but always check the product label in case gluten-containing additives are present

    • The following spirits are confirmed to be gluten free:

      • Tito’s vodka

      • Captain Morgan rum

      • Don Julio tequila

      • Kahlúa coffee liqueur

 

Read our full-length blog post on gluten-free beverages 

 

Food Preparation

Food preparation when cooking or baking for individuals with celiac disease is extremely important, but do not be intimidated! When preparing food for gluten-free guests, the first step is always to thoroughly wipe down your countertops and ensure that all utensils are totally clean and that gluten-containing items are removed from the prep area. Use a new kitchen sponge to clean any dishes or utensils that you will be using. As always, wash your hands thoroughly before you begin food prep.

Do not use the oven to cook gluten-containing and gluten-free dishes at the same time. If it is absolutely necessary, cover both dishes with foil or oven-safe lids to mitigate the risk of cross-contamination. Spatter during cooking or baking can cause otherwise gluten-free foods to become unsafe for consumption by celiacs. If you have more than one oven in your home, prepare only gluten-containing dishes in one and only gluten-free dishes in another.

Assign a set of potholders or oven mitts to any dishes you are preparing for your celiac guest(s), wash them before the big day to ensure they are clean, and use them exclusively on gluten-free dishes so they will not contaminate any celiac-friendly foods. You should also set aside a spoon rest to be used exclusively for gluten-free utensils while cooking.

 

Serving

When serving your holiday meal, create clearly marked and, if possible, physically separate buffet zones to delineate gluten-containing and gluten-free dishes. This will greatly reduce any concerns your celiac guest(s) might have about cross-contamination.

If space requires that the meal must be served on the table, avoid passing gluten-containing dishes over the plates of celiac or gluten-sensitive guests. You might also consider setting all of the gluten-free dishes in front of the celiac guest(s)’s seat(s) in order to reduce the amount of gluten-containing-dish “traffic” at their end of the table.

 

TIP:

If you do not have enough space to create two distinct buffet areas, put the gluten-free foods at the beginning of the buffet line and the gluten-containing foods at the end. This eliminates the risk of gluten-containing foods falling off plates or serving spoons onto gluten-free food and contaminating it.

 

We hope that this blog post helps you to prepare for hosting your celiac loved one(s), and reduces some of the stress associated with dealing with additional unknowns during an already stressful holiday season. If you have any questions or feedback on this post, please drop them in the comments below!

Meagan Santangelo https://ihateuglywebsites.com
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